The Forsyth County news. (Cumming, Ga.) 19??-current, April 06, 1997, Image 8

The Forsyth County news., April 06, 1997, Page PAGE 8A, Image 8

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Newspaper Page TextPAGE 8A -FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Sunday, April 6,1997 The Forsyth County News Opinion This is a page of opinions-- ours, yours and others. Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writers and artists and may not reflect our views. Efforts to handle redistricting better appear successful In the past, the school board has experimented with this recipe for unpopulari ty: Start with hundreds of students. Change where they go to school. Add angry parents. Let them bake while you appear indecisive about what you’ve done. The school board has been burned before by its redistricting efforts. Sending kids to a different campus is never easy. This year, however, what had to be done went a lot smoother. Redistricting is a difficult fact of life in a growing county where classrooms are overcrowded and new facilities are under construction. But it shouldn’t have to spell disaster. The school board played it smart this time, developing a 64-member commit tee to get community input before lines were drawn - and tempers flair. Principals were asked to appoint themselves to the committee as well as one other administrator or teacher and two parents from each school. Members kept schools’ Local School Advisory Committees apprised of the redistricting process. Previous rezoning attempts have not gone well. Three years ago, the school board changed a redistricting plan 21 times to appease parents, only to return to the original plan. Last May during a three-hour public forum, hundreds of upset parents from the south end protested a last minute attempt to rezone some stu dents to the Central cluster. Emotions ran high that night. But, for parents and pupils, the prospect of a move is inevitably emotional. Knowing that, this year’s committee recognized the need to rely on logic, not feelings. A data subcommittee with parents from each school spent the month of February working to understand how many students will flock to Forsyth County - and exactly where they will live. The group gathered data from a variety of sources, including the county Planning and Development Department and Voter Registrar’s Office- and even trips to every soon-to-be subdivision in the county. The subcommittee found that enrollment will be at 21,750 by 2001. School administrators, who also relied on data like building permits, predict a student population of between 21,000 and 23,000 by 2001. Enrollment today is at 11,608. After the data-collecting was done, the full redistricting committee came together and divided itself into three teams, each with several data subcommittee members and representatives from each school. The three teams worked separate ly on redistricting, developing three plans. The three plans were combined into one and presented to the school board. Members paid attention to numbers while being sensitive to the people the numbers represent. The committee operated under a few ground rules: don’t split a subdivision, don’t redistrict students more than once and minimize bus com mutes. The group also considered letters from concerned parents and phone calls the school board received. Whether you like what the committee came up with or not, no one can com plain that there was no input from those who will be affected by the changes. Or that decisions weren’t made thoughtfully. Letters Closing Lanierland is ‘a great loss to community’ DEAR EDITOR, To Lanierland Music Park: We were greatly saddened to receive your letter. For the past 4 years we have been season ticket holders and never missed a show at your very unique Country Theatre. When we first moved here we were not Country Western Music fans, but thanks to Lanierland today we are dedicated fans. You introduced us to the best. Lanierland has given to us the fol lowing: 1. The love and appreciation for Country Music. 2. The opportunity to see two great shows and top entertainers at a low price. 3. After each show we’ve gone out and purchased many CD’s and cassettes. > 4. The photo opportunity of walking up to the stage and taking pictures of our favorite entertainers. 5. On occasion going backstage and meeting the singer. .6. Feeling comfortable bringing friends, family and small children to a theatre where we were reassured nothing bad was going to be said or done. ; 7. A safe environment. 8. Free parking and beautiful country surroundings. 9. No hassles of going into Atlanta and being subjected to huge crowds and crime. In our opinion some of the stars that no longer want to perform two shows for a small audience need to be reminded that we are the same audience that listened to them when they were not so popular and bought their albums too. We won’t be dri ving into Atlanta to see them. Closing Lanierland will be a great loss to our community. Thank you once again for a job well done that has given us and many others years of enjoyment. Your theatre was so much appreciated and will be greatly missed. We hope to hear from you in 1998! Mr. and Mrs. Bill Case and family Cumming, Ga. Legislators thank Keiffer and Jenkins DEAR EDITOR, We wanted to publicly thank Commissioners Keiffer and Jenkins for their participation in the meeting between the Forsyth County Commissioners and the Forsyth County delegation to the General Assembly. During the discussion we were able to develop effective strategy for our later appointment with DOT Commissioner Wayne Shackleford, and talk about other issues relating to Forsyth County. We feel strongly that all of Forsyth County’s elected officials should work together to address the concerns of our rapidly growing county and preserve the quality of life enjoyed by its residents. Commissioners Keiffer and Jenkins’ effort to join us reflects a shared belief in this assertion. We look forward to future meet ings with Mr. Keiffer and Mr. Jenkins that will hopefully include their colleagues on the Board of Commissioners. Senator Casey Cagle - 48th p Paw, you forgot to change \ the rooster to ( / Daylight Savings time! ) fl Kf/////A '' riiW/MKK y U —=—=j ill I I'M ~~ ~ Ex-rivals Howard & Barnes form new team The oncoming Republican hordes have sent a clear message to Georgia Democrats: Unify or fade away. Some leading Democrats showed this week that they understood the warning and were ready to do something about it. Supporters of Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard, D-Decatur, persuaded Rep. Roy Barnes, D- Mableton, to drop out of the governor’s race and run instead for lieutenant governor. The move leaves Howard with only one potential primary opponent, Labor Commissioner David Poythress. Howard’s strategists doubt Poythress can raise the millions needed for an effective primary campaign. By contrast, a Howard-Barnes primary battle would have been expensive and mean. Polls show that Howard was far ahead of Barnes, but Barnes has the capaci ty to raise money and launch a searing attack on any rival. The Democratic prima ry would have produced a nominee with a depleted war chest and a battered persona. Now Howard appears to have a relatively easy shot at winning the Democratic prima ry for governor. Understandably, he has only kind words for his former rival, now “my very good friend” Barnes. Howard spoke in glowing terms of a Howard-Barnes “ticket,” a com bination that would appeal to a wide spec trum of Georgia voters. So what does Barnes’ decision to run for Senator Billy Ray - 49th Rep. Mike Evans - 28th Rep. Keith Breedlove - 85th No, Forsyth isn’t ready for growth DEAR EDITOR, It’s March of 1997, and the sub ject line is “We’re first in growth; but we’re not ready”. About a year ago there was a neighborhood effort to slow the rate of growth in our area. We met with a then prospective developer and left with frustration (he wasn’t really interested). When we went to the next local government meeting (I don’t re-call the functional title) to protest the zoning change based on inadequate infrastructure issues, I learned why the developer wasn’t concerned about our inputs. This committee listened to us for a awhile then told us our concerns were not valid inputs to this commit tee’s responsibilities. The zoning change was allowed. Who in Local Government is responsible? We citi zens need help in knowing how to make effective inputs to our County Officials. It didn’t take a rocket scientist, or engineer, to know a year ago the county was growing faster than it could support. Traffic was congest ed, schools were overflowing, the water system was undersized, county services for road and ditch mainte nance didn’t exist, etc,. are we better off today? What does it take for our County Officials to listen to the present county residents? They continually prove to us by their decisions, they , Bill Shipp lieutenant governor portend? First, it dashes the ambitions of at least a half dozen other Democrats who have said they intend to seek the job. Barnes says he is prepared to spend at least $2 million on winning the primary. No one has come close to spending that sum on a campaign for lieutenant governor. Howard shelled out a total of $2 million in 1990 for his primary, runoff and general election bids. Gov. Zell Miller spent far less on his four elections as the lieutenant gov ernor. Os the other Democrats mentioned for lieutenant governor, only Sen. Mark Taylor of Albany appears to have the wherewithal to match Barnes in the campaign-cash department. It is uncertain whether Taylor will finally qualify for the post. He is said to be considering a campaign for insurance commissioner. The Barnes-Howard ploy leaves Republicans in a difficult position. The work for someone other than the average homeowner/ resident. We have lost through the deci sions that have been made, and allowed, what used to be a desirable home environment. We need to take action to not only stop this erosion, but also to reclaim what brought us to this county! I hope this input helps! Alan Schaaf Alpharetta, Ga. There are good young people DEAR EDITOR, Saturday afternoon I was doing some yard work, cleaning out leaves, pulling weeds, cutting dead limbs, and attempting to make a bed to plant wildflowers, etc., when a car filled with young men drove up and Letter policy Do you agree? Do you disagree? The Forsyth County News welcomes our readers’ opinions on issues of public con cern. Letters must be signed and include hill address and a daytime and evening phone number for verification. Names and hometowns of letter writers will be included for publication, without exception. Telephone numbers will not be published. Letters, which are routinely edited and often condensed, should be limited to 350 words. The same writer or group may only submit one letter per month for consideration for publication. Deadline for submitting a letter to be considered for publication is noon on Wednesday prior to the Sunday publication. Letters to the Editor are published only on Sundays. We don’t publish poetry or copies of letters sent elsewhere, and generally don’t publish letters concerning consumer complaints. Letters should be mailed to: Forsyth County News P. O. Box 210 Cumming, Ga 30128 or hand deliver letters to the business office, 121 Dahlonega St or fax to: 770-889-6017 Letters unsigned and incorrectly identified will be withheld. asked if they could help with any chores. At first I was frightened, because these days it’s hard to find anyone who “GOES ABOUT DOING GOOD.” After asking some questions and getting very positive answers I relaxed and let them help with some difficult work. Now when I enjoy the wildflowers they made possible, I will think of them and ask God to bless them wherever they are, because it was a “Band of Angels” that made it possible, not only I, but my neighbors can enjoy the beauty of the flowers year after year. The moral to this is that there are still good young people out there! Just when you give up hope, some one like this comes along and restores your faith. I praise and thank Dr. Bob Jolly Minister, First Baptist Church, for having them and to me they are and odds-on favorite to win the GOPgubernato rial nomination is Attorney General Michael Bowers. Yet Bowers may face a bruishg primary against millionaire businestman Guy Millner or some other challengr from the party’s fiercely pro-life sector. There is irony here. Mani observers agree that a Republican (Millmr or former state Sen. Johnny Isakson) wodd have won the U.S. Senate race in 1996, if the GOP could have avoided a primary. Instead, Millner won the Republican nomination only after a costly fight against Isakson. A Democrat, former Secretary of State Max Cleland, prevailed n the general election partly because he hai no primary opposition to siphon off his mmey and pop ularity. Watch what happens now in the Republican ranks. Bowers and state GOP Chairman Rusty Paul will tun up the heat on fellow party leaders to dis:ourage prima ry opposition to Bowers. Tiey will try to chill Millner’s plan to run agin. They also will do their tarnedest to see that Barnes’ fellow Cobbcountian, state Senate Minority Leader Chuck Clay, R- Marietta, remains a Repullican candidate for lieutenant governor. Ttey need Clay to make certain heavily Rfpublican Cobb County stays in the GOP f»ld. Conventional See SHIPP, Page 9A will always be ny “Band of Angels” Evelyn Grossman Cumming, Ga. Thanks to sheriff DEAR EDITOR, It is most gratifying to see an elected official pursue his campaign promises with the dedication and commitment shown by Sheriff Denny Hendrix. I just wanted to publicly express my appreciation for all that he and the members of his department are doing to provide us with a safer, bet ter community. We are fortunate to have him in Forsyth County...and others in office would do well to follow his example. James N. Parkman Cumming, Ga.