Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 12A
> FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, Jmuary 10,1WB
SESSION from 1A
- . Evans said he will support legis
lation to fund unifying the courts in
Forsyth County.
- The new system would dissolve
the current superior, state and juve
nile courts and establish a criminal,
• civil and family court.
According to the proposal, the
change would create a more effi
cient use of judicial resources and
allow the same judge to preside
over a single family’s cases within
the family division. The state judi-
* cial council voted last year to sup
• port the idea after Superior Court
Judge Stan Gault formally submit
' tefl a project proposal in July.
State leaders will be asked to
allocate $53,944 for a circuit court
administrator. This person would be
, responsible for implementing and
; evaluating the project.
‘' Cagle and Evans agreed the idea
erf alternative schools would come
' up this session, and both voiced
‘ ' their support of the concept.
. ■ 4-
OSTAL from 1A
Increases, the cost of each addition
al ounce falls from 23 cents to 22
cents, keeping the price of a two
ounce letter at 55 cents. In addition
to changes in First-Class rates, there
will also be modest increases in the
ebst of mailing Express Mail (the
Half-pound rate for Next Day
Service to Addressee increases
from $10.75 to $11.75) and Priority
(up to 2 pounds increases
from $3 to $3.20).
Complete rate and fee informa
tion is available from the USPS
web site at http://www.usps.com or
by calling (800) ASK-USPS.
Until new 33-cents stamps are
printed, post offices will sell two
■lt „ ■ .
i MOON I
I NAILS
\ & TANNING BEDS
770-889*6388
MANICURE &
PEDICURE
■ '2ST
ACTYUC s<f<)9s
5S CH *l4”
1 655 Atlanta Rd.
I ■ (Behind Chick-Fil-A)
■ 11 - - -*
Sports Medicine
>' r MBBB
mHUHI
MiMa I
Hogan, M.D. |
FKCSfO |
HHmLjn ''
/ , . NEW HELP FOR RARE BONE
DISEASE
It Is estimated that between
20,000 and 50,000 people in this
’’ country have osteogenesis
Imperfecta, which Is a genetic
t , disorder that takes several
forms and can cause those
' afflicted with It to suffer hun
dreds of fractures. As a result,
<■> L “brittle bone disease” (es It ie
. t commonly called) causes short
stature due to compressed and
fractured vertebrae. Until now,
ii’ no treatment has been very
successful In treating the dls
, ease; however, a bonebuilding
5. drug called pamlndronate has
recently proven itself success
, i * ful In Increasing bone mass,
,« reducing pain, and maintaining
■' * growth in children with osteo
* •* genesis imperfecta. In a trial
r" ’ involving 30 children with the
, disease, the drug enabled four
to give up use of their wheel
chairs. If you’d like to learn
more about pamlndronate, call
HOGAN ORTHOPAEDIC AND
SPORTS MEDICINE at (770)
• 880-7465. We specialise In the
treatment of acute and chronic
> t musculoskeletal disorders, soft
“ tissue Injuries, and nourotogl
s ' ‘ cal disorders. We moke a spe
>• ‘ ■' cial effort to explain everything
zi to our patients regarding your .
. care In order to provide quality
orthopaedic cervices In a pipes
*’• ant, efficient, and friendly
< •uitOSpnOoUe raminaronax©
u > works by slowing bone
• imnov©r.Vrp©n oy sppoinirncnx,
s 1 iwo are located at 634 Peachtree
Pkwy, 8100, 1/2 mile South of
' Ga. 400 (exit 13) on Hwy 141.
“We have to do something about
improving our school systems,”
Evans said. “It borders on criminal
what some of our schools are doing
and the product they are turning
out.”
Ray also supports the idea of
alternative schools, and since
Forsyth County has one already, he
said that possibly state funds could
be allocated to pay for it. That
would free up local funds for other
needs.
Evans said a voucher program
could provide children with a
choice to attend private schools,
thereby improving public systems
like the one in Atlanta. Asked if
competition alone could improve
ailing schools, Evans said,
“Absolutely ... competition is the
greatest catalyst for positive change
you can get.”
Cagle suggested discipline prob
lems need to be addressed through
alternative schools. “We need to
recently issued stamps. The “H”
stamp (33-cent value) features
Uncle Sam’s top hat and the words
“First-Class Rate.” The “make-up”
stamp (1-cent value) depicts a
rooster-topped weather vane. Both
stamps are available now.
Who's being honored as the 1998 Grocer of the Year?
Look for the answer in next week's paper.
turn alternative schools into oppor
tunity schools,” he said.
Rep. Bobby Reese said another
education issue will be the addition
al funding of adult education and
technical schools.
All of Forsyth County’s delega
tion agreed that health care as it
relates to Health Management
Organizations and Medicaid will be
another hot topic.
“A good bit of energy is being
expended in trying to bring about
more choice for patients as it relates
to managed care,” Cagle said.
In fact, Evans said HMO reform
might be where some of the biggest
battles are fought this year, due to
the sheer number of lobbyists on
hand to sway the minds of legisla
tors.
Evans said he is looking for
ward to working with the new gov
ernor since he and Barnes estab
lished a good relationship during
the time they served together as rep
resentatives. “Roy has the potential
to be a good governor,” he said. “He
was easily one of the more conserv
ative Democrats in the house.”
Also, Ray achieved some influ
ential committee appointments this
session, being one of only three
Republicans on the prestigious
Rules Committee. He also serves
on the Natural Resources,
Transportation and Judiciary com
mittees.
BOARD from 3A
The contract for construction was awarded to
Sorrells Construction Company in the amount of
$323,000.
• Purchased 170 acres of property between Hwy.
306 and Ga. 400 at a cost of $3.9 million. The prop
erty will be used for the Water Treatment Plant and
for other purposes.
• Resurfaced 51 county roads totaling 38 miles at a
cost of $1.3 million. DOT provided financial assis
tance for resurfacing of these roads.
• The Road Department received and processed
more than 2,400 work requests from county residents
for maintenance and repair of county roads.
• Approximately 26 miles of new roads were
accepted for county maintenance during 1998.
• Completed the following projects under the
Capital Improvement Program:
A. Completed nine intersection projects.
B. Completed four culvert projects.
C. Installed guardrails on 10 county roads at a cost
of $303,511.
D. Contracted for the installation of traffic signals at
six intersections at a cost of $120,000.
• The Dial-A-Ride Program completed 25,629 trips
for Forsyth County residents. The program complet
ed 76,114 miles and carried 5,991 passengers in
1998, of whom 3,493 were elderly and 1,260 were
disabled.
• The Fleet Maintenance Division completed 1,867
work orders for vehicle and equipment repairs and
maintenance. The Fleet Maintenance Division had
only one job that was out-sourced during 1998 and
that was for a bucket truck repair that required a cer
tified technician.
• Began the construction of a recycling/convenience
center on Old Atlanta Road. Sorrells Construction
Company is the contractor. The cost of the facility
will be approximately $200,000 and the anticipated
completion date is February 1999.
• The Water Department added 2,500 new water
customers during 1998. Water loss has improved con
siderably, dropping to 8 percent from a high of 20
percent.
• A total of 21.29 miles of water lines were com
pleted in 1998 and 6.81 miles of sewer lines. The
total cost of these lines was $2.5 million and was
paid for by the developers.
• The Planning & Development Department issued
a total of 4,520 building permits, performed 38,522
building inspections and issued 4,438 Business
License Registrations. The Department processed
109 zoning applications during 1998 and 575 devel
opment plans.
• Created and implemented a centralized purchasing
department in 1998 which should result in savings in
future years.
• Adopted a revised Comprehensive Master Land
Use Plan and transmitted to Georgia Mountains
Regional Development Center (RDC).
• Awarded a bid to H.D.R. Engineering to begin
design work for widening of McGinnis Ferry Road to
the Chattahoochee River (Gwinnett County line) to
State Route 141 (Peachtree Parkway).
• Completed design work for widening of
McFarland Road from McGinnis Ferry Road to State
Route 9. The Department of Transportation antici
pates letting the contract for construction in mid
-1999.
• Entered into an agreement with the Georgia
Department of Transportation for future widening of
Bethelview Road. The design contract will be award
ed in the first quarter of 1999.
• Began the conceptual design of a frontage road
connecting State Route 20 and State Route 141.
• Cooperated with the Georgia Trust for Public
Land and the property owners for the donation of a
large tract of land on Sawnee Mountain to the
Georgia Trust.