Newspaper Page Text
Youth Council gets grant
■ By Beth L. Chester .
, Staff Writer
♦ r
Efforts by the Cumming/For-
• syth Council on Youth volunteers
•to bring the community into The
'Family Connection’s growing,
.■state-wide network have paid off
in the form of a SIOO,OOO grant
the council will use for new pro
grams aimed at supporting area
children and families.
... The council, made up of rep
resentatives from area schools,
social work agencies, businesses
-and health organizations,
received a $25,000 start-up grant
from The Family Connection last
-year.
- But according to Council on
Youth member Debbie Rondum,
The Family Connection’s recent
decision to award the fiscal year
1999 grant makes the partnership
-Official.
“We’re very excited about it,”
-said former council president
Paula Gault, adding that council
-members presented their grant
Bonds mean water plant, park
Forsyth County will be in
greater control of its own destiny
with respect to its water supply as
the sale of nearly $47.5 million in
revenue bonds was approved
Thursday. r
The, Forsyth County Water & I
Sewerage Authority, with a freshly I
approved set of bylaws prepared I
•by county attorney Rachel Iverson, I
convened to adopt the bond resolu
tion for the sale of $47,470,000 in
water and sewerage revenue bonds/
The bonds will generate an esti
mated S3B million for water sys-i
Jem improvements. A new water)
treatment plant as well as majorj
additions to the water and sewer!
transmission capacity will be)
financed.
In addition to the infrastructure
improvements, Central Park will
be coming to Forsyth County. Park
construction, funded with Special
Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
funds, is expected to begin next
spring.
The new water plant will be
constructed on a 180-acre tract of
land between Ga. 400, Hwy. 306
Antioch Road. The facility
Will be at the center of the property
ajnd the remainder will be utilized
for recreational purposes.
‘ An entrance at Antioch Road
will likely be developed to bring
Visitors into a park and recreation
area. Closer toward Ga. 400, an
, area is designed for ballfields and
future park space, according to a
site plan prepared by CH2MHiII.
’ “Forsyth County will have its
own destiny under control,” said
Commissioner John Kieffer, a
member of the water and sewerage
authority, which includes the com
missioners and water and sewer
department director Tim Perkins.
Commissioner Lamar Suddeth
chaired the meeting in Chairman
Jenkins’ absence.
• “You, as a board, should be
vpry proud of how you have han
dled your growth,” said Bryce W.
Holcomb Jr., of Robinson-
Humphrey Company, explaining
Mow the county is saving money by
borrowing at a lower interest rate.
The lower rate - under 4.5 percent
n is made possible by the county’s
excellent credit ratings. Credited
fpr the ratings - the rapidly-grow
ing economy; an expanding prop
erty tax base; strong financial posi
tion; and a low debt burden.
• Holcomb praised the efforts of
director of finance Dick Russell
ahd the county staff for their work.
Also praised were the efforts of
Iverson; Roger Murray of King &
Spalding, the county’s bond coun
sel, who said the bond would be
validated at an Aug. 10 hearing;
GHZMHill’s Eric W. Olson and
Ken Hall; and Perkins and his staff.
• Administrative assistant Stevie
Mills said the rating saved the
county half a million dollars and
‘ opened the doors to a wider mar
ket.
. Pre-marketing of the bonds
began three weeks ago and there
has been considerable interest -
locally and beyond, Holcomb said.
- Commissioner Andy Anderson
also a water board member, anc
Kieffer said, “We’re excited with
the credit ratings landing the suc
cessful placement of the bond issue
so we get on with the development
proposal to state officials in April
and later met with the board
reviewing the application.
The Family Connection is a
collaborative effort between sev
eral state agencies and depart
ments, including those of educa
tion, human resources, medical
assistance, juvenile justice,
school readiness, planning and
budget and the Council for
Children and Families.
Locally, one of the first goals
will be to fill the full-time Family
Connection coordinator’s posi
tion, which will be funded by the
grant. Other grant funds will
expand programs offered through
the Piedmont Learning Center.
The learning center will not
only be used to educate children
with chronic discipline prob
lems, but will also offer pro
grams aimed at increasing the
number of students who enter
high school and then graduate on
time.
One new program slated to
Published June 14,1998
of our water system. We’re dedi
cated to have our new treatment
plant operational by [the] spring of
2000.”
Il 181 I
/.■ Ml I
y h i,i
Who knows? You might not see a deal
like this for another thousand years.
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start this fall will target middle
school children who have fallen
behind academically.
The hope is to help those
children catch up on reading,
writing and mathematics skills
before they enter high school and
fall farther behind, Rondum said.
An evening learning program
will offer night classes to stu
dents in danger of not graduating
on time for other reasons - such
as those who must work during
day hours and those with young
children who can’t afford tradi
tional child care.
Several other projects are in
the planning stages to address
other goals but are contingent
upon additional funding, include
a child development center and
the expansion of the mentoring
program into each elementary
and middle school.
The Council on Youth formed
in 1993 and has received funding
from the United Way of Forsyth
County and other civic groups.
Published July 19,1998
Economic growth strong in county
By Phil Hermann
News Editor
Economic development in
Forsyth County is continuing at
a strong pace, said Pat Topping
at the Board of Commissioners
at their Monday night meeting.
Topping, president of the
Cumming/Forsyth Chamber of
Commerce, reported to the board
on the county’s 1997 economic
development.
Topping said development con
tinued to be strong in the county
through the year, with the cham
ber working to bring new com
panies into the county and help
School board buys
land for primary
and middle schools
By Laura Lavezzo
Staff writer
The Board of Education announced its
acquisition of 56.8 acres of land to become the
site of a new Otwell Middle School and a new
primary school to support Cumming
Elementary.
Named “Otwell Meadows,” the land is
bound by Tribble-Gap Road. Hwy. 306, Hwy. 9
and the post office property.
Published March 18,1998
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Thur»day, January 14,1999
existing ones expand.
According to chamber statis
tics, new projects accounted for
$135 million last year in direct
investments, generating $1.17
million in additional property
tax revenue. Also for the year,
the expansion of existing busi
nesses resulted in $36.3 million
in investments and $1.5 million
in new property tax revenues.
Topping noted that the return
on the $75,000 in county funds
appropriated by the commission
to the chamber had proved to be
a great investment.
He added the chamber is focus
ing its efforts on attracting high-
New alternative school
holds groundbreaking
By Laura Lavezzo
Staff Writer
School board members and representatives from the
Central Office turned out Monday for the groundbreak
ing for the new Piedmont Learning Center (PLC).
Formerly known as the Crossroads Alternative School,
the school board voted to approve the new name in
February.
The new building will be constructed on Hwy. 9 on
the site of the new Forsyth County Schools’ Food Center
and the Central Office. It will finally give students, who
have been attending school in portable trailers, a perma
nent building.
Published March 27,1998
tech companies that bring with
them high-paying jobs and have
a low impact on infrastructure.
He also praised the commission
ers, saying, “You have played a
big. big part in the success of
this county - especially in the
area of economic development.”
He also praised the contribu
tions to the community made by
the new Forsyth County branch
of Lanier Technical Institute,
and of the more than 170 volun
teers who work with the
Chamber as members...and on an
“as-needed” basis.
Published July 17,1998
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