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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. Letter policy The Forsyth County News welcomes your SSBK opinions on issues of public concern. Letters must be signed and include / full address and a daytime and evening phone number for verifica- J 1 tion. Names and hometowns of let- j J /A ter writers will be included for pub- [w / lication without exception. i ! Telephone numbers will not be pub- lished. , Letters should be limited to 350 up- jA (V words and may be edited or con- y densed. The same writer or group may only f\ iMBj \ submit one letter pa- month for consideration. Letters must be submitted by noon Wednesday for Sunday publication. We do not p' publish poetry or blanket letters and generally do not publish letters concerning consumer complaints. Unsigned or incorrectly identi- fled letters will be withheld. Mail letters to the Forsyth County News, P.O. Box 210, Cumming, GA 30028, hand deliver to 302 Old Buford Road, fax to (770) 889-6017 or email to editor@forsythnews.com. On your payroll CITY COUNCIL Mayor, H. Ford Gravitt P.O. Box 3177 Cumming, GA 30028 (770)887-4342 Mayor Pro-Tem, Lewis Ledbetter 205 Mountain Brook Drive Cumming, GA 30040 (770)887-3019 Ralph Perry 1420 Pilgrim Road Cumming, GA 30040 (770)887-7474 Quincy Holton 103 Hickory Ridge Drive Cumming, GA 30040 (770)887-5279 Rupert Sexton 705 Pine Lake Drive Cumming, GA 30040 (770)887-4332 John Pugh 10813th Street Cumming, GA 30040 (770)887-3342 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS John Kieffer, Post 1 4403 Pine Tree Close Cumming, GA 30040 889-3255 office, (770) 886-2810 Chairman Bill Jenkins, Post 2 430 Oakleaf Trail Suwanee, GA 30174 (770)887-0935 office, (770) 886-2809 Michael Bennett, Post 3 4301 Post Road Cumming, GA 30040 (770)889-4515 office, (770) 781-2101 William “Andy” Anderson, Post 4 9740 Misty Cove Lane Gainesville, GA 30506 (770)889-1829 office, (770) 886-2806 Julian Bowen, Post 5 5035 Pilgrim Point Road Cumming, GA 30041 (770)887-0784 office, (770) 886-2802 BOARD OF EDUCATION Chairman Ben Benson 1265 Dahlonega Highway Cumming, GA 30040 (770)889-9892 Vice-Chairman Paul Kreager 9810 Kings Road Gainesville, GA 30506 (770)889-9971 Don Hendricks 5985 Polo Drive Cumming, GA 30040 (770)889-2909 Sherry Sagemiller 1460 Squire Lane Cumming, GA 30040 (770) 887-8388 Eddie Taylor 4195 Morningside Drive Cumming, GA 30040 (770)887-4405 NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell 200 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Atlanta: 100 Colony Square, Suite 300, 1175 Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30361 Telephone: (202) 224-3643; Atlanta: (404)347- 2202 Washington: (202) 224-3643 U.S. Senator Max Cleland 75 Spring Street Suite 1700 Atlanta, GA 30303 Telephone: (404)331-4811 Washington: (202)224-3521 Fax: (202) 2240072 U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, 9th District 2437 Raybum House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 Gainesville: P.O. Box 1015, Gainesville, GA 30503 Gainesville, (770) 535-2592 Washington: (202) 225-5211 Fax:(202)225-8272 STATE REPRESENTATIVES Senator Billy Ray, 48th District State Capitol, Suite 327, Legislative Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334 (fax) (404) 656- 6581 Telephone: (404) 6560048 (office) or (770) 822-0900 email: bray @legis.state, ga. us * Senator Casey Cagle, 49th District 325-B Legislative Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334 (tax) (404) 657-1424 Telephone: (404) 6560041. Rep. Mike Evans, 28th District 18 Capitol Square, Legislative Office Building, Room 604 Atlanta, GA 30334 Telephone: (404) 6560265 (tax) (404) 463-7652 email: mevans2B@mind spring.com Rep. Bobby Reese, 85th District State Capitol Suite 511 Legislative Office Building 18 Capitol Square Atlanta, GA 30334 Telephone: (404) 656-6372 f^cf??£S\oßW y\> ° ■ • ' "It may be a lot of W not ale out it sure is 7^''“''"" colorful to watch!” Lawn mower racing —a cutting-edge sport Even after all these years, there’s just no getting around it: Ya gotta pace yourself when you’re the fami ly yard guy. After all, it’s still blazing hot outside. And mowing grass, despite the proliferation of riding aids, remains the thankless task of old. Around and around the yard, circuit after circuit, narrowing that wedge of untamed turf until fina’ly the side yard hammock and an icy cold one are earned, is a routine familiar to anyone bearing a honey-do scroll. All in all, a day to dread. Man-o-man, what most men wouldn’t give to urge those trudging beasts a bit faster, shearing nearer their liquid refreshment goal. Some, it seems, are a little more determined and, yes, bored than others. And so they’ve upped the stakes, adding incentive and challenge to ease the mind-numbing monotony. Up the stakes? To cutting the grass? Oh, yes, indeedy. Across America, lawn mower racing yes, you heard me right, racing has taken a foothold in suburban and rural communities among the mechanically handy and otherwise speed deprived. But, ah, Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore. These aren’t just any lawn mowers, despite what might have been their humble begin nings. Nope, each is a tinkerer’s heav en, souped up and re-pieced togeth er in backyard toolfests to reach speeds routinely exceeding 30 miles an hour and sometimes twice that. Now that’s a pretty good clip for a clipper. It’s not without its potential per ils, mind you. Whipping around dirt tracks on the puttering would-be stock cars, drivers take precautions, sporting long-sleeved shirts, long pants, gloves, over-the-ankle boots and full-face helmets in their pursuit of the turf trophy. This, despite the fact that each mower’s blades have been removed and, for added measure, a disengage switch tethered to each racer stops the motor in the event of a mishap. Indeed, not everyone who starts makes it to the finish. Machines have been known to throw a wheel, flipping passengers up into the air like so many shards of splintered grass. Well, OK, they more likely just halt altogether or topple riders on the ground, occasionally bruised but not particularly battered. Still, someone could get killed, say the sport’s naysayers and, yes, as with virtually everything, there are some of those. The companies that produce 1.6 million riding lawn mowers each year have turned their back on the growing race trend, adopting a counter resolution through their trade association, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute. This is, after all, a litigious soci ety and their mamas didn’t raise no dummies. Still, fun is fun and boys will be boys and machines, they was made for racing. And so the trend, pur ported to have begun in 1973 when friends in an English pub commiser ated about the rising cost of motor sports and decided to race their own lawn mowers as an inexpensive hobby, is thriving. The United States Lawn Mower Racing Association was formed eight years ago and, today, its Web site, letsmow.com, boasts more than a thousand members, male and female, in the U.S., Australia, Canada, England and New Zealand. I I Not surprisingly, the movement has been largely spearheaded by a corporate sponsor with a promotion stake in the pastime’s success. Perhaps a bit more unexpected is that the company is not John Deere, Snapper, Dynamark or Murray. Instead, the Gold Eagle Company in Chicago, makers of gasoline additive STA-BIL, spurred the grassroots movement and orga nized this year’s 20 USLMRA regional events, including a massive Labor Day national championship in Illinois. At that event, the youngest scheduled racer is the minimum 16 and the eldest, 82. “It’s really about what we call serious fun,” says Bruce Kaufman, president of the association and director of the STA-BIL national racing series, which will return to the Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 20. “The atmosphere is centered around fun but, trust me, when that ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ Find out what the candidates 111 HAVE TO SAY ON ISSUES IMPORTANT TO YOU! 2000 Candidates Forum Sponsored ry The Forsyth County News PrestioeVision 4 Candidates participating in each forum will be questioned by representatives of the Forsyth County News and PrestigeVlsion 4. Each forum will be broadcast live on Prestige Vision 4, and will be covered in news stories appearing in the Forsyth County News. Monday, June 19, 2000 8-8:15 p.m.: Candidates for Magistrate 8:15-8:45 p.m.: Board of Commissioners District 2 8:50-10 p.m.: Board of Commissioners District 4 Tuesday, June 20, 2000 8-8:10 p.m.: Candidates for Coroner 8:10-9 p.m.: Board of Education District 5 9-10 p.m.: Board of Commissioners District 5 Wednesday, June 21, 2000 8-8:10 p.m.: Candidates for Superior Court Judge 8:10-8:50 p.m.: Board of Education District 3 9-10 p.m.: Republican Candidates for Sheriff Thursday, June 22, 2000 7:30-8:15 p.m.: Candidates for State House District 28 8:20-8:50 p.m.: Candidates for State House District 85 8:55-9:25 p.m.: Candidates for State Senate District 48 9:30-10 p.m.: Candidates for State Senate District 49 All forums held in the commission meeting room of the county administration building and open to the public. All candidates in contested races in the July 18 primary have been invited to participate. Forsyth County News III FORSYTH COUHTY NEWS - Tbur»4«y, Jun* IS, MOO— I green flag goes down it’s every bit as serious as NASCAR racing. Some of them are racing at 60, 70 miles per hour. “Still, you can’t help but have fun with competitors like the Turfinator, Sodzilla, Mr. Mowjangles, and the Mowtivator,” says Kaufman, chuckling. “The underpinning continues to be based on inexpensive, family fun motor sports. I'm convinced that’s what separates us from everybody else.’’ For those who prefer the novelty of the pokey backyard hubby, urging ol’ faithful upward toward 6 mph, the stock class permits no alterations beyond blade removal. “We’ve designed the races to cater to anybody who fits in either end of that thrill spectrum,” says Kaufman. “In the top class, they blueprint and do top secret stuff we don’t even know about and they go 60. You’ll see guys and gals in weekend warrior motif from their Cheryl Rhodes backyard and others in pro racing team garb. But, as we say, the mow the merrier.” Still, after the trophy has been awarded and bragging rights secured, there’s still that same inspi ration that generated the craze. “I was bored to tears last time I had to cut the grass at home,” con-, fesses Alan “The Wormburner” Elder, a Gainesville resident and member of the Northeast Georgia Lawnmower Racing Association. “I kept expecting someone to come out and announce, ‘Let the mowing begin!”’ No doubt the wives would be happy to oblige. PAGE 9A