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*Ol F 006130 12/31/20 ' j I K 1 a GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Forsyth Count 1 sfa— J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J Vol. 93, No. 189 Voters to decide if new libraries will be built ByTodd'fruelove Staff Writer The Forsyth County Public Library Board wants $6.79 million to build a new library in north Forsyth and to expand the main library in Cumming. The board on Monday unani mously approved Library Director Jon McDaniel’s recommendation to request the capital funds from the county if voters approve an extension of the county’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. The Forsyth County Board of Volunteers make holidays happier for Forsyth families By Todd Truelove Staff Writer With the American economy in a downturn, the holiday season this year will be tough for many families. But help is available in Forsyth County. Hands Across Forsyth, which was founded in 1991 to connect donors and volunteers with fami lies in need during Thanksgiving and Christmas, is in the midst of its busiest holiday season ever. According to program manag er Kerry Rosewall, more local res idents have applied for assistance this year than in previous ones. “As of today, we’ve had over 340 applications,” she said in an interview late last week. “People that have never had to apply for assistance before are coming to us this year.” For first time applicants, being in the posi tion of having to ask for help has been difficult. One woman whose husband was laid off in March was in tears. “She said, ‘We’re living off of our life savings and it’s about gone now,”’ Rosewall said. Last Thursday and Friday, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office picked up boxes of food that county schools had collected for Thanksgiving and took them to The Place, off Antioch Road, where Hands Across Forsyth is now located. Rosewall praised the schools for their contributions. South Forsyth High School alone donated 60 boxes of food. “South Forsyth I think it was the Key Club that sponsored See HANDS, Page 4A Steps in the right direction Five-year-olds Jack Hammonds and Kyle Briskin learn some early lessons about keeping their hearts healthy by participating in the American Heart Walk at Central Park. Biting winds kept many local residents inside on Sunday. But nothing could hold back 50-75 brave hearts who participated. A group of local Weight Watchers joined the annual three-mile walk for the first time,raising more than $2,000 for the North Georgia Chapter of the American Heart Association. More, Page 3A Photo/Jonathan Phillips Missed paper policy: For a replacement paper, call 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. -1 p.m. on Sunday - (770) 887-3126. Copyright ©2002 Forsyth County N»w« [MI Commissioners plans to address the SPLOST extension Dec. 9 and is expected to call for a special election in March 2003. The new library in north Forsyth would be built on four acres near the Hampton community off Ga. 400 and Settingdown Road. It would cost $4.83 million to build, according to figures presented at Monday’s meet ing. The library expansion in Cumming would move administra tive offices and allow additional pub lic space in the main part of the building. That improvement would HANDS ACROSS FORSYTH i vi |r> WL < liSI Photos/Audra Perry Hands exchanged cans of food to other hands Saturday at The Place as volunteers put donations of food on the shelves. Becomes Christmas sponsor Hands Across Forsyth is looking for groups and individuals who would like to become sponsors to brighten Christmas for county children from needy families this season. Sponsors will be given Christmas “wish lists” filled out by families listing three gifts each child in the family would like to receive. Kerry Rosewall, of Hands Across Forsyth, recommended sponsors spend SSO-100 per child. “It’s really up to the sponsor how much they do,” she said. Those interested can call (770) 781-8846 to sign up. FT ““ INDEX Abby. 6A Classifieds •....■«...................78 Deaths 2A Events 9A Horoscope 6A Legals— 3B Opinion 10A Sports IB WEDNESDAY November 20,2002 i Local fugitive arrested in Tennessee. cost $1.96 million. If commissioners approve that funding, pending voter approval of the SPLOST extension, library staff also would apply for $3.12 million in state grants for the projects. If that state funding were approved, it would be used in place of some of the local funding and leave about $3 million in reserves toward the con struction cost for a fourth county library in southwest Forsyth. An additional $2 million in state funding would be needed to con struct that facility, McDaniel said. A precise location for the fourth Dear Abby dishes out good advice. Page6A library has not been determined because of uncertainty about the pos sible site for the proposed Northern Arc. Should commissioners decline the request for the full $6.79 million in capital funds, the library board will ask only for the money to construct the new Hampton Public Library. Other business addressed by the board at its November regularly monthly meeting included a $20,000 grant award from Georgia Public Library Services. The grant will help fund a new program the Transition Center r hcv’ r ■■ 50 Cents Sunny I I "’M Wr'' « High in the low 60s. Low in the low 40s. SPORTS, IB 2002-03 girls basketball preview administered by the Forsyth County School System for non-English speaking students and families in the old Cumming Elementary School located on Elm Street. Much of the money more than $12,000 will be used to purchase learning aids including bilingual pic ture books and adult fiction and non fiction books in Spanish. Other features the grant will help fund include a language lab and a telephone translation service allow ing staff and patrons access to live translators for 140 different lan guages. Official vote count Public Service Commission District 4 • Angela Speir (R): 924,015 (47.6 percent) Lauren “Bubba” McDonald (D): 911,772 (47.0 percent) Jim Harris (Lib.): 105,126 (5.4 percent) ‘The people have spoken,’ No recount in PSC race By Susan Norman Editor The state’s “official” tally of cer tified results from the Nov. 5 general election have widened the gap between local resident Lauren “Bubba” McDonald Jr. and the winner in the Public Service Commission District 4 race. So McDonald said Monday that he will not seek a statewide recount after all. “I have confi dence in the vot ing system, and I don’t see any need to go to the expense to do that,” he said. “The office belongs to the people, and the people have spo ken.” Last week, the vote difference was about 8,000. On Monday, after all 159 counties in the state had certified their results to the state, the differ ence was 12,243. McDonald, the incumbent Democrat, received 911,772 votes, which was McDonald State races To see the state’s official vote totals from the Nov. 5 general elec tion, go to the ’ Georgia Secretary of ‘ State Web site at www.sos.state, ga.us/elec tions/ and clicK “Georgia Election Results” in the index on the left-hand side of the page. 47 percent of the vote. Republican challenger Angela Speir of Gwinnett County received 924,015 votes, or 47.6 percent of those cast. Jim Harris, the Libertarian candi date in the race, received 105,126 or 5.4 percent. McDonald said he doesn’t think a recount would change the outcome, particularly since the difference haS grown. “It’s been a nice ride.” LAKE LANIER LEVELS Date Level Nov. 15 1063.12 ft NOV. 16 1063.34 ft Nov. 17 1063.66 ft NOVJB ft