Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Thur»day, November 21,2002
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Janet Standeven’s sixth grade class frofri Pinecrest Academy gained some insight into how local government operates last week when
they conducted a “mock” board of commissioners meeting in the Forsyth County Administration Building. They are, from left, Margot
Howard, Rebecca Pol, Sarah Kelley, Joe Zuniga and John Blanford.
Pinecrest Board of Commissioners
Students gain hands-on experience in running local government
Janet Standeven’s sixth grade
class at Pinecrest Academy got some
hands-on experience in what it’s like
to govern a growing county such as
Forsyth last week when they con
ducted a “mock” board of commis
sioners meeting in the County
Administration Building.
Sarah Kelley gaveled the early
morning meeting to order and, fol
lowing the invocation and Pledge of
Allegiance, led fellow Commiss
ioners Rebecca Pol, Sarah Kelley,
SFHS students ‘close the loop’ on America Recycles Day
The students of South Forsyth
County High School STEP
Environmental Club observed the
sixth annual America Recycles Day
last Saturday by conducting an
event called “Close the Loop” in
local supermarkets.
On the calendar
Nov. 25
• Board of Commissioners:
Regular meeting 5 p.m. Public hear
ings 7 p.m. Commissioners Meeting
Room, second floor. Administration
Building.
Agenda: www.forsythco.com/-
agenda of see the Sunday edition of
the Forsyth County News
Nov. 26
• Planning Commission: Regular
meeting 6:30 p.m. Commissioners
Meeting Room, second floor,
Administration Building.
Nov. 28, 29
• Thanksgiving Holidays. All
county government offices closed.
They will reopen at their regular
times on Monday, Dec. 2.
Dec. 2
• Board of Elections: Regular
meeting, 8:30 a.m„ second floor,
Administration Building.
Dec. 9
• Board of Commissioners:
with material provided by the Forsyth County public information office, i
BRINGING GOXTRNMENT CLOSER TO THE PEOPLE
-OH ACCESS ON THE INTEHNt www.forsythco.com
Joe Zuniga and John Blanford in a
lively discussion of the “critical”
issues facing Forsyth County.
Most of the “commissioners”
were chosen to serve because they
are members of Pinecrest Academy’s
Student Council.
“The purpose of the exercise was
to have our students get a hands-on
experience with local government
and to allow them to take a personal
interest in the issues of concern to
our citizens,” Standeven said.
The students’ goal was to edu
cate the public about recycling
locally and to encourage the pur
chase of products that are made
from recyclable materials.
The students encouraged store
customers to complete pledge cards
Meals-On-Wheels program
is seeking more volunteers
Forsyth County Senior Center
Director Shelly Johnson said last
week that there is a critical short
age of volunteers to support the
county’s Meals on Wheels pro
gram.
The program is responsible for
home delivery of approximately
135 meals daily to homebound res
idents of Forsyth County who are
over the age of 60.
“We’re experiencing a volun
teer shortage for our meal routes
and we’re asking for help from
church organizations, civic groups
or anyone who might be interested
in assisting us,” Johnson said last
week.
Regular meeting 5 p.m. Public hear
ings 7 p.m. Commissioners Meeting
Room, second floor, Administration
She added that it was a very posi
tive learning experience for her class
and one that she would highly rec
ommend to other educators.
“They were so excited about it
that when they returned to school,
the boys’ class wanted to continue
the debate within the parliamen
tary format,” she said. “They said
they never really understood what
the board of commissioners’ respon
sibilities are. Now they know. It was
a very special opportunity for some
to help Make every day America
Recycles Day.
The pledge cards will be entered
in a state and national prize draw
ing. Winners will be chosen in
December.
If you are interested in pledging
“If we had 10-20 committed
volunteers who could take a route
every other day and maybe one
person who could pinch hit in case
one of the volunteers couldn’t
make it, we would be in good
shape, “ said Jackie Collins, who
works at the senior center.
Training is provided for volun
teers, who spend about two hours
each day from Monday through
Friday delivering meals throughout
the Forsyth County.
Anyone interested in becoming
a volunteer should contact Johnson
or Collins at (770) 781 -2178 or via
email at sajohnson@forsythco.com
or j tcollins @ forsythco.com.
Building.
Agenda: www.forsythco.om/-
agenda of see the Sunday edition of
future voters.”
One of the most valuable lessons
her students learned, Standeven said,
is that tax money is not free dollars.
“They learned that taxes are paid
by citizens and that commissioners
must follow a budget when spending
tax dollars,” she said. “They also
learned that leaders often make
important decisions and choose
between many good options and that
decision-making can be very, very
difficult.”
online or in finding out more about
recycled products, and how you can
make a difference by recycling in
the community, please visit
www.georgiarecycles.org or call
Keep Forsyth County Beautiful at
(770) 205-4573.
the Forsyth County News
Dec. 17
• Parks and Recreation
Department: Ribbon Cutting for the
county’s new recreation center, 3
p.m. Central Park
• Planning Commission: Regular
meeting 6:30 p.m. Commissioners
Meeting Room, second floor.
Administration Building.
Dec. 23
• Board of Commissioners:
Regular meeting 5 p.m. Public hear
ings 7 p.m. Commissioners Meeting
Room, second floor, Administration
Building.
Agenda:
www.forsythco.com/agenda of see
the Sunday edition of the Forsyth
County News.
Give us your thoughts
“Inside Forsyth County” is a
weekly look at your county gov-
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Szabo named
new head
ofKFCB .
Jennifer Szabo has recently been
named the new resource coordinator in
the Engineering Department of Forsyth
County Government. As resource
'coordinator, Szabo will also be the
director of Keep Forsyth County
Beautiful, an affili
ate of Keep Georgia
Beautiful. Her res
ponsibilities will
include coordinating
and implementing
programs for the
purpose of public
participation and
awareness of beauti
fication, litter reduc
tion and recycling in
Forsyth County.
Szabo graduated from Rutgers
University in New Jersey in 1998 with
a degree in Anthropology and Biology.
Prior to moving to Georgia, she
worked as a park naturalist of a nature
and science center in Mountainside,
N.J., where she coordinated and devel
oped a variety of environmental educa
tion programs for adults and children.
In addition, she supervised scout ori
enteering classes and hikes with an
emphasis on New Jersey ecology.
When she moved to Georgia she
worked for the Environmental Services
Department of the City of Alpharetta
and facilitated a series of outdoor sum
mer programs to teach children about »
the natural history of Alpharetta’s ;
parks. Most recently, she has worked
in the field of consulting where she
performed studies corresponding to the
National Environmental Policy Act to
assess environmental, ecological and
historical impact of proposed construc
tion on undeveloped sites.
As resource coordinator Jennifer .
hopes to increase the environmental
mindedness of people in Forsyth
County and stimulate public involve
ment and education. Szabo welcomes
any inquires about volunteering with
Keep Forsyth County Beautiful and/or
the recycling programs in the county. ,
ernment provided by the Forsyth
County Office of Public
Information and the Forsyth i
County News. The goal of this
page is to help inform and educate '•
residents about what’s going on
with county government. , >
If you’ve got an opinion about ;
our page, please take a minute to
let us know.
You may contact the Office of
Public Information:
By mail
110 E. Main
St., Suite 210, Cumming,
GA 30040
I '*
By telephQne_ '■
(770) 781-3088
By fax >
(770) 781-2199
By email
forsythpr@forsythco.com
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