Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
> FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, February 15,2004
First session held to discuss greenspace
From staff reports
Around 50 people attended a
Thursday night discussion on Forsyth
County Commissioner Charlie
Laughinghouse’s greenspace initiative,
Laughinghouse said Friday.
Though no decisions were made,
Laughinghouse said the discussions were
“lively” and introduced a number of
options to achieve the goal of preserving
Justice Center meeting draws few
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt’s
advice to wait and fund new judicial facil
ities with proceeds from a sales tax, not
bonds, is not a viable alternative because
Forsyth County needs the facilities now,
according to two county officials.
Clerk of Court Doug Sorrells and
Sheriff Ted Paxton were present Thursday
at an informational meeting hosted by the
Let’s Build It Campaign Committee at
Otwell Middle School.
The two county officials refuted a
statement Gravitt made earlier in the week
at a Republican Town Hall meeting where
he said it would be better to approve sales
taxes to fund the facilities that include a
new jail and courthouse rather than go in
debt for 20 years repaying bonds.
Sorrells and Paxton disagreed.
“If you could stop everything, we
could wait,” Sorrells said. “But what’s it
going to cost us to wait?”
“All the factors [i.e. crime, population
growth] will not defer themselves,”
Paxton said. “We’ve got our back against
the wall right now.”
County voters will choose on March 2
whether $65 million in bonds will be
issued to build a courthouse, jail, parking
deck and sheriff’s office headquarters in
downtown Cumming and sheriff
precincts in the northern and southern por
tions of the county.
That price likely does not include land
that will be needed on the Cumming
square and furnishing of the new facilities.
According to numbers presented by
the committee at the meeting, construction
costs will obligate county taxpayers to an
FUNDS from 1A
needed due to expected popu
lation growth of 2,000 stu
dents. The growth alone will
cost $9.6 million in salary and
benefits.
The state Legislature is
considering the governor’s
flexibility and accountability
bill which will affect class size
and the number of teachers
needed. New requirements
reducing class size were
scheduled to go into effect in
2004-2005. The state is con
sidering postponement of the
new requirements until 2005-
2006. A postponement would
keep school systems from hav
ing to hire so many teachers
during the tight upcoming fis
cal year.
The bill as passed by the
Senate gives school systems a
two-student flexibility on class
size. According to the bill,
which is being deliberated in
the House, an individual class
room may exceed the required
class size by two students as
long as the school system
average class size meets
requirements.
Forsyth County Schools
drafted a tentative budget that
counts on the passage of these
two flexibility options.
“If those two things do not
go through, we have higher
(cost) numbers to consider,”
Norton said.
Higher numbers demand a
higher millage rate or fewer
school programs. At this point,
the Forsyth County school
9 Attention A |
All Illegal Aliens
REGISTER NOW FOR THE NEW:
GUEST-WORKER PROGRAM
Be the first to get Work Authorization and a
valid Social Security Number.
B AMERICAN IMMIGRATION SERVICES
706-581-8131
M Registration fee $25.00 per family Kd
Are you thinking of'starting a home-based business,
but are unsure of what companies are out there?
Would you like to schedule a workshop or party and earn FREE products? Whether you
want to work Part-time or Full-time, this event will have something for youl Let Dad take
care of the kids while you and your friends check out business opportunities just for youl
Date: Saturday, February 21st
Time: 10:00a.m. - 2:00p.m.
Place: AmeriSuttes @ Johns Creek
11505 Medlock Bridge Rd. (Hwy 141)
Just south of McGinnis Ferry Rd.
This Is a FREE event to attend and many vendors will have door prlzosl
Some participating vendors Include:
Stampin' Upl • Mary Kay Cosmetics • Pampered Chef • Southern Living at Home
• Discovery Toys • Tastefully Simple
For more Information call 678-M7-S4OB
28,000 acres of greenspace in the county.
“We had a very general type of con
versation as to what it was we want to
accomplish which is to acquire that
28,000 acres of greenspace,” Laughing
house said. “There are all kinds of ideas
floating around.”
He said those ideas include asking
voters if they would approve funds to pur
chase greenspace either with bonds, state
and federal grants, or working with the
average of $4.99 million annually for 20
years or S2B per year for the owner of
a SIOO,OOO home.
That amount multiplied by 20 equals
$99.8 million.
However, according to Committee
Chairman Roger Crow’s presentation, that
amount is less than an annual average of
$8.05 million that taxpayers will dole out
in rental and out-of-county prisoner hous
ing if the bonds are not approved.
The courthouse and jail are outdated.
The courthouse was built in 1976.
According to Census data, Forsyth
County’s population increased 123 per
cent between 1990-2000.
Paxton said that as of Wednesday 58
prisoners were being kept in out-of-coun
ty facilities at a cost of $35 per day
$lB more than the sl7 it costs to keep
them in the county.
He said the Sheriff’s Office also rents
five buildings at a cost of $62,000 per
year.
Sorrells said he has 33 employees
working in a 9,000-square-foot area.
“I have a desperate need for space,” he
said.
The soonest an election to extend the
county government’s 1 percent special
purpose sales tax could take place is either
2008 or after about $l6O million is col
lected under the current sales tax program.
Sales tax collections have fallen behind
expected projections, according to a
recent report by the county government.
Though voters approved extending the
sales tax last year, judicial facilities were
not listed among the capital projects col
lections will fund eliminating that pos
sibility from current sales tax collections.
Crow suggested the judicial facility
system does not expect to cut
any full-time positions.
At Thursday’s meeting,
Norton presented areas of the
budget that can be pinched.
The state requires Forsyth
County to have 33 elementary
physical education, art and
music teachers. The system
currently employs 90 teachers
in these programs, which may
have to be reallocated to save
money.
Fourth- and fifth-graders
have smaller class sizes than
the state requires. The school
system plans to set the limit at
25 students per class, leaving
room for mid-year growth of
three students.
“It’s better to go ahead and
leave a little room that way
you don’t have to move the
kids and upset the parents in
the middle of the year,” Jones
said.
In order to hire fewer new
teachers, the system is consid
ering raising the class size
limit in those grades closer to
the state standard.
Last year the school sys
tem decided not to increase
the number of elementary for
eign language teachers though
the number of students
increased. The foreign lan
guage program in elementary
schools is funded locally.
A $350,000 grant from the
state saved the program from
further cuts last year. Forsyth
will reapply for the grant
again this year, but the board
is not counting on it. Foreign
language teachers may be
spread even thinner in the
upcoming school year.
“We know it’s beneficial,
but we have more than we’re
required to have,”
Superintendent Paula Gault
said.
Currently the schools have
one custodian per 17,500
square feet. The state require
ment is one per 20,000 square
feet. With the addition of
Riverwatch Middle School in
August, the custodial staff
most likely will be reallocated
to meet minimum state stan
dards.
Clarification
The recently completed
United Way fund-raising cam
paign generated $986,224.32,
which was $136,224.32, or 16
percent, above its goal. The
campaign finished just
$13,775.68 under $1 million.
The amount by which the cam-
FREE
Video Training Classes
How To Create Better Home
Videos Every Tuesday
Night 7-8 P.M.
Bring Your Video Camera &
Digital Still Camera
Call For Details
& Reservations
770-623-9016
• McDonald Son
ana
Forsyth County’s Only Crematory
HKjK~I * ADVANCED PLANNING
* TRADITIONAL SERVICES
* CREMATION SERVICES
| 'l^inl(youfora(lmi l ity our famtly to serve your family.
's B ’■B www.mcdonaldandson.com
Lauren McDonald, 111 ( 77 0) 886-9899
150 Sawnee Drive, Cumming, GA 30040
. “Because We Care” >
development community for land dona
tions.
“Nothing is even under consideration,”
Laughinghouse said. “As time goes on,
we will try and look at other options.
“I’m going to try to schedule a meet
ing in early April and have someone from
the University of Georgia as well as some
members of the development community
[to speak on] transfer of development
rights.”
- ./ '
It
I *
Photo/David McGregor
Sheriff Ted Paxton (left) and Roger
Crow at Thursday’s informational
meeting.
bonds could be repaid with the 2008 sales
tax collections if voters approve them;
that’s a viable alternative according to
Clint Mueller, the assistant legislative
director of Association County
Commissioners of Georgia.
“If they have outstanding bond debt on
a project, they can use [sales taxes] to pay
it off,” Mueller said, “but they have to
specify it in the [sales tax] referendum.”
A total of 15 people attended the infor
mational meeting. Three were members of
Cumming Second Baptist Church which
is near where the new facilities will be
located.
Crow said similar referendums have
failed because voters did not have enough
information.
Both he and Paxton wondered if
questions remain why more people did
not attend Thursday’s meeting.
The Let’s Build It Campaign
Committee has scheduled one more infor
mational meeting at 7 p.m., Feb. 26 at
South Forsyth Middle School.
So why bother projecting
the local staffing budget when
the state budget is still up in
the air?
“We try to give our princi
pals and other leaders the
opportunity to hire people
early... The earlier we know
what’s going on [the budget]
for next year, the better all our
departments can plan for text
books and classrooms, and
particularly for hiring staff. So
that’s why we try to go early,
before we know anything
about revenue streams, before
we know anything about the
legislative changes,” Norton
said.
paign surpassed its goal was
reported incorrectly in
Thursday’s edition of the
Forsyth County News.
It is the policy of the Forsyth
County News to correct errors
of fact upon notification.
Corrections appear on page 2A.
F—" "'■■■ <> <wv muiiixuyjwis
Ma
Funeral Home
210 Ingram Avenue
Cumming
770-887-2388
"Your Call Will Be Answered
By A Member Os Our Stuff 24 Hours A Day."
Deaths
Chris Johnson
Jeff Johnson
Chris Johnson, 13, and Jeff
Johnson.il, both of Cumming
died Monday, Feb. 9,2004.
Chris was a seventh grade
student at Dean Rusk Middle
and Jeff was a sixth grade stu
dent at Macedonia Elementary
School.
Survivors include parents,
John and Linda Johnson of
Cumming; paternal grandmoth
er, Jessie Johnson of
Sharpsburg; maternal grandfa
ther, Lawrence Palmer of
Columbus; maternal great
grandfather, Hugh Brandon of
Stone Mountain; a number of
aunts, great-aunts, uncles and
other relatives also survive.
Memorial services were
Saturday, Feb. 14, at 2 p.m. at
Ingram Funeral Home chapel
with the Rev. Clyde Boling offi
ciating. Interment followed at
New Harmony Baptist Church
Cemetery.
Donations may be made to
the Johnson Family, c/o
Crescent Bank, 442 Canton
Road, Cumming, GA 30040.
Ingram Funeral Home is in
charge of the arrangements.
Forsyth County News
February 15,2004
Major A. Mooney
Mr. Major A. Mooney, 69, of
Morrow died Thursday, Feb. 12,
2004.
Survivors include his wife of
50 years, Mary E. Mooney of
Morrow; children, Major Allen
and Doreen Mooney of
Conyers, Brenda and Douglas
Hassell of Cleveland, Linda and
Tony Harvey of Morrow, James
Thomas and Marsha Mooney of
McDonough, Richard E. and
Angela Mooney, Gary L. and
Toni Mooney, all of
Stockbridge; 19 grandchildren;
24 great-grandchildren; sister,
Louise Hyde of Dawsonville;
brothers and sisters-in-law,
Euell and Ann Mooney of
Dawsonville, Robert and Pat
Mooney of Stockbridge; several
nieces, nephews and other rela
tives also survive.
Funeral services will be
Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. at the
Ingram Funeral Home Chapel
with the Revs. Terry Calhoun
and Gary L. Adams officiating.
Interment will follow in the
Sawnee View Memorial
Gardens.
Ingram Funeral Home was
in charge of the arrangements.
Forsyth County News
February 15, 2004
Ask your funeral
home to send local
obituaries to the
Forsyth County News
Forsyth County News
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J
USPS 205-540
Veterans Memorial Blvd., Cumming, Georgia 30040
Phone: 770-887-3126 Fax: 770-889-6017
Internet Address: www.forsythnews.com
e Publisher DENNIS STOCKTON
General Manager NORMAN BAGGS
Editor TOM SPIGOLON
Advertising Director MARTI BARNES
Circulation Director PHIL JONES
MEMBER
Published Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday by the Forsyth County News
Company, Veterans Memorial Blvd., Cumming, Ga. Second Class Postage paid at
Cumming, Ga. and additional offices. Subscription rate for Forsyth County, $52
per year; $35 for six months; other Georgia and out of state subscriptions are SBS
per year. Any unused portion of a subscription balance will be gladly refunded.
However, all refunds due the subscriber are subject to a processing fee, which will
be automatically deducted from the subscription balance refund. Advertising rates
and deadlines available upon request. Postmaster: Send address change to Forsyth
County News/P.O. Box 210, Cumming, Ga. 30028.
A Swartz-Morris Media Inc. publication
Miss your paper? Call 887-3126
We deliver replacement papers within Forsyth County. If your newspaper is not
delivered by 6:30 a.m., please call the circulation department at 770-887-3126.
Service calls will be taken from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday,
and on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. If your call is received during these
times, a replacement copy will be delivered to your home. Calls received after busi
ness hours will be checked the following business day, and credit will be extended
to your account. Any changes in publication will be announced in preceding issues.
Advertising Deadlines
For Sunday’s paper retail and classified display ads are due by noon Thursday.
For Wednesday’s paper retail and classified display ads are due by 5 p.m. Friday.
For Thursday’s paper retail and classified display ads are due by noon Monday.
For Friday’s paper retail and classified display ads are due by noon Tuesday.
Classified Line Advertising Deadlines
(Help wanted, garage sales, rentals, etc.)
For Sunday’s paper classified line ads are due by noon Friday.
For Wednesday’s paper classified line ads are due by noon Monday.
For Thursday’s paper classified line ads are due by noon Tuesday.
For Friday’s paper classified line ads are due by noon Wednesday.
Legal advertising is due by Friday noon and runs only in Wednesday’s paper.
Robert Morton
Robert Morton, 43, died
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004, as a
result of injuries sustained in an
automobile accident. He was
employed at St. Joseph’s
Hospital in Atlanta. He was pre
ceded in death by his mother,
Florence Morton.
Survivors include life part
ner, Dwayne Gray of Cumming;
father, Clarence Morton of
Charleston, S.C.; sisters and
brother-in-law, Carla Morton of
Charleston, S.C., Claire and
Whit Whitlock of Hilton Head,
S.C.; nephew, Christian
Whitlock of Hilton Head, S.C.;
niece, Chapel Whitlock of
Hilton Head, S.C.
Memorial services were
Saturday, Feb. 14, at Ingram
Funeral Home Chapel with the
Rev. .Joey Burnett officiating.
Ingram Funeral Home was
in charge of the arrangements.
Forsyth County News
February 15, 2004
Susie Northcutt
Thompson
Mrs. Susie Northcutt
Thompson, 72, of Alpharetta
died Thursday, Feb. 5, 2004.
Mrs. Thompson was a member
of Hopewell Baptist Church.
She was preceded in death by
her parents, John and Mary Eva
Northcutt; brother, Charles
Northcutt; daughter-in-law, Pam
Harmon Thompson; nephew,
Johnny Northcutt.
Survivors include her hus
band of 55 years, Marvin
Thompson of Alpharetta;
daughters and sons-in-law,
Vicky and Steve Brown of
Lawrenceville, Sheila and
Robert Jett of Woodstock,
Marcy and Terry Bell of
Dacula; son, Marcus Thomp
son of Ball Ground; sisters and
brothers-in-law, Frances and
Preston McClesky of Canton,
Christine and Charles Mc-
Pherson of Cumming, Mary
Lena Pruitt of Cumming, Pearl
Mcßrayer of Houchton, Eva
Mae and Felton Thornton of
Martinez, Barbara and Lewis
Ledbetter of Cumming; brother
and sister-in-law, Bill and Lucy
Northcutt of Ball Ground; sis
ters-in-law, Geneva Northcutt of
Alpharetta; brother-in-law, Joe
Thompson of Alpharetta; grand
children, great-grandchildren
and other relatives also survive.
Funeral services were
Monday, Feb. 9, at the Ingram
Funeral Home Chapel with the
Rev. Bud Sutton and Stephen
Northcutt officiating.
Interment followed in the
Greenlawn Cemetery in
Roswell.
Ingram Funeral Home was
in charge of the arrangements.
Forsyth County News
February 15, 2004