Newspaper Page Text
4
Business & Industry
Forsyth County News Thursday, April 29, 2004 Ijl
Business notes
lasis Health and Christian
Bookstore
... owned by Frank and Suzy
Treece, is now open on Freedom
Parkway in Cumming.
The store has a wide variety of
merchandise from health food to
Christian books. The health food
selection includes gluten free prod
ucts and Atkins Low Carb Solutions.
Shoppers can find Bibles and music
from all Christian denominations
including Catholic resources and
gifts.
The store operating days and
hours are Monday-Thursday from 10
a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday and
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For
more information call (770) 886-
9633.
Georgia Farm Bureau
... is reminding hay producers
preparing to graze or harvest winter
grasses, such as fescue, that they
should remember farm Service
Agency regulations stipulate produc
ers must report acres to be harvested
for crops covered by the Noninsured
Crop Disaster Assistance Program 15
days prior to harvest.
The final acreage reporting date
for all cool season grasses is May 1.
said Wayne Dollar. Georgia Farm
Bureau president. However, fescue is
harvested and grazed before May 1.
so it is critical that peoducers
remember to report the number of
acres they intend to harvest or graze
as they prepare to begin harvest.
Allstate Insurance Co.
... announces the opening of a
new agency in Cumming. Owned
and operated by Dean B. Barnard,
the full-service agency offers a com
plete line of products and sen ices,
including auto, property, commercial
and life insurance.
“Our No. 1 goal at the Dean
Barnard Allstate Insurance agency is
to provide superior service to our
customers.” says Barnard. "I and my
assistant Kristie Hulsey are looking
forward to helping families insure
and protect the things that are impor
tant to them, such as their family,
home. car. boat, and more. In our
commitment to provide the best cus
tomer sen ice possible, we will sit
down with our customers and review
their insurance policies upon their
renewal to insure that they are get
ting the best coverage that fits their
needs."
After spending 25 years in the
corporate world and the last four
years as vice president of sales for a
Fortune 500 company. Barnard
decided to use his knowledge and
expertise to open his own Allstate
Insurance agency.
The Dean Barnard Allstate
Insurance agency is located at 600
Peachtree Parkway. Suite 102 in
Cumming. Office hours are Monday
through Friday from B:3oam to
s:3opm and Saturday from 9am to
noon. He and his licensed staff can
be reached at (678) 455-8606 or by
e-mail at Deanßarnard@ Allstate.-
com.
Marine Corps Cpl. Jeneva C.
Coggins
... daughter of Jennifer A. Dykes
of Cumming and Dayne Coggins of
Brooklyn. N. Y. recently was pro
moted to her current rank while serv
ing with Marine Aviation Logistics
Squadron 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft
Wing. Marine Corps Air Station.
Cherry Point, N. C.
Coggins was promoted based on
sustained superior job performance
and proficiency in her designated
specialty.
Coggins is a 2001 graduate of
Etowah High School in Woodstock
and joined the Marine Corps in July
2001.
North Fulton Regional Hospital
... announced it has relocated and
expanded its human resources
department to better provide services
for employees and job applicants.
The new location is at the front
entrance of the hospital just inside
the main doors, providing easier
access for individuals applying for
positions at the hospital. The new
area occupies approximately twice
the area of the previous office and
now houses human resources,
recruiting, benefits, occupational
health and related functions.
“This move allows us to better
serve our current employees as well
as to provide a much more comfort-
See NOTES, Page 2B
Existing home sales rise
Low interest rates help create second highest level on record
WASHINGTON Existing sin
gle-family home sales rose strongly
in March to the second-highest level
on record, according to the National
Association of Realtors.
Existing-home sales increased 5.7
percent to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate* of 6.48 million units in
March from an upwardly revised
pace of 6.13 million units in
February. Last month's sales activity
was 12.7 percent above the 5.75-mil
lion unit level in March 2003; the
record is 6.68 million in September
Youth leadership program graduation
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Photos/David McGregor
Above, from left, North Forsyth High School principal Bruce Wagar, Central principal Kenny Foxx,
and South principal Richard Gill talk during a break as attendees mingle, below, during the
Forsyth County Youth Leadership Program graduation at Polo Fields. The program, sponsored in
part by the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, is a community-wide effort for high
school sophomores, juniors and seniors designed to develop leadership potential and acquaint
participants with community needs, problems and resources through interaction with adult lead
ers and decision makers.
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Carvel ice cream shop to open near Johns Creek
By Antonia Hertwig-Benson
Staff Writer
Another ice cream shop is open
ing in Forsyth County, though there
may be a refreshing taste in the
mouths of customers as they enjoy
treats like “Fudgie the Whale.” and
“Cookie Puss."
The Atlanta area’s fifth Carvel ice
cream shop is set to open in the
shopping center on Peachtree
Parkway next to Johns Creek
Comers the first week of June.
Owners Alex and Barbara Diener
and Perri and Marty Kunofsky.
neighbors in the Shake Rag commu
nity in south Forsyth, are opening the
store in the former site of a TCBY.
Carvel isn't new to the two sets of
neighbors. All four grew up on the
brand of ice cream as children
Alex and Barbara in New York City.
Perri in Denver. Colo., and Marty in
Connecticut. Carvel celebrated its
70th anniversary this year.
“We’ve known Carvel since we
were kids," said Marty Kunofsky, an
applications programmer at L 3
Communications in Alpharetta.
The four owners said what is
going to set their Carvel store apart
2003.
David Lcreah, NAR’s chief econ
omist, said low interest rates get
most of the credit for last month's
performance, but he noted interest
rates are now' rising modestly. "The
housing needs of a growing popula
tion timed nicely with historically
low mortgage interest rates and a
rebounding economy in March,"
Lereah said. “Although interest rates
are rising modestly, an improving job
market is creating a favorable back
drop for home sales, but at a some-
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Photo/David McGregor
Barbara and Alex Diener stand with Marty and Perri Kunofsky out
side the building where the two couples will be opening up a Carvel
Ice Cream shop in south Forsyth off Hwy. 141,
from ice cream shops like Brusters.
Dairy Queen and Cold Stone
Creamery is their ice cream is real
ice cream, not ice milk.
what slower pace in the months
ahead."
The annual rate for a particular
month represents what the total num
ber of actual sales for a year would
be if the relative pace for that month
were maintained for 12 consecutive
months. Seasonally adjusted annual
rates are used in reporting monthly
data to factor out seasonal variations
in resale activity. For example, home
sales volume is normally higher in
the summer than in the winter, pri
marily because of differences in the
Kunofsky said the store is going
to have specials on Wednesdays.
"Wednesdays are ‘Classic
Sundae’s" he said. “You can buy one.
weather and family buying patterns.
According to Freddie Mac, the
national average commitment rate
for a 30-year, conventional, fixed
rate mortgage was 5.45 percent in
March, the second lowest on record,
down from 5.64 percent in February.
It was 5.75 percent in March 2003;
the record low is 5.23 percent set in
June 2003. Freddie Mac started
tracking interest rates in 1971.
NAR President Walt McDonald,
See HOME, Page 2B
Rep defends
opposition
to ‘payday’
loan bill
By Harris Blackwood
Community Editor
Three weeks ago. Gov. Sonny
Perdue signed one of the nation's
strongest laws regulating so-called
"payday loans” and the highly prof
itable industry has wasted no time in
challenging the law in federal court.
A “payday loan” is a high-inter
est, short-term loan made to people
in need of SIOO to SSOO in cash until
the next payday.
State Rep. Jack Murphy. (R-
Cumming) defended his opposition
to the bill during an appearance
Tuesday before the Cumming-
Forsyth County Chamber of
Commerce during its annual post
session report from the county's leg
islative delegation.
"I had hundreds of e-mails on
payday lending.” said Murphy.
"Most of them were in favor of pay
day lending, and very few were
against it.”
Murphy said that the loans met
critical needs for some people.
"If a single mother has a car
break down at 3 o'clock in the after
noon, she still has to go to work the
next day. Where does she get her
money? “
He said that a “payday loan"
would allow her to continue to be a
productive citizen.
But opponents of the loans cite
the cases where the loans are rolled
beyond the next payday. In that sce
nario, the borrower still owes the
principal and interest of the original
loan and then must pay additional
interest and a renewal fee. The first
time fees can often reach as much as
$25 per SIOO loaned.
The businesses which target low
income residents have flourished in
many areas, including outside the
gates of military installations.
The cash loans are generally
made in exchange for a post-dated
personal check.
See LOANS, Page 2B
get one free.”
The “buy one, get one free” is a
special that was introduced by Carvel
founder Tom Carvel.
“We are going to be very kid
friendly." said Diener.
Diener’s husband. Alex, who also
is president of Goods Galore Inc., a
Duluth-area fragrance manufacturer,
said the Johns Creek store is going to
feature Atlanta’s first 9-foot sprinkle
tower for children in Carvel stores. ‘
The tower will be a sprinkle
machine to allow children to disperse
their own sprinkles on their ice
cream.
Besides the sprinkle tower, the
new Carvel store is going to have a
cake decorating window where cus
tomers can watch the employees dec
orate cakes.
Alex Diener said the store at
Johns Creek is going to have a differ
ent layout and design features than
the other stores in Georgia. It will be
larger 1,400 square feet than
the typical 1,200-square-foot
Carvel’s store.
"We’re a test store for Carvel." he
See CARVEL, Page 2B