Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A —
School board faces
By Lara Moore
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County school sys¬
tem’s projected spending for fiscal
year 2008-09 exceeds the income by
$18.9 million, according to prelimi¬
nary estimates discussed earlier this
week.
Though it is early in the budget
process, the potential shortfall could
force school board members to get
financially creative for the coming
school year.
The district, Board of Education
members learned Monday, is feeling
TECH from 1A
of students.
Mary Helen McGruder, a Forsyth
County civic leader and member of the
board of directors for the college, said that
Harrington was a man who refused to take
“no” for an answer.
“James was determined that Forsyth
County would have a satellite campus for
Lanier Tech and was relentless in his pur¬
suit of that goal,” McGruder said.
In addition to his service on the state
board, Harrington was a 16-year member
of the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners, where he led an effort to
bring water and sewer to South Forsyth,
now a burgeoning residential area.
Harrington had not been told of the
renaming and was clearly touched by the
honor. A lifelong Democrat, he was not
reappointed to the technical education
board following the election of
Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Harrington, 82, attended the ceremony
Deaths
Mary Faith Boyd
Mrs. Mary Faith Boyd, age
87, of Winthrop West, Rome,
formerly of Cumming, went to
her heavenly home on
Monday, May 12, 2008.
Mrs. Boyd was born in
Floyd County on Jan. 8, 1921,
daughter of the late Samuel
Looney and Mary Davis
Looney. She was a member of
Pisgah Baptist Church and was
an active member of the Joy
Club and the Golden Girls
Sunday School Class. She was
a member of the Cumming
Eastern Star Chapter 346. In
addition to her parents, Mrs.
Boyd was preceded in death by
her husband, Sam E. Boyd on
Jan. 22, 1988; two sisters,
Carolyn Looney and Dorothy
Roberson; two brothers, Guy
Looney and Martin Looney;
and a niece, Robin Turner.
Mrs. Boyd is survived by
one sister, Becky (Jack)
Norwood of Palatka, Fla.; two
brothers, Sammy (Shirley)
Looney of Rome, Larry
(Cecile) Looney of
ZephyrhilIs, Fla.; a sister-in
law, Mary Frances Looney of
Rome; nieces, Anna Zebeau,
Janell Perez and Terese
Kersey; nephews, Eddie
Roberson, John Looney, Joe
Looney.
A memorial service will be
held for Mrs. Boyd on
Thursday, May 15, at 6 p.m. in
the Oaknoll Chapel of
Jennings Funeral Home with
Rev. Jerry Dudley officiating
In lieu of flowers memorial
contributions can be sent to
Pisgah Baptist Church
Building Fund, P.O. Box 127,
Coosa, GA 30129 or to
Heyman Hospice at Floyd
Medical Center, P.O. Box 163,
Rome, GA 30162.
The Oaknoll Chapel of
Jennings Funeral Home is in
charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
May 15 , 2008
Georgia Mims
Georgia Mims, 95, of
Alpharetta passed away May
13, 2008.
Byars Funeral Home and
Cremation Services is in
charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
May 15, 2008
Julian Raynes
Julian Raynes, 87, of
Atlanta passed away May 12,
2008.
Byars Funeral Home and
Cremation Services is in
charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
May 15, 2008
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Thursday, May 15,2008
the effects of rising fuel costs and a
sluggish economy. Among other chal¬
lenges affecting finances include a
decline in local revenue and interest
rates and less growth in the tax digest.
Potential changes, cuts or solutions
to the budget will be discussed again
at the board’s next meeting, which is
set for 6 tonight. The budget has to be
approved by July 1.
School finance officers await fig¬
ures on local revenue, which funds
nearly half the budget, from the tax
assessor’s office.
Superintendent Buster Evans
opened Monday’s meeting by asking
and said he was “flabbergasted.”
Technical colleges have come a long
way since he initiated the endeavor to cre¬
ate a specialized work force.
“We saw the need early on that we
needed an educational system that would
help people losing their jobs,” Harrington
said.
Thirty years ago, he said, before there
was a technical system, business started
downsizing and residents needed to learn
skilled trades in a hurry.
“You don’t have time to wait when
you lose your job,” he said. “You still have
to pay rent and so that is what this has
done, fill that gap.”
The new building will house most of
the school’s medical training programs,
including practical nursing, radiology,
sonography, cardiovascular intravenous
technology, surgical technology and phys¬
ical therapy assisting. A large economic
development center is designed to hold up
Robert Joseph Russell
Robert Joseph (Joe)
Russell, 75, of Gainesville,
Forsyth County, died Saturday,
May 10, 2008, at his residence,
Mr. Russell owned and
operated Lanier Scrap Metal
Company for more than 30
years. He was a member of
North Georgia Cattleman
Association and Cumming
Antique Power Association,
He was an avid collector ol
antiques. He loved restoring
tractors and cars, but his real
l° ve was ^' s * amd y and h' s
1 arm, where he spent his time
working with his cattle and
farming. Mr. Russell was a
member ot Salem Baptist
Church since childhood. He
served in the United States
Army during the Korean
Conflict Era. He was preceded
in death by his mother, Bernice
Westbrook Russell; and his
brother-in-law, Fred H.
Williams.
Survivors include his wife
°f 39 years, Helen Parks
Russell; daughter and son-in
law, Ginger and Randy
Wagoner; son, Tyler
Castleberry; grandson, Caleb
Russell Wagoner; sister,
Virginia Russell Williams; spe
c> a > niece and nephew, Janice
and Jerry Hughes; sister-in
l aw , Evelyn McGinnis; other
nieces, nephews and cousins
also survive.
Funeral services were held
Monday, May 12, at 4 p.m. at
the Salem Baptist Church in
Forsyth County with the Rev.
Jeff Wilkie, Rev. Robert
Martin, Rev. James “Bud”
Sutton officiating. Interment
followed in the church ceme
ter y with Mr. Russell’s
nephews Rev. Jeffrey Hughes
officiating.
Those wishing to send
online condolences may do so
at masonandwardfuneralhome
andcremation.com.
Mason & Ward Funeral
Home in Gainesville is in
charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
May 15, 2008
Richard Mangual Terrell
Richard Mangual Terrell,
58, of Cumming died Monday,
May 12, 2008.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home and Crematory is in
charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
May 15, 2008
1
I
I
members to consider several remedies.
“We may have to do some things
that we otherwise would not do,” he
said.
One option, he said, is to “look at
the budget with a great deal of scrutiny
and come up with a balanced budget
that may not have everything on it that
we want on it.”
Another option, he told board
members, would be to increase class
sizes. Jennifer Caracciolo, spokes¬
woman for the school system, said the
district is currently below the state
mandated size.
The school system could pull from
to 1,200 people for meetings.
The Forsyth campus, located on
Majors Road south of Cumming, was iso¬
lated when it opened a decade ago. Since
that time, the area has been buoyed by the
construction of the nearby Ronald Reagan
Parkway.
In April, a festival-style shopping cen¬
ter, The Avenue at Forsyth, opened with
90 specialty stores, restaurants and a mul¬
tiplex movie theater.
The state approved $11.2 million for
the Lanier Tech project in the 2007 state
budget. An additional $1.5 million is
included in the 2009 budget to increase
the size of the economic development
center. The 2009 budget awaits the signa¬
ture of Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Lanier Tech is also awaiting final
approval of $5 million for an expansion of
its campus in Dawsonville.
Staff Writer Lara Moore contributed to
this report.
SUSPECTS from 1A
the name of the other suspect
with a warrant.
Walton and the other sus
pects are thought to have bur
glarized Forsyth County Pawn
on Atlanta Highway in
Cumming about 4 a.m. Monday,
They managed to elude officers
....
|/\|L from 1A
development of the conceptual
floor plan; exterior design; fin
jshing schedules; developing a
structural system; and defining
mechanical, electrical and
security electronics systems,
The phase will cost
$616,100, a fee which also
includes graphics boards and
PowerPoint presentations for
use town hall meetings,
which could begin in late sum
mer, to promote the bond refer
en dum.
County mappers
pledge to work
with consultants
By Frank , Reddy . ..
_
Staff Writer
„ Geographic The Jorsyth Information County
Services department says much
of the work in analyzing $36
million in green space parcels
the count y intends t0 Purchase
can be done in house.
GIS Director John Kilgore
told . .
county commissioners
Tuesday that the mapping and
data analysis department could
work with a Potential consult
ant, who may help the county
shop for green space as part of
the voter-approved $100 mil
lion parks, recreation and green
space bond.
Deputy Manager Doug
Derrer told commissioners that
county staff felt “extremely
confident” they could work
w *th a consultant, should the
board choose to select one,
“thereby saving the county
some precious doljars.”
“Part of the overall process
l uat properties . GIS
eva * n g is
and mapping, whether we do it
or one of the consultants does
it,” Derrer said.
Kilgore said a working
county relationship with a green
space consultant would be fea
sible.
“It is indeed possible to do
the GIS mapping process in
house,” Kilgore said. “I don’t
feel we would be taking away
from [the consultant’s] abili¬
ties.”
its financial reserves until funds come
in from tax collections in the fall. It
could also increase the millage rate, a
prospect board members find unap¬
pealing.
The millage rate, currently 14.39
percent, is the mechanism for property
tax revenue. One mill is equal to $1
for each $ 1,000 in property value.
This money is used to fund half of
the school’s budget, including foreign
language programs, technology and
part of the transportation costs.
“A 2 percent increase would be
hard to justify,” said board member
Mike Dudgeon.
SKIPPING from A
Chapman said school social
workers, counselors and admin¬
istrators pulled attendance
records after school began
Friday and called parents and
guardians of the students who
were listed as absent.
“When it was deemed a child
was truant, we got the address
and knocked on the door,”
Chapman said, adding that they
also searched well-known hang¬
outs like parks, coffee shops and
shopping centers.
Chapman said 22 deputies
participated in the sweep.
Jennifer Caracciolo, spokes¬
woman for Forsyth County
Schools, said students can seem
a little more lax about atten¬
dance in the spring.
“There are ‘senior skip days,’
unofficial of course, but there
and headed north on Hwy. 9 in a
gray Dodge Magnum.
A Forsyth County Sheriff’s
deputy reported that he passed
the vehicle, which was traveling
at about 100 mph with its head
lightsoff.
After a brief pursuit by the
Commissioners approved
this initial phase of the project
4-0, with Commissioner David
Richard absent.
“I’m all for keeping this
thing moving,” said Com
missioner Linda Ledbetter.
O’Connor said moving for
ward with the pre-construction
phase “made sense,” and since
the bond forfeiture money was
marked for a new jail, she saw
no reason to wait.
There is $937,509 available
Kilgore estimated . , the . GIS _, IC ,
portion to be about 25 to 30
percent of the entire green
space evaluation process.
Our process of analysis will
make the land analysis process
less cumbersome,” he said.
At a work session April 24,
commissioners heard from four
consulting firms, which pitched
methods for evaluating green
space.
Commissioners have not
chosen any of the firms nor
have they committed to locking
them in as candidates,
Commissioner Brian Tam
made a motion to do so, but it
failed 2-3, with Commissioner
Linda Ledbetter backing it.
Prior to the presentations,
county staff and commissioners
talked about a rating or scoring
system to be used to rank each
parcel of potential green space
land.
The consultant candidates
included: Lose and Associates,
the Trust for Public Land, Pond
and Co. and MACTEC. ____
After each session, repre
sentatives from the firms field¬
ed questions from the commis
sion about their fees, what set
them apart from other compa
nies, public input and other
issues.
All of the companies said
they could work with county
staff, particularly the GIS
department, on the projects,
E-mail Frank Reddy at
frankreddy @forsythnews. com.
The state of the economy, he
added, isn’t a secret.
“I think people would be support¬
ive of a little belt tightening, so to
speak, because I think that’s some
thing people would be understanding
of,” Dudgeon said.
Dan Jones, chief finance officer,
assured board members that other
school systems are in a similar situa¬
tion.
“It’s not just us. We’re probably in
a better place that the rest of these sys¬ h
tems,” Jones said. C ,
E-mail Lara Moore at
laramoore@forsythnews.com.
are still students that do that,”
she said. “There is an increase
in the spring for upperclass¬
men.”
Caracciolo said the trend can
involve students with good and'
bad attendance records.
She said those who were
returned to school Friday were
met by their principals and
received in-school suspension
for the rest of the day.
“Whatever periods they
missed, that was counted as
unexcused,” she said.
Lt. Col. Gene Moss of the
sheriff’s office said the sweep
was part of an initiative by the
local Student Attendance
Protocol Committee, designed
to prevent unexcused absences.
E-mail Julie Arrington at
juliearrington @forsythnews.com.
deputy, the suspects’ car
careened into a house near Coal
Mountain.
The incident also resulted in
a lockdown that lasted for a cou
pie of hours at three schools in
thearea.
Authorities were not able to
from bond forfeitures for jail
construction, O'Connor said.
The remaining money in the
fund may be used in future
weeks to pay for an additional
design development phase,
though the commission has not
authorized staff to do this,
The commission got a sneak
peak at what the new detention
center might look like at a
meeting on April 3. Architects
presented a digital design of the
proposed jail and answered
questions.
The current jail has 134
bunks, and the proposed build¬
ing would be a 480-bed facility
with the capacity to expand and
hold up to 1,500 inmates at a
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find the suspects after the wreck.
They later learned a nearby resi¬
dent had taken Walton to the
hospital,
The man, who did not know
about the police pursuit, said
Walton paid him for a ride to
Grady.
total cost of $60 million to $65
million, according to the archi¬
tects.
The county bought 33 acres
off Veterans Memorial Boul¬
evard last summer for a jail site
to replace the county’s 32-year
old building, which administra¬
tors have called inadequate.
The county spends more
than $2 million per year hous¬
ing inmates in Cherokee,
Dawson and other counties
because of the cramped jail.
Previous attempts to fund a
new jail through a bond refer¬
endum have failed, most
recently in March 2004.
E-mail Frank Reddy at
frankreddy@forsythnews.com.