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Forsyth "Hometown CountvNews J Paper" Your Since 19(
Vol, 99 , No. 80
Scores show social studies slide
By Lara Moore
Staff Writer
School officials are not taking
lightly a recent dip in CRCT scores.
While Forsyth County Schools
outpaced the state in nearly every
subject, state figures show, nearly
Laps
for life
Annual relay
walkers brave
chill for charity
By Lara Moore
Staff Writer
Talk about a big first step.
Six-year-old Jenna Vorbeck, who is
learning to walk again after cancer got
too close to her brain, was among the
youngest participants Friday night dur¬
ing the annual Relay for Life at the
Cumming Fairgrounds.
The location of her cancer caused
posterior fossa syndrome, which means
“that she has to live life over again,”
said her father. Steve Vortfeck.
His daughter, he said, will “learn
how to walk, learn how to talk.” She
currently has enough motor skills to
feed her dog Cheez-Its.
Her mother, Beth Vorbeck, partici¬
pated in Relay for Life long before her
child was diagnosed.
Usually we go... every year” she
said. “I remember thinking last year
how lucky I am that I have three
healthy children that do not have can¬
cer.
a I just think, my whole thing is,
never take anything for granted
because you never know.”
The first lap of the all-night relay, a
c
Cancer survivor Dona Evans, a
teacher at North Forsyth Middle
School, gets a rose and a hug from
student Stefani Shepherd.
In the swing of things
Bill Norman,
owner of
Norman’s
Landing, tees off
on the first hole
of the 12th annu¬
al Norman’s
Landing Golf
Classic, benefit
ting the United
Way. For more
on the event,
see Page 2A.
Photo/Jim Dean
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Copyright © 2007 Forsyth County News
WEDNESDAY May 21, 2008
Forsyth still bests state averages in revamped CRCT
half of local sixth- and seventh
graders did not pass the social stud
ies portion of the exam.
Administered annually, the
CRCTs, or Criterion-Referenced
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Photos/Emily Saunders
Cancer survivor Jenna Vorbeck, 6, sits in the lap of her mother, Beth Vorbeck, after the sur¬
vivors’ lap at the annual Relay For Life on Friday at the Cumming Fairgrounds. Below, lumi¬
naries in honor of those who have died from cancer or those affected by it form a path as
cancer survivors prepare to take the survivors’ lap.
For more photos of the Relay
for Life event, see Page 5A.
benefit for cancer research and
patients, was designated for cancer sur¬
vivors and their caregivers.
The Vorbecks found themselves
among many friends.
Phil Eve, local committee chair¬
man. said 56 teams supported the relay.
“The best part of it was watching
the people walk the track and read the
names on the luminaries,” he said.
Participants could purchase a lumi¬
nary in the honor of those who’ve lost
their lives to cancer, or anyone affected
by it.
“We had several high schools that
spent the night out there all night and
just partied,” Eve said.
The students huddled around a fire,
he said, or tossed a football, trying to
keep warm.
Eve was grateful that the cold
winds didn’t shake participants. The
event has raised $225,000, about
$60,000 short of its fundraising goal.
“We’re still hoping for contribu¬
tions to come in,” he said, adding that
See RELAY, Page 2A
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INDEX
Abby............. 7A
Classifieds.. 16B
Deaths........ 2A
Events.......... 4A
Horoscope. Legals.......... 7A
3B
Opinion....... 8A
Sports.......... IB
Competency tests, are a cornerstone
of the federal No Child Left Behind
act. The standardized tests measure
the yearly progress of all students.
Lissa Pijanowski, the system’s
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Driver in fatal wreck from Forsyth
25-year-old Canton woman killed on Hwy. 140
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
No charges have been filed
in a Sunday night wreck that
killed one person and injured
two others, including the driv
er, a 28-year-old man from
Forsyth County.
According to the Georgia
State Patrol, a 2001 Chevrolet
Tahoe driven by Jason
Local
Cedar Hill’s
labyrinth a way
through.
Page3A
director of school improvement,
assessment and accountability, was
pleased that Forsyth County students
See SCORES, Page 2A
Michael Sams wrecked about
9:45 p.m. on Hwy. 140 in
Cherokee County.
Trooper Dan Avery of the
state patrol said Sams and pas
sengers Amy Walker, 25, of
Canton and Justin Burd, 18, of
Smyrna were thrown from the
vehicle.
None of the passengers
were wearing seatbelts, Avery
said. Walker was killed and
Opinion
Columnist Bill Shipp:
Rays of
gubernatorial hope.
Page8A
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Photo/Submitted
Rescuers work Monday to
free a man trapped in a col¬
lapsed trench in Milton.
Rescuers
help pull
man out
of trench
Forsyth team works
incident in Milton
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Fire
Department lent hands and tools
Monday to help rescue a con¬
struction worker trapped when a
trench collapsed in northern
Fulton County.
Fire department personnel
assisted emergency responders
from the city of Milton in their
efforts to free the man.
Forsyth County Fire Capt.
Jason Shivers said a heavy rescue
unit, an engine company and a
battalion chief were sent to the
site.
They carried an apparatus
with specialty equipment
designed for use in situations
such as trench or structural col¬
lapses, confined spaces and high
angle rescues.
“It’s sort of like a hazardous
materials team,” Shivers said.
“But these guys work out of
Station 12 [in Coal Mountain]
and they are all specifically
trained in not only structural fire
suppression and medical training
but in those technical kinds of
rescues, because they pose a very
high risk to the life of the res¬
cuers as well.”
The Forsyth County Water
and Sewer Department also
assisted, providing workers and a
vacuum truck for the rescue.
“They’ve done that a number
of times for us,” Shivers said.
They’re always available and
we really want to thank them for
their assistance.”
The vacuum truck moved dirt
as emergency crews worked
quickly to dig out the man.
Shivers said the man was in a
See TRENCH, Page 2A
Burd and Sams were hospital¬
ized after the wreck.
“He was speeding and then
lost it in a curve,” Avery said
of Sams. “And they ran off on
the shoulder, hit a culvert, and
when he hit the culvert is when
they started flipping and that’s
when they were ejected.”
Authorities, who are still
investigating the wreck, drew
blood from Sams at the hospi-
Sunny
High in the mid-70s.
Low in the low 50s.
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SPORTS, IB
West wraps up spring practice
tal for testing. Charges, if any,
could come in the next 48 to
72 hours, Avery said.
He said the wreck occurred
about a mile from a Mexican
restaurant where the three had
been earlier that night.
As of Tuesday morning,
Burd had been released from
the hospital, Avery said.
Sams’ condition could not
be determined.
E-mail Julie Arrington at
juliearrington@forsythnews.
com.
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
May 16 1057.78 ft
May 17 1057.79 ft
May 18 1057.80 ft
May 19 1057.79 ft
Full 1071.00 ft