Newspaper Page Text
Cedar Hill center’s a
By Jennifer Sami
Staff Writer
Don’t call Cedar Hill
Enrichment Center’s labyrinth a
maze.
Where “a maze is designed
to confuse people,” said Kat
Stratton, a labyrinth has a clear
path inside and a clear way out.
Stratton, the center’s execu
tive director, said the labyrinth
has become a regional attrac-
Panel
pursues
online
option
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Board
of Ethics has taken steps to clear
up confusion about its opera¬
tions.
The board, which meets at
least twice a year, is charged
with investigating complaints
related to ethical standards filed
against elected and appointed
county officials and county
employees.
George Pirkle, chairman of
the five-member panel,
explained that last week’s deci¬
sion to ask the Forsyth County
commission for space on the
county government’s Web site is
an attempt to provide easy
access to information about the
complaint-filing process.
Pirkle said the online space
would cite the ethics ordinance,
provide examples of complaints
and a list of do’s and don’ts.
Without that additional informa¬
tion, he said, the process can be
confusing.
»» Basically, they have to get a
copy of the ordinance and sift
through that, and it’s not the
simplest thing to understand,”
he said.
“The dilemma we get in is
we can’t sit down with someone
that wants to make a complaint
and tell them, ‘Here’s how you
do it’... If we do that, then we’re
engaging in a complaint our¬
selves. ■
Pirkle explained, however,
that those who wish to file a
complaint can seek help from
the board’s clerk, Charity Clark.
It’s better to do it that way
because the clerk is more or less
a neutral party and is really there
to facilitate the process,” he said.
Complainants will not be
able to file online because of
time restraints and other compli¬
cations, Pirkle said.
Also at its May 14 meeting,
the board agreed to amend an
existing ordinance that will limit
contact between complainants,
respondents and board mem¬
bers.
The measure will protect
board members from engaging
in discussions about a complaint
while it is being processed. It
does not, however, include casu¬
al conversation.
When a complaint is
entered, a copy is sent to the
person it has been filed against.
That person then has 30 days to
respond before the board takes
any action, Pirkle said.
Board attorney Brian
Hansford was directed to
research whether the board has
to have the commission’s
approval on the amendment or
if the board can enforce it as an
internal policy.
In addition to Pirkle, the
ethics board includes Kevin
McDonough, Tim Perry, Rusty
Ricketson and Robert Charles.
The Forsyth County Civil
Service Board appointed Pirkle
to the panel, while the Forsyth
County Bar Association tapped
McDonough, the board’s vice
chairman.
Perry is the appointee of
elected county officials (sheriff,
tax commissioner, solicitor gen¬
eral) excluding the commission.
Forsyth County employees
appointed Ricketson and
Charles is the commission’s
appointee.
E-mail Julie Arrington at
juliearrington@forsythnews.
com.
tion. Built five years ago by
staff members, it draws people
from across North Georgia to
walk through for meditation and
contemplation,
M We have a woman who
comes in just about every
Tuesday to walk with her grand
baby,” Stratton said. “It’s a sense
of peacefulness — of connec
tion with a divine, however you
envision the divine to be. if
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labyrinth offers a sense of priva¬
cy. The path is made up of vari¬
ous stones donated by volun¬
teers and center patrons.
The center, located off Hwy.
53 in northeastern Forsyth
County, will offer a free work¬
shop May 31 to teach the histo¬
ry of labyrinths, their purpose in
the past and how they can be
used today.
While the labyrinth is open
to anyone, it often is a destina-
tion for groups. Stratton said
workers from area businesses
will often come and walk
together to bring “more unity
and clearness of what they want
to do,” as a team.
Each December, there is a
winter solstice walk, where
about 60 people pass through
together at night carrying a sin¬
gle candle.
The labyrinth is designed to
offer a way to help people
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Wednesday, May 21,2008
searching for answers, facing
personal issues, venting their
anger, dealing with stress or
sadness or healing from rela¬
tionship problems.
Nicole McCoy, executive
director of Community
Connection and a center board
member, said the labyrinth is a
hidden treasure.
McCoy, who has gone
through the labyrinth, said
the experience is peaceful
— PAGE 3A
and serene.
“It gives me a chance, par¬
ticularly as an extraordinarily
busy person, to take a minute to
collect my thoughts,” she said.
You really have to let go of
your own personal inclination
to drive direction and you just
have to go with the path. It real¬
ly enables me the opportunity to
unwind.”
To register for the work¬
shop, call (770) 887-0051.