Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
MARKET from 1A
spend the better part of his
summer pulling and selling
sweet com, tomatoes and mel¬
ons grown on the same spot in
southern Forsyth County
where he grew up.
“I enjoy, it, but it’s a lot of
work,” Orr said last week, as
he stood near his fields sweat¬
ing under a straw hat.
This season it seems Orr
may have plenty of company.
“There’s more people inter¬
ested in the farmers’ market
this year - than ever before,” he
said. “I guess with gas prices
what they are and this econo
my, everybody decided to have
a little backyard garden.
Market vendors must hail
from North Georgia and sell
only locally grown produce.
Tate and Orr were among
the lounders of the tarmer s
mai ket decades ago. Local
growers first peddled their pro-
BOE from 1A
version of the budget, which
must go to the state by June 30.
At the meeting, the board
also will likely vote to begin
the millage rate increase
process, which includes public
hearings.
“That’s the bottom line,”
said Nancy Roche, chairwoman
of the school board. “Cut pro¬
grams or [pull from] reserves
and raise the millage rate.”
During last month’s board
meeting, spending cuts were
factored into the preliminary
budget, which reduced the pro¬
jected deficit from nearly $19
million to about $13 million.
The effort was aided by an
adjustment in the projected stu¬
dent population. Estimates
show the school district will
have about 495 students less
Deaths
Madelyn Whitmire Bagby
Mrs. Madelyn Whitmire
Bagby, age 84, a native and life
long resident of Forsyth County
passed away June 4, 2008, fol
lowing a brief illness. Mrs.
Bagby was a member of Silver
Shoals Baptist Church. She
enjoyed gardening, baking and
being with family and friends.
She was preceded in death by
her parents, Guy and Ada
Castleberry; sister, Marie
Musser; and brother, Wayne
“Bunk” Castleberry. She was
also preceded in death by her
husbands, Lendon O. Whitmire
and Loyd “Cup” Bagby.
Survivors include her
daughter, Vicki Lynn Whitmire
of Cumming; brothers and sis
lers-in-law, Carroll and Florene
Castleberry of Cumming and
Olen and Mary Ruth
Castleberry of Cumming; sister
and brothers-in-law, Hilda and
Royce Bennett of Dawsonville
and Cy Musser of Decatur; and
a number of very special
nephews and nieces also sur
vive.
Funeral services were held
Friday, June 6, at 2 p.m. at
Ingram Funeral Home Chapel
with Rev. Greg Rawlins, Dr.
Jimmy Orr and Rev. Danny Orr
officiating. Interment followed
in Memorial Park Cemetery in
Gainesville.
In lieu of flowers, donations
may be made to Hospice of
North East Georgia Medical
Center, 2150 Limestone
Parkway, Gainesville, GA
30501.
Ingram Funeral Home and
Crematory is in charge of
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
June 8, 2008
Richard Austin Mitchell
Mr. Richard Austin Mitchell,
age 47, of Clarksville passed
away Wednesday, June 4,2008.
Ingram Funeral Home and
Crematory is in charge of
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
June 8, 2008
Correction
Two women in a story
on page 2A of the June 1
Forsyth County News were
misidentified by the
Forsyth County Sheriffs
Office. The women are
believed to be victims of
credit card fraud.
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Sunday, June 8,2008
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duce at Mashburn’s apple
house on Hwy. 9, then at a
Methodist church on Pilgrim
Mill Road.
Dahlonega farmer Fred
Willis began bringing his crops
to the fairgrounds site about
eight years ago.
“People of Forsyth County
gj-g rea ] nice, considerate peo-
than expected for the coming
year.
That means the system can
hold off on about $600,000
worth of books, computer pro
grams, in-class expenses and
portable classrooms, Crow said.
Roche said technology was
among the biggest cuts, but
“every single department went
through and asked, ‘What can I
live without next year?”’
“Everyone worked togeth
er,” she said. “It was a real team
effort to find what we can cut.”
Last year, the school board
shifted about $9 million from
system reserves to balance the
budget, Crow said. But the
school system also rolled back
its millage rate last year, from
14.71 mills to the current rate
of 14.4.
Orene Tate
Mrs. Orene Tate, age 85, a
lifelong resident of Cumming,
passed away Friday, June 6,
2008. Mrs. Tate was a home
maker and a member of Corinth
Baptist Church.
Survivors include her hus
band of 64 years, Waymon B.
Tate of Cumming; children.
Gerald Ray Tate, Nancy Louise
and David Clackum, Benson
Lee and Brenda Tate, all of
Cumming; three grandchildren,
Julie and Randy Davenport, Jan
and Justin Gaddis and Clint
Clackum; three great-grandchil
dren, Colbie, William and T.J.
Gaddis; several nieces, nephews
and other relatives also survive.
Funeral services will be held
Sunday, June 8, at 2 p.m. in the
Ingram Funeral Home Chapel
with Rev. Jackie Stewart, Rev.
Ricky Waters, Rev. Dan
Henderson and Rev. Larry
Vaughn officiating.
Interment will follow at
Sawnee View Memorial
Gardens. "
The family received friends
Saturday, June 7, from 2-4 p.m.
and 6-9p.m.
Ingram Funeral Home and
Crematory is in charge of
arrangements.
Forsyth County Hews
June 8, 2008
Obituaries must be
provided to the
newspaper by a
funeral home or
similar organization
Porsyth C fountyNem
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i ad of
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Cumming, Georgia 30040 www.ingrapifuneralhome.com
pie,” Willis said. “There’s a big
difference in going to the farm
ers’ market in Cumming and
going to the farmers’ market in
Atlanta.”
Willis and his wife, Janie,
do all of the work on their farm,
he said* with the occasional
help of their daughter, Tina,
All of the farmers is what
The county's millage rate is
the lowest of surrounding coun
ties, including Cherokee, Cobb,
Gwinnett, Hall and Fulton,
which range from just under 16
mills to 20 mills,
Charles McCrary, parent of
a Forsyth Central High School
junior and two recent gradu
ates, said he wouldn’t have an
issue paying higher taxes for
the school system.
“When you’re looking at a
down economy, you always
want to see them try other
options,” he said,
“But when you look at the
growth of Forsyth County, I
don’t see an issue with raising
the millage rate a little bit, sim
ply because of the fact that it’s
fairly low (when] being com¬
pared to other counties.”
Crow said the school sys¬
tem is left with few other
options and only so much of its
HORSE from IA
are helpful in search-and-rescue
e fforts.
^ e y ar f °b v ' ous ly good
* . like in when
or events ’ town
we ^ e *P out t * ie c *ty w * t h
P ara| Jes an ^ l ^e tair. , we use
them l h ere ” he said. “A lot of
the guys that are in (the unit)
are school resource officers,'
, re cross-trained.
Paxton said the horses have
been a tremendous asset to the
department. And once it s time
1 *" em to retire from the
force ' the >' are sent t0 lovin g
homes.
Attorney John Lueder, who
this . spring participated in the
sheriff s office Citizens Law
Enforcement Academy, bought,
named and donated Sherman.
Lueder, who on June 19 will
rece ' ve a plaque from the sher
iffs offlce in appreciation of his
donation, said the idea came to
him after sheriff’s Deputy
Brandon Moore talked to the
class about the unit.
Moore explained to the
group that the unit relies heavi
on donations. In fact, the
horses are allowed to stay in the
Polo Fields stables for free.
Lueder said he felt com
pelled to help after Moore
shared a story about a man with
Alzheimer's disease who had
gone missing from his
Castleberry Road home a year
earlier. '
Authorities searched for the
man throughout the night. The
next morning, while on horse¬
back, Moore found the man
lying in a creek bed in the
Dennis and Sandra
Bottoms look at the
fruit beginning to
develop on one of the
peach trees on their
farm. Last year,
Dennis Bottoms said
the peach crop was
wiped out by weather,
This year, though, the
fruit is growing nicely.
Photo/Jim Dean
makes the market,” he said. “It’s
the whole team. It takes every
body. ... Most of the time
there’s a good variety,
Sometimes if we don't have it,
somebody else will. It works
good that way.
E-mail Ben Holcombe at
benholcombe@forsythnews
.com.
reserves can be depleted with
out hurting the safety net or
affecting the system’s bond rat
mg.
The system currently has
about $52.5 million in its
reserves. By October, howev
er, that figure likely will be
down to about $21.5 million,
due to. operating costs.
School district spokes¬
woman Jennifer Caracciolo
said the system aims to have
about a quarter of its operat
ing costs in reserves, which
would be about $67.5 million.
The school system’s pre¬
liminary budget is based on
estimates of the county’s tax
digest growth. Last year’s
rate was 12.3 percent. Due to
the economic downturn, how¬
ever, this year’s rate likely
will be in the single digits.
The county tax assessor’s
office is still calculating the
woods behind his house.
Part of this was, I live in
the county and we chose the
county because it has such a
low crime rate, Lueder said. “I
just thought if 1 could do some
thing that would help the sher
iff’s office, that would be
great.”
Moore said the horses will
be used on a less seasonal basis
than in the past,
People will be seeing us a
lot more in the shopping centers
than J ust in the parks,” he said.
Moore said the horses have
to go through extensive training
to get them accustomed to loud
sounds, strange smells and
other distractions that would
normally spook them.
He said Sherman is unaf
fected by a deputy shooting
from atop him or around him.
The horse also isn’t bothered by
smoke, sirens or bright, flashing
lights. The horses are also
trained to handle large crowds
of people.
“We want the horses to be
absolutely approachable by the
public,’ he said.
Moore said Sherman was
the most easygoing horse he’s
put through the training and
that he’s “extremely glad and
lucky that we found him.”
Patton will need a little
more work before he’s ready,
maybe a month, Moore said.
Mic has a few more years left in
him before retirement,
E-mail Julie Arrington at
juliearrington@forsythnews
.com.
Literacy group
honors sheriff
From staff reports
Forsyth County
Sheriff Ted Paxton has
been honored by Big
Al’s Library Foundation
for his work and service,
according to a news
release from the depart¬
ment.
The Roswell founda¬
tion gives community
service awards to people
who “exemplify the best in
their respective community,”
the release said.
Founded in 1945, the
organization was named for
the Rev. Alfred Biggers. Its
mission is to promote litera¬
cy and provide reading mate-
exact rate, but estimates
range from 4.5 percent to 6
percent, which is what the
school system’s projected
budget is based on.
Each percentage point is
equivalent to about $1.17 mil
lion. If the school system’s 6
percent estimate was too
high, it could be face an even
larger hole.
“We don't know what our
revenue is going to be locally,
so it’s really hard to budget,”
Roche said. “Until we find
that out, we don’t even know
what our shortfall is going to
be.
Because the state man¬
dates 65 percent of the budget
must be spent in the class¬
room, and nearly 88 percent
of the budget goes toward
personnel, there is little wig
gle room to reduce spending,
It may be too late for
XX \ McDonald & Son
/M Funeral Home & Crematory
Bridges of Hope
a grief support group.
3rd Sunday of each month at 2:30 pm
Community Room of
McDonald & Son Funeral Home
Sunday, June 15th
150 Sawnee Drive, Cumming 30040
770-886-9899
www.mcdonaldandson.com
Forsyth J Your "Hometown CountyNews Paper" Since I90H J
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Phone: 770-887-3126 Fax: 770-889-6017
Internet Address: www.forsythnews.com
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3 k/
MEMBER
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Company, Veterans Memorial Blvd., Cumming, Ga. Second Class Postage paid at
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U 4 k
IX I
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Paxton
write.
Paxton took office as
sheriff on Jan. 1, 2001. He
retired from the DeKalb
Police Department in 2000
after 30 years of service.
Other award recipients
include Gov. Sonny Perdue.
alternatives this year, though
the school board may spend
some time considering a new
law that would allow school
systems to charter them¬
selves.
Becoming a charter sys¬
tem would free Forsyth from
state mandates like class size
and budget allocation, while
increasing accountability.
“It would help us,” Crow
said. “Because we could alio
cate funds differently, and I
think that would help. We’ve
got the charter application,
but it’s not a done deal. We
really have to review the
whole process to see if it’s
even something we can do.”
Either way, she said, it is
“not something that would
happen in a year.”
E-mail Jennifer Sami at
jen n ife rsa m i @ fo rsythnews
.com.
Publisher JOHN HALL
Editor KEVIN R. ATWILL
Manager NORMAN BAGGS
Advertising Director LISA FERRELL
Circulation Director GARRY TINSLEY
Production Director JEFF BUCCHtNO
rial to the public
with concentration
on adults.
Big Al’s Lib
rary Foundation
annually distrib¬
utes reading mate¬
rial throughout
Forsyth County.
Each year the
foundation teaches
to read and