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Leaders seal
deal on facility
By Crystal Ledford
crystalledford@forsythnews.com
Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt
said students could be attending
classes at a local college campus
within 12 to 18 months.
His remarks came during the regu¬
lar meeting of the Cumming City
Road
ready for
work
Repaving of
Market Place
set to begin
By Crystal Ledford
crystalledford@forsythnews.com
Delayed several months, a
much-anticipated Cumming
road project was expected to
begin Wednesday night.
Jimmy Vaughan of engi¬
neering firm Moreland
Altobelli told city leaders
during a meeting Tuesday
that repaving a stretch of
Market Place Boulevard
would occur between 7 p.m.
and 5 a.m. Wednesday
through Friday.
“We felt working at night
would have a lot less impact
on all the shopping and traffic
through there,” Vaughan said.
The project, which is being
handled by C.W. Matthews,
involves about two-thirds of a
mile, from Buford Dam Road
to Hwy. 20.
It’s projected to cost more
than $300,000, with the state
Department of Transportation
paying for about half of that.
The project along the retail
corridor has been held up
since November, when it was
first scheduled for completion
prior to the Thanksgiving
shopping season.
Rain, however, put a
damper on those plans. The
effort was further delayed in
late November when work
crews failed to show up as
scheduled, despite better con¬
ditions.
Since then, weather has
continued to be the culprit.
Crews required at least three
days of no rain and tempera¬
tures above 55 degrees.
Near spring-like conditions
this week have finally
allowed the project to start.
“Everything’s in place, the
DOT’s already out there,”
Vaughan said. “Hopefully,
we’ll be able to finish this by
5 a.m. Saturday."
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Man charged with impersonating officer 2A
Council on Tuesday, when North
Georgia College & State University
and the city signed an official letter
ol intent to develop a campus off
Pilgrim Mill Road.
Last week, the Georgia Board of
Regents gave its blessing to the new
“instructional site," which will also
include Gainesville State College.
The campus will offer both two- and
four-year undergraduate and gradu¬
ate programs.
It will be part of a 70-acre site that
See CAMPUS 1 3A
GETTING A HEAD START
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Panel: County should
build, run own shelter
By Alyssa LaRenzie
alyssalarenzie@forsythnews.com
A group tasked with
exploring the local animal
shelter dilemma recommend
ed Tuesday that Forsyth
County build and operate its
Challenge is in ‘building’ Haiti,
Lecture series kicks
off second season
By Julie Arrington
juliearrington@forsythnews.com
North Georgia College &
State University kicked off its
second "Great Decisions” lec-
Inside
Volume 102, Number 28
©2011, Forsyth County News
Gumming, Georgia
own facility.
I he recommendation of
the Forsyth County Animal
Control & Shelter Advisory
Committee will go to the
county commission, which
could vote on the issue
tonight.
ture ser ‘ es Tuesday night with
a talk about “Rebuilding
Haiti.
Held at the Sharon Forks
branch of the Forsyth County
Public Library, the discussion
was led by Tamara Spike, an
associate professor of history
at the school.
Spike gave an overview of
Abby 4B
Business IB
Classifieds 3B
Deaths 2A
Horoscopes 2A
Opinion SA
Sports 5B
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Central girls advance | 5B
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Crystal Ledford Forsyth County News
Officials gather as Cumming Mayor H. Ford
Gravitt, seated left, and NGCSU President
David Potter sign an agreement for a college
campus in the city.
Photos by Autumn McBride
Forsyth County News
North Forsyth High stu¬
dents Carlos Alarcon, left,
and Alex Espinoza research
possible jobs involving
Spanish translation. The
two are part of teacher
Robert Lopez's workplace
Spanish class at North,
which prepares students for
jobs in translating and
interpreting. Left, Maria
Garcia talks about her expe¬
rience in the program.
For more, see Business, IB.
If the commissioners
approve the concept, the
committee will next look at
options for funding, site loca
tion and other specifics,
At its Tuesday meeting, the
See SHELTER 13A
Haiti’s history and events that
led up to the Jan. 12, 2010,
earthquake. At the time, Haiti
was the poorest country in the
Western hemisphere and one
of the poorest in the world.
“One of the reasons why this
7.0 magnitude on the Richter
scale of an earthquake was so
destructive is because of the
2\ Group appeal seeks
of design
decision.
Spill
gets
into
creek
EPD may
levy fine
By Crystal Ledford
crystalledford@forsythnews.com
About 10,000 gallons of
sewage spilled near Bald Ridge
Creek earlier this week,
Cumming officials said.
Jon Heard, director of the city
utilities department, said the
spill was reported to the
Environmental Protection
Division, as well as the Forsyth
County Health Department and
nearby governments.
He said (he EPD likely will
fine the city for the incident,
which occurred near the
Columns at Pilgrim Mill apart¬
ment homes off Freedom
Parkway, though it will be a few
weeks before an amount is
known
Heard said crews became
aware of the spill about 6 p.m.
Monday, after a nearby resident
complained of the odor.
He said they worked until
dark trying to find the cause.
Their efforts resumed early
Tuesday, with the source pin¬
pointed about 8:30 a.m.
“A force main had a joint
come apart,” Heard said. “The
ground had been graded and
had a steep slope. It looked like
the earth had settled and caused
the bell joint in the main to
come apart.”
Heard said it took crews most
of Tuesday to “remediate the
spill” and repair the damaged
joint.
“Within about 20 to 30 min¬
utes of finding the cause of the
spill, we had it stopped,” said
Heard, who noted a second,
functioning force main was
nearby.
“We turned the broke one off
and used the good one. It was
able to stay off until we repaired
it.”
Heard said crews used lime
and hay to clean up the area,
which they also reseeded.
The department will monitor
Bald Ridge Creek over the next
several months to “make sure
bacteria levels stay low,” he
said.
environment of Haiti,” Spike
said. “Haiti has suffered from
profound deforestation and
profound soil erosion.”
She said the literacy rate in
the population of nearly 10
million is below 60 percent.
For the past couple of decades,
See HAITI |3A
Friends get
ready for
library
benefit.
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Forecast 12A