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2A
ForsythlMront
THE FOUR-DAY FORECAST
FRIDAY
I
Partly cloudy
76 / 57
LAKE LANIER LEVEL
1065.65 feet (as of 10 a m April 19)
Full pool is 1.071 feet
Cumming buys land
near aquatic center
Property could be for
future utility projects
By Crystal Ledford
dedf ord@f orsythnews com
The Cumming City Council on
Tuesday unanimously approved the
purchase of 77 acres off Pilgrim Mill
Road.
The land, which is adjacent to the
site of the Cumming Aquatic Center
and future National Guard Armory,
likely will serve for future utility
department projects.
The land will cost $25,500 per acre,
according to city officials. The money
will come from the city's water and
sewer fund
Utilities Director Jon Heard said no
definite plans have been made for the
property, but it could include a water
or wastewater treatment facility.
Also during a meeting Tuesday
night, the mayor and city council:
• Heard a 2011 audit report from the
firm Charles Cole of Le Roy. Cole and
Stephens.
Cole said the audit findings were
positive, with total general fund reve¬
nues of $11.8 million and expenditures
HOROSCOPES by Holiday
ARIES (March 21-Apfil 19). Some
people consider the colloquial
"whatever'’ to be a curse word.
It's certainly an expression to
avoid today, especially in regard
to relationships that are already
in a precarious place.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
You'll have many blessings to
count, and even better than that is
the fact that these seem to be the
blessings you most need. You'll
use your resources to serve and
support the people you hold dear.
GEMINI (May 21-June21).
Clinging to old emotional patterns
is not your style. You'll hold your
inner life up to examination. You'll
determine the patterns that need
to be broken and put an end to
them. Scorpio helps.
CANCER (June 22-July 22).
You're up on the latest news, and
you're ready to participate and do
what's expected of you. That's not
to say that any of it makes you
happy, as you are plugged into an
artistic, objective and non-con¬
formist vibration now.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). There's
something you really want to do,
but your progress is excruciating¬
ly slow This is all the more reason
why you should celebrate every
move you make toward your goal
as a small victory.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your
latest interest is in something
your friends and colleagues find
unfamiliar. Go forward anyway;
you’ll be a trailblazer. Your sophis¬
ticated taste will catapult every¬
one into the future eventually.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). There
are times when the ethereal world
seems more real than the so-
Forsyth County News
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302 Veterans Memorial Blvd.
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS |
SATURDAY
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Isolated storms
76 / 53
PUBLISHER i John Hall
GENERAL MANAGER | Norman Bagqs
EDITOR | Kevin Atwill
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR | Ryan Germon
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Samuil Nikolov
OFFICE MANAGER | Sabrena Mocteruma
ACCOUNTING MANAGER i Oeanne Ma t or
toreythnov* cum
SUNDAY
P K*
»' mj*
Mostly cloudy
71/46
April 16:1065.49 feet
April 17:1065.45 feet
April 18:1065.60 feet
of $11.7 million and all departments
coining in under budget.
• Accepted a bid of about $4,425
from Graphic Hdge to print 60,000
full-color brochures for the Cumming
Aquatic Center.
• Agreed to Mobile Communications
of Motorola’s bid of about $9,260 for
new police sirens and radios. Police
Chief Casey Tatum said the funds were
needed due to federal mandates requir¬
ing all law enforcement offices to
switch to a "narrow band" radio wave
system
• Approved a bid for $10,500 from
Westsidc Testing for new heating and
air conditioning equipment for city
hall
• Recognized Cumming Police offi¬
cer Daniel Hesters for completing field
training, and Jay Hendrix for his vol¬
unteer service in beekeeping
• Signed proclamations announcing:
April 15-21 as garden week. May as
ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, aware¬
ness month, and May as water safety
month
• Announced the following
Cumming Playhouse shows: Georgia
Senior Follies. Friday through May 6;
Musical Mirth, May 8. The Tapestry
Maker. May 11-13, Dakma Ditto, May
19; and Johnny Cash Now, May 20
called real world, and indeed it
may be so, especially when the
moon is in dreamy Pisces. After
all, most things that exist started
out as mere imaginings.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
You have great empathy for
another person's plight. Your high
level of emotional intelligence
allows you to somehow under¬
stand even though you don't
have personal experience with
the matter.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). Thinking that you are sup¬
posed to know something will
keep you from asking the ques¬
tions that will lead you to really
know it. If you dare to speak up,
you'll find that you're not the
only one in the room who's in
the dark.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19).
You'll be attuned to the sighs of
the world. Sometimes sighing is
an expression of letting go, and
other times sighing says, "Look
at me. I'm in psychic pain or
longing or some other state of
needing what I don't have."
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18).
People think they know you, but
they really shouldn't assume.
You're far too deep and compli¬
cated to be summed up with ste¬
reotypes or understood by type.
Assert your originality, and show
them all.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20).
"Not everything that can be
counted counts, and not every¬
thing that counts can be count
ed." Spoken like a true Pisces,
these words by Albert Einstein
may help you with your spiritual
accounting today.
MONDAY
'To
Mostly sunny
68/44
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OBITUARIES
Edna Glaze
Libia Glaze, age 44. of Gumming
passed away April 17, 2012. Byars
Funeral Home and Cremation
Services is in charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
April 20, 2012
Audrey Josephine James
Audrey Josephine James, age 78, of
Gumming passed away April 16, 2012,
Ingram Funeral Home and
FROM 1A
Scrutiny
has taken videos during
many public meetings
throughout Forsyth
County over the past few
months, had set up a
video recorder on a tripod
in the back of the council
chambers.
After calling the meet¬
ing to order. Gumming
Mayor H. Ford Gravitt
asked Police Chief Casey
Tatum to remove the cam¬
era.
Tisdale said that under
Georgia law she had the
right to record the meet¬
ing, however, Gravitt said
such video recordings
were not allow ed.
Tisdale and her camera
were then escorted into
the hallway by Tatum for
a few moments before she
returned to the meeting.
Tatum could not be
reached Thursday, but
Gravitt said he believes
the city’s actions were
Jay Cullen run benefits youth programs
An annual 5K run honoring a bicyclist
killed m 2004 will return Saturday.
The ninth annual Jay Cullen Share the
Road Memorial 5K is set for 8:30 a m.
at Cumming First Baptist Church. 1597
Saw nee Drive.
Registration will begin at 7 a m. Cost
to participate in the race is $25.
The race honors the memory of
church member Jay Cullen, an avid run¬
ner and bicyclist who was killed while
ruling
Republican groups gather for breakfast
For their Apnl monthly meeting, the
Forsyth County Republican Party,
Republican Women of Forsyth County
and Forsyth County Young Republicans
will meet together Saturday over brcak
fast
The three gmups will gather at 8 a m. in
Golden Corral on Market Place
Boulevard in Cumming The meeting will
begin at 8:30 a m
Republican Party Chairman Ethan
FROM 1A
Program
"Footloose and Hunger Free" project.
"I was looking into different types of
things to help raise food for the Sacks of
Love program at my school." Little said
“(The grant] was talking about world
hunger and all of the projects were spe¬
cifically led to helping to fight hunger”
As part of the project, the casi of
“Footloose" will be collecting food for
students in the county who may not
have the money to eat meals at night or
on weekends, and rely on free and
reduced lunches just to get breakfast
and lunch at school. Little said
The Sacks of Love program is a
community project sponsored and
staffed bv members of Sawnee
Woman's Club
Attendees arc encouraged to bring
non-perishable foods to the show,
which runs through April 2«S
Because the grant was designed for
students, all the charitable ellorts have
been student led. Little said
Money from the grant is going to
ticketing, advertising, purchasing bins
for food drop-offs and backpacks lor
the kids to carry the food in
“The big deal is we're trying to get
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TmTT
Crematory is in charge of arrange¬
ments.
April Forsyth County News
20, 2012
Thomas D. Walker Sr.
Thomas D. Walker Sr., age 67, of
Atlanta passed away April 15, 2012.
Byars Funeral Home and Crematiosi
Services is in charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
April 20, 2012
within the bounds of state
law.
"We go by what the
state law says and we
think the state law upholds
what we do,” he said.
"The law says that it is
permissible for videos,
tape recorders, still pic¬
tures, whatever during
public meetings.
"It doesn’t say you’re
required or you must do it.
So it’s been our position
that we don’t want to inter¬
rupt our meeting by having
tripods and (video] camer
as
Gravitt noted that city
council meetings can some¬
times draw as many as 75
or 100 people
"What if everybody
wanted to have a tripod and
a camera tliere'/” he said. “I
mean, you know, it’s just a
safety issue and it's disrup¬
tive of the meeting."
Cane said the Attorney
General's Office will con¬
duct a preliminary investi¬
gation into the incident.
“[Tisdale] sent us a copy
of the video ... by viewing
Proceeds from the event will benefit
First Baptist youth programs and No
Longer Bound, an independent ministry
that helps men overcome addiction
issues.
Cullen helped organize the first race,
but was tragically killed prior to the
event
Church leaders decided to continue
with the run, dedicating it to his memory.
—- Crystal Ledford
Undcrwood said this month's meeting
would feature keynote speaker Doug
Collins of Hall County, who is running
for the District 7 U.S. House of
Representatives seat.
Next month, party members will attend
the state Republican convention, leaving
the party’s regular meeting unscheduled
for the moment. Underwood said.
— Jennifer Sami
At a glance
"Footloose" will run at 7 p.m.
tonight, Saturday and April 26
and 27, and at noon April 28.
Tickets are $7. Donation bins will
be on site for attendees to drop
off non-perishable foods. For
those who can't attend the pro¬
duction, drop-off bins for Sacks of
Love wilt remain at the school's
front desk and at the Sawnee
Woman’s Club.
enough food together so we can feed
the children over the summer, which is
something we’ve never done before."
Little said
Sacks of Love has been the recipient
of donations in the past from Central's
drama students, including “Trick or
Treat so Kids Can Hat" last fall The
Halloween themed activity was what
inspired Little to up the ante for help
mg Sacks of Love.
"I know it touched the hearts of a lot
<>t us m the drama department." Little
said ol the October event “I thought,
how can we improve upon that?
“Hopefully, this can sort of be a tradi¬
tion and that we can keep our passion
strong aboul fighting hunger"
the video we are reaching
out to the city attorney,”
she said. "They will
respond with their side of
the story and we’ll evaluate
that ... and figure if there’s
been a violation."
Cane said local govern¬
ments are not allowed to
override state open records
law.
“In our view, the law
clearly permits video and
sound recordings in public
meetings,” she said.
According to Cane, if
the city is found to be in
violation of die open meet¬
ings law, it could face a
fine up to $1,000 and pos¬
sible criminal and civil
action.
She said the state's new
open meetings law, which
Gov. Nathan Deal signed
Tuesday, increased the
maximum fine allowable
from $500 to $1,000, and
allowed for civil action.
"The burden of proof for
criminal action is very high
... die option to bring civil
charges is much easier to
prove," she said.