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WEDNESDAY
MAV 30.2012
Forsyth County N (S
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Officials:
Weekend
a safe one
By Jennifer Sami
isamdtforsythnews com
Memorial Day weekend
passed safely in Forsyth
County, according to local pub¬
lic safety officials.
“We had a much more quiet
weekend than we expected."
said Karlecn Chalker. spokes¬
woman for the Forsyth County
Sheriffs Office
The holiday weekend typical¬
ly signals the start of the busy
summer season on Lake I amcr
and at other local attractions.
The county’s fire department
responded to 109 calls, many of
which were medical emergen¬
cies, over the wzeekend There
were no fatalities, said Fire
Capt Jason Shivers
‘That call volume over three
days is nothing terribly out of
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South alum wins at Microsoft competition
■
Jim D»*n Forsyth County News
Firefighters battled a blaze at a home on Keith Bridge
Road on Sunday. No one was injured in the fire.
the ordinary," he said "In my
opinion, it was a safe holiday
weekend with no significant
injuries or incidents."
There were, however, a cou¬
ple fires of note
A man and a woman escaped
a blaze Sunda> afternoon that
was covering 35 percent of their
Keith Bridge Road house when
firefighters arrived. Shivers said
It took about two dozen per¬
sonnel to put out the flames.
Shivers said, noting they man¬
aged “to salvage a significant
portion of their belongings."
3
e
Volume 101, Number W.
© 2012. Fourth County New,
Cumming, t irorjgt
The weekend also saw two
vehicle blu/es, one brush fire, a
gas leak and a second, minor
struc ture fire
Shivers said with school out,
the department is encouraging
families to be safe over the
summer.
“We Itope that the public heeds
the safety w arnings and wears life
preservers when they're in the
water (and| stay out of the watCT
if they can't swim," he said "If
they think cautiously and watch
out for one another, then a safe
summer should he Irad by all"
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Holiday fun in (lie sun | 3A
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L 4A
Forsyth Central
High and
Pinecrest
Academy were
among the first
schools to hotd
graduation cere¬
monies for the
class of 2012.
Above, Andrew
Fishier greets a
teacher during
Central's ceremo¬
ny Saturday at the
Cumming
Fairgrounds Left,
boys' school
grads listen
Friday during
Pinecrest
Academy's bacca¬
laureate Mass.
For more photos,
see Page 2A.
Spirits high during
Down Under Fest
Culture of Australia,
New Zealand get
treatment at event
By Crystal Ladford
cledtord®forsythnews com
Hundreds weathered high
temperatures over the Memorial
Day holiday weekend to take
part in Forsyth County's first
Down Under Fest.
Held at the Polo Fields, the
four-day event celebrated all
things from Australia and New
Zealand, including music, culture,
history and fcxxl and beverages
Organizer Tina Kcough said
about 2,000 advance tickets
were sold to the three-day event
Tickets were also available at the
gate
“Some of those are one-day
passes," she said Saturday after¬
noon, noting that traffic that day
Crawford:
Are voters
happy or just
uninformed?
Election
board
reviews
matter
More questions
in qualifying for
sheriffs race
By Jennifer Sami
isamt0forjythnewi.com
It appears none of the three candi¬
dates for Forsyth County Sheriff quali¬
fied properly last week, a situation that
has cast doubt on the future of the July
31 Republican primary contest.v
The Forsyth County Board of
Elections was scheduled to hold an
emergency meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday to
decide whether any or all of the hope¬
fuls would be accepted
The issue surfaced Friday afternoon,
when candidate Duane Piper’s eligibili¬
ty was called into question by Sheriff
Ted Paxton, who said Piper did not sub¬
mit a birth certificate with his qualify¬
ing paperwork.
According to the Forsyth County
Republican Party, that is true. However,
neither Paxton nor the third candidate,
Lauren McDonald, turned in their birth
certificates. And none of the men
included their high school diploma
when they qualified.
Tuesday morning. Ethan Underwood,
chairman of the local party, said local
officials had “discovered there was
some confusion among the Republican
Party volunteers at its qualifying booth
regarding the fact that most offices
which require high school diplomas
merely require candidates to certify via
affidavit that they meet this require¬
ment.
“It appears that some of the sheriff
candidates were told by volunteers that
See REVIEWS 1 4A
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I ? a
Autumn Vetter Forsyth County News
Mark Allen cooks meat pies
Saturday during the inaugu¬
ral Down Under Festival at
the Polo Fields.
hadn't been too high "Some are
saying it s really hot so they'll
come later in the evening"
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