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THURSDAY
MAY 31,2012
Forsyth County IT GEORGIA ATHENS > «*«*»****»****»3-£)Tgit 3i!) 3 _ JACKSON GA MEWS m.I.I.I.I.lL,!! 30602-5002 PAPER 3T PROJECT muli 3Q6 GO' DAWGS Sac* 2
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Big names support golf tourney 13A
Candidacy questions put to rest
All three sheriff hopefuls to appear on ballot
By Jennifer Sami
lsam*dforsyttinews com
All three Republican candt
dates in the contest for Forsyth
County sheriff will appear on the
July 31 ballot.
Despite what it viewed as a
flaw in the process, the Forsyth
GRADUATIONS
FACING THE FUTURE
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Pfioioi by Autumn V»n»t foriyth County News
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Tour showcases nature, know-how
Also a fundraiser for
Master Gardeners
By Crystal Ledford
cledfonkcPorsythnews com
Sandy Shepard is looking forward to
sharing her home's garden with the
public.
"We have a lot of challenges on our
property and I thought this might help
out other homeowners," she said
Shepard is one of six local plant
enthusiasts taking part in the Forsyth
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High court denies motorsports park appeal |
County Board of Elections
divided Tuesday not to challenge
the candidacy of those who have
qualified
“Since it A not one candidate
it's all three of them and the
Republican Party has certified
them as being qualified, 1 don't
see that this board should take
County Master Gardeners 2012
Garden Tour from 9 a m to 5 p m
Saturday
The event, which is held every other
year, is one of the organization s larg¬
est fundraisers, said Kathy Wcintrauh
“Proceeds benefit all of our commu¬
nity gardens," said Wcintrauh, who
handles publicity for (he group “We've
got about a dozen different gardens
throughout the community."
Among them, she said, is a "care and
share" garden at the Forsyth County
Extension Office, which donates pro
duce to local food pantries, and gar
dens at all three public library branches
Inside
Volume 103. Number H7
© 2012, Rinyth r ounty Srwi
< umming. (fforgu
Get updates at forsythnews.com
any action," said member Doug
Sorrells during a special called
meeting.
All three candidates — Uturcn
McDonald, Duane Piper and
incumbent Ted Paxton — quali
tied on time, kit tailed to provide
a birth certificate and high school
diploma as required.
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Can’t beat farmers markets | IB
Ethan Underwood, chairman
of the Forsyth County
Republican Party, which certifies
local qualifying, said there was
confusion last weef die quali
fying booth
“Most office vhich require
high school lomas merely
require tv- ics to certify via
affidavit out they meet this
requirement," Underwood said.
"It appears that some of the sher¬
iff candidates were told by vol-
South Forsyth High and
Lambert High held sep¬
arate commencement
ceremonies Tuesday at
the Arena at Gwinnett
Above, South co-vale¬
dictorian Vinay
Srinivasan addresses
fellow graduates. Left,
Lambert senior Ashley
Brent, center, joins fel¬
low graduates in the
processional.
For more photos,
se« Page 2A
For photos of other
graduations, check the
Forsyth County News
on Friday.
and the county's senior center facili¬
ties.
“Wc'rc all about education and beau¬
tify mg the community," Wcintrauh
said
The garden lour will feature a range
of home planting endeavors from
Master Gardeners, including shade,
sun and vegetable gardens
"Everybody on (the tour] is very tal
ented,” Wcintrauh sau] "These people
are fantastic They're master Master
Gardeners."
As for Shepard, whose home is gist
See TOUR12A
j y Yarbrough: Advice for
Mr. Speaker
on the public.
unteers that copies of their diplo¬
mas were not nece.vsary," he said.
Underwood added that the
qualifying guidebook also failed
to mention that a birth certificate
was acquired of candidates.
After qualifying ended at noon
Friday, the party contacted the
candidates about the missing
documents, and all three have
since delivered them
See CANDIDACY 13A
5 firms
vying for
SPLOST
projects
Selection committee
to review proposals
By Atyxsa UfWnha
alaren/irtWorsyttinews com
The fast-tracked work toward a new
Forsyth County courthouse and expanded
detention center continued Wednesday
with the initial meeting of the project man*
ager selection committee.
The committee received proposals from
five firms to review and rate based on the
criteria the county requested
Four Atlanta firms Hecry
International, Jacobs, Glceds and
JLL+CPS — as well as Carter Goble Lee
of Alpharetta submitted proposals to man¬
age the courthouse and jail construction
projects, which voters approved through a
l-cent sales tax extension in the fall.
The next round of the special purpose
local option sales tax, also known as
SPLOST VII, includes an estimated $100
million for the jail and courthouse facili¬
ties, to be built across from each other on
East Maple Street in downtown
Cumming.
Officials have said current estimates
project the new round of sales tax will
bring in about $203 million through July
2019
In addition, voters approved the bonding
of up to about $89 million for the projects'
initial start before sales tax revenues arc
collected beginning in 2013.
The five-member group will meet again
on June 19 to compile the scores and rec¬
ommend a short list of firms that qualify
for a bid
Donna Kukarola, the county's procure¬
ment director, guided the committee
through the process on Wednesday and
thanked the members for giving time to an
“important project"
1 he proposals arc confidential during
the prixcss and the selection committee
should direct any correspondence from
submitted forms to the county office,
Kukarola said
The selection committee was appointed
by the nine-member SPLOS'I VII Jail/
Courthouse Project Team, which is
charged with the task of advising on the
projects.
Members of the selecting group include
(apt Chuck Smith of the sheriffs office.
Steve Rhoades of Forsyth County Public
facilities. Tim Merritt, deputy county
manager, Scott Morgan, city of Cumming
Planning Department, and Dawn
Childress, court administrator
III Legislators high
receive
marks from
state chamber.
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forecast 2A