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FRIDAY DECFJMBl K 2K, 2012 Forsyth County IVT*** - * TO More than a century of covering our community | Get updates at forsythnews.coi II I TTili last day for county parking deck Structures demolition near By Alyssa LaRenzie alarenzie@forsythnews.com After 6 p.m. today, the parking deck in downtown Gumming will be closed forever. All vehicles must be removed by that time or they will be towed, according to signs post¬ ed outside the deck. The 246-space deck at East Main and Mason streets, which opened in 1994, will be demol¬ ished in mid-January to make way for a new Forsyth County GOVERNMENT Finding right balance i I ;V llffe 4 htf t Sis V .It A St , (i j L:' PFl# f I w Longtime coroner reflects on tenure By Jennifer Sami jsami@forsythnews.com Lauren McDonald 111 was a senior in college when a few words from a state lawmaker set the course for his future. It was Sen. Wayne Garner, now the mayor of Carrolton in west Georgia, who took him to his funer¬ al home. McDonald was working at the state Capitol as part of his schol¬ arship at the University of Georgia. “When we got there, he toured me around and showed me ihe funeral home and when we left, he turned to me and said, ‘You’d make a great funeral director,’" Incoming official ready for new role Pais vows to do her Very best’ By Jennifer Sami jsami@forsythnews.com By the time she was sworn last week, Mary Beth Pais had everything in order for when she takes over as Forsyth County’s coroner. When the giant peach drops Inside Abby Church Classifieds events 4B 5A 6B ^ Malkin: How we can f m SEC Excitement Banter: Volume 103, Number 208 Deaths 2A protect our surrounds 52/39 90994 0400 ©2012, Forsyth County News Food 3B children. bowl Cumming, Georgia Opinion 7A games. Forecast 12A Sports IB f Swimmers prep for ‘Polar’ plunge 14A courthouse. The courthouse and jail proj¬ ects were approved as part of a November 2011 referendum to extend the special purpose local option sales tax. known as SPLOST VII. The projects, including two new parking decks, are estimat¬ ed to cost about $100 million, or nearly half of the anticipated revenue from the six-year tax collection. The demolition of the parking deck and the buildings across McDonald recalled. “I had no clue what a funeral director was, but 1 started looking into it ... I told my dad and he kind of laughed at me. He thought it was something that was just a short thought as far as actually following through with it.” It wasn’t a phase. Two weeks after graduating from college, McDonald was enrolled in mortuary school. And following a three-year hiatus to work for the lieutenant governor, McDonald & Son Funeral Home and Crematory opened in 1997. Using UGA’s small business ser¬ vices center, McDonald had searched for a good location for his Monday night in Atlanta to ring in 2013, Pais will begin her new role. “We will have a smooth transition I’m sure,” she said, Pais, who is succeeding three-term coroner Lauren See READY 13A ■ "1| m- v ft. i ft* » TT» ir TiTE from the current courthouse will he the first noticeable change in the appearance of the Gumming square as the ground is readied for the new buildings. People visiting the current courthouse will need to park at the lot at the southwest comer of Maple Street and Castleberry Road during this phase of con¬ struction. Forsyth County spokeswom¬ an Jodi Gardner said the area behind the administration has spaces designated for county employees and the public. See DECK 13A Autumn Vetter Forsyth County News Outgoing Forsyth County Coroner Lauren McDonald III works a recent case. business. “It kept telling me to go to Cumming in Forsyth County ... so I started looking and meeting people up here and this is where I’ve built my home and started my family,” he said. ”1 [had] lived here barely two years, just enough to qualify, when 1 ran for coroner.” Having worked on ambulances and as a volunteer firefighter, a job which he continues to hold, McDonald said he was “intrigued by the office" of coroner. See TENURE 13A For the Forsyth County News Forsyth County Probate Court Judge Lynwood "Woody" Jordan Jr. presents the oath of office to new coroner Mary Beth Pais. Autumn Vetter Forsyth County News The parking deck at East Main and Macon streets downtown is being demolished to make way for a new courthouse. Valuable lesson for middle schoolers Riverwatch group returns $1,400 found in cleanup By Alyssa LaRenzie alarenzie@forsythnews.com More than $1,400 has been returned to its owner after a group of sixth- and sev¬ enth-graders found the money during a roadside cleanup. The Riverwatch Middle School Builders Club made the discovery along James Burgess Road during an Adopt-a-Road trash pickup. The club, sponsored locally by Gumming Kiwanis, is a chapter of the largest middle school community service organization in the world, said teacher Dana Hunley. While doing their usual upkeep of the mile between St. Columba’s Episcopal Church and the Tumberry subdivision in November, Hunley said an excited girl ran over to her. Ml Mrs. Hunley, look what 1 found,’” she said. “And she held up a $100 bill.” The student at first wanted to keep it, but Hunley said they needed to think about what to do with the single bill. ‘Then the next child came running up going ‘Look,’ and had a handful. There were four [$100 bills] in it,” Hunley said. ‘'Ihcn they all started really scurry ing to l<x>k.” In total, the students found $1,419 lying in open areas along the side of that stretch of road. The final $100 bill found was next to two driver’s licenses and some credit cards that all shared the same name. The group called the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, which Hunley and die chil¬ dren agreed was “the right thing to do.” The deputy took down the details, some photos and the cash. After that, Hunley said her students asked every day if the owner of the loose bills had been found. Being able to finally tell them that the money had been returned was a great day, she said. "The felt they did the right thing that they found this, and they were very glad that they had been out there to find it that day," she said. “It was anotJier way to do a com¬ munity service activity. See VALUABLE 13A