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Authorities: Revelers take heed
Checkpoints, extra patrols planned New Years Eve
By Jennifer Sami
jsami@forsythnews.com
As Forsyth County residents
prepare to ring in 2013 on
Monday, public safety officials
are urging them to put safety
GOVERNMENT
Officially at ease
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Autumn Vetter Forsyth County News
Outgoing Forsyth County Commissioner Patrick Bell reflects on his termThursday at home.
Departing leader at peace with term, perspective
By Alyssa LaRenzie
alarenzie@forsythnews.com
Nearly four years ago, looking at
the “yes” and “no" voting buttons,
Patrick Bell realized the weight his
decisions as Forsyth County commis¬
sioner could have on residents and
businesses.
“That button's intimidating,” said
Bell, recalling the start of his term
representing the county’s northern
District 4, which concludes Monday.
"When you start getting into deci¬
sions that affect people, affect the
property next door to people or you
affect somebody’s investment ... or
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Autumn Vetter Forsyth County News
Cindy Jones Mills is sworn into office Dec.
20 using her great-grandfather's Bible.
o 7
first and plan ahead.
“The most important thing is
to have a plan for a sober way
home before you even leave the
house." said Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Ft. Jody Chapman.
"1 think that's where people
About this series
These stories are the latest in a
FCN multi-day series taking a
look at the transition in several
Forsyth County elected offices.
They include coroner, commis¬
sioner and sheriff.
you make a decision on benefits for
1,400 county employees, that’s when
it's tough."
Getting into the swing of the job
didn't take long, according to Bell,
but the individual decisions always
held that same importance.
Bell was elected in 2008 in a
relishes opportunity
Efficiency is priority, Mills says
By Alyssa LaRenzie
alarenzie@forsythnews.com
Later this week, Cindy Jones
Mills will take a seat in the
Forsyth County commissioners’
meeting room, facing the audi¬
ence instead of watching with it.
The newest commissioner
has spent the months since her
election to the District 4 post
in August learning and getting
Inside
Volume 103, Number 209
C 2012, Forsyth County News
Gumming, Georgia
go wrong. And that's when it
can turn into injuries, fatalities
or arrests."
Chapman said those who
plan to drink alcohol New
Year’s Eve should find a desig¬
nated driver, stay home or have
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Resolutions for health | 1C
a cab company's phone number
programmed into their cell
phones before having a drink.
Despite law enforcement
efforts to cut down on driving
under the influence, Chapman
said there still are people who
countywide vote to succeed one-term
commissioner David Richard.
This year, Bell lost the district-only
election in August to Cindy Jones
Mills, who will begin her term offi¬
cially Tuesday.
Those who follow county commis¬
sion know that Bell can get fired up in
a meeting, but he looked calm on a
recent morning wearing a cotton shirt
and white socks, recalling the ups and
downs of his time in office.
Bell said he’s proud of the consis¬
tency in his “thoroughly conserva¬
tive" voting record of four years and
See EASE 15A
ready to begin her four-year
term.
“(I'm prepared] as much as
you can be ahead of time." she
said. “1 look forward to working
with the men that are on the
board. 1 think they all have
much more experience than me,
and I think they have all been
very helpful in mentoring.”
See MILLS 15A
4A DNR informational to hold
meeting on
hunting.
will drink and drive. That’s
why the office will he in full
force Monday night.
“Our HEAT unit and DU I
task force will he out in the
evening and into the wee hours
in the morning,” Chapman said.
“We'll have some of our other
extra uniform patrols out and
See CARE 15A
ROADWORK
Impact of
change is
minimal
Failed referendum
won’t affect funding
By Jennifer Sami
jsami@forsythnews.com
When residents in Forsyth and the other 12
counties that make up the Georgia Mountains
Regional Commission rejected a proposed
1 -cent sales tax in July, it appeared they also
left local governments responsible for contrib
uting more funding to toad projects.
The Transportation Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax, or TSPLOST, failed in
Forsyth’s region, as well as eight others across
the state.
As a result, those counties will have to pony
up a 30 percent match for any local improve¬
ment giants from the Georgia Department of
Transportation. •
Conversely, the three regions of the state
where the sales tax passed will be responsible
for a 10 percent match.
According to state and local officials, how¬
ever, most cities and counties in regions where
the referendum failed won’t see much of a dif¬
ference as a result of the funding arrangement.
District 23 state Rep. Mark Hamilton said
the percentage, which lawmakers built in to
the measure, was “not meant to be a punish¬
ment, this was meant to be ^carrot, a financial
incentive” for communities to pass the trans¬
portation tax.
Both he and DOT spokeswoman Jill
Goldberg say that despite the way the change
appears, it’s unlikely to have much impact on
what counties pay toward improvement proj¬
ects.
In fact, director of engineering John Cunard
said there likely will be no difference for
Forsyth, since it currently contributes 30 per¬
cent.
“Typically, our resurfacing contract will be
anywhere from $4 to $3 million a year, so our
total project costs will be well in excess of the
30 percent match anyway," Cunard said.
He noted that in-kind work, including right
of-way purchases and improvements handled
by engineering departments, can be absorbed
in the 30 percent match. The county can also
make up the difference by using “our own
county crews to do deep patching and shoul¬
der building."
Goldberg said most local governments are
in the same position and likely “spend way
more than 30 percent on their projects any¬
way.”
The funding changes are being made
through a new DOT program called LMIG,
short for Local Maintenance Improvement
Grant.
Goldberg said there are huge changes from
when the program was previously called
State-Aid and LARP. Key among them is that
governments will receive the funding up front
instead of as a reimbursement.
See IMPACT 15A
| Ex-South
star ready for
Georgia Techs
bowl game.
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Forecast 12A