Newspaper Page Text
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 213
R =
Good read takes sting off defeat
It was like sitting down to
watch James Bond, but instead
Pee Wee Herman was on the
screen,
Imagine going to see the
Rolling Stones, but there was
Terry Jacks belting out
“Seasons in the Sun,” arguably
one of the worst, most depress
ing songs of all time.
The new Tim Dorsey (more
about him later) book is in your
hands, only upon opening it
you get the latest in the “Diary
of a Wimpy Kid” series.
That was Monday night in
Miami.
In the span of less than 16
minutes, the Notre Dame foot
ball team gave the nation an
atrocious BCS title game per
formance, inspired the Irish
faithful to seek help for naivety,
then looked like middle school
ers playing men who love an
elephant.
As an Irish fan thinking it
couldn’t get any worse, ESPN
reports that coach Brian Kelly
and the Philadelphia Eagles are
interested in getting hitched.
Kelly appeared to quit at
halftime, saying that Notre
Dame’s only chance in the sec-
HEALTH NOTES
Life Line Screening for
stroke and bone fracture risks
will be held Feb. 12 at Pleasant
Grove United Methodist
Church, 3150 Pleasant Grove
Road. For more information
regarding the screenings or to
schedule an appointment, call
(877) 237-1287 or go online at
www.lifelinescreening.com.
Pre-registration is required.
The Johns Creek Prostate
Cancer Support Group has
formed at meets at Johns
Creek United Methodist
Church, 11180 Medlock Bridge
Road. For more information,
call Bill Neils at (770) 783-2502
or e-mail ustoo@johnscree
kumc.org.
The Gerson Institute pro
vides information on curing
incurable diseases through
detoxification and nutritional
therapy. To receive free infor-
FROM 1C :
Director
In the meantime, Niki Adams, director
of the Jackson County Community
Connection, will serve as interim direc
tor.
“She happens to live in Forsyth
County [and] she comes with a tremen
dous amount of knowledge and can real
ly help the organization through the
transition process and the hiring pro
cess,” said Morgan, noting that she’s
excited for someone new to step into the
role.
“I think everyone always wants to do
more. It’s hard to ever feel like you can
truly put a period at the end of a sen
tence, because — particularly in social
services — there’s always more to be
done,” she said.
“But I do feel proud of what we've
accomplished and hopefully I've laid
the groundwork for a fantastic individu
al, who will have new and different
ideas that can do great things, to come
in and pick it up and really run with it.”
Morgan said the organization’s focus
was different when she arrived in 2006
than it is today.
“Previously it had been very focused
on being a data resource for the commu
nity,” she said. “But as times have
changed, data has become much more
readily available. We see online data
bases through state organizations ... our
own state organization, Family
Connection, really makes centralized
data very available.
“So we really moved toward being a
convener in the community ... making
sure there was not duplication of critical
resources so that everyone could be
served who really needed to be served
and we could hopefully improve com
munication among all the players at the
table and increase collaboration so when
there were opportunities for our com
munity, everyone could participate and
hopefully have a much stronger out
come for all involved.”
One major highlight for Morgan was
expanding Hands on Forsyth.
“When I started we had a registry of
500 folks and we’re now into the thou
sands of volunteers registering, nearing
the 10,000 mark soon,” she said. “I feel
very, very proud of that, but what I
know is that’s just a fraction of our com
munity that knows about us and knows
about the work the nonprofits are’
doins."
She’s also proud of helping to bring
the community together to serve.
MIKE TASOS
Columnist
ond half was for Alabama not
to show up.
Sure sounds like he may have
thrown in the towel. Did the
players quit on him? Did they
know their coach was open to
being courted by the NFL.?
No answer here. And
Alabama is scary good. But to
watch Notre Dame highlights,
just leave the TV off and stare
at the nothingness of a blank
screen.
My son Greg, wearing his
Manti Te’o jersey and Hawaiian
lei, was hard to console. We
talked about tremendous
accomplishment of going from
being an unranked team in
August to the top in January.
Many schools would’ve liked
to have been there. And Notre
Dame was there — sort of.
As he went to bed and pre-
mation, contact Carl King at
(770) 205-1740 or cwkii@bell
south.net.
Narconon educates families
and friends on the signs of
drug abuse through its pro
grams. For a free brochure on
addictions or more informa
tion, call (877) 413-3073 or go
online at www.drugsno.com.
Whispering Hope invites any
one touched by abortion to join
one of its post abortion healing
groups. It provides confidential
and private small group oppor
tunities on Monday mornings
and Thursday afternoons. The
group works through “Forgiven
and Set Free,” an eight-week
course. For more information,
call (770) 889-8302.
The Forsyth County Senior
Center is offering free life
coaching/counseling the first,
1 7
For so long W
I
I've been | ;&>
ingrained in 5
Forsyth
County and
Forsyth
County has been
ingrained in me, and |
. . . ’
think it always will be.
Nicole Morgan
Outgoing executive director, Forsyth
County Community Connection
“We hosted the first MLK Day of
Service and really got the community
thinking about what that means and now
organization and churches and groups
are really participating in that,” she said.
In her new post, Morgan will work
with the Georgia Center’s Nonprofit
University program, providing training
and other educational opportunities to
nonprofit leaders and staff members
throughout the state, something that
should be a good fit.
“I'm excited because I feel like I have
a great network to be able to do that and
I've sat in the executive director’s seat to
know what directors need,” she said.
Morgan thanked the Community
Connection board and the county’s non
profit leaders for their well wishes
throughout her transition, as well as dur
ing her tenure.
“The people that I work with have
been my friends and my family for the
last seven years of my life and they have
seen me through good times and diffi
cult times and they have helped me ...
become the Nicole I am today, and I
wouldn’t have that opportunity without
everyone in this county and for that I
will be eternally grateful.”
While she’s moving on to work “back
down among the tall buildings,” Morgan
se_xi;i Forsyth County will always be spe
cial.
“For so long I've been ingrained in
Forsyth County and Forsyth County has
been ingrained in me, and I think it
always will be,” she said. “It’s where my
heart will be for a long time.”
pared to face the music from
his non-Notre Dame fans/class
mates, he was reminded to
focus on two words that made
the loss a little more palatable
— baseball season.
.- 5 9
Baseball season is near. But
before that, I'm thinking about
four wordg, “The Riptide Ultra-
Glide.”
In need of a good laugh after
Monday’s debacle, there was
consolation that Florida author
Tim Dorsey’s latest book will
be released a week from
Tuesday.
Living in Tampa, Fla., is a
blank canvas for an artist want
ing to paint a portrait of a state
rife with lunacy, criminal insan
ity, quirkiness. And a textbook
full of useful (and sometimes
trivial) Florida history.
This is Tim’s 15th book. He's
set to embark on a multi-state
tour. And catching up with him
before he becomes author
turned-road warrior, we had a
casual (after all, he’s in Florida)
conversation.
The main character in Tim’s
book is Serge Storms, whose
grasp on anything reality took a
second and third Wednesday of
each month, as well as a free
caregiver support group the
first and third Wednesdays of
each month, at 595 Dahlonega
St. in Cumming. Call Dan Hill at
(770) 781-2178 to make an
appointment. .
Aicoholics Anonymous
meets at 6:45 p.m. Mondays,
Tuesdays and Thursdays and at
6 p.m. Saturdays at Lanier
United Methodist Church, 1979
Buford Hwy., in the trailer
behind the church. A 24-hour
hotline is available at (404) 525-
3178.
Turning Point at Chestatee
Intensive Outpatient
Counseling Program is
offered to residents of several
northeast Georgia counties,
including Forsyth.The program,
through Chestatee Regional
Hospital and Golden Care LLC
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Share The Joy Of Your New Arrival!
On Sunday, January 27th, the Forsyth County News will publisha
special page featuring the babies born in 2012. Along with a
picture of the baby, we’ll include the names of the baby and
parents, birthdate, and birthplace, creating a special keepsake. Fill
in the information on the form below with a picture of your baby
along with the $15.00 fee and bring or mail it to the Forsyth County
News, 302 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Cumming, GA. 30040 or email to
spowell@forsythnews.com. All major credit cards are accepted. Any
mother featuring twins, triplets, etc. pays only $19.00 as long as all
are in same picture.
DEADLINE IS s PM MONDAY, JANUARY 21st.
Mail To: Welcome Babies of 2012
Forsyth County News
302 Veterans Memorial Bivd. Payment Enclosed
Cumming, GA 30040
Baby’s Name
Sex Date of Birth __Place of Birth
Parents
Address L
City/State/Zip
Actual Size: 1 %4"x I%’ 8
ForsythCountyNews 7.
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forsythnews.com | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS |
plunge off Tampa’s Skyway
Bridge, oh, about 15 books/
years ago.
Coleman is Serge’s loyal
companion. Chemically addled
he is, but stupid he’s not.
“He's an idiot savant,”
Dorsey said. “We've all known
a guy like Coleman.”
Think of a guy who can carry
on nothing that resembles a
lucent conversation, but can
tear down then rebuild a '67
Mustang.
Dorsey honed his writing
chops while spending 12 years
on the police/crime desk at The
Tampa Tribune. With all we
know about Florida, it’s easy to
figure there is enough material
to inspire dozens more romps
by Serge.
Probably the funniest writer
you've probably never heard of,
Dorsey’s books aren’t for
youngsters. Serge is insidiously
funny.
But as he and Coleman tra
verse Florida being pursued by
a throwback cop named
Mahoney and other criminals,
Serge manages to sprinkle in
Florida history that evidences
Tim’s deep love for his home
in Dahlonega, offers group,
individual and family counsel
ing for patients suffering from
depression, loss of indepen
dence, grief, anxiety and other
emotional stressors. Patients
attend the program one to five
days a week depending on their
level of need. Transportation to
and from the program and
lunch are provided. For more
information, call John McMillon
at (225) 385-5767 or (706) 867-
4303.
Restore Motherhood is a
nonprofit group that helps
chronically ill mothers during
their tough times. The group
assists with household chores
so that “Mommy"” can spend
time with her children. Duties
include laundry, light cooking,
dishes, sitting with mom while
in the hospital and providing a
ride to the doctor. If someone
you know could use some help
\WW ,
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[
JANUARY 21st
VWY
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state.
He has won awards from the
state’s tourism board, and spo
ken at functions. There are
Serge fan clubs, complete with
merchandise for sale online.
So who inspired the twisted
Serge?
“He's basically me,” Tim
said.
That’s scary. Made me glad
we're talking on the phone
instead of in person.
What began as an idea,
morphed into words on a paper
that were fueled by rants, even
tually became a two-book deal.
Still working at the paper, a
lunchtime stroll resulted in
shock when Tim’s first book
was displayed at a bookstore. It
had also made a preview publi
cation.
His bosses were more than a
little put out. So Tim put his
belongings in a box and out the
door he went.
Leaving devoted readers
enthralled at Serge’s lunacy,
while happy we never have a
chance to shake hands.
Mike Tasos can be reached at
miketasos@sprintmail.com.
or you want to volunteer, call
founder Sandy Moore at (770)
899-5641 or e-mail ericsandy @
comcast.net. The group’s Web
site is restoremotherhood.
webs.com. There is no charge
for these services; however, it
is always accepting donations
and seeking volunteers.
SMART Recovery, Self
Management and Recovery
Training, helps individuals gain
independence from all types of
addiction. The group’s partici
pants form a worldwide com
munity that includes free, self
empowering, secular and sci
ence-based at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays at the
office of Professional Recovery
Counseling, 107 W. Courthouse
Square, Suite 274 in downtown
Cumming. Call (770) 630-6892
or go online at www.smartre
covery.org for more informa
tion.