Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

FRIDAY GRS F orsyt h COullt:y Lviwes 50¢ | Engage your way e mmm «om | [Jf§ forsythcountynews | [¥] @ForsythNews : |!)I1(AR C| 1; ""i'f( ' T Ifil_;(?)( (s B s State of the Program | 1B : Hate crime investigation continues By Kayla Robins krobins@forsythnews.com The north Forsyth resident whose home was targeted earli er this week in an apparent anti-gay hate crime told author ities she has had problems with neighborhood teenagers in the FOURTH OF JULY Fireworks sales soar IR A R i R st e s R S et 1o ot e e 8 . TR s B e e e el ‘:»_‘:_;:f_ s 3 Nm——— (| e — ‘ T R reor--—ecril s % 4 i ; s g me——l . . = = & i s | T e — bl ;o Vi eAT w’r‘f} id R SR ) ey, *‘m e s T - e g # A TN SN 4 ;fi;" ? %‘;: , e . ' oo g e N P S e ’ L e i : T bl » - $ o : k -2 S b Hf: : :%h’é“ j Photos by Jim Dean Forsyth County News Patti Pinkus and her children, from left, Julia, Austin and Christoper look on as TNT Fireworks clerk Ashley Mayabb rings up their purchase Wednesday at the store on Keith Bridge Road. Residents welcome change in state law By Jim Dean jdean@forsythnews.com If the lines at local stores are any indica tion, Georgia's new fireworks law is a boom ing success. Ashley Mayabb, a clerk at the TNT fire works store on Browns Bridge Road in northern Forsyth County, said she’s seen a steady stream of customers through her store. “Everybody’s excited that we can finally sell these, I'm pumped about it,” she said. The sale of large fireworks became legal Wednesday for the first time in Georgia. Sparklers and fireworks that didn’t lift far off the ground were previously allowed. Mayabb did say that some customers are finding one part of the new law confusing. See FIREWORKS | 6A Fire department urges safety By Kayla Robins krobins@forsythnews.com As most people are off work today for the July Fourth holiday weekend, shopping lists may include fireworks. Big fireworks. Not just sparklers and noise-makers. i With a new law that went into effect Wednesday that allows aerial fire Volume 106, Number 78 © 2015, Forsyth County News Cumming, Georgia 9099404001 Literacy group has new leader | 6A past. But the incident overnight Monday — which included the burning of her rainbow flag on a vehicle and damage to a tree and the front yard — crossed the line, she told Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies. The investigation is ongoing. i : # e works in Georgia, local emergency personnel are encouraging additional safety measures. “Fireworks are unpredictable, and accidents and injuries can occur quick ly even if a person is careful,” said Forsyth County Fire Chief Danny Bowman. “The best way to avoid inju ry is to not use fireworks and leave the fireworks displays to trained proses Abby 4B Classifieds 5B Crossword 4A Deaths 2A Opinion 5A Sports 1B e B R — g e : . i , Grill out for the holiday | 4A As of Thursday, no one had been arrested or charged and authorities hadn’t released any details about possible suspects. According to the FBI, a hate crime is a traditional one, like vandalism, whose motivation is based on beliefs against a race, religion, sexual orientation, dis sionals.” . According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 240 peo ple on average go to the emergency room every day with fireworks-related injuries around Independence Day. Children 19 and younger represent about 51 percent of those. See SAFETY |6A 3A Man charged with false report of a crime. ability or ethnicity. Georgia is one of five states that don’t have a hate crime law, so any suspects charged would not face that specific count. However, committing a hate crime can change the classifica tion of a traditional crime, said tax hik detailed Concerns from residents heard By Kayla Robins krobins@forsythnews.com The Forsyth County Board of Education fielded questions from resi dents Wednesday during the first of . three public hearings on a proposed school tax increase, pending the approval of a higher millage rate. About five people showed up for the hearing, asking about the recently approved fiscal year 2016 budget that includes a 2 percent increase in teacher salaries and 124 new positions, among other expenditures. “Our budget is 90 percent people,” said- School Superintendent Jeff Bearden. He said school taxes had not been raised in four years due to the recession but that the increase is necessary to stay competitive with school systems in metro Atlanta. During that time, the district had been dipping into its reserves, causing inter est rates for bonds — which are used to fund construction projects — to increase. A mill, the rate used to calculate taxes, is equal to $1 for each SI,OOO in assessed property value. Assessed value is 40 percent of actual market value, * The board tentatively agreed to a rate of 17.3 mills, which would result in a tax increase of $177 for a home with a fair market value of $250,000. For a non-homestead exempted prop erty with a fair market value of $250,000, the increase likely will be about slßl. Ann Crow, school board member for District 1, noted the school system lost about sl9 million in taxes last year due to senior citizens being exgmpt. She also pointed out the district is about to begin paying health insurance and retirement benefits for non-certified employees such as bus drivers and cafe teria workers, who had been previously supported by the state. ‘Residents’ concerns included why impact fees levied on new development could not be used and why the school board doesn’t have more say in what the county commission approves for rezoning. Impact fees, according to the board, cannot be used by the school system. Altering that would require a change to the Georgia Constitution, where it likely would not receive support from counties that need to encourage growth. Bearden noted that even with the increase in mills, Forsyth would remain See SCHOOL | 3A : 5A Yarbrough: Former UGA ~ president heads back to Malibu. Robin Regan, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, resulting in “stiffer penalties during sen téncing.” Regan has previously said the agency was treating the case as “an obvious hate crime.” See CRIME | 3A 81/66 Forecast | 2A