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Friday, February 23, 2018
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Forsyth County GOP chair to step down
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com °
The head of the Forsyth
County Republican. Party has
announced he will resign from
his position. -
Forsyth ‘County GOP
Chairman Justin Hawkins
announced this week he would
be stepping down from his
position in a letter to members
of the party. His resignation i$
effective March 23. - ,
“It has truly been an honor
and privilege to serve you as
chairman and lead the fight for
the conservative cause in
Forsyth County,” Hawkins said.
“From the bottom of my heart,
Students honor shooting victims with silence, remembrance
By Alexander Popp
apopp@forsythnews.com .
One week after 17 people
were murdered at Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High
School in Parkland, Fla., stu
dents and faculty from across
Forsyth County have come
together in remembrance and
memorial of the lives that were
lost. -
At noon Wednesday, hun
dreds of South Forsyth High
School students gathered on the
school’s plaza to share. a
moment of silence and release
a bright orange balloon for
each of the Stoneman Douglas
High School victims.
At Forsyth Central High
School, 17 minutes of silence
were observed on Wednesday
afternoon. .
At Lambert High School, all
students and faculty met
Wednesday to discuss the
shooting in Parkland, Fla., and
methods of school safety.
According to Jennifer
Caracciolo, director of commu
nications for Forsyth County
FROM 1A
received several reports of suspicious activ
ity this week. All were fully investigated
but none were found to be a credible threat.
“However, this situation was different
and was a legitimate concem,” the post stat
ed. :
Rainwater said the sheriff’s office contin
ued to investigate rumors regarding school
violence at West Forsyth into early after
noon Thursday.
“We are investigating a rumor about a
stash of guns and two friends [of the stu
dent who was already arrested],” Rainwater
Added Rainwater: “[The social media
rumors] were created this morning proba
bly by a teenager to play into the fear tak
ing place right now among parents. We're
very thankful that all of these citizens con
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I want to thank
my team and
the very people
who volunteer
each and every
day to do the
necessary work
but ask for no
recognition in
return.” :
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Hawkins
Hawkins, who said he would
nof.be commenting further on
his resignation, was selected as
chairman at the party’s conven
tion in March 2017. The party
will elect his replacement at a
future meeting. - :
In the letter, Hawkins said he
was proud of what the party had
accomplished in his time in the
Schools, this response from the
schools came after the district
met Tuesday to “debrief on
school safety” in the wake of
the shooting.
“School safety has changed
greatly since the tragic events
at Columbine in 1999. We have
implemented safety plans and
training, modified our school
designs, increased [the number.
of school resource officers] and
grown Social Emotional
Learning, to name a few of the
many changes,” she said.
Social Emotional Learning is
a Forsyth County School pro
gram that focuses on improving
students’ self-awareness, self
management, social awareness,
responsible decision-making
and relationship skills. -
Caracciolo said that after the
debrief, principals from each
Forsyth County school were
encouraged to review current
school training and practices
with staff and students.
She said that the idea of par
ents, students and school staff
being accountable for alerting
authorities to suspicious behav-
tinue to ‘see something, say something.”
Rainwater said the increased vigilance
from parents and students is exactly what
the sheriff’s office needs to prevent trage
dies.
“The last five days have been a good
example of what the sheriff said in his let
ter: ‘See something, say something,’
Rainwater said.
A letter that was sent out to the parents of
West Forsyth High School early Thursday
morning by West Forsyth Principal Karl
Mercer stated that the school was notified
of the threat Wednesday night, and the sus
pect will “not be returning to school.”
Added Mercer: “The school is safe today
and we have an increased law presence on
In his letter, Mercer provided a link so
that anonymous tips can be submitted in
case a parent or student has a concern about
a potential incident: www.forsyth.kl2.ga.
us/Page/635.
position.
“In one year alone, we not
only achieved our goals but we
surpassed all expectations.
Simply put — our team
achieved the ‘impossible,”” he
said. “We raised more than
$40,000 by. creating the largest
political event in Georgia, drove
the attendance at the state GOP
convention to its highest level in
years and continue to have
record turnout each month as we
continue to reach diverse seg
ments across our community.”
Hawkins did not elaborate on
his decision, except to say it was
time for him to move on.
“Every organization arrives at
a season where new leadership
ior was stressed at the meeting.
“If-you see something, say
something — from parents to
staff to students. We are asking
all school and district office
staff to always be aware of
potential safety concerns when
in or visiting schools/facilities
and to inform school/building
administrators,” she said. .
Caracciolo said that they also
saw this as an opportunity to
stress the importance of build
ing relationships between stu
dents and staff.
In a letter send out to parents
of Forsyth Central High School
students, Principal Mitch
Young said “Today, we held a
school-wide moment of silence
for the victims, their families,
and school community. For
seventeen minutes — each
minute representing a lost life
— our school went silent, both
in word and in technology. As
a school, we take no position in
any of the debates surrounding
the tragedy. Rather, we stand
as one to show our love and
support.”
In a letter sent out to parents,
el e
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is required,” he said. “Today, it
is my time to step down and
serve my community in a much
different capacity.”
He said while he had made
friendships in the position, there
was a negative side of politics,
which he urged others to move
past. .
“However, the vast majority,
although tremendously talented
and gifted, have allowed this
arena with small glamour to
infiltrate the very worst of what
us as humans are capable of,”
Hawkins said. “‘Often times gos
sip, lying and deceiving become
normal and are justified as the
‘necessities’ of politics. If we
continue to ignore or partici
Lambert High School Principal
Gary Davidson said,
“Unfortunately, in today’s
world a level of inconvenience
is a small price to pay for an
increased commitment to safe
ty.“
In a letter send out to parents
of West Forsyth High School
students, Principal Karl Mercer
stated that over the next few
weeks the school will be mak
ing changes to its security pro
tocol, “including securing
access to the building and
learning cottages at all times,
enhancing protocols for enter
ing and exiting the buildings,
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Forsythews.com | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Today, we held a school-wide moment
of silence for the victims, their families,
and school community. For seventeen
minutes — each minute representing-a
lost life — our school went silent.”
MitchYouhg ‘
Principal, Forsyth Central High School
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pate in that behavior, we as a
nation’ and community will
deteriorate.”
Hawkins continued: “Our
people deserve leadership that
is not focused on tearing down
one another from milés away
on a computer screen but
instead confronting one anoth
er, face to face, with honesty
-and integrity to build a consen
sus and overcome great chal
lenges.”
Hawkins previously ran for
the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners District 5 seat
in 2016 and was selected as the
local GOP treasurer in 2015.
He is a graduate of South
Forsyth High School.
and making sure everyone 18
aware of what t~ Ao in case of
an emergency. . {
Caracciolo added that every
one should be aware of the
Campus Crime Stoppers pro
gram that allows anyone to sub
mit anonymous tips about non
urgent illegal activities by call
ing and texting (770) 205-4625,
or visiting www.forsyth.kl2.
ga.us/Page/635. -
Other schools in Forsyth
County may have held memori
als for the victims at Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High
School, but could not be
reached as of press time.
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