Newspaper Page Text
I Sunday, March 11, 2018
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Riverwatch students pay it forward during day of service
By Alexander Popp
apopp@forsythnews.com
Thursday, for the sec
ond year in a row, the stu
dents of Riverwatch
Middle School participat
ed in-a day of service
called Panthers Pay it
Forward, helping out
charities and organiza
tions and teaching stu
dents about the nature of
service.
During the day of ser
‘vice, more than 1,500 stu
dents, staff and chaper
ones from Riverwatch
Middle School spread to
over 30 charities and
organizations throughout
the Forsyth County com
munity, learning and
helping where they could.
“It’s great because we
are always trying to teach
kids to be respectful, kind
and generous, yet we
rarely give them specific
opportunities where they
can practice serving oth
ers, or going out and vol
unteering,” said seventh
grade teacher Sarah
Stream.
Stream and nearly a
dozen of her seventh
graders spent their day of
service helping out at
local Cumming organiza
tion SAFFT, an organiza
tion that supports foster
and adoptive families —
Decorating the building’s
lobby with shamrocks
and other St. Patrick’s
Day ornaments, organiz
Commissioners mull Hall County rental ordinance
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
Forsyth County officials aré”
looking across Lake Lanier for
a way to deal with short-term
rentals through websites like
Airbnb and VRBO.
At a work session on
Tuesday, Forsyth County
Commissioners heard a presen
tation on a draft of a proposed
Hall County’s ordinance and
directed County Attorney Ken
Jarrard to bring back a similar
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ing games and toys, and
making handwritten notes
for kids who come to
SAFFT.
“This is the perfect
opportunity to actually
give them a real world
experience of what it’s
like to do community ser
vice, and show them how
gojd it feels when you
know you are helping
someone,” she said.
“Otherwise they may not
get that opportunity.”
“I’m really glad that
our school does this. It
gives us a chance to give
to our community and see
what it’s like for people
who actually struggle,”
said Riverwatch seventh
grader Tvisha Annem.
Another seventh grader,
Dharshan Rajan, said that
while they were working
at SAFFT, its director of
operations Rebecca Rusk,
explained to them what
SAFFT does for kids in
the foster system.
“It makes me empa
thize with them. We all
have able families, so I
just feel like I should do
everything in my ability
to make them feel that
comfort,” Rajan said.
while sorting through the
pieces of a board game in
SAFFT’s waiting room.
Another group of sixth
graders from Riverwatch
spent the afternoon mov
ing and organizing boxes
at the United Way of
Forsyth. ko
ordinance to Forsyth for discus
sion.
—*“The ordinance will be how
we draft it. That’s really the
tricky part of what we're trying
to do,” Jarrard said. “The ones
we’re getting complaints about
were built in residential-zoned
properties.” ;
The Hall County ordinance
prohibits such rentals on resi
dential property, requires a
local contact person and
requires the homes pay busi
ness taxes.
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Photos by Alexander Popp Forsyth County News
Sarah Stream, seventh grade teacher at Riverwatch Middle School, writes
a handwritten note for SAFFT to distribute during the annual day of ser
vice Thursday.
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Previously, the county dis
cussed a permitting system for
the rentals, which are not
allowed by county rules.
“The problem was that if we
begin asking people to come up
and say, ‘Hey, I need to get a
permit because I operate a
short-term vacation rental in
my residentially-zoned proper
ty,’ then by the very act of
doing that, they would basically
be telling on themselves that
they are therefore in violation,”
Jarrard said.
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Photo by Bradley Wiseman Forsyth County News
Follow @ForsythNews on Instagram for an interview with Makayla.
In recent years, services like
Airbnb have become a popular
way for people to find residents
who want to rent out a room or
their house for short-term stays
as a more personal and appeal
ing — and often cheaper —
choice than a hotel.
Since last year, commission
ers have discussed how to deal
with the rentals, which are par
ticularly popular in the summer
and on Lake Lanier.
Neighbors have told commis
sioners of their issues with
Presented by:
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CUNBMING-FORSYTH COUNT
FORSYTH .~
COUNTY SCHOOLS |
Watch on
ForsythNews.com/
Studio
“It gets kids out of
the classroom and
shows them real
life and they get to
- participate in the
real world.” -
Amy Hitch
Teacher, Riverwatch
According to Andrea
Preston, Director of
Resource Development
for the United Way of
Forsyth County, the sixth
graders moved and orga
nized 20 pallets of donat
ed school supplies that
will be distributed to in
need families in the fall,
“They did a tremen
dous job, and they
worked well together,”
Preston said. “Really, this
is the best group we have
had in here, as far as
working together and
teamwork goes.”
Sixth grade teacher
Amy Hitch said that
Riverwatch staff particu
larly liked the day of ser
vice because it lets them
see the kids using teach
ings in the real world.
“It’s our favorite day of
the year, because it gets
kids out of the classroom
and shows them real- life
and they get to participate
in the real world. That’s
great to see,” Hitch said.
excessive noise, trash being left
behind and renters who host
parties that go late into the
night.
“It’s happening right now,
and it’s going to happen again
this summer,” Jarrard said. “In
fact, I think at the last stake
holder meeting, so\gnebody
played us audio from their back
porch where it’s happening in
February. So it’s not just in the
summer months, it’s all the
time.”
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~ Aseries presented by
Cumming Pediatric Group that
highlights elementary school
students in Forsyth County,
their hobbies and dreams.
By Bradley Wiseman
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