Newspaper Page Text
Sunday, November 20,2022
2A | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com
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FORSYTH FORECAST The four-day outlook
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
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Partly Cloudy
Mostly Sunny
Showers
Partly Cloudy
51/31
54/36
55/42
61/44
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Cumming Arts
Center's new exhibit,
"Never Stop Learning'/
is on display now through
Dec 3.This exciting exhibit
includes SAA members
new artwork as well as art
work by 77 talented art
students from Lambert,
Denmark, Central, North
and South Forsyth High
Schools and two Home/Art
Center Classes. Gallery
viewing and Gift Shop
hours areThurs-Sat, 11am-
3pm.The Arts Center is
located at 111 Pilgrim Mill
Rd in downtown
Cumming and is open
during the week for ongo
ing classes and open stu
dio. Visit sawneeart.org for
more information about
all Cumming Art Center
activities.
Treat the Troops
Southern Style, which
provides comfort foods for
our deployed soldiers, will
have a packing event at 7
p.m., Nov.14. attheVFW
Post 9143,1045 Dahlonega
Hwy., Cumming. Please
bring homemade cookies
(six per twist-tie baggie
and labeled if they contain
nuts), candy, individual
servings of packable food,
travel-size toiletries and
letters or cards of appreci
ation.Tax-deductible post
age donations are need
ed. If you know of anyone
who is currently deployed
outside the Continental
United States, email Linda
their name, military mail
ing address and expected
return date. For more
information, email Ikt-
jones@bellsouth.net, or
go online at www.treat-
thetroops.org.
ONGOING
Lord of Life Lutheran
Church: Please join us for
worship on Sundays at
10:30 a.m.You can also
view the service live each
Sunday through Facebook
Live (www.facebook.com/
lordoflifealpharetta.org).
Lord of Life Lutheran
Church offers a Christ-
centered/family-oriented
ministry.The church is at
5390 McGinnis Ferry Road,
Alpharetta. For more infor
mation, call 770-740-1279
or visit www.Lord-life.org.
Episcopal Church of
the Holy Spirit will have
Sunday service at 8:30
a.m. and 10:45 a.m., (cof
fee & conversation held
after each service), and
adult education at 9:30
a.m., Wednesday service
at noon. Each evening
Compline is held via
Facebook live at 8 p.m. on
www.facebook.com/
EC0HS.net. We also have
Bible Study onTuesday at
6 p.m. andThursday at
10:30 a.m.Thursday. Visit
www.ecohs.net for all
available opportunities,
including Vacation Bible
School coming up.
Episcopal Church of the
Holy Spirit is at 724
Pilgrim Mill Rd.,
Cumming.
FROM 1A
Fair
did rain on us that day.”
This year’s fair included
the annual Miss Cumming
Fair pageant, daily spe
cials, acts, rides, food and
concerts.
Mayor Troy Brumbalow
said, “We seem to break
records every year, and we
couldn’t do it without all
the staff in the city of
Cumming.”
“I just want to applaud
you and all of your staff
for the great work, and I
know that that work
extends way beyond fair
ground staff,” Brumbalow
told Helms during the
meeting. “[City
Administrator] Phil
Higgins is down there
every night from open to
close and [City Clerk] Jeff
Honea and so many other
employees that go into
this. It’s a city-wide
event.”
FROM 1A
Haunted
Girls Club of Lanier, Bald Ridge
Lodge, Family Promise and The Place
of Forsyth County.
According to officials with the haunt
ed house, over 90 volunteers racked up
10,000 hours this haunt season between
painting sets, applying makeup to
actors, making props and, of course,
scaring the screams out of Forsyth
County residents.
Over 90 volun
teers racked
up 10,000
hours this
haunt season
between paint
ing sets, apply
ing makeup to
actors, making
props and
scaring peo
ple, according
to officials
with the
haunted
house.
Photo submitted to
Forsyth County News
“We would like to thank the commu
nity for the unbelievable continued sup
port that plays a tremendous part in our
success,” officials with the haunted
house said. “We enjoy entertaining you
and putting your dollars back to work in
our community.”
House of Four Scythes Haunted
Attraction began in 2019, putting on
shows at the Cumming Fairgrounds dur
ing October each year.
The haunted house will be celebrating
its Fifth Year of Fear in 2023. For those
wishing to get involved, visit www.four-
scythes.com.
ABOUT US AND OUR VALUES
The public has a right to know, and
the Forsyth County News is dedicat
ed to that principle and the “contin
ued enlightenment and freedom of
the people of North Georgia,” as
engraved outside our building.
The pursuit of truth is a fundamen
tal principle of journalism. But the
truth is not always apparent or
known immediately.
A professional journalist’s role is
to report as completely and impar
tially as possible verifiable facts so
readers can, based on their own
knowledge and experience, deter
mine what they believe to be the
truth. That is often an ongoing pur
suit as journalists work to uncover
stories and follow those stories
wherever they lead, regardless of
preconceived ideas.
The news they report is separate
from the opinions shared in the
pages of the FCN, which include
those by its columnists, political car
toonists and readers who submit let
ters to the editor.
The presentation of both news and
opinions is designed to educate,
entertain and foster community con
versation. Readers are encouraged to
challenge and sharpen their percep
tions based on that presentation.
And we encourage readers to do
the same for us, offering news tips,
criticisms and questions.
As your honestly local news
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Find us on these platforms or
reach out to our newsroom at news-
tips @forysthnews.com or 770-887-
3126.
forsythcountynews Q @ForsythNews (®) @ForsythNews
SkillsUSA students working
to grow career tech in schools
By Sabrina Kerns
skerns@forsythnews.com
Student and community
leaders recently met at
Alliance Academy for
Innovation to celebrate
Advocacy Day with the
school’s SkillsUSA chap
ter.
Abigail Harris, senior
and chapter president, said
Advocacy Day was creat
ed at the school four years
ago “to celebrate the work
that [Career Technical
Student Organizations]
like SkillsUSA do in our
community to advocate for
CTAE education and the
partnership between edu
cation and business.”
She said the day is about
letting Forsyth residents
know the impact of these
organizations on learning
and preparing for a career
after high school.
“We are the future of
business as are all of our
leaders here today,” Harris
said. “And it’s our work
that will ultimately contin
ue to foster our communi
ty growth.”
Other chapter officers
explained to a crowd of
community and school
leaders that the organiza
tion has more than 200
members, making it the
largest SkillsUSA chapter
in the county.
And through its work,
its competes in state and
national competitions,
plans social events, raises
money for the organiza
tion and volunteers for
community service proj
ects.
Cumming City Council
members Joey Cochran
and Linda Ledbetter both
said they are excited to see
what their chapter has
coming as it and other stu
dent organizations in the
county continue to grow.
“You guys are just doing
incredible things here, and
we’re going to look for
ward to, one day, you guys
being up here as leaders,”
Cochran said.
The two council mem
bers then stood in front of
the crowd to read a procla
mation they and Mayor
Troy Brumbalow original
ly made in 2019 to declare
Advocacy Day as a local
holiday on Nov. 14 in
Cumming.
“The Alliance Academy
for Innovation has an
active chapter of
SkillsUSA on its campus,
which helps local students
unlock a wide variety of
personal and professional
development opportunities
from which they can gar
ner resources to facilitate
success and future endeav
ors,” part of the proclama
tion reads.
Harris said they were
proud to see the Forsyth
County Board of
Commissioners also make
a similar proclamation this
year, officially declaring
Advocacy Day throughout
the county and encourag
ing residents to generate
support for the growth of
CTAE in Forsyth’s
schools.
Sabrina Kerns Forsyth County News
Skills USA officers pose with Alliance Academy Principal Karl Mercer and
City Council members Linda Ledbetter and Joey Cochran.
FROM 1A
Mixed
away sat developments
with densities of 5.99 and
4.5 units per acre.
District 2’s planning
commissioner Stacy Guy
said despite finding higher
density residential products
a mile away, he did not
agree with the plan.
“Fowler Road is a rural
road,” Guy said. “This is a
very rural part of the coun
ty right now; it feels that
way. You go to Denmark
[High School] ... to a foot
ball game, you can hear
roosters crowing. That’s
how rural this community
is. And you’re going to put
3.2 units per acre on that. I
have a problem with that.”
District 3’s Jessica
Thorsen, who represents
the area, said she disagreed
with calling the project
high density, stating she felt
it was more like “medium
density.”
She also argued that hav
ing a mixed-use develop
ment would create charac
ter and offer more ameni
ties to the area, such as
connectivity to Denmark
High School, the proposed
Denmark Library and the
Big Creek Greenway.
According to Thorsen,
many people were in favor
of the project but had been
“run off from being
involved.”
“[This request] got ugly
on all sides,” Thorsen said.
Planning commissioners
also discussed the
McFarland/Shiloh Road
Regional Node, which has
been a topic of conversa
tion along with this rezon
ing request.
In March 2021, Forsyth
County Board of
Commissioners approved a
partial update to the coun
ty’s comprehensive plan.
Within the update, the
McFarland/Shiloh Road
Regional Node increased in
size to include almost all
the McFarland Character
Area.
During Tuesday’s meet
ing, District 4’s Nedal
Shawkat spoke about the
previous regional node
boundary changes, which
he said were presented to
the planning commission
ers as something the
District Commissioner
needed to help with
“blighted areas” in the
community.
District 5’s Tim Dineen
said recommending
approval of the boundary
changes in 2021 was one of
his more “regrettable” deci
sions.
“And then an MPD
[rezoning request]
appeared right away,”
Dineen said. Northpoint
Capital Holding
Investment’s rezoning
application was filed in
June 2021.
In October 2022, Forsyth
County Board of
Commissioners approved
another partial update to
the comprehensive plan,
shrinking the area of the
McFarland/Shiloh Road
Regional Node.
While a master planned
district is an allowable zon
ing category in the regional
node, it is not allowed in
the McFarland Character
Area. The boundary update
could affect county staff’s
recommendation if the
mixed-use development
proposal was to be
reviewed under the new
comprehensive plan.
Planning commissioners
could not come to an agree
ment on recommending the
project for approval, even
with Thorsen’s suggestion
to recommend the item for
approval without the vari
ances.
Instead, planning com
missioners voted to recom
mend denial of the project
with a note to commission
ers that the application
needs to be reevaluated by
county planning staff with
out the variances.
The motion passed with
a 4-1 vote with Thorsen
opposed.
Be local. Be informed.
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