Newspaper Page Text
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Sunday, December 4,2022 FORSYTHNEWS.COM
Election official pushes back on Duncan claim
Lt. Gov. says he waited about an hour’ without voting
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
A member of the
Forsyth County Board of
Voter Registrations and
Elections has issued a
statement regarding com
ments made by Lt. Gov.
Geoff Duncan, a Forsyth
County resident, about advance
voting earlier this week.
In a CNN interview on
Wednesday, Duncan said he
showed up to vote earlier that
morning, waited in line for
“about an hour” and did not cast a
ballot for either incumbent
Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael
Wamock or Republican challeng
er Herschel Walker.
“I showed up to vote this morn
ing,” Duncan said. “I was one of
those folks who got in
line and spent about an
hour waiting, and it was
the most disappointing
ballot I have ever stared at
in my entire life since I
started voting. I had two
candidates that I just
couldn’t find anything
that made sense for me to
put my vote behind, so I walked
out of that ballot box showing up
to vote but not voting for either
one of them.”
Duncan, a former state legisla
tor who represented south
Forsyth County, has made several
comments critical toward Walker
during the election season after
previously making national head
lines for his criticisms of former
President Donald Trump and
Trump’s responses.
In a statement on Friday, Joel
Natt, a Republican member of the
Forsyth County Board of Voter
Registrations and Elections,
pushed back against Duncan’s
claims and said the average wait
time for Forsyth County’s
advance voting locations was less
than 15 minutes “with a few
exceptions.”
“Yes, our current Lt. Governor,
a Forsyth resident, voted on
Wednesday in person,” Natt said
in a public social media post on
Friday. “But he did not take an
hour to wait in line or anything.
We, the Forsyth County Board of
Election, know when he did vote
and how long it took to get in and
go to a machine, but I, as the
Vice-Chairman, will not address
it publicly at this time.
“But I can assure you no one in
Duncan
Photo by Ashlyn Yule Forsyth County News
Voters wrap around the Forsyth County Elections Office on
Friday, Dec. 2 for the final day of advance voting for the
Dec. 6 U.S. Senate runoff election.
Forsyth is waiting 1 hour in any ment as of press time,
line.” According to information from
Neither Duncan nor Natt
responded to a request for com- See Duncan 12A
'Anna is unstoppable'
Photo by Sabrina Kerns Forsyth County News
Student Government Association President Anna Mpller was chosen as a finalist for the Rhodes
Scholarship, making her the first student at the University of North Georgia to earn the title.
Student chosen as UNGs first Rhodes Scholarship finalist
From staff reports
The University of North Georgia
recently announced that its Student
Government Association President,
Anna Mpller, was named as the
school’s first Rhodes Scholarship final
ist.
The Rhodes Scholarship, a national
postgraduate award for students to
study at England’s University of
Oxford, is the oldest and most presti
gious international graduate scholar
ship in the world.
Mollcr applied as a Danish citizen to
The Global Rhodes Scholarship, which
Dr. Anastasia Lin, assistant vice presi
dent for Academic Affairs, said is an
exceedingly competitive international
scholarship.
“The entire University of North
Georgia community is incredibly
proud of Anna and this achievement,”
UNG President Bonita C. Jacobs said.
“Her drive and leadership skills have
been evident throughout her time at
UNG, and this accomplishment will
propel her to further success.”
Lin, who also directs UNG’s
Nationally Competitive Scholarships
office, nominated Mollcr. She and sev
eral other faculty and staff then men
tored Mollcr through the application
process.
“Anna is unstoppable,” Lins said.
“She possesses a unique blend of aca
demic excellence, leadership savvy and
a genuine commitment to making the
world a better place. She has honed her
skills relentlessly through her work on
sustainability issues, Student
Government, and the Honors
Program.”
See Rhodes 12A
Canton man
faces stalking,
other charges
in Forsyth
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
A Canton man has been arrest
ed on stalking and other charges
tied to an incident in Forsyth
County.
According to the Forsyth
County Jail’s web
site, Jeffrey Carl
Mattson, 53, of
Canton, was
arrested on Friday,
Nov. 18 and is
charged with felo
ny first-degree
Mattson forced entrance
burglary, two
counts of felony criminal damage
to property in the second degree,
harassing communication/phone
calls, robbery-forcible purse
snatching, aggravated assault,
stalking and interfering with a
911/emergency phone call.
According to an incident report
from the Forsyth County Sheriff’s
Office, on Oct. 31, deputies
responded to a stalking call on
Raeburn Road.
The complainant told officers
“that a male subject kicked in her
front door and was inside her
house.”
The responding officer made
contact with Mattson and he was
arrested at the site.
Details of the other charges
were not immediately available.
Mattson is being held at the
Forsyth County Jail.
Residents can give input on proposed McFarland Parkway transport hub
By Kelly Whitmire
kwh itm i re@f o rsyth news.com
The Forsyth County gov
ernment is offering in-person
and digital options for the
community to give input on a
proposed transportation hub
in the McFarland Road area.
During the Holiday Concert
at Sexton Enrichment Center,
2115 Chloe Road, on Sunday,
Dec. 4, a pop-up event will be
held from 3-5 p.m. for the
McFarland Mobility Hub
Feasibility Study. An online
survey for the study is avail
able at surveymonkey.eom/r/
McFarlandMobilityHub
According to the study’s
website, those involved will
look at the feasibility and
potential location of the
mobility hub, “a physical
location that provides an inte
grated collection of mobility
services, amenities, and sup
porting technologies,” in the
area around Ga. 400 Exit 12.
“Services can include on-
demand ridesharing, micro
transit services, bikeshare,
carshare, and micromobility
parking and e-charging,” the
website said. “Mobility hubs
offer a safe, comfortable, con
venient, and accessible space
to transfer across different
travel modes seamlessly.”
An interactive example of a
mobility hub on the study’s
website shows several poten
tial offerings, including a
high-capacity public transpor
tation station for services uti
lizing the upcoming express
lanes on GA. 400, bike and
scooter parking, electric vehi
cle charging, vendors or retail
and landing space for air
taxis, which “would include
an aerial on-demand transport
for single passengers or a
small group of riders” to other
potential air taxi sites in
metro Atlanta.
After this round of public
comments, those conducting
the study will work on mobil
ity hub concepts before seek
ing public involvement again
next summer as they finalize
recommendations for the hub.
The mobility study is the
first major initiative from the
Link Forsyth Public
Transportation Plan, which
“guides the vision for and
implementation of future pub
lic transportation investments
in Forsyth County,” according
to the county’s website.
For more information on
the project, go to mcfarland-
mobilityhub.com/.
O
Photo submitted to Forsyth County News
An interactive example of a proposed transportation hub on
McFarland Parkway includes a possible high-capacity public
transportation station, bike and scooter parking, electric vehicle
charging, vendors or retail and landing space for air taxis.
Weather
High Low
57/42
Access local news online at
ForsythNews.com