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Cumming Police
Dept, presents
annual awards at
council meeting.
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Sports
N. Forsyth girls
edge Lambert in
3-point shootout
Page IB
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Weekend Edition-December 9-10, 2022 FORSYTHNEWS.COM forsythcountynews @ForsythNews (®) @ForsythNews $2.00
Sales tax split proposed for LOST agreement
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
A proposed agreement
between the city of Cumming
and Forsyth County could set
how local sales taxes are split,
provide new rules for annexa
tions and see a city park on
Lake Lanier go back to the
county.
At their work session on
Tuesday, Dec. 6, members of
the Cumming City Council
voted 4-1, with Councilwoman
Linda Ledbetter opposed, to
send terms to Forsyth County
commissioners for a local
option sales tax, or LOST, for
2023 through 2032.
The agreement will be dis
cussed at a special-called com
mission meeting on Friday,
Dec. 9.
Under the terms of the pro
posal: Forsyth will receive 87%
of LOST funds, the city will
receive 13% and the remaining
percent goes to the general
fund of the state treasury; sets
rules for annexations from the
city to the county; sets a plan
for possibly de-annexing Mary
Alice Park to Forsyth County;
and will have the county con
vey right-of-way to the city for
the planned Sawnee Drive
Extension project.
An agreement for impact
fees, fees paid for developers
for expanded use of certain
amenities, was proposed but
was not part of the final terms
approved by the council.
The rules for annexations
would require the applicant and
representatives from the city
and county to meet before the
application is filed to discuss
the rationale behind the annex
ation, the planned land use,
impacts of the annexation on
the county, whether the propos
al should continue, any finan
cial impacts of the annexation,
whether the plan fits with the
county’s comprehensive plan or
unified development code and
other items.
Annexations have been a
sticking point between the city
and county following several
large-acre annexations in recent
years.
During the meeting, much of
the discussion focused on Mary
Alice Park, the city’s only park
on Lake Lanier.
Ledbetter, who voted against
the proposal, said she felt the
city would be giving up land
that could be used for parks.
“It’s just sad that we’re sit
ting here as a city, and the only
park we’ve ever had, we put an
administration building on. [It
is] backwards,” she said. “I just
don’t understand why we
See LOST16A
Forsyth County
votes 66% for
Walker in runoff
Turnout lower than Nov.
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
Forsyth County residents
made their voices heard in
the Dec. 6 U.S. Senate run
off election between
incumbent Democratic
Sen. Raphael Wamock and
Republican challenger
Herschel Walker.
Statewide, more than 3.5
million Georgians voted in
the race, with Warnock
receiving about 1.8 million,
about 51.4% of the votes
cast, to Walker’s over 1.7
million votes, about 48.7%
of votes. The race gives
Democrats a 51-49 edge in
the U.S. Senate.
In Forsyth County,
88,630 ballots were cast,
and Walker won more than
58,240 votes, about 65.7%
of the total, to Wamock’s
30,390 votes, about 34.3%.
During voting for the
runoff, about 49,500 voters
cast in-person ballots dur
ing advance voting
between Monday, Nov. 28
and Friday, Dec. 2; 34,427
voted in-person on election
See Election 14A
Arts center celebrates
students with exhibit
‘Never Stop Learning 5
By Sabrina Kerns
s ke rn s@f o rsythnews.com
The Sawnee Association
of the Arts recently held a
celebration and awards
ceremony at the Cumming
Arts Center for students
taking part in its latest
high school art exhibition.
The local art associa
tion, SSA, worked with
six high schools and two
home schools to bring in
students to participate in
the exhibit titled, “Never
Stop Learning,” which
was displayed in the cen
ter from Oct. 13 to Dec. 3.
Vicki Gladden, a retired
teacher and SSA member,
first contacted art teachers
at each of the eight
schools to offer guidance
on preparing for a com
munity exhibit.
By the time the exhibit
was ready, there were 77
student artwork entries.
Judges with the SSA
scored students’ work,
separating them into three
categories: photography,
two-dimensional art and
three-dimensional art. The
judges chose the top three
See Art 14A
'Traditions... on every plate'
Photos by Ashlyn Yule Forsyth County News
TheTaste Street employee Benita puts together a plate of pandebonos, Colombian cheese
bread, for hungry customers.
Fusion restaurant opens its doors downtown
By Ashlyn Yule
ayule@forsythnews.com
Nestled in downtown
Cumming is a new restaurant
with a menu of tasty food
from around the world.
The Taste Street, a
Colombian-Mexican fusion
restaurant, opened its doors
just a week ago on Monday,
Nov. 28 and has been serving
Forsyth County residents fla
vors from Colombia, Mexico
Italy and America.
The Taste Street is located
at 125 Tribble Gap Road in
Suite 101 in Cumming.
Owner Juan Echeverri said
the idea behind The Taste
See Taste 15A
TheTaste Street, located at 125 Tribble Gap Road, is a Latin
American fusion restaurant with flavors from Mexico,
Colombia and more.
61/49
Forecast! 2A
New photo
studio to open
in Cumming
City Center,
6A
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Find the app at
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Volume 113, Number 96
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