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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Weekend Edition-December 23-24, 2022 FORSYTHNEWS.COM JJforsythcountynews Q @ForsythNews (@J@ForsythNews $2.00
County prepares for bitterly cold temps
By Ashlyn Yule
ayule@forsythnews.com
As winter weather
approaches, officials are
offering residents advice on
how to stay happy, safe and
— most importantly —
warm this holiday season.
According to Chris
Grimes, director of
Forsyth’s Emergency
Management Agency, tem
peratures this Christmas
weekend could include
wind chills below 0
degrees, specifically Friday
night and Saturday morn
ing.
“This is the coldest
weather, the coldest air
we’ve seen since 2018,”
Grimes said. “We just don’t
see that very often.”
While the county is not
necessarily expecting win
ter weather such as snow
and ice, the temperatures
outside are going to get
“very cold very quickly,”
with highs on Friday and
Saturday below freezing.
Officials offered specific
safety advice, but Grimes
said his No. 1 tip was to be
prepared.
If the power goes out,
make sure you have
enough blankets at home,
he said. If you have out
door animals, bring them
inside. If you are traveling
on the road to see family
and friends, make sure you
have an emergency kit in
the car.
“My biggest thing is just
thinking through plans,”
Grimes said. “Always have
apian.”
Pipes
One of the best ways to
get ready for the cold snap
is to prepare indoor and
outdoor pipes for freezing,
Division Chief Jason
Shivers with the fire depart
ment said, preferably
sometime before Friday,
Dec. 23.
Cutting off outside spig
ots and letting them drain
or capping them with pro
tective bonnets can be cru
cial before a big freeze, as
water inside the home can
freeze and break indoor
pipes.
Any outside hoses
should be disconnected as
well.
In upper floors of homes
or indoor places without
regular attendance, such as
rental properties, cabinets
should be kept open so heat
See Cold 15A
Ashlyn Yule Forsyth County News
A store associate grabs a space heater at a local
Home Depot. Temperatures in Forsyth County
are expected to reach single digits this weekend.
'Good will always be better than evil'
Sabrina Kerns Forsyth County News
Rabbi Levi Mentz stands in front of the 9-foot-tall menorah at the third annual Hanukkah at
Halcyon onTuesday, Dec. 20.
Community comes together to celebrate Hanukkah at Halcyon
By Sabrina Kerns
skerns@forsythnews.com
A large crowd came together at
Halcyon on Tuesday, Dec. 20,
holding up lit candles to cele
brate the third night of
Hanukkah.
Rabbi Levi Mentz, with
Congregation Beth Israel and
Chabad of Forsyth County,
kicked off the night by welcom
ing the crowd to the third annual
Hanukkah at Halcyon celebration
in front of a 9-foot-tall menorah
on the center green.
Thanks to community support
and business sponsors, Mentz
said Hanukkah is being celebrat
ed throughout north Georgia this
year like never before with 15
similar menorahs on display in
other parts of Forsyth, Dawson
and Lumpkin counties.
This also includes the Forsyth
County Administration Building,
where the Board of
Commissioners recently encour
aged the celebration of
Hanukkah.
“The message of Hanukkah is
that light will always be more
powerful than however outra
geous the darkness is,” Mentz
said.
“Life always brings about chal
lenges, and we come together
and light the menorah to remind
ourselves that good will always
be better than evil. Light will
always be stronger than darkness.
Kindness will always be more
powerful than hate. And we
See Hanukkah|3A
‘Unbelievable
kindness’ gives
couple a bright
holiday display
By Ashlyn Yule
ayule@forsythnews.com
When a Forsyth County resident took to Facebook to
ask for recommendations for putting up Christmas
lights, she said she had no idea how she and her hus
band, who has cancer, would be embraced by such an
“open and trusting and loving” community.
Susan Williams, who has lived in the county since
2013, said she originally shared her story on the Focus
on Forsyth County Facebook group just to get business
recommendations.
“We weren’t asking for handouts,” she said. “I really
just wanted someone to come fix the lights or take them
down.”
See Kindness 15A
Vote delayed on
controversial
industrial park
By Ashlyn Yule
ayule@forsythnews.com
Commissioners have delayed a decision regarding
the proposed and hotly contested North Georgia 400
Business Park after hearing concerns from persistent
neighboring residents.
The industrial park would be on the east side of
Settingdown Road, south of the intersection of Smith
Drive and Bottoms Road and the Hampton area neigh
borhood.
See Vote 16A
x V k
19/8
Forecast! 2A
Dial-A-Ride service
is expanding,
rebranding itself
as Access Forsyth.
4A
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available for download
Find the app at
forsythnews.com/apps
for local news at your
fingertips.
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Volume 113, Number 98
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