Newspaper Page Text
May 7,2008
^Reporter
PAGE 3A
Local News
Have local news to report? Call 994-2358 or email wpdavis@bellsouth.net.
Hansford joins the Reporter
BY GINA HERRING
Denzil Hansford joined the
Reporter team as the paper’s
new graphics designer
March 14. He takes scrib
bled notes, crude drafts and
interesting ideas and turns
them into the great-looking
advertisements seen each
week in the Reporter. Denzil
prides himself on being pre
cise and getting the ads just HANSFORD
like the clients envision them.
He says he enjoys his work at the
Reporter because it is always chang
ing and evolving. “There’s something
different every day,” says Denzil. “I
enjoy being creative.”
Publisher Will Davis said Denzil
has been a solid addition for the
Reporter.
“Denzil can make graphics
sing,” said Davis. “I have been
very impressed with his
work, and the fact that he’s a
native Forsythian is icing on
the cake.”
Denzil knows the people
and businesses of Forsyth. He
was born and raised here and
graduated from Mary Persons
High School in 1999. Denzil attended
Flint River Technical College and
received his printing graphics diplo
ma in 2001. He went on to graduate
from American Intercontinental
University with a bachelor’s degree
in visual communications in 2004.
Denzil stayed gone a little while
longer, working in Norcross at
Network Communications for two
years. This year he decided it was
time to come home and landed at the
Reporter.
He is currently taking classes at
Griffin Technical College in web
design.
Denzil is the son of Betty and
Thomas Hansford of Forsyth. He has
two brothers, Desi and Tellas
Hansford. When he is not cranking
out great graphics, Denzil enjoys
playing basketball and working out.
Chamber of Commerce hires Laurie Lee
BY WILL DAVIS
The new membership
coordinator for the
Forsyth-Monroe
County Chamber of
Commerce says
she’s excited about
meeting everyone
and helping the
county and the
chamber attract
more businesses.
Laurie Lee started
as the chamber’s
membership coordinator on
Monday, May 5. She
replaces Robin Jones, who
resigned earlier this year.
About a year ago, Lee
moved to Monroe County
from Atlanta, where she
had been a real
estate broker for the
past 12 years, before
her company down
sized in response to
the real estate slow
down.
A self-described
people person, Lee
said the chamber is
a good fit for her
since her background
is in public relations and
non-profits.
Lee said she moved to
Monroe County to be closer
to her parents, who live in
River Forest. She has three
children: the oldest is a
junior at Mary Persons,
one will be in kindergarten
at Hubbard Elementary
next year, and she also has
a two-year-old.
She said the schools are
great in Monroe County
and she plans to stay put
in Monroe County. Before
joining the chamber, Lee
has also organized events
for non-profits and political
candidates, including a golf
tournament she put
together for Rep. Jim Cole
last month.
Tiffany Andrews, execu
tive director of the cham
ber, said they’re thrilled to
able to land Lee and said
she is a great addition to
the staff.
Reserve space now to
salute your graduate
Family members and friends have until next Friday to
reserve space in the Reporter’s special graduation edition
to congratulate their high school senior.
The Reporter will publish its annual graduation edition
on May 28, just two days before commencement exercises
at Mary Persons and Monroe Academy on May 30.
Parents can congratulate their senior for finishing
strong by buying a 4 inch X 4 inch space in that edition
for just $39. The space can include photos, artwork, well
wishes or Bible verses, whatever the parent would like.
The deadline to place a special senior graduation ad is
5 p.m. Friday, May 16. For more information call Trelllis
Grant at 994-2358, email
business@mymcr.net or
visit the Reporter at 30 E.
Johnston Street.
Monroe County Opinion Poll
Who will you vote for in the race for
county commission chairman?
Harold Carlisle (R)
James Vaughn (D)
Waiting to see who else qualifies
Won't vote
379 Votes, 60%
235 Votes, 37%
10 Votes, 2%
7 Votes, 1 %
Question of the Week:
Who will you vote for in the race for
county commission District 2?
Go to www.mymcr.net to vote. Results will be in
this spot in next week’s Reporter.
Correction
A story in the April 30
Reporter, "Heath quits
Better Hometown," reported
Mayor Tye Howard as say
ing the Forsyth-Monroe
County Chamber of
Commerce had resumes on
file because it was looking
to hire a tourism director.
Actually, the chamber was
interviewing for a member
ship coordinator. Beverly
Walter is the tourism direc
tor, and, to her relief, is still
gainfully employed.
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Mayor: City
in dire straits
But others beg to differ
BY WILL DAVIS
Mayor Tye Howard says the city of Forsyth is in
dire straits financially and that council must act
quickly to stop the hemorrhaging.
Howard, who took office in January, said after four
months of study he's getting to the bottom of the
city's financial situation and it's not pretty.
Howard said the city is falling $1 million below
projected revenues in the electrical department,
much of it because the city figured the Department
of Corrections at Tift College and Super Wal-Mart
would be added as power customers this year. Now,
it looks like DOC may not go on-line until the first
of 2009, and construction has not started on the
Super Wal-Mart. And he said the previous adminis
tration raided a flex account the city has through
its power cooperative, the Municipal Electric
Authority of Georgia (MEAG). The previous city
council used $1 million from that account to fund,
among other things, $225,000 in renovations to the
old city hall. Howard said the fund, a kind of sav
ings account for the city to use at its discretion on
special projects, is down from $2.3 million to just
$1.3 million. And he said the city needs those funds
to complete infrastructure improvements extending
to Tift College for the new DOC headquarters.
"If you think this is serious business, you'd be
right," said Howard. Howard said the city really
needs to tighten its belt and that it may have to
borrow money to make ends meet.
"We're in dire straits," said Howard, who added
that he's still optimistic it can be fixed. However, he
said city taxpayers have a right to know what the
situation is.
City council member Mike Dodd agreed the city
needs to be frugal during the economic slowdown,
but took issue with Howard's depiction of the situa
tion.
"We're not in dire straits," said Dodd. "We're all
right." He acknowledged the slowdown is hurting
city sales tax revenues. But he also said the city
was proper to spend the money in the MEAG flex
account, noting the money is set aside for whatever
the city wants to do with it. On Monday, Howard
said he'll begin to address the financial problems at
council's meeting Tuesday, May 6.
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