October 23, 2013 | northfulton.com | 73,500 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 6, No. 43 By CAROLYN ASPENSON [email protected]MILTON, Ga. — Milton’s Eco- nomic Development Manager Bill O’Connor wants the city to apply for the state’s op- portunity zone job tax credit program. He made his re- quest during the Oct. 14 City Council work session. An opportunity zone, established by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, is a tax credit for new and existing businesses lo- cated in areas that are within or adjacent to a census block group with a 15 percent or greater poverty level where an enterprise zone or urban de- velopment plan exists. It aims to spur new business activity within the zone. “We have hired a consul- tant to analyze the Deerfield corridor to determine if this area meets the requirements for the program,” O’Connor said. If the City Council autho- rizes the application for the program and the state ap- proves, businesses within the designated area would receive a $3,500 tax credit for two or more new jobs. The credit is given for five years for each job. “This is an excellent op- portunity for both the current businesses in that area and potential businesses consid- ering Milton,” Councilmem- ber Matt Kunz said. “Mr. O’Connor detailed specifics for the area which could ben- efit businesses there.” O’Connor said if the city authorizes the application, the consultant will complete the study and the application will be sent off to the state. If the state approves, it could take over two months for the program to begin. “The state may do a roll-out for the businesses,” O’Connor said. “If and when we have the approval, we’ll know more about how it will be implemented.” O’Connor is cautiously op- timistic the City Council will approve the request to apply. Neighboring cities of Alpharetta and Roswell have successfully used economic development zones to attract and expand businesses. Milton considers opportunity zone for Deerfield corridor Offers incentive to businesses This is an excellent opportunity for both the current businesses in that area and potential businesses considering Milton.” MATT KUNZ Milton Councilmember Kids run for fun MILTON, Ga. – All morning Oct. 18, the stu- dents of Crabapple Crossing engaged in healthy exercise and growing friendships as part of the Boosterthon Fun Run. The Boosterthon Fun Run is a nine-day program that helps local schools raise needed funds for education while inspiring students to live healthy, character-filled lives. The Camp High Five theme of this year included daily character lessons that teach the value of respecting others, not bullying and showing sportsmanship. Each lesson is paired with a daily hand gesture that helps make it memorable. The message is also reinforced through a curriculum that includes interactive character videos, catchy songs and a brand-new children’s book. When children adopt treating others with respect into their daily interactions, their behavior changes. As friendship increases, bullying fades away. The weeklong event culminated in a fun run, where the students ran for pledges and for their parents in the gym. —Jonathan Copsey Crabapple Crossing students learn health, friendship JONATHAN COPSEY/STAFF Students from Crabapple Crossing ran their hearts out during the Boosterthon Fun Run Oct. 18 as their parents cheered them on. M O R E P H O T O S O N L I N E N O R T H F U L T O N . C O M Center QR code in white space so that the black edges of the code overlap the blue crop marks Avossa stays School superintendent to stay 3 more years ► PAGE 9 Empty Nest Sponsored section ► PAGE 20 Schools locked down Armed intruder on the run ► PAGE 2 That's a good dog! Milton PD gets new police K9 ► PAGE 12 LOST funds Sales tax in doubt ► PAGE 4
MILTON, Ga. — Milton’s Eco-nomic Development Manager Bill O’Connor wants the city to apply for the state’s op-portunity zone job tax credit program. He made his re-quest during the Oct. 14 City Council work session.
An opportunity zone, established by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, is a tax credit for new and existing businesses lo-cated in areas that are within or adjacent to a census block group with a 15 percent or greater poverty level where an enterprise zone or urban de-velopment plan exists. It aims to spur new business activity within the zone.
“We have hired a consul-tant to analyze the Deerfield corridor to determine if this area meets the requirements for the program,” O’Connor said.
If the City Council autho-rizes the application for the program and the state ap-proves, businesses within the designated area would receive a $3,500 tax credit for two or more new jobs.
The credit is given for five years for each job.
“This is an excellent op-portunity for both the current businesses in that area and potential businesses consid-ering Milton,” Councilmem-
ber Matt Kunz said. “Mr. O’Connor detailed specifics for the area which could ben-efit businesses there.”
O’Connor said if the city authorizes the application, the consultant will complete the study and the application will be sent off to the state.
If the state approves, it could take over two months for the program to begin.
“The state may do a roll-out for the businesses,” O’Connor said. “If and when we have the approval, we’ll know more about how it will be implemented.”
O’Connor is cautiously op-timistic the City Council will approve the request to apply.
Neighboring cities of Alpharetta and Roswell have successfully used economic development zones to attract and expand businesses.
Milton considers opportunity zonefor Deerfield corridorOffers incentive to businesses This is an
excellent opportunity for both the current businesses in that area and potential businesses considering Milton.” MATT KUNZMilton Councilmember
Kids run for funMILTON, Ga. – All morning Oct. 18, the stu-dents of Crabapple Crossing engaged in healthy exercise and growing friendships as part of the Boosterthon Fun Run.
The Boosterthon Fun Run is a nine-day program that helps local schools raise needed funds for education while inspiring students to live healthy, character-filled lives.
The Camp High Five theme of this year included daily character lessons that teach the
value of respecting others, not bullying and showing sportsmanship. Each lesson is paired with a daily hand gesture that helps make it memorable. The message is also reinforced through a curriculum that includes interactive character videos, catchy songs and a brand-new children’s book. When children adopt treating others with respect into their daily interactions, their behavior changes. As friendship increases, bullying fades away. The weeklong event culminated in a fun run, where the students ran for pledges and for their parents in the gym.
—Jonathan Copsey
Crabapple Crossing students learn health, friendship
JONATHAN COPSEY/STAFF
Students from Crabapple Crossing ran their hearts out during the Boosterthon Fun Run Oct. 18 as their parents cheered them on.
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DUI arrests ► Bambi M. Lane, 35, of
Trellis Place, Alpharetta, was arrested Sept. 29 on Ga. 400 in Alpharetta for DUI, failure to maintain lane, expired tag and disorderly conduct.
► Brandon Michael Darnell, 40, of Galleon Trail, Alpharetta, was arrested Sept. 29 on North Point Parkway in Alpharetta for DUI and failure to maintain lane.
► Robert Thomas Campbell, 42, of Collingwood Lane, Alpharetta, was arrested Sept. 30 on Ga. 400 in Alpharetta for DUI and speeding.
► Yeudiel Zubieta, 36, of Cotton Court, Johns Creek,
was arrested Sept. 30 on Ga. 120 in Alpharetta for DUI and failure to maintain lane.
► Dowia Marie Hamlin, 55, of Dahlonega was arrested Oct. 3 on North Point Circle in Alpharetta for DUI.
► Dwayne Mitchell Eavenson, 38, of Hastings Terrace, Alpharetta, was arrested Oct. 2 on Windward Parkway in Alpharetta for DUI and failure to use due care.
► David Wilson Rogers, 43, of Canton was arrested Oct. 3 on South Main Street in Alpharetta for DUI and failure to maintain lane.
► Matthew Joseph Burns, 45, of Will Allen Road, Cumming, was arrested Oct. 4 on Ga. 400 in Alpharetta for DUI, speeding and failure to main-tain lane.
► Curtis Hall Martin, 56, of Lake Shore Landing, Alpharetta, was arrested Oct. 4 on Haynes Bridge Road in Alpharetta for DUI and failure
to maintain lane. ► Steven Jay Millice, 49, of
Suwanee was arrested Oct. 4 on Ga. 400 in Alpharetta for DUI and improper U-turn.
► Adedayo Fafiade, 40, of Annazanes Court, Alpharetta, was arrested Sept. 24 on Ga. 400 in Alpharetta for DUI, failure to maintain lane and expired license.
► Brad Lee Ball, 35, of Edinburgh Court, Milton, was arrested Oct. 5 on Windward Parkway in Alpharetta for DUI, open container and failure to yield.
► Victoria Lynn Tucker, 42, of Chief Vann Drive, Alpharetta, was arrested Oct. 5 on Ga. 9 in Milton for DUI, child endan-germent, open container and failure to maintain lane.
► Lindsay Ann Saripkin, 31, of Wisteria Circle, Roswell, was arrested Oct. 5 on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell for DUI and following too closely.
► Ranferi Arroyo-Torres, 32,
of Atlanta was arrested Oct. 6 on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell for DUI, expired license and stop sign violation.
Drug arrests ► Velio Brandon King-Souza,
28, of Stelten Way, Alpharetta, was arrested Sept. 25 on Davis Drive in Alpharetta for posses-sion of marijuana.
► Spencer John P. Morrison, 21, of Crofters Pass, Alpharetta, was arrested Sept. 30 on Kimball Bridge Road in Alpharetta for possession of marijuana and failure to main-tain lane.
► Tiffany Nicole White, 31, of Raintree Drive, Roswell, was arrested Oct. 4 on Raintree Drive in Roswell for possession of marijuana.
► Juan C. Partridge, 25, of Atlanta was arrested Oct. 7 on Mansell Road in Roswell for possession of schedule I and II controlled substances.
DUIS & DRUGSAll crime reports published by Appen Media Group are compiled from public records. Neither the law enforcement agencies nor Appen Media Group implies any guilt by publishing these names. None of the persons listed has been convicted of the alleged crimes.
Schools locked down after home invasionROSWELL, Ga. – Two Roswell schools were on lockdown Friday morning, Oct. 18, after a home invasion suspect was loose in the area.
According to Lt. James Mc-Gee, a Roswell Police spokes-
man, a man broke into a home on Hembree Grove Overlook, near Elkins Pointe Middle School and Hembree Springs Elementary School. The crime happened about 9 a.m.
McGee said the suspect broke into the home through a back door where he found
the homeowner. The two began to fight and the suspect ran away. The victim then called police. Dogs from Roswell and Cherokee County assisted with the manhunt, however the sus-pect has not yet been found.
The invasion is behind the two schools, which prompted
them to go into lockdown for two hours while the hunt con-tinued.
Police are looking for a black male, 6 feet tall, wearing blue jeans, black tennis shoes, a dark hoodie sweater, with a scruffy goatee and extreme body odor.
Suspect on loose
Dog goes missing from owner’s truckMILTON, Ga. – Someone made off with a dog Oct. 8, taking it from the back of a truck.
The victim said he was parked at a gas station in Crabapple pumping gas. He went into the convenience store about 9 p.m. His yellow German shepherd-mix dog was
in the bed of his pickup truck. When he returned to the truck, the dog was not there.
The owner says the dog could not have jumped out of the truck because of its advanced age and arthritis in its hips. Surveillance footage of the pump was unable to be found. The dog is described as 115 to 125 pounds and wear-ing a green and blue “Sweetwa-ter Brewing Co.” collar.
Alleged shoplifter caught stealing ALPHARETTA, Ga. – An At-lanta man was arrested Oct. 9 for allegedly stealing more
than $1,000 in clothing from mall stores. Police were called to the Dillard’s store in North Point Mall about 6 p.m. after employees said they caught Al-len David King, 41, of Atlanta, attempting to steal clothing.
They claim King walked into the store and tried to return clothing from a Gap bag he was carrying. He was denied the return. He then allegedly walked throughout the store and selected several shirts that he took with him into a changing room.
Loss prevention officers say he quickly left the chang-ing room carrying nothing with him and tried to leave the store. Employees stopped him
and found the shirts in his bags as well as
numerous other items of clothing including many from Target. He then tried to run from staff before he was appre-hended. He no sales receipts for anything. He claimed he received the clothing from a friend in exchange for a $100 gift card. King was arrested for felony shoplifting.
$9K in jewelry taken from homeALPHARETTA, Ga. – A family reported that $9,000 in jewelry
POLICE BLOTTERAll crime reports published by Appen Media Group are compiled from public records. Neither the law enforcement agencies nor Appen Media Group implies any guilt by publishing these names. None of the persons listed has been convicted of the alleged crimes.
was stolen Aug. 13 from a Hunters Oak Drive residence, and a suspect was arrested Oct. 12.
The victim told police her parents were packing for a trip when they noticed several pieces of jewelry and some cash missing.
The suspect is a neighbor-ing woman, Amber Shawn Da-vis, 26, of Hunters Oaks Drive, Alpharetta. She had allegedly been found inside the home a few months before without an explanation why.
They believe she had pawned the items – a $5,000 tennis bracelet, a $3,000 ruby diamond ring and another $1,000 in other jewelry – at a local pawn shop.
A warrant was taken out for Davis’ arrest. She was found in Gwinnett County Jail Oct. 12. She was charged with felony burglary, felony theft by taking and theft by deception.
Handgun stolen overnight from car
ROSWELL, Ga. – A handgun was stolen from a vehicle Oct. 4 on Sherwood Pass.
Police were called to the residence where the victim said someone broke into his truck overnight. Taken were a 9mm Taurus pistol, worth $600, and an Apple iPad, valued at $650.
Jaywalker flees from policeROSWELL, Ga. – An officer who attempted to stop two people for jaywalking got more than he bargained for when one of the people took flight Oct. 5. The officer reports that he saw two people cross Old Holcomb Bridge Road without using a crosswalk.
When he pulled over to “explain the dangers” in doing this, one 17-year-old took off running toward the Concepts 21 and Wood Creek apartment buildings.
A search of nearby wood-land turned up the man, who initially refused to say any-thing to police. He was arrest-ed for obstruction.
Once at the jail, he finally told officers his name.
He was found to be forbid-den from being near the apart-ments and had a warrant from Henry County for trespassing.
Vehicles broken into at Olive GardenROSWELL, Ga. – Two vehicles were broken into Oct. 4 on Holcomb Bridge Road, and a pistol was taken from one of them.
Police were called out 8:20 p.m. to the Olive Garden where the victim said a backpack was taken. Inside was a Toshiba laptop.
Another victim said she had left her vehicle unlocked and, while she was in the restau-rant, someone took a Spring-field handgun.
Mailboxesdestroyed by vandalsMILTON, Ga. – Three homes on Sablewood Drive had their mailboxes destroyed Oct. 14.
One victim called police at about 3 a.m. to report people making loud noises on the street and smashing things
near the intersection of Sable-wood Drive and Northwood Drive.
Several mailboxes were found heavily damaged.
Continued from Page 2
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CUMMING, HOLIDAY BAZAAR and bake sale, (multiple vendors!) Saturday 10/26, 10am-3pm. Peachtree Court Subdivision Clubhouse, 1445 Diplomat Drive 30041. Exit 13 Hwy 400, east 1-1/2 miles. Proceeds go to Childrens’ Healthcare - Forsyth.MILTON, 14435 Freemanville Road. Friday 10/25, Saturday 10/26, 9:30am-2:30pm. Furs, designer clothes (4-6-8), Christ-mas, guitars, home furnishings (mare for sale!) saddles, blankets.MILTON, Highland Manor, 15945 Milton Point. Friday 10/25, Saturday 10/26, 8am-4pm. Huge yard sale! Emptying storage; everything for kitchen, bathroom. Artwork, furniture, clothes (teen, toddler); toys, much more!.
DEADLINETo place garage sale ads: Noon Fridaypriorweek•Call 770-442-3278 or email [email protected]
By JONATHAN [email protected] FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – A last-minute deal between 12 Fulton County cities and hold-outs Atlanta and College Park has local cities breathing a cautious sigh of relief, after the county’s sales tax distribution was put in jeopardy.
The Local Option sales Tax (LOST) is collected by the county every year and distrib-uted to the cities, largely based on population.
The bigger the city, the big-ger their slice of the pie.
Only in this pie, most of the parties involved have to agree on a distribution. It’s not entirely by population.
In September, 12 of Ful-ton County’s cities agreed to the distribution. The idea is that a majority of the county’s population must agree to any distribution. With Atlanta and College Park opposed, the other 12 managed to just top 51 percent. When cities and counties cannot decide on a solution, they submit their
opposing plans to a judge to decide.
However; the Ga. Supreme Court has ruled the way this was settled is unconstitutional.
“Arbitration took the role of local government and gave that to the court,” said Alpharetta Deputy City Administrator James Drinkard. “By creating that arbitration avenue [the Supreme Court] is saying it’s unconstitutional to leave it to a judge to decide.”
In short, governments are in place to make such deci-sions, not judges.
The problem comes with the governments of at least 17 counties and their cities that have all agreed to LOST distribution based on this type of arbitration.
After the court’s decision, it is now unclear whether the distributions already decided will be upheld.
The risk is “whether the tax continues to be collected at all,” said Chris Lagerbloom, city manager of Milton. “A penny tax of $250 million a year would go away. That has
really serious implication to lo-cal governments and counties.”
The cities of Fulton County have held swift meetings in the past week to reaffirm their commitment to the division of the LOST money, in hopes that will hold up in court. If not, there could be significantly less money coming north of the river.
The night of Oct. 17, the deadline to reach agreement, Atlanta and College Park finally decided to join with the other cities to make accep-tance of the plan unanimous in Fulton by her cities, hope-fully securing the agreement in spite of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“This was the best we could have hoped for,” Lagerbloom said. “Our position now is this has come to an end.”
The North Fulton cities are
poised to receive a windfall in new tax dollars from the arbitration. Alpharetta saw an increase of $1.3 million, Milton saw an increase of $3.8 million, Johns Creek saw an increase of $1.9 million and Roswell was bumped up just under $1 million. In Alpharet-ta, that LOST money equals about a quarter of its annual revenues. In Milton, it’s 20 percent.
With the agreement of all Fulton County cities, the hope is the county has avoided any problems with its taxes, but that is up for the courts and the state to figure out.
“We are cautiously opti-mistic on where this ends,” said Milton City Attorney Ken Jarrard. “[The State Attorney General] understands the significance of this. Not just for Milton but all jurisdictions.”
Court ruling threatens distribution
How the LOST funds get divvied upCity Previous % New % Previous $ New $ Net
Change
Alpharetta 5.22 5.81 $12.4M $13.7M $1.3M
Atlanta 42.88 40.44 $101.8M $96M ($5.8M)
Johns Creek 6.97 7.75 $16.5M $18.4M $1.9M
Milton 1.71 3.29 $4.0M $7.8M $3.8M
Roswell 8.8 8.92 $20.8M $21.7M $0.9M
NF Cities try to keep sales tax
MILTON, Ga. – Milton’s Better Together volunteer committee will join North Fulton Com-munity Charities (NFCC) to collect gently used coats, jack-ets, hats, scarves and gloves through Oct. 29.
The following locations have been designated as drop-off points: •Milton City Hall, 13000
Deerfield Parkway, Suite 107F, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
•Milton Fire Station No. 42, 15240 Thompson Road. “We are hopeful Milton’s
residents will make a special effort to donate needed items to this worthy cause,” said Ter-ri Harrison, a Better Together member and Milton resident coordinating the coat drive. “Help bring the gift of warmth to families in the North Fulton area this fall and winter.”
Eden Purdy of NFCC said last year more than 1,200 coats and jackets were dis-tributed to 274 families. This year’s drive is expected to reach more than 300 fami-lies, she said. If you would like to donate but are unable
to deliver items to the above locations, please contact Com-munity Builder Wayne Boston at 678-242-2512 or [email protected] and he will make arrangements for pick-up.
Better Together is a volunteer orga-nization of Milton residents looking for unique and fun ways to connect with neighbors. If you would like more information on Better Togeth-er or any of its activities, please visit the group’s Facebook page.
Better Together collects coats for NFCC driveCoats taken at City Hall, Thompson Road Fire Station through Oct. 29
northfulton.com | Milton Herald | October 23, 2013 | 5Recycled paper | Submit your news & photos to [email protected]
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MILTON, Ga. – The Milton and Roswell police departments will take part in the seventh in-stallment of the Drug Enforce-ment Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Milton at the Target on Ga. 9 and in Ro-swell at the Roswell Recycling Center.
All forms of potentially dan-gerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs will be collected for destruc-tion. The national event is held because many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion,
misuse and abuse. Studies show that a ma-
jority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
In addition, many Ameri-cans do not know how to prop-erly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.
During the last DEA-led National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 27, citizens turned in more than 742,000 pounds of prescrip-tion drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and
its state and local law enforce-ment partners.
In its six previous take-back events, DEA and its partners took in more than 2.8 million pounds of pills.
The Target is located at 13055 Highway 9 North, Mil-ton, and the Roswell Recycling Center is at 11570 Maxwell Road, Alpharetta.
For more information on Milton’s event, contact Ara Baronian, community outreach officer, at 678-242-2527 or [email protected].
For more information on Roswell’s, contact Roswell PD Officer Lisa Holland at 770-640-4422.
Milton, Roswell police hold drug take-back Oct. 26
MILTON, Ga. – The city of Milton will once again display commemorative markers for the two weeks surrounding Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11, and in preparation is adding veterans into the city’s registry of service men and women. The markers will sur-round Freedom Park at the corner of Deerfield Parkway and Webb Road, which will officially open on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.
Through five years of hard work and the generos-ity of residents, Milton has amassed a list of 586 liv-ing and fallen veterans, 335 of whom are memorialized with markers to be placed on Deerfield Parkway and Crabapple Road Nov. 3 – 17. Any deceased veteran of a Milton family is qualified to be honored with a marker. Information on living veterans will be used for recognition purposes. Living veterans do not receive markers. There is no charge for the service.
Each year, residents ask
how their family members may be added to the registry. The city does not have access to a government database revealing who served in the military. Instead, it needs residents to tell it.
If a resident, a friend or someone in their family is or was a veteran, they can go to the city of Milton website at www.cityofmiltonga.us and access the online form. To access the form, click on the “Find a Form or Permit” tab at the top of the page and choose “Register military vet-erans’ information” from the “Online Forms” section at the top of the page. Once the city has the information, it will be placed in a secure database. The names will then be sent to City Councilman Bill Lusk, who for five years has person-ally built, painted, engraved and placed the markers at his own expense. The names will then also be used in Milton’s yearly Memorial Day service.
Please note: Only veter-ans who have passed away receive markers. Living vet-erans will have their service recognized with inclusion in lists printed for Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
—Jonathan Copsey
City seeks veterans’ information for Veterans DayFreedom Park opening Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.
MILTON, Ga. —When Bill O’Connor started as the city’s economic development man-ager in January, he wasn’t new to government employment.
O’Connor spent 38 years in similar positions in New York, Massachusetts and Virginia before moving to Milton.
“We moved here to be closer to our son and his six boys,” O’Connor said. “I had retired but I still wanted to do some-thing part-time, and when this opportunity presented itself, I was thrilled.”
As the economic develop-ment manager, O’Connor is responsible for linking the Mil-ton business community with the city government as well as exposing the city to more busi-ness opportunities.
“My main goal for the past several months has been to gain exposure for the city with businesses seeking locations,” he said.
O’Connor said he’s worked
to maintain the city’s quality of life standards and find a balance with economic sus-tainability.
“The city wants to at-tract new busi-nesses but also maintain a standard of quality equal to the lifestyle of Milton,” he said.
Over the past 12 months, the city has approved 146 new business licenses, a 16 percent increase over the previous 12 months, he said.
He doesn’t attribute this success to himself.
“The employees and of-ficials of Milton are truly a team,” he said. “I am a small part of a big group dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in Milton.”
City Manager Chris Lager-bloom said O’Connor’s position requires someone with good relationship-building skills, and O’Connor has that.
“He’s a natural at connect-ing with people and under-standing the big picture and he’s a great fit,” Lagerbloom said.
O’Connor was instrumental
in attracting and securing mo-bile network and cloud services company Citrix to Milton.
The company, located on Morris Road, Milton, opened its doors in August.
“They currently employ about 125 people and plan to expand to over 250 over the next few years,” O’Connor said.
But don’t think it’s all about attracting big businesses to Milton.
“We want to encourage smaller businesses to open in the city, too,” he said. “And we have worked with small busi-nesses to make locating their businesses in Milton easy.”
“Rooftops bring business,” O’Connor said, “and the city has seen a significant increase in home building over the past year, so we’re seeing an increase in businesses coming to Milton now, too.”
O’Connor said the city is in excellent condition financially, an important factor for poten-tial businesses.
“Not only is Milton a great place to live, but it’s also a great place to work, and I’m excited to see businesses real-ize the benefits of locating to our city,” he said.
Councilman Matt Kunz feels O’Connor is a great addi-
tion to the team. “He’s focused on keeping
Milton the type of community the residents want but do-ing so in a way that positively impacts our economic develop-ment,” he said. “He’s definitely moving us in the right direc-tion.”
Getting to know Milton’s economic development managerO’Connor brings experience to draw businesses
O'CONNOR
The employees and officials of Milton are truly a team...I am a small part of a big group dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in Milton.”BILL O’CONNORMilton's Economic Development Manager
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8 | October 23, 2013 | Milton Herald | northfulton.com Submit your news & photos to [email protected]
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MILTON, Ga. – Milton Grows Green recently launched an Adopt-a-Stream program, and the first meeting to discuss its goals and techniques will be held 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23. This kick-off meeting will take place at Milton’s City Hall, 13000 Deerfield Parkway, Suite 107. For those who want to become certified in water-quality testing, please plan to stay until 9 p.m.
There is no charge for the training.
A statewide project of the Georgia Environ-mental Protection Division, the Adopt-a-Stream program aims to educate residents about water quality issues and provide training in the evalu-ation and protection of local waterways.
This program is open to Milton residents looking for training on how to monitor local streams using techniques and test kits provided by Fulton County. To register or for more infor-mation, email [email protected] or contact Cindy Eade, environmental sustainability coor-dinator for the city of Milton, at 678-242-2509.
—Jonathan Copsey
Adopt-a-Streamprogram kicks off Oct. 23Water-quality testingcertification available
MILTON, Ga. – Milton’s Better Together volunteer organiza-tion will host a legislative update from state House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones at Milton’s City Hall Thursday, Oct. 24.
Jones will discuss impor-tant issues facing the General Assembly and topics impor-tant to Milton residents. She will then take questions from the audience.
This meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in City Coun-cil chambers of Milton’s City Hall, 13000 Deerfield Park-way, Suite 107A.
A Milton resident, Jones was first elected to the Georgia House in 2003. She has distinguished herself as a passionate advocate for changing lives and increas-ing economic opportunities through improved public
education and a government closer to the people.
Jones made history when she was elected as the first female speaker pro tem in the Georgia House of Representa-tives.
Her district covers north-west Fulton, including Milton, Mountain Park and portions of Roswell and Alpharetta.
Better Together is a vol-unteer organization of Milton residents looking for unique and fun ways to connect with neighbors.
For more information on Better Together or any of its activities, please visit the group’s Facebook page or contact Community Builder Wayne Boston at 678-242-2512 or [email protected].
—Jonathan Copsey
Rep. Jan Jones at Milton City Hall Oct. 24Speaker pro tem to discuss legislative issues
northfulton.com | Milton Herald | October 23, 2013 | 9Submit your news & photos to [email protected] SCHOOLS
ATLANTA – Superintendent Robert Avos-sa’s changes to Fulton Schools over the past two years have been far-reaching – and not without some growing pains. He spent his first year visiting each of the district’s 100 schools, watching the wheels turn, evaluating what worked and what did not and then firmly began taking action.
Avossa saw a top-heavy model that focused all governance firmly at the central office level, with red tape and bu-reaucracy embedded in the most simple of decisions. One of his first moves was to create four learning communities, each operating as a mini school system with its own associate superintendent and staff to handle the needs of the schools within its community.
“No one size fits all, so I decentral-ized authority so that each [learning community] can manage their needs based on their own situation,” said Avossa.
Adding the move to a charter system last year also provides more customized programs for schools, he said. Avossa pointed out this is particularly important when you consider the diversity that permeates Fulton Schools. The district contains the state’s highest performing schools as well as the lowest performing schools; is nearing a 50 percent poverty level; and has a growing base of non-
English speakers.Avossa also implemented a strategic
plan last year that laid out the district’s goals for graduation rates and college and career readiness by 2017.
One of the most visible changes in the school system is in the area of personnel. Avossa is quick to say that 60 of 100 principals in place on the day he took office are no longer in those roles. Changes were also made to the majority of staff positions at the cabinet level, as well as dozens of positions at the assistant principal level. Each move, he said, was necessary to ensure the best people were in control of student achievement, primarily at the school leader position.
“As the superintendent, the most important lever available to me is to pick the best principals and remove the lower performers.
End of discussion. I don’t apologize for it. It’s a major priority of this adminis-tration and I will continue to hold people accountable,” said Avossa.
Good principals attract the best teachers, gain the confidence of the community and improve the outcomes of students. With the stakes so high at the state and national level for academic achievement, it’s the most important element of a school, he said.
ATLANTA – Since his hiring in May 2011, Ful-ton School Superinten-dent Robert Avossa has set to work putting his own stamp on Georgia’s fourth-largest school district, aiming not just for state accolades but for national promi-nence. While there has been some grumbling about the pace of the reforms and the high expectations demanded of staff, the results have im-pressed the Fulton School Board, which voted last month to extend Avossa’s contract through May 2016. That tenure would make Avossa the longest serving superintendent for Fulton Schools since 2002, and nearly double the average stay for superintendents in Georgia.
Avossa’s salary will increase to $275,000 a year – a 15.5 percent raise from the current $238,000 annually. That’s substantial, but still below the pay for superintendents in Gwinnett and DeKalb and less than half the fig-ure Atlanta Public Schools is floating to try and land a leader for that troubled school district. But the incentive to remain in Fulton goes beyond financial, he said.
“I’ve got school-aged children who are the major priority in my life,” said Avossa, who came to Fulton from Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) schools. “When I thought about the kind of school system available to me, Fulton County was very attractive … particu-larly [schools] in North Fulton.” He said the opportunity to raise his family in a community with good schools, find a church to become a part of and “engage in the process of improving outcomes for all children” created the perfect package of what he was looking for in
employment.However, should Avossa seek to
end his contract before June 1, 2016, a $100,000 buyout clause is in place. When pointed out that sum could be pocket change for some employers who wish to lure Avossa and pay the tab, the superintendent said his investment in the community trumps the lure of greener pastures.
“We are involved in this [community] as a family and I’m vested in the out-comes of the school system,” he said. “This is the place I call home now.”
Veronica Buckman, who is the co-president of the PTSA at Cambridge High School, welcomes the news the superintendent will be around for sev-eral more years.
“I have to imagine parents will be pleased with Dr. Avossa’s contract exten-sion since it allows him to further man-age the bold goals offered in Fulton’s strategic plan. [It’s] an opportunity for him to witness the innovations in educa-tion launched by the new charter system governance structure among area high schools,” said Buckman.
Early exit clause has him paying system $100K to leave
AVOSSA
Avossa to remain superintendent through May 2016
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CUMMING, Ga. — Jeff Foxworthy, renowned redneck comedian, will be headlining the American Cancer So-ciety’s “Redneck Bash” at the Forsyth Conference Center on Oct. 27.
The bash is an event in conjunction with the Ernie Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament, also hosted by the ACA.
“It was the brainchild of the Relay for Life team who did the Ernie John-son Golf Tournament,” said Amy Rich-ardson, senior community manager for the Forsyth branch of the ACA. “They wanted something that non-golfers could participate in, [something] any-body would feel comfortable coming to.”
And thus, Jeff Foxworthy entered the picture.
Jeff Foxworthy, perhaps best known for his “You might be a redneck if…” one liners, is the feature of the event, but there are also other aspects to the bash.
Starting off the festivities will be a barbecue buffet, provided by Jim and Nick’s BBQ, a local restaurant near the venue.
There will also be silent and live auctions, as well as various raffles.
The speakers for the event, other than Foxworthy, will be Ernie Johnson Jr. and a guest speaker who is a survi-vor of cancer.
The proceeds from the bash will be going to the ACA, which uses the
money it receives to fund various endeavors including cancer research, lodging for cancer patients who travel for treatment, transportation to treat-ment centers and support programs for
patients and survivors. “We’re really excited about it,” said
Richardson. “It’s really taken off in the community. We’ve not had something quite like this in Forsyth County.”
If you goWhat: Redneck Bash with Jeff Fox-worthy to benefit American Cancer Society
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northfulton.com | Milton Herald | October 23, 2013 | 11COMMUNITY
ROSWELL, Ga. – The mayors of Ro-swell, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs will honor the 45 years of work from the Child Development Association on Wednesday, Oct. 30 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Country Club of the South. The public is invited.
The Child Development Associa-tion provides early care and learning programs for low-income families.
Joining the celebration will be the mistress of ceremonies, Linda Stouffer of WSB-TV Channel 2 and the hon-orary chair, Bobby D. Cagle, com-missioner of Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. The event will showcase the founding of the CDA and its 45 years of service to children and families in the community.
The CDA will honor four influential citizens who have championed early childhood education for economically disadvantaged youth and have been
instrumental to the organization’s suc-cess.
•HenryandAnne(posthumously)Hicks, early leaders of the CDA, who have supported early childhood educa-tion and strived to strengthen families in the community for more than four decades.
•AliciaPhilipp,presidentoftheCommunity Foundation for Greater Atlanta, a regional leader in strength-ening nonprofits and engaging donors effectively in vital community missions, like preparing low-income children for success in school.
•StephanieBlank,anardentadvo-cate for increased quality, accessibility and affordability of early childhood education.
To purchase tickets to the 45th birthday celebration, visit www.cda-kids.org/gift/make/21.
The CDA is a 501(c)(3) organization and tax deductible contributions may be made through their website at www.CDAkids.org.
—Jonathan Copsey
Child Development Assoc. celebrates 45 yearsBirthday bash Oct. 30
NORTH FULTON, Ga. – N-Step Dance Academy in Suwanee had a very suc-cessful 2013 dance season. Through-out five regional competitions, the mini team went undefeated, the juniors won multiple high score of the day awards and all the company group dances received platinum level, the highest
achievement. The season culminated at Star Systems National Dance Com-petition, where the minis again were undefeated, the teen division won sec-ond place grand national champions, all group dances received platinum and N-Step won second overall highest scoring studio.
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MILTON, Ga. — Officer Chris-topher Ward, Milton’s newest K-9 officer, introduced his new K-9 partner, Branco, to the Citizens’ Police Academy Oct. 16.
The purebred, all-black German shepherd will replace the previous K-9 DaSilva, who retired in December 2012.
Branco is ready to begin his job but won’t start for a few more weeks.
“He’s trained,” Ward said. “But he is waiting on me.”
The dog was born on May 27, 2012 in Holland, where he spent several months under evaluation before beginning training.
“A dog is either a working dog or not,” Ward said. “Branco is definitely a working dog, and he’s excited to get started.”
Ward and the 90-pound dog spend about 12 hours a day in an intense program to bring Ward up to speed.
“Branco is a full-service patrol dog,” Ward said. “So I’ve got a lot to learn.”
He said the dog is trained in apprehension, narcotics detection and tracking.
Ward said that during work hours, Branco would be all work, but once he’s home, he will be free to play with Ward’s
other dogs. If Branco stays healthy,
he will likely be a part of the department until he’s about 7 or 8 years old.
“Patrol dogs need to be 100 percent,” Ward said. “As they age, the work becomes harder on them and that’s not benefi-cial to the dog or the depart-ment.”
Lt. Travis Parker said he feels Ward is the perfect patrol-man for the K-9 division.
“To be a K-9 handler re-quires a special type of per-son,” Parker said. “A person who is dedicated and commit-ted, and Chris is that man.”
Community Outreach Of-ficer Ara Baronian agreed.
“Chris approached us about being the new K-9 handler,” he said. “He wanted this and it really wasn’t a question for any of us.”
Both Ward and Baronian worked to raise money for the program, organizing the department’s first annual golf tournament held at the Ech-elon Golf Club in Alpharetta on May 1.
The tournament raised about $30,000.
“Officer Ward really wanted this program to continue,” Parker said. “And his efforts, along with the efforts of Officer Baronian were successful.”
Milton resident Claudine
Wilkins is working to raise money to purchase Branco a bulletproof vest through Project Paws Alive, an organi-zation that provides protective vests to law enforcement and military K-9s nationwide.
“He’s an officer just like his partner,” she said. “And he should have the same protec-tion.” Wilkins said one resident has already committed $250 to the purchase.
“We’re working on a plan of action to move forward with the fundraiser at this time,” she said.
“Branco’s safety is as im-portant as mine,” Ward said. “And it would be great to have protective gear for him.”
Branco will be formally introduced to the department once Ward has completed training.
For more information on how to donate for the pur-chase of Branco’s vest, contact Wilkins and Associates at [email protected].
Milton’s new K-9 to start soon
Milton Police Officer Christopher Ward shows off his new K-9 companion, Branco.
‘DON’T TASE ME BRO!’ »
Locals get zapped by cops
MILTON, Ga. – Three brave Milton residents participating in the Milton Police Depart-ment’s Citizens’ Police Acad-emy volunteered to be Tased Wednesday, Oct. 16.
Milton Lt. Travis Parker and Officer Christopher Ward secured resident Melissa Rog-ers, Jonathan Ng and City Councilman Burt Hewitt as Officer Ara Baronian shot them each with a Taser.
“I was really scared,” Rog-
ers said after. “But it wasn’t as bad as I thought.”
Ng said it wasn’t what he expected either, and Hewitt said it was almost relaxing.
“After the initial shock, it was almost sort of relaxing, but I was most worried about the hooks being removed,” Hewitt said.
Participants in the Citizens’ Police Academy learn the spe-cifics of what the Milton Police Department does from shoot-ing, looking for DUI drivers to using Tasers and the down and dirty of police procedure.
—Carolyn Aspenson
Part of citizen academy lessons
Branco’s safety is as important as mine.”OFFICER CHRISTOPHER WARDMilton’s newest K-9 officer
northfulton.com | Milton Herald | October 23, 2013 | 13COMMUNITYFamily Promise Week Oct. 20-27NORTH FULTON, Ga. – Family Promise of North Fulton/DeKalb Counties, an affiliate of Family Promise, is proud to be part of a nationwide effort to help children and families who are homeless regain their sustainable independence. The week of Sunday, Oct. 20 through Sunday, Oct. 27, has been designated Family Promise Week.
Family Promise Week will be cel-ebrated nationwide and in the 182 communities where there is a Family Promise affiliate. Since 1988, Family Promise has helped more than 500,000 people – men, women and children – with housing, case management and other services. 2013 marks the orga-nization’s 25th anniversary of serving families across the country.
Starting as a local effort to address the crisis of family homelessness, Fam-ily Promise works on the principle that the elements to help children and their families – who make up 40 percent of all people who are homeless – are already in the community.
Most Family Promise affiliates can accommodate four families or 14 people at one time.
The program brings together houses of worship to provide temporary homes, facilities to provide space during the day for case management and most importantly, thousands of volunteers who, by sharing a few hours of their time, enable families to turn their lives around.
Based on the Fulton County 2000 Census and the Metro Atlanta Task
Force for the Homeless, approximately 800 families with dependent children are homeless in the North Fulton community.
Family Promise of North Fulton/DeKalb, has served 28 people (nearly 60 percent of them children) by provid-ing temporary lodging since opening its doors in February 2013. This is done through a partnership of 12 local houses of worship representing roughly 12,000 congregants, involving more than 800 volunteers and nearly 13,000 volunteer hours.
Because of the extent of in-kind contributions, over $25,000 so far this year, Family Promise of North Fulton/DeKalb Counties is able to help fami-lies despite a very low budget, while at the same time building community between its volunteers and the families served in the program.
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North Georgia Technical CollegeCORNELIA, Ga. – Jarrett Melton of Alpharetta recently graduated from North Georgia Technical College in Cornelia. He was awarded a diploma in motorcycle service technol-ogy and was recognized as an honor graduate, having maintained a 3.79 grade point average.
Columbus State UniversityCOLUMBUS, Ga. – The fol-lowing students have been admitted to Columbus State University for the fall semester and are members of the class of 2017:
Jacob Danowitz of Al-pharetta, Amanda Janowitz of Alpharetta, Kalen Strachan of Cumming, Margaret Fordham of Cumming, Rebecca Godwin of Cumming, Chalisa Hill of Duluth, Benjamin Horne of Alpharetta, Amanda Huen-ers of Duluth, Kayla Hutto of Alpharetta, Kendall Morris of Alpharetta, Taylor Shelley of Duluth, Brandon Thurby of
Alpharetta, Danae Beauston of Suwanee, Virginia Hall of Suwanee and Dena Kalariotes of Suwanee.
University of North GeorgiaDAHLONEGA, Ga. – Three lo-cal residents have received full scholarships to attend the Uni-versity of North Georgia under the Military Scholarship Pro-gram. Kelsey Osborne, a Milton High School graduate from Milton, began attending UNG this semester. Patrick Day, a West Forsyth High School graduate from Cumming, and Caroline Miller, a Roswell High graduate from Roswell will begin UNG this spring. The scholarship enables the most gifted high school seniors to pursue bachelor’s degrees from the University of North Geor-gia (UNG) and to commission as second lieutenants in the Georgia Army National Guard after graduation.
The state-funded scholar-ships pay for tuition, books, fees, room, board and provide monthly pay and stipends for those serving as enlisted members of the Georgia Army National Guard while full-time students at UNG, and are worth approximately $70,000 over four years. Cadet in Command:
In addition to scholarship honors, one local student
at the University of North Georgia has been named the cadet in command of UNG’s 800-member Corps of Cadets. Alpharetta’s Blake Schaper will fulfill the duties related to his command position, while he pursues his degree in biology/pre-medicine. He will commis-sion as a second lieutenant in the Georgia National Guard upon graduation and plans to attend medical school.
Valdosta State UniversityVALDOSTA, Ga. – Valdosta State University has an-nounced that the following local students have graduated or achieved Dean’s List honors after the summer 2013 term.
Graduates:Bridgette Miller Marques of
Cumming – specialist degree in educational leadership;
Jake Mitchell Pierce of Cumming – bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary stud-ies; Sarah Ann Bresnahan of Cumming – master’s degree for teachers in special educa-tion; Therese Suzanne Walker of Cumming – master’s degree in library and information sci-ence; Caitlyn Amanda Brown of Alpharetta – bachelor’s degree in philosophy and reli-gious studies; Caitlyn Amanda Brown of Alpharetta – bach-elor’s degree in psychology; Hannah Beth Zey of Roswell
– specialist degree in educa-tional leadership; Janet Bishop Bryant of Alpharetta – master’s degree for teachers in spe-cial education; Juliana Marie Watkins of Alpharetta – bach-elor’s degree in nursing; Lucius Eugene Roberts of Alpharetta – bachelor’s degree in psychol-ogy; Michael C. Lagasse of Roswell – bachelor’s degree in political science; Nikkole Kim-berly Dombrosky of Alpharetta – bachelor’s degree in psychol-ogy and Kathleen Elise Click of Duluth – bachelor’s degree in English. Dean’s List:
Kristen Marie Bates of Cumming and Mason Dane Currie of Alpharetta each achieved a semester grade point average of 3.50 or higher and have been recognized on the Valdosta State Dean’s List for summer 2013.
Universityof GeorgiaATHENS, Ga. – Abby Brown, a student at the University of Georgia, has been named to the 2013-2014 hunt seat squad on the UGA Women’s NCAA Division I equestrian team. Brown is a 2012 honor graduate of Alpharetta High School and a sophomore at UGA, where she is pursuing a degree in food science and
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FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Dr. Karen Minyard knew even before the Afford-able Care Act passed that her workload would be tripled.
Her predictions were right.Minyard, director and associate
research professor with the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, recently shared her years of research and understanding of the complicated health care reform, which affects every American, with local business leaders.
On Oct. 15, a Healthcare Associa-tion of Forsyth summit was held to ad-dress Rotary Club Lanier Forsyth and Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce members on how the Af-fordable Care Act has business owners rethinking their strategic plans.
The event was sponsored by Chil-dren’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Minyard said some people are more affected by the changes than others and small businesses are no exception.
Those who spoke at the event were passionately opposed to the law. A woman said she was fired by her health care employer because they didn’t want to pay her family’s premium increases. A doctor in the audience said the costs to implement the health care changes at his practice will likely put him out of business.
The new health care law does have some bright sides.
Small employers who have offered insurance to their 25 or fewer low-wage workers were able to receive a tax credit.
“The purpose of this was to encour-age them to keep offering insurance,” Minyard said.
“That’s something that is scheduled to increase, the amount of tax credit that is allowed to small business over the next couple of years, and then
phase out.”Smaller employers are encouraged
to keep offering insurance during the transition, but this credit goes away by 2016.
With the way the law is structured, the size of the firm makes a difference.
The law, which says that businesses that are larger than 50 employees have to offer insurance or pay a penalty, was postponed for a year. Those employers who don’t provide health insurance will be spared penalties, called “shared re-sponsibility payments,” of up to $3,000 until 2015.
“If you offer less than essential ben-efit, a very high-cost and limited health plan that doesn’t qualify and if your workers go to the health insurance ex-change and receive a subsidy, you will have to pay $3,000 for those workers,” Minyard said.
Minyard said these large employers should discuss their best option with an insurance broker.
“This becomes a complicated situ-ation,” Minyard said. “There may be some cases where it makes sense to some of the folks to buy health insur-ance through the exchange and the employer paying the penalty and maybe offering insurance in a different way.”
The health insurance exchange, which is equal to a store where people can buy insurance, will be based on the federal poverty level.
There are two parts to the health insurance exchange, one for individuals and one for small businesses; however, many users have experienced trouble with the site’s log-in process.
“There are a lot of glitches and it’s uncertain as to whether these are the typical kinds of problems that you have when you start a new complicated web-site, or if there are more challenging issues related to software and program-ming,” Minyard told attendees.
Insurance subsidies are available to cover people who fall between 100 to 400 percent of the federal poverty level,
Minyard said. Every American will be required to obtain a standard health care insurance or pay a penalty. In Georgia, there are about 600,000 peo-ple who make 138 percent of poverty level and would be eligible to participate in Medicaid.
There are a lot of changes. Some are community ratings, instead of risk adjustment premiums, meaning an individual would not be rated based on previous health condition, but rather the cost would be region-based, age or whether that person smokes, Minyard said.
The new patient’s Bill of Rights was summarized for attendees.
“No pre-existing condition exclusion, no lifetime and very limited annual benefit caps, prior approval for insur-ance companies of rate increases and a mandatory loss of 80-to-85-percent,” she said. “That means the insurance companies must spend, depending on
their size and their business, at least 80 or 85 percent of the money they receive on the insurance care of people, as opposed to administrative or for-profit.”
Minyard said that more recent pro-jections say that the cost for the health care reform over the next decade is about $1.6 trillion.
The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan arm of Congress, estimates in the first 10 years, the health care bill would reduce the country’s deficit by $143 billion.
“Every group has to strategically change their business plan,” Minyard said. “And that’s true for employers of every size because there are different decisions to be made about this.”
For a more comprehensive non-partisan understanding of the health care law, visit GSU’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies site at www.bit.ly/19Na3M6.
Healthcare law makes employers rethink business plans
Dr. Karen Minyard, director and associate research professor with the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, addressing business leaders during the Healthcare Association of For-syth summit Oct. 15.
northfulton.com | Milton Herald | October 23, 2013 | 17Submit your business news & photos to [email protected] BusinessBriefs
RESTAURANT »
Zoës Kitchen opens in AlpharettaALPHARETTA, Ga. – Zoës Kitchen, a Mediterranean-inspired, fast-casual restaurant featuring savory dishes as well as several gluten-free dishes, opened in Alpharetta on Thursday, Oct. 17.
The restaurant, 10920 Haynes Bridge Road, Suite 100 in Alpharetta, marks Zoës’ 97th location reaching 15 states nationwide. Founded in 1995 in Birming-ham, Ala., by Zoë Cassimus, Zoës features a variety of menu items that are made from scratch daily.
“From the beginning, it’s been our mission to de-liver fresh, authentic dishes to each one of our guest every day,” said Brian Waghalter, regional operator of Zoës Kitchen in Alpharetta. “We’re thrilled to continue our growth in Georgia and can’t wait to share our homemade Mediterranean recipes with the people of Alpharetta.”
The menu will showcase entrees such as salads, pitas, sandwiches and kabobs in addition to fresh sides like no-mayo slaw, potato salad and braised white beans with fresh rosemary. Guests can dine in, order online or call ahead for takeout. The Zoës Alpharetta location seats 78 guests in the dining room, including an outdoor patio, which seats 32. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Visit www.zoeskitchen.com for more information.
BEAUTY »
Salon adds children’shair cuts to services
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – A salon for grown-ups is now a bit younger. Fashion Looks now offers children’s haircuts. The business, 10595 Old Alabama Road Connector in Alpharetta, says it recently added the services for its younger clientele. Boys’ haircuts start at $18 and cuts are $25 for girls.
Full-service salon services are still being offered to adults.
For more information, visit http://www.fashion-looks.net or call 678-795-1000.
REAL ESTATE » ERA Realty acquiresAtlanta brokerage firmALPHARETTA, Ga. – Alpharetta-based ERA Atlan-tic Realty announced the acquisition of Morris and Raper Real Estate Consultants, a residential and commercial brokerage firm serving metro Atlanta and surrounding areas. The Buckhead-based brokerage 40-agent company founded in 1979 was responsible for $60 million in sales volume in 2012 and will now do business as ERA Morris and Raper Real Estate Consultants.
“This move not only expands ERA Atlantic Realty’s service areas into a critical market for the region, it also allows us to tap the new residential construction and commercial talent of this highly regarded com-pany with strong connections to the community,” said Greg Kurzner, president of ERA Atlantic Realty.
The company, 3560 Old Milton Parkway, Alpharet-ta, specializes in the areas of residential, commercial and on-site real estate. Visit www.atlanticrealty.net for more.
SPOTLIGHT »
Furniture store opens in RoswellROSWELL, Ga. – Ben’s Brands for Less, 730 Hol-comb Bridge Road in Roswell, owned by Ben Haverty, opened its doors in July.
David Chirinos and Dave Siewert, who run the Roswell store, say all brand-name furniture comes directly from the manufacturer with new inventory arriving daily. The savings are then passed to custom-ers. “At Ben’s, you’re able to find stylish furniture for every room in your home, at drastically reduced prices,” Siewert said.
The store is open Monday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Call 770-642-7201 or visit www.bens.com.
OPENING » Iron Tribe Fitness to hold cookout, grand openingJOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A grand opening and cook-out is taking place at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 at Iron Tribe Fitness, 9700 Medlock Bridge Road, Suite 128 in Johns Creek. The event is a partnership event with the Atlanta chapter of Team Red, White and Blue – called WOD for Warriors. All event proceeds will benefit veterans. The festivities kick the morning off with the national anthem and a group warm up. The workout will last about 20 minutes and is comprised of movements for all. After the workout, there will be a cookout and community hangout that is open to the public.
At 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, Iron Tribe will hold their official ribbon-cutting ceremony with city lead-ers. Visit www.irontribe101.com/location/johns-creek for more information.
HEALTH »
Ankle and foot clinicopens in MiltonMILTON, Ga. – Ankle and Foot Centers of Georgia has widened its reach in Georgia with a new location in Milton. The clinic, 13057 Ga. Highway 9 North, Suite 210 in Milton, in the Target-anchored shopping cen-ter, is headed by Dr. Shamir Bhikha.
Last month, city and business leaders welcomed the clinic during a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for prospective patients. Bhikha’s team treats patients ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics, with a special interest in sports medicine, trauma, podope-diatrics, reconstructive foot and ankle surgery and diabetic limb salvage. Visit www.ankleandfootcenters.com/contact-us/ or call 770-559-0348 for more infor-mation.
FINANCE »
Financial services awards$25K to entrepreneurs ALPHARETTA, Ga. — On Oct. 2, Credo Financial Services awarded “Entrepreneur Contest” winners Malvi, of Forsyth County, $5,000 in cash and $20,000 in services, and nonprofit Bridgeway Youth Program, of Stockbridge, Ga., with one year of pro bono chief fi-nancial officer services. Dan Lucas, managing director for Alpharetta-based Credo Financial offers profes-sional accounting and start-up services on a part-time basis for entrepreneurs. For more, visit www.credofinance.com or call 678-242-5230.
From left: David Chirinos and Dave Siewert.
Bridgeway Youth Program Founder Kayse McCanne with Credo Financial Service Managing Director Dan Lucas.
Malvi owner Laura Curtis and Paris Retana receive their award from Credo Financial Service Manag-ing Director Dan Lucas. Malvi is a new product that plans to launch a bakery soon.
18 | October 23, 2013 | Milton Herald | northfulton.com Submit your business news & photos to [email protected]
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Should you put your home on the market over the holidays? Some sellers don’t have a choice, as relocating be-cause of a job will dictate your time-frame and requirements. But there is an argument to be made both ways.
Some will say there are fewer homes on the market so there’s less competition.
Interest rates tend to dip lower toward the end of the year and the buyers out searching during the holi-day season are more serious buyers. Especially relocation buyers.
On the flip side, sellers might be thought of as desperate if they’re on the market during this time, so buyers may make more aggressive offers. It may be difficult to have showings if family will be visiting over the holiday season as well.
Personally I think the answer will be different for each home seller. Look-ing at the type of home you have and current competition may be a better deciding factor of jumping in the mar-
ket or waiting until spring.For example, in June of this year
in North Fulton there were 67 homes on the market priced from $400,000 to $450,000. In December of last year there were 53 in the same price range, not a significant reduction in numbers. But, there were 206 sales in December for that price range.
People buy and homes sell over the holiday season. Evaluate the specific competition you’ll have and try to decide what the inconvenience factor is for you. Then you’ll have your answer.
ROBERTSTRADERLocal RealtorKeller Williams Realty
Have you defined your ideal target market?
Do you understand the buying cri-teria of the potential customers in your target market?
Have you segmented your market to take advantage of using unique marketing messages to each segment?
A target market is a group of cus-tomers that your business has decided is the best place to focus your time and efforts, and the first element to an overall marketing strategy.
Target markets are defined in many different ways.
Most small businesses start with a geographical location and then add ad-ditional criteria, such as demograph-ics, to hone in on the best people to market to.
Demographics could include gen-der, age, income, occupation, educa-tion, household size or many other criteria to slice up the marketplace.
Using specific criteria allows you to avoid using “mass marketing” as your only approach.
Mass marketing, which often doesn’t include demographics, is the least effective way to reach your target
audience. Sending out brochures or doing random robo calls is not nearly as good as targeting your potential customers.
Positioning your products and services with your target market is also very important.
This could be differentiating based upon price or other factors that highlight the uniqueness of what you provide.
The marketplace is always chang-ing so it is a best practice to continue to evaluate whether you are focused on the right segment at the right time. Determining your target market is the first step in developing a marketing plan, and then it’s all in the execution.
ROSWELL, Ga. – If someone is experiencing a heart attack, they need the best care possible. That’s what a new partnership at North Fulton Hospital with Well-Star Health System brings.
A ribbon cutting was held on Thursday, Oct. 10 to officially introduce the community to the first cardi-ology practice to come to North Fulton Hospital, at 4500 Hospital Blvd. in Roswell.
North Fulton Cardiovascular Medicine is a two-physician cardiology practice owned by the hospital with management of its services provided by WellStar Health System. Debbie Keel, chief executive officer of North Fulton Hospital, said the new facility is part of the hospital’s continuing effort to reshape and retool the hospital to better serve the community.
“This is going to be a top-notch program for us,” Keel said. “When you have someone in an active heart attack coming into the ER, all the players have to play their part precisely from the minute the patient arrives, to being in the cath lab, all the way through recovery — and that’s the kind of program we’re going to run here.”
WellStar Chief Cardiology Officer Dr. Barry Mangel said he was excited about the affiliation with North Fulton Hospital.
“We’re looking forward to this relationship to develop a world-class cardiac program here at North Fulton, and I think we’re well on our way to doing that,” Mangel said.
The practice will offer in-patient and out-patient care and will soon have a new cardiac catheterization
lab installed in the facility.Roswell Mayor Jere Wood and state Sen. Brandon
Beach were present at the ribbon cutting and spoke about the importance of having the new facility at the hospital.
“It’s important to have great health care when we’re trying to retain, expand and recruit new compa-nies — it’s a tool in our toolbox to have a facility like this,” Beach said.
Dr. Rajesh Sachdeva and Dr. Ayushi Ahuja are the
two physicians that will run the cardiology practice. Sachdeva, a board certified interventional cardiolo-gist, will serve as cardiology medical director for the hospital and Ahuja will help in the development of a women’s cardiology program.
“It’s really a great opportunity to serve our com-munity,” Ahuja said. “To start something, build it up and then be here for a long, long time.”
For more information on the cardiology practice, visit www.nfultonhospital.com.
Partnering withWellStar Health System
CAITLIN WAGENSEIL/STAFF
Dr. Rajesh Sachdeva and Dr. Ayushi Ahuja, the cardiologists running the new practice, cut the ribbon at the official ceremony held on Thursday. Joining them are NFH CEO Deborah Keel, Mayor Jere Wood and Council-man Jerry Orlans
northfulton.com | Milton Herald | October 23, 2013 | 19CALENDARSubmit your event online at northfulton.com
TOP FIVE EVENTS
THE DRAGON KINGThe story of a drought that strikes China, and the fearless grandmother who resolves to find out why the Dragon King is withholding the rain—even if she must go to the bottom of the sea. Oct. 22 – Nov. 3. 1404 Spring St. Northwest, Atlanta. Please visit puppet.org.
MOVIES OFF MAINThe City of Alpharetta presents Movies Off Main, featuring “Warm Bodies.” 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. Oct. 25. 24 Milton Ave., Alpharetta. Please call 678-297-6000 or visit alpharetta.ga.us.
CRYSTAL BOWERSOXCrystal Bowersox’s rich amalgam of blues, folk and rock makes this “American Idol” runner-up one of the most dynamic young voices in music today. 8 p.m. Oct. 26. 950 Forrest St., Roswell. Please call 770-594-6232 or visit roswellpresents.com.
HAYES HAUNTAn annual haunted house that benefits a different charity each year. This year’s proceeds go to the Place of Forsyth. 7 – 10 p.m. Oct. 25, 26 and 31, and Nov. 1. 7435 Cavaletti Circle, Cumming. Please visit hayeshaunt.com.
TWILIGHT RUN FOR CHEROKEEThis annual 5K, Fun Run and Walk fundraiser is designed to help raise awareness on the dangers of drunk driving. 6 p.m. Oct. 26. Hobgood Park, 6688 Bells Ferry Road, Woodstock. Please call 770-841-8530 or visit cherokeefor.com.
Submit your event to northfulton.com or email with photo to calendar@ northfulton.com. For a more complete list of local events including support groups, volunteer opportunities and business meetings visit the calendar on northfulton.com.
LOCAL LIVE MUSIC »A NIGHT IN RIOA Night in Rio is the second performance of “Jazz Roots: A Larry Rosen Jazz Series.” With the combination of samba and jazz, Brazilian performers Sergio Mendes and Eliane Elias will bring the genre of Bossa Nova to life. The culture and sounds of Brazil will be at the audience’s fingertips as they indulge in a night of music and passion like no other. 8 p.m. Oct. 26. 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. Please call 770-235-3612 or visit cobbenergycentre.com.
MAESTRO AND FRIENDS RECITALJoin the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra and St. Benedict Music Director J. Wayne Baughman in an exceptional vocal recital, “My Favorite Songs!” Maestro Baughman will be joined by JCSO Concertmaster Adelaide Federici, Katie Baughman, and St. Benedict Assistant Music Director Sara Lorusso. Selections range from opera and art songs to spirituals and Broadway. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24. St. Benedict, 11045 Parsons Road, Johns Creek. Please call 678-748-5802 or visit johnscreeksymphony.org.
THEATER »
SHAKESPEARE’S “MACBETH”Forsyth Central High School presents “Macbeth.” The play is set in 10th Century Scotland and tells the tale of a good man who slowly yields himself to the tempting voice of his murderous wife, his own ambition, and three supernatural witches. Through each bloody deed he becomes a butcher, leaving his wife and his
kingdom in his wake of destruction. 7 p.m Oct. 24 and 31 and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25. 520 Tribble Gap Road, Cumming. Please visit forsythcentralstage.com.
ART »ROSWELL FINE ARTS ALLIANCE MEMBERS ART SHOWThe Roswell Fine Arts Alliance will hold its premier annual members’ juried show Oct. 11-Nov. 13 with 60 works of art available for purchase. Hosted by the Bank of North Georgia, 10446 Alpharetta St., Roswell. Open during regular banking hours. Please call 770-594-6462 or visit rfaa.org.
THE LOUVRE AND THE TUILERIES GARDENAn exhibition that explores the art, design and evolution of Paris' beloved Tuileries Garden and its impact on artists through time will premiere at the High Museum of Art. The Louvre and the Tuileries Garden will feature more than 100 works, some of which have never been seen outside of France. Oct. 26 to Nov. 19. 1280 Peachtree St. Northeast, Atlanta. Please visit high.org.
EVENTS » HALLOWEEN HIKESTake your child on a well-lit hike through the forest to meet woodland creatures and hear about their lives. It’s the perfect non-scary alternative to traditional Halloween events all while supporting Chattahoochee Nature Center. Meet nature-costumed characters and create fun crafts. Hikes begin at 7 p.m. and run continuously. 6:30 – 10 p.m. Oct. 18, 19, 25 and 26. 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. Please call 770-992-2055 or visit chattnaturecenter.org.
MAYOR'S BBQ BALLAn annual BBQ hosted by Roswell Mayor Jere Wood to benefit HomeStretch, which provides housing for children and equips their parents with skills for self-sufficiency. Featuring vittles from Artisan Foods, Atlanta Beverage, Spiced Right Rib House, Talk of the Town, Shane's Rib Shack, Harry's Farmer's Market, the Mill Kitchen, Roswell Beverage and Adele's Cajun Cuisine. 6:30 – 10 p.m. Oct. 26. 10850 Stroup Road, Roswell. Please call 770-642-9185 or visit homestretch.org.
HALLOWEEN KIDS FESTNorth Point Mall is hosting a Halloween Kids Fest,
where kids ages 2 to 12 are encouraged to dress in their costumes. Head to Center Court for free activities including a costume contest, prizes, crafts, games and music. Kids are then invited to trick-or-treat at the retailers around the mall. Children must be accompanied by an adult. 2 p.m. Oct. 26. 1000 North Point Circle, Alpharetta. Please visit northpoint mall.com.
CLASSIC CAR AND HOT ROD SHOWFor owners or connoisseurs of classic cars and motorcycles. This first annual event in Johns Creek, hosted by the Alpharetta-Johns Creek Kiwanis, provides an opportunity for you to show off that majestic piece of machinery that you love. 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Oct. 27. 8465 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell. Please call 678-824-2104 or visit johnscreekkiwanis.org to register.
RESTLESS IN RESTHAVEN CEMETERY TOURSThe spirits of Alpharetta’s past come alive during this downtown cemetery tour. Guides take participants through downtown to Resthaven Cemetery. Hear stories of the city’s early days from the people who brought the community to life. Advanced registration required. Tour runs two miles and takes 90 minutes. 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 and 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Oct. 27. 29 South Main St., Alpharetta. Please call 678-297-6150 or visit awesome alpharetta.com.
STONE MOUNTAIN PUMPKIN FESTIVALEnjoy fun-filled games and family shows such as "Pumpkinpalooza," scavenger hunts and the Pumpkin Mash at the Mayor's Rockin’ Costume Party. Weekends until Oct. 27. Open 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Sundays and 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays. Stone Mountain Park, Highway 78 East, Stone Mountain. Please call 770-498-5690 or visit stonemountainpark.com.
ALPHARETTA CHILI COOK-OFFPolice officers, firefighters
and other public safety staff don their chef’s aprons to create competing pots of homemade chili at this cook-off, featuring the Georgia versus Florida game. Try 20 different types of chili, from mild to extra spicy. Hotdogs, hamburgers, soft drinks and beer also available. Inflatables and face painting for kids. 2:30 p.m. Nov. 2. Milton Avenue, Alpharetta. Please call 678-297-6000 or visit awesomealpharetta.com.
14TH ANNUAL BUFORD ACE CLASSIC CRUISE-IN AND SHOWCome see modified cars, vintage cars, street rods, muscle cars, motorcycles, race cars and rare rides of all kinds. Also featuring door prizes, a silent auction and fun for the whole family. All benefits go to the North Gwinnett Food Bank Co-op. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Nov. 2. 4300 Buford Drive, Buford. 770-932-1458.
CHASTAIN PARK ARTS FESTIVAL Enjoy fine arts and crafts, a children’s area and local concessions including food trucks. Also featuring a VIP tent and local acoustic musicians to enliven the atmosphere. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Nov. 3. 4469 Stella Drive, Atlanta. Please call 404-873-1222 or visit chastainpark artsfestival.com.
BENEFITS & RACES » 5K RUN FOR KIDS' CHANCE OF GEORGIAJoin the 23rd annual 5K run for Kids’ Chance of Georgia. Kids' Chance is a nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to children of Georgia workers who have been seriously, catastrophically or fatally injured in work-related accidents. 8 a.m. – noon. Oct. 26. 4770 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody. Please call 770-933-7767 or visit kidschancega.org.
WELLSTAR STEPUP 5K RACE TO EMBRACE TOLERANCEProceeds from this race support Embracing Tolerance, a local education and awareness program whose vision is to create a generation of educated and socially responsible youth. Embracing Tolerance seeks to arm teens and preteens with knowledge, empathy and responsiveness to combat bullying, racism and prejudice. 7 a.m. Nov. 3. North Point Village, 7300 North Point Parkway, Alpharetta. Please visit active.com.
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New Tools For Families Caring For A Parent With Alzheimer’s(NAPS)—There’s helpful news for those caring for a family member with Al-zheimer’s disease.
Thanks to the most experienced provider of in-home care for se niors, free resources are now available to help families cope with the common challenging behaviors associated with Alzheimer’s. The Home Instead Senior Care network is offering free Confi-dence to Care at Home kits. Available on www.helpforalzheimers families.com or from a local Home Instead office, the kit is an at-a-glance collec-tion of information, tips and resources to help handle difficult situations, avoid household accidents, encour-age engagement and prevent caregiver stress. It’s designed for any member of the household to reference, anytime it’s needed. In addition, the company has developed a free, downloadable smartphone app that families can use to search behaviors and help find solutions when they have to quickly react. Called Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias Daily Help er, the app is designed to help families manage is-sues as they arise, whether at home or in public. For example, if a smartphone user types in “wandering,” the app will
provide a list of tips for ad dressing the issue right now and preventing it in the future. “Alzheimer’s impacts not only the 5 million Americans with the disease, but also the handful of people that provide care and support for that person,” said Home Instead President Jeff Huber. “We want to replace fear with a sense of confidence that they are equipped to handle any situation.”
Could My Thyroid Be The Reason Why I am tired All The Time And Don’t Feel Like Myself?
Yes. You may be one of the 13 mil-lion people in this country that go to the doctor with sudden weight gain, fatigue, hot flashes, infertility, depression or some other unexplained symptom and ask about your thyroid. Your doctor sends you for blood work and it comes back normal. According to the Ameri-can Academy of Clinical Endocrinolo-gists (AACE) there are 27 million people in this country with thyroid conditions and only half (13 million) are diagnosed. You can go 20-30 years with symptoms before your blood work is abnormal.
Why Does My Blood Work Look Nor-mal But I Still Don’t Feel Well?
Most doctors think the problem is just in the thyroid when most of the time it is not. The reason for this is because thyroid conditions most often occur because of a problem somewhere
other than the thyroid gland itself.Thyroid hormone levels of TSH, T3
and T4 can appear normal. There are 3 reasons for that phenomenon. T4 doesn’t convert to the active hormone T3. Active T3 can’t be used in the cell because it’s receptors on the cell are blunted. You could potentially have an autoimmune condition called Hashi-moto’s Disease.
How Can I Heal My Body, Increase My Energy And Start To Feel Better?
The first step is to schedule an appointment to have an in-depth consultation with our trained team of professionals. Let us perform the proper testing to determine the hidden, underlying cause of your fatigue and thyroid problems. We will evaluate your thyroid and adrenal glands from a different perspective while determining if there are food sensitivities that may be contributing to your poor health. We will make recommendations that will help you to get back to being your best self.
Are You Sick and Tired of being Tired?
Bickford Senior Living in Alpharetta is an active senior living with a fabulous Memory Care. Conveniently located near North Point Mall and GA 400, Bickford features an upscale lifestyle for seniors in beautiful surroundings, with a variety of personal care and medica-tion management options. The restau-rant-style dining room offers delicious dishes lovingly prepared by award-winning chefs. There are also exciting and stimulating social activities, and scheduled excursions for shopping, doc-tor appointments, entertainment, and educational/cultural events.
Residents of our memory care wing also enjoy a wonderful atmosphere with
meaningful and engaging activities, personalized care plans, and medica-tion management options. Our days are filled with stimulating and fun activities with caring and loving oversight.
Our goal at Bickford is to provide Seniors with a wonderful home and a healthy, productive lifestyle, for an over-all sense of satisfaction and well-being. We also work closely with our family members to ensure that each individual need is being met.
We welcome visitors to stop for a no-obligation property tour. We feel confident that you and your cherished loved-one will find Bickford to be the perfect fit.
Bickford aims to provides Seniors with a healthy, productive lifestyle
3400-C Old Milton Parkway, Suite 290, Alpharetta, GA 30005 Tim MicekM.D., AAOS
As the impasse in Congress over funding the government goes into the third week and our country stares down another deadline for raising its debt ceiling, you and I are the ones who are being thrown under the truck. Time and again, we are run over by our elected “leaders.” I don’t care if you are a Democrat or a Republican, you have tire tracks across your back. I don’t know how you feel, but I find it totally unacceptable and think that all of our so-called leaders should be thrown out of office. Were they in school, their report cards would show Fs across the board.
“Brand” is often the most valuable asset of a company. The brand stands for that company’s values and the qualities that its products represent. Nike, Apple, Patagonia and Rolex are examples of commercial brands that stand for something bigger than their actual products. Our brand – that is, the brand of our country – has for more than 200 years been the envy of much of the world. The United States has represented values that have inspired and promoted opportunity, economic and personal freedom, and critically a form of government that works. Right now, Congress and our president are doing irreparable harm to our brand worldwide. I don’t see how they have the nerve to even be seen in public.
If you are a Republican, the cur-
rent mess in which we find ourselves is all Obama’s fault. The country is held hostage over his petulant refusal to consider negotiating a compromise with Republicans. If you are a Demo-crat, the U.S. government is on the verge of defaulting because of a Repub-lican Party that doesn’t have the spine to stand up to its own nutcases. Both sides are behaving like kindergartners. “It’s his (or her) fault. No, it’s his fault.”
At the end of the day, both sides are at fault because they are failing to do what they were elected to do and that is to govern wisely and expediently. Compromise is required to govern, especially when that government is divided. With a Democrat in the White House, a Democrat-controlled Senate and a Republican House, that compro-mise is missing. In sports or in the real
24 | October 23, 2013 | Milton Herald | northfulton.com Submit your news & photos to [email protected] | Recycled paper
CITY OF MILTONPUBLIC NOTICE
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Bldg 100 Ste 107EMilton, GA 30004
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CITY OF MILTON
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR USE PERMITS These items have been administratively deferred from the October 23, 2013 Planning
Commission Meeting for additional concurrent variances (bolded).See New Dates Below
Petition Number: U13-03Location: 13440 Cogburn RoadApplicant: St. Francis Day School, Inc.Request: A Use Permit to increase the area of the school and the total
square footage from 92,616 square feet to 109,116 square feet that includes a practice gym and two maintenance buildings. A Two Part Concurrent Variance for the Following: 1) Buildings shall be set back more than 30 feet from the edge of the required landscape strip or easements (Sec 64-1145(3)(b)). 2) Buildings shall not be oriented to a public street (Sec 64-1145 (2)(a)).
Petition Number: U13-04/VC13-04Location: 13895 Hopewell RoadApplicant: Jeff RunnerRequest: A Use Permit to use the existing house and approximately fi ve
acres for a special event facility (Sec 64-1812). A three part concur-rent variance for the following: 1) To delete the 8 foot high opaque fence along the south property line (Sec 64-1812 (b.)(2)); 2) To delete the 75 foot undisturbed buffer and 10 foot improvement set-back along all property lines (Sec 64-1141 (3)(b)). 3) To delete the three year period requirement (Sec 64-1812 (b) (6)). 4) To allow access from a local street (Sec 64-1812 (b)(1)).
Public Hearings: Planning Commission Meeting Wednesday, November 20, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
Mayor and City Council Meeting Monday, December 16, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Milton City Hall 13000 Deerfi eld Parkway Suite 107E (Council Chambers) Milton, GA 30004 678-242-2500
world, the coach or employee that doesn’t get the job done gets the boot. It ain’t rocket science. When do these “lead-ers” get their boot?
I suspect that by the time this column is published in the paper, there will have been some sort of diluted, short-term arrangement reached that allows the politicians on both sides to continue abusing you and me until it’s time again to play this banana republic two bit self-defeating exercise yet another time. Maybe the ques-
tion we should be asking our-selves is how our government got to this point and what needs to be done to fix it.
While I don’t claim to know the answer, I suspect that un-less something changes we can expect this type of outcome to continue to occur.
I am concerned that the majority of Congress is con-cerned with being re-elected first and doing what is right only if it is politically expedi-ent.
Surely it is time to consider term limits for Congress? What do you think?
Our online poll on North-Fulton.com is simple: “Do you support term limits for mem-
bers of Congress – for example two Senate terms of six years each and six House terms of two years each? Yes or No.” Please go to the site and vote. We are also providing a list of email addresses for Georgia’s congressional delegation and the White House should you choose to drop them a note communicating your opinion about their effectiveness.
Finally, if you have any sin-cere thoughts on what needs to happen for our government to return to functioning effec-tively, please send us an email at [email protected] or you can post your ideas in the comment section below this column.
Continued from Page 22
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ROSWELL, Ga. – Hundreds of children, adults, grandparents and friends celebrated Moun-tain Park Elementary’s 40-year anniversary on Sept. 20 with festivities held after school on the campus field.
“From 1973 to 2013, Mountain Park Elementary has remained a special place for
alumni and current students,” said Principal Stacy Perlman.
“We were so thrilled to be able to share our birthday event with the community.”
Doris Robertson, the school’s principal from 1981-1983, attended the celebration and cut the first piece of the birthday cake.
Mountain Park Elemen-tary School opened in August 1973 with 250 students in first through seventh grades.
Annually one of the top-performing schools in Fulton County,
Mountain Park now houses more than 800 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth
grade. The school was named after
Mountain Park, a town and nature preserve next to the school.
Recently, the school was named a 2013 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. De-partment of Education for its academic achievement.
Mountain Park Elementary celebrates 40-year anniversary
northfulton.com | Milton Herald | October 23, 2013 | 25Recycled paper | Submit your news & photos to [email protected]
technology.
Villanova UniversityVILLANOVA, Pa. – Kaylin Brown of Milton was named to the Dean’s List at Villanova University for the spring 2013 semester. Brown is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the Vil-lanova School of Business.
Brenau UniversityGAINESVILLE, Ga. – Brenau University student Abbey Goodman of Cumming recently studied abroad at one of the most distinguished universi-ties in the world with a select group of students from the Women’s College. The inter-disciplinary summer school experience at the University of Cambridge was a full four weeks of various courses taught by Cambridge lectur-ers and instructors in English, history, art history, politics, theater, legal studies and ar-chitecture. Goodman had the opportunity to tour and enjoy cultural events while residing on campus at the historic col-
lege in early August. Goodman is a freshman
majoring in mass communica-tion. She is the daughter of Dale and Kathy Goodman and a graduate of North Forsyth High School. She is also a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, a Golden Star and a student ambassador.
Emory UniversityATLANTA – Shawn Han Choi of Johns Creek earned Dean’s List status at Emory Univer-sity in Atlanta for the spring semester after achieving a 3.93 grade point average for the term.
Choi, a psychology major, is the son of Jeannie and Jin Choi of Johns Creek. The col-lege sophomore will be trans-ferring to Cornell University this fall.
Georgia TechATLANTA – Colin Stieglitz of Cumming, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering at
Georgia Tech, was among eight undergraduate students from around the country, selected to participate in Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), a prestigious 10-week summer program at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in Milwaukee, Wis. As part of the REU program, students researched projects advancing state-of-the-art applications in the biomedical, aerospace, manufacturing, composite, biomolecular and fluid power industries.
Stieglitz is working on a research project titled “High-Efficiency Pneumatic Walking Engine.”
REU is an innovative, interdisciplinary program funded by the National Science Foundation, MSOE’s Rapid Prototyping Center, MSOE’s Fluid Power InstituteTM and the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) to give undergraduates hands-on experience in research. This program focuses on applica-tions of fluid power and addi-
tive manufacturing technology.
Siena CollegeLOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – Kaitlin Maguire of Johns Creek gradu-ated from Siena College with a bachelor’s degree in marketing on May 19. Siena awarded 805 bachelor’s and 52 master’s de-grees at this year’s commence-ment ceremony.
Continued from Page 14
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Creda Anderson, 70, of Cumming, passed away October 15, 2013. Arrangements by Roswell Funeral Home.
Betty Bass, 86, of Cumming, passed away October 12, 2013. Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.
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Brantley Farmer, 61, of Alpharetta, passed away October 9, 2013. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
Betty Jane Finnemore, 77, of Cumming, passed away October 3, 2013. Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.
Ann Teresa Gessner, 95, of Cumming, passed away October 15, 2013. Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home.
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Frances Jett, 97, of Lawrenceville, passed away October 14, 2013. Arrangements by Roswell Funeral Home.
Edwin T. Kerr, 83, of Johns Creek, passed away October 15, 2013. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
George Lafazia, 92, of Cumming, passed away October 10, 2013. Arrangements by Roswell Funeral Home.
Floyd Lunsford, 64, of Roswell, passed away October 14, 2013. Arrangements by Roswell Funeral Home.
Molly Manley, of Alpharetta, passed away. Arrangements by Roswell Funeral Home.
William Lawrence Miller, 71, of Big Canoe, passed away October 9, 2013. Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.
Carlos Leonel Vasquez Noboa, 78, of Cumming, passed away October 8, 2013. Arrangements by McDonald and Son Funeral Home.
Robert Christian Nygaard, 79, of Cumming, passed away October 15, 2013. Arrangements by McDonald and Son Funeral Home.
Kimberly Parker, 44, of Gainesville, passed away September 28, 2013. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
Thomas Powanda, 56, of Alpharetta, passed away October 11, 2013. Arrangements by Roswell Funeral Home.
Joseph A. Saccoccia, 83, of Cumming, passed away October 10, 2013. Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home.
Mildred Saul, 93, of Roswell, passed away October 10, 2013. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
Kathryn Elizabeth Solum, 91, of Gainesville, passed away October 12, 2013. Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home.
David Clayton Sterrett, 70, of Venice, Fla passed away October 9, 2013. Arrangements by McDonald and Son Funeral Home.
Kenith Sturdivant, 83, of Marietta, passed away October 11, 2013. Arrangements by Roswell Funeral Home.
Cosmo Terlizzi, 95, of Johns Creek, passed away September 30, 2013. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
Marion Weaver, 62, of Johns Creek, passed away October 8, 2013. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
James Edward Wood, Sr., 85, of Clayton, passed away October 14, 2013. Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home.
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