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February 4, 2015 | miltonherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 10, No. 6
HITTING THE HIGH NOTE »
Sarah Lewis performs in ‘Tuck Everlasting’ Milton resident stars in Alliance Theatre musical By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenmediagroup.org.
PHOTO BY GREG MOONEY
Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Milton resident Sarah Charles Lewis in the Alliance Theatre’s 2014/15 world premiere production of “Tuck Everlasting,” which runs through Feb. 22, 2015.
State sets high bar for Milestones test Promises more rigor By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@appenmediagroup.com ATLANTA – Melissa Fincher readily admits the state’s most recent assessments, primarily the CriterionReference Competency Tests (CRCTs), did little to evaluate achievement over their past 14-year life span. “Georgia has the very
dubious distinction of having the lowest achievement expectations in the nation… as far as what it means to classify a student as proficient,” said Fincher, deputy superintendent of testing and accountability for the Georgia Department of Education (GDOE). With the CRCT, given for the final time in grades 3-8 last spring, only students scoring in the “Exceeds”
See TESTS, Page 14
MILTON, Ga. – For the Atlanta premiere of “Tuck Everlasting” at the Alliance Theatre, the showrunners did not have far to look for their lead role – 10-year-old Sarah Charles Lewis, of Milton, landed the part. Sarah plays Winnie Foster, the young girl who befriends a unique family that has gained eternal life by drinking from a spring flowing from a tree in the woods. “It a very well-known book. Every middle school makes you read it,” Sarah said. “The musical is very similar to the
See TUCK, Page 35
Fulton passes $628M budget Restores all library hours, no millage increase needed By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com ATLANTA – The Fulton County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a $628 million budget that did not raise the millage rate as feared, and instead left the county with a surplus. Meanwhile, commissioners completely restored the shortened hours of Fulton’s public libraries, which commissioners admitted was easily the most unpopular budgeting measure taken in 2014.
For the first time in more than two decades, commissioners unanimously passed a county annual budget. The 7-0 vote is the EAVES ELLIS first unanimous approval for a county spending plan since 1991. The fiscal year 2015 budget includes no millage rate increase for any Fulton County homeowners and a restoration of See BUDGET, Page 30
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book, not the movie.” The performing gene is in Sarah’s blood. Both Sarah’s parents are musical. Her parents met in a band and Sarah’s mother Jennifer said they were performing until she was 8 months pregnant with Sarah. “She learned from osmosis,” Jennifer laughed. Sarah’s older brother, Harrison, is also a performer. He starred in a recent production of “Bull Durham,” also at the Alliance Theatre. “She was born being able to sing with rhythm,” Jennifer said. “She could hum on pitch before she could talk. She was 4 and in a typical 4-yearold ballet class. And she just blossomed from there.” Sarah attends the Miltonbased RISPA school of per-
$10,000
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