Sponsored Sections Health & Wellness ►►PAGE 34 Summer Camps ►►PAGE 46
Spring at Avalon
Special pull-out section ►►PAGE 25
Anderson sworn in
County mgr. has big plans to reorganize Fulton ►►PAGE 7
Are you ready for school? Gwinnett Tech N.F. breaks ground ►►PAGE 33
March 12, 2015 | johnscreekherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 19, No. 11
STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS:
Johns Creek’s future ‘at critical crossroads’ Mayor says city must choose path for economic viability By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com
House fire claims life Firefighters battled a fire Monday, March 9 on Summer Crest Court in Johns Creek. Unfortunately they were unable to save the resident in time. Read more, Page 6. HATCHER HURD/STAFF
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Mayor Mike Bodker made it clear in his March 6 State of the City address that Johns Creek must “choose a path” that will lead to economic viability. Bodker told the nearly 300 people gathered at the Atlanta Athletic Club ballroom that for the city to be sustainable, it must face critical decisions now. “The truth is we are at a critical crossroads. As Johns Creek citizens, we must choose a path forward that ensures the economic viability of the city,” Bodker said. Continuing the status quo is not an option, he said. Johns Creek will need a “bold
vision meant to define the city’s legacy for generations to come.” The vehicle for that change will be the reshapBODKER ing of “The District,” the 725 acres along Ga.141 and McGinnis Ferry Road encompassed in the redevelopment plan that the city has just begun. Without it, the city cannot generate the revenue to pay the continuing costs of today and the rising costs of future growth. Bodker made a call for residents’ participation in the
See FUTURE, Page 13
Johns Creek named safest city in 2014 Milton 2nd; Alpharetta, Roswell close behind By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Johns Creek is the safest city in Georgia, according to a national research company, and not far behind are Milton (No. 2), Alpharetta (No. 5), Roswell (No. 8) and Sandy Springs (No. 9). ValuePenguin is a company that does in-depth research in a variety of areas to help people making major
financial decisions, including where to live in Georgia. ValuePenguin cofounder Brian Quinn said the company sourced its data from 2013 Federal Bureau of Investigation crime statistics by city, which provides the most recent data available. The raw data report included violent crimes (murder/manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, larcenytheft, motor vehicle theft and arson)
Georgia’s 10 safest cities of 25,000 or more 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
JOHNS CREEK MILTON Peachtree City Kennesaw ALPHARETTA
from all law enforcement agencies that participate in the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program. “We standardized the data to reflect violent and property crimes per 100,000, to account for population. We
6. Woodstock 7. Duluth 8. ROSWELL 9. SANDY SPRINGS 10. Lawrenceville then aggregated a ‘crime score,’” Quinn said. To calculate these scores ValuePenguin weighted violent crime at 90
See SAFEST, Page 9