Education Focus Sponsored section ►►PAGE 21
State baseball championships
Milton vs. Lambert; Blessid Trinity vs. Cartersville ►►PAGE 25
Pisgah girls No. 2 at state golf tourney Varsity boys place fourth, many starters return next year ►►PAGE 11
North Fulton honors vets Milton, Roswell celebrate veterans ►►PAGE 26
May 29, 2014 | northfulton.com | 73,500 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 18, No. 22
Now it is down to 4 Runoffs pit Gray-Fragoso; Broadbent-Reinecke set for July 22 By HATCHER HURD hatcher@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – After the May 20 City Council elections for the Post 4 and Post 6 races, the number of candidates have been reduced from nine to four in what can only be described as tepid turnout by city voters. Post 4 has a runoff between Steve Broadbent and Nancy Reinecke. Post 6 will see Eric Fragoso and Robert Gray square off. With nearly 6,000 votes cast from among 36,000 registered voters, Johns Creek had an unofficial turnout of 15.26 percent, according to City Clerk Joan Jones. Timed to coincide with Georgia party primaries, the
HATCHER HURD/STAFF
Gordon Strauss, a retired civil engineer, enjoys nothing better than sitting at his workbench to design and build his whimsical birdhouses. He says he never works from a planned design, he just makes what springs into his mind.
Retiree makes birdhouses that sing Gordon Strauss turns hobby into art By HATCHER HURD hatcher@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – One thing you can say about Johns Creek resident Gordon Strauss. His art is definitely not for the birds. “I got started just making plaques down at the hospitals – for Northside, Emory
and Children’s Healthcare,” Strauss said. “Then I decided to start making birdhouses.” That is sort of like Michelangelo saying he he started to paint ceilings. The retired civil engineer volunteers his time and combines that with his urge to create things with his hands. He hit on birdhouses, but
nonpartisan council races were to fill two unexpired terms vacated by Councilwoman Bev Miller and Councilman Ivan Figueroa. Miller had resigned to run against Mayor Mike Bodker and Figueroa resigned because he was moving from the city. In Post 4, Broadbent garnered nearly 45 percent of the vote, so he will face Reinecke with 18.5 percent of the vote in the runoff. Broadbent said he was “very happy” to receive more than 44 percent of the votes cast in a field of five. “That is tough overall to do. I ran a positive campaign and focused on the issues,” Broadbent said. “I think the voters
See ELECTIONS, Page 4
Walmart reveals new store in Forsyth County
Walmart Store Manager Zane McCusker near a flower display that forms the American Flag. See story, page 10.
they are all unique and handpainted. Strauss likes to say they are “unique, but not perfect.” Then he laughs. He says they are not perfect, because he could never make two of them alike. But then that is what makes them unique. “I like to work in wood, and I wanted something to do,” he said.
See BIRDS, Page 24 ALDO NAHED/STAFF