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July 1, 2015 | forsythherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 19, No. 27
Commissioners talk litter, cleanup By KATHLEEN STURGEON Kathleen@appenmediagroup.com
Fireworks are allowed, as of July 1, to be used and sold in Georgia, including Forsyth County.
Fireworks light up Forsyth By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Georgians will no longer have to drive across state lines to buy and bring back fireworks, even if it was illegal. Georgia house bill 110 allows the sale and use of fireworks in the state, and it went into effect July 1. At their regular work session, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners discussed how this would impact the county. The bill revised several parts of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, updating it to reflect the new law. Among the changes included not allowing fireworks usage indoors or within 100 yards of a nuclear power facility. It also limited the hours of use
Safety tips when using fireworks from the Forsyth County Fire Department: • Never allow young children to handle fireworks • Light fireworks outdoors in a clear area away from onlookers, houses and combustible materials • Light only one device at a time; maintain a safe distance after lighting • Never try to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks • Don’t try to combine or alter fireworks • Wear eye protection • Always keep a bucket of water nearby to fully extinguish fireworks that don’t go off or in case of fire • Keep your pets indoors • In the event of an emergency call 911 • 62 percent of all fireworks-related injuries were burns, 36 percent injuries to hands and fingers and 31 percent caused by sparklers to 10 a.m. to midnight, except on Jan. 1, July 3 and 4 and Dec. 31 where the hours are extended to 2 a.m. Buyers, us-
ers and sellers also have to be at least 18-years-old.
See FIREWORKS, Page 24
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Litter is a common problem in Forsyth County, but the issue will soon be resolved. Tammy Wright, manager of environmental programs, gave a presentation on a litter management plan proposed by Keep Forsyth County Beautiful (KFCB). The plan includes components for litter removal, education, marketing and enforcement. KFCB’s core areas are litter, solid waste reduction and recycling, community greening and beautification and water quality. “Historically, KFCB has taken a lead role in combatting litter in our community because it is one of the four core areas of Keep America Beautiful affiliates,” Wright said. “As a whole, the county doesn’t have a litter problem.” Currently KFCB has an annual litter index, holds the Great American Cleanup in spring, holds monthly high school cleanups and has a litter hotline. Wright said the county has a relatively low litter index score, which rates litter’s severity. As part of its continued efforts, KFCB works with students to initiate long term marketing and education campaigns, as well as working with law enforcement to enforce litter ordinances. Although the county has a low litter index score, Wright said the group wants to focus on keeping problem areas clean that consistently have a high score, including State
Route 369 west from Ga. 400 to the county line, about 22 miles. KFCB has adopted over 100 miles of roads, WRIGHT Wright said. They are cleaned quarterly by volunteer groups and in 2014 that resulted in over 450 bags of trash removed from the community. “We work with law enforcement, but we want to prevent it and not just catch someone throwing it out,” Wright said. Wright said they want to focus on the areas with higher index numbers and it’s been proven people are less likely to litter on a clean road. Wright recommended the board consider for the next six months to do monthly maintenance pick up on Hwy. 369. She also recommended doing Ga. 400 once a month but only stretches identified as having a high level littering problem. “I don’t anticipate there being any local roads in this clean up because we are normally able to clean those up in a timely manner,” Wright said. “This will send a strong message that the county is interested and wants to do their part.” Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) does clean up litter when they cut the grass, Wright said, but they can only do so much. “There are other things in the works to do more clean up ourselves,” Wright said.