Real Estate Report Sponsored section ►►PAGE 20
30 days till opening New jail near completion ►►PAGE 4
Batter up! Register now for baseball, softball ►►PAGE 12
Running low on gas Sinclair opening put on hold ►►PAGE 6
August 5, 2015 | forsythherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 18, No. 32
Forsyth County Schools ready for new year By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com
KATHLEEN STURGEON/STAFF
Shandra Dawkins joined Family Haven as executive director after owning and operating her own domestic violence shelter in Palm Beach County, Florida.
‘A silent and hidden killer’ Domestic violence prevalent in Forsyth, North Fulton By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Shandra Dawkins has had a busy three weeks. Since she accepted the position of executive director with Family Haven, a battered women’s shelter in Forsyth County, there have been three high-profile instances of domestic violence in or involving the county, including four deaths. On July 8, Forsyth County
The number for the crisis hotline is 770-887-1121 911 operator Erin Jones, 28, was shot to death by her livein boyfriend, 43, who then killed himself, according to police. On July 17 a 64-yearold woman reportedly shot her 69-year-old husband several times. And, on July 22, Rebecca Manning, 37, was al-
legedly killed by her boyfriend who also killed Manning’s 8- and 9-year old sons, Jared and Jacob Smith. He also shot and critically wounded Manning’s father. “We’ve lost too many lives since I’ve been here,” Dawkins said. “I just got here and thought ‘what is going on?’ The most tragic thing to me was seeing the faces of those two little boys. Their lives were cut short because of
See HIDDEN, Page 24
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — New crayons, lunchboxes galore, the infamous bell — it’s time to go back to school. Forsyth County Schools starts its 2015-2016 school year Thursday, Aug. 6. The total number of students projected for FCS is 44,193, up 1,506 from the end of last year’s total of 42,687. At the end of the last school year, the average daily attendance was 96.3 percent. Forsyth Central High School is projected at 2,108, Lambert High School at 2,946, North Forsyth High School at 2,372, South Forsyth High School at 2,921 and West Forsyth High School at 2,405. The elementary schools’ enrollment projections span from 601 students at Mashburn to 1,357 at Kelly Mill. Middle schools span from 868 at Little Mill to 1,427 at Piney Grove. Jennifer Caracciolo, the Director of Public Information and Communications for FCS, said there is ongoing construction at the high schools, South Forsyth Middle School and Riverwatch Middle School. While some teachers worked all summer on their classrooms, official preparations began July 28. Of those teachers preparing for the first day, 319 will be new to FCS this year. With 4,500 total employees, the district is the seventh largest of 195 school systems in Georgia. “The school system is so important for the economy because people move here because the school system is
so good,” said Board of Education Chair Darla Light during the State of Forsyth County address this past May. “We are growing LIGHT by leaps and bounds, even in the downturn of the economy. We’re working hard.” Among Georgia’s 15 largest districts, FCS has the highest graduation rate, district SAT score and Georgia High School Writing Test score. There are also four National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and 17 Georgia Schools of Excellence in the county. Because of the district’s accolades, an influx of families have moved into the county. This is causing the county to redistrict this fall to prepare for the opening of Brandywine Elementary School and DeSana Middle School in August 2016. Light addressed overcrowding, a topic often brought up with parents and in public forums including surveys. “What people don’t understand is we can’t just go build schools,” Light said. “The children have to be here before you can build the schools and before the state will give you their portion of the money to build. That’s why it has to get overcrowded before you can build the schools. I think we do a good job and give the schools a lot of flexibility to do what they want to do in their building and what’s best for their children. Overall, we handle it really well.”