Real Estate Report Sponsored section ►►PAGE 28
Principal under the influence Milton High School’s Buhl resigns ►►PAGE 4
Transportation Voters to weigh in on $190 million bond referendum ►►PAGE 9
U.S. Amateur Championship Commemorative pull-out viewer’s guide ►►PAGE 15
August 6, 2014 | forsythherald.com | 73,500 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 17, No. 31
Forsyth County takes on addiction Drug summit holds third community gathering Aug. 19 By SHANNON WEAVER shannon@northfulton.com
ALDO NAHED/STAFF
New Forsyth County School Superintendent Jeff Bearden addresses new system educators on June 29.
328 new teachers join Forsyth County Schools Educators ready for ‘wonderful school system’ By ALDO NAHED aldo@forsythherald.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — On Aug. 7, about 42,000 students will attend classes at 35 Forsyth County Schools. It’s going to be a new experience for a lot of incoming students and teachers. There are 328 new teachers in all grade levels and
subjects joining the seventh largest school district in Georgia. On July 29, the teachers converged at Lambert High School for orientation. Lambert’s Principal Gary Davison said new educators were told about how Forsyth County operates, met the system’s teachers of the year and new school superintendent. Just at Lambert, there will be 700 new freshmen starting on Aug. 7, but the school has already added 12 portable classrooms to the existing 12. “We are a five year-old building and for a five year old school. To actually grow be-
yond that capacity is unusual, but we welcome the growth,” Davison said. The portable units are temporary, he said. Because voters approved a $195 million education bond in May, Lambert High will be able to add 19 classrooms. “This is very reminiscent of the way we used to grow before the economy crashed,” Davison said. “This is how new educator orientation used to be every year.” The Forsyth County School system continues to grow, but
See TEACHERS, Page 11
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — It’s difficult for most parents to imagine having two children dealing with drug addiction, one of them behind bars. That is the experience of a local mother, whose son and daughter have struggled with addiction for five years. Chris, who did not want to share her last name, suspected her daughter of using marijuana when she discovered she was also using harder drugs. “Her best friend came into my bedroom at 3 o’clock and said, ‘You’ve got to do something, your daughter is shooting up heroin,’” Chris said.
If you go What: Forsyth County Drug Awareness Summit Where: Forsyth Conference Center at Lanier Tech When: 6:30 p.m. Aug. 19 Cost: Free Chris has found addiction affects not just the addict, but the whole family. “I have been through bouts of depression, questioning whether I’ll ever be able to put all of this behind me,” she said. “I’m still scared. I worry about them every single day.” Chris said her children, now in their early 20s, started with marijuana before experimenting with other drugs. “Whatever was new, they wanted to try it,” she said.
See ADDICTION, Page 9
ALDO NAHED/ARCHIVE
During a recent drug awareness summit, law enforcement made parents aware of the types of drugs people use.
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FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — In two separate instances, someone broke into two work trucks parked overnight, according to Forsyth County Sheriff’s incident reports. The manager of Capital Electrical Company, 6535 Shiloh Road, told deputies he arrived at work at about 2 a.m. July 21 to discover the back door lock on one of
POLICE BLOTTER All crime reports published by Appen Media Group are compiled from public records. Neither the law enforcement agencies nor Appen Media Group implies any guilt by publishing these names. None of the persons listed has been convicted of the alleged crimes.
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bulldozer. The man said he goes to check on the equipment every few days and was last there at about 6 p.m. July 18. Officers said it will cost about $350 to repair.
Diesel siphoned from work trucks
Fishers trespass on golf green
CUMMING, Ga. — On July 22, a truck driver told Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies he parked his 2007 Freightliner in a gated area at 5195 Browns Bridge Road. When he got there at about 10:30 a.m., he said he saw the fuel cap lid screwed off and fingerprints around the tank. He noticed the gate was opened when he got there, but did not think any thing of it until he saw the gas cap. He checked the gate and saw someone had cut the chain. The man estimated about 40 to 60 gallons of diesel had been removed.
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Two fisherman were trespassing when they decided to fish at a golf course’s lake, according to a Forsyth County Sheriff’s incident report. On July 20, an employee working at the St. Marlo Pro Shop, 2195 Lake Park Drive in Duluth, told deputies he saw the two men fishing at the lake on hole No. 1. The employee told the men that it was dangerous for anyone to be where golf balls were being hit. He asked them to leave and they refused. Then, the employee took the men’s tackle boxes and said they could get their property back at the pro shop once they provided identification. After the employee went back to the shop, he said both men followed him and said they would not show any identification. The fishermen “aggressively took back their tackle boxes.” The employee said the men fled the course in a black Jeep Cherokee.
Vandals spray paint bulldozer appenmediagroup.com northfulton.com • forsythherald.com
the company’s 2002 Chevrolet Express vehicles damaged. He said 15 rolls of wire, two drills and a battery were missing from the truck. The same day, an employee of AFC Communications, 5910 Shiloh Road, told deputies one of their work vans had been broken into. He said the suspect busted
CUMMING, Ga. — Someone busted a window and vandalized a piece of construction equipment, according to a Cumming Police incident report. A man who works at Mathis Grading, off Trowbridge Drive, told officers he arrived at work about 9:30 a.m. July 22 and saw the back left window of a bulldozer busted out. Someone had also spray painted the windshield of the
$2K in damages to golf green CUMMING, Ga. — Someone trespassed onto a golf course,
the van’s rear window and stole about $800 in tools and materials. The employee said the suspect also spray painted the surveillance camera to black out the video. Deputies viewed the footage before the camera was painted and saw a man wearing a mask and gloves.
damaged the property and spray painted the green, according to a Forsyth County Sherriff’s incident report. On July 23, the superintendent of the Windermere Golf Club, 5000 Davis Love Drive, told deputies most of the damage was on the 17th hole. When deputies arrived, they saw where the vandals spray painted obscene remarks and images. The suspects also dug around the hole and damaged the putting green. The flag and signs were painted and thrown around. Deputies saw footprints in the sand bunkers that looked to be from a juvenile. The superintendent said it would cost about $2,000 to replace and repair the green.
Vacationer finds home trashed CUMMING, Ga. — A woman came back from vacation to find her home trashed, according to a Forsyth County Sheriff’s incident report. A woman in the 3000 block of Glennvale Court told deputies when she returned from vacation, her home was in disarray. She found empty alcohol bottles thrown about, scuffed paint and a dent in her stove. She said her clothes were taken from her closet, put in bags and left by the front door. She said a $350 purse was stolen while drug paraphernalia was left behind. The woman said a distant family member had a key to the property, but he did not
have permission to be there in her absence.
Employee dips hand in till ALPHARETTA, Ga. – A Monroe man allegedly admitted to stealing $1,300 from cash registers while employed at a local Walmart. Police were called out to the Haynes Bridge Walmart July 21 after employees said they had a suspect in custody. They identified employee Cassiuse Letron Smith, 26, of Monroe, whose job it was to reset the cash registers at the end of each day. Video surveillance allegedly shows Smith taking $50 and $100 bills from the tills when processing them. Smith admitted to the theft and was arrested for theft by taking.
Shoplifter leaves purse behind MILTON, Ga. – A suspected shoplifter was chased away from the store July 25, leaving behind her purse and identification. According to store employees, Tanya Mings, 51, of Riverdale, was seen filling her shopping cart at the Windward Walmart with $677 worth of items and then walking out of the store without buying the goods. When employees stopped her, she allegedly ran, leaving behind her cart. She evaded employees and was able to get into her car and drive away. But her handbag was left in the shopping cart.
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DUIS & DRUGS All crime reports published by Appen Media Group are compiled from public records. Neither the law enforcement agencies nor Appen Media Group implies any guilt by publishing these names. None of the persons listed has been convicted of the alleged crimes.
DUI arrests ►► Taylor Martin Yates, 27, of
Buford was arrested July 6 on Buford Dam Road in Cumming for DUI, failure to maintain lane, possession of marijuana and open container. ►► Thomas James Culbert, 30, of Sheldon Place, Cumming, was arrested July 17 on McFarland Parkway in Alpharetta for DUI, open container and driving on the wrong side of an undivided highway. ►► Michael L. Fain, 21, of Waleska was arrested July 18 on Freedom Parkway in Cumming for DUI, failure to obey a traffic control device and tag light violation. ►► Jonathan Kyle Trogdon, 24, of Hopewell Chase Drive, Alpharetta, was arrested July 20 on Post Road in Cumming for DUI, failure to maintain
lane and too fast for conditions. ►► Shawnette Melissa Estevez, 25, of Maple Valley Drive, Cumming, was arrested July 22 on Ga. 400 in Alpharetta for DUI and failure to maintain lane. ►► Kelsea Ann McMahan, 25, of Gainesville was arrested July 19 on Little Mill Road in Gainesville for DUI, failure to maintain lane and failure to dim lights. ►► Sandra Papera Locke, 47, of Summit Crossing, Cumming, was arrested July 20 on Ivy Summit Court in Cumming for DUI and violation of handicap parking.
Drug arrests
forsythherald.com | Forsyth Herald | August 6, 2014 | 3
16 arrested in probation sweep
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — On July 28 and July 30, deputies with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Georgia Department of Corrections felony probation office checked probationers and their residences for probation terms violations. During the operation, members of both agencies formed multiple teams that responded to the locations. On July 28, six registered sex-offenders on probation were checked. That night, three of those
six were arrested and additional warrants were taken on a fourth person. On July 30, 25 people on felony probation were checked. Of that group, a sheriff’s office spokesman said twelve were arrested, additional warrants were taken on a 13th, and a 14th person, not on probation, was also arrested. The violations included possession of various drugs, alcohol and possession of pornography by a registered sex offender.
Erik Walter Lottes was arrested for violating the terms of his probation. Lottes is a registered sex offender on probation for six counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Quincy Lamar Hudson was arrested for violating the terms of his probation. Hudson is a sex offender on probation for possession of narcotics. Christopher Thomas Barnes was arrested for violating the terms of his proba-
See PROBATION, Page 36
► ► Pamela A. Munda, 47, of
Dawsonville was arrested July 17 on Old Taylor Road in Dawsonville for possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamines, possession of hydrocodone and possession of drugrelated items. ►► Corin Torres, 33, of Sterling Court, Cumming, was arrested July 14 on South Main Street in
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NEWS
4 | August 6, 2014 | Forsyth Herald | forsythherald.com
Milton High principal resigns over DUI Incident derails promising career By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@northfulton.com MILTON, Ga. – By all accounts Nathan Buhl was on the education fast track, having ascended from an elementary teacher in a BUHL rural Georgia school to principal of one of the top high schools in the state in less than 15 years. But the fast lane ended this week with news of Buhl’s resignation as principal at Milton High School after his involvement in a motor vehicle incident on July 26 while allegedly under the influence of alcohol. “I am humbled and ashamed, after making the worst decisions of my life,” wrote Buhl in a letter to Milton families four days later. “A night of celebration quickly turned to nightmare because of the series of poor choices that I made.” Buhl, 37, had been principal at Milton since mid-May. He has been charged with several violations related to the incident. Fulton Schools officials said Buhl “selfreported” the incident and submitted his resignation immediately. “Buhl’s actions have made it difficult for him, at this time, to serve as the leader of Milton High School,” said Area Superintendent Vic Shandor. “Therefore, we have accepted his decision to step down as principal. We appreciate him placing the needs of the school community first as he is dealing with this complex issue.” In the interim, former principal Ron Tesch will return to Milton until a permanent replacement is found. Tesch retired in 2010 after leading Milton High for 12 years. Since
What happened to Nathan Buhl? FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – Nathan Buhl, the newly installed principal of Milton High School, was arrested July 26 and charged by Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies for DUI. Buhl, 37, of Canton, came to law enforcement’s attention about 9:15 p.m. when he allegedly sideswiped a vehicle at Ga. 400 and Pilgrim Mill Road, said Robin Regan, spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. Buhl then went to a home on Pointe Vecchio Circle in north Forsyth County about 9:42 p.m. when he allegedly hit a parked car with his own vehicle. He left the scene of the accident, but not before the owner of the damaged car was able to get his tag number. Law enforcement contacted the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office for information on Buhl’s car, since Buhl lives in that county. Officers found the vehicle had crashed with Buhl inside near the intersection of Cumming Highway and Old Mill Road. His car was wedged between two trees and emergency crews had to break through his windshield to get Buhl out. He was given a field test for alcohol on his breath and tested positive, with 0.193 grams found. The legal limit is 0.08 grams. Buhl was taken to North Fulton Hospital for his injuries and there, Forsyth deputies took him through sobriety tests. “Based on their investigation, the deputies believed he was under the influence,” said Regan. Blood was drawn and is being processed for bloodalcohol content. Buhl was charged with DUI along with hit and run, failure to report striking an object and failure to maintain lane.
A night of celebration quickly turned to nightmare because of the series of poor choices that I made.” NATHAN BUHL Former Milton High School principal
his retirement, he also served as the interim principal at Riverwood High School during a transition. Katie Reeves, the Fulton School Board member whose district includes Milton High, welcomed the news of Tesch’s return during the interim. “This [situation] is sad for everyone involved, but we are fortunate to have Milton in the hands of a highly experienced principal, Ron Tesch, to be in place for the first day of school,” said Reeves. Buhl’s education career
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had been on an upward trajectory. After his first teaching assignment in 1999 in Coweta County, he moved on to Cherokee County Schools and was an assistant middle school principal by 2005. In May 2011, he became the principal at Crabapple Middle School in Roswell where he remained until this May when he moved to Milton High. Last year, Buhl was named the Principal of the Year by the North Fulton PTA, and in 2012 received the Achievement Award from the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders. For the past few weeks, Buhl had been hosting “meet and greets” throughout the Milton community to get to know the parents and to introduce himself. One parent who attended was impressed with his commitment to his job. “He seemed very much a family man who loved his job and loved what he was doing,” said Carolyn Lauterbach.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Principal’s actions deprive Milton High School
As an elementary school teacher getting ready to begin my 14th year, I was very disappointed to read that the principal you wrote to has just resigned due to DUI/ hit and run arrests that occurred over the weekend. Nathan Buhl had an opportunity to join an amazing school community and it is disappointing to read that he will no longer be able to do that. I feel badly for the families who have now lost a second principal. Hopefully Milton High School will find a super qualified principal who can help the school year begin on a positive note.
(Name withheld by request)
“He told us he was living his dream and made you feel good that we always put the kids first.” In his parting statement to families, Buhl said he is taking time to focus on himself and his family. “I need to reflect on what led me to make a series of disastrous decisions this past weekend, and I need to reflect with gratitude on the realization that it could have been even worse,” he wrote. School system leaders confirmed a search for Buhl’s replacement will be far reaching. “We will immediately conduct a national search for exceptional candidates,” said Shandor. “We will also be conducting focus groups with parents and staff to gather valuable input into the selection process. “ Shandor added a survey will be distributed to obtain “stakeholder input” to determine what the community wants in a leader. Buhl’s resignation is the second one in the past year for the Milton community attributed to lapses of judgment. In January, the principal of Crabapple Crossing Elementary, George Freiberger, stepped down after it was discovered he had violated school system policies in regards to personnel. Unlike Buhl’s situation, the issue with Freiberger was not criminal in nature.
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forsythherald.com | Forsyth Herald | August 6, 2014 | 5
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6 | August 6, 2014 | Forsyth Herald | forsythherald.com
NEWS
Submit your news & photos to news@forsythherald.com
Senior living facility construction underway Development looks at 2015 completion By ALDO NAHED aldo@forsythherald.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The construction of a mixed use senior living facility was recently announced in south Forsyth County. Atlanta-based developer Aspire Development Partners and the Arbor Company, a senior living management company also based in Atlanta, announced that construction is underway at a unique and cutting edge assisted living and memory care community. Aspire has partnered with the Arbor Company to manage and market the community. The Arbor Terrace of Johns Creek project is expected to add nearly 300 new operational and construction jobs to the area. In December, the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce estimated the project would generate $20 million in economic development to the area. “With our community’s growth and strong emphasis on the health care industry, a new senior living community is a benefit to the area,”
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said Jason Mock, director of the Healthcare Association of Forsyth County and CummingForsyth County Chamber of Commerce director of small business services. The community is being constructed by Choate Construction and is set to open in late summer 2015. The site for the community is located on Peachtree Parkway near the entrance to Laurel Springs Golf and Country Club. Construction financing was provided by State Bank and LFW Investments, of real estate investor Leo F. Wells. The location offers access to major highways, shopping, retail, health care and other services important to senior residents, said David R. Hink, managing partner for Aspire. Two major medical centers, Emory of Johns Creek and Northside Hospital-Forsyth, are within a few miles of the community. “We are very excited about bringing this quality of senior living to Forsyth County, especially considering the exceptional growth and development in the area,” Hink said. “As a
The site for Arbor Terrace senior living facility is located on Peachtree Parkway near the entrance to Laurel Springs Golf and Country Club. local resident I have seen the population grow in size and age, and the need for a new approach to senior care is overwhelming.” The community will include 100 residential suites with 30 units dedicated as a state-ofthe-art memory care neighborhood. All residents will have access to around-the-clock care as well as on-site rehabilitation and medication and diabetic management, all within a resi-
dential setting. The two companies have experience in the senior living market. Aspire Development Partners has developed senior living properties in Georgia including the Dogwood Forest assisted living properties and the Marshes of Skidaway CCRC. The Arbor Terrace of Johns Creek, which will mark the seventh Arbor Terrace facility in Georgia, will offer ameni-
ties such as an activity center, beauty salon, spa, bistro and a fitness center. Residents will have access to interactive games and participate in activities designed to entertain and sharpen mental acuity. The community campus includes an enclosed courtyard with walking paths, fountains and patios that will provide a serene and welcoming environment for residents and families alike. Inside the building will be the latest in technology, including wireless emergency call systems with monitoring devices in each room to ensure resident safety. Judd Harper, Arbor Company president, said unique features will include the company’s innovative “GEM level” care that assesses cognitive and social needs and tailors individual programs of care, customized dining services, wellness programs and a secure and safe building. “Our goal is to focus on high quality, compassionate care and the most progressive approaches to senior living,” said Harper. Call 770-884-4942 for more information or visit www. aspire-development.com, or visit Arbor Company at www. arborcompany.com.
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8 | August 6, 2014 | Forsyth Herald | forsythherald.com
Submit your news & photos to news@forsythherald.com
Non-invasive surgery for the brain coming to Northside New technology approved to treat cancer, other illness FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Cancer Center at Northside Hospital-Forsyth soon will be able to treat a wide range of brain tumors and other neurological conditions through the a non-invasive technology that delivers Gamma radiation. Georgia’s Department of Community Health approved Northside to purchase the Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion with Extend system, which allows physicians to use radiosurgery to treat conditions that previously were considered inaccessible or inoperable with traditional Gamma Knife technology. The new service could be available at Northside Hospital-Forsyth by January 2016. Northside Hospital-Forsyth will be the only hospital in metro Atlanta, and one of only two in Georgia, with the Gamma Knife Extend system. The technology will be used to treat metastatic disease (cancer that has travelled to the brain from elsewhere in the body), in addition to a spectrum of benign and malignant vascular and functional disorders including arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and Parkinson’s disease. Nearly two-thirds of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy at some point during their treatment. In 2013,
Northside Hospital-Forsyth’s Cancer Center saw about 450 new cancer patients and delivered nearly 9,800 radiation therapy treatments for a variety of cancers. Gamma Knife radiosurgery, sometimes referred to as stereotactic ra-
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surgery or an incision. However, traditional Gamma Knife technology is not able to treat some tumors because of their size or location. The Extend feature is a game-changer, allowing clinicians to non-invasively immobilize the patient’s head and making repeatable or multi-fraction Gamma Knife radiosurgery possible, ultimately making the technology accessible to more cancer patients. Other nationally recognized cancer centers including MD Anderson and the Cleveland Clinic also have adopted the Gamma Knife Extend technology and have found it to be the superior, and oftentimes only, treatment option for numerous intracranial lesions and conditions. Typically, a patient receiving Gamma Knife Extend radiosurgery returns home the same day as their procedure, and side effects are generally minimal and insignificant. “More cases of cancer are diagnosed and treated at Northside Hospital each year than at any other hospital in Georgia,” said Patti Owen, MN, RN, director at Northside Hospital Cancer Institute. “We look forward to being able to offer Gamma Knife Extend technology to our patients, and to further demonstrating our commitment to providing the most advanced cancer treatments closer to home.” For more information about the Northside Hospital Cancer Institute and stereotactic radiosurgery services available, call 404-531-4444. —Aldo Nahed
diosurgery, has long been considered the “gold standard” in treating brain disorders. It delivers very precisely focused high-dose beams of radiation to selected areas deep within the brain, without a scalpel and without the usual risks of
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NEWS
forsythherald.com | Forsyth Herald | August 6, 2014 | 9
Traffic improvements could be left up to voters
Continued from Page 1 “When they realized they enjoyed the feeling of getting high, the chase for them got bigger and more powerful. Then it overtook their minds and their bodies.” Between two drug rehabilitation programs, Chris’ son overdosed. “His friends left him in a parking lot, hunched over the wheel of his truck and fled the scene because they were afraid of what would happen,” she said. “He’s actually quite lucky to be alive today.” Chris’ daughter has stopped using heroin and is working full time, but was recently arrested for DUI. Her son is in a prison in Blairsville. Chris said she faces a stigma associated with the disease of addiction. “I felt like when people would drive by my house, they would say, ‘There’s the mother with the two kids hooked on heroin.’ It isolated me,” she said. “I found a support group; I think that’s how I survived.” Sherry Quisenberry is another mother who has been affected by her children’s addiction. Her daughter, Kelsey, is not a stereotypical drug addict. “Kelsey was making the Dean’s List in college; she was working. She’s a high achiever and always has been,” Quisenberry said. Two and a half years ago, Kelsey, now 24, began to lose weight and struggle in school. One afternoon she nodded off at 3 p.m. while driving and wrecked her car. Quisenberry pried further and discovered her daughter was using Oxycodone and heroin. “People think heroin use is an inner-city problem,” Quisenberry said. Quisenberry said both of her children surprised her. “It’s been a rollercoaster
with both of them,” she said. “They have stolen from us to support their habit. They have not been able to go back to college, and they’ve been depressed and ashamed.” The Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council will share stories like Chris and Quisenberry’s and help equip parents with resources to prevent and treat addiction at an upcoming drug awareness summit. Forsyth County hopes to raise awareness for parents of drug use in the area, including heroin use, at its third drug summit Aug. 19. The event takes place at the Forsyth Conference Center at Lanier Tech, 3410 Ronald Reagan Boulevard in Cumming. “I think a lot of parents go to every length to provide safety and precaution,” said Cindy Jones Mills, a Forsyth County commissioner who founded the council last year. “Everything they do for their child as a toddler, they need to be doing even more when they become a teen,” Mills said. Mills said she wants to offer parents practical applications for children using drugs, even if they cannot afford rehabilitation. “How can parents help their kids who don’t have that kind of money?” Mills said. “Some information they can leave the summit knowing—‘What are things I can do to keep my child from dying?’— that’s the big thing.” The summit will also have a prescription drug box presented by Northside Hospital-Forsyth and a mock bedroom to show parents where children may hide drugs. Law enforcement and judges will be available to answer questions. Four out of five children will try drugs or alcohol before their senior year of high school, according to the Drug Awareness Council. The event is free to the public. For more information, visit www.forsythcountydrugawarenesscouncil.org.
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FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Traffic is not getting any better. But will relief arrive anytime soon? That’s what Forsyth County Commissioners are going to ask voters to decide. The board is considering a $190 million bond referendum to be on the Nov. 4 ballot. The bond would include a number of county roads and state roads within the county. At a special meeting called July
31, the Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to send a formal letter to Georgia Department of Transportation officials to request a commitment to improve six state road projects. On July 23, Forsyth County leaders met with GDOT officials, State Planning Director Toby Carr and GDOT Commissioner Keith Golden to discuss partnering to improve state routes within the county. GDOT is likely to pledge getting additional federal funds through the Atlanta Regional Commission, said Buddy Gratton, a transportation consultant
FOR
By ALDO NAHED aldo@forsythherald.com
hired by the county. Widen to four lane divided highThe county’s share in the way at Ga. 369 from Ga. 9 (Coal GDOT partnership would be Mountain Road) to Ga. 306 up to $81 million to include: (Hammond’s Crossing). D E I V OO Widen to an additional Ga. 400 McGinnis Ferry HA lane from Ga. 400 from interchange, adding a McFarland Parkway to northbound and southGa. 20 in each direction. bound auxiliary lane on Widen Ga. 400 with an Ga. 400 between Windadditional lane from Ga. ward Parkway and McFarY . THHER ALD 400 to Ga. 20 to Ga. 369 in land Parkway. each direction. “[GDOT] will not put any Widen to four lane divided pay lanes on existing lanes,” highway Post Road from Ga. 9 to said Commission Chairman Pete Kelly Mill Road, adding 5-foot sideAmos. walks. But if the county waits, CommisConstruct a continuous flow intersection at Ga. 369/Ga. 400. See TRAFFIC, Page 10
WATC
County to include referendum on Nov. 4 ballot
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10 | August 6, 2014 | Forsyth Herald | forsythherald.com
Youth collects 100K books Seeks to give to soldiers By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@northfulton.com ROSWELL, Ga. – As any parent will tell you, it’s difficult to get teens active in their community, let alone to do it voluntarily. But one 13-year-old has jumped at the chance to help others. Remington Youngblood, of Forsyth County, has started his own nonprofit group to help not only his community, but greater Georgia. Called “Change 4 Georgia” (C4G), he started out supplying goods for soldiers overseas and his endeavors have grown ever since. It started when Remington was 10 years old. “I was looking for volunteer opportunities,” he said. He called several places in the area, but each one turned him down, largely due to his young age. Undeterred, Remington chose to start his own nonprofit. “For all the troops are doing for us – not seeing their families, and missing holidays and important dates – they are missing out because of their
duty,” Remington said. “I had to do something.” He started collecting food, supplies and books overseas to troops, getting the community to pitch in as well. It has proven successful. To date, C4G has raised over $1 million for the troops in cash and in-kind donations. As part of this program, Remington wanted to gift books. He contacted Better World Books, an Indiana-based book donation company that collects books from book donation bins around the country. The company agreed to donate his books – 100,000 of them. There was only one snag – how do you ship 100,000 books from Indiana to Georgia? Well, by truck. But that costs a lot of money. A shipping company agreed to waive half the $4,000 cost, but Remington still needed to raise the rest. That’s where Carl Black Roswell, a GMC dealership, stepped up. The dealership agreed to pick up the rest of the tab. “It’s impressive what a bunch of children can do when they get together,” said Tod Smiley Baker, general manager of Carl Black Roswell. “I
Traffic: Continued from Page 9 sioner Brian Tam said, lane No. 3 on Ga. 400 will be a pay lane by 2030. In addition to a list of projects that the county is seeking state funds to complete, there’s another list of road projects that the county wants to accomplish, Tam said. County initiated transportation projects include Ronald Reagan extension from Majors Road to Shiloh Road and from Shiloh Road to McFarland Parkway. The combined projects would cost
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Remington Youngblood, 13 (center) has gathered 100,000 books to be donated to children in the state. Roswell’s Carl Black GMC dealership made a generous donation to help get the books to Georgia. From left are, Roswell City Councilwoman Betty Price, Roswell Judge Brian Hansford, Youngblood, Tod Smiley Baker of GMC, and Roger Wise, Jr. thought, ‘whatever they need, let’s take care of it.’ What they are doing is amazing.” Roswell Councilwoman Betty Price agreed. “He’s a remarkable young man to show the drive and wisdom to support this kind of effort,” Price said. “This sort of thing is important to the
about $43 million In addition, widening McGinnis Ferry Road from Sargent Road to Union Hill Road would cost the county about $18 million with an additional $18 million coming from cities of Alpharetta, Johns Creek and state and federal funds. Another transportation meeting is taking place Aug. 5 to finalize road projects and include traffic safety improvements including intersection signals, culverts, striping, signs, guardrails and sidewalks. By Tuesday, Aug. 12, the county needs to have the final language for the voter referendum.
country.” With the question of the books taken care of, Remington still has one problem left to solve – he needs a 2,000-square-foot warehouse to house the books for several months until they are delivered. Maybe someone else in the
One of the projects that Forsyth County Commissioners want to tackle is McGinnis Ferry Road, which borders Alpharetta and Johns Creek.
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community will have the same reaction Baker did; how can I help? If readers have new or gently used books, warehouse space or monetary donations to C4G, email Change4Georgia@gmail.com. For more information, visit www.change4georgia.org.
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SCHOOLS
forsythherald.com | Forsyth Herald | August 6, 2014 | 11
Teachers: Forsyth County gets ready for new school year Continued from Page 1 it has been a leader in education excellence throughout the state. “One thing I’ve noticed is we are getting more experienced staff,” Davison said. “Forsyth is a great destination for educators now. Lambert has received educator from many different states. We are able to recruit from just about anywhere.” NEW EDUCATORS One of the new teachers is Denise Hartley, a new special education teacher for tenth grade world history and twelfth grade economics at West Forsyth High School. Hartley has taught middle school for five years at Fulton County Schools, but is thrilled to join Forsyth County Schools. “I have two children at West, so to be in the same district as my kids is phenomenal because I know what a great school system it is,” Hartley said. Hartley’s daughter, who is now at University of Georgia, also went to West and her two boys currently attending West are AP students. “They have so much technology, which is phenomenal for kids,” Hartley said. “We have Bring Your Own Technology and we also have technology in every classroom.” Forsyth Central High School graduates and twins Brittney and Lauren Head will be new teachers at Kelly Mill Elementary, teaching first and secondgraders, respectively. “We are honored to finally be teaching here,” Brittney said. “It was wonderful to get a job in this school system.” What did the educators learn during orientation? How
Kids will not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” JEFF BEARDEN Forsyth County Superintendent
Forsyth County has the best graduation rate, best CRCT scores, best SAT scores and college readiness in the state. But there are also a lot of changes coming to educators this year, including evaluation system, curriculum changes and new assessment systems for students. “We went to high school here and we were so prepared for college,” Brittney said, “It’s cool to see the stats.” Lauren added, “We are a product of Forsyth County and it’s such a wonderful school system. We student taught here, so it was nice to get a job here.”
New teachers, from left, Brittney Head, who will teach first grade at Kelly Mill Elementary; Denise Hartley, who will teach 10th grade at West Forsyth High School and Lauren Head, who will teach second graders at Kelly Mill Elementary.
NEW SUPERINTENDENT After L.C. “Buster” Evans retired as Forsyth County Schools’ superintendent on June 30 to join the state’s Department of Corrections as the assistant commissioner of education, the Board of Education named Keith Porter interim superintendent. On Sept. 2, new Forsyth County School Superintendent Jeff Bearden, of the Rome City School System takes over. Bearden told the new educators that he began to hear about Forsyth County Schools
four years ago when he served as superintendent in Fayette County. He reached out to Evans and brought a group of school leaders for a tour. “So I came here because of the innovation and great programming,” Bearden said. “I walked away with so much more. What makes a school system great is the people. What I saw in Forsyth County was a sense of purpose, a large school system that didn’t feel like a large school system, it felt like a family and I was so
ALDO NAHED/STAFF
South Forsyth Cheerleading hosts mini camp Cumming, Ga. — The South Forsyth High School Varsity Sideline/Competition Cheerleading Team and Coaches held their annual cheerleading mini camp for 135 girls 4 up to 12 years of age July 21 through July 25. Participants learned original War Eagle cheers, as well as instruction on motions, jumps, cheer and dance, with a performance for family and friends the last day of camp.
impressed. “I knew then that this would be a great place to work.” Bearden said he will try to visit every classroom but he didn’t keep secret what he will be observing. “When I visit a school or a classroom, I’m trying to get a sense of the culture and the climate,” he said. “I’m an educator and have been doing this for a long time, but I’m also a father. The litmus test for me is would I want my own child
in this classroom, would I want my own child as a member of this school community?” “If it’s not good enough for my child, it’s not good for any other child either.” Bearden said he will look for professionalism, engagement and demeanor. “We are a people business, we are a relationship business,” Bearden said. “Kids will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
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Create jobs, attract, retain business with corporate tax reform A favorite argument among government bureaucrats is that corporations aren’t people. Tell that to the employees who put in at least 40 hours a week to keep a company profitable in hopes that there will be a raise or bonus come year end. But when government sees companies as nothing more than a name, employees suffer. Such is what is happening to American workers. Taxes on American corporations are the highest in the developed world. When companies have high taxes, there is less money for expansion, hiring, to invest in employees and pay shareholders. Now, a flood of American companies have discovered a way out of paying the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world — 39.1 percent in state and federal taxes. And that doesn’t include the burden of taxes and penalties levied by the Affordable Care Act and other regulations of the past six years. Dozens of U.S. corporations are taking their headquarters offshore or merging with foreign businesses, primarily in Europe, to reduce their tax burden. This has President Obama branding them unpatriotic. What is unpatriotic is taxing companies so much that they are forced to flee the United States. Government should not feel entitled to take so much revenue that it harms business or forces them to shop for a more welcoming place to do business. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has called on
MARK BURKHALTER Guest Columnist Congress to close a loophole in federal tax law that allows these so-called “inversions” or the ability of U.S.-based, multinational companies to combine with a foreign company and reorganize in a country with a lower tax rate while still operating here. True patriotism would be for Obama to lead Congress to corporate tax reform so we can retain and attract new business to the United States. We now have a global marketplace and companies will always search for the most attractive place to conduct business, particularly when it comes to taxes. The Congressional Research Service says that about 50 American companies, many in the health care sector, have recently combined with offshore business in places such as Ireland, the Netherlands and Great Britain to save billions of dollars in corporate taxes. In recent weeks, Pfizer has attempted to purchase AstraZeneca based in the United Kingdom to reduce its tax rate to 21 percent. Walgreen Co., the nation’s largest drugstore chain, is considering the purchase of a European drugstore chain to relocate its headquar-
ters to Switzerland. KPMG reports that Switzerland, one of the most vibrant economies in Europe, has a corporate tax rate of 17.9 percent. Many European nations have slashed their corporate tax rate, some as much as 30 percentage points, over the last 20 years. The Economic Index of Freedom published annually by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal ranked the United States No. 12 in the world for economic freedom in 2014 with Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Switzerland at the top of the list. Our score has dropped
each of the past seven years, primarily due to fiscal policy and increasing regulatory burdens, according to the authors of the index. Closer to home, North Fulton has been an attractive place to do business and is fortunate to have three Fortune 500 companies headquartered here: UPS, Newell Rubbermaid and First Data Corp. Several Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in North Fulton as well. Think of how many more we could attract with corporate tax cuts. If our leaders in Washington felt as passionate about sparking the economy as they
do in taxing companies, then foreign companies would be searching for their passports – looking to move to American shores and create much-needed jobs and investment. Burkhalter is a senior strategic advisor and independent consultant in the National Government Affairs practice of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP. He also leads the firm’s public affairs and economic development initiatives in the United Kingdom. Burkhalter is the former speaker of the House and speaker pro tempore who spent 18 years representing Johns Creek in the Georgia General Assembly.
NewBusinessSpotlight
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Forsyth Herald | August 6, 2014 | 13
New studio brings instructors with additional training Johns Creek Pilates to open Aug. 14 By CAROLYN RIDDER ASPENSON carolyn@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Johns Creek Pilates will open its doors with an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 14 The studio is located at 4375 Johns Creek Parkway, Suite 330. Pilates, a core-based workout using a specially designed machine, the Pilates Reformer, is designed to improve physical strength, flexibility and posture. “We work with all types of clients,” said Brooke Manning, the studio’s owner. “From fit men and
women to those with issues involving the back, neck, hips and the like.” Manning said instructors are all certified through Peak Pilates and have additional training to enhance the program. “One for example, has a dance background and another a master’s degree in health science,” she said. Manning brings her experience as a clinical director for a local wellness center along with hundreds of hours of Pilates instruction. “At the open house, we’ll introduce our instructors, offer our packages at a discount and give away door prizes,” Manning said. “We’re excited to see people from the community come out and learn about the benefits of a regular Pilates program.” For more information, visit www.johnscreekpilates.com.
BROOKE MANNING
Debra McCauley-Wilbanks and Sylvia Hutchison during a Pilates workout session.
BusinessPosts
How to handle Valuing a unique property customer complaints Are you getting a lot of complaints from your customers? Are these issues that happen over and over again? Are you responding to these complaints quickly? Have you got a process in place to help prevent future occurrences of the same complaints? Customer complaints are actually a valuable asset for helping you improve your small business. Handling customer complaints starts by providing your customers a vehicle to express their complaint, either verbally or by submitting a written complaint. Listen carefully to what your customers have to say and ask questions to ensure you are capturing the specifics about what they experienced. Act quickly to address the complaint. If it can be fixed right then and there, take action and solve the problem. Apologize for the situation and thank the customer for letting you know. Always follow up to ensure that your resolution of the
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Founder & President Jones Simply Sales
problem is acceptable with the customer. Logging all customer complaints and categorizing the nature of them will help you formulate solutions to prevent these types of complaints from happening in the future. Determine the root cause of the complaint and take action to prevent, or at least minimize, the problem that created the complaint. Last, but not least, train your employees to manage customer complaints. Teach them to be empathetic and encourage them to follow up with the customer to ensure the complaint has been addressed. Handling customer complaints in the right way and preventing future occurrences will help your small business be more successful.
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I like to say, there are five different values on a home. What the owner thinks it is, the realtor, the buyer, the appraiser and the tax man. The truth is — the value will be defined by the bank’s appraiser. In order to determine that value, they will look at precedent. What have other similar homes sold for recently? When we prepare a market analysis for a homeowner, we look at recent sales as well. In many cases, determining that value isn’t terribly difficult. Most communities have similar homes and enough sales on a regular basis to offer more than enough comparable sales. The differences between homes are typically updates and finishes. In those cases, determining value is usually straight forward. Valuing a unique property can be far more challenging. For example, a recent property we looked at is a lovingly restored farmhouse built in 1912 on a couple of acres of land. You can bet there aren’t many homes just like that selling every day. On the property was the original smokehouse that has been converted into a potting shed and has had a greenhouse added. The barn has been converted into a
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workshop as well. Circumstances like this warrant expanding the geographical area in which you look for comparable sales. But when you do find comparable properties to work with, you’ll have to make some judgment calls on the features. Finding properties with barns or workshops would be great, but maybe it’s a detached garage and not a barn. How do you adjust value for a structure while trying to take into account things like character or scarcity in the case of the greenhouse? With character, scarcity and unique restorations, you have to make some “educated assumptions.” There will be some latitude you have with values but you still must be guided by precedent. Maybe there is a sixth value for a home — what the market will bear — but it still has to pass muster with an appraiser.
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Sandwich shop rolls into Forsyth Roly Poly sells rolled sandwiches as healthy casual dining By SHANNON WEAVER shannon@northfulton.com CUMMING, Ga. — An Atlantabased health conscious food concept – rolled sandwiches with fresh meat and cheese and locally farmed produce – has opened in Forsyth County. On July 9, Roly Poly opened their Cumming location at 425 Peachtree Parkway. “We try to make it as healthy as we can without you really knowing it,” said Linda Wolf, one of the Roly Poly founders. “It still tastes delicious.” Director of Operations
Jane Ferguson, a Johns Creek resident, opened the Cumming location. “We didn’t really have anything up here,” Ferguson said. “My friends were saying, ‘When are you going to open a Roly Poly here?’” Roly Poly offers 45 combinations, including vegetarian and gluten-free options and custom rolled sandwiches, soups and salads. “The secret of our taste is it’s just so fresh,” Wolf said. “It’s the combination of ingredients and the flavor.” Wolf and Ferguson said the restaurant has been well
received. “We’ve been very busy,” Wolf said. “We’ve had an amazing amount of families coming in.” The franchise has about 125 restaurants in the country. Cumming is the sixth metro Atlanta location, with other stores in Kennesaw, Woodstock and Duluth. “A lot of people know what it is, even though it’s a small concept,” Ferguson said. “When they see it, they’re very excited.” For more information, visit www.rolypoly.com.
Roly Poly opened July 9 in Cumming.
BusinessBriefs CELEBRATIONS »
includes tenure at establishments such as Sip Tapas and Wine Bar, Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails and Rainwater Restaurant. “I believe simplicity is the key to enjoyable food,” said Rose. “You have to be aware of your target market. You are not cooking for yourself; you are cooking for your guests.” Visit www.etriskitchen. com for more information.
ceeded that standard with four scoring in the 90th percentile,” said T.C. Parker, program director. Gwinnett Tech’s surgical technology students continually score above the national average on the CST examination, with the college’s pass rate among first-time exam takers consistently at 90 percent or higher. For information, visit www.GwinnettTech.edu or call 770-962-7580. ROSE
Chiropractic center welcomes new doctor Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and McAlister’s Deli officials during the grand re-opening of the restaurant.
McAlister’s Deli celebrates remodel ROSWELL, Ga. — McAlister’s Deli is celebrated the grand re-opening of its restaurant located at 1425 Market Boulevard in Roswell. The guest appreciation celebration featured several events including a fundraiser to benefit North Fulton Community Charities, free tea day and guest giveaways. “We are very excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the McAlister’s brand with the Roswell community,” said McAlister’s President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Paci. “We want to thank our loyal guests for 15 great years in this location.” The company has corporate offices in both Alpharetta and Ridgeland, Mississippi. For more information, visit www.mcalistersdeli. com or call 770-594-3220.
NEW HIRES »
New chef joins Etris Kitchen & Bar ROSWELL, Ga. — Etris Kitchen & Bar in Roswell announced the arrival of Executive Chef Boyd A. Rose. Rose’s new menu will be available at Etris Kitchen & Bar beginning in fall 2014. Rose’s experience in the restaurant industry
ROSWELL, Ga. — Care More Chiropractic Wellness Center welcomed Dr. Cristina Gomez Teran to the practice. Care More, 1580 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell, has offered chiropractic care for 25 years. As the director of the office, Dr. Claire Welsh said she’s happy to announce the acquisition of a bilingual doctor to the team. Teran, TERAN originally from Madrid, Spain, recently graduated with honors from Life University in Marietta. Visit www.caremorechiro.com for more information.
EDUCATION »
Gwinnett Tech students ace surgical credentialing exam GWINNETT-NORTH FULTON, Ga. – Gwinnett Tech’s graduating class of surgical technologists have continued the program’s long-running record of 100 percent pass rates on the Certified Surgical Technologist Exam – and have raised the bar further by earning the program’s highest scores ever on the exam. The “perfect” performance of WILLETT the 12 graduating seniors extends the 100 percent pass rate to four years at Gwinnett Tech. The test assesses practical knowledge and skills in the field and awards the credential of CST (certified surgical technologist). “Our students have always been high-performers on the exam and our pass rate is an important hallmark of our program. This year’s graduates ex-
APPOINTMENTS » Young Lawyers’ community outreach director from Alpharetta ATLANTA – Katherine N. Willett, of the Merbaum Law Group P.C. in Alpharetta, was appointed director of community outreach for the board of directors of Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the State Bar of Georgia. YLD Board of Directors President Sharri Edenfield made the appointment. Willett will assist in promoting Edenfield’s initiatives for the year, which are focused on service to military veterans, leadership development in YLD members and finding solutions to access to justice issues. The YLD has more than 25 committees that produce an array of projects and programs. Through the years, the YLD has also gained national recognition by winning several American Bar Association awards for its projects and publications.
Prince earns promotion to Arrow Exterminators manager ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Arrow Exterminators, a pest control company, announced that Phillip Prince was promoted to service center manager of Arrow Exterminators’ Alpharetta Home Service Center. Prince has been with Arrow Exterminators for 11 years. “Alpharetta is an important market for Arrow and we couldn’t be more pleased to have Phillip leading the service center,” said Kevin Van Hook, region vice president of operations for Arrow Exterminators. “The value of promoting leaders from within the organization who understand our business at all levels cannot be overstated. As a family owned and operated company, we are proud to reward success and hard work internally.” Prince has over 22 years of experience in the pest control industry where he has held a number of different positions. In his free time, Prince enjoys fishing, swimming and spending time in the great outdoors with his family.
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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP COMMEMORATIVE VIEWER’S GUIDE forsythherald.com
Atlanta Athletic Club features two 18-hole courses. Above, the 18th green of the Riverside Course.
U.S. Amateur comes to North Fulton Atlanta Athletic Club hosts event for first time By MIKE BLUM news@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK -- The most prestigious tournament in amateur golf comes to North Fulton this month, as the Atlanta Athletic Club will host the U.S. Amateur Championship. The tournament, which was first played in 1895, is scheduled for August 11-17, and is being held in the Atlanta area for just the second time ever. East Lake Golf Club, the original course of the Atlanta Athletic Club, hosted the 2001 U.S. Amateur, which began the day after the PGA Championship concluded at AAC, which moved to its current site in North Fulton in the mid-1960s. Unlike the 2001 U.S. Amateur, which also utilized the nearby Druid Hills Golf Club for stroke play qualifying, Atlanta Athletic Club will be the sole tournament site, with both its courses being used for the 36 holes of stroke play qualifying for the 312 participants. The Riverside course, which was selected as the host course for the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open, will join the Highlands course for qualifying. The top 64 players from the two rounds of qualifying will advance to match play, which will be played on Highlands, the course used for the 1976 U.S. Open and the three PGA Championships contested at AAC. The two qualifying rounds are set for Aug. 11 and 12, with match play beginning the 13th. The second and third rounds will both be played on Thursday of tournament week, with the
quarterfinals scheduled for Friday, the semifinals Saturday and the championship match Sunday. Golf Channel will broadcast the first three days of match play, with the semifinals and finals on NBC. The two finalists will receive invitations to the 2015 Masters. Tickets are $20 per day and $75 for the entire tournament, with no charge for juniors age 17 and under when accompanied by an adult. Ticket purchasers can bring at least three juniors with them to the tournament. Parking for the entire week is free, with spectators using the grass field across Medlock Bridge Rd. from Atlanta Athletic Club that was used for the PGA Championship three years ago. The tournament will feature the top amateurs from all over the globe, with 31 players from outside the U.S. among the top 50 in a recent ranking. The top 50 receive exemptions into the tournament, with approximately 250 players from the 312-man field earning their spots through qualifiers played all over the U.S. Among the exempt players is World No. 1 Ollie Schniederjans, a senior at Georgia Tech from Powder Springs. Schniederjans has been busy this Summer, competing successfully on both the Web.com and European Tours and in the Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event matching top college players from the U.S. and Europe. In his first ever appearance in a professional tournament, Schniederjans tied for 5th in a Web.com Tour event in Wichita, and made the cut several
Jimmy Beck of Kennesaw won the 2013 Georgia Amateur. weeks later in the Scottish Open, tying for 41st against a field that included a number of the top players in the game. He was in England to play in the Palmer Cup, where he was one of the few American bright spots in a loss to the European team, going 3-1 and winning both his singles matches. Schniederjans will be joined in the field by Georgia Tech teammate Seth Reeves, who is also among the top 50 amateurs in the world rankings and has won the Southeastern Amateur in Columbus twice. tSchniederjans and Reeves helped lead the Yellow Jackets into the match play portion of the NCAA Championship
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
each of the last two years, with Tech losing in the 2013 semifinals to eventual national champion Alabama. The top four players in the recent rankings were all Americans. Robby Shelton, a freshman member of Alabama’s 2014 championship team, is No. 2 behind Schniederjans. Scottie Scheffler, who tied for 22nd in the Byron Nelson Championship on the PGA Tour earlier this year and will be a freshman at Texas this fall, is No. 3, with Oklahoma State’s Jordan Niebrugge fourth in the rankings. . Both Scheffler and Niebrugge won
See AMATEUR, Page 17
17 August 6, 2014
U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP COMMEMORATIVE VIEWER’S GUIDE forsythherald.com
Amateur: Continued from Page 16 U.S. Golf Association championships in 2013, with Niebrugge winning the Public Links title and Scheffler the U.S. Junior champion. Shelton won the 2012 PGA Junior Championship and was Schniederjans’ teammate on the 2014 U.S. Palmer Cup team. Georgia Tech and Georgia will have four players each in the tournament. Joining Schniederjans and Reeves for the Yellow Jackets are Bo Andrews, like Reeves a recently graduated senior, and incoming freshman Jacob Joiner. The qualifiers from Georgia are current team members Lee McCoy and Duluith’s Mookie DeMoss, 2014 graduate Keith Mitchell and incoming freshman Zach Healy of Peachtree Corners. Two golfers who played at North Fulton high schools also qualified – Milton’s Zack Jaworski, a member of the golf team at Vanderbilt, and David Kleckner of Northview, who plays at Oglethorpe. Kennesaw State has two players in the field -- 2013 Georgia Amateur champion Jimmy Beck and Austin Vick – and Georgia Southern (Scott Wolfes), Mercer (Hans Reimers) and Armstrong Atlantic
University of Georgia golfer Lee McCoy. (Travis Williamson) have one each. Two mid-amateurs from Georgia also qualified – Atlanta’s Chris Waters and Butler Melnyk of St. Simons Island. The Highlands course will play to a par 71 for the championship, with the 18th hole playing as a par 5. The course has typically played as a par 70 for major events, with the 18th converted
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
to a long par 4. Rick Anderson, Atlanta Athletic Club’s Director of Golf, says playing 18 as a par 5 will make for “some interesting possibilities in match play.” The second hole will again play as a long par 4, with Highlands capable of playing as long as 7,490 yards, although it will likely play shorter as various tees are used. “The USGA likes to use a
GEORGIA TECH
Duluth’s Seth Reeves, a recent Georgia Tech graduate. lot of tees, and we have a lot of tees on both courses, especially Highlands,” Anderson said. “Typically they have a drivable par 4,” with the sixth hole on Highlands a possibility. Riverside can play as long as 7,381 yards, and while it will present plenty if challenge in stroke play qualifying, Anderson says it is “a little more player-friendly than Highlands, which is probably a couple of
shots harder.” With both courses featuring ample length, greens that should be firm and fast and a healthy number of hazards, the rough on both courses will be kept at a manageable length. “With firm, fast Bermuda greens, the rough doesn’t have to be high,” Anderson said. “We want it so you can play shots out of the rough toward the green.”
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18 August 6, 2014
U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP COMMEMORATIVE VIEWER’S GUIDE forsythherald.com
Past Amateur champions a diverse group Golf’s greats on list alongside lesser names By MIKE BLUM news@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A scan of the long list of U.S. Amateur champions will reveal some of the most famous names in the history of golf, as well as many long since forgotten. The tournament, which was played for the first time in 1895 and has taken only two breaks since due to world wars, has a diverse group of past champions, although most of the winners in the post-World War II era have been young players on their way to professional careers. The player with the most successful record in the U.S. Amateur never turned professional, but that was a different time. Atlanta’s Bobby Jones won five U.S. Amateur Championships between 1924 and 1930 before retiring as a competitive player following his “Grand Slam” in 1930, which then consisted of the U.S. and British Amateur Champion-
Far from amateur now, Tiger Woods won the U.S. Amateur Championship three times. ships and the U.S. and British Opens. The four major championships of golf are now all professional events, with the PGA Championship and Masters
replacing the two amateur tournaments. The U.S. Amateur has retained its status as the No. 1 event in golf for nonprofessionals. Although career amateurs
STEVE DINBERG
continued to be a major factor into the 1980s, the U.S. Amateur started to become a training ground for soon-tobe professionals in the early 1950s. Billy Maxwell (1951)
and Gene Littler (’53), both went on to successful professional careers, as did the 1954 champion (Arnold Palmer). Of the five greatest American golfers of the post Sam Snead-Byron Nelson-Ben Hogan era, four won the U.S. Amateur, beginning with Palmer. Career amateurs continued to win the event on a regular basis after Palmer’s ’54 title, but the pendulum began to swing more in the college direction beginning with victories by Jack Nicklaus in 1959 and ’61. Future PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman scored the first of his two titles in 1960, and made the finals twice more in 1963 and ’66, losing in the latter year to Canadian Gary Cowan, who joined Nicklaus and Beman as two-time champions when he won again in 1971. Cowan was one of a handful of career amateurs to make a major impact in the U.S. Amateur after the mid-1960s, with a former Georgia Bulldog standout joining him to at least briefly stem the tide of the wave of college players taking over the event.
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20 August 6, 2014
Big events nothing new for Atlanta Athletic Club Bobby Jones’ home club returns focus to amateurs
both the U.S. Women’s Open and the Georgia Amateur, and will join Highlands as the site of stroke play qualifying for the U.S. Amateur. Atlanta Athletic Club is also known in golf circles for the unmatched quality of its infrastrucBy MIKE BLUM ture that makes it such a popular news@northfulton.com tournament host, along with the accommodating, professional atmoJOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Atlanta sphere surrounding the committees Athletic Club has hosted five major that help run the events. professional championships over As the 2001 PGA Championship the past four decades, but the was concluding with the award cerhome club of the great Bobby Jones emonies, the PGA announced that has also been a longtime supporter the tournament would return to the of amateur golf. Atlanta Athletic Club a decade later. The U.S. Amateur Champion“That was unprecedented at that ship comes to the Athletic Club this time to make the announcement month, and will be the third U.S. so far in advance,” Anderson said. Golf Association Championship the “Hosting tournaments will always club has hosted since moving from be a fabric of the club, but we want East Lake to its current home in to spread them out so the members the North Fulton suburbs. can enjoy the club. The club also hosted the U.S. “It’s a balancing act when one Mid-Amateur Championship in comes to town,” he said. “There is a 1984 and the U.S. Junior Chamlot of preparation work and sacripionship in 2002, as well as the fice on all account.” Georgia Amateur Championship in There is a difference between 1995 and several regional amateur hosting a professional major like events. the U.S. Open or PGA ChampionThe professional majors played ship as opposed to a U.S. Amateur. at Atlanta Athletic Club include the The USGA or PGA would set up 1976 U.S. Open, staff on site for a 1990 U.S. Women’s professional major Open and three PGA and handle much Championships of the preparation (1981, 2001, 2011). and merchandis“It’s always been ing, but most of part of our heritage the work for the to host tournaments U.S. Amateur is of national and being handled by international sigthe club. nificance,” said Rick “Even a club Anderson, a PGA like ours can’t Master Professional come close to and Atlanta Athletic handling” all the Club’s director of requirements of a golf. “It’s in our mismajor championsion statement. ship, Anderson “The club has points out. “But always hosted big for an amateur tournaments, going event – even the back to when we Rick Anderson U.S. Amateur – we Atlanta Athletic Club’s Director of Golf were at East Lake,” can handle it out he said. “We had the of our golf shop.” Women’s Amateur The crowds and a Ryder Cup. will be signifiWhen we moved out here, one of cantly smaller than they would be the first orders of business was to for a U.S. Open or PGA Championask the USGA to bring a national ship, but the Athletic Club will be championship to the home club of plenty busy, particularly early in Bobby Jones.” the tournament. Atlanta Athletic Club has esThe field for the event is 312 tablished close ties with both the players, double the size for three USGA and PGA of America, hostof the four professional majors ing major championships for both and more than triple the number organizations. The club is prized of players in the Masters. Most as a tournament host for a variety clubs that host the U.S. Amateur of reasons, beginning with its two use a nearby course to help host exceptional courses. the practice rounds and two days Although Highlands has been of stroke play qualifying, but the the primary tournament host, entire 2014 U.S. Amateur will be Riverside served as the course for conducted at Atlanta Athletic Club.
When we moved [to Johns Creek], one of the first orders of business was to ask the USGA to bring a national championship to the home club of Bobby Jones.”
A statue of Robert Tyre (Bobby) Jones stands in front of the Atlanta Athletic Club clubhouse. He in the same year. “Ken Mangum has got his work cut out for him during the two qualifying rounds,” Anderson said, referring to AAC’s highly regarded director of golf courses and grounds. Mangum has the responsibility of overseeing the work on the two courses to get them ready for the No. 1 amateur event in golf. “We’ll tee off as early as we can start, but once we get down to 64 players, things will be a little more manageable,” he said. Anderson, Mangum and the AAC’s maintenance staff will also hope for good weather to keep the
event on schedule, with the two days of stroke play qualifying typically lasting from just after sun up to almost or past sundown, especially the second day. To get down to the match play field of 64, a playoff involving multiple players is generally required late Tuesday afternoon and often is not concluded until Wednesday morning, when match play is scheduled to begin. The players competing in the two days of stroke play qualifying will experience two courses that are side-by-side and share a number
of similarities, but a cantly different styl The entire River the back nine of Hig part of the original club in the late 196 front nine of Highla few years later. All 36 holes wer Robert Trent Jones have been renovate Rees Jones. “The original 27 similar and are clos Anderson said, refe Chattahoochee, wh
OMMEMORATIVE VIEWER’S GUIDE
forsythherald.com 21
A view of Highlands’ 8th fairway and green.
2014 U.S. Amateur fact sheet Par and yardage: Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands Course will be set up at 7,490 yards and will play to a par of 35-36–71. The companion stroke-play qualifying course, Atlanta Athletic Club’s Riverside Course will be set up at 7,381 yards and will play to a par of 36-36–72. (All yardages subject to change) Architects: Both the Highlands and Riverside courses at the Atlanta Athletic Club opened in 1964 and were designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., with Jones receiving assistance on the Highlands Course from Joe Finger. Jones’ son, Rees, redesigned the Riverside Course in 2003 and three years later finished a redesign of the Highlands Course. Both courses will be used for stroke-play qualifying, with the Highlands hosting the match-play portion of the championship. Who can enter: The championship is open to amateur golfers who hold a USGA Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4. The USGA accepted 6,803 entries for the 2014 championship, 200 fewer than in 2013. The record number of entrants is 7,920, in 1999. Sectional qualifying: Sectional qualifying, played over 36 holes is scheduled between July 7-22 at 97 sites throughout the country. Entries closed on June 25. Schedule of play: A field of 312 players will play 18 holes of stroke play on Aug. 11-12 on each of the two qualifying courses, after which the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers. Six rounds of match play begin on Aug. 13 and the championship concludes with a 36-hole championship match on Aug. 17. Here is the schedule:
Atlanta Athletic Club Scorecard
e remains the only golfer to ever complete the Grand Slam of golf — winning all four majors
are also signifilistically. rside course and ghlands were 27 holes of the 60s, with the ands following a
re designed by s Sr., and both ed by his son
7 holes are very ser to the river,” erring to the hich borders part
of the course. “The back nine on Highlands has more water in play than Riverside, and there’s a big difference with the front nine of Highlands.” Anderson said that Highlands “has been our championship course and is supposed to be tough. Riverside is a little more player friendly, and when people discover it, they like it a lot. But it can play long, too.” This will be the first time Highland’s famous 18th hole will play as a par 5 in competition, which Anderson believes will set up “some interesting possibilities for match
play.” Other than the 2017 Palmer Cup, an annual match pitting top college players from the U.S. against European counterparts, Anderson says Atlanta Athletic Club’s schedule for the near future is open. “At this stage, there’s nothing beyond that,” he said. “The majors usually operate now at about seven years out. There’s no reason to believe we won’t continue as a host, but we don’t know when it will be. It’s just the timing of the event and whether we want to have it.”
Highlands Course Hole By Hole: Hole Par Yards Hole Par Yards
1 4 454 10 4 442
2 4 512 11 4 457
3 4 475 12 5 551
4 3 219 13 4 366
5 5 565 14 4 451
6 4 425 15 3 260
7 3 180 16 4 476
8 4 467 17 3 207
9 4 426 18 5 557
Total 35 3,723 Total 36 3,767
8 3 189 17 3 219
9 4 490 18 5 569
Total 36 3,768 Total 36 3,613
Riverside Course Hole By Hole: Hole Par Yards Hole Par Yards
1 5 616 10 4 400
2 4 433 11 3 172
3 5 579 12 4 464
4 4 391 13 5 534
5 4 428 14 4 397
6 3 200 15 4 438
7 4 442 16 4 420
22 August 6, 2014
U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP COMMEMORATIVE VIEWER’S GUIDE forsythherald.com
North Fulton clubs used to hosting big events It all started with ‘76 U.S. Open at AAC By MIKE BLUM news@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Golf courses in North Fulton have been hosting major professional and amateur tournaments for almost 40 years, beginning with the U.S. Open at Atlanta Athletic Club in 1976. The U.S. Golf Association returns to the Athletic Club for the fifth time this year, with the Johns Creek facility serv-
ing as host of the U.S. Amateur Championship, scheduled for Aug. 11-17. Atlanta Athletic Club is one of a sizeable number of country clubs in North Fulton that have served as a tournament site for a professional tour, the USGA or a statewide championship for the Georgia State Golf Association or Georgia PGA. The quality of golf courses in North Fulton has attracted
national professional and amateur events to the area, with Atlanta Athletic Club hosting a variety of amateur and professional events. Among the championships contested at the Athletic Club are the 1976 U.S. Open, three PGA Championships (1981, 2001, 2011), the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open, the 1984 MidAmateur Championship and 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur. The four men’s majors played at AAC featured some of the more memorable finishes in modern golf history, begin-
Congratulations to all the U.S. Amateur participants
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ning with Jerry Pate’s sensational second shot from the rough on the 18th hole in the final round of the ’76 U.S. Open for a championship-clinching birdie. The 2001 PGA Championship featured a scintillating duel between David Toms and Phil Mickelson that was decided on the 72nd hole after Toms elected to lay up short of the pond fronting the 18th green and had to scramble for a winning par. When the PGA returned to the Athletic Club a decade later, two little-known PGA Tour neophytes staged a wild finish in the final round, with Keegan Bradley prevailing in a playoff over Jason Dufner, who rebounded to win the championship in 2013. The lone women’s championship played at AAC is mostly remembered for the amount of rain that fell on the course that week, but managed to produce a worthy winner, as Betsy King edged Patty Sheehan by one stroke in the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open. The two national amateur events that have been played at Atlanta Athletic Club both had a strong local presence, which is also likely to be the case at the 2014 U.S. Amateur Championship. Atlanta’s Danny Yates was stroke play co-medalist in the 1984 U.S. Mid-Amateur, sharing those honors with Bob Lewis Jr., who reached the finals of match play before losing to Michael Podolak. In the U.S. Junior Championship in 2002, three Georgia teenagers who all went on to make names for themselves at the collegiate and professional level advanced to match play and won a combined six matches. Woodstock’s Chris Kirk, who helped lead the Georgia golf team to a 2005 NCAA championship and is a twotime winner on the PGA Tour, won his opening match at the Athletic Club in ’02 before losing in the second round. Alpharetta’s Roberto Castro enjoyed an outstanding college career at Georgia Tech and qualified for the Tour Championship last year in just his second season on the PGA Tour. He lost in the third round to fellow future PGA Tour member Charlie Beljan, who went on to win the Junior Championship at the Athletic Club. Beljan also ousted another Georgian in the quarterfinals, defeating Savannah’s Brian Harman, who joined Kirk in Athens and is also playing on the PGA Tour. Harman went on to win the
U.S. Junior the next year. The last North Fulton course to host a USGA championship was Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek, which served as the site of the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur, which was won by Morgan Pressel. After turning pro later that year, Pressel won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship, becoming the youngest player in LPGA history to win a major. Settindown Creek has also hosted a number of U.S Open qualifiers, as well as the Nike (now Web.com) Tour Championship in 1995 and ’96. Allen Doyle of LaGrange, who went on to win several majors on the Champions Tour, including the U.S. Senior Open, and Duluth’s Stewart Cink, the 2009 British Open champion, won the two pro events held at Settindown Creek. Several North Fulton courses have hosted U.S. Open qualifiers over the years, among them Golf Club of Georgia, Country Club of the South and Horseshoe Bend, all of which also served as the sites of Champions Tour events in the 1980s and ‘90s. The last Champions Tour event in North Fulton was the 2000 Nationwide Championship at Golf Club of Georgia, with Hale Irwin winning the second of his back-to-back titles in the tournament. Horseshoe Bend and the Standard Club have also hosted U.S. Women’s Open qualifiers, with Brookfield Country Club the former site of an LPGA Tour tournament, which was played between 1977 and 1984. Other than the 2011 PGA Championship, the last PGA Tour event played in North Fulton was a 2003 World Golf Championship tournament at Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course, won by Tiger Woods. Capital City Crabapple was also the site of the 2013 NCAA men’s golf championship, won by Alabama. Georgia Tech reached the semifinals of that event, and three members of that team –Atlanta area residents Ollie Schniederjans and Seth Reeves along with Bo Andrews – will be in the U.S. Amateur field. The Athletic Club has also hosted the GSGA’s Amateur Championship in 1995. Other North Fulton courses to host the state’s top amateur event are the Golf Club of Georgia (1993) and Settindown Creek (2007 and ’12). Harris English, already a winner in his young PGA Tour career, won at Settindown Creek just prior to beginning his college career at Georgia in ’07.
23 August 6, 2014
U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP COMMEMORATIVE VIEWER’S GUIDE forsythherald.com
Ex-Milton golfer Jaworski in U.S. Amateur field Looking to reach match play in second start By MIKE BLUM news@northfulton.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. – The last time Atlanta Athletic Club hosted a U.S. Golf Association championship, the field included a player from Milton High School. The Athletic Club will host the 2014 U.S. Amateur Championship this month, with a recent Milton golfer among the 312 players who will vie for the most prestigious amateur event in the sport. Zack Jaworski, a 2012 Milton graduate, earned his spot in the field by tying for fourth in a recent qualifier at Atlanta’s Piedmont Driving Club. Only five spots were available from a field of 130 players and Jaworski came into the qualifier off a recent stretch of play that was not up to the level he displayed last summer, when he had a string of excellent showings in national amateur tournaments. Jaworski shot back-to-back rounds of 3-under par 68 in the qualifier and earned one of the five coveted spots in the U.S. Amateur. He will look to at least match the effort of former Milton standout and current PGA Tour member Roberto Castro, who competed in the 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur at Atlanta Athletic Club and reached the third round of match play before losing to eventual champion Charlie Beljan, also a current PGA Tour member. This will be Jaworski’s second appearance in the U.S. Amateur. He qualified two years ago shortly before entering Vanderbilt, and played respectably in stroke play qualifying, missing match play by a few shots. Having that experience will be invaluable for Jaworski, who will be able to play in this month’s championship in front of family and friends in more familiar surroundings. “It’s definitely really exciting,” Jaworski said of getting to play in the U.S. Amateur in his hometown. “I’ll have family and friends coming out to watch. It will definitely be a lot of fun.” Jaworski says he had a memorable experience when he competed in the Amateur two years ago, but admitted he “got a little caught up in it” and was not one of the 64 players who advanced to match play. Last year, Jaworski did not make it past sectional qualifying for the Amateur, and said
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
Former Milton student Zack Jaworski will do his best to stay out of the sand traps during the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship. he “was disappointed I did not make it.” In his third attempt at qualifying this year, Jaworski made it into the event for the second time and has a definite goal in mind. “I expect to make match play,” he said. “The ‘awe’ factor is a bit lower and I should perform well. I’m comfortable with the Highlands course, but I’ve never played the other course (Riverside). I plan to play it before the tournament and familiarize myself.” Highlands will be the course for the match play ZACK JAWORSKI portion of the Amateur golfer championship, with players competing one day on Highlands and one day on Riverside in the 36-hole qualifier. Jaworski first played Highlands in a high school tournament when he was on the Milton golf team. He helped lead the Eagles to a state championship his senior year after a runner-up finish in 2011.
“To win state was a big deal,” Jaworski said. “That was one of my goals for high school, and it was great to win after coming so close the year before.” Jaworski has played on the Vanderbilt golf team the past two seasons and has been in and out of the lineup, competing in a total of 15 events. As a freshman, Jaworski posted the team’s low score in NCAA regionals and had a career best fourth place finish during his sophomore season. After his freshman season, Jaworski played well in several national amateur events, including a tie for 10th in the Dogwood Invitational at Atlanta’s Druid Hills Golf Club. Jaworski enjoyed several solid showings during the spring portion of Vanderbilt’s schedule as a sophomore, but was not in the lineup as the Commodores qualified for the NCAA championship. Three other members of Vanderbilt’s team and an in-
It’s definitely really exciting. I’ll have family and friends coming out to watch. It will definitely be a lot of fun.”
coming freshman qualified for the U.S. Amateur along with Jaworski, and he expects to again be in a competition situation his junior season. “I could not ask for a better group of guys,” said Jaworski, whose teammates include former Mount Pisgah golfer Jordan Janico. “I love my team and my coaches.” Jaworski, who plays out of the Manor, had not been playing especially well this summer until his strong showing in the qualifier at Piedmont Driving Club. He shot 4-under on his first nine in the opening round before ending the day two off the lead at 68. “The leader was at 6-under, and I figured if I could get to the leader’s number the second day, I’d be in pretty good shape,” Jaworski said. He shot 2-under on his first nine the second day and came home in 1-under, making just two bogeys over the 36 holes. His 6-under 136 total was two shots clear of players tying for sixth at 138. “As bad as this summer has been, it was great to get things turned around,” Jaworski said of his play in the qualifier. “To play two good rounds like that headed toward the Amateur is a big deal. “It’s a real confidence boost,” he said.
OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY
David Kleckner
N’view’s Kleckner to compete Joining Zack Jaworski in the field is former Northview golfer David Kleckner, a member of the golf team at Oglethorpe. Like Jaworski, Kleckner tied for fourth in the qualifier at Piedmont Driving Club, matching Jaworski’s scores of 6868—136. Kleckner enjoyed a successful sophomore season at Oglethorpe, winning a tournament at Callaway Gardens and recording a top 15 finish in the NCAA Division III championship. He also tied for 15th in the recent Georgia Amateur, played at Idle Hour in Macon.
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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP COMMEMORATIVE VIEWER’S GUIDE forsythherald.com
Past: Continued from Page 18 Marvin ‘Vinny’ Giles played on the Georgia golf team from 1963-66, and was a co-medalist in U.S. Amateur qualifying early in his Georgia career. Giles remained an amateur after graduating from Georgia, and was a runnerup in the championship three straight years (1967-69) during an eight-year stretch when the tournament was contested over 72 holes of stroke play. Giles broke through with a victory in 1972, the last year the tournament was played without a match play component. The runner-up that year was Ben Crenshaw, one of several future major champions to first make their marks in the U.S. Amateur in the early 1970s. Lanny Wadkins edged out Tom Kite to win in 1970, two years before Crenshaw (Kite’s Texas teammate) made it to the title match. Craig Stadler and Jerry Pate were the 1973 and ’74 champions, with Pate’s victory coming less than two years before he won the 1976 U.S. Open at Atlanta Athletic Club. Fred Ridley (1975), Jay Sigel (1982 and ’83) and future college coach Buddy Alexander (’86) all scored victories as career amateurs around titles by soon-to-be successful pros John Cook (1978), Mark O’Meara (’80) and Hal Sutton (’81). Cook defeated Scott Hoch in the championship match before losing to O’Meara in the finals the next year. Fred Couples was the qualifying medalist in ’81.
But for every Wadkins, Stadler, O’Meara and Sutton who went on to win a major championship as a pro, there were players who never lived up to the promise of their U.S, Amateur triumphs. Bill Sander, John Fought, Eric Meeks and Chris Patton were among the winners from 1976-89, along with Scott Verplank and Billy Mayfair, who both went on to lengthy professional careers. That stretch also included one of the unlikeliest U.S. Amateur champions of modern times – Nathaniel Crosby (son of Bing) in 1981 – and a pair of Georgians who lost in the finals, Macon’s Peter Persons in ’85 and Atlanta career amateur Danny Yates in ’88. From 1990-97, four of the best college players of the past 25 years combined for six U.S. Amateur titles, beginning with Phil Mickelson and Justin Leonard and ending with Matt Kuchar, a member of the Georgia Tech golf team at the time. In between were three straight titles for Tiger Woods, who won the U.S. Junior Championship the three previous years. Of the five best American golfers post Nelson-Hogan-Snead, Tom Watson is the only who did not win the U.S. Amateur, something Palmer, Nicklaus, Mickelson and Woods all accomplished. Since Woods scored the last of his three U.S. Amateur victories in 1996, a handful of the winners have gone on to successful careers in the pros, but most have not. Kuchar and Ryan Moore (2004) have both played well on the PGA Tour, with Edoardo Molinari
Phil Mickelson took the U.S. Amateur title in 1990. (2005) and Richie Ramsay (’06) both winners on the European Tour. Ricky Barnes has enjoyed some success as a pro since his 2002 victory, but not as much as was expected. Barnes’ victory capped a brief run of victories by golfers who were highly regarded at the time, but have not achieved the success predicted for them. Hank Kuehne, David Gossett, Jeff Quinney and Bubba Dickerson, who won at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club in 2001, have all struggled as pros, as has Australia’s Nick Flanagan, the first of five international
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players to win the U.S. Amateur in a seven-year span beginning in 2003. American collegians have won three of the last four, but only 2010 champion Peter Uihlein has made any kind of a mark yet as a pro, and that has come in Europe. England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick won last year at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, but has since turned pro after a brief stint on the Northwestern golf team. The player he defeated in the title match, Oliver Goss of Australia, has also turned pro since last year’s U.S. Amateur.
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25 August 6, 2014
U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP COMMEMORATIVE VIEWER’S GUIDE forsythherald.com
Tech’s Schniederjans world’s top-ranked amateur Looks to contend at AAC after summer success against pros By MIKE BLUM news@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK – Georgia Tech senior Ollie Schniederjans will begin the U.S. Amateur at Atlanta Athletic Club as the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Rankings, but that status will not matter once the tournament begins August 11. Like the other 311 players in the field, Schniederjans will have to finish among the top 64 in stroke play qualifying to advance to match play, with those players seeded off their finish in qualifying, not their rankings. After a busy and eventful summer, Schniederjans will be among the tournament favorites, even though he has bypassed the usual routine of playing in top amateur tournaments in the country in preparation for the U.S. Amateur. Schniederjans, who grew up and still lives in the Cobb County community of Powder Springs, has spent his summer playing against the pros and competing in England, and comes into the U.S. Amateur off a string of strong showings in those events. After an outstanding junior season at Georgia Tech that earned him first team AllAmerica status, Schniederjans ascended to the No. 1 ranking in amateur golf, and was awarded a sponsor exemption into a Web.com Tour tournament in Wichita. In his first ever experience playing against tour players, Schniederjans tied for fifth place in what turned out to be his only tournament in the U.S. since the NCAA Championship, which ended in late May. He lost in a playoff for the individual NCAA title, with Georgia Tech losing in the match play quarterfinals. Schniederjans went directly from Wichita to England, where he competed in the Palmer Cup, an amateur event matching top college players from the U.S. against a team from Europe. He was the top American player in a losing effort, posting a 3-1 record including victories in both his singles matches. Schniederjans was able to extend his trip when he was offered a spot in the Scottish Open, a European Tour event played the week before the British Open. The Georgia Tech senior played solidly throughout the tournament, making the cut and tying for 41st
I’d like to contend and win some matches, but first I’ve got to make it to match play, and that’s not a given. You’ve got to play well.” OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS Top-ranked amateur in the world
against many of the top players in professional golf. After returning home, Schniederjans did what most people do during the summer, and was on vacation in California a few weeks before the U.S. Amateur, participating in a media interview session at Atlanta Athletic Club on the phone from the West Coast. “I’ve been playing nonstop since January and took a break after the Scottish Open,” Schniederjans said. Although he was in California, Schniederjans’ thoughts were on an upcoming tournament a few weeks away in the Atlanta area “I’m very excited,” Schniederjans said about the prospects of playing the top event in amateur golf in his home town. “I’d like to contend and win some matches, but first I’ve got to make it to match play, and that’s not a given. You’ve got to play well. Hopefully, I’ll make a really, really long run in match play. I feel good about my chances.” As the No. 1-ranked player competing in his home town in the biggest event in amateur golf, much of the attention will be focused on Schniederjans, “It’s nothing I haven’t handled before,” he says, pointing out that the external pressure is no greater “than the pressure I put on myself.” Schniederjans said his summer of playing abroad and against professionals has been “a great experience. I learned a lot just from being around those guys. The Scottish Open was very special, playing links golf against those names. “I played pretty well in each
Georgia Tech senior Ollie Schniederjans is the top-ranked amateur in the world of them. I had one bad nine in the Web.com event, but I got back in contention.” Schniederjans shot 64 in his first tournament round in a pro event, added a 65 two days later and closed with a final round 67 to finish just five shots behind the winner. “That was pretty cool,” Schniederjans said of his opening 64, with his second round comeback after shooting 4-over on his first nine another highlight. “I went straight from Wichita to England, and that was a tough transition. I played OK in the Palmer Cup, pretty good in singles. And I got some time to re-group and rest before the Scottish Open. “I played pretty good there, but I didn’t score that good (four rounds between 70 and 72). To make the cut and play all four rounds was great. It was a great experience.”
Schniederjans has been a national caliber player since his days as a junior, and was ranked fourth in the junior rankings before enrolling at Georgia Tech. After a successful freshman season at Tech, he began to emerge as a major player his sophomore season, earning third team All-America status and helping lead the Yellow Jackets into the match play portion of the NCAA Championship, where they lost in the semifinals at North Fulton’s Capital City Club Crabapple Course. During his junior season, Schniederjans won three tournaments outright, including the U.S. Collegiate Championship at Golf Club of Georgia, and shared first place twice. His five wins broke the Georgia Tech record held by PGA Tour players David Duval, Stewart Cink and Troy Matteson.
Schniederjans has a history of playing well in Atlanta area tournaments, adding a runnerup finish in the 2013 Dogwood Invitational at Druid Hills Golf Club (he was sixth the year before) to his college play at Golf Club of Georgia and the Crabapple course. He was the medalist in a 2012 U.S. Amateur qualifier at Piedmont Driving Club and reached match play before losing in the first round. Last year, Schniederjans narrowly missed qualifying for match play at the U.S. Amateur in Boston, and is looking for better results on a course he is more familiar with. “It’s special. It’s one of my favorite Atlanta area courses,” Schniederjans says of the Highlands Course, which will host one of the two qualifying rounds and all the match play portion of the event. “It’s long and it’s difficult.”
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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP COMMEMORATIVE VIEWER’S GUIDE forsythherald.com
CALENDAR
EDITOR’S PICKS
Submit your event online at forsythherald.com
forsythherald.com | Forsyth Herald | August 6, 2014 | 27
Send
me your event...
ERICA O’NEAL
Calendar Editor erica@northfulton.com
Submit your event to northfulton.com or email with photo to calendar@northfulton.com. For a more complete list of local events including support groups, volunteer opportunities and business meetings visit the calendar on northfulton.com.
MUSIC»
FARMERS AND ARTISANS MARKET
WALKS IN THE GARDEN
The Roswell Farmers and Artisans Market has vendors from everywhere within a 100 mile radious and includes live music, mini-workshops, children’s programs and much more. Saturday, Aug. 9. 8 a.m. until noon. Roswell City Hall. 38 Hall St., Roswell. Please visit roswellfam.com.
OH DEER! HIKE
Come play games and interactive activities in Autrey Mill Nature Preserve that will help you understand the life of a deer. Guided hikes through the park will last about an hour. $5 members, $7 non-members. Saturday, Aug. 9 at 4 p.m. 9770 Autrey Mill Rd., Johns Creek. Please call 678-366-3511.
MATILDA’S UNDER THE PINES PRESENTS VALERIE HINES
As part of the Music Under the Pines concert series, Valerie Hines will perform on Saturday, Aug. 9. Valerie Hines plays country, folk and blues music. 8:30 p.m. Matilda’s Cottage. 377 S Main St., Alpharetta. Please call 770-754-7831 or visit matildascottage.com.
BLUEBERRY PICKING IN FORSYTH
ATLANTA PLAYS IT FORWARD PRESENTS SWING AND JAZZ
FRANK BARHAM PERFORMS AT VELVET NOTE
Come out and enjoy blues music by Frank Barham at the Velvet Note. His song list includes tunes by Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock among others. Showtimes are 7:30 and 9:30 p.m on Friday, Aug. 8. The Velvet Note. 4075 Old Milton Pkwy., Alpharetta. Please call 855583-5838.
Join the fun at the Roswell Visitors Center to be entertained and to reminisce on the big band era as you listen to the music provided by the Reflections band that began its musical journey together in 1999. Atlanta Plays It Forward founder Tom LaDow’s vision is to assist charitable and community organizations in securing musical entertainment for their events and activities at an affordable (or sometimes no) cost. Event is free of charge. Saturday, Aug. 9, from 2-3:15 p.m. Roswell Visitors Center. 617 Atlanta St., Roswell. Please call 770-640-3253.
EVENTS»
BELL MEMORIAL PARK GROUNDBREAKING
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Starting on Wednesday, Aug. 6 at 9:30 a.m., there will be free tours of the gardens in the restored antebellum gardens of Barrington Hall. No reservations necessary. Plan to stay after for a tour of the historic Barrington Hall. Tours run Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Barrington Hall. 535 Barrington Dr., Roswell. Please call 770640-3855.
The City of Milton invites the community to the Bell Memorial Park expansion project groundbreaking ceremony Friday, Aug. 8 at 11 a.m. This ceremony will mark the kickoff of the $9.4 million expansion of Bell Memorial from a 12-acre park with four baseball fields to a nearly 30-acre multi-use facility with both passive and active recreation options.15245 Bell Park Rd., Milton. Please call Jim Cregge, the Parks and Recreation Director, at 678-242-2489.
OPEN HEARTH COOKING
Living history interpreter and open hearth cooking expert, Clarissa Clifton, will demonstrate making traditional southern food over the open flame on the historic grounds of Smith Plantation. This summer Clarissa is showcasing the versatility of the fire pit as she makes outdoor classics and even cakes over the fire. Aug. 9, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Smith Plantation. 935 Alpharetta St., Roswell. Please call 770-641-3978.
Families and friends are invited to pick blueberries at the Blueberry Garden’s U-Pick Blueberry Farm & Nursery. Open every Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. $15 for a gallon of blueberries. U-Pick Farm and Nursery. 5455 Crow Rd., Cumming. Please call 770-8892519 or visit blueberrygarden. org.
DANCEFX OPEN HOUSE
Dancefx is kicking off their 20142015 season with an open house. Dancefx is offering free classes, raffles for free tuition and more. All ages are welcome to attend. Saturday, Aug. 9 beginning at 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. 8465 Holcomb Bridge Rd., Alpharetta. Please call 770-645-0110 or visit dancefx.org.
MILTON-WINDWARD ROTARY CLUB
The City of Milton now has a rotary club to call its own. The rotary club meets every Monday at noon until 1 p.m. Milton Mayor Joe Lockwood will speak at the next meeting on Aug. 11. St. Aidans Episcopal Church 13560 Cogburn Rd., Milton. Please call 678325-8050 or visit windwardrotary. com.
LOCAL AUTHOR GEORGE WEINSTEIN PRESENTS HARDSCRABBLE ROAD
Roswell author, George Weinstein, will speak at the Friends of Roswell Library Atlanta Authors series on Saturday, Aug. 9. His book, “Hardscrabble Road,” is Southern historical fiction about the value of perseverance and optimism during the Great Depression. The free program is in the Roswell Library Meeting Room from 2-3 p.m. 115 Norcross St. Please call 770-640-3075 or visit georgeweinstein.com.
RACES & BENEFITS» SUPER 5K FAMILY RUN
The course is a fun race down Cogburn Road around Cambridge High School and ends back at the Hopewell Middle School parking lot. An after race celebration will have food trucks and an outdoor movie for all to enjoy. Friday, Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. Hopewell Middle School. 13060 Cogburn Rd., Milton. Please visit active.com/milton-ga.
28 | August 6, 2014 | Forsyth Herald | forsythherald.com
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By NANCY HAMBY Harry Norman Realtors Is now the time to buy or sell a home? New construction has been increasing steadily in the North Fulton and South Forsyth area, but not keeping pace with demand. This has created a healthy market for existing homes. Homes that are in good condition and priced right will likely sell fast. Do you know how to get your home ready to sell? A real estate agent can be valuable in helping you properly price your home and advise you in what Buyers are looking for in today’ s market. A good agent will look out for your best interest from list-
ing to closing. Marketing your home on the web, scheduling showings, getting feedback, screening/pre-qualifying buyers, negotiating a contract and inspection items. Finally, getting the details handled to get your home to the closing table all while looking out for your best interest is the agent’s job. Selling a home can be stressful and as an agent I am there to help make this process easier. Find out what a real estate professional can do for you. Every home and situation is different. Call 678-557-4228 to schedule a time to look at your home and discuss the options that are available for your property.
Consumer confidence is rising 2013 was one of the most active years we’ve had in Real Estate in quite some time. This “hot” market actually started at the tail end of 2012 and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. The two main attributing factors for this resurgence in the market are the lack of Inventory (fewer homes on the market) and the continued record setting low Interest Rates. During the market “crash” of the previous years, we sorted through the huge supply of foreclosures and short sales while new home construction basically came to a halt. Now that most of the short sales and foreclosures have been sold, along with virtually no additional homes being constructed during that period, we found ourselves with a void in inventory towards the end of 2012. We are basically back to “Supply and Demand.” Now
is the best time to sell a home in quite some time. Any home priced well in this climate will sell quickly with many RAWLINGS sellers getting close to full price and/or finding themselves in multiple offer scenarios. At the same time, it’s still a great time to BUY a home due to the favorable interest rates. It makes for an interesting time in Real Estate because the existing market is actually beneficial for everyone. Consumer confidence is rising and new home construction is on a frantic pace as they simply try to build them fast enough for the demand. Look for 2014 to be another wonderful year for the
Atlanta Housing Market….for both Buyers AND Sellers. About the author: Tom Stocks is a Realtor at Harry Norman, REALTORS. He is a 46 year old GA native and has been in the Real Estate profession for 16+ years. Tom has been recognized with numerous achievements such as the Phoenix Award and Life Time Member in the Million Dollar Club. He was a former school teacher and has coached football, baseball, soccer and basketball for the past 8 years in the community as well. He believes his motivation, professionalism and vast experience in the business distinguish him from his competitors. Tom can be reached via cell at (678)-283-9570 or email at tom.stocks@ harrynorman.com.
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REAL ESTATE REPORT • Sponsored Section
August 6, 2014 29
5 reasons hiring a real estate professional is a good idea By BILL RAWLINGS Vice President/Managing Broker North Atlanta Office Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty
confusing, but necessary, paperwork.
a few. It can be an arduous process – who wouldn’t want help with that?
Today, nearly 100 percent of people begin the real estate process online. With numerous real estate-focused websites offering enhanced exposure, some sellers choose the FSBO (for sale by owner) route because it seems effortless to position your home to potential buyers on popular real estate websites. The Internet can be alluring in pursuing FSBO, but whether you are buying or selling, consider five important points in the difference between working with a REALTOR® and navigating the process on your own.
2. You found the house of your dreams! So, now what? RAWLINGS The Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association conducted a study and found that every successful real estate transaction has more than 230 possible required actions. A real estate professional is familiar with what each action entails and has a database of resources available, if necessary. Agents possess the knowledge and tools to help make your dream a reality.
4. Get the most out of your transaction. What’s your home’s real value? Real estate professionals have access to market data required to price your home correctly. Competitively pricing your home right from the start allows you to attract serious, qualified buyers and leads to a quicker sale. You will benefit from the expertise of an agent with no emotional connection to your home in identifying its truest value. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, “the typical FSBO home sold for $184,000 compared to $230,000 among agent-assisted home sales.”
1. Paperwork. What, how and why? Contract regulations vary from state to state and are required for a successful sale. Understanding the details and keeping abreast of the ever-changing regulations is a daunting task to undertake on your own. When you hire a real estate professional, you are hiring a market expert who can help you navigate through the
3. Can you negotiate well? Some people are not convinced they need an agent to sell their home; however, an agent offers expertise when it comes to negotiating with the long list of individuals required for a successful transaction. The average transaction requires working with a minimum of 11 different people including the buyer, inspector, appraiser and lender, to name
5. Do you really understand what’s going on in the market? When it comes to real estate, there is a constant flood of information about home sales, prices, mortgage rates, the right time to buy or sell – the list goes on. It is daunting to keep up with it all. How do you separate fact from fiction? Do you really know what’s happening in your
area? By hiring an agent who is knowledgeable about the market and your neighborhood positions you to have a positive buying or selling experience. Agents are not just in it for the sale and are honest with their clients. Working with a real estate professional who can educate you on the process and handle the detailed aspects of writing and executing a contract will give you the best conclusion possible. Do you need any more reasons? You wouldn’t skydive without an experienced guide. You
wouldn’t want to have an operation without an experienced doctor … do not make one of the biggest and most important financial decisions of your life without a real estate professional. Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty agents are recognized as experts in the markets they serve. Contact me today and I can recommend an agent to assist you in the purchase or sale of your next real estate transaction or visit us at AtlantaFineHomes.com Article adapted from KeepingCurrentMatters.com.
Tips on organizing your closets like a pro (NAPSI)—Any time of year can be the right time to give your closets the once-over. A wellorganized closet space offers several benefits. For starters, you can save time when you can find the items you are looking for. That can also mean less stress and more time to enjoy with family and friends. To help, here are some tips from EasyClosets—an online provider of do-it-yourself custom organization systems for all areas of the home. • Closets can be easily overrun with clothes, shoes and jackets that you no longer wear or are out of season and are taking up valuable space. Rotating your wardrobe with the season and purging items keeps everything organized and gives your closet some space to breathe. • When it comes to the closet space itself, create dedicated areas for specific types of items so you will know where to find them—and where to put them away—every time. • Position shelves, hanging
rods and drawers in a convenient location that makes it simple to get to items that are used frequently. • Then use your closet’s top shelves to store off-season or seldom-used items, including hats, luggage and extra bedding. • In the master bedroom closet, organize your belts, ties or scarves with pull-out racks that keep items separated and accessible. • In your kids’ closets, you can make it easier to keep things orderly with baskets and shelves placed within their reach. Wire baskets will let your little ones see what’s inside. Double up on hanging rods to maximize space and make clothing items more visible. As they grow, you can move or remove the adjustable rods. • To organize your entryway closet, create zones by dedicating baskets, hooks and shelves to each family member. Use them to store jackets, shoes, hats, bags, the dog’s leash and
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seasonal items. • If you want to get your closets organized right away, EasyClosets offers products that are custom made in one business day and shipped to your home. The company even has an intuitive online design
tool to make space planning quick and easy for homeowners. Complimentary design service is also available, allowing customers to have an expert review their plan or create it for them.
Upgrading to a custom closet can increase the quality and value of your home. Plus, you can save up to 50 percent by designing and installing the organizers yourself. To learn more, visit www. easyclosets.com.
30 | August 6, 2014 | Forsyth Herald | forsythherald.com
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Faiths unite at Iftar Dinner program ALPHARETTA, Ga. —The evening of Sunday, July 20 saw more than 120 people of many faiths gather at Alpharetta Presbyterian Church in a joint Iftar Dinner program arranged between Neshama Interfaith Center and the Atlantic Institute. Presenters Kemal Korucu, of the Atlantic Institute and Rabbi Michael Bernstein, of Congregation Gesher L’Torah, engaged in inspiring conversation about the spiritual meaning of fasting seeing as the event took place during Ramadan – the holy month where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. The purpose of the event was to share an Iftar, or fastbreaking, dinner. This is the first meal Muslims partake in after abstaining from eating and drinking all day. However, Ramadan is about more than just fasting. It’s a time of compassion, generosity, inner reflection of one’s spirituality and seeking oneness with God. It’s about gathering family, friends and neighbors together to strengthen friendships and enjoying the company of others. It’s about opening the home and mind to people who have differing faiths and beliefs.
Bernstein pointed out how all but two fast days in the Jewish calendar begin at sunrise and end with the appearance of the first stars of evening, appreciating how this is similar to Ramadan. In fact, Bernstein shared that one of the fast days, the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, fell during Ramadan this year. He added that in Israel, even with the hostilities going on between Hamas and Israel, that Jews from Israel and Muslims in the West Bank gathered together, “to fast together and then to feast together, showing the world that Jews and Muslims can and must live together.” The format was not a formal discussion, rather a true conversation, allowing the sharing of similarities as well as what makes fasting so vital and even welcomed in each tradition. This shared conversation allowed those in attendance to better understand the many facets of Islamic and Jewish fasting and ritual practice; spiritual growth, patience with others and with circumstances, and community. Korucu’s engaging and enlightening stories were a highlight of the evening.
The most impactful part of the discussion between Korucu and Bernstein was not even about fasting. At the very beginning of the program, both took turns praying for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Given the horror going on between both combatants, it truly set the stage for the evening. This sense of connection,
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understanding and acceptance of “The Other” continued to manifest itself when all participants shared the Iftar meal together. As directed by the Neshama and Atlantic leaders, no one table could be comprised of members of the same faith. Getting to know one another, “feasting after fasting”
was truly one way to create the peace we all want and for all participants to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” For more on the work of the Atlantic Institute and Neshama Interfaith Center, their programs and outreach, please visit their websites: www.theatlanticinstitute.org and www.neshamainterfaithcenter.org.
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Northview teen’s nonprofit helps African students By HATCHER HURD hatcher@northfulton.com JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – When Rupesh Sharma made the trip to Tanzania to hike up Mount Kilimanjaro, it became more than chance to cross off a goal on his bucket list. He also saw a lot of poverty and how little the country could do for school-age children. Determined to do something, he knew he would return. When he came home and told his family about what he had seen, he saw that his then 13-year-old daughter Saloni was moved by what he had seen. They talked about it and she said she wanted to go with him on his return trip to Tanzania to do something for the children in need he saw there. She connected to those students immediately. “I visited a number of schools, and I saw no textbooks. Perhaps one or two pencils. I was motivated to do something,” Sharma said. “They had so little; I knew I could do something.” Her father encouraged her to start a nonprofit organization, if she really wanted to get involved. “We met people who were getting some help [in Tanzania]
and I could see a small effort could have a big effect there,” he said. So Sharma took his daughter on his second trip to Tanzania where they quickly made contact with people there who are trying to make a difference in that poor country. Saloni said her impression of Tanzania was unlike anything she had ever seen. “I guess shock is the best word, compared to our schools at home,” she said. Like her dad, Saloni was determined to make a difference. That is when Project Darasani was born. Darasani is the Swahili word for “classroom.” It would become the conduit to funnel school supplies to a school in Tanzania. “Just knowing what school is for us, others should have that opportunity. As much as we complain at school – these kids have no option,” Saloni said. So Project Darasani began as a new club last year at Northview High School. Saloni found a teacher to sponsor the club and then recruited 15 members. The momentum began from there. They began conducting fundraisers to buy school supplies for Darasani. They wound up buying 11,000 items for the students.
Saloni Sharma sits amid dozens of bags of school supplies donated by families of Sugar Mill subdivision in Johns Creek. The nonprofit she started, Project Darasani, helps needy Tanzanian students acquire the basic school supplies they need to get an education. The Tanzanian students’ needs are so basic that pencils, erasers, markers, pens, paper clips – all the normal items children take for granted – are almost nonexistent in Tanzanian schools. Such normal school supplies are beyond the means of an average Tanzanian family. The average take-home pay is $15 monthly. Schools there are not free, so only the elite can attend any school. “You can’t pay for school when you don’t have enough to eat,” she said. “Computers aren’t available. The schools have no electricity.
The school Saloni and her friends are helping is just the basic four walls. The land was donated by a couple. It’s in their front yard. The students at the school are orphans. Most of them lost their parents to the HIV virus. The school also serves as the orphanage. Sharma said the husband and wife who have made their front yard available are not well off. But they have made a huge commitment to these children. The Darasani members held neighborhood drives where they were allowed to place requests at the neigh-
borhood doors for school materials. Volunteers came around the following Sunday and picked up 85 to 90 brown bags left in front the garage at donating houses. “The generosity of people has been so amazing,” Saloni said. The success of the past year has spurred Saloni and her friends to do more. This summer, she and two other students and three parents are making another trip to Tanzania to visit the schools they are supporting. They plan to bring materials to allow them to repaint blackboards that are so faded, students can’t read them. “They don’t have textbooks, so copying from the blackboards is important,” said Saloni. Saloni says she and her fellow students want to open more Darasani chapters in Johns Creek schools. Saloni is inspired to do more because of what she saw when she went to Tanzania last year. She talked to two young girls and asked them what they wanted to do when they grew up. One told her she wanted to be a lawyer, the other a musician. “These girls were from some of the poorest families, yet they
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Teacher shares Paddle Georgia experience Receives scholarship to participate in annual trip By ERICA O’NEAL erica@northfulton.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Jerry Kelley put down the chalk and picked up a paddle. Kelley, who teaches English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at Settles Bridge Elementary School in Forsyth County took part in Paddle Georgia from June 21-27. It was the 10th annual Paddle Georgia, which is an annual educational trip that brings more than 350 paddlers together every year. This year Kelley was among a group of 12 teachers who received a Paddle Georgia teacher scholarship to participate. The grant was funded in part by the National Parks System and the Captain Planet Foundation. Kelley said he heard about Paddle Georgia from members of the Atlanta Outdoor Club who had gone on the trip in previous years and were planning to participate in the event this year. The application for the teacher scholarship was sent out in an email to teachers in Forsyth County. Along with sending his application, Kelley sent an explanation for how his experiences with Paddle Georgia would improve teaching for his
students. “When I wrote the cover letter, I was focused on using my newfound experience and knowledge to not only help my students better understand the role of waterways in all areas, but also to have an opportunity to share with community members as well, through local organizations such as Keep Forsyth County Beautiful with Kevin Smith and members of the Atlanta Outdoor Club,” Kelley said. Kelley wanted to participate in Paddle Georgia for years, but said that time or money were always an obstacle. This year, the scholarship made it all possible. Participants in Paddle Georgia cover 110 miles on the Chattahoochee River over the span of a week. Each day, the group covers an average of 16 miles, and there are tours of historic and industrial areas along the way. At night, participants camp and learn about the waterways through educational programs and games. “We were also fortunate to be able to tour the Johns Creek Waste Facility, receive training in the Adopt-a-Stream program, work with a fishery biologist in collecting specimens to suggest health of the waterways and were trained
Teachers work with Cam Swift, right, a fishery biologist, to sample fish in the Chattahoochee River. in the Project Wet curriculum, which will be very valuable in teaching all aspects of watersheds in all areas of the curriculum,” Kelley said. Kelley said he hopes to participate in Paddle Georgia again in the future and use his experiences to continue teaching students about natural waterways.
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Jerry Kelley, a teacher at Settles Bridge Elementary school in Forsyth, paddles down the Chattahoochee River during the Paddle GA trip in June.
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Making a difference in your local community Forstyh Herald | August 6, 2014
Planting SEEDS for a better future Georgia is the perfect place to set an example for how a state can work with communities to provide their own food and energy. SEEDS Global is one of the participants making a change. The nonprofit hopes their projects will bring healthy food to people living in Atlanta’s inner city. Their motto is: “One house, one garden; one community, one farm.” “Atlanta has a great climate for growing food, but it’s one of the biggest food deserts in the country,” said Todd Mitchell, Alpharetta resident and founder of SEEDS Global. “With all the available space here, it doesn’t make sense.” SEEDS Global aims to transform lower-income housing into an urban food paradise that hopes to supply its own energy, as well as help area schools plant gardens and grow hydroponic produce. The hydroponic systems grow food without soil, often under grow lights. Mitchell made significant progress after he met David Kessler of Atlantis Hydroponics. After expressing interest in hydroponics and aquaponics, Kessler connected Mitchell with “The Hunger Games” movie producers. Kessler had installed 35 hydroponic towers at the Atlanta set. Those towers now belong to SEEDS Global. “We’re planning on building a mall for nonprofits that help inner-city communities,” Mitchell said. “We don’t want to do it all. We want to partner
JAMES CARR
The Jig Is Up james@forsythherald.com
with everybody.” Mitchell’s plan is rooted in his belief that success is dependent upon collaboration, not competition. Mitchell says more people rising above the poverty level and becoming independent is better than fewer people earning more while the rest lack opportunity, funding and, most importantly, healthy food. When I first visited their location on the west side of Atlanta, it was hard to fathom that an area littered with abandoned housing, old, worn apartment complexes and boarded up businesses was just 30 minutes away from Alpharetta and five minutes away from downtown Atlanta – let alone in the United States. But the SEEDS Global project is bringing hope and breaking the cycle of poverty. The income in North Fulton is far greater than South Fulton. A significant portion of tax dollars end up going to fund welfare programs that do little to foster growth. How about we divert welfare money directly to companies like SEEDS Global — companies that invest in the community, the people and the soil — unlike Washington bureau-
Q&A with Todd Mitchell of SEEDS Global During my research, I spent time with several farmers, chefs and entrepreneurs to find out how the movement is progressing on the ground. Today, I’d like to share my conversation with Alpharetta resident Todd Mitchell, the founder of SEEDS Global in Atlanta, as we discussed the local movement and its importance to a healthier lifestyle. Why did you found SEEDS Global? Todd Mitchell: To provide access to people who don’t get healthy food, healthy places to live. Just to change the landscape of the inner city to give people different options. SEEDS is more like a co-op. We’re planning on building a mall for nonprofits that help inner-city communities. We don’t want to do it all. We want to partner with everybody. We believe success is depending upon collaboration, not competition. What options exist now in the inner city of Atlanta? Mitchell: There’s plenty of local farms, but you would have to find them. They’re not under one hub or readily available. And in the inner city, there are a lot of people without internet. People don’t search; they aren’t thinking about healthy food, they’re thinking about survival. But if we put something right in the neighborhood and we make it available, bring in kids and make it a comfortable place to come and learn and not feel any kind of way. I don’t believe that’s happening in the city right now, and we believe we will be able to help that way. What’s the biggest challenge the farm-to-table movement faces in the inner city? crats? The only way we will lift our South Fulton neighbors
Mitchell: Commitment and community support. If we can get the community behind us, we can do anything. It’s just getting them interested in the process, and that takes education and presence. We need people to participate, actually come out and help. Not necessarily people from outside the community coming; we have plenty of volunteers. But neighbors and people around need to come and get their hands in the soil, actually plant seeds, visit a farmers market, doing some of the work and talking about it, because word-of-mouth is where it’s at. Getting cooking classes and all that other stuff is easy if you have community support. With all the noise about GMOs, organic and local food, what should customers focus on with their food products? Mitchell: Where did that food come from? Do they have a personal relationship with the person who grew that food? Most people would say no, including myself, because I shop at Whole Foods or I shop at a farmers market where I meet a farmer, but that’s different. To get to know where your food is grown, who’s making it, what they’re putting in it… food is information. And if they’re putting junk in that food, you’re getting junk out whether it looks green, orange or whatever. If it’s junk in, it’s junk out. If you could grow any five items regardless of climate, what would those five crops be? Mitchell: I would love to have a watermelon patch, tomatoes, sage, basil and maybe Echinacea.
out of poverty is if we pull together to provide access and
opportunity for all, not just those who can afford it.
New Forsyth County animal shelter to open in late August Facility funded by voter-approved penny sales tax CUMMING, Ga. —The new Forsyth County Animal Shelter is slated to open in late August with a ribbon cutting ceremony, the date and time to be announced. “Certainly the scope of this project is quite large,” said Animal Shelter Manager Chris Peninger. “In addition to completing construction and getting the facility ready for
the animals, we are also in the process of hiring and training shelter staff.” The new animal shelter, just off of Ga. 400 on County Way in Cumming, will be operated by county staff. It will replace the 1904 Atlanta Road shelter managed by Orr Animal Hospital. Construction of the approximately 13,700-square foot facility was funded by the most recent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) program, approved in 2011. —Shannon Weaver
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forsythherald.com | Forsyth Herald | August 6, 2014 | 35
Avett Brothers shake things up at Verizon Silver songbird Emmylou Harris sings for her summer By JEMILLE WILLIAMS news@northfulton.com
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Emmylou Harris, closer to 70 than not and rocking the most luxuriant silver hair in all the world of music for nearly half a century, stayed true to her folksy roots with her Wrecking Ball tour the evening of Friday, July 25. (Thankfully, it had nothing to do with Miley Cyrus. It was the title of an album she released two decades ago.) She said she felt like Minnie Pearl: “Proud to be here. It feels good to be surrounded by all the sights, smells and sounds of the South, being born a neighbor over in Alabama.” Harris’ career has been long and rife with success, winning her 13 Grammys (so far). She had an idyllic childhood, enjoying popularity as a cheerleader and valedictorian and attending college on a drama scholarship. She dropped out to pursue her musical career. When she was 16, Harris wrote Pete Seeger a six-page letter asking him if he thought she could possibly be a folk singer, having never experienced the pain and heartbreak that seemed to be its bedrock. He gently told her that time would provide enough. Townes Van Zandt has said that there are only two kinds of music – blues and Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. So, Harris decided she would just make some sad stuff up. Her plaintive soprano brings the hurt and heartache, winning fans and awards for more than 50 years now. Her melancholy “Red Dirt Girl” tells a too-common tale of the fate of many a country girl. My favorite song of the evening was the haunting “Michelangelo” with its mournful moaning chorus. She closed with Paul Kennerley’s “Born to Run,” which is a far cry from The Boss’ galvanic anthem of the same name. She gently sang of putting on her travelin’ shoes. And it’s a good thing. We’ll never tire of hearing the Silver Belle tolling out her wistful stories. I hope she keeps them on for another decade or so.
Two-Hour Zumba Class A jungle beat by drummer Mike Marsh splits the dark as the Avett Brothers opened their no-holds-barred musical extravaganza with “Satan Pulls the Strings.” This newest song premiered two weeks ago at their three-night residence at Red Rocks and will be on their next album. This is only the second time they have played it for an audience. Dim spots take in Bob Crawford and Tania Elizabeth as they appear with their dueling fiddles, then cellist Joe Kwon faces off with Elizabeth, and Paul DiFiglia drags out his double bass to play with Crawford. A roar rises as brothers Scott on banjo and
The Avett Brothers perform at Verizon Wireless Ampitheater in Alpharetta. Seth on guitar take center stage. It. Is. On. A minimalist set with a several retro Klieg lights was all they needed. Thankfully, they only fired them up a few times, as they were all aimed at us. Although made charming by the collection of fans’ signs affixed to the rear – especially one that said, “Tae Kwon Joe!” – the band easily has the ugliest piano touring today. It looks like it has been given one streaky coat of white house paint. From the get-go, the hyper-caffeinated crew had the audience all hopped up. The joint was literally jumping. One unusual thing that I have never noticed before was that the images of the band projected on the screen were actually shaking from the harmonic vibration of five of the seven performers literally jumping up and down as they played. They must have to retire the oriental rugs underfoot on a quarterly basis from all the stomping and scuffling they endure. Two- and three-night stands are not unusual for these pigeon-hole-defying punkgrass rockers. They literally and figuratively are all over the place musically – from rockabilly to straightup rock and roll. They have so many songs out on so many albums, that even with three-night shows they don’t repeat any. Fiddle-player Elizabeth wore a Native American-looking dress with lots of fringe that added even more kinetic energy to her performance. Mad props to her for doing all the hopping and stomping as the guys do in high heels! Between her shoes and Kwon’s nonergonomic instrument position, I hope they have a chiropractor, reflexologist and massage therapist in their retinue. Kwon was born in Korea, but grew up in North Carolina. He attended boarding school in California. I’m sure classical music lessons were a part of
his upbringing, and that his former teachers must be agog at the path he has taken. He blogs about food on the road, saying that they have to eat right, sleep enough and get some exercise to bear up under the strain of putting out the over-the-top energy they expend every night. One often hears of guitarists being called shredders, but Elizabeth and Kwon were literally shredding the horsehair off their bows. Kwon is especially intriguing, as I don’t believe there’s another cellist who rocks it as hard as he does, jumping and dancing with his instrument hooked on his neck. His redlining technique has earned him an endorsement from a string company. He must go through a whole orchestra section’s worth every week. Kwon admits that it is pretty hard on his back and neck, but it is apparent he is so into it that it’s worth it to him. He developed his unique style after his first 30 seconds of sitting on stage with the two blood brothers. With them carrying on as they do, it didn’t seem fitting for him to sit there like he was playing in a symphony. It looked like some were off their Ritalin, but it’s all to the good for their devotees. After seeing these boys (and Elizabeth) bouncing for the better part of two hours through two dozen songs, I can only imagine the challenges their mother had when they were in their hyperactive years of puberty. I’m sure she thanked God when they became interested in music as an outlet for their monumental energy. They played two nights in a row at Verizon, with no duplications on the set list. While only two of the group are actually brothers, it’s apparent that the non-Avetts feel like brothers from
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other mothers. Bassist Crawford has had much need of that fraternal support as his family deals with their little 7-year-old daughter’s five-year fight with a brain tumor. He had to take some time off from touring to take her to St. Jude’s Hospital, where they were grateful to discover it is 100 percent without charge, after they were told their insurance would not cover her treatment. Through various drives, Avetts and Co. have raised over $150,000 to help Hallie Crawford and other families in similar need. At one point, after playing in front of the proverbial plain white T of backdrops, they released the featureless sheet to reveal a complex rendering of the art from the cover of their “Magpie and the Dandelion” album. The crowd went wild. “Die! Die! Die!” was noteworthy for its refrain of what usually is a monosyllable nonsense sound, but in this case it was actually about dying. But they’re so cute and upbeat, with Kwon holding his instrument, strumming it like a guitar and then do-si-doing with it, it sounds like just another good-time song. “Live or Die” is such a plucky little ditty, it could be the theme song for a kids’ movie like “The Fox and the Hound.” It was used in the film “This is 40,” and they have had many other songs picked up for television series, shows and a documentary. A highlight was when they brought Emmylou Harris out to sing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” with them. The Carter Family couldn’t have sung it better. “Salvation Song” has some noble lyrics, especially stirring when they sang the final refrain a cappella: “We came to break the bad. We came to cheer the sad. We came to leave the world a better way.” Mission already accomplished, gentleman and lady.
36 | August 6, 2014 | Forsyth Herald | forsythherald.com
OPINION
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You can learn a lot from the front porch I turn into the subdivision where I live, and I see all of the manicured lawns, the sculpted landscaped common areas and the immaculate swimming pool. The homes are beautiful, yet they have a haunting sameness about them. Then I notice there are no cars visible. Ensconced in their respective garages, the subdivision almost appears like a ghost town. There are no people to be seen. Where are they? If it is a Saturday evening, they are likely in the backyard, grilling out with a neighbor perhaps. The odd fellow may be walking his dog. Here there may be two women in shorts and tennis shoes walking determinedly up the street checking their wrists to see what their step count is. If someone is walking in the opposite direction they don’t stop and chat. Got to keep going, can’t slow down. You have to keep the heart rate up. That’s when I think back to a time long ago and a place far away. I’m sitting in a rocker on the screened-in front porch. I have a bowl full of bean sprouts in my lap and I am concentrating on splitting the bean shoot and spilling out the lima beans into the bottom of the bowl. I am surrounded by my family – my older brother, mother, grandmother and Aunt Edna. We, like my aunt, live in grandmother’s house after my father died. They have their bowls also, and the adults are much more dexterous than I. They split open the sprouts, emptying the beans without bothering to look at what they are doing. What really holds their attention is their conversation. And I listen. The front porch was a place to congregate and socialize. I hear them talk about the comings and goings of the day. Who they saw, who has been sick, who is getting married, who had a baby. They talk about those people because they are friends; many they have known all their lives. That is the beauty of small town life. You are surrounded by your neighbors. You didn’t live in a subdivi-
HATCHER HURD
Executive Editor hatcher@northfulton.com
sion (that would come later), you lived on a street. They are not neighbors because they simply bought a house next to yours. You went to school with them. You may have been a party in their wedding and they in yours. Your neighbors lived all over town. I would hear stories about the people in our family. Some I had never met. It might be my great-uncle who had gone off to fight in the Great War. I had never met him, but I felt like I knew him because I had heard so much about him. I would hear stories about a lot of people – their good times and bad times, but it taught me a lot. It taught me who my family was, and by extension who I was. Sitting on the porch, people would walk by on their evening constitutional. They didn’t jog, they didn’t count their steps. They weren’t in a hurry. Some would walk by, look our way and wave. Often as not, they would walk up to us and chat for a while. They might have a bit of news or bring a sack of tomatoes from their garden. That would spark some talk about gardening, how the corn was coming in. It might drift off to some speculation about how it might rain. Sometimes a bit of gossip was exchanged. Someone had been “running around” and now had to deal with the shame. Someone was having trouble with his business – maybe a bottle was behind it. I didn’t look at this as hurtful (still don’t), but it was a part of life in the town. You talked about the good
and the bad. Politics seldom came up. It was the South, and Washington was a long way away. Some said it was Camelot. It was as if we were just spectators on the sidelines not really rooting for one side or the other. We would watch people drive by slowly – it would be rude to speed in front of neighbors. We’d wave even if we didn’t recognize the car. It might contain someone we knew, so we waved just to be sure no one would be slighted. I didn’t exactly look forward to those long summer evenings. It was just what you did because it was too hot to stay in the house. It was a part of life, and I enjoyed it. I grew comfortable in the company of adults. They would indulge me when I would add a school exploit or ask a question. But mostly I felt like a spectator allowed to listen in. Oh, there was TV alright. But TV was later in the evening, and we all watched on the one TV set in the living room. Plenty of Westerns and of course the “Andy Griffith Show,” that was one my favorites. I didn’t see the similitude of Mayberry and Moultrie, Georgia. Today when people ask me where I grew up, like as not I just say “Mayberry.” And that was true. I could ride my bike anywhere in town and leave it parked anywhere. I knew it would be there when I came back for it. And I could be anywhere in that town in 15 or 20 minutes. I was welcome in any house with a kid my age, because they knew me. Looking back, I think what I miss most is sitting out on that front porch, shelling peas and beans, just listening to my family talk. I knew where I belonged.
The front porch was a place to congregate and socialize. I hear them talk about the comings and goings of the day.
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Saloni Sharma visits with two young girls she befriended in Tanzania last year. The one on the left wants to be a lawyer and her friend a singer.
Sharma: Continued from Page 31 had a dream. That is what we can do is give these children the ability to dream,” Saloni said. Through Darasani, the students have been able to partner with a professor in Michigan who takes 25 students who will teach in Tanzania. Darasani will send them items to pack in their luggage when they go.
Probation: Continued from Page 3 tion. Barnes is a sex offender on probation for sexual battery on a minor. Brian Keith Pfannkuche was told to report to the Hall County probation office for violating the terms of his probation; however he did not and a warrant has been filed for his arrest. Pfannkuche is a sex offender on probation for three counts of forgery. Joel Ellis was arrested for violating the terms of his probation. Ellis is on probation for possession of methamphetamines and aggravated assault. Samantha Swaim was arrested for violating the terms of her probation. Swaim is on probation for possession of marijuana and opiates. Angela Frady was arrested for possession of Alprazolam. The next day her boyfriend, James Lewis, who was on probation, turned himself in to the probation office for violating the terms of his probation. He is a registered sex offender. Justyn Sullivan was arrested for possession of marijuana, more than an ounce, and violating the terms of his probation. Sullivan was on probation for burglary and theft by taking. Donald Sullivan, his father, is also on probation for theft by taking, theft by shoplifting and felony obstruction. As of Aug. 1, he has not reported to probation. Daryl Manders was arrested for violating the terms
Sharma said they have made contact with Georgia Tech to get students there involved as well. Saloni says working on a project likes this makes her see how fortunate she has been to have so many advantages growing up in Johns Creek. “They [Tanzanian students] help you realize what you have and see how lucky you are. It makes you feel the need to do more. You see so many kids without those opportunities, it makes you want to do more,” she said. of his probation. Manders is on probation for sale of hydrocodone. Tyler Shambarger was arrested for possession of marijuana less than an ounce and violating the terms of his probation. Shambarger is on probation for possession of opiates. Teresa Martin was arrested for violating the terms of her probation. She is on probation for possession of methamphetamines. William Handley was arrested for violating the terms of his probation. He is on probation for fraud and theft by receiving stolen property. Kerry Bates was arrested for possession of a schedule II narcotic and violating the terms of his probation. Bates is on probation for burglary and theft by receiving stolen property. Douglas Chadwick was arrested for violating the terms of his probation. He is on probation for possession of methamphetamines and two counts of burglary. Michael Summerlin was arrested for possession of marijuana less than an ounce and violating the terms of his probation. He is on probation for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and possession of opiates. Marco Todorovic was arrested at the probation office for violating the terms of his probation to include testing positive on a drug screen. He is on probation for possession of opiates. The arrestees were taken to Forsyth County Detention Center for processing.
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Lenovo donates tablets to Mentor Me students CUMMING, Ga. — Lenovo donated tablets to be used as learning tools to Mentor Me North Georgia, a nonprofit mentoring organization. As part of Lenovo’s Doers for Youth Employee Grant, 10 Mentor Me children received free Yoga tablets July 30 at the Mentor Me office in Cumming. Lenovo employee Amanda Wade and her husband volunteer regularly mentoring Anthony, a young man in the Mentor Me program. “I love seeing my son feel loved and cared for,” said Anthony’s mother. “I am so grateful this program is in our lives and I hope to continue to see a lasting and growing friendship between Anthony and his mentors.”
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Samford University BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kaleigh E. Warwick of Alpharetta recently received the Omicron Delta Kappa Circle Leader of the Year award for exemplary service to the circle and the Samford University community. Warwick is a senior marketing and art major.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has announced that Erik Nadel of Alpharetta, a firstyear student majoring in computer science, has been named a Charles O. Thompson Scholar for the 2013-14 academic year. Named for the first president of WPI, this honor recognizes outstanding performance by first-year students. To be eligible for membership, students must achieve all A’s and B’s (with a minimum of six A’s) in their academic subjects during their first three terms at WPI.
Wofford College SPARTANBURG, S.C. – David Malone Blum was accorded Wofford College’s highest academic honor Thursday, May 1, when he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. The son of Mike Blum and Brenda Malone of Roswell, Blum majored in history and completed the education program.
“We are so grateful for Lenovo’s generous donation of these tablets to the children in our program,” said Karen Carroll, program manager of Mentor Me. “The company’s support has allowed us to provide much needed technology to students who otherwise would not have the means to purchase this type of device.” “Today is a special moment for Lenovo and our employees,” said Karen Ondrick, Lenovo’s chief connector. “We feel privileged to play a small role in supporting the work of Mentor Me, who is coaching and changing the lives of youth in North Georgia.” For more information, visit www.mentorga.org. —Shannon Weaver A perennial member of the Dean’s List, he was also a member of the quiz bowl team and took first place in Wofford’s Two to Tell at Wofford. Blum graduated with a bachelor’s degree and plans to pursue a career in education.
University of Kansas LAWRENCE, Kan. – Alyssa Rutt of Roswell completed her course of study and received a master’s degree in education from the University of Kansas at the school’s spring commencement ceremony.
Georgia Southern STATESBORO, Ga. – John Alexander Stevenson of Suwanee was recently recognized as a member of Sigma Alpha Lambda National Leadership and Honors Organization at Georgia Southern University. The organization is dedicated to promoting and rewarding academic achievement and providing members with opportunities for community service, personal development and professional fulfillment. Stevenson also earned a 4.0 grade average for spring semester. In addition, Austin Holcomb of Alpharetta has been named to the President’s List for both fall 2013 and spring 2014 semesters. The President’s List recognizes full-time students who earn a 4.0 grade point average. Holcomb has completed two years at Georgia Southern, participating in the Regents Engineering Transfer Program, and will be attending Georgia Institute of Technology this fall to complete his degree in mechanical engineering.
COMMUNITY
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DEATH NOTICES Ronald Lee Bennett, 75, of Snellville, passed away July 25, 2014. Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home.
Lawrence Virlen Loudermilk, 60, of Alpharetta, passed away July 23, 2014. Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.
Thomas Wayne Bonner, Sr., 73, of Destin, Fla., passed away July 7, 2014. Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.
James Maloney, 67, of Dahlonega, passed away July 27, 2014. Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home.
Anthony Correoso, 92, of Lilburn, passed away July 13, 2014. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
Donald Webster Martin, 75, of Cumming, passed away July 25, 2014. Arrangements by McDonald and Son Funeral Home.
Eugene Samples, 59, of Cumming, passed away July 26, 2014. Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home.
Ruby G Nelson, 85, of Cumming, passed away July 25 2014. Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.
Shaina Simon, 72, of Cumming, passed away July 24, 2014. Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home.
Rita Phyllis Nolan, 87, of Cuming, passed away 27 July 2014. Arrangements by McDonald and Son Funeral Home.
Diana Emma Tierney, 86, of Alpharetta, passed away July 13, 2014. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
Ann D’Angelo, 91, of Roswell, passed away July 25, 2014. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors.
Michael Duley, 55, of Alpharetta, passed away July 26, 2014. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors.
Steven Lee Hansen, 69, of Marietta, passed away July 18, 2014. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
Dickie Allen Hulsey, 71, of Roswell, passed away July 26, 2014. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors.
Marianna Oleszczuk, 73, of Roswell, passed away July 27, 2014. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors.
Jeanne O’Neill, 66, of Johns Creek, passed away July 11, 2014. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
Debra Peels, 60, of Dawsonville, passed away July 24, 2014. Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home. George L. Perkins, 72, of Centre, Ala., passed away July 19, 2014. Arrangements by SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society.
Helen Rego, 84, of Sandy Springs, passed away July 24, 2014. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors.
Larry William Thompson, 67, of Cumming, passed away July 24, 2014. Arrangements by McDonald and Son Funeral Home. Robert Votta, 68, of Alpharetta, passed away July 27, 2014. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors.
Edith Sosebee Wright, 97, of Forsyth County, passed away July 25, 2014. Arrangements by Ingram Funeral Home.
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