Forsyth Herald, October 07, 2015

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Health & Wellness Sponsored section ►►PAGE 26

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Local sale raises money for college ►►PAGE 11

Kickoff countdown

Library gets new director

Preview, recaps and more ►►PAGE 40

Anna Lyle brings 22 years experience ►►PAGE 10

October 7, 2015 | forsythherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 18, No. 40

KATHLEEN STURGEON/STAFF

New Forsyth County jail opens By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com CUMMING, Ga. — The long-awaited new Forsyth County Jail is now open for business. Operations officially began Sept. 11 and the address will remain as 202 Veterans Memorial Blvd. Access to public records will be provided at the new jail, where hours of operation will remain the same: 8:30 a.m. to5:30 p.m.

All inmates who were housed in the old detention center were transferred to the new jail without incident, according to Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Epifanio Rodriguez. The opening of the new jail coincides with the closing of the old detention center, which will be demolished to make way for parking. In November 2011, voters approved the $100 million SPLOST VII that included funding the jail expansion, new

county courthouse and nearby parking facility. Construction began July 2013. The new courthouse opened March 16. The old detention center opened in 1976 with a capacity of 72 inmates. It eventually expanded to 227 bunks but still did not meet the county’s needs. The new jail will have a capacity of 608 inmates, and there are about 270 there now.

Sheriff Duane K. Piper has said the larger size will serve the community for years to come and make it more secure and safer for both the inmates and deputies. In September, the Board of Commissioners approved an arrangement allowing those arrested by the Cumming Police Department to also be housed in the jail. The BOC also approved the acceptance of an annual minimum $25,000 to house the city’s detainees.

Commissioners discuss, delay massage/spa ordinance By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — After talking with both sides of the proposed massage/spa ordinance that would put limitations on those businesses, the

Forsyth County Board of Commissioners voted to postpone a final decision on the ordinance until Oct. 15. County Attorney Ken Jarrard said there will be a meeting between the BOC and stakeholders Oct. 5 regarding

what the final version of the ordinance will be. However, that meeting occurred after the Forsyth Herald went to print. One of the main concerns about the ordinance, Jarrard said, was that it fell into the adult-entertainment ordinance.

“In Forsyth County we have a unified code, all governments in Georgia do,” Jarrard said. “We adopt by way of ordinance but our code is a comprehensive county code. All of those ordinances get blended together in comprehensive

county code.” He said he understands the concerns he’s heard regarding the adult-entertainment section, and that Sheriff Duane Piper has heard and under-

See ORDINANCE, Page 45


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