Education Focus Sponsored section ►►PAGE 22
Council qualifiers
Game of the week
Candidate profiles for Post 4, 5 ►►PAGES 10 – 11
Cathy get your gun
War Eagles visit the Wolverines ►►PAGE 42
Forsyth woman national shooting champion ►►PAGE 6
October 14, 2015 | forsythherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 18, No. 41
Community airs Greenway route redesign issues By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com
KATHLEEN STURGEON/STAFF
Purple Purpose raises awareness From left, Shandra Dawkins, Elena SanchezCurtis, Katie Walls, Natasha Watson and Aurea McGarry at the Purple Purpose luncheon,
with the purpose to raise awareness of and combat domestic violence. Read more, Page 46.
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A long line formed Oct. 1 to speak against the proposed Big Creek Greenway reroute at the Board of Commissioners meeting. Deputy County Manager Tim Merritt presented possible rerouting options for a segment of the Greenway currently under construction. This segment is part of Phase 5 and extends from a few miles north of Chamblee Gap Road and ends at Canton Highway. There is an existing lower section that includes 7.8 miles of existing greenway, with 8.8 miles under construction and proposed. “It’s a popular Greenway trail with many users and many people love it,” Merritt
said. “It has been discussed with a possibility of looking at a reroute, maybe instead of using the road right-of-way, maybe we could use a sewer right-of-way and it might be a more natural and pleasing Greenway trail.” A route for this segment was already approved in 2009, but Merritt said there is an alternative route proposed. The current plan cuts through Mountain Valley Estates neighborhood, which Merritt said comes fairly close to houses. It runs along the waterline in the subdivision and ends along Canton Highway. The alternative route would come along the back of the Mountain Valley Estates subdivision and then continue be-
See GREENWAY, Page 4
Early voting begins for Cumming Council By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com
Early/advance voting:
CUMMING, Ga. — Early voting has begun for the Cumming City Council Posts and goes from Oct. 12 until Oct. 30. There will be three council positions on the Nov. 3 ballot for Posts 3, 4 and 5, with a total of eight candidates. Incumbent Lewis Ledbetter is unopposed for Post 3, a position he has held since 1971. Post 4 is currently held by Councilman Ralph Perry, who is retiring at the end of December after 36 years in office. There are five candidates for that position, including Christopher Light, Guy McBrayer, Dana Sexton, Marcus “Jack” Shoemake and Avery Stone. Light is an attorney with Lipscomb,
2011-15
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Week 1: Oct. 12 – Oct. 16: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Week 2: Oct. 19 – Oct. 23: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Week 3: Oct. 26 – Oct. 30: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. One location: Cumming City Hall, 100 Main Street, Cumming, 30040 Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3 Cumming City Hall will be open for voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Johnson, Sleister, Dailey & Smith in Cumming and also is the son of Darla Light, chairperson for the Forsyth County Board of Education. McBrayer
worked in auto sales. Sexton is the wife of former councilman Rupert Sexton. Shoemake is a former county commissioner. Stone is a small-business owner. Two candidates are competing for Post 5, Linda Ledbetter and Julie Tressler. This position will open after Councilman John D. Pugh, who has held it for 23 years, retires in late December. Linda Ledbetter and Tressler both ran in June for the Post 1 seat left open after former Councilman Rupert Sexton retired. They lost to Chuck Welch, who will hold the seat until the term expires Dec. 31, 2017. Linda Ledbetter, first cousin of Lewis Ledbetter, is a former county commissioner and retired educator.
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Final list of those who qualified: Post 3: Lewis Ledbetter Post 4: C hristopher Light Guy McBrayer Dana Sexton Marcus “Jack” Shoemake Avery Stone Post 5: Linda Ledbetter Julie Tressler Tressler ran for the District 5 commissioner spot in 2008 when Linda Ledbetter didn’t seek a second term. However, Tressler lost by 30 votes to Jim Boff in runoff. There will not be a runoff as the candidate with the most votes will win.
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