Forsyth prepares against measles High vaccination rate helps ►►page 6
NFHS names new principal Transfers from SFHS ►►page 9
Pinecrest wins mock trial Places first in region ►►page 23
Pets of the week
Find a furry friend to take home ►►Page 13
February 18, 2015 | forsythherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 18, No. 8
Bottoms up! Cherry Street opens tap room By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com
HANS APPEN
Cherry Street Brewing Cooperative’s Nick Tanner cuts the ribbon, officially opening its taproom Feb. 7.
CUMMING, Ga. — Beer connoisseurs in and around Forsyth have a new place to sample local brews and great company. Cherry Street Brewing Cooperative, 5810 Bond St., opened the latest addition to the fast growing brew pub, its taproom Feb. 7. As a brew pub, Cherry Street is able to sell its beer at odd hours because of its restaurant counterpart next door, Rick Tanner’s Grille and Bar, said Nick Tanner, founder and brew master at Cherry Street. “We have to maintain 50 percent food versus alcohol sales,” Tanner said. “But the restaurant has so much food sales that we can gain more beer sales from the tap room, and it is not a problem legally.” With the rise of sales is
the rise of demand for freshly brewed beer, and the need for the new tap room. “The expansion of the brewery will allow us to have increased production of beer, increase barrel aging of beers and it will also allow us to have bar space,” Tanner said. The new bar space will give customers something different than they might encounter at Rick Tanner’s, Tanner said, but it allows Cherry Street to hold events such as private parties. “The tap room will be 21 years old and up, so it offers something different because Rick Tanner’s is such a familyoriented restaurant,” Tanner said. “This now allows beer drinkers to come out and not be in a family setting.” If visitors want a more family-focused location, Rick Tanner’s can give them that, but Tanner said Cherry Street will bring people together. “Craft beer is such a community and social thing so it
See TAPROOM, Page 30
Ga. Attorney General passes impeachment case back to city Says, “it’s inappropriate for his office to weigh in on the local matter” By KATHLEEN STURGEON kathleen@appenmediagroup.com CUMMING, Ga. — After an investigatory panel and the City Council punted the decision to impeach Councilman Rupert Sexton to the Georgia attorney general’s office, Attorney General Sam Olens said he wouldn’t give any answers, saying it’s inappropriate for his office to weigh in on the local matter. When asked about the next step,
the City said the attorneys were still evaluating the situation. The potential impeachment arose after Sexton was accused of releasing personal financial and health insurance information of Cumming city Olens employees on Facebook, which showed Mayor H. Ford Gravitt’s
girlfriend, Angela Mullinax, receiving city health insurance. Mullinax is not a full-time employee of the city of Cumming. Sexton has denied this. The investigatory panel interviewed members of the council and city staff to determine whether Sexton should be impeached, but when it came time to make a decision, they instead asked the state attorney general to step in. City Attorney Dana Miles said the
investigatory panel requested that the City Council ask for an opinion from the AG or a declaratory judgment action in Supreme Court on two issues. The first was whether Section 51 of the city charter dealing with the city’s impeachment process is fair, providing appropriate due process for Sexton. The second was whether the release of the employees’ information violated state and federal privacy laws in OCGA Section 50-18-72(A), Subsection 20 through 21 or the Health Insurance
See IMPEACHMENT, Page 4
Pre-Screened Local Tree services. We do all the homework, so you don’t have to. You’re never more than 2 clicks away on your smart phone, tablet or desktop. Every time you use 770Tree.com to request an estimate, Appen-Rated makes a donation to North Fulton Community Charities or The Drake House. Do good & get great tree work too!