Reminder — RedSpeed School Zone Cameras Are Active The City of Canton Police Department utilizes speed detection devices to enforce the speed limit at Cherokee HS, Teasley MS, and Hasty ES. The enforcement is conducted using RedSpeed automated cameras that were installed in those respective school zones, so please be extra cautious of your speed now that school is back in session.The program was instituted after a nationwide spike in pedestrian fatalities over the past decade in which Georgia became one of the five deadliest states for pedestrians — with the seventh-highest fatality rate. Also, The Canton Police Department conducted speed studies within all its school zones, which produced over 3,000 speeding violations in a single day. Automated Enforcement is endorsed as a safety tool by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, AAA, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and the National Safety Council.
Stay In-the-Know on All Things City of Canton Though the city continues to achieve great things, it is often challenging to communicate every development or opportunity taking place daily. So, here are a few options for engagement and places to follow the facts, figures, and ongoing updates in Canton:• Canton City Council meetings are held on the first and third Thursdays of every month at 6:00pm in the City Hall Auditorium. Meetings are open to the public and are also live-streamed. Agendas for each meeting are published in advance and can be found at Canton.Legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. The link to live stream meetings can also be found at this link. Each meeting includes a 10-minute public input segment for city residents to share any feedback.• Visit CantonGa.gov to sign up to receive the City’s monthly and weekly e-newsletters, plus all updates, straight to your email inbox. Or if you would like to receive text notifications with City updates, be sure to register for the SMS system. • Get social by following the City of Canton and Explore Canton on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. • Attend all the great events and activities going on in Canton. Visit the online calendar and listing of all of the City-sponsored activities at CantonGa.gov/events Ensure that you’re getting the most accurate and up-to-date information about Canton from these City-related resources and not random social media postings, rumors, or hearsay. City staff and Canton’s elected officials are always happy to answer your questions or provide the information you need.
Rotary Club of Canton Begins New Community Service Campaign The Rotary Club of Canton is spreading hope in the community through its new “Heart for Service” campaign. Through this campaign, the club will be completing a hands-on service project once a month as part of one of its weekly lunch meetings. These projects will be in addition to the community service completed outside of weekly meetings by the club.For its first project, the Rotary Club of Canton traveled to the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office headquarters. There, they heard a brief presentation by Sheriff Frank Reynolds while eating lunch. The second half of the hour-long meeting was spent creating care baskets for all the sheriff’s office precincts. Each basket was filled with packaged snacks for deputies to enjoy and was accompanied by handwritten thank you notes from club members. The club also made a small donation of $250 to the Sheriff’s Office Foundation during the meeting.President Francisco Lozano envisioned the campaign as a way to both help the community and engage club members in more service activities.“Community service fills our hearts with joy and spreads hope in the community,” he said. “Our club for many years has spent one meeting each summer packing lunches for the MUST Ministries summer meals program for children. It is one of our most popular meetings and the service project that engages the most club members. Through Heart for Service, we will have the opportunity to similarly help another dozen organizations that serve our community.”The Canton Rotary Club meets at noon on Tuesdays for a luncheon program, and residents interested in joining the club are invited to visit. Meetings are held at the Cherokee Conference Center at The Bluffs or at offsite locations for community service projects. For more information, including a meeting schedule, visit TheRotaryClubOfCantonGa.org.
Cherokee County Earns Four NACIO Awards The National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO), part of the National Association of Counties (NACo), announced the 2023 Awards of Excellence during the NACo annual conference.Cherokee was one of three Georgia counties represented in the awards recognitions. Forsyth and Rockdale counties’ communications teams were also acknowledged for their work. This was the first year Cherokee entered the competition.“It’s an honor to be recognized on a national level for our work here in Cherokee. As a small two-person department, we serve as both an internal and external communications team,” said Communications Director Erika Neldner. “We work to assist county departments, staff, and elected officials with a variety of projects from news releases, coordination with media, graphic design and branding to training, social media, and newsletters. All of this is done with the ultimate goal of keeping residents informed and telling Cherokee County’s story.” A news release issued in November 2022 highlighting a training visit from probation officers from Turks and Caicos earned Best in Category for the Featured Article/Editorial category, which was written by Assistant Communications Director Andrea Barker.The Quick Facts document, a one-sheet informational piece created by Neldner, earned the Superior Designation in the Short One-Page/Trifold category. The document is available for elected officials and staff to use at community speaking engagements to keep residents informed. It features updated statistics like population, median income, public safety and law enforcement accomplishments, a list of the elected Board of Commissioners, and more.A short video geared at promoting public engagement for the Comprehensive Plan earned Cherokee County a Meritorious Designation from NACIO in the short video (under 60 seconds) category. The video featured drone footage from across Cherokee County and incorporated project-specific branding. The 2022 Annual Report earned the Meritorious Designation in the Printed Publications – Annual Report category. The Annual Report is created in only two months and during the holidays to incorporate complete data from the previous year and be ready for distribution at the State of the County Address held in late January each year. The Communications Division works with directors across all county departments, the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, the clerk of courts, the solicitor-general, district attorney, and judicial administration to gather and compose the 40-page book. The Annual Report is designed by local graphic designer Jodi Drinkard.
CCFES Recognizes 11 Firefighters Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services (CCFES) recently recognized 11 firefighters at the Cherokee County Fire Training Complex in Holly Springs. Fire Chief Eddie Robinson swore in EMS Instructor Sandra Johnson as a firefighter with the agency. Instructor Johnson has served in the Training Division as an educator for several years, training members to the level of advanced emergency medical technicians. To better understand and relate to the job that firefighters do, she took it upon herself to complete the rigorous training needed to become a certified firefighter. Ten fire officers were promoted. Lieutenant Tony Simmons was promoted to the rank of captain and Captain Matthew Richter was promoted to battalion chief. Battalion Chiefs Chad Arp, Cheri Collett, Marc Liscio, Jamie McCord, Darrell Mitchell, and Nate Sullivan were promoted to the rank of division chief. Chief Arp serves as the county’s fire marshal, Chief Collett as the Business Intelligence chief, Chief Liscio as the Logistics chief, Chief McCord as the B-shift commander, Chief Mitchell as the Special Operations chief, and Chief Sullivan as the EMS chief. Division Chief Dean Floyd, who serves as the Community Risk Reduction chief and Mark Orr who serves as the chief of Personnel Services were promoted to the rank of deputy chief. The newly promoted members have already begun serving in their new roles.
BOC Lowers Millage Rate The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners (BOC) unanimously lowered the overall BOC-controlled millage rate from the 2022 rates.At its August 1 meeting, the Board approved (5-0) setting the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) rate at 4.954 mills, the Fire District rate at 2.764 mills, and the Parks Bond at 0.319 mills for a total BOC-controlled rate of 8.037 mills. District 1 Commissioner Steve West made the motion, which was seconded by District 3 Commissioner Benny Carter.The approval also included ratifying the rates set by the Board of Education, which were 16.45 mills for the School Board M&O rate and 1.5 mills for the School Board Bond rate.More than 60% of residential property owners in Cherokee County will see lower tax bills this fall due to lower BOC-controlled rates and a one-time state rebate. In addition to the $5,000 standard homestead exemptions, homestead property values are frozen for the county (M&O) tax when homestead applications are filed. The State of Georgia is using excess funds in state coffers to provide property tax relief to homestead qualifying property owners, equaling a reduction of $18,000 on the property’s assessed value.
Cherokee County School District Announcements CCSD Wins National Awards for Communications The National School Public Relations Association annually honors the best publications and electronic media produced by school districts nationwide as part of their communications efforts. The district earned a Merit Award for Focus on the Future, its first course catalog solely focused on high school Career Pathways, which was distributed to all eighth-grade students to use with their parents, as they review elective options for high school. The district also earned Honorable Mention awards for Class Act, its annual magazine published at the start of the school year, and Excellence in Writing for its annual Teacher of the Year finalist announcement. The Office of Communications is made up of Chief Communications Officer Barbara Jacoby, Director Carrie McGowan, Coordinator Penny Dempsey, and Administrative Assistant Anne Reed. School Board Approves Budget With Teacher Raises, No Millage Increase The Cherokee County School Board recently approved a budget for this school year that improves teacher and support staff compensation and keeps class sizes low without a millage rate increase. The general fund budget for day-to-day operating costs was approved at $538 million, which includes $20 million to increase salaries for teachers and support staff and fund a recruitment and retention bonus. The total budget, which also includes construction projects such as the new replacement Cherokee HS and Free Home ES, debt service, and a strong emergency reserve, was approved at $832.8 million. The full budget is posted online at CherokeeK12.net/open-ccsd, as is CCSD’s Financial Facts report, which explains the budget through short articles and infographics. The millage rate was approved to remain at 17.95 mills, which is the same as last year when the rate decreased significantly by 1.5 mills. Some property owners will see increased tax bills due to higher property assessments caused by increasing home and land prices. The school board does not determine property value. Cherokee HS Student Ranked Nationally for French Proficiency Senior Eylianis Gomez-Culbert earned the gold medal for French 2 and is ranked sixth in Georgia and seventh in the nation after earning an impressive score on her national world language exam. Her teacher is Dr. Claire L. Bell. Sixes ES Wins Prestigious School Bell Award The Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals presents the School Bell Award to no more than 10 schools in Georgia each year in recognition of outstanding curriculum and organizational leadership initiatives. Sixes ES, led by Principal Dr. Ashley Kennerly, earned the award for its Teacher Toolbox professional development program, which is for all the school’s teachers and is designed to “add additional instructional tools to their toolbox so that as they recognize needs among students in their class, they have a diverse repertoire and materials necessary to address individualized learning needs,” Dr. Kennerly said. Indian Knoll ES Teacher Receives International Technology Education Award Technology lab teacher Kristen Brooks was recognized by the International Society for Technology in Education as an ISTE 20 to Watch winner. The award recognizes 20 rising leaders in technology education worldwide. Honorees are selected based on their successful use of technology to improve education, and their dedication to improving the teaching profession through technology. Two Graduates Earn National Merit College Awarded Scholarships Cherokee HS’s Griffen Bon and Sequoyah HS’s Paige Falcomata are among the top 3,000 Class of 2023 graduates nationwide to win National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. The awards provide up to $2,000 annually for as long as four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. Both Bon and Falcomata earned National Merit University of Alabama Scholarships. Bon plans to study computer science, and Falcomata plans to study accounting and statistics. National Merit Scholars are selected based on their high school accomplishments and potential for college success. Etowah HS Students Place at International Career Competition Seniors Samantha Durst, Temilola Oloruntoba, Katie Shay, and Hannah Stack earned Excellence Awards and seventh place overall in the public service announcement contest at the recent HOSA Future Health Professionals International Leadership Conference held in Dallas, Texas. It’s the first time the school’s chapter has earned a top 10 international ranking. The students, who are members of Etowah’s HOSA chapter, created a PSA focused on mental health awareness for the competition. The video earned first place in the state HOSA competition, which qualified the team to compete at internationals. The school’s HOSA advisors are Career Pathway healthcare science teachers Megan King and Amber Thayer. Scholarship Awarded to i-Grad Virtual Academy Graduate ABM Industry Groups, LLC, which provides custodial services for CCSD schools, each year awards a $1,000 scholarship to one graduating senior from each of CCSD’s traditional high schools. This year, the company announced it would expand its donation to include a winner from i-Grad, CCSD’s online high school. The inaugural winner is Class of 2023 i-Grad Virtual Academy graduate Kaliyah Thompson, who will be attending Georgia State University to study nursing. ABM scholarship winners are selected by a committee of retired CCSD educators and ABM representatives based on a student’s involvement in school and community activities and service, personal essays, and references. Thompson is a member of the Kennesaw State University-sponsored Black Student Union organization, volunteers with the Just Coding Consultants computer coding group, and works for her family’s catering business and at a local Torrid store.
Cherokee Recreation and Parks Hosts Countywide Recreation Summit Cherokee County Recreation and Parks hosted its first countywide Recreation Summit since the 2008 parks bond discussion. The summit brought together municipalities and community organizations to discuss the future of recreation and parks across the county. “The goal of this summit is for everyone to come together, collaborate, educate, and have fun while discussing current and future park projects,” said Cherokee County Recreation and Parks Director Jay Worley. Cherokee County Community Services Agency Director Bryan Reynolds provided updates on the county’s capital park projects. “Since the parks bond program ended in 2018, the county has started using funding from the Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) program and Impacts Fees to pay for parks projects,” said Reynolds. The county’s current capital park projects include park design and development plans for the Long Swamp Recreation Area in Ball Ground and the phase one design and development plans for both the Yellow Creek Road Conservation Area and trails located on Yellow Creek Road and for the Southwest Cherokee Community Park in Acworth. Also included is a master plan development for the future Hickory Flat Area Park located on East Cherokee Drive in Canton. Additionally, attendees heard park project updates from representatives with the cities of Ball Ground, Canton, Holly Springs, and Woodstock. Those updates included numerous trail extension plans, improvements to playground equipment, and the future construction of pickleball courts. An update was also given on the SPLOST 2024 program, which will include $36.5 million for recreation and parks projects. Funding from the SPLOST 2024 program, with support from recreation impact fees, will fund the future conversion of natural grass fields to artificial turf for several county parks, the construction of a new baseball/softball complex at Cherokee Veterans Park, construction of the E.W. & Edith Cochran Park in the Free Home community, the future construction of a recreation/senior center at the SW Cherokee Park, and several other minor park improvements around the county. Reynolds closed the summit by announcing that the county is working with cities to develop a countywide trails plan that will include establishing future goals, trails that connect to additional trails, and establishing Memorandums of Understanding between cities and the county.
National Award Given for Cherokee Youth Basketball Program At an awards banquet held in Libertyville, Illinois, the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials (NACPRO) presented officials from Cherokee Recreation and Parks with the 2023 NACPRO Award in the Park and Recreation Program – Class II category. The awards banquet is an annual event that recognizes and honors excellence in parks and recreation at the county, regional, and special districts levels throughout the nation. “This award recognizes a NACPRO member agency that has provided an exceptional program, activity, or event, which serves to inspire other agencies,” said Cherokee Recreation and Parks Director Jay Worley. “The Class II Award is a category based on a population size of 150,001 to 275,000. There are four population categories in all, and Cherokee Youth Basketball has been recognized as the best program in the country for our population category.” Cherokee Youth Basketball is a local recreational basketball league that is open to all eligible Cherokee County youth from kindergarten through 12th grade. Through partnerships with the Cherokee County School District, players in kindergarten through fifth grade play on teams that represent their current elementary school, while middle and high school players represent one of the county’s six local high schools in which the player is districted or is currently attending. Teams are provided a practice space and time at their local school for practices and games. Each player is given a complete uniform along with an eight-game regular season schedule beginning the first weekend in December. “In only its 11th season of operation, Cherokee Youth Basketball has grown to 556 teams with over 4,000 kids playing basketball in Cherokee County,” said Cherokee Recreation and Parks Athletic Director Shawn Schumacher. “The program provides a safe and competitive learning environment for recreational players of all abilities as well as helping them to develop character, sportsmanship, and teamwork.” Additional information and program details for Cherokee Youth Basketball can be found at PlayCherokee.org.
Cherokee’s DanceSport Team Performs at Special Olympics Summer Games In less than a year since Special Olympics DanceSport was declared an official sport in Georgia, the first Georgia Special Olympics DanceSport team from Cherokee County, the Warrior Cats, performed at the Opening Ceremonies at this year’s Special Olympics Georgia Summer Games. The Cherokee County Special Olympics Warrior Cats DanceSport athletes are Michelle Aikala, Devon Bledsoe, Cora Browning (captain), Lindsay Deane, Ryan Ellis, Nicole Fox, Caleb Guy, Shelby Hart, Meghan Kern, Kristin King, Jason Page, Jeremy Page, Jenna Pierce, Erica Revalski, Reed Rogers, Justin Swantek, and Leah Weatherby. The Warrior Cats unified partners (individuals without intellectual disabilities) who train and compete as teammates alongside Special Olympics athletes include Gigi, Stella, and Sofia Alfieri, and Nina Grace Barbaree. The coaches for the Warrior Cats are Shelly Boss-Barbaree, Mollie Guy, Katie Lockett, Head Coach Laura Mikszan, Lee Ann Revalski, Jarron Scurry, and Susan Weatherby.