News - According to reports

Fulton plans to go high-tech in voting

Fulton County is expected join the 67 Georgia counties that use a new, high-tech system to count votes instead of its current punch-card voting method.
Counties that use optical scanners include Cherokee, Gwinnett, Cobb and Douglas. Optical scanning has voters color in an oval next to a candidate’s name rather than punching a card.
Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox said in news reports that optical voting is an improvement, but she prefers electronic voting where a card and security code allows voters to cast their selection by touching computer screens. The results instantly are transmitted.
Current Georgia voting methods have two counties using paper ballots; 73 using levers; 17 using a punch card; and 67 using the optical scan. Fulton County is planning on asking for $3.1 million in funding to switch to optical scanning before the July 2002 primary.
Proponents of optical scanning say the system would speed up vote counting. Mini-tabulators would be given to all of Fulton’s 287 precincts so the ballots could be scanned and sent to a central processor by modem. Currently, workers must bring all the ballots to a central counter downtown where they are counted.
Roswell changes effort to dim lights
The city of Roswell recently has withdrawn its plan to legislate the brightness, direction and type of lighting businesses can use.
After hearing from residents, the council decided the current plan would not work and now have authorized the city’s planning department to hire a consultant.
One area of confusion surrounding the original plan concerned safety and security lighting. The plan failed to strictly define security lighting, therefore this type was exempt from the implemented rules.
The plan’s withdrawal was a disappointment, said Jerry Weitz, the city’s planning director. “But it’s certainly understandable,” he continued. “We learned a lot in the process and realized that the ordinance needed quite a bit of work.”
A local astronomer who had trouble seeing stars from his home first proposed the idea of a light ordinance. Businesses would prefer to keep their lighting the way it is to provide safety for their employees and customers at night.
Snow falls in North Georgia
North Georgia saw some white fluff over the weekend, a rare sight before Thanksgiving in the Peach State.
One to 3 inches of snow fell in North Georgia, while metro Atlanta residents fought rain and sleet Saturday and Sunday. The rain stopped late Sunday afternoon, but Hampton’s NASCAR race already had been cancelled.
No sleet was expected Monday, but temperatures dipped into the 30s. A cold snap is expected to last through Thanksgiving.
Engineers hope plan will relieve congestion
A plan unveiled by city engineers last week may help unclog roads in Alpharetta. The plan details improvements to 10 intersections, an extension of Westside Parkway and a command center that will help control traffic through Alpharetta and Roswell.
But the city still needs about $1 million to cover the budget for building roads this year. Councilwoman Debbie Gibson says sharing the cost for the traffic command center with Roswell is a tiny investment if it helps relieve congestion.
The state Department of Transportation has agreed to pay for half the cost of extending the parkway because it will help relieve traffic jams on Ga. 400 and Ga. 9.
Council members heard the proposal at a work session earlier this week, but have not officially voted on it yet.
Funding OK’d for full-time clinic aides
The Fulton County school board last week approved spending $624,500 for full-time clinic aides in elementary schools. A condition in the vote stated schools would have the flexibility to decide how their more than $13,000 would be spent.
The school board previously figured money into its budget for part-time aides, but now the money is available for full-time positions.
South Fulton representatives Linda Bryant and Zenda Bowie are pleased the board is allowing some flexibility in how schools use the funds. They said the schools in their district would rather spend more on academics, while north Fulton representatives Katie Reeves and Ron Jackson said their communities want the full-time aides.
The board also approved security cameras, SAT preparation materials, ESOL and special education materials, traffic and security officers and a secretary to perform criminal background checks. The amount totals about $1.2 million and comes from budget surplus.
Compiled by Debra Warlick. Additional reporting by Lea Keel. Source information from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Alpharetta/Roswell Neighbor.






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