🌱 New Building Design Codes + Herschel Walker At The Cigar Shoppe

Hello, everybody. I'm Nicole and I'll be covering for your usual curator, Phil, for the rest of the week. In today's issue, you'll find news about these stories and more:

• New design codes for buildings in Cumming
• Herschel Walker's campaign stop today at The Cigar Shoppe
• A Cumming resident is heading to federal prison for making death threats

But first, today's weather:

Sunny and pleasant. High: 71 Low: 46.

Here are the top five stories today in Cumming:

1. Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker is making another campaign stop in Cumming, and he's bringing along some prominent Republican politicians and candidates. Walker will be at The Cigar Shoppe on Settendown Village Road at 10:00 a.m. today (Oct. 27). He will reportedly be joined by U.S. Congressional Candidate Dr. Rich McCormick, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Later this evening at 7:00 p.m., the Forsyth County Republican Party will host an event at 540 Lake Center Parkway featuring three more candidates who are running for the Georgia Assembly. (NewsBreak Original)
2. If you're planning to open a new business location within Cumming city limits, your building may soon be required to follow a new design code. Based on discussions held during the past few City Council meetings, Planning and Zoning Department Director Scott Morgan introduced a draft ordinance on Oct. 18 to be considered by the Council. The proposed ordinance would encourage design aesthetics such as awnings over windows, no "monotonous building walls," pedestrian plazas, and wider sidewalks for lighting, benches, and streetscapes. Morgan says he hopes to bring the suggestion before the Planning Commission on Nov. 15 for review and then bring it back to the City Council on Dec. 20. (NewsBreak Original)
3. A Cumming resident is headed to federal prison after he was charged with making repeated death threats to an executive at his New Jersey-based ex-employer. Alan Wallace, 59, sent at least 18 emails between Jan. 11 and Mar. 19, 2021, threatening to kill the executive's family "if the company’s stock price didn’t climb above $200." Wallace was employed by the unnamed company at one of its Georgia facilities from 1999 to 2017, when he was terminated from his position. He will be fined $10,000 and spend 14 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, according to reports. (NJ.com)
4. Want to cast your ballot before Nov. 8? There's still time: Advance voting for the 2022 General Election and Special Election will remain available nearly every day through Nov. 4 at four Forsyth County locations, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 30, only the Voter Registrations and Elections office on Sawnee Drive will be open from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. Residents can view the full advance voting and check real-time estimated waits at their nearest location here. (Forsyth County Georgia Government via Facebook)
5. According to the CDC, there is a high number of flu cases emerging among children and the unvaccinated, and local medical providers are seeing this trend play out in real-time. Dr. Hiral Lavania from One Family Pediatrics in Cumming told WSB Atlanta that the majority of patients who come in flu-like symptoms are children who are unvaccinated. While children who have received the flu vaccine typically experience symptoms for about two days, "the ones that haven’t gotten vaccinated ... [may have] a fever for seven to 10 days," said Lavania. (WSB Atlanta)

Today in Cumming:

• Herschel For Senate Bus Tour At The Cigar Shoppe (10:00 AM)
• Trick Or Treat Storytime At Post Road Library (10:00 AM and 11:00 AM)
• Discipleship Learning Community Round Table At First Baptist Church Cumming (11:30 AM)
• Twilight Tales At Cumming Library (6:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Calling all house hunters: There are open houses for two gorgeous 5-bed, 3-bath homes coming up in the area this weekend, including one on Morgans Pass in Cumming on Saturday (Oct. 29, 2:00 p.m.) and one on Compton Way in Suwanee on Sunday (Oct. 30, 1:00 p.m.). Get the details in Patch's latest real estate roundup. (Cumming Patch)
• This Saturday, Oct. 29, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Forsyth County Schools is hosting a free community Diwali Celebration at The FoCAL Center! Doors will open at 12:30 p.m. for the first 1,800 attendees. Come enjoy this cultural celebration with four different types of Indian dance performances. (Forsyth County Schools via Facebook)
• Planning to dress up your four-legged friend for Halloween? Join the Humane Society of Forsyth County at Legends Distillery on Saturday evening for its second annual Dog Costume Contest! The winner will be announced at 8:00 p.m. and will win a HSFC swag bag. (Humane Society of Forsyth County, GA via Facebook)
• Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is taking steps to tackle the ongoing childhood mental health crisis with new local facilities and prevention programs, funded by a $550 million endowment. With a rising number of behavioral and mental health issues among children, these new locations and initiatives have the potential to help even more youth in the greater Atlanta area. (BusinessWire)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Thursday! See you tomorrow morning for another update.

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.