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January 7, 2015 | miltonherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 10, No. 2
Mayors look ahead to 2015 NORTH FULTON, Ga. – With 2014 behind us, 2015 is expected to be a bigger, better year for the cities of North Fulton. New construction, new government buildings and new elections are just some of the expected improvements coming down the pipeline. The mayors of our cities have outlined how they see the coming year in their communities. To see what is coming up, turn to page 8.
The Cambridge Marching Band performs in the London New Year’s Day Parade, Jan. 1, 2015 in London, England. They joined dozens of schools from around the country and the world in the parade.
Cambridge marches in London Part of 2015 New Year’s Day parade By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenmediagroup.com MILTON, Ga. — The students of the Cambridge marching band packed their bags along with their instruments and took a jaunt to England as they marched in the 29th annual London New Year’s Day Parade Jan. 1. More than half a million spectators lined the 2.2-miles of streets in downtown London to see the 8,500 performers from 20 countries around the world. Cheerleaders, floats, antique cars and, of
course, marching bands progressed through the historic streets of London. Band members have spent the past two years fundraising their trip. In September 2013, the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Catherine Longworth, visited Cambridge High to give them the news they were selected to take part in the parade. “I travel the world listening to young musicians playing,” said Robert Bone, executive director of the parade. “I am always impressed with North American high school musicians.” FACEBOOK He said England does not Families of the band memhave a tradition of marchbers joined the crowds on
the parade route to cheer on See BAND, Page 11 Cambridge.
HIGHER SCORES MEAN MORE COLLEGE OPTIONS.
Cities examine local purchasing options Alpharetta enacts new policy By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenmediagroup.com NORTH FULTON, Ga. – While many business-oriented groups have programs that encourage customers to shop locally, it turns out that in city governments such a policy is rare. Alpharetta Finance Director Tom Harris said such programs are not common in governments. In the retail world, especially during the recent recession, small businesses grouped together with loyalty programs encouraging customers to shop locally instead of online or at the larger companies. However for governments preoccupied by lowest-bidders and responsible spending,
buying locally can make little sense if the price is much cheaper elsewhere. State contracts – statewide by definition – are often negotiated with a vendor to be the cheapest in the state. Purchases such as police cruisers are often made on state contracts. In Alpharetta, the city did not have such a program until recently. Harris said an Alpharetta vendor could be considered only if the final price was within 3 percent of the lowest bidder. “We added language to our procurement policy that would recognize our local businesses,” Harris said. Similarly, Roswell’s process requires a local company to have a physical presence in the city and they must have a price tag of within 2 percent of the lowest bidder. It can only be
See POLICY, Page 11
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