The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • A4

Filename: A4-MAIN-AJCD0821-3THRE created: Aug 20 2006 Username: SPEED10 AJCD0821-3DOT Monday, Aug 21, 2006 MAIN 4 A 3DOT 4 A Cyan Magenta Yellow Black A4 Monday, Aug. 21, 2006 3 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ajc.com 4 A Cyan Magenta Yellow Black 3DOT Filename: A4-MAIN-AJCD0821-3THRE created: Aug 20 2006 Username: SPEED10 growth, with that comes the Cavender says. that comes the loss of a small-town Planners predict the town will double its population from about 800 to 1,600 in four years. Townhomes and mixed-use projects are coming to a place that has no movie house and that has never had a chain restaurant or a big box retail store. Ground is the next place where Atlanta is says developer Steve McKenzie, who is building 165 town homes and single family homes in 35 acres that were incorporated into Ball Ground.

The city, 50 miles north of downtown Atlanta off I-575, is following on the heels of booming cities to the south: Canton, Holly Springs and Woodstock. The catalyst for growth is a $3 million sewer system completed in March 2005. Sewer systems allow for higher density housing. Because of the space that septic tanks require, need at least half an acre of land to handle the waste water of one says Mayor Rick Roberts. Restaurants, which must allow 50 gallons of water per seat, fully operate when no sewer system, unless they have ample property for septic leach Developers are adding lines and lift stations to the sewers as homes go up.

Four large housing developments and two smaller ones are changing the face of Ball Ground. The town has almost doubled in land area by annexing the land where the developments are being built. Dirt is being moved for 600 new homes, says City Manager Eric Wilmarth. And a new mixed- use project featuring three- story townhomes, space and single-family residences was recently approved by the executive committee and will add 200 more homes. never had 500 homes in Ball Ground, probably in our says Roberts, who grew up in the city.

not very growth for Woodstock, but for Ball Ground it Ball Ground, named after the site where an Indian game similar to lacrosse was played in the 18th century, was incorporated in 1883. For the half of the 20th century, it was larger than Woodstock. Railroads passed through the city, connecting it to the marble quarries in Tate, just north in Pickens County. Ball Ground had a thriving a marble industry that declined in the 1950s and 1960s. the 1920s, Ball Ground was booming, when marble was at its said Judson Roberts, a volunteer with the Cherokee County Historical Society.

Growing up in Ball Ground in the mid-1900s, reminded me of Kill a Roberts says. Stores, he said, were close to homes, and kids would walk to school. Betty Jo Harris remembers when Ball Ground had a thriving town center, with several grocery stores, a pharmacy, a dry goods store and a general store that sold groceries as well as clothes and shoes. Residents kept time with the sound of whistles from the marble mills. Today, there is no industry, and the small downtown district features a pharmacy and several storefronts, many of them empty or closed.

we have less than ever says Louvenia Barrett, who was mayor in the 1970s. even have to get a spool of Still, the prospect of big box retail stores coming to town frightens some residents. probably something not looking forward to. I wish we could go back to the old mom and pop Cavender says. can see the same thing happening to Ball Ground happened to other he adds, referring to Canton, Jasper and Ellijay.

City and developers herald the appeal of Ball Ground. about 20 minutes to Alpharetta and seven minutes to Riverstone Parkway. McKenzie believes his new homes, which start in the be a hard sell, especially among home owners, empty-nesters and buyers looking to move up. His subdivision will be next to a commercial site. He envisions residents using golf carts to go shopping.

think going to come from Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, says McKenzie. going to come from all City say Ball Ground can keep its small-town appeal, even with growth. want a Target or a Home Depot or a big box because 10 minutes says Roberts, the mayor. is going to be, maybe, the town you grew up Even with all the development planned, will still be a very small says Wilmarth, the city manager, who spends part of his day inspecting new homes and roads. The city got its very ethnic restaurant, a Chinese eatery, a few months ago, and a House will be coming to town soon.

need a Mexican Wilmarth said. Some longtime residents would like to see jobs being created in Ball Ground, or affordable senior housing, instead of new single-family homes. Nora Nix, who has lived in Ball Ground for 50 years, wonders if the town is moving in the right direction. more Nix says. are no jobs here.

just wondering what going to come Ball Ground: Small-town atmosphere likely to evaporate Continued from A 1 FRANK NIEMEIR Staff Developer Steve McKenzie (left), with developer Jeff Kates says, Ground is the next place where Atlanta is Wilmarth Cheroke County 40 0 A tlanta Atlanta Area detail 57 5 i 57 5 985 85 75 Canton Ball Ground CHEROKEE PICKENS Canton Giving: Rules for donations revamped Goodwill receives more than 1 billion pounds of clothing each year, and about 5 percent must be discarded. 50 million pounds of unusable clothes. The Internal Revenue Service may deny deductions for donations of clothing or household items furniture, appliances, linens, electronics and similar items that in condition. That begs a question: is the of and asked Maj. Todd Hawks, a national spokesman for The Salvation Army.

not yet clear how it will work. The new rules, which became law last week as part of a massive pension bill signed by President Bush, ask the Treasury Department and IRS to those terms. Hawks said it would be helpful if the IRS issued a standardized evaluation guide, to let people know the acceptable range of value for commonly donated goods. money we spend having to process and discard what we use is money that be spent on helping those less he said. John Moeller, executive director of Marietta-based MUST Ministries, said he was concerned the change will create a burden for agencies and donors.

Many organizations that, like MUST, assist homeless and low-income people rely on a volunteer staff and have the manpower to determine the quality or working condition of donated items. Volunteers might resent having to act as IRS enforcers, Moeller said. And donors could get frustrated by the bottlenecks that could result, particularly at the end of the year when donations are highest. it will not serve us Moeller said. are other options for donors.

They can do other things with these Any household item valued at more than $500 must be appraised before the taxpayer can take a deduction. Another new rule requires that taxpayers who deduct cash donations have a receipt or bank record, such as a canceled check, to prove the gift. Instead of placing a few dollars in the collection plate, donors might want to write a check. Charities are lauding a temporary break that lets taxpayers 70 or older contribute up to $100,000 directly from an IRA to charity without paying tax on the money. United Way of America estimated the break could over its two-year lifespan generate $400 million in new giving to charities.

Staff writer S.A. Reid contributed to this article. Continued from A 1 cancer survivors are spread across the globe. In the sport, women exercise, support and peace. been diagnosed with something, you think about your own said Linda Evans of Smyrna, a six-year breast cancer survivor and a team member since its formation in 2003.

when out there physically exerting yourself, you forget about those The sport of dragon boat racing has gained in recent popularity among schools and businesses as a unity-building exercise. The 11th annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival at Lake Lanier on Sept. 9 will include about 40 teams from around metro Atlanta. Sunday, about 25 team members and a couple of newcomers gathered in the early afternoon at the Lanier Canoe Kayak Club in Gainesville for their weekly practice. Most of the women are in their 40s and 50s.

Some have beaten back breast cancer more than once. just such an honor and inspiration to be with these said Menshon, who has been a cancer survivor for 10 years. Dragon boat racing as an outlet for breast cancer survivors began in 1996, when a Vancouver doctor set out to dispel the notion that survivors should not participate in exercise, particularly for the upper body. A 2005 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that breast cancer patients who do three to hours of moderate exercise per week are about 50 percent less likely to die from the disease than sedentary women. what about thriving, not just said Sharon Beckman of Sugar Hill, the steerswoman.

Dragon boats 20 rowers, a steerswoman and a tempo- setting drummer in the front. The boats are about 48 feet in length and 4 feet across. In races, they are decorated with dragon heads that, according to Chinese legend, ward off evil spirits. Paddlers sit two abreast, a feature of the sport that has spawned clever names for teams of breast cancer survivors. Defeating breast cancer seems to afford women the grace and humor to give their teams names such as and in a Thunder interrupted practice on the lake, so the team spent some of its practice on land, rehearsing the tempo of its 5-10-5 start to its races hard but short strokes, followed by 10 fast strokes and then hard, deep pulls on the paddle.

The weekly practices have become treasured hours for many team members. Some women have come even as their chemotherapy treatments ravaged their strength. The waters are usually calm and often the only sounds are the drummer and the steers- person beating or calling out cadence and encouragement. The boat glides fastest when the team works as one, 20 oars rising and slicing back into the water in synchronicity. hear it every Sunday from somebody: is the most peaceful feeling in the said Evans.

While the practices are combined with good humor and laughter, team members are, to varying degrees, serious about improving and winning. Some admit to giving newcomers the once-over, trying to out how much they can help the boat. want to win said Menshon. Over practices and trips for training and competition, friendships have formed. They have raised money for cancer research, both through the team and through other activities, such as the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and Relay for Life.

They even produced a fundraising calendar featuring team members in the buff, posing with strategically placed paddles, dragon heads and drums. At one end, team members can encourage each other when they keep up with the pace by saying, as team member Robby Deckert said, it in perspective. Who would have thought be on a dragon boat But on the other hand, a T- shirt reading just shut- up and look so out of the place, either. feel Menshon said. feel all in the same boat.

all been in the same boat. But this time, we have a Boats: Cancer survivors to win Continued from A 1 DRAGON BOAT RACING A dragon boat is a long boat, similar to a punt or gondola, that seats 20 (in the United States; in Asia some seat 50 or more) paddlers who sit in pairs in 10 rows. There is a stylized Chinese dragon head on the front and a dragon tail on the back. The boat is controlled by a person who stands in the back who uses a steering oar (like a rudder) or, in some styles of boat, a paddle. There is a drum on the front and a raised seat for the drummer.

usadragonboating.com Dragon Boat Atlanta members Becky Humphrey (left), Janice Baker (behind Humphrey) and Linda Lewis laugh before practice. After that, serious business. JASON GETZ Staff Talking through cancer for everybody as caller, Kathy Cunningham of Cumming, shows without saying a word. Dragon Boat Atlanta acting caller Kathy Cunningham (facing rowers) and steerswoman Sharon Beckman (right) work to get the team ready to race in a competition on Sept. 9..