There will be races in two of Johns Creek's three council positions up for election November 6. Five candidates - including all three incumbents - qualified during the week of August 27-31. The qualifying candidates are:

• Post 2:  Dan McCabe (I) and Michael D. Barker
• Post 4:  Ivan Figueroa (I) and Stephen Becker
• Post 6:  Bev Miller (I)

To be eligible to vote in the November election, residents must register by October 9. Registration forms are available at City Hall and also online at Fulton County's website.

Council reviews budget, adoption set for 9/24

During the September 4 work session, Mayor Mike Bodker and City Council members got their first in-depth look at the proposed $44.1 million General Fund budget for Fiscal Year 2007-08, which runs October 1-September 30. Public participation in the budget process is highly encouraged; the budget adoption calendar is as follows:

9/04: 9/10: 9/17: 9/24:

Budget workshop First reading of budget ordinance & first public hearing Council budget review (if necessary) Second reading of budget ordinance, second public hearing, adoption

Citizens who want to learn even more about the City's budget process are encouraged to attend the next Town Hall meeting on September 15. All meetings start at 7pm at City Hall.

With more than 130 applicants vying to become Johns Creek's first chief of police, the City has partnered with the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police to ensure it get the best candidate for the job.

Plans call for the chief to be hired by the end of October with the rest of the command staff in place by year's end. The department will continue to grow in number in a phased fashion from January 2008 on. Patrols are expected to be on the City of Johns Creek streets by the end of the first quarter. Read more.

Mayor Mike Bodker took time during a recent City Council meeting to honor Miss Johns Creek Princess, 4-year-old Abby Freyer.

Abby, the daughter of Jennifer and Dan Freyer, was first runner-up in the Georgia State American Coed pageant in the Princess (age 3-6) division in July. She will represent the City at the National Miss American Coed Pageant at Disney World in Orlando the week of November 19.

Fulton County high schools made impressive gains on the 2007 SAT led by Northview High's total average score of 1702 (32-point increase over 2006). Overall, Fulton's scores top the state average by 117 points and the national average by 78. All three Johns Creek area high schools topped Fulton's average of 1589, up nine points over last year (see tables).

The College Board restructured the SAT in 2005, adding a critical reading component to the verbal and math sections. Each is scored within a range of 200-800 points, combining for a total of 2400 rather than the previous 1600.