30 years & counting; LLOP honoring three; area schools among Ga.’s best; $5K+ employee theft

*From tiny hamlets to large cities, county fairs have come and gone over the years. But one that has endured is the Cumming Country Fair and Festival. Thursday marks the beginning of the 30th edition. It continues through Oct. 13.

*Work on phases 3 and 4 of the master plan for the Lake Lanier Olympic Park (LLOP) is scheduled to begin this month. And in conjunction with this, the Lake Lanier Olympic Park Foundation has announced that a new pavilion at the park be named in honor of the Gainesville-Hall ’96 Olympic Committee Chairs Steve Gilliam, Mary Hart Wilheit and the late James Mathis, Jr.

*Several in our area are on a newly released list of the best public high schools in Georgia and one is among the top 20 in the country. They are Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology, Lawrenceville (1), Alliance Academy for Innovation, Cumming (3), Lambert High, Suwanee (4), and South Forsyth High (9), Cumming. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology placed 16th in the country. The rankings were compiled by niche.com. Niche – Discover the schools and neighborhoods that are right for you.

*A 61-year-old Gainesville woman has been charged with stealing $5,313 from a local finance company where she worked at the time. Aunya Brady Latham was still in jail Wednesday night. Bond has been set at $9,750.