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District Four News

Ali Norris Interview

District 4 News

  • September 27, 2017 |

I don't know how many of you know about what has been transforming in D4 over the last 4 years but I'll tell you. It all began with the Walmart that was zoned in 2003 that started being built this year and is scheduled to open in November. I was able to work with one of their top guys and get a $25,000 donation to North Forsyth High School to launch their farm to table program. Stacey Jones Cagle has done a phenomenal job and they grow organic lettuce that's certified and it furnishes 3 schools with lettuce each week. Jeff Cheney helped me so much to get this all started and Paige Porter Andrews at Silver City got the first tunnel house that we call a greenhouse. Our North Forsyth Rotary added money for a tunnel house at NFHS that turned into more hydroponics growing for their group. FFA started back and I heard the story of a young man that moved from Piney Grove to NFHS who said that the farm to table program had totally changed his life and he's now the president of FFA. He made the most awesome speech. Who would have thought it?  Our rotary club has a goal of getting greenhouses at all of the north schools in our cluster. Liberty's teacher presented that kids can't get enough of it. They are growing and cooking food in a variety of ways and they are taking so much pride in it and learning so many different subjects from it. A non-responsive child responded to a strawberry. We have either gotten greenhouses to or have funded greenhouses to 6 schools now and we will finish them all that want it at North in the future. The school system has added it as part of their curriculum. Thursday night I zoned my first senior living subdivision, across from Mountain Lake Church, where the amenity is a greenhouse and the front that has a commercial component has it's own farmer's market that will be built in the first phase. See the site plan for this zoning here. The kids from the schools can bring their vegetables to the farmer's market and sell their excess to the community. All of this fits with our new comp plan by preserving our history as we move into the future. Sorry this was long but it's such a wonderful thing to me! I hope some appreciate it as much as I do.



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