THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026 · Issue No. 68 · 8 min read
Seven questions for the House District 47 candidates
Two came from readers, and the answers run Tuesday. Plus when the Freemanville Road bridge should reopen.
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In this issue Your vote. The seven questions we sent both House District 47 candidates, including two from readers and one from each candidate. Answers Tuesday. Your verdict. What Crabapple Fest should add next year, and a new poll on Milton’s deer. Around town. When the Freemanville Road bridge should reopen, food trucks on Oct. 15, who can burn yard debris again and the city’s Veterans Breakfast. And. 17,827 pounds of hazardous waste, nine wins in three days for Milton and Cambridge teams, and the weekend. |
Top of Mind
the one thing to know this morning
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Tuesday · early voting opens Both House District 47 candidates’ answers, side by side. |
Seven questions for the next state representative. At 1 p.m. Wednesday we sent Democrat Lindsay DeFranco and Republican Jack Miller the same seven questions in the same minute. Answers are due Monday at noon, about 200 words apiece. Tuesday’s issue and our House District 47 page will carry every answer exactly as written. We’ll mark any skipped question “Did not respond.”
Eleven of Milton’s 13 precincts vote in House District 47, and Election Day is Nov. 3. The state’s My Voter Page tells you whether yours is one of them.
Readers sent us two of the questions. Each candidate wrote one, and both answer all seven, their own included. We wrote the other three, on issues facing Milton. Here they are, word for word and in the order the candidates got them. The candidates’ own questions appear in alphabetical order.
The seven questions, as sent |
1 · From a reader What, if anything, do you intend to do regarding property taxes for Fulton County homeowners? |
2 · From a reader Milton has a deer problem that I never see mentioned in print or in the city’s minutes. Dogs have died, animals have been mauled and people have been threatened. What would you do about it? |
3 · Written by Lindsay DeFranco Vouchers are a big topic of conversation in Georgia right now. The basic idea is that state education dollars follow a child out of the public-school system and can be used for private education. But public schools do not disappear when a student leaves, and neither do their fixed costs. Fulton County still has to pay for buildings, buses, teachers, special education, and other essential services. At the same time, the quality of our public schools is directly tied to the value of our homes, and for most families, their home is their largest investment. How do you lower property taxes while protecting the funding and quality of our public schools? And if more state education dollars are redirected through vouchers, how do we prevent that from either shifting more of the burden onto local taxpayers, reducing services in our public schools, or weakening one of the biggest drivers of home values in this community? |
4 · Written by Jack Miller Georgia holds a multibillion-dollar budget surplus. How do you plan to handle it: return more of it to taxpayers through rebates and rate cuts, keep it in reserve, or spend it on new state programs? If new programs, which ones? |
5 · From The Roundabout Milton has worked to keep its rural character: horse farms, large lots and open space. Some decisions that shape it are made by the state, from widening state highways to state rules on local zoning. What would you do to help Milton keep its rural character and greenspace? |
6 · From The Roundabout Milton’s police use license plate cameras from Flock Safety, and state law sets the rules for how long that data may be kept and who may use it. Should the legislature change those rules? If so, how? |
7 · From The Roundabout Data centers are driving much of the expected growth in Georgia’s demand for electricity. What, if anything, should the state do about them, including their effects on residents’ power bills and water supplies? |
Know someone who votes in House District 47? Forward this so they have the questions before the answers arrive Tuesday.
You Told Us
Tuesday we asked what Crabapple Fest should add next year. Your top answer: nothing. Of the 25 readers who answered, 9 picked “Keep it as is.” The rest tied, with 4 each.
What Crabapple Fest should add next year | ||||
Keep it as is
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More live music
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More food
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More for kids
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Longer hours
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25 readers, one tap each. It isn’t a scientific poll, just the readers who tapped. |
About 20,000 people came, the city says. No reader photos reached us, but the city’s album has the day in pictures.
Reader poll · One tap Which best sums up your year with the deer? One of the readers’ questions for the candidates is about Milton’s deer.
Tap once and you’ll see how everyone else voted. Results Sunday. Got a deer story? Hit reply. |
The Drive
roads, closures, and what to route around
Freemanville Road, due back this month. The bridge over Cooper Sandy Creek remains on track to reopen by the end of October, the city said in its newsletter Wednesday, “barring any changes to the current schedule.” Drivers have detoured since May 26 while the Georgia Department of Transportation replaces the bridge. Crews are finishing the approach slabs and grooving the deck. Curbs, gutters, guardrails and paving come last. That matches the late-October reopening we reported in July.
Food Trucks in Crabapple
Downtown Crabapple gets a food truck night next Thursday, Oct. 15, from 4 to 8 p.m. The city expects more than a dozen trucks at the first Wanderlust Food Truck Fest. They’ll set up in two spots: the Market District Crabapple parking lot, where there should be live music, and the gravel area behind Crabapple Market, “in the vicinity of cornhole enthusiasts on the Green,” as the city puts it. The lineup isn’t final.
Four more Thursday nights follow, on Oct. 29, Nov. 12, Dec. 3 and Dec. 10, with trucks rotating in and out.
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Outdoor Burning
The burn ban is over, for many yards. Georgia’s seasonal ban on outdoor burning, in place since May 1, ended Oct. 1. Through April 30, Milton residents may burn when conditions allow, but only on property of at least an acre zoned AG-1, the city’s agricultural zoning. Check the Georgia Forestry Commission’s daily fire danger rating first, since burning is prohibited when the local rating reaches 3, 4 or 5. Keep piles small and at least 50 feet from structures, clear the area around them, keep water or an extinguisher nearby and never leave a fire unattended. Properties that don’t meet the zoning and acreage rules can’t hold open burns at any time of year. No one may burn garbage, treated wood, construction debris or anything else that isn’t plant material. Not sure about your property? The city’s burning rules have the details.
Veterans Breakfast, Nov. 7
The city invites veterans and their loved ones to its annual Veterans Breakfast on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 9 a.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, a few days ahead of Veterans Day. It’s free, with a warm meal and remarks from several speakers. The keynote speaker hasn’t been named yet. The city requires an RSVP: email rsvp@miltonga.gov and say who in your group plans to attend. The city’s announcement has the details.
Follow-Ups
The hazardous waste haul. In four issues, we pointed you to the city’s Sept. 26 drop-off at Cambridge High. The city’s newsletter Wednesday had the tally: about 230 residents brought 17,827 pounds of household hazardous waste. That included about 7,000 pounds of oil-based paint and stain, 2,800 pounds of batteries, 2,400 pounds of pesticides, 1,100 pounds of motor oil and 1,000 pounds of aerosol cans. In the same parking lot, the Cambridge High theater ensemble recycled more than 1,500 gallons of paint for its own fundraiser. The city says it looks forward to offering another collection but gave no date.
The Scoreboard
every game, both schools, the night it finishes
Friday night | ||||||
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Cambridge and Milton records are from our results; Marist’s record and Milton’s ranking are from MaxPreps. | ||||||
Five for five Tuesday. Milton softball beat Roswell 6-2. In volleyball, Milton swept Lanier 3-0 and Cambridge beat Centennial 3-1. Milton’s flag football team shut out Riverwood 38-0 and Lanier 40-0. And on Monday, Cambridge softball won 9-0 at Walton.
Wednesday. Milton volleyball swept Riverwood 3-0. In softball, Cambridge beat Pope 10-0 and Milton beat West Forsyth 13-2.
Next. Milton softball plays at Johns Creek at 6:30 p.m. today, its third game in three days. Every schedule and score →
Milton Weekend
the two or three things worth planning around
The forecast. Today, sunny with a high of 87. Through Saturday, highs run from 72 to 87, with lows from 58 to 60. Saturday looks wet. Rain chances reach 35 percent Friday night, 74 percent Saturday and 92 percent Saturday night.
Thursday, October 8
- →6:00 PM · Greenprint Steering Group Meeting · City Hall (free)
Friday, October 9
- →6:00 PM · Live Music at Six Bridges · Six Bridges Crabapple (free)
Saturday, October 10
- →6:00 PM · Live Music at Six Bridges · Six Bridges Crabapple (free)
- →7:30 PM · Mozart in Milton: Music Milton opens its second season · Birmingham United Methodist Church ($40; $10 for students)
Sunday, October 11
- →3:00 PM · Live Music at Six Bridges · Six Bridges Crabapple (free)
See the full Milton calendar → · Got an event? Submit it
The Agenda
public meetings this week and next
- →Thu, Oct 8 · 6:00 PM: Greenprint Steering Group · City Hall
- →Mon, Oct 12 · 6:00 PM: City Council Work Session · City Hall
- →Tue, Oct 13 · 5:00 PM: Milton Sustainability Advisory Committee · City Hall (meeting notice, PDF)
- →Wed, Oct 14 · 6:00 PM: Planning Commission (special meeting) · City Hall
- →Thu, Oct 15 · 6:00 PM: Parks and Recreation Advisory Board · City Hall
