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DEDICATED TO THE PROGRESS
OF CUMMING AND FORSYTH COUNTY
CUMMING, GEORGIA
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CUMMING’S CROWDED CITY HALL COMPLEX
To Be Replaced With New Municipal Building Near the Square
G.H. Ledbetter Jr.
Is Dead at Age 47
G. H. “Junior” Ledbetter Jr.,
President of the Sawnee
Electric Membership Cor
poration and a lifelong resident
of the Forsyth County area, died
Sunday after an extended
illness.
He was buried Monday at the
New Harmony Baptist Church
Cemetery. Funeral services
were conducted by Revs. John
Ozley and J. W. Watson.
Ledbetter, 47, lived all his life
around Ducktown in the
western part of Forsyth County.
Following Navy duty in World
War If he entered business in
his community operating
Ledbetter’s Grocery in
Ducktown and later operating a
poultry and feed business. He
was a member of the VFW.
For the past seven years he
was a poultry advisor for
Pillsbury Farms. At the time of
Commission Postpones
County Debt Payment
Ihe Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners decided that
further legal study is needed
before they can begin paying off
a $400,000 debt the county
presumably owes the Bank of
Cumming.
In other action at the regular
Commission meeting Monday
night the commissioners voted
to hire an investigator for the
Sheriff’s Department, approved
rezoning for an office and light
industrial park and named five
men to a board of appeals for
the Cumming-Forsyth Planning
and Zoning Board.
Commissioner Lanier Ban
nister argued that the $400,000
debt which dates back to 1969 is
illegal. Bannister said the debt
is not reflected in the minutes
through resolution and violates
a special county law and the
Georgia Constitution.
He said that 17 years ago the
county voted to get out of debt
and stay out of debt and that
according to the state con
sitution a county cannot spend
more money in a year than it
can pay back in a year.
County Attorney Emory
Lipscomb 111 said he received
an opinion from former Fulton
County Attorney Harold Sheats
who said that the banks could
request a court order deman
ding the funds. Sheats was
quoted as citing a perhaps
related case in - which a
municipality was ordered to
pay off a debt through ad
ditional tax levies.
Commissioner Crawford Roe
argued for payment. “If you
owe a man money, there’s not
one thing to do but pay it,” Roe
said.
Any action on the debt was
postponed until Lipscomb can
obtain additional clarification
from the state Attorney
General’s office.
The sheriff’s department will
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G. H. LEDBETTER JR.
his death he was starting his
second term on the Board of
be able to add an investigator
for only 25 per cent of the actual
cost. The remainder of the
$5,600 annual salary and $2,000
annual auto expense will come
from matching federal funds
through the Georgia Mountain
Planning Commission.
Bannister and Lawton
Sosebee voted for the new in
vestigator’s spot with Roe
voting against it. Larry Watson
was absent from the meeting
and Chairman Herman Hamby
did not exercise his right to
deadlock the issue with a vote
against it.
The Commission approved
the office park which earlier
won the approval of the plan
ning board. The 137-acre tract is
located between U.S. 19 and Old
Atlanta Rd. north of Haw Creek
Rd. about a mile south of the
city limits. Ihe park, to house
offices, warehouses and light
industry, will have frontage on.
both sides of proposed Ga. 400.
In another zoning matter, the
commission approved a
variance for a 29-lot housing
project in Northeast Forsyth.
The project will be located on
Burruss Mill Road near the
intersection of Ga. 369 and Ga.
306. It will be developed through
the Farmers Home Ad
ministration and the Com
munity Action Committee with
homes offered only to farmers.
Ihe approved variance con
sisted of cutting back lot
requirements from 20,000
square feet to 15,000 square feet.
Each of the commissioners
nominated a man for the zoning
board of appeals and the ap
pointments were approved by
the board as a body. Hamby
appointed William Mills,
Watson appointed R.L.
Brogdon, Roe named Lewis
Darnell, Sosebee picked Henry
L. Evans and Bannister chose
J.W. Collins.
Ihe commission voted to have
the new appeals board mem
Directors of Sawnee Electric
and his third year as president
of the cooperative, according to
Sawnee manager Julian
Gravitt.
Gravitt said “He was a real
fine businessman who took a big
interest in this business. He led
this corporation in a very
capable manner.”
Surviving are the widow, Mrs.
Laveme Lathem Ledbetter of
Route 2, Cumming; two
daughters, Mrs. Tony (Ginger)
McClure and Mrs. Stephen
(Joy) Bragg, both of Cumming;
a grandson, Chad Bragg; two
brothers, Lamar Ledbetter
and James Ledbetter, both of
Cumming; a father and mother
in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Quay
Lathem of Canton; and
a number of nieces and
nephews.
bers meet with the county at
torney to “lay down operational
rules”.
A committee from the
Greenwood Acres sub-division
appeared before the com
mission to complain about their
roads and ask that the county
take them over.
Bannister said that as long as
he was on the commission he
would not vote to accept the
maintenance of any sub
standard roads. He guessed it
would cost the county between
sl-million and $1.5-million to
bring below par roads in sub
divisions up to state standards
and said “to take that road, we
ought to take every one of those
roads in the county”.
“I think you fellows have been
took,” Bannister told the angry
homeowners. “I think the
developer took you. I can’t
obligate myself or the tax
payers to spend $1.5-million.”
“If you don’t take them now it
will cost ten times more when
you have to,” said George
Ingram, one of the
homeowners.
Another of the homeowners,
his tax bill in hand, argued the
road should be maintained
because of the amount of taxes
the residents of Greenwood pay.
“'lhe amount of taxes you pay
doesn’t determine the amount
of service you get,” Bannister
countered.
Not One Without Other
If you’re getting water from
the City of Cumming, you’ll
have to pay for garbage pickup
too.
That’s the word from
spokesmen for the city.
The billing has been con
solidated and all water patrons
living within the city limits will
also be assessed for garbage
collection.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1973
Property is Selected
For City Hall Complex
Cumming has taken a major
step toward the development of
a new city hall complex.
The city council has approved
the purchase and acquisition of
a 6.73-acre tract south of the
town square.
Mayor Ford Gravitt said the
property lies between Old
Buford Road and Castleberry
Road between the Forsyth
County Bank and the Second
Baptist Church' of Cumming.
The land will come to the city
through purchase and through a
gift, according to Gravitt who
said details of the gift will be
announced at a later date. .
Gravitt said the city has
spoken to a Gainesville ar
chitect about drawing up plans
for the multi-purpose structure
and preparations will begin at
soon as the land acquisition is
finalized.
The mayor said he hopes
Tax Ghost Haunts
Again This Year
By ALTUNSTALL
News Staff Writer
Taxes, that ghost that ap
pears to haunt nearly every
man and woman about this time
every year, is back again. The
deadline for ad valorem taxes is
Thursday, Feb. 15 and unless it
is met a penalty fee will be
charged, according to Forsyth
Tax Commissioner Donald
Majors.
Majors said property owners
will be subject to a nine per cent
late fee, plus a $.50 filing cost, in
addition to the original amount
due.
The commissioner said that
even though the tax bills were
sent only five days before the
state deadline in December,
taxpayers in Forsyth are
paying their fees at a “slightly
better than average rate.”
Majors said there were
problems in sending out the ad
valorem tax bills because the
i
Bill
||» 11 m* . -
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DON MAJORS
Forsyth Tax Commissioner
Middle School On Time
The Forsyth County Board of
Education got some good news
at the regular monthly meeting
Tuesday.
The new Cumming Middle
School, set for opening in the
fall, is ahead of schedule despite
wet weather and a week of ice.
The contractors, Bowen and
Watson, reported that with 26
per cent of the contract time
elapsed the school was 28 per
cent completed.
Those persons outside the city
limits who use city water will
not have to pay the charge.
The minimum water bill
inside the city is $2.50 per month
and garbage fees are set at $2
per month. This means $4.50 per
month will be the least anyone
will be paying for municipal
services.
development will be underway
by Spring.
Gravitt said tentative plans
call for a building with roughly
5,000 feet of floorspace. The
building would house the police
station, city administrative
offices, fire station and other
presently scattered municipal
functions. It would add a
municipal courtroom and in
clude a holding cell for city
prisoners.
He said the final size deter
mination has not been made and
will come after further
meetings between the mayor
and city council.
The mayor said a proposal to
build a community center was
at one time considered along
with the city hall but that has
been set aside. He said the
community center would have
been eligible for federal mat
ching funds but no federal
monies are available for
county’s tax digest, according
to state revenue officials, was
not right. Prior to the county’s
Dec. 20 deadline for mailing the
1972 tax bills, the state revenue
department cut the mill rate
from $38.25 per thousand to
$27.93, however, the tax ap
praisal on land in Forsyth was
raised to 64 per cent for land in
the county, while it was raised
25 per cent for land within the
Cumming City limits.
According to the latest figures
released by Majors’ office, the
property tax structure has
changed considerably. The
former tax rate for the city w-as
$7 and was changed to $6. For
the county, it was $9.50, now it is
$10.50; County schools was
$16.50 and is now $17.18; the
state fee remained the same at
$.25. The assessment ratio
remains at 40 per cent.
The former Lockheed-
Georgia employe said that to
date his office had collected
$1,338,430.38 in 1972 taxes and
that nearly $600,000 had not yet
been collected. Majors says he
can foresee no problems “yet at
least”, from the 13,000 tax bills
sent.
Majors said the next big tax
deadline comes April 1, when
new license tags are due. “I
certainly wish people would
start coming in right now, so
that we could avoid the long
lines that always appear toward
deadline time. We sold about
15,000 tags last year, and we
expect 17,000 this year.”
Former tax commissioner,
Hoyt Pilcher, an eight-year
veteran tax collector in For-
Ihe contract calls for com
pletion ofthe building by Aug. 1,
which will give the school
system ample time for final
preparations before opening
with the first day of the 1973-74
school year.
Principals reported to the
board that absenteeism on the
Saturday ice storm makeup day
ran from ten per cent to 15 per
cent. They said the absentee
rate was slightly above normal
but better than expected.
Forsyth High School Prin
cipal John Otts, whose school
hit the 15 per cent mark on the
Saturday School was in session,
said that some of those absent
were vocational students who
have regular Saturday jobs,
“But some just plain stayed
home.”
The board voted to change its
meeting place from the County
library to the library at the
high school. The action came
after the library requested the
municipal structures.
According to Gravitt, the city
has almost paid off the less
th an-two-years-old city park on
Pilgrim Mill Road and the city
can build the new complex
without a bond issue or increase
in the tax millage rate.
He said it can be funded en
triely with existing city
Community Center Eyed
The Community Action
Committee is working on a
solution to the all too popular
cry of “No place to go and
nothing to do” in Cumming.
The CAC, whose efforts
brought about day care centers
at Friendship and at Sharon,
has begun working toward the
development of a community
center for the Cumming-
Forsyth area.
syth, said, “February is without
a doubt the best time to buy
tags. Anybody can come in, buy
a tag, and never see a line.”
In order to pick up a 1973 tag,
the vehicle owner must have the
receipt from last year’s tag, or
their tag and decal number—
they need both numbers.
Another deadline that is fast
approaching is April 15, w'hen
Homestead Exemption forms
are due. “People should come in
right now so that we can process
their form and get a card for
them before the deadline. If
they don’t, then there’s nothing
we can do even if they qualify
for the exemption.”
Majors said the present set
up, which is open only to county
residents age 65 or older and
with an income of $4,000 or less
may soon be changed to require
an income of $6,000 or less,
however the latter figure won’t
be applied to this year’s
exemption.
Looking toward the future,
Majors said his office hopes to
work out a license tag mailing
system, so as to ease the late
tag sales burden that his three
employe staff annually con
fronts.
“If we can work out a mailing
system, it will be a lot easier for
everyone,” he said.
Asked about other changes he
hopes to make during his first
year of office, Majors said,
“I’m not real sure yet, I hope to
get a little more organized first,
then 111 start making a few
changes. As it stands, there
aren’t many things I would
want to change anyway.”
board go elsewhere because the
board’s presence was
discouraging regular library
users on meeting days.
The board will meet at 1 p.m.
on the second Tuesday in March
but will change the meeting
date to the third Tuesday
beginning in April.
Chairman Neville noted that
reports that a county school bus
was involved in an accident due
to brake failure were
erroneous. The bus was
carrying school children but it
was private bus, not a county
owned or contracted bus,
Neville explained.
School Supt. Robert Otwell
said that enrollment for the first
four months of the 1972-73 school
year was down from the same
period in the 1971-72 year.
The enrollment was 4,905
students this year and 5,001 last
year. Average daily at
tendance, however, was up,
Otwell said.
ISSUE 7
revenues.
The present city hall has
served Cumming for ap
proximately 20 years. It is
located on northeast comer of
the courthouse square in a
building which was formerly a
service station.
Prior to the present city hall
municial business was run from
Becky Turner, of the CAC,
said the group met with the
Georgia Mountains Planning
Commission and determined
that the proposal could not be
developed to complement the
planned new city hall as there
are no available matching funds
from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Develop
ment (HUD).
Mrs. Turner said the planned
center would offer something
for everyone. It could include a
gymnasium and stage
auditorium, a recreation room,
an adult education center with a
library, a counseling center, a
cafeteria for community
banquets and a nutritional
program for the elderly, a youth
center and a multipurpose
meeting room with storage
■M
Terri Redd Cited
‘Miss Congenial’
Forsyth County High School
Senior Terri Redd was picked
as “Miss Congeniality” last
Saturday at the 1973 Georgia
Junior Miss Pageant in Atlanta.
Miss Redd, the 1972 Lanier
Junior Miss, received the honor
after being elected by her 15
fellow contestants in the
competition.
The daughter of Mrs. Nellie
Redd of Canton Highway in
Cumming and the late Carter
Redd, Terri spent a week in
Atlanta preparing for the
pageant.
The pageant was held Friday
Water Superintendent
Will Not Be Replaced
The city of Cumming has no
plans to replace water depart
ment Supt. Miles Wolfe, who
retired several months ago
after more than 30 years with
the city.
Instead, his duties have been
split between two men.
City Manager Carroll Buice
will have charge of the pur
chasing and bid letting for the
department and will take over
general supervision of the city’s
water supervision. Buice will be
handling all administrative
details for the department.
Plant supervision will be
handled by water system
15 CENTS
PER COPY
TELEPHONE 887-3127
the mayor’s home, according to
Gravitt, who was recently
elected to a second term in
office.
Gravitt said the new site will
require considerable grading.
“But we’re going to leave a hole
deep enough to dump the old
city hall into when we get
finished,” The mayor joked.
areas for groups which plan to
meet there.
ft would be available for use
by all non-profit church groups,
civic groups and other
organizations such as the scouts
and Alcoholics Anonymous.
Much of the center could be
developed through the use of
federal matching money and in
some areas a federal share of
up to 90 per cent may be
available, she said.
She said the CAC is contacting
most groups of determine theft
needs and the probable amount
of usage for each group.
Anyone with suggestions or
recommendations for the
community service center is
invited to attend the next CAC
meeting, Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m. at
the United Methodist Church on
Pilgrim Mill Road.
MISS CONGENIALITY
FCHS Senior Terri Redd
and Saturday at Mercer
University’s Atlanta Campus.
Moral support Saturday night
came from her mother and a
group of her Girl Scouts who
attended the event with their
sponsor, Louise Mosely. Also
present were three couples
from the Forsyth Jaycees, who
sponsored her in the pageant.
They were Bill and Barbara
Barnett, Garland and Charlotte
Sioemake and Douglas and
Nancy Vaughn.
Terri, 17, is the secretary of
the Senior Class at FCHS. In
addition to Girl Scouting, she is
in the F Club and Science Club.
employee Harold Manders,
according to Buice.
TTIeIFI
Need Help? Dial HELP.
The new number for the
Forsyth County Volunteer Fire
Department is 887-4357. Ac
cording to the letters that’s 887-
HELP or since local callers can
by phss the 88 part of the ex
change, that’s 7-HELP.
Chief John C. Moore said the
new number should be used for
all emergencies demanding the
assistance of the county’s
volunteer firemen.
Once again, it’s 7-HELP. But
only for help, of course.