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Metro Phone Service Decision May Be Near (]i\. Work Set On Nursing Home Here Construction of a new 150-bed nurs ing home on Samaritan Drive in Cum ming is expected to be completed in about eight or nine months, according to Eugene Bishop, part owner of Health Service Centers in Roswell, which will operate the home. Lanier Nursing Home, as the facility will be known, is being built by First Etowah Corporation of Rome at a cost of approximately $1,700,000. Bishop said last week that all grading has been done and the foundation is in. Located next to the Forsyth County Hospital on a five-acre lot, the finished structure will contain 36,000-square feet of floor space. When the home opens, it will offer both skilled nursing care and interme diate nursing care to patients admitted by physicians, explained Bishop. The staff of approximately 110 will include a Georgia licensed nursing home administrator and a physical therapist, said Bishop. Lanier Nursing Home will be the 20th such facility in the state operated by Health Service Centers, which is owned by Bishop and J. Henry Rowland. The only other convalescent home in Forsyth County is the Cumming Conva lescent Home, located at 111 W. Main Street in Cumming. Burglary Charges Face Five Five persons have been arrested by Forsyth and Clayton county authorities and face charges in connection with 13 burglaries and two criminal attempts, according to the Forsyth County Sher iff’s Department. Authorities identified those arrested as Charles E. Bennett, 49 and Elvira Bennett, 43, both of Jonesboro, taken into custody by Clayton County authori ties and charged with theft by receiv ing stolen property. Also arrested was John Timothy Al bea, 18, of Ellenwood and two juve niles, aged 16 and 15. The two juveniles are brother and sister, authorities said. Investigating officer J.C. Adams, said burglaries expected to be solved included two in Gwinnett County, four in Clayton County, two in Forsyth County, two criminal attempts in For syth County, five burglaries in Hall County. Also, Clayton and Butts coun ties are expected to make additional charges against the suspects for theft by receiving. “Between the five counties, there were a total of 67 warrants being issued out of all this,’’ said Sgt. Adams. He added that the total value of the burglaries solved should reach approx imately $25,000. About $4,000 worth of merchandise has been recovered, he said. Sgt. Adams said the investigation be gan when Clayton County authorities recovered a gun alleged to be stolen in a Forsyth County burglary two weeks ago. The gun was recovered when the serial number was checked by com puter, according to Sheriff Wesley Wal raven. A follow up investigation led authori ties to the recovery of merchandise fol lowing search warrant raids, Sgt. Adams said. Continuing information led to the names of the suspects that were camp ing in the Lake Lanier area. Forsyth County authorities steaked out a camp site and arrested one of the suspects, Sgt. Adams said. Additional investigations led to the Clayton County arrests of the Bennetts. , , tjx 30602 ' 111 - JRSYTH miPWC AMi county 11 Km vv 9 VOLUME LXXI—NUMBER 36 BY JAY JORDAN News Editor The Georgia Public Service Commis sion may decide by early October whether or not Cumming will be in cluded in the Metro Atlanta toll-free di rect dialing area. The PSC’s action at a Sept. 4 meeting was the most recent in an intermittent struggle among some here for metro phone service which goes back to the early 19605. The Metro Atlanta Telephone Group, the Forsyth County Citizens’ group pushing for metro phone service, claimed the Cumming telephone ex m jl ISr* WJf J|| M illf m | x H W St . Jfjil M Wnß iB ff ift if MBs 1 ! iSm - h \ - " if d ¥ m. I, wnmM 4Hlf Just Rolling Along ■ftp?!®** ■£. * pi jpQSOTt j... t %r/' M JB *0 O | x; . jETif C C/ fB Cx : wSk * wBgOOriJ And Playing Games The Ducktown kindergarten, a part of the Forsyth County School System, is a busy place these days. Mandy Samples, top, daughter of Byron and Debra Sam ples, and Shane Strickland, bottom, are busy with activities and toys. It’s all in a day’s work for the youngsters, who have found plenty of thing* to do to occupy their time. (News staff photos by Lane Gardner.) Commission Hears Budget Requests BYJAYJORDAN News Editor The Forsyth County Board of Com missioners reviewed 1981’s projected budget in a special workshop last Wednesday, Sept. 3. The head of each county department presented his budget request to the commissioners for their comment and questions. Commission chairman Bill Barnett said no official action would be taken during the workshop. The county department heads have requested a total of $3,362,286.11 for the WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10,1980 CUMMING, GA. 30130 change would benefit greatly. Southern Bell Telephone and Tele graph Co. claims adding Cumming to the metro calling zone is not justified by traffic studies and would be ex tremely expensive. Bell is against add ing Cumming. Many from Cumming work in At lanta, contended Jewel Palmer, an or ganizer of the Metro Atlanta Telephone Group. Not only that, many Cumming people have relatives and friends in the Atlanta-calling area, she said. Lack of Metro phone service also has hurt the Cumming area economically, Mrs. Palmer contended. In a rebuttal of Bell’s claim it would lose money if it supplied metro phone service to Cum 1981 budget. But the official revenue es timate from all sources is only $2,642,920.03. The draft budget shows an increase of $860,210.62, or 34.38 percent, over the 1980 budget of $2,502,075.39. During the discussion, two depart ment heads said they based their bud get requests in part on actual expenses for the first half of 1980. The recently-adopted merit civil service system for county employees will add about $140,000 to the payroll of $1 million. ming, Mrs. Palmer said the Cumming area has lost more than $7 million be cause it did not have metro phone serv ice. Mrs. Palmer evidently wrote the re buttal in late 1977 or early 1978. Some of the factors she said contributed to the $7 million loss were: lncreased private and public long distance telephone costs because the southern end of Forsyth County is in the metro area. Loss of new industry discouraged by a lack of metro phone service. Loss of new home construction and sales because of the loss of industry. Excessive milage charges paid by phone subscribers in Cumming. Bell’s County Takes Option On Land For DFCS The Forsyth County Board of Com missioners has decided to accept an op tion on land on Georgia Highway 20 as part of a tenative plan to lease-pur chase a new building for the local state Department of Family and Children’s Services Office. During Monday’s meeting, a commit tee composed of commissioners Leroy Hubbard and Garland Barron and com mission chairman Bill Barnett re ported they had been investigating finding a new, larger home for DFCS, which is now located on the courthouse square. The committee considered expand ing the present building, renting one, or building a new one, but finally decided to consider having one built and then leasing it for 15 years. Under this plan, the state Depart ment of Human Resources, DFCS’s parent agency, may agree to pay 100 percent of the lease. If DHR accepts a Water Authority Preparing Work On New Water System The Cumming-Forsyth County Water and Sewerage Authority was busy with the details of starting work on its new water system at its Sept. 2 meeting. The authority wants to supply water to Hoover Universal’s new ball bearing plant on Pendley Road by Oct. 1. Au thority chairman Gene Patten stressed the need to have the water installed on time. Joseph Bork, a representative of the authority’s engineering firm, said, “I think we’re going to have the water there for Hoover by Oct. 1. We’ve got lots of good weather (for building) ahead of us.” One of the contractors, the Charles L. Sullivan Co., was to have started dril ling for water pipes under Georgia Highway 400 at Pendley Road Sept. 1, will now have to wait, the authority learned. The Georgia Department of Transportation is requiring Sullivan to stockpile all his materials before start ing instead of bringing them to the site as they are needed. The boring is part of a water line to be laid along the north side of Pendley Road to the Hoover plant. The authority also voted to discuss with Sullivan the price of boring under Pendley Road to bring the water line to the Hoover plant, which is on the south side. If the price was satisfactory, he would be authorized to go ahead. The authority discussed charging Hoover for the work as part of its tap-in fee. Patten also urged that all necessary rightoof-way be obtained as soon as possible so they authority could actu ally deposit its construction grants in its bank. The authority also voted to consult with the state Economic Development County administrator Donald Major explained future pay increases will not be so large. This year’s jump is needed to bring county employees up to the new pay scales outlined in the merit system, he said. Of tiie 30 departments and indepen dent organizations, such as the Forsyth County Humane Society, which pre sented budget requests, five showed no change from last year, one decreased and the rest asked for increases rang ing from less than one percent to slightly over 300 percent. 34 PAGES, 3 SECTIONS-25 CENTS bid for a lease-purchase building, DFCS will have a new home and the county will have a free building after 15 years, Chairman Barnett said. To equalize the competition, Barnett said the county decided to supply the land for the DFCS building. The com missioners voted to spend $1 to accept an option on about one acre on Georgia 20 near the site of the new George Wil son health clinic. The site is conve niently- located and is very cheap, Barnett said. The commissioners decided to adver tise for bids for the DFCS building and see if DHR will accept the plan. If so, then the commission will authorize the winning contractor to proceed. The commissioners also decided to have Dtm the Riggins Con struction Co. attend a 1961 budget ses sion this week to explain why he has not started work paving Sewell Road and Settingdown Circle. Authority about obtaining a sewer easement on a piece of land whose owner is out of the,country and can not be easily contacted. If the easement is needed to start construction, the au thority’s attorney will start condemna tion proceedings. ‘ Patten asked authority member Car roll Buice, who is also director of Cum ming’s water system, to talk with city officials about setting a price on water the authority will buy for Hoover. Buice said he would put the matter on School System Gets $420,804 In Rebate A check for $420,804 has been re ceived by the Forsyth County School System as part of $75-million that was appropriated by the 1980 Georgia Gen eral Assembly for tax rebates to the state’s 187 school systems. At last month’s meeting of the For syth County Board of Education, the board voted to use the $420,804 rebate to “roll back taxes.” After the school system’s budget is worked out, the fig ure will be taken off the top. The tax relief grants were appropri ated in accordance with Act 562 (House Bill 95) as amended by House Bill 1372. School systems have the option of using their grants for property tax relief or for educational purposes in the school system. Grant amounts range from ap proximately $17,000 to $5.7-million. The grants are based on a system’s resident average daily attendance for Chief registrar Janis Thomas asked for only $3,674 for 1981, instead of the $15,304 she received last year. No elec tions were scheduled in 1981, she ex plained. One of the largest increases in budget requests came from Chief Tax Asses sor Floyd Switzer. Of his $188,420.74 re quest, he said he wants to spend $86,341.70 for a revaluation of taxable property. Among other things, this would buy updated maps, aerial photo graphs, timber classification, and ap praisal of buildings and land. Roger Burge explained milage is al lowed by the PSC to compensate Bell for providing service to remote areas with few telephones. Long-distance telephone charges to the metro area, or the alternative ex pense of driving to avoid them. Bell opposes adding Cumming to the metro dialing system because of exces sive cost and because the extra service is not justified by traffic studies, or popular demand, Bell’s local manager Roger Burge explained. “Our position has always been all along...that we are opposed to a flat ex tension of the Atlanta free calling area into Cumming,’’ Burge said. Continued On Page 2 A Mr r \ Mr V nrsTnnrflnse Higgins was awarded a $98,224 con tract for the work on Aug.ll. Commissioner Harrison Tallant said Higgins had told the commissioners he would start work in two-weeks a month ago. The commissioners were worried Higgins would not be able to finish the roads before the end of the paving sea son Oct. 15. If Higgins can not finish the contract, the commissioners will not have enough time to advertise for bids again. Instead, the two next lowest bid ders will be considered. In other business, the commission: Accepted Wade Valley Way and Redi Road into the county road system. Gave a resolution of appreciation to retiring employee Amie Grier. Corrected minor errors in the re cently adopted-flood plain ordinance. the next city council agenda. The city recently agreed to sell water to the authority specifically for the Hoover plant. In other business, the authority: Voted to install its own water me ter as a temporary measure between its lines and the city’s to measure how much water is going to Hoover. City of ficials will have the option of installing the meter. Continued On Page 5 A the first four months in kindergarten through grade 12. (Forsyth County’s ADA was 5,679.) This means students are counted for systems in which they live even though they might attend school in another system. Last year students were counted for the systems where they actually attended school. The law again requires local boards of education to notify taxpayers on their tax bills how the system’s share of the $75-million will be used before the funds can be transferred from the state to the local system, said State School Superintendent Charles McDa niel. Last year about 80 per cent of the systems used their funds to provide a full or partial reduction in the millage rate, while another 20 per cent used their entire grants for needed school improvements. Fire chief John Moore included a re quest in his budget to hire his dis patcher as a county employee. Presently, she is paid by contract and is on duty seven days a week, 24 hours a day, Moore explained. What she wants is the pay and bene fits of a county employee and only 30 hours a week off, Moore said. The commission was very sympa thetic, but decided to consult with the county attorney before taking any de tonate action. Chairman Barnett ex- Continued On Page 5A