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Forsyth Goes Carter
Reagen Next
U.S. President
Gov. Ronald Reagan, the Republican
challenger of President Jimmy Carter,
was elected the next president of the
United States in the general election
held Tuesday. Other decisive winners
were incumbent democrats Herman
Talmadge and Ed Jenkins, for the U.S.
Senate and the U.S. House of Represen
tatives (ninth district), respectively.
In what many are calling a landslide
victory, Reagan had, at 2 a.m. on
Wednesday, captured 436 electoral
votes to Carter’s 35.
Reagan needed only 270 electoral
votes to be declared the winner. Realiz
ing this, Carter conceded the race at
about 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
With 51 percent of the votes counted
at 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Reagan had
50 percent of the vote, while Carter had
43 percent and Independent Presi
dential candidate John Anderson had
six percent.
Though Reagan was the nation’s
choice for the 40th president of the
U.S., President Carter was able to
carry his native state and Forsyth
County.
With 71 percent of the state’s pre
cincts counted at 1:30 a.m. on Wednes
day, Carter had 60 percent of the vote
while Reagan had 37 percent.
In Forsyth County, with all of the
votes counted, Carter earned 4,325
votes to Reagan’s 3,157. Carter carried
all precincts with the exception of the
Open House, Ribbon Cutting
Ceremonies Held At Hospital
Ribbon cutting ceremonies and an
open house were held at the Forsyth
County Hospital on Sunday, Nov. 2, to
help celebrate and present to the public
the hospital’s recently completed $2.4-
million renovation and construction
project.
Between 300 and 500 persons at
tended the event, according to mem
bers of the hospital auxiliary.
The open house, which included tours
of the new facilities, provided the pub
lic with an opportunity to view the new
and renovated portions of the hospital.
Commenting on what the hospital’s
expanded facilities will mean to the
people of Forsyth County, administra
tor Joe Brandon said the hospital is
now providing and expanded amount of
services that people previously had to
go out of the county to acquire.
The completed construction project,
which includes a 13,000 square foot ad
dition and the renovation of an already
existing 7,000 square feet of space, up
Youth Is Arrested
Following Shooting
A 17-year-old Forsyth County youth
turned himself in to the Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Department Sunday after a
statewide lookout was posted for his ar
rest following a shooting incident here
Friday afternoon.
Investigators for the sheriff’s depart
ment said Dwayne Ray Gravitt was
charged with aggravated battery fol
lowing the shooting which occurred on
Highway 20 in the parking lot of the
Ducktown cattle bam.
Authorities said Gravitt was charged
with the shooting of 17-year-old Debra
Lynn Gravitt, his estranged wife. Mrs.
Gravitt was shot in the shoulder and
neck and was taken to Forsyth County
Hospital where she was listed in satis
Zoning Decision On 50 Acres Is Postponed
By JAYJORDAN
News Editor
The Forsyth-Cumming Planning
Commission decided to postpone a de
cision on a request to rezone 50 acres
for light industry on Turner Road until
its Nov. 25 meeting.
The commission decided to form it
self into a committee to inspect James
Harrington’s property at its Oct. 28
meeting after nearby residents op
posed the change. The property is cur
rently zoned for vacation cottages.
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VOLUME LXXI—NUMBER 44
Chattahoochee precinct. There, Rea
gan recieved 327 votes while Carter
drew only 245.
Independent candidate John
Anderson received 160 votes in Forsyth
County. Some 94 votes were given to Ed
Clark, the Libertarian Party candi
date. There were two write-in votes,
one for Citizens Party candidate Barry
Commoner and one for Ted Turner, At
lanta businessman.
Herman Talmadge was elected to a
fifth term in the U.S. Senate as the re
sult of Tuesday’s voting. At 1 a.m. on
Wednesday, with 77 percent of the pre
cincts counted, Talmadge had 55 per
cent of the vote compared to 45 percent
for Republican challenger Mack Mat
tingly.
In Forsyth County, though, Mattingly
was the narrow winner. He earned 3,-
973 votes compared to Talmadge’s
3,955—a margin of only 18 votes. Mat
tingly managed to take five of the coun
ty’s thirteen precincts: Bells,
Chattahoochee, Cumming, Hightower
and New Bridge.
In the race for U.S. Representative
from the ninth Congressional district,
incumbent Ed Jenkins was early de
clared the winner over Republican
challenger David Ashworth.
Jenkins, with 4,563 votes in Forsyth
County, carried all thirteen precincts.
Ashworth received 2,255 votes, mean
ing a difference of 2,308 votes.
dates the hospital to a 36-bed facility.
The hospital now includes nine semi
private rooms, fourteen private rooms
and a four-bed ICU/CCU area with two
private isolation beds and two beds in a
central area.
The facility has increased its capabi
lities by providing an enlarged emer
gency room, two operating rooms with
a complete support area consisting of
central sterile supply, office space, re
covery room and necessary store
rooms.
There is also a new larger medical
laboratory, a two-room radiology suite,
a physical therapy area, a new phar
macy area and a new respiratory the
rapy area.
The hospital, which was originally
completed in August of 1957, had never
had any renovation done to its physical
plant until this project. Only necessary
repair work had been done.
It was the hospital authority’s deci
sion to go ahead with the project be
factory condition.
Investigating officers said Mrs.
Gravitt was forced off the road, some
words were exchanged and she was
shot with a shotgun.
Shortly thereafter, a lookout was
posted for Dwayne Ray Gravitt. His
name, description and make of car were
given to authorities around the state.
Passengers in Mrs. Gravitt’s
auto, her mother and seven-year-old
sister, were not injured, authorities
said.
Gravitt was released from Forsyth
County jail Sunday on $25,000 bond.
Investigating officers said Gravitt
had been married for six months and
the couple had recently separated.
This zoning allows such uses as sin
gle family homes, mobile homes, parks
and churches.
The light industrial zoning would al
low such diverse uses as bottling
works, lumber yards, warehouses and
ice plants.
Harrington, a county commissioner,
is seeking the rezoning. He said after
the meeting the person he is consid
ering selling the land to wants to put “a
light manufacturing facilty” on it.
Opponents of the zoning change were
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5,1M0 - CUMMING, GA. 30130
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Depositing His Ballot
t
Harly Elzey of the Matt Road in Forsyth County {daces Ws stub on the spool be
fore depositing his ballot. Elzey voted at Sawnee Scbooi in the Settendown pre
cinct. (News staff photo by Lane Gardner Cam?)
cause of a need for a more modem
facility. The work was first begun in
early September of 1979.
Even though this project is now com
plete, all renovation at the hospital will
not be finished until seven private
rooms and nine semi-private rooms in
the older part of the hospital are also
renovated.
This project, which is now underway,
is designed to bring the already exist
ing rooms up to the same standards as
the new area of the hospital.
Inside This
Week’s News
A dozen Forsyth County residents
have something they share almost ev
ery day. See story on Page 2-A.
+++
The annual Lanier Junior Miss Pag
eant will be held Friday and Saturday
nights, Nov. 7 and 8. Details on Page 5-
A.
+++
Civic Youth Day was observed in
Cumming and Forsyth County last
Wednesday. Pictures and story on
Page 5-A.
+++
City and county officials have pro
claimed “Youth Appreciation Week”
the second week in November. See
story on Page 7-A.
+++
A chart showing the results of Tues
day’s election is on Page 12-A.
+++
The Forsyth County Bulldogs closed
out their football season Friday night
with a win over Johnson High School of
Gainesville. See Page 1-B.
+++
John and Frances Burruss of Forsyth
County have been named the Soil Con
versation Service Family of the Year.
See story on page 5-B.
represented by Bill Boulware. He esti
mated 45 to 60 area residents, many
from Eagle Creek Shores subdivision,
accompanied him to the meeting.
“They (the residents) felt that it (the
zoning change) would be detrimental to
their property and they just didn’t want
it,” said Larry Townsend, chairman of
the commission, after the meeting.
Boulware was more specific. He said
area residents opposed the zoning
change because of congestion,
noise, pollution, and nearness of the
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Ribbon cutting ceremonies proceeded the hospital’s open
house Sunday, Nov. 2, and a number of local dignitaries were
on band. Pictured here from left is Lewis Darnell, hospital
authority member; Joe Brandon, hospital administrator;
Youth Injured In Accident
A 17-year-old Cumming youth was in
jured in an accident here Saturday
night, according to the Cumming Po
lice Department.
Officers said Gregory Mark Cham
bers was driving east on Elm Street
about 7:25 p.m. when his car skidded
across the intersection of Elm and
property to homes.
Harrington said the property, which
is only a very short distance from
Georgia Highway 400, a major re
stricted-access highway, is in the pro
posed county land use plan as light
industrial land. “Otherwise, we
wouldn’t have applied for the change,”
Harrington said. He said the land is in
the highway growth corridor.
“If I thought it would hurt the people,
I wouldn’t put it there," he said. "...It
will be a nice light manufacturing fa-
24 PAGES, 2 SECTIONS—2S CENTS
Bud Amsler
Defeats Otwell
Forsyth County Republicans de
feated Democratic candidates in three
of four contested races in the Nov. 4
general election.
In the closest race, B.M. “Bud”
Amsler defeated Robert B. Otwell for
county school superintendent 3,773 to
3,648, a margin of only 125 votes.
Republican Ron Wood defeated John
P. Nichols 6,632 to 2,965 for the post
five seat on the county school board.
Ben C. Jordan defeated Charles
Dixon Smith 327 to 214 for Justice of the
Peace in the Chattahoochee district.
In the only Democratic victory, Da
vid Gilbert defeated Jim Weatherby for
the post five seat on the Forsyth County
Board of Commissioners 4,102 to 2,429.
Other local candidates ran unop
posed, their races being decided in the
general primary Aug. 4.
Complete details are in a chart on
page 12-A.
In write-in voting, Donald Pirkle re
ceived two votes, Carl Turner got one
and Boss Hogg got one.
The superintendent’s race was neck
and neck all evening long. With 12 of 13
precincts counted, Amsler was leading
by only slightly over 100 votes. The fi-
Computers Slow Tabulation
There was a record voter turnout of
8,600 the most ever in Tuesday’s
general election, and while hundreds of
folks worked their way through the
polls with little difficulty, the biggest
problem came during the counting of
the ballots.
The early counting went smoothly,
but because of the heavy turnout and
the number of ballot cards going
Cutting The Ribbon
Tribble Gap Road, striking a tree.
Investigating officers said Chambers
got out of his car and was apparently
looking over the damage when another
vehicle driven by Donald Land, 42,
Cumming, struck the rear of Cham
bers’ auto.
As a result of the collision, Chambers
cility, just like some of those that have
come into our county.”
The immediate area of the property
is only sparsely populated, Harrington
said.
Area residents still opposed the
change in zoning. They were concerned
about children who ride bicycles past
the property, Boulware said, as well as
joggers and retired people who walk
past to Cumming.
The congestion caused by a factory
there would cause accidents, too Bout
nal precinct, Vickery, had about 400
votes cast in it.
In the end, Amsler carried only five
precincts. They were Chattahoochee,
Cumming, Chestatee, New Bridge and
Vickery. Amsler carried Chattahoo
chee 382 to 176 and Cumming 1,321 to
1,119. The others he carried by only
small margins.
In his resounding victory over Nich
ols for the post five seat on the school
board, Wood carried eight precincts.
He took Chattahoochee, Chestatee,
Cumming and New Bridge by substan
tial majorities. Wood carried Big
Creek, Coal Mountain, Hightower and
Settendown by lesser margins.
Weatherby lost to Gilbert by a sub
stantial margin for the post five county
commission seat. Gilbert won 12 of the
13 precincts. Weatherby took only the
Chattahoochee box by 277 to 239. Gil
bert totaled up his largest majorities in
Barkers, 250 to 87; Big Creek, 389 to
177, Chestatee, 326 to 121; Ducktown 219
to 87; Settendown, 351 to 140; and Vick
ery, 243 to 129.
The JP race was decided only by vot
ers in Chattahoochee. Jordan carried
over Smith 327 to 214.
through the computer counters, the
machines began to overheat, slowing
the process and causing delays.
A total of five counting machines
were used, and as the night progressed,
one by one the machines began to re
ject the cards because a small compac
tor in each unit overheated.
Those operating the machines would
Continued on Page 12A
Bill Barnett, Forsyth County commission chairman; Ford
Gravitt, Cumming Mayor; Phil Smith, chairman of toe hos
pital authority and Johnny Stone, hospital authority mem
ber. (News staff photo by Lane Gardner Camp.)
was knocked into a nearby ditch and
was injured. He was taken to Forsyth
County Hospital for treatment of inju
ries.
Police Chief Gabe Dukas said Land
was charged with driving under the in
fluence.
ware said.
The closest house is only 100 yards
away and Eagle Creek Shores is .2
miles further down Turner Road, he
added.
Boulware said he thought Harrington
was a fine individual and could see why
he wanted to sell, "but there is a lot of
property already zoned for light indus
try. We as a residential neighborhood
don't think it is proper that it is right.”
Harrington said a factory would be
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