Newspaper Page Text
County Tax Digest Is
Factored 15 Percent
ByJAYJORDAN
News Editor
The Forsyth County Board of Com
missioners, complaining of interfer
ence by the state, reluctantly factored
the county tax digest by IS percent and
rolled back taxes to compensate.
The board took the action at its. Nov.
24 meeting.
Attorney To Study
Anti-Porno Rules
The Forsyth County Board of Com
missioners has decided to ask its attor
ney to research the feasibility of a
county anti-pornography ordinance.
Commissioner James Harrington
said after the agenda was finished at
the Nov. 24 meeting he had several re
quests from voters for a county anti
pornography law. He asked county at
torney Woody Jordan if a county law
was needed.
Jordan replied he had not researched
the matter because he did not know it
would be discussed. There was, he said,
extensive state and federal law con
cerning individual rights under the
first amendment to the Constitution
guaranteeing free speech and a free
press.
Jordan said anyone who wanted to
complain about pornography could
take out a warrant against the offender
under the existing state law. Harring
ton said it was often hard to get citizens
to do this. Jordan added that in certain
cases, the sheriff could obtain a war
rant.
The grand jury could investigate por
nography, as could the solicitor of state
court after someone made out an affa
davit alledging violations of the law,
Jordan said.
Board chairman Bill Barnett asked if
it were possible to strengthen the state
law. Jordan replied he thought the
state was law was sufficient. It was the
statute under which convicted pornog
rapher Larry Flint was prosecuted, he
said.
Commissioner Harrison Tallant took
issue with the need for an anti-poron
graphy ordinance. Pornography might
offend one person, but not all, he said.
The implications of being able to swear
out a warrant on anything someone did
not like frightened him, he said.
A committee of the board also asked
for public help in finding a new landfill
site.
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Construction of the new 150-bed Lanier Nursing Home on Sa
maritan Drive in Camming “is coming right along,” accord
ing to Eugene Bishop, part owner of Health Service Centers
in Roswell, the firm which will operate the home. If the
weather holds up, the roof should be put on within the next
week with occupancy expected by May of IMI, he said. Lo
cated next to the Forsyth County Hospital on a five-acre lot,
the finished structure will contain 36,000 square feet of floor
Controversy Brews Over Rezoning Proposal
ByJAYJORDAN
News Editor
The Cumming-Forsyth County Plan
ning Commission has recommended 50
controversial acres on Turner Road be
rezoned for light industrial use.
Opponents of the rezoning, some resi
dents of nearby subdivisions on Lake
Lanier who use Turner Road to reach
their homes, are angry.
Their spokesman, Bill Boulware,
said, “I think they (the planning com
mission) acted too hastily. I don't un
derstand it. The whole thing is beyond
our comprehension. ’'
Boulware referred a reporter to a let
ter to the editor appearing elsewhere in
this newspaper for a more detailed re
n.,
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m FORSYTH UCIVifO
■ Mil COUNTY XI Cl WW 0
The state Department of Revenue re
viewed the digest and found it, “...in
the aggregate, does not accurately re
flect an assessment ratio of 40 percent
of fair market value.” State revenue
commissioner W.E. Strickland then
went on to order the board to raise the
value of the tax digest by 15 percent
and roll back taxes to raise substan
The county is looking for 50 acres or
more, Barnett said. The land should be
centrally located, yet in a low density
area. Few or no restrictions should be
on the use of the land, Barnett ex
plained.
The county will need a new landfill in
about a year, discussion brought out.
In other business, the board:
Voted to accept a bid to build a
new building for the county Depart
ment of Family and Children’s Serv
ices for $2,440 yearly for 15 years
subject to approval by the state De
partment of Human Resources and re
zoning of the land. DHR has verbally
agreed to pay the lease and the county
planning commission has scheduled a
public hearing for Dec. 30.
Decided to accept a revised con
tract to renovate the Bethelview Com
munity Center from Millard Turner
subject to approval by the county attor
ney. The original bid was for more than
the county had to spend so the commis
sioners met with Turner to make
changes and save about SI,BOO.
Appointed Kenneth Mullinax to the
county Board of Tax Assessors to re
place Floyd Switzer who is resigning
for reasons of health.
Concurred with a Hall County re
quest for a federal grant to study the
creation of emergency medical service
in 13 north Georgia counties.
Appointed a committee to meet
with developer Andy McGregor to
study a revision to his planned unit de
velopment at Lanier Beach South Con
dominiums. McGregor said he wished
to change the undeveloped part of the
subdivision from 253 condominiums to
82 small houses with common recre
ation and maintenance facilities.
Accepted Pine Lake Circle as a
county road and Mini-trail Road condi
tionally if a property owner signs a
right-of-way deed.
Construction Under Way
The land in question is owned by
county commissioner James Harring
ton and is currently zoned for vacation
cottages. The Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners must make a final deci
sion on the zoning.
The planning commission heard ar
guments for and against the rezoning
at its October meeting and decided to
constitute itself as a committee of the
whole, investigate and make a recom
mendation at its Nov. 25 meeting.
The report found that Harrington's
property is not suitable for single fam
ily residences because it is so near
Georgia Highway 400, a major, limited
access highway.
The property is part of a larger tract
bounded by Georgia 400 and Turner
VOLUME LXXI—NUMBER 48
space. The staff of approximately 110 will provide both
skilled nursing care and intermediate nursing care to pa
tients admitted by physicians. The staff will include a
Georgia licensed nursing home administrator and physical
therapist. The facility is being built by First Etowah Cor
poration of Rome at a cost of approximately $1,700,000.
Health Service centers is owned by Bishop and J. Henry
Rowland. (News staff photo by Lane Gardner Camp)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3,1880- CUMMING, GA. 30130
tially the same amount of revenue.
Commissioner James Harrington
complained the General Assembly
“takes away all the rights of local gov
erning bodies and puts them down in
Atlanta.”
“Let W.E. Strickland appraise the
property here,” commissioners Harri
son Tallant and Leroy Hubbard said.
Board chairman Bill Barnett agreed.
Barnett noted the state will continue
to receive a quarter of a mill of all
property tax receipts and Harrington
added, “so now they will get more
(money)."
Tallant went on to note factoring put
a harder burden on property taxpayers
because vehicles, mobile homes, public
utilities and bank stock are not in
cluded in the factoring. These prop
erties are appraised by the state
revenue department. Their assessed
value has been increased and they will
be taxed at the new, lower, millage
rate.
By law, the county may not collect
property taxes until it factored the di
gest, Barnett said.
Before factoring, the county tax di
gest for maintenance and opeations
funds was $190,662,053. Taxed at the old
rate of 4.71 mills, this would have
brought in $898,018.27.
After factoring, the digest is
$216,534’988. Taxed at the new rate of
4.17 mills, this will bring the county
$902,950.90.
The county board of education met
and changed its millage 15.52 mills to
13.71 mills prior to the commission
meeting. '
The new county tax rate will be 21.82
mills for county and school operations
and bond retirement. The old rate was
24.61 mills.
County tax commissioner Bobby
Gene Gilbert said Monday county tax
bills should be in the mail by the week
end of Dec. 6. His office must check
them before mailing them, he ex
plained.
The bills were sent out late because
the tax assessors’ office was late in
sending out the assessment notices,
Gilbert said.
Although tax bills say they are due on
Dec. 20, taxpayers actually have 60
days from the date of the postmark to
pay without a penalty, Gilbert said. In
terest on unpaid taxes is 12 percent and
late payers are also charged half the
collection costs.
His office will be closed only on Dec.
25 and 26, Gilbert said. In the past, it
has been closed for auditing from Dec.
21 to Jan. 1.
New automobile license tags will not
be issued until 1983, Gilbert said. Only
decals will be issued in 1981.
Road which is suitable for economic de
velopment, the report said.
The report went on to say no indus
trial or commercial development
should be allowed that would be objec
tionable because of dust, dirt, noise, or
other pollution. A certificate of zoning
compliance is needed before construc
tion may start and all restrictions on
the land should be stated in it.
In a letter to Boulware, the planning
commission recommended a partially
dirt road running 1,900 feet from Bald
Ridge Marina Road to the rear of Ea
gle Creek Shores be accepted by the
county and paved. “It appears to us
that this is a most cost-effective im
provement because almost all of the
subdivision roads lead east from this
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Christmas Wishing
The day after Thanksgiving is unoffi
cially considered the start of the
Christmas season the after-Thanke
givtng sales being the signal that it’s
time for holiday shopping. For those
who couldn’t shop, there was always
Band Of Officers Hunt
1 Suspects In Woods
Approximately 30 law enforcement
offers, bloodhounds and a helicopter
searched-)! wooded area off Highway
in Forsyth'County Saturday night in
three suspects sought by the
local sheriff’s department.
One of the inspects, Jerry Wayne
Waiting, was found by dogs and the
suspect was charged with hindering the
apprehension of a fugitive. He was
locked up in Forsyth County jail and
warrants -were later issued for the
other two suspects.
Although the search in the area ex
tended over a four hour period of time
up until midnight the episode was
only a part of an incident which actu
ally began last Monday evening,
according to Forsyth County investiga
tors.
Investigators said they were notified
on Monday, Nov. 24th, that a construe
Arts Group Seeking Support
For Cultural Center Building
The Sawnee Association of the Arts
sponsored a meeting Nov. 24 to gather
support for a community cultural cen
ter.
Representatives from 14 organiza
tion attended the meeting the Cum
ming City Hall.
Jim DeSana of the association said
his group wanted to enlist help in build
ing a cultural center. He said he
wanted to organize a steering commit
tee of representatives of the various or
ganizations to direct the effort.
“You must tell us what you want and
we will tell you our goals. No one group
can accomplish this,” he explained.
He asked each group to nominate a
permanent representative to the steer
ing committee and to send him to a sec
ond meeting set for Jan. 26,1981.
“We want all the organizations to
participate...we don’t want to leave
anybody out,” DeSana said.
Association member Julianne Boling
explained, “What we are here to do is
ask your club to make this a priority.”
virtually impassable road,” the com
mission wrote.
This has angered the homeowners,
Boulware said. At one point the com
mission offered the improvement of the
road and later took it back by saying a
final decision would be up to the county
board of commissioners, Boulware ex
plained.
Even if the commission had the au
thority to pave the road, “if that was to
appease the people of Eagle Creek
Shores, it won’t work." There is only
one family on the dirt road and other
area residents must drive through po
tholes on very poor roads to reach it.
The residents don’t want another en
trance, Boulware explained. They only
want to protect the one they have now
40 PAGES, 4 SECTIONS—2S CENTS
the chance to do some Christmas wish
ing. From left, eight-year-old Wesley
Bennett and 11-year-old Chris Key
brouse through one store’s toy depart
ment. (News staff photo by Lane Gard
ner Camp)
tion site at a school near Coal Mountain
off Highway 369 had been burglarized.
Authorities said a large flat bed
truck was stolen and loaded with a va
riety of items, including copper and
brass. Apparently the motive was to
take metal for resale, authorities the
orized.
The truck and contents taken from
the site were found, abandoned along
Highway 20 East near the Gwinnett-
Forsyth County line. All the merchan
dise was recovered by the sheriff’s de
partment.
Minutes after the truck and mer
chandise were recovered, Forsyth
County deputies stopped a vehicle sus
pected of being involved.
The vehicle was stopped near 14th
Street in Cumming and the driver of
the car was arrested. James Rayford
Day, 34, Buford, was charged with bur
The group discussed financing for a
cultural center and learned state and
federal grant money is growing scarce.
If the group wanted to apply for a
grant, it would have to do so soon.
The group discussed the possibility of
a bond issue and asking for contribu
tions. Land, perhaps 15 or 20 acres,
could be used to match a grant.
DeSana speculated if the steering
committee could raise a third of the
necessary money, Forsyth County
might provide the rest or authorize a
bond issue. The county, though, must
speak for itself, DeSana said.
The association has been raising
money to build the cultural center. Its
most recent effort was The Great
Chicken House Festival in November.
The group learned a cultural center
would probably have to be designed to
certain requirements to qualify for
government funds.
The center will need lots of land for
athletic fields and other outdoor activ
on Turner Road.
Planning commission chairman
Larry Townsend was out of town and
could not be reached, but vice chair
man Dennis Martin said he had no ad
ditions to make to the report. He did
volunteer, though, the planning com
mission recommended the dirt road be
upgraded to allow better access to Ea
gle Creek Shores. “But that was in no
way attonment for the zoning. That
road needed upgrading, so we recom
mended it,” he explained.
During November, in the interval be
tween the planning commission meet
ings, Don Donaldson sent a letter to the
commission in behalf of area residents
who opposed the rezoning.
Donaldson wrote that he doubted all
Only 1 Week
Remaining
In Contest
Only one week remains before the
deadline in The Forsyth County News’
Best Christmas Story Contest.
Wednesday, Dec. 10, will be the last
day contest entries can be postmarked.
However, The News will accept stories
brought into the office at 107 Dahlonega
Street up until 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec.
12.
Several entries have been submitted
and many, if not all, will be published
in The News’ Christmas Greetings Is
sue on Dec. 22.
Stories should be no longer than two
typewritten pages and should be double
spaced. If they are not typed, they
should be neatly printed and carry your
name, address, age and telephone
number.
The winner of the contest will collect
SSO and the second place winner will
get $25. Third place winner will receive
$lO.
Judges will make their decisions on
the theme, originality and content and
the decision of the judges will be final.
Your story can be about anything re
lated to Christmas and does not have to
be true. However, it must not be copied
from another source.
Send your entry to “Christmas Con
test,” The Forsyth County News, 107
Dahlonega Street, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
glary, theft by taking and one count of
motor vehicle theft.
Authorities said while Day was being
arrested, two other suspects fled the
scene on foot into the woods. Warrants
were later issued for Ronnie Simonds
and Randy Richey.
Investigators made attempts
throughout the week to serve the war
rants and Saturday night pulled up to a
local residence to make another at
tempt.
As the warrants were about to be
served, the suspects got into a car and
left the residence. A chase began and
ended when the suspects wrecked a car
in a field off Highway 306 and ran into
the woods.
As radio communications spread
from the local sheriff’s department,
area law enforcement officers began
Continued on Page 6A
ities. Estimates ranged up to 40 acres.
The center must be designed around
the handicapped and have a dining
area for elderly and poor people.
There must be a “live area” buffered
against noise for concerts and plays
and sports, dances and other activities.
Organizations attending representa
tives were: the Forsyth County-Cum
ming Kiwanis Club; the American
Association of Retired Persons; the
Forsyth County Supporters of the
Gifted; the Forsyth County High School
student body president; the Cumming
Lions Club; and the Forsyth County
Little Theatre.
Also sending representatives were
the Cumming Parks and Recreation
Department; the Forsyth County Hos
pital Auxiliary; the Greenwood Acres
Garden CLub; the Forsyth County Re
publican Women; the Sawnee Associa
tion of the Arts; the Cumming-Forsyth
County Chamber of Commerce; and
The Place.
the land along Highway 400 should be
reserved for industrial development.
The Turner Road area had been set
aside for residential use by the plan
ning commission in 1975 to 1977 Don
aldson said.
Industrial development on Turner
Road would stop further residential de
velopment and burden the county tax
base with empty lots, he argued.
Further, he wrote, the county has re
ceived large grants to develop water
and sewer lines and a 200-acre indus
trial park in the south end of the
county. This area should be developed
first, Donaldson contended.
The Harrington property would best
be used as a residential subdivision,
he said.