Newspaper Page Text
Parade, Park Activities To Highlight Fourth
BY SCOTT VAUGHAN
Staff Writer
Gumming and Forsyth County will
celebrate the United States of Ameri
ca’s 205th Day of Independence on
Saturday, July 4, 1981 with festivities
beginning at 11 a.m.
The Cumming Recreation and Parks
Department will be sponsoring the 24th
annual A. G. (Glenn) Thomas Memo
rial Parade at 11 a.m. Lineup for the
parade will be at 10 a.m. in the two
lanes of old Buford Highway near the
Forsyth County Bank.
Steve Bennett, coordinator of the
parade, announced that as of June 29
Grand Jury Asks
For Third Judge
The March 1981 term of the Forsyth
County Grand Jury, recalled on June
22, returned a recommendation that the
Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit is entitled
to the appointment of a third superior
court judge, carrying one assistant
district attorney and one secretary, all
as provided by law and all at state
expense.
The jury gave its recommendation
after hearing varying views and argu
ments supporting positions around the
third judgeship. During the past legis
lative session, eight other circuits in
Georgia received judgeships and the
Blue Ridge Circuit did not seek a bill
creating a judgeship.
The jury filed that there is strong
disagreement among the five counties
in the ciruit between legislators, court
officials and the bar as to whether the
judgeship is needed.
Coverage Extended
In Emergency Room
By LANE GARDNER CAMP
Staff Writer
Physician coverage time in the emer
gency room at the Forsyth County
Hospital will increase 36 hours a week
effective July 1, it was learned at the
June meeting of the Forsyth County
Hospital Authority last week.
Administrator Joe Brandon an
nounced to the authority that the hospi
tal will be contracting with a group of
doctors who are forming a group to
provide the emergency room service.
A doctor will be on duty in the emer
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SEN. MACK MATTINGLY, RIGHT, SHAKES HANDS
...with farmer E.H. Reid Sr.
Goal To Finish Revitalization Just Year Away
By LANE GARDNER CAMP
Staff Writer
It was in 1976 that the Georgia Moun
tains Planning and Development Com
mission first developed a plan for
revitalizing downtown Cumming.
Now, five years later, that plan is
slowly being realized.
Several businesses on the town
square have now remodeled their store
fronts according to the proposed design
concept theme which advocates a Wil
liamsburg style to go along with the
architecture of the Forsyth County
courthouse.
It is the community development
m FORSYTH mf VI lifC
COUNTY IV El W 9
VOLUME LXXII—NUMBER 26
the parade would be somewhat smaller
than usual, but would still include 35 to
40 units. Featured in the parade will be
12 steam engines, antique cars, floats,
horses, singing groups, and doggers.
Tracy Rye, the 1981 Lanier Junior
Miss, will be riding in a car during the
parade.
The parade will also feature the For
syth County High School Flash of Crim
son Band and the V. F. W. Color Guard.
Grand Marshalls for the 1981 parade
will be former and present city and
county government officials.
Bennett said trophies will be awarded
for the best antique car and the best
The jury recommended that the legis
lators of the circuit pass one of the bills,
perhaps at the special 1981 legislative
session.
In other recommendations, the jury
requested that consideration be given
and action taken to recommend that the
voters of Forsyth County be permitted
to elect the chairman of the Forsyth
County Commission for a term of four
years.
A recommendation was also made to
the planning and zoning commission,
urging the department to update and
maintain a master zoning plan. The
recommendation came after reviewing
the county’s growth and needs.
In regards to the Forsyth County
School System, the grand jury recom
mended the following:
A long range plan should be estab
lished to prevent overcrowded school
gency room from noon to 6 a.m., Mon
day through Thursday, and from 12
noon on Friday through 6 a.m. on Mon
day.
Also, there will be 24-hour coverage
on the following six major holidays:
New Year’s, Memorial Day, Fourth of
July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and
Christmas.
Previously, a doctor was on duty
from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., Monday through
Friday, and from 1 p.m. on Saturday
Continued on Page 2A
committee of the Cumming-Forsyth
County Chamber of Commerce, under
the chairmanship of Val Shinall, that is
overseeing the project.
“My goal as chfurman,” said Mrs.
Shinall,“is to have the square revita
lized by next July 4.”
1982 will mark 150 years of existence
for Forsyth County. A sesquicentennial
celebration for the area is now in the
planning stages.
(Forsyth County was created on Dec.
3, 1832 with Cumming being incorpo
rated into the county two years later on
Dec. 22,1834.)
In order to see the project completed
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1,1981 CUMMING, GA. 30130
float appearing in the parade.
The parade will begin on Maple
Street, in front of the Forsyth County
Bank, and proceed to Industrial Road
where it will turn right. The parade will
turn right onto Main Street and con
tinue in front of the Cumming Convales
cent Home. It will continue up Main
Street until it veers left on Pilgrim Mill
Road.
Bennett said the steam engines will
continue to Dr. Jim Mashbum’s house,
but the remainder of the parade will be
rerouted back to the Cumming City
Hall for unloading.
Bennett said all participants in this
situations in the future.
Additional studies need to be un
dertaken to alleviate the general prob
lem concerning leaky roofs and floor
coverings.
Heating systems of all schools
should be evaluated for possible servic
ing and repairs.
Evaluate needs for playground
equipment for all age groups at elemen
tary schools.
General landscaping and paving of
heavily traveled areas in and around
schools be evaluated to provide for
general welfare of students.
Vast improvements be made in
restroom, shower and locker room fa
cilities. Also, an annex for mentioned
facilities should be constructed at high
school gymnasium.
The jury also recommended an in
crease of salaries for school employees
to a standard equal to, or better than,
the surrounding counties in order to
maintain a high quality of professional
ism in academic affairs.
The jury directed two recommenda
tions to the Forsyth County jail. One of
the recommendations expressed a need
for bins in the evidence room, to be used
for organizing and cataloging contra
band and evidence needed for investi
gations.
The second recommendation ex
pressed a need for additional metal file
cabinets and eventually a larger area
be provided to accommodate the ever
increasing work flow of the depart
ment.
The jury also recommended an in
crease of salaries for county law en
forcement officials.
The jury also recommended that in
future meetings of the grand jury,
former officers of the jury should be
Continued on Page 2A
Mattingly, Kersey, Jenkins
Speak At Country Day Here
By JAY JORDAN
News Editor
Last Saturday was Country Day, a
day of barbecue, politics and entertain
ment. :
Tommy Kersey, state president of the
American Agriculture Movement, and
Alvin Jenkins, national spokesman for
the group, spoke like “doomsday pre
achers” in Kersey’s phrase, about the
plight of America in general and the
farmer in particular.
U.S. Sen. Mack Mattingly followed
with “the good news ... all that folly is
over.” America now has strong lead
ership and is ending socialism, he said.
The event was sponsored by the local
American Agri culture movement and
the local Republican Party at Forsyth
County High School stadium.
There was fresh barbecue, live enter
tainment, arts and crafts booths, an
by next year, Ms. Shinall said she and
her committee can only hope that the
different building owners will be moti
vated by what’s already been done.
“My feeling is it’s going to catch on,”
she said.
Ms. Shinall said last week that she
and members of her committee are
individually contacting the different
owners.
R.A. Westbrook, owner of Westbrook
Jewelers on the square, told The News
last week that he will renovate his store
front as soon as the city fixes the
sidewalk out front.
“The city will do what it can to work
year’s parade should contact the park
before Saturday concerning lineup pro
cedures.
Immediately following the parade,
the Forsyth County Lions Club will hold
its annual chicken barbecue on the
courthouse square. All proceeds from
the plate lunches go to the club’s Sight
Conservation Project.
The Forsyth County Bank will be
holding its 13th annual Fourth of July
turtle race in the bank parking lot
immediately following the parade.
There will be two divisions for the
turtle race: big turtles and little turtles.
The bank will make cash awards to the
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Ready For The Parade
Pictured is Richard Webb atop the originial 1912, 45 h.p. CASE steam engine used
in the first Fourth of July parade in Cumming, 24 years ago. Webb’s great
grandfather, A. G. Thomas, led that parade with this steam engine, by making a
simple drive around the courthouse square in Cumming. Today, the parade is
named after Thomas. This engine was purchased in Guntersville, Ala. by Thomas
and was used to pull a saw mill and a planner mill. The engine has missed only two
parades, including the 1980 parade. Webb said he and partner Mike Clure
recently replaced all the fluesin the engine and have her ready to run in this year’s
parade. Webb and Clure will be driving the engine on Saturday. (News photo by
Scott Vaughan.)
auction, and plenty of giveaways, in
cluding SSO in cash.
Rafael and the Special Edition pro
vided country music. The Little Enter
tainers, Christy Loggins and Brian
Reid, clogged and did disco and modem
dancing.
Jenkins ran a fast-moving auction,
selling everything from toy tractors to
19-inch color television sets. And every
few sales, he would stop and give some
thing away.
Kersey gave a description of the
current conditions in American agricul
ture.
America is in “one of the most crit
ical stages we’ve ever faced,” Kersey
said. Bad times have never been quite
like this.
Farmers have been suffering from
extended bad weather and Jimmy Car
ter’s farm policies, he explained. “But
with (the merchants and building own
ers),” said Cumming Mayor Ford
Gravitt.
Gravitt also agreed that next July 4 is
the deadline being worked toward for
completion of the town project.
When the GMAPDC originally drew
up the Cumming community design
concept, it stated the goal as being for
the city of Cumming to be “lifted physi
cally from the tired and unattractive
facade of a lazy rural Georgia town to
one of an attractive viable and progres
sive suburban city, attractive both to its
current citizenry and future citizens
and employers.”
32 PAGES, 3 SECTIONS—2S CENTS
race winners.
The Cumming City Park will be spon
soring its sixth annual “Festival in the
Park” with activities beginning at noon
at the park.
Carol Evans, coordinator of the festi
val, announced that the festival will
feature the sale of plants and flowers,
handmade crafts, tole painting, oils,
“little people” dolls, t-shirts and bal
loons, baked goods, hot dogs, hamburg
ers, barbecue, snacks, face painting
and a photography exhibit.
The festival will also feature demon
strations from the Forsyth County Bar
bell Club, and the park’s karate and
today,” he said, “even with a good
crop, you can’t even pay for your crop,
let alone make a profit.”
Farmers’ concerns are ignored, he
said, while industry can get nearly
anything from government. If the pub
lic and the government do not wake up,
then “we face economic doom in Amer
ica.”
Jenkins followed with an explanation
of why America and its agriculture are
in trouble.
Americans have already lost their
freedom, he claimed. His son, he said,
is a farmer, while his daughter is a
professional who has just bought a
home. “My daughter is a corporate
slave and my son is a government
sharecropper,” he said, because they
were both in debt for the rest of their
Continued on Page 2A
The following was recommended:
• That the city of Cumming carry out
an extensive downtown redevelopment
effort based upon a unifying design
concept theme.
• That this design concept theme be
essentially based on early colonial or
Williamsburg architectural and site
development details.
• That every effort be made to gener
ate some form of nightime activity
downtown, and it is suggested that the
city and county jointly sponsor the
development of a community cultural
center which would provide auditorium
facilities. (The Sawnee Association of
gymnastics classes.
The Forsyth County High School Red
Peppers band will lead off an afternoon
of music. Other bands will include
Country Times, Gene Gore’s Country
Band and the Gary Winkler Band.
Evans said there were only nine
spaces left for the 1981 festival.
There will also be a special “Space
Walk” attraction at the park.
The park will also be sponsoring a
street dance in downtown Cumming
from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. on the night of
the fourth. The band will be Hoyt True
love’s Country Grass band.
Heat Isn’t
Affecting
Poultry Yet
BY SCOTT VAUGHAN
Staff Writer
Temperatures in the high 90s
throughout most of June have not dras
tically increased the mortality rate of
poultry in the Forsyth County area, but
growers are advising one another to be
prepared to have a back-up water sup
ply on hand, should wells or sisterns go
dry.
Earl Whittaker, area manager for
Tyson Foods in Cumming, said the heat
is not the biggest problem for growers
now. But the biggest problem is water
supply.
“Last year we didn’t worry about
real water shortages until the last of the
summer or fall,” Whittaker said. “But,
we’ve been nearing a drought situation
since late May this year. We’re fortu
nate we’ve got the lake nearby or we
would be in a disaster state.”
Whittaker said he cautions all grow
ers who use wells or sisterns to have a
secondary water supply lined up in case
their well goes dry. He also said it is
very important to have proper ventila
tion for the birds.
“Our mortality rate is up a little, but
we’re not in an emergency state,”
Whittaker said.
Terry Smith, of A. C. Smith Poultry in
Silver City, said broilers are off 30 to 40
points and are taking three or four days
longer to get to market.
“There’s not a great deal of mortal
ity,” Smith said, “just a little more
than normal. Egg production is down
because the hens won’t eat. It’s too
hot.”
Smith said his company had two
growers to have their wells go dry, but
they did have a secondary source of
water. He also cautioned growers to
have a back-up plan of water.
Smith advised area growers to use a
lot of ventilation.
“It takes heat of about 104-106 de
grees to kill a bird, but if you don’t have
proper ventilation they will smother,”
Smith said. “The birds use all the air
around them and just smother. The air
must be moving.”
Carroll Buice, Cumming city water
manager, said the water department
was in good shape for this time of year.
“We’re having to pump about five
more hours a day than we were a month
ago,” Buice said. “But, unless some big
storm comes along and knocks out a
pipe, we’ll be in good shape, providing
the lake doesn’t get too low.”
The city currently uses two pumps to
bring water out of the lake. Tyson’s
uses this city water, but some area
poultry growers in the county often rely
on wells.
Bill Lemer, a meteorologist with the
National Weather Service, said that
June has been hotter than last year,
when July and August set new 100-year
records for being overall hot months.
July temperatures tied or broke the
given-day record nine times in 1980.
Eight records were set in August. The
old, all-time high of 103 in Atlanta was
equaled twice last year and broken
twice, with 105-degree highs on July 13
and 17.
But none of the really hot weather
came until about July 8 or 9,1980.
the Arts is currently speerheading a
community center bidding fund drive.)
• That a greenway system be devel
oped which would add both attractive
ness to the community and improve
both pedestrian and bicycle travelways
while tying the Cumming Park area to
the downtown.
• That the city of Cumming change its
name and image to that of the Village of
Cumming as would be consistent with a
quality community, that new signs be
constructed at the entrances to town
which would add attractiveness and
appeal and give a sense of solidarity.