Newspaper Page Text
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Teachers
Approved
By GREG LITTLE
Staff Writer
After much deliberation, the Forsyth
County Board of Education approved
five new teachers at its regular
monthly meeting last Thursday night.
While four of the recommendations
eventually received unanimous appro
val, one recommendation was in doubt
until chairman Edsel Orr’s vote broke a
2-2 deadlock.
Supt. B.M. “Bud” Amsler recom
mended Connie Case as an English
teacher at North Forsyth Junior High,
replacing a teacher that had resigned
there. While L.C. Day and Arthur
Wright voted in favor of the recommen
dation, Hon Wood and Johnny Day
opposed it.
Opposition was not directed at Mrs.
Case, rather at the fact that the board
members felt that the number of teach
ers in the local system must be reduced
by attrition whenever possible, in an
attempt to reduce expenditures on tea
ching salaries and avoid another bud
get deficit in 1982-83.
With the vote deadlocked, and await
ing Orr’s vote for approval or rejection,
North Forsyth principal Johnny Otts
informed the board that without Mrs.
Case, his school would have only two
English teachers to instruct more than
400 students.
At that point, Wood offered to change
his vote in favor of the recommenda
tion, saying he had voted against it only
as a protest to show that he was indeed
looking very closely at each recommen
dation.
Orr reminded Wood that the vote had
already been taken, and that another
vote would require a new motion. On
then broke the tie and gave Mrs. Case
approval.
Also receiving close scrutiny before
finally being approved was the recom
mendation of Dorothy Partridge as
librarian at Cumming Elementary.
Again, opposition was'not directed at
Mrs. Partridge. Board members ex
pressed concern over whether a tea
cher already employed in the county
could not have been transferred into the
position instead of hiring someone new.
Specifically, board members wished
to transfer one of the two librarians at
Forsyth County High School into the
position. But Betty Benson, assistant
superintendent for instruction in the
county, informed the board that both
librarians were needed at the high
school to meet state education stan
dards.
Continued on Page 12A
Reward Has
Increased
To $4,700
A reward for information leading to
the arrest of the person, or persons
responsible for distributing unsigned
political cartoons prior to the August 31
runoff, has been increased to $4,700. In
just two weeks, the amount of the
award has increased by $1,200.
The cartoons were circulated around
Cumming and Forsyth County as early
as three days before the runoff. Some of
the cartoons were found outside down
town stores on Monday, August 30, and
the owners of local businesses found the
cartoons stuck in their doorways Tues
day morning.
The cartoons made derogative re
marks about several public officials
and candidates in the August 31 runoff,
and about individuals not holding public
office.
Cumming Police Chief Gabe Dukas
has said that the cartoons are in viola
tion of state laws, which require that
such materials be signed by the individ
ual or candidate responsible for them.
The Cumming Police Department
and the Georgia Bureau of Investiga
tion are still trying to determine from
where the cartoons originated, and how
they were distributed.
Farmers’ Crops Good,
By CHUCK THOMPSON
News Editor
While many businesses have man
aged to weather the latest economic
storm, the farmer is being washed
away in a flood of rising prices, and low
profit margins.
The case is the same in Forsyth
County, where four local farmers say
they’re expecting their best crop in
years, but little or no profit.
The reason is prices received for
crops, which are sharply below last
year’s levels, and those of years past.
Forsyth County Extension Service Di
rector Hugh McMillan noted that cattle
Till 1 FORSYTH VritfC
A oEi county IV Em W 9
VOLUME LXXIII—NUMBER 38 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1982 CUMMING, GA. 30130 50 PAGES, 5 SECTIONS—3S CENTS
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Sharing The Duties
The school’s safety patrol has a lot of responsibilities, not only to provide safety for
students, but other duties as well. The patrol, which was organized last year under
the supervision of parent Gayle Holden, helps students to and from the buses and
especially watches the younger ones around school. Here, Jimmy Cooper, Ruthie
Dalton and Mark Little are shown folding a flag. Taking care of banners also is a
part of their job.
Poole’s Mill Bridge
Fire Damage Repaired
Fire damage to Poole’s Mill Bridge
has been repaired. The upper portion of
one end of the bridge burned on
Wednesday, Sept. 1. The actual cause of
the fire has not. been .determined,
according to Forsyth County Fire Chief
Jake Moore.
The bridge, which was built in 1900,
underwent repair work less than four
months ago. The old structure had been
leaning heavily to one side, and to
correct the problem, Vfe” cables were
run from some nearby trees to the
bridge. Those cables pull in the opposite
direction from which the old landmark
was leaning.
The cables were attached to the
bridge as a community service project,
by a Boy Scout troop from the Georgia
Industrial Institute. The effort of the
Scouts was part of a program estab
jjf " -J ’ ' 0 : ' •
KENDRA JANE HYDE HOLDS NEW DOLL AND FLOWERS
...after being crowned ‘Little Miss’ here Saturday
are selling for SSB to $64 per hundred
pounds. “We sold calves for sl.lO per
pound, or sllO per hundred pounds, in
the
Farmers have long sought parity for
their crops, but appear to be moving
away from that goal, rather than to
ward it. Parity levels for most crops
are at, or below 50 percent. For wheat,
the parity level is 46 percent; for com,
50 percent; and for soybeans, 47 per
cent. Parity levels for cattle (62 per
cent) and hogs (68 percent) are above
50 percent, but still leave much to be
desired. The 68-percent parity level for
hogs, mentioned above, was the result
lished by the Georgia Mountains Histor
ical Resources Advisory Committee,
which is dedicated to the preservation
of historic places.
Materials i’c t the repairs were pro
vided by the county, while the labor was
provided by the scout troop, at no
charge.
The bridge also underwent a major
renovation in 1974, when a new roof,
and some new boards were added.
County Administrator Donald Major
said he had not received a bill for the
latest repairs to the bridge, but added
that those repairs should run no more
than S6OO-S7OO.
Poole’s Mill is one of only 18 covered
bridges left in Georgia. The bridge was
named after its owners, who operated
several mills on Settendown Creek.
of a price which was the third highest
on record. That price, however, was not
enough to meet the cost of production.
E. H. Reid, who operates a farm in
south Forsyth County, also noted that
hog prices have been under cost for the
last 18 months. “Each time a hog was
sold,” he said, “it meant a loss of S2O
per head.”
According to the Southeast Farm
Press, net income for Georgia farmers
fell from 675 million, in 1979, to 41
million, in 1981. The Press also noted
that this year, net income for farmers is
expected to be the lowest since the
depression.
Motion For New Trial
Made In Malpractice Suit
Defense attorneys have filed a motion
for a new trial in the case of Robert
Paul Revis, who last week was granted
a $4,700,000 medical malpractice ver
dict.
A Fulton County jury awarded Revis
almost $3,800,000 in compensatory dam
ages, and $912,499 in exemplary and
punitive damages. Doctor Everett Lee,
the Forsyth County Hospital Authority,
Brookwood Health Services and Brook
wood Management Services are each
liable for about one fourth of the dam
ages.
Revis, age 22, in an auto
accident on Georgi ?306, near Georgia
20 west, on Augus„ 30, 1979. He was
transported to Forsyth County Hospi
tal, where he was admitted, after being
given X-rays.
The suit claimed that Revis suffered
weakness in both legs from incomplete
or slight paralysis, but had movement
in his feet and knees, arms, hands and
fingers when he reached the hospital. It
also said that Revis had no chest prob
lems and no breathing problems.
Dr. Everett Lee, of Fulton County,
was on duty at the hospital when Revis
was brought in. Lee said that he took X
rays of the entire spine of Revis, but
because of pain suffered by the patient,
and his inability to relax, the cervical
spine was not visualized on the hospital
X-rays. A dislocated seventh vertebrae
in Revis’ spine was eventually found.
The suit said that after 9% hours at
Forsyth County Hospital, Revis was
transferred to Northside Hospital. The
transfer came after an Emory Univer
sity resident working part-time in the
hospital emergency room, found Revis
clinically quadriplegic, and in danger
of suffering from a respiratory arrest.
The suit also said that Revis was in and
out of consciousness, had no movement
of his hands and fingers, some flexation
of his arms, some extension of his left
arm but none of the right arm, and only
soi ie wrist extension and ftexatior
Once Revis reached Northside Hospi
tal, according to the suit, he suffered
from a lung collapse, severe pneumonia
and abdominal pains. He was treated
and transferred to Shephard Spinal
Center, where he was under the care of
a neurosurgeon for three months.
Revis was later released and sent
home, but was admitted to Joan Glancy
Hospital after one week with cardiac
and respiratory arrest, according to the
suit. He was transferred back to North
side Hospital for three weeks before
returning home.
The suit alleged 15 acts of negligence
on the part of Dr. Lee, and 12 acts of
Little Miss, Master
Winners Announced
By MERRI BRANTLEY
News Staff Writer
The second annual Little Miss and
Master Forsyth County is once again
being termed a success, with a stand
ing-room-only crowd that turned out for
the affair Saturday night at the South
Forsyth County Junior High School.
Although the exact figure has not
been determined, the proceeds from the
pageant should provide the Forsyth
County Humane Society with a tidy
sum.
A total of 29 contestats competed in
three divisions: Tiny Miss (ages three
to five); Little Miss (ages six to eight);
and Little Master (for boys ages three
to five).
Top winners, crowned by the 1981
winners were Tiny Miss, Stephanie
Leigh Pruitt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs
Charles Pruitt; Little Master, Jeff Bag
well, son of Mrs. Debbie Reid, and
Little Miss, Kendra Jane Hyde, daugh
ter of Mrs. Hoyt Hyde.
Tiny Miss Pruitt and Little Miss Hyde
each received a trophy, a floral spray of
blue carnations, a crown, a banner, and
a Fluffi-land doll.
Little Master Bagwell received a
crown, a bouton-nier, trophy, banner,
and a farm set donated by Heard and
But The Profits Aren’t
Reid said that together, a group of
farmers in Grady County owes 80 mil
lion dollars. “If they sold all 70,000
acres of cultivated land in Grady
County,” he said, “it would not pay off
the debt.” Reid added that being re
imbursed for the cost of production and
making a profit not just loans are
the key to the farmer’s recovery.
“The only way a fanner can get a
decent price is to have a natural disas
ter, which creates a shortage,” said
Gene Mauldin, who operates a farm in
the Hightower Community. “I remem
ber selling fourth class soybeans after a
natural disaster for $10.83 per bushel,”
negligence on the part of Forsyth
County Hospital.
A Fulton County jury deliberated 13
hours on Wednesday and Thursday
before reaching a verdict. Before
Thursday, the largest malpractice ver
dict in a Georgia state court had been a
$1,500,000 judgement against Grady
Hospital, in April. While the verdict
may be the largest of its kind in
Georgia, it is the first against Forsyth
County Hospital, according to Hospital
Administrator Joe Brandon.
Revis’ attorneys, James E. Butler Jr.
and B. Randall Blackwood, of Colum
bus, contended during the trial that Lee
and the nursing staff at the hospital
failed to take complete X-rays of Revis,
preventing them from accurately diag
nosing his problem. Butler and Black
wood also contended that failure to
immobilize Revis’ head allowed him to
move it, and complicate his injuries.
Defense attorneys contended that
Water And Road
Work Almost Over
Major improvements to the city of
Cumming’s water system and roads
are nearing completion.
The widening of Georgia 9, from the
south city limits to Main Street, will be
completed in about 25 more working
days. The construction is being funded
by a grant from the Georgia Depart
ment of Transportation.
Workmen are adding a third lane to
the highway, which has required the
installation of storm drains, and the
relocation of all utilities. Cumming
Mayor Ford Gravitt said that all lines,
including water and sewer lines, have
been moved to make way for the wid
ening of the road.
Unlike the present three-lane section
of the highway, which extends from the
city limits to Old Buford Road, the new
three-lane section will be bordered by
curves on both sides of the road.
Gravitt said that after installing
curbs on the west side of Georgia 9,
workmen will fill in graded out areas on
each side of the road with gravel.
The entire road, not just those areas
to be filled in, will be resurfaced.
Another road-widening project,
which was to take place on Kelly Mill
Road, has been sidelined, according to
Mayor Gravitt. That project would in
clude that portion of Kelly Mill Road
from Georgia 20 west, to an emergency
Vernon Farm Equipment.
Runners up in each division, each of
whom received a trophy were:
Tiny Miss first runner-up Brandy
Vaughan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
William B. Vaughan; second runner-up
Alexia Martin, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Rick Martin; third runner-up La
urie Langley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
David Langley; and fourth runner-up
Shelby Payne, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Earl Payne.
Little Master first runner-up Bry
son Westbrook, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Perry Westbrook; second runner-up
Kenneth S. Dunn, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Kenneth Dunn; third runner-up Mat
thew Russell, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Tommy Russell; and fourth runner-up
Dustin H. Frix, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Hoyt Frix.
Little Miss first runner-up Misty
Elzey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh
Elzey; second runner-up Kristie
Grimes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
James Grimes; third runner-up Shan
non Brooks, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Pete Brooks; and fourth runner-up
Heather Smith, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Eddie Smith.
Continued on Page 11A
he said. That disaster had destroyed
much of the soybean crop, leaving a
short supply to feed a great demand.
Chestatee fanner Carroll Castleberry
summed the problem up like this:
“We’ve overproduced on everything, in
a declining market.”
Silvy Kirby, who operates a farm
near the Forsyth-Fulton County line,
says the average age of the American
farmer is anywhere from 50-55. “When
this generation of farmers quits, there
will be a bunch of hungry people, and it
will be too late,” Kirby said. “The
farmer’s image is a dirty old man with
a pitchfork and a mule. The people with
spine damage suffered by Revis oc
curred during the accident, and was not
the result of negligence on the part of
Dr. Lee or the hospital.
Brookwood Management Services,
which is one of four defendants in the
suit, took over the management of
Forsyth County Hospital on March 13,
1979.
The company was a division of Brook
wood Health Services, which was taken
over by American Medical Interna
tional, on July 31, 1981.
The suit was seeking damages for
past and future mental, physical and
emotional pain, suffering and anguish;
punitive damages; medical expenses
and costs of the court.
Brandon had planned to make a
statement on the verdict on Monday.
However, he was advised by attorneys
to avoid comment on the case, pending
the motion for retrial.
entrance to Forsyth County Hospital.
Improvements to the city water sys
tem are all complete, with the excep
tion of a water tank on Baldridge Road.
Painting of the tank was completed last
week, and workmen now have only to
paint letters on the structure.
Construction of the tank began on
June 7. The reservoir was elevated 117
feet, to match the level of other tanks on
Sawnee Mountain. By equalizing the
level of the tanks, the city can now
equalize pressure throughout its entire
water system. Once completed, the
tank will hold 500,000 gallons of water at
full capacity.
The water project also includes a 12-
inch main down Georgia 9, from the
city water works to Tyson Foods. The
line was built alongside Georgia 9 to
Church Street, where it began a series
of four turns on Tribble Gap Road,
Woodland Drive and Hudson Street,
before connecting with an existing 12-
inch line on Georgia 20 west.
From West Maple Street, a 10-inch
line has also been extended down Cast
leberry Road, across Piney Grove
Road, and over to Georgia 9.
A 6-inch line has also been laid down
Tolbert Street, from the 10-inch line on
Castleberry Road.
Also included in the water project is a
12-inch water line along Georgia 9, in
the city of Cumming. The new line was
laid in conjunction with the road-wid
ening project now under construction.
The city is experiencing a savings on
energy due to the project. According to
City Water Supervisor Carroll Buice,
the project has cut the city’s purifica
tion and pumping operations in half.
The project has also increased the flow
of purified water from the city water
works by 100 percent.
To finance the $950,000 water project,
the city received one of the last five
percent loans from the Farmers Home
Administration.
Mayor Ford Gravitt says the loans
were combined with a $200,000 grant
from the state, to meet the total cost of
the project.
Identity Of
Man Clarified
An article in last week’s News said
that John C. Moore had been denied a
variance petition by the Forsyth County
Appeals Board, because of various zon
ing violations.
The subject of the article should have
been listed as John T. Moore, not John
C. Moore. The News apoligizes for any
inconvenience this may have caused.
that image have no idea of how much it
costs to produce bread or meat. The
wrapper costs more than what the
farmer gets on a loaf of bread. About 90
percent of the people -don’t know what
we have to go through.”
An example given by Reid is only one
of many which farmers must endure. “I
did pretty good up to the first drought,”
Reid said. “I then lost 550 acres of com,
and SIIO,OOO, not counting the equips
ment and work. I had 42 acres I planted
three times, and still didn’t get any
thing.”
Continued on Page 2A