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®[PDMD©MS
Working Together
For Hospital Care
The Forsyth County Hospital
Authority and the Forsyth
County Board of Commission
ers apparently are working to
gether to alleviate concerns
which should eventually benefit
local residents.
That benefit, if the two
groups of community leaders
have their way, will be a first
class medical facility offering
first-class treatment to a com
munity which, we feel, wants
such and which certainly de
serves such.
The hospital, in past years,
has made great strides through
an upgraded facility that is
helping to attract a variety of
good medical specialists. As a
result, the health care that per
sons seek at the facility, too,
has been, and continues to be,
improving.
Forsyth County, as all statis
tics and projections tend to
verify, is entering into an era of
growth, a growth that could be
even greater and come with
more swiftness than even pro
jections can foretell.
Preparing for growth is not
easy. It is not painless. It is not
inexpensive. But it isn’t easy
either to experience growth and
not be prepared. Not being pre
pared for growth and suddenly
finding its breath on our necks
is truly when the pains, the
headaches and the expenive
Social Security Can’t
Stand These Problems
Little wonder Social Security
is in such foul financial trouble
especially when mismanage
ment is so poor that as much as
SIOO million may have been
paid to people who are de
ceased.
Reports this past week re
vealed that the Veterans Ad
ministration has uncovered
1,411 cases in which Social Se
curity paid benefits to people
who have died. Officials know
as much as $6 million in bene
fits have been paid and Social
Security Commissioner John
Svahn suspects the agency may
have paid a total of SIOO million
to the deceased.
And what’s worse, Svahn
says, “In some instances, peo
ple have tried to notify us of a
death and because of our (com
puter) systems problems...we
just don’t get that recorded.
So Take That You Chauvinist And Remember It
I have a very good friend who de
lights in arguing with me about the
rights of women and the superiority of
men. So far, the winner of the argu
ments has been a “toss up,” but I think
I am gaining on him, or at least holding
my own.
Therefore, when I read a letter in this
week’s Atlanta paper my first thought
was to make sure my friend had an
opportunity to read it too. With the
caption: “Put Those Uppity Women
Back Where They Belong,” I was sure
it would get his immediate attention
vpiir forsyth vrwc
K dll county II Km ww 9
USPS 205-540
(Established 1908)
P.O. Box 210, Cumming, Georgia 30130
Telephone - 887-3126
EDDIE STOWE
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
HARRIET HOUSTON JOHNNY SOLESBEE
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR MANAGING EDITOR
SHERRI FOSTER Advertising
CHUCK THOMPSON NEWS EDITOR
GREG LITTLE... STAFF WRITER
CANDY ADAMS.....' OFFICE
SANDRA INGRAM OFFICE
SHIRLEY PAGE OFFICE
Published every Wednesday by The Forsyth County News
Company. Second Class Postage paid at: Post Office in
Cumming, Georgia under act of March Bth in 1897.
Subscription rates in Forsyth and adjacent counties $10.40 per
year, including state sales tax. Other Georgia counties and
out-of-state $15.60 per year, includes sales tax.
News and Ad Copy Deadline is 1 p.m. Mondays.
ADVERTISING RATES UPON REQUEST
ness begin.
It is projected that by 1987,
the Forsyth County Hospital
will need 75 to 100 beds to offer
medical treatment to an esti
mated population of 35,000. The
hospital currently has 36 beds
and, as figures point out, al
ready could be using more.
Expanding the hospital to
meet the needs of this growing
community and undertaking
some needed renovations at the
facility will not be easy. Nor
will it be inexpensive.
Medical care is a need our
society will always demand and
the demand will only increase
as this already complex service
becomes even more complex.
Forsyth County is quickly
approaching two divergent
paths. The path not taken could
mean an area ill-prepared for
the growth that lies ahead. The
other path is the one in which
our community leaders can
take to best prepare Forsyth
County for what lurks just be
yond the horizon.
Fortunately, these leaders
are about to take this “other”
path. They see the need for a
first-class medical facility in
the community they serve.
They are going to do something
about it. And, in not too many
years ahead, Forsyth County
will be a better community
because of it.
And the checks keep coming,
and pretty soon they get tired of
trying to notify us.”
It’s always easy to blame it
on computers. But somebody
somewhere runs the comput
ers.
Social Security officials last
year decided to run a computer
check of state death records
and found more than 5,000 peo
ple listed as dead on Medicare
records who had received S3O
million in Social Security bene
fits. The check was run after
the benefits were paid. Appar
ently long after.
Svahn says some of the cases
appear to involve fraud and
some were foul-ups.
It’s time the Social Security
Administration took care of
these foul-ups and investigated
the fraud to stop this kind of
thing from happening.
jyOoMißKs* r
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just as it had mine.
The letter, written in response to a
man who believed that women should
Q, areiamster officers ten ?
Selecting Landfill Site Often
Takes Lot Into Consideration
Landfills often are controversial and
expensive to operate, but that doesn’t
make the need for a public dumping
area go away.
That need is highly evident in Forsyth
County, where residents are expected
to produce 585,000 tons of garbage dur
ing the period from 1980-2010.
Since 1970, Forsyth County’s popula
tion has increased 65.2 percent, to
27,958. By the year 2010, estimates are
the county’s population will be 43,400.
Of course, more people will mean more
garbage.
It’s expected the county’s present
landfill, on Kelly Mill Road, will be
filled within the next 12 months. Be
cause finding a new landfill site is a
time-consuming process, the board of
commissioners already has begun
looking fop a new public dumping area.
Before beginning that process, the
board contracted with W. L. Jorden and
Co., Inc., an engineering firm, to help
evaluate prospective sites and deal
with regulatory agencies.
In a public meeting on the landfill
Jan. 31, Steve Harbin, an engineer with
W. L. Jorden, said central Forsyth
County would be the best location for a
new public dumping area. He said
locating the landfill in other areas of
Forsyth County would mean longer
distances for garbage haulers; and
consequently, higher garbage pickup
rates.
Harbin said that according to the Soil
Conservation Service, all Forsyth
County soil, except that located in the
extreme southeastern portion of the
county, is suitable for landfill opera
tions. The landfill, however, can only be
located on land zoned A (Agriculture).
Anyone having a prospective site in
mind, or having questions, is invited to
not be allowed to vote, was written by a
very smart woman. Her ideas are cap
suled below for the readers informa
tion:
Women should not have been
taught to read because then they be
came uppity and thought they could
write and count numbers too. Then,
they began to believe they could think,
too.
Women should not have been edu
cated because then they thought they
could become teachers, secretaries,
lawyers, nurses, doctors and poli
ticians.
Women should not have been
taught to drive because they took over
carpools, school bus routes, and trips to
the doctor and dentist. Besides, every
Let Him Throw And Kick All He Wants
Last year The News ran a story about
23 babies being bom at Forsyth County
Hospital in a two month period of time.
Right now, I know of five women
expecting new boms in the next couple
of months. t
There must be a lot of proud mamas
and papas out there with little fellows
who are rambunctious, learning new
things every day.
A thought occurred to me recently,
and for what it’s worth, I’d like to pass
it along to all those parents who have
young, energetic tikes.
First of all, most parents want their
children to be a success. That is, they
want them to have more than they had,
make achievements in life and go far.
To you I would give this suggestion:
Don’t discourage them from hitting,
kicking or throwing. During their for
mative years, let them have all the
liberties of throwing their toys across
the room, kicking the furniture and
dhuyxdk \ —Jr
v
call W. L. Jorden, at 1-320-1001. A site in
the 50 to 100-acre range is needed.
As mentioned before, landfills are
expensive to operate, but always will be
one of the most needed services of
county governments. Forsyth County
appropriated $148,352.72 in its 1983 bud
get for the operation of its present
landfill. Out of 28 total appropriations,
the landfill claimed the sixth largest
amount of money. In 1982, $136,652.32
was set aside for the operation of the
landfill, which was the sixth largest
appropriation that year also.
In outlining the preparations nec
essary for the new landfill, and its
operation, Harbin said the county needs
a site which won’t impact residential
areas.
Once a landfill site is found, prepara
tion will include cleaning and grubbing
the area, and installing drainage facili
ties, roads, fencing, utilities and build
ings.
Two important considerations,
according to Harbin, will be wind and
water. He suggested the county either
build or acquire portable fences to be
placed at dumping areas on windy
one knows that women cause all auto
mobile accidents and are always the
ones with the most DUl’s on their
records.
Women should be banned from
stores because that takes fooling with
money, planning a budget and carrying
out household economics.
Women should not be allowed to set
foot out of their homes even to go to
church. When women started going to
church they began thinking they could
teach Sunday School, serve on commit
tees and even pray. (Men believe the
Lord doesn’t have time to listen to some
silly woman’s prayers.)
Women shouldn’t be allowed to
rear children because then she starts
thinking she knows something about
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swinging at your lamps.
As a matter of fact, encourage it. As
soon as they are able to hold something
in their hands, give them either a soft
round bail, a plastic bat or a rubber
football.
When they are old enough to play
outside, make sure they have plenty of
room to kick, run and throw.
While it may be difficqjt at first, be
patient. Don’t worry about broken
-THE FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS—WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1983
PAGE 4A
A. process of
elimination
days. The fences would catch blowing
litter, which might otherwise be carried
outside the landfill area.
Also important will be drainage. Har
bin said one of the best ways to insure
proper drainage is to cut ditches and
channels in natural grounds. Some
times a water flume, made of half a
drainage pipe, can be used instead. If
garbage becomes too saturated, it will
produce a pollutant which eventually
can leak out of the ground in the form of
a thick, rusty-colored substance.
Thus, the county should be com
mended for seeking the aid of qualified
engineers, who know what procedures
are necessary for the safe operation of
landfills.
Even though landfills are expensive
to operate, .they’re still the most eco
nomical way to dispose of waste,
according to Harbin.
Our county government is taking the
proper and most economical steps for
disposing of waste, and at the same
time, is not overlooking its citizens. A
10-person task force, made up of “ev
eryday” people, will be appointed by
the county commission to help review
and select the best landfill site.
Other citizens also should become
involved. Anyone with questions about
the landfill should call the number
mentioned above. The engineers can
provide the best answers to your ques
tions, and possibly alleviate some wor
ries you may have about the project
now.
Anyone with a good site for the land
fill in mind, also should call W. L.
Jorden immediately. The engineers are
from outside Forsyth County, and be
cause of their unfamiliarity with the
area, are relying heavily on your sug
gestions.
honesty, integrity, discipline and hard
work.
And to carry things a little further
for my friend, women shouldn’t be
allowed to mess with machinery be
cause then they start thinking they can
run a lawnmower, weedeater and pump
their own gas.
Women shouldn’t be allowed to
speak up on subjects like football
coaches, school boards and govern
ment. They might start folks to believ
ing an education is more important
than a football game.
Well my friend, this woman has taken
advantage of her writing and learning,
and has written about you in the news
paper. Sorry about that, Robert.
lights, broken windows, legs tom off
coffee tables or smashed ashtrays.
And, if luck has it, and the child is
interested enough, by the time he gets
into school, he’ll have a strong interest
in throwing, hitting and kicking.
It’s okay if the neighborhood kids tear
up the lawn playing football. Don’t
worry what your neighbors will think
when there’s no grass in your yard and
all your windows are broken out.
It’s okay if your boy comes home
with the knees tom out of his blue jeans
or the seat of his pants are gone or
grass stained. Don’t worry about it.
If your child excels in some kind of
ball and can do it, there’s no telling
what fortune might come his way.
The highest paid baseball player in
the pros is making an average of $2
million a year. The highest paid football
player makes better than a half million
dollars a year.
Who knows what pro atheletes will be
■ II
Clarence’s
Wisdom
I admit it, Clarence McDurf. You
were right.
Years ago, my longtime friend, Clar
ence, espoused his belief that the terri
ble winter weather we had been having
in those recent years was due to one
thing: man messing around where he
shouldn’t be mainly in outerspace.
I remember so well that day when
Clarence, with bloodshot eyes and
parched lips, explained why the nor
mally mild winters of north Georgia
had been replaced by double hog-back
growlers. In layman’s terms, that
means something way, way out of the
ordinary.
Clarence was sitting in the fast-food
joint where his wife Dessie worked. The
onions on Clarence’s hotdogs, the on
ions that made his eyes bloodshot and
his lips parched, were what, if nothing
else did, set Dessie apart from your
average hotdog maker.
“Man’s been messing around where
he shouldn’t,” Clarence said with tears
streaming down his cheeks. “Weren’t
enough that we sent one man to the
moon. We had to go and send another
one. We’re all gonna pay for this. This
double hog-back growler of a winter is
just the first step. Just you wait and
see, my boy.”
It all came back to me during the
weekend of Jan. 22 and 23, just two
short weeks ago.
In comparison to some winters of
recent years, the weather of that week
end was akin to a double hog-back
growler. Snow, sleet, freezing rain,
high winds, cold. Most of this area
came to a virtual standstill and as I
stood huddled around a wood stove that
just hardly “woodn’t” that weekend, it
dawned on me why things were like
they were.
The Soviet spy satellite, Cosmos 1402,
was plummeting to earth that weekend
and bringing with it all that inclement
weather. It all worked out just like in
Clarence’s belief in the scheme of
things.
Ahhh, but Punxsutawney Phil, the
smart-aleck groundhog up in Pennsyl
vania, told us only last Wednesday that
an early spring was on the way. 01’ Phil
didn’t see his shadow. And, General
Lee, a groundhog burrowed at the Wild
life Game Ranch along the banks of the
Yellow River in nearby Gwinnett
County, also emerged last Wednesday
to try to convince us that spring was
just around the corner.
Anyway, you can listen to what folks
say groundhogs say if you want to, but,
personally, I’m going to trust Clarence
McDurf’s reasoning from here on out.
You see, there was still some of
Cosmos 1402 still floating around up
there in the heavens and it was just a
matter of time until it, too, crashed to
earth.
Ironic, isn’t it, that the tail section of
Cosmos 1402 crashed to earth, in the
south Atlantic, on Monday morning,
two days ago? There hadn’t been much
hullabaloo about that radioactive tail
section. And, there hadn’t been ex
pected a winter storm as severe as the
one that snuck in on us Saturday night,
just two nights before Cosmos 1402
finally came to rest.
Thanks, Clarence McDurf, for im
parting your wisdom these many years
ago: “To understand life, they say, my
boy, you’ve got to stop sometimes and
smell the roses. Maybe so. Maybe so.
But, you need to stop and taste Dessie’s
onions, too. They’ll clear your mind, not
to mention your sinuses, and help you
understand the scheme of things in this
old world.”
You’re right, Clarence. Last week
end, amidst that winter storm, I could
still taste them onions.
making 20 years from now. If the trend
continues, some of the players may be
making enough to buy the team, fire the
coach and take over themselves.
• if , they are able to afford aU that,
just think about how many lamps, win
dows and front yards they can have
landscaped.
And for those of you who have little
girls, forget about them marrying a
doctor or engineer. Tell them to go after
the ball players, that’s where the real
money is.
And if it doesn’t work out for your son
to become a highplaying athlete and
ne s a bookworm instead, tell him to
study law so he can represent his
rnends negiotating contracts.
Do what you can to get him involved
in the sports world some way, some
how.
But, don’t let him grow up wanting to
be a coach he might be looking for a
job every other year or so.