Newspaper Page Text
County Passes Law To Protect River Areas
By CHUCK THOMPSON
News Editor
Tributaries of the Chattahoochee
River in south Forsyth County will be
protected by a new ordinance adopted
in last week’s county commission meet
ing.
The Metro River Protection Act, ap
proved by the 1983 Georgia General
Assembly, requires the commission to
pass laws regulating development
alongside tributaries south of Buford
Dam.
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Warmer Temperatures Replaced Icy Weather
Unless you garaged your car last Tuesday night,, you probably found it
coated with a layer of ice Wednesday morning. Tracy Bowen, (left) a senior
at Forsyth County High School, scrapes the windshield of her father’s car
and prepares to brave the icy roads between her home in Timberland
Heights and Cumming, for a into town Driving was hazardous last
week, and many people stayed home until late in the day, when roads
Hundreds Lose Power When
Icy Storm Covers Forsyth
As many as 1,500 to 2,000 area resi
dents may have been without power for
a period of time last Wednesday, as
freezing temperatures and icy condi
tions caused numerous problems in and
around Forsyth County.
Icy trees falling on power and tele
phone lines caused most of the prob
lems for utility servicemen last week,
and motorists found roads hazardous
and covered with a layer of ice.
As rain fell in the area late Tuesday
evening, temperatures hovered near
and just below freezing during the
night, causing the rain to freeze on
roads, trees and lines.
By daybreak Wednesday, roads were
covered, and trees began to fall on lines
all around the county, sending workers
with Georgia Power and Sawnee Elec
tric Membership Corporation into ac
tion.
Telephone Company repairmen and
workers with the Georgia Department
of Transportation also were busy
around Cumming and a portion of
Forsyth Construction Activity
Kept A Brisk Pace In 1983
By DOUG ALUNGER
Staff Writer
Bulldozers, cement mixers, steel
beams and ribbon cutting ceremonies
have been common sights around For
syth County during the past year, as
hundreds of thousands of square feet of
new office, industrial and service facili
ties were added in 1963 to the county’s
commercial offerings.
Especially along Georgia 400, signs of
the county’s accelerating progress are
evident.
Thousands of acres of industrial park
have been developed at the southern
edge of the county at McFarland
Road and also at Highway 141 and,
although some of the roads in the parks
are not yet paved, several businesses
Till 1 FORSYTH MiHlfg
1111 l COUNTY JILVT9
VOLUME LXXV—NUMBER 1 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1984 CUMMING, GA. 30130 18 PAGES—3S CENTS
Areas up to 35 feet from the banks of
tributaries will be protected by the
ordinance, as well as lakes or wetlands
feeding those tributaries.
In order to carry out any “land dis
turbing activity’’ within the 35-foot
areas, individuals will need a written
permit from the Forsyth County Plan
ning Director.
Applications for permits will include
a topographic map of the building site.
The permits will be issued only when
one or more of the following situations
northern Forsyth.
Carl Curtis, of Georgia Power, said
servicemen began work about 4 a.m.,
repairing damaged lines. An estimated
100 customers around the city lost
power at some point during the day
because of broken lines. Curtis said
there were no serious problems and
that all repairs were made without
outside help.
He said most power outages lasted
about two hours, but some isolated
areas were without power a little
longer. By 1 p.m. Wednesday, he said,
the company had completed repairs.
Curtis said Forsyth was more fortu
nate than some other areas of north
Georgia and said some 40 repairmen
from Georgia Power’s Atlanta office
were summoned to help with repairs.
Power was off for several hundred
members on Sawnee Electric Mem
bership Corporation’s lines, and some
areas were without power for as long as
16 hours, and longer in some isolated
places.
already have set up shop.
At the McFarland-400 Park, site
of J.S. Technology Co., a manufac
turer of torque wrenches formerly
based in Atlanta, the finishing touches
are being added to a 32,000-square-foot
facility on 7.5 acres that firm bought in
the park this year.
“We chose to relocate to Forsyth
County because of the good business
climate, a tax structure favorable to
business, and its stable work force and
good work ethics,” according to Jan
Stasiek, president of J.S. Technology.
Another important factor Stasiek
said contributed to his selection of
Forsyth as the new home of his growing
business was that the cost of land was
is/are involved:
(1) Construction of a dam or other
impoundment.
(2) Installation of facilities by a pub
lic utility.
(3) Construction of a public road to be
dedicated to the county. The road must
be part of an overall development plan.
(4) In those cases when a plan for
proposed work is prepared by a regis
tered professional engineer. That plan
must provide for the installation and
maintenance of cover. (Cover is plant
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thawed By the weekend most of the ice was gone and the mercury began
to climb, allowing school children to get out and enjoy some of their holiday
vacation. David Peacock (driving motorcycle at right) and Jason Mobley
took advantage of the warmer weather last weekend to get in a little trail
riding (News staff photos by Doug Allinger.)
“No certain area of the county was
hit hardest,” said Larry Kohn, of Saw
nee EMC. “This is the first time it’s
been spread out.”
Kohn said 95 percent of the outages
experienced were because of trees and
limbs breaking due to the weight of the
ice and falling on lines.
A spokesman for the company said
there may have been more than 1,500
customers that were without power at
some point during the period.
And while the icy weather meant
headaches for many, it meant rapid
sales of heavy winter clothing and heat
related items for merchants.
A spokesman for Cumming Hard
ware reported a “marked” increase in
sales of heat tapes, used to prevent
water pipes from freezing.
He also reported increases in sales of
insulation and kerosene heaters.
A spokeswoman for Roper Hardware
said sales of winter heating equipment
were “above normal.”
Amos Plumbing Company reported a
“very favorable” compared to other
areas.
Southern Monorail, a manufacturer
of bridge cranes, is also building a new
facility in the McFarland complex,
which is being developed by the Rives
Corporation. Southern Monorail is mov
ing from Norcross to a 12.4-acre tract in
the park, where its initial facility will
be about 87,000 square feet. The com
pany expects to someday enlarge the
plant to about 300,000 square feet.
Also off McFarland Road, across 400
from the McFarland-400 Park, is Kenco
Alloy and Chemical Company, which
relocated to Forsyth from Chicago this
year. The company manufactures
chemicals for the electronics industry
Continued on Page lIA
or earth materials which provide natu
ral shelter for animal life, or the habitat
which provides that shelter.) This situ
ation applies only when the work to be
done is a single-family residential use
or development.
(5) An erosion control facility de
signed and approved under the Erosion
Control Code. If the facility is to be
located in the 35-foot area, the applicant
must prove he can find no other area
which is “reasonably feasible.”
(6) A stream crossing by a private
drastic increase in repair calls involv
ing broken water lines, which resulted
from sub-zero temperatures in Forsyth
County Christmas weekend.
For domestic pets, winter can be
miserable unless owners take extra
precautions.
Delta Smith, with the Forsyth County
Humane Society, says owners of pets
should provide them with a draft-free
area and a bed of straw.
While old rugs are often used to keep
animals warm, she says, straw gives
them something they can burrow into.
The amount of protein in an animal’s
diet should be increased during periods
of cold, as well as the amount of food.
Cumming veterinarian Larry Gilbert
says animals use a lot of energy to
produce heat and need double the
amount of food during periods of ex
treme cold.
In addition, Gilbert says, individuals
should keep an eye on their animals’
water supply, which can easily freeze in
an outside trough or feeding dish.
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1983 WAS A GOOD YEAR FOR COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION IN FORSYTH
...development was especially strong along 400, near Tri-County Plaza
driveway for single-family residential
or agricultural purposes.
Before any permit is issued, appli
cants will be required to submit a
performance bond ensuring that all
terms and conditions of the application
are carried out properly.
The goal of the ordinance is to restrict
or prohibit activities which increase
erosion and to control changes in natu
ral floodplains, stream channels and
natural protective barriers. It also
seeks to protect fish and wildlife hab-
Orkin Seeks
Rezoning Of
127 Acres Here
A rezoning applicant denied a public
hearing in November was granted that
privilege last week.
In its regular monthly meeting last
Tuesday, the planning commission ap
proved a rezoning request by Sanford
Orkin for consideration in its Jan. 31
public hearing.
Orkin is seeking to rezone 127.45
acres from A (Agriculture) to M-l
(Light Industrial).
The property is located on the east
side of Georgia 141, near the intersec
tion of Mathis Airport Road. Devel
opment there would involve high
technology and other forms of light
industry.
Orkin’s rezoning request was first
submitted to the planning department
in November, but was filed too late to
be placed on the agenda of the planning
commission’s Nov. 29 meeting.
Dana Miles, Orkin’s attorney, ap
peared at the meeting and asked the
planning commission |o place the re
quest on its Nov. 29 agenda.
This required the unanimous appro
val of the planning commission, but one
of its members, Ralph True, was op
posed.
He felt a rezoning as large as that
requested by Orkin should have been
filed with the planning department be
fore the agenda deadline.
True’s decision kept the planning
commission from considering Orkin’s
request for a public hearing, which was
postponed until last Tuesday.
The hearing was granted by a 3-1
margin, with True again opposed. Or
kin has submitted no plans for his
development to the planning commis
sion, and for that reason, True felt he
should not be granted a public hearing.
Other requests approved by the plan
ning commission for consideration in
the Jan. 31 public hearing are as fol
lows:
VC (Vacation Cottages) to CBD
(Commercial Business), 1.79 acres,
Charleston Park Road, requested by
Roy Cain to bring his existing body shop
into compliance with county zoning
laws.
R-l (Residential—Single-family)
and A to CBD, 4.45 acres, requested by
Frank Fleming. The property is located
at the intersection of Georgia 9 south
and McFarland Road. Fleming asked
to rezone the property to CBD in late
1982, in order to relocate his Sandy
Springs glass company to the 4.45-acre
tract. His request was given a recom
mendation for approval by the planning
commission but was denied by the
board of commissioners. County laws
require that once a rezoning request is
denied, the applicant must wait at least
12 months before submitting that re
quest again.
R-2 (Residential— Multi-family) to
CBD, 4.45 acres, located behind Mr.
Swiss restaurant. The rezoning is being
requested by Marcus Mashbum Jr. for
the construction of business offices.
Mashbum said no manufacturing
itats and water quality.
In other business last week the com
missioners renewed a contract for ani
mal control services and approved the
purchase of four new fire trucks.
Under the animal control agreement,
Orr’s Animal Clinic will receive three
10-percent increases in payments for
holding stray dogs and cats.
The county is not charged for animals
held up to 24 hours. The clinic received
$3 in 1983 for animals held 24 to 48 hours
Continued on Page 10A
would be involved.
R-l and A to CBD, five acres at the
intersection of Georgia 9 south and
Twin Lakes Road, requested by Bobby
Bagley. The rezoning is being sought to
improve the sales potential of the prop
erty.
A to M-l, 1.406 acres, McFarland
Road near the intersection of Branch
Drive, requested by North Georgia
Brick Company for the construction of
office buildings.
Hollis Morgan
Free On Bond;
Case Reviewed
After 11 years, a murder conviction
against Hollis Wingo Morgan may be
overturned by U.S. District Judge Wil
bur D. Owens, Jr.
Mrs. Morgan, her husband Michael
Morgan and two others were charged in
1972 with the slayings of her in-laws
(Wallace and Wilma Morgan) in north
Forsyth County.
Four months later, she was convicted
and sentenced to die. She was freed on
bond a few months ago, pending out
come of consideration of her convic
tion.
In 1974, the Georgia Supreme Court
affirmed her conviction, but vacated
her death sentence because the state
had no valid death penalty law at that
time.
Mrs. Morgan was charged on the the
ory that she helped plot the slayings.
Statements by Michael Morgan and
another co-conspirator were used to
link her with the murder plot, but
neither of those individuals testified at
her trial.
Other testimony against Mrs. Mor
gan was that she was seen in a bar on a
number of occasions with her husband
and a co-conspirator.
In 1982, U.S. Magistrate John D.
Carey said statements by Michael Mor
gan and the other co-conspirator were
not reliable enough to justify their use
at Mrs. Morgan’s trial, without her %
being given the constitutional right of
cross-examination.
He said cross-examination of the po
lice officer taking a statement does not
substitute for cross-examination of the
co- conspirator making it.
In effect, Carey said, the statements
were the only evidence linking Mrs.
Morgan to the murder plot.
Prior to Carey’s decision, in Septem
ber of 1981, Mrs. Morgan filed a habeas
corpus petition in federal court.
In that petition she contended the
conviction against her was unfair, since
she was not given the right to confront
and cross-examine two key witnesses.
The petition came to the attention of
Judge Owens, in the Middle District of
Georgia, and in August of 1983, Mrs.
Morgan was freed on a SIO,OOO personal
recognizance bond.