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Taking a flying leap from IBM
An IBM Tower security guard told
me recently that he and other guards
had been put on alert to watch for the
mystery parachutist who enjoys be
ing the first to jump off new tall build
ings in our city. Well, an unimpeach
able source as they say in
Washington has informed me the
security guards are a bit late. The
jump has already been made.
‘‘There’s a group of local guys who do
it,” says the source, “but the one who
did the jump off the IBM Tower is not
into notoriety. He just grabbed a
lunch pail, a hard hat, went to the 50th
floor and jumped for the fun of it. No
problem. He’s the same guy who
parachuted off the WSB Tower at 10th
and Spring.” Some people get their
kicks in funny ways... Wouldn’t it be
something if an investigation uncov
ered the guy that buzzed and clipped
Bill Elliott’s jet the other day was
Dale Earnhardt?.. Anyone for a tur
key sandwich?
HUDCAPS: First Christmas tree
spotting on local lots: Six days before
Thanksgiving. By the year 2001, you’ll
be able to buy your Christmas tree at
Halloween..! So, Ed Tyll, the contro
versial afternoon talk show host at
WGST, is gone. No surprise. Being a
jerk for jerks’ sake doesn’t cut it in
Atlanta... Hooters, the Altanta restau
rant that promotes chicken wings and
1 arrested and 2 injured after gang fight
A gang fight among four youth two men injured, one critically.
Tuesday night in Forsyth County left The fight erupted between two
TOYScontinued from page 1
been taken home for extensive
repairs.
, Some of the toys have been given to
Cumming First Baptist to distribute
to needy children. Many will go to The
Place and other organizations. Any
groups needing toys should contact
Bamhorst at Midway Park, 889-3202.
The Forsyth County Jaycees are
helping the needy by distributing
toys, food and clothing this Christ
mas. The Christmas Assistance Pro
gram is a spinoff from the Empty
Stocking Fund, traditionally spon
sored by Jaycees. The new program
asks for the assistance of local
churches to meet the needs in their
communities.
All churches have been asked to as
WATERcontinued from page 1
Blackburn, but officials are hoping that several of the
people who attended will join the Cumming-Forsyth
County Committee for Countywide Water, a loosely struc
tured organization at the backbone of the campaign.
Officials fielded questions for more than an hour, ex
plaining the how’s and why’s of a $22 million city/county
water project to install about 200 miles of water mains
across the county and increase water storage and pump
ing capabilities. Key concerns were:
• Why wouldn’t all of the $22 million expected to be
generated by the sales tax go toward the county water
system? If all the tax revenue went toward installing lines
for the county service area, residents would be no better
off, officials said, because the county purchases water
from the city of Cumming. The city must upgrade its
water pumping and storage capacity to be able to supply
the future demand of nine million gallons per day from
city and county residents.
The $14.4 million in tax revenues that will go toward the
county’s water system wouldn’t be enough to construct an
independent county pumping and storage station and still
install water mains, officials said.
• What areas of the county will be reached through
the expansions? Engineering plans call for two concen
tric loops of water lines circling the county’s service area.
Copibined, the two strings of water mains will make wa
ter accessible to almost all areas except portions near the
Cherokee and Fulton County lines, commissioners said
earlier this fall.
The low elevation of those areas would make the pres
sure from the county water system too strong, so service
agreements will be reached with Fulton and Cherokee for
service. An additional pumping station will be required to
serve the Pea Ridge area of Forsyth near the Hall County
line.
Most other areas will have water mains within reason
able tap-on distance, officials said. Smaller water lines
will interconnect with the trunk lines as tap-on fees pro
vide additional revenue, officials added.
• When wiU the lines be instaUed? AU expansions paid
for by the sales tax wiU be completed during the five-year
duration of the tax, officials said. The first loop of water
mains that circles the city/county water boundary wiU
probably be instaUed first because water must flow
through them to reach the second loop, officials said.
County officials said they are considering interim fi
nancing that would aUow immediate instaUation of the
entire water line system. Then sales tax revenues gener
ated on a quarterly basis would be used to pay back the
interim financing, and water lines would be operational
at more than a year ahead of schedule.
City storage facilities are already being renovated to
increase capacity, according to Blackburn. Though the $3
miUion project isn’t a part of the expansions that would be
funded by the sales tax, it will make serving larger num
bers of customers easier once other expansions are in
place.
• What are the specifics of the sale tax? If Forsyth
County voters opt for a 1 percent local option sales tax
Dec. 15, area merchants wiU begin coUecting the addi
tional penny on April 1, and city and county officials wUI
get the money the calendar quarter after it is coUected.
Shoppers in Forsyth County would have to spring for
the extra penny on every purchase until $22 miUion dol
lars is coUected or the five-year provision of the tax ex
pires. The tax cannot last longer than five years or coUect
more than $22 miUion, officials stressed.
Money generated through a sales tax can be used only
toward the voter-approved use, in this case, instaUation
of the $22 miUion water system. The money can’t be used
to pay off bonds or other debts, city and county officials
said.
• Why did local officials suggest a sales tax to fund the
water system? City and county officials said they beUeve
the local option sales tax is the fairest means of paying for
local improvements because it hits everyone making a
f 1
Ron
Hudspeth
I Guest Columnist
beautiful young waitresses, is out
with with its ’BB calendar ($5.95) and
you can get it signed at an autograph
party Tuesday night at the Buckhead
location... What do pro football teams
do after a Sunday loss? Well, what
they don’t do is mourn for long, and if
it happens to be the Falcons, they
show up en masse at Friday’s at the
Prado to drown their sorrows. Sor
rows? “You’d have never believed
they had just lost a game. Makes me
wonder if they really care.”... Speak
ing of football, let’s hear it for the
Peach Bowl.
PULSE OF PEACHTREE: I have
been asked to do some weird stunts
over the years but nothing stranger
than what will transpire Monday at
noon at the downtown Macy’s. “We’d
like you to cook your favorite recipe
for us,” said the Macy’s PR person.
“What?” I managed. “You mean you
sign a contact person who will pass
out applications and determine needs
in their community. Jaycees will pro
vide financially when a church can
not. Some food and toys have already
been given.
Churches which have responded to
the program are Coal Mountain, First
Christian, First Baptist, Cross Roads,
Settendown Baptist, Community Bap
tist and Oak Grove Church. Other
churches who want to help should con
tact Danny Hubbard, 889-1849; Mar
shall Tallant, 889-1976; or Bill and
Tara Bolton, 887-7540.
1 »
A Christmas Assistance meeting
will be Tuesday evening at the Old
Ducktown School gym.
purchase in Forsyth County rather than coUecting money
from propety owners only.
“At least 40 percent, maybe even more, of the money
would be paid by non-residents of Forsyth County,” said
County Administrator Roberts. “Those are figures given
out by the (state) Department of Community Affairs that
show how much money is spent by visitors to Forsyth
County.”
Officials said using property taxes to fund the water
system would increase the burden on elderly or fixed
income residents, but added that the need for a compre
hensive water system might make property taxes an al
ternate means of financing if the sales tax is voted down.
• What wiU the sales tax pay for? In addition to the
two loops of eight- and 12-inch water mains, the county’s
water system wiU construct two water tanks with the tax
revenue. Some mains branching off from the loops wiU
also be paid for by sales tax money, as wiU connections
with the city’s water system.
The city’s portion of the revenue wiU pay for replacing
two-inch galvanized pipe “that was put in with pick and
shovel about 40 years ago,” said Blackburn. Also included
for the $7.6 million price tag are storage and hydraulic
pumping upgrades that wiU aUow the city and county
water system to function past the year 2010.
Cumming’s intake pipe in Lake Lanier, the water sup
ply for the area, will be lowered nearly 10 feet to ensure
that a water can be withdrawn from even in drought and
low-water situations, according to Blackburn.
• How much will residents and businesses have to pay
for water service? Homeowners in both the Cumming and
Forsyth County service areas can expect to pay a tap-on
fee of S4OO plus a SSO deposit, the same fees now charged to
existing water customers. Developers will be charged
tap-on fees of SSOO per acre.
A county ordinance requires all developers to tie-in
with the county water system where it is available. Coun
ty officials are counting on the money collected from de
velopers to finance feeder lines to areas not directly ser
viced by the water mains.
According to utility service estimates, the average
household (counted as 2.8 persons) uses 7,000 gallons of
water each month, the city’s Blackburn said. Bills issued
by local water departments will charge a base fee, which
pays for service and approximately 4,000 gallons of wa
ter, then $2.75 for every thousand gallons after that,
Blackburn said.
• How will a comprehensive water system affect
growth? City and county leaders acknowledge that most
of the opposition against the water system is grounded in
the desire to slow or halt the waves of growth that have
covered the county in recent years. But officials said that
refusing to implement the water plan would have the op
posite effect.
“Installing a comprehensive water system is one of the
best ways we can control growth in this county,” Commis
sioner James Harrington said at an earlier water meet
ing. “Growth follows utility services, and if we manage
where the utilities go, we have control over where the
growth goes, too. If we don’t, developers can run water
lines wherever they want to.”
• How are promotions for the sales tax/water system
being financed? State law prohibits the use of govern
ment money to campaign for the sales tax referendum, so
local officials spend last week soliciting contributions
from in-town businesses and organizations. More than
$20,000 has been pledged, with $14,500 of the total already
collected, according to Ckninty Administrator Roberts.
The total promotions price tag adds up to $30,000, with
$20,000 going to Saggese-Hicks for a brochures, maps and
slide presentations explaining the project and advertising
coordination. Another SIO,OOO is necessary for printing
and postage costs, officials said.
City Manager Blackburn, like Roberts, is on leave from
their government posts to promote the water package.
want me to boil water?” “No,” she
insisted, “surely, there’s something
you cook.” “Well,” I suggested, “I
could boil an egg.”... Well, we finally
decided upon something. I will cook
my delicously wonderful Hudspeth
fried okra. My dogs love it, and, hey,
it’s not every dog that will eat fried
okra. Jane Nichols’, owner of Good ’Ol
Days, was impressed enough to name
her okra dish after yours truly. My
tombstone will read “In Okra I Trust
ed.” Can’t say the same for those who
dare to sample it tomorrow... Big an
niversaries coming up for Atlanta
stops that have become traditions:
Jim White’s Half Shell, where I have
eaten tons of the incredible scamp,
celebrates its 18th year, while Aunt
Charley’s, the Buckhead pub that
prides itself on being “the place not to
be seen,” turns 12 years old and Ca
po’s, the first restaurant of fame in
Virginia-Highland, just turned 10...
Bertie Higgins, who began playing for
dinner crowds on the local Steak & Ale
circuit, had the giant hit “Key Largo”
a few years back and then lapsed into
obscurity except for the Far East
where his records are regularly No. 1.
He makes an infrequent appearance
tonight in his adopted hometown at
Banks & Shanes club in Sandy
Springs...
groups of four youths after brothers
John Edward Broer, 23, and James
Edward Broer alledgedly insulted a
girl walking past their house. When
the fight ended, John Broer had to be
taken to Lakeside Community Hospi
tal with stab wounds. He was listed in
critical condition Tuesday, but up
graded to fair by Friday. His brother
James was also treated for a blow to
the head he received. He was released
later that evening.
The fight took place at the intersec
tion of Spot Road and Ga. 9.
Sheriff’s investigators arrested 17-
year-old Timothy Lynn Callahan af
ter the incident and charged him with
aggravated assault. He has since
been released on bond.
Apparently, the two groups that be
came embroiled were neighbors, ac
cording to the sheriff’s department.
Forsyth County Sheriff Wesley Wal
raven said that an investigation is
continuing on the incident.
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SUN -1 PM to SPM
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS —SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1987-
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