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WATER Continued from page 1 outerloop which branches up Jot’em Down Road and Ga. 53 to the Dawson County border and west on Nicholson and Heardville roads to Cherokee County. Stretching to the Forsyth/ Fulton border are trunk lines along Old Atlanta Road and Ga. 141. Cumming water customers will benefit from $7.6 million in water sys tem improvements, not all of which would be new lines. Some city lines are still two-inch galvanized pipe that has been underground for about 40 years, according to City Manager Gerald Blackburn. Those lines and others that aren’t large enough to meet increased city water demands will see a size increase. But the city’s money will also pay for installing an intake in Lake La nier, the source of water for the sys tem, 10-feet deeper than the current intake to make sure that water can be withdrawn even when lake levels fall. A city project already under way but not a part of the sales tax package will increase city pumping capacity from 3.2 million gallons a day to 5 mil lion gallons. With monies generated by the sales tax, that capacity would be increased again to 9 million gallons per day to supply both city and county customers, according to Blackburn. Under the proposed water system, Forsyth County will purchase water from the city of Cumming, which al ready has intake and storage capaci ty, and use the total county portion of the revenues to finance distribution systems. The first phase of the county system would install lines around the city/ county border so water purchased from the city can be pumped into county lines, according to officials. However, a line stretching down Ga. 306 will be a part of *his phase to pro vide service to ChesUiee Elementary School, which has had problems with wells in the past. Construction of a 12-inch main down Bethelview Road will also begin in the early stages of the water project, offi cials said, since a $200,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commis sion was awarded for the line. Tap-on fees generated by water cus tomers will pay for the installation of feeder lines that will make water available to more homes, officials said. Local officials stressed that accord ing to figures compiled by the state Department of Community Affairs, 40 percent of the sales tax revenue will be paid by people who don’t iive in Forsyth County but make purchases 14 KT Diamond Cut Eagle Pendants $42 & Up 1/4 Ct. Diamond Marquis Engagement Rings $399 & Up 1.04 Marquise Engagement Ring $1995 Emerald Rings SB6 & Up Princess Ring with Diamonds $57 & Up Men’s l4Kt. Nugget Watch-Reg. SIOSO §BSO Ladie’s 14 kt. Nugget Watches-Reg. $499 $399 16” 14K Gold Herringbone $24 & Up 18” 14K Gold Solid Rope SBO & up 20” 14K Gold Men’s Heavy Link $650 110% OFF ALL DIAMOND RINGS IN STOCK | T &J Jewelers ** Lay-away for Christmas Christmas Flours: MON.-FRI. 9:30-6:30 007 Fountain Square ML SAT. 9:30-5:30 50/*ZIZU Cummine J-4KC& <%£> OPEN SUN. 1-5 OFFICIAL BALLOT STATE OF GEORGIA FORSYTH COUNTY ELECTIOSI DISTRICT SPECIAL ELECTION £()R SPECIAL M«k I hU ballot by ki|rifcr«opp<wlleth« wnr<r'YES" Ifyouda.lrMo volt for th* question propoundN pi in the «Aukrs the Word “NO” if you desire to vote against the question propounded. (nil ask lor a new ballot. Use only pan or pencil. “Shall a special 1 percent sales and use tax be imposed In Forsyth □ yes County for a ‘period of time not to exceed five (5) years and for the □ no raising of not more than $22,000,000.00 for the purpose of develop ment and construction of water and sewer resources?” Wording of ballot for Dec. 15 sales tax referendum in local stores and restaurants. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that every year, 16 million people visit Lake Lanier, and an awfully lot of them come to our stores and buy gas and soft drinks and eat dinner in our restaurants,” Blackburn said. If the state-calculated estimates prove correct, local residents could expect to pay about $13.2 million over the five-year period. Approximations from those figures indicate that the average three-person family might pay around S2OO in sales tax each year due to the tax increase. Each household which chooses to hook on to the water system would be required to pay a tap-on fee. The aver age tap-on fee is $450, including depos it, but for tap-ons that require the line to cross under a road to reach the me ter, fees are $550, officials said. Tap on fees assessed developers will be SSOO per acre. County water bills would be based ji a minimum $7.50 per month charge ■>p to 3,000 gallons. Every addition al 1,000 gallons would be $2.75, accord ing to County Administrator Ralph Roberts. Customers living in the Cumming city limits and purchasing water from the city water system would pay $5 per month, an amount lower than the county’s basic rate because city resi dents financed construction of the wa ter system through tax dollars, ac cording to the city’s Blackburn. The charge per 1,000 gallons above the ba sic rate would be the same as paid by customers in the county service area. City and county officials hired an Atlanta-based public relations firm to coordinate advertising and promo tions for the sales tax campaign. Pri vate donations, now at the $18,400 mark, are being used to pay Saggese- Hicks for the $20,000 promotional package, including maps and bro chures that outline where water lines will go and what roads will be imme diately affected. Because state law prohibits use of tax dollars for campaigns, donations must also be collected to defray an additional SIO,OOO in printing and post age costs, officials said. Roberts and Blackburn say they have both taken three-week leaves of absence from their local government posts to pro mote the tax. Staffers at the county’s voter regis trar’s office are expecting a low turn out for the election. Usually about 35 percent of the county’s 13,340 regis tered voters mark the ballot for a spe cial election, said tabulation manager Donna Parrish. “If we have bad weather, and with it being this close to Christmas, we’ll be lucky if we get that percentage,” Parrish said. The 11 polling places will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on the day of the referendum. Happy Family Restaurant Chinese Food All You Can Eat 90P Grand Opening New Remodeling LUNCH BUFFET s£2s 22ITEMS DINNER BUFFET s£7s 2 , , TEMS The Largest Buffet in Greater Atlanta Area Parties of over 15 people - Soft Drink Free HAPPY FAMILY RESTAURANT 103 INDUSTRIAL BLVD. CUMMING, GA. (WEST SIDE OF COURTHOUSE) 887-0632 Order from menu or carry-out available Lunch AAon.-Fri.il :30-2:30 Sun 12:00-2:30 FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS-SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1987- Driving in Atlanta can cause headache It happened after I’d been in Atlan ta several years. My vision began to blur. Spots appeared in front of my eyes, blinding me to the road ahead. “Oh, my gosh,” I muttered to myself, “I’m having a stroke.” It felt like Atti la the Hun was hammering a stake between my eyes... The car swerved as I felt faint. Funny thing, all I could think was: “Is this is the way it’s gonna end? Cashing it in on the Atlan ta expressway? What an awful place to buy the farm. ”... Well, I’m happy to report it wasn’t terminal or I wouldn’t by typing this. Turns out it was a mi graine headache. Which is kinda odd. I never have migraine headaches. I called my doctor and told him what had happeded. “Were you driving?” he asked. “How did you know that?” I said, puzzled. “In Atlanta?” he asked, ignoring my question. “Well, yes,” I replied, “where else?” “Now think hard,” he said. “Moments before you had the attack were you generally ranting, raving and talking to your self like an idiot?” “Well, yes,” I had to admit. “Just what I thought,” he said. “You’re suffering from Atlanta Driver’s Disease.” GRIM NEWS ON AUTO SCENE: Atlanta Driver’s Disease, huh? Never heard of it. “It is a rare disease only encountered in the general Atlanta area,” explained my doctor. “Nor mal, nice people put behind the steer ing wheel suddenly become raging lu natics ready to kill. It’s even worse during the holidays. I hate to tell you this. It’s like the common cold. There’s no known cure.”... I gulped. “You mean absolutely none?” I man aged. “Well,” he explained, “there is one. Purchase an acetylene torch, melt down your car and start walk ing.”... Good luck, right? No one walks in Atlanta. Everyone rides. At rush hour, you’d swear everyone in metro Atlanta had two cars and at least one of them is out of control. The other is stuck in a traffic jam. We are a beautiful city with a great lifestyle, but when it comes to automobiles At lanta is a loser... There are many rea sons for this. There is no rhyme or reason to Atlanta’s twisting streets Read Ron Hudspeth in the Forsyth County News ■Jf * ) Ron Hudspeth Guest Columnist and, after 18 yars of exhaustive re search, I am still searching for my first synchronized traffic light... Once I knew a newcomer to Atlanta who ar rived in our city bright-eyed and opti mistic. After a couple of traffic jams on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Gwin nett and 1-75 and 1-285 at the river, he had to be committed. A neighbor found the poor guy attempting to beat an Atlanta road map to death with a tire tool. THE WILD ATLANTA DRIVER: The primary suspect causing the At lanta Driver’s Disease virus is ru mored to be the Atlanta driver. Some of the main carriers include Debra Dun woody. Debra always drives a brown station wagon filled with kids and proudly sports a bumper sticker, “Have You Hugged Your Kids To day?” Debra waits until you motor along and then pulls out directly in front of you. She then accelerates to a top speed of 22 miles per hour while straddling the yellow line. At the same time, she attempts to punch out the brats fighting in the back seat... Then there is Granny Goodness. Once a week, granny drives to the comer grocery in her one-owner vintagf Chevy. Granny’s eyesight isn’t what it used to be. But then it never was. Once, she nearly ran over a Union sol dier... Then there is Eighteen-wheel Eddie, who hallucinates and thinks he’s Jerry Reed running contraband. Look in your rearview mirror next time you’re on the downtown connec tor. He’ll be on your bumper at 75 miles per hour, blowing his air horn... I’m gonna quit here. I feel a headache coming on. And I gotta drive home. Pure Natural Food Good, Clean, Healthy Food •NO ADDITIVES •NO AA.S.G. Dinner AAon-Sat 5-9:30 Sun 5-9:00 3A