Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME L) * ER 97
Dei £ llli i! Assessors
O J _j
roll back tax levels
By Sallylyn Hill
Staff writer
Despite an court ordered injunction on
the 1988 tax digest, the Board of Tax Asses
sors unanimously adopted the digest after
it reaffirmed a previous motion to roll back
county property values to the 1987 level.
This was the third time the board ap
proved the motion originally stated by a
former tax board during an Oct. 13 meeting
and restated by the present board Nov. 7.
“Let it be recorded what we said is what
we meant,” said Chairman Aubrey Green
way. “Leave that as it be.”
The tax assessors reaffirmed the roll
back in hopes it will stop allegations by the
Board of Equalization that the 1988 tax di
gest was adopted in violation of the Geor
gia Sunshine Law.
The lawsuit filed by Howard Meyer, Rob
ert S. Williams Jr. and Tommy Russell,
individually and as members of the board,
accuses the assessors of several violations
including adopting the rollback during a
meeting that was not properly posted.
A temporary injunction was placed on
the digest last Thursday by Judge Frank
Mills in Forsyth County Superior Court un
til a Dec. 29 hearing. The order prevented
the submittal of the digest to the state,
scheduled for the same day.
WRITING
SCORES & PERCENT PASSING J~ SYS EPD STATE
TOTAL SCALED SCORE I 341 345 342
PERCENT PASSING 95 94 92
SYS is Forsyth County
More 10th graders
pass state writing test
By Leonard Kransdorf
Managing Editor
More 10th graders passed the latest
writing test than last year but the
scores were a shade lower than the
statewide score.
“I think when you look at these
scores we have to be pleased, espe
cially with the 95 percent passing,”
said Betty Benson, assistant superin
tendent for instruction for the For
syth County school system.
In the latest scores, Forsyth Comi
ty 10th graders had an overall score
of 341 on the writing test. That com
pares with a state score of 342 and 345
for other school systems in this area.
Flags at half mast
Veteran deputy Forrest dies
By Tom McLaughlin
Staff writer
Flags flew at half mast around the
courthouse square in the city of Cum
ming Monday as officers of the For
syth County Sheriff’s Department
mourned the passing of one of their
own.
Captain W.C. (Dub) Forrest, a vet
eran officer of over 20 years experi
ence in law enforcement, died from
heart related problems on Sunday
morning.
“Captain Forrest has proved a loyal
and capable employee and has been
instrumental in structuring the devel
opment of the Forsyth County Sher
iff’s Department. He surely will be
missed,” said Sheriff Wesley
Walraven.
“We all looked up to him,” said a
young deputy who had joined other of
ficers in paying last respects to For
rest as he lay in state at Ingram’s Fu
neral Home Monday.
Forrest had been with the Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Department for 11
For those who do not receive
H their paper, please call the office
on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. jRJg
Hi at 887-3126. There will be people JMp||
there to answer your call and
lew literacy support group now in planning stages 6A
•rsv th County News
The action taken by the board Monday
does not imply the Oct. 13 meeting was in
violation, said member Billy Evans.
“In no way does it suggest it was in viola
tion,” Evans said. “It is just reaffirming
what was adopted in October.”
Reaffirming the minutes of two meetings
does not remove the injunction. The board
will still have to wait until the Dec. 29
hearing.
After the digest was adopted, Chief Ap
praiser James Payne told the board 14 tax
appeals have been filed against the digest.
The appeals involve 60 parcels and the
disputed amount is more than sl% million.
The disputed amount would need to be ap
proximately sl4 million for the digest to be
locked up, he said.
Mayor Ford Gravitt said the appeals
probably would have been a lot higher but
property owners who had filed against the
first digest assumed there was no need to
file another appeal.
Otherwise several more property owners
who received notices that didn’t reflect the
rollback would have refiled, he said.
He also said he was under the assump
tion that there weren’t suppose to be any
notices that didn’t reflect the rollback.
Please see ASSESSORS, page 2A
However, along with that, the re
sults show 95 percent of the students
passed the test here compared with
92 percent statewide and 94 percent of
other school systems in the area.
Last year, students here scored 354
but only 93 percent passed, Benson
said.
“The lower score could come from
several factors,” Benson said.
“Sometimes you have some classes
that are better than others, or you
could have had a higher number of
special education students in this
class compared to last year.”
The writing test is one of three
Please see SCORE, page 2A
W.C. (Dub) Forrest
years. In that period he had risen
from a uniform deputy to division
commander. His numerous awards
included a commendation from the
Please see DEPUTY, page 2A
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1988 —CUMMING, GA. 30130 —24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS
ftjjLv f
.... . , Staff photo Sallylyn Hil!
Which way?
If you are going to one of the cities mentioned on this street sign in downtown
Cumming you might want to ask someone if you are headed in the right
direction.
Sheriff seeking more cops and cars
By Tom McLaughlin
Staff writer
The Forsyth County Sheriff's De
partment has asked the county to in
crease its annual budget by nearly $1
million in 1989.
The increase is justified when the
incredible growth being experienced
in all sectors of Forsyth County is tak
en into account, according to Sheriff
Wesley Walraven.
“Hopefully, the county commis
sioners will consider the growth of the
county and the service the people here
deserve from their law enforcement
agents,” he stated. “We are seeing a
constant increase in the number of
subdivisions, which mean more roads
to patrol and homes to protect. We
also have more businesses to serve.”
The sheriff’s department has re
quested a total 1989 budget of
$2,532,068 in its 1989 Jail Operations
Budget Proposal, prepared by Walra
ven and his staff. If the budget is ap
proved as is, it would represent an in
crease of $935,357 over the one the
department received in 1987.
Last year the sheriff had asked the
county commission for $2,154,917. His
department received $1,596,711
County Administrator Donald Ma
jor said the commission was hoping to
have its preliminary budget finalized
sometime this week, however, noth
ing would be set in stone until after
public hearings scheduled for Dec. 29
were held.
Among the increases Walraven and
Jeremy Prater leaves no doubt about what he wants for
Christmas as he sits proudly on new racing car on display
“Hopefully, the county
commissioners will con
sider the growth of the
county and the service
the people here deserve
from their law enforce
ment agents,’ ’ he
stated.
his staff have asked for is one of over
$500,000 to add 30 new employees as
well as provide seven percent raises
to personnel forced to work irregular
hours and five percent jumps in pay to
all other employees.
The document states a lack of man
power in a growing county is affecting
the department’s ability to answer
calls.
“These additional personnel are
needed immediately due to the rapid
growth of this county and the heavy
work load we are now experiencing.
Our calls for services have more than
tripled in the past 12 months. Lack of
manpower is forcing this department
to respond to calls on a priority ba
sis,” it says.
Walraven said the number of calls
received at the jail had increased ap
proximately 200 percent in the last
two years and the jail was presently
operating at a daily average of 25 per
cent over capacity.
The department wants 23 additional
Staff photo Leonard Kransdorf
Sitting tall
at stores. Not to worry, the 6V,-year-old's parents Robert
and Tammy were nearby keeping a watchful eye
Area crime not taking
a holiday: retailers
Local builder
also victim
of thieves
By Tom McLaughlin
Staf* write,'
Tis the season to be jolly, unless
that is, you’re a victim of the crimes
which seem to have become a part of
the holiday tradition.
Shoplifting is one crime retailers
must contend with all year round, but
according to Vince Barnett, manager
at Forsyth County’s K-Mart, the
Christmas season is a particularly ac
tive time for criminals.
“We always have an increase in
shoplifting during the holiday sea
son,” he said. “A lot of it is due to the
increased traffic we have in the store.
Sometimes it goes unnoticed if the
thief is good because we’re so busy
helping the honest customers find
what they need.”
Barnett said all merchants are bur
dened by shoplifters, but the large re
tail stores, such as K-Mart and Wal
mart, are probably hardest hit.
“The major retailers feel it worst
because of the sheer bigness of the
stores,” he said.
Fred Ollinger, an assistant manag
er at Wal-Mart, said it was against
store policy to give out information re
lating to crimes being committed on
the premises of the retail outlet. He
did concede, however, during the
deputies, three more jailers, three
dispatchers and a clerk/typist. One of
the deputy positions requested is for a
sergeant certified to provide state
mandatory training for all officers
within the Forsyth County depart
ment. Currently the jail staff consists
of 54 uniformed deputies and the sher
iff, four investigators and a chief in
vestigator, ten jailers and a jail ad
ministrator and six clerical workers.
Animal deaths investigated
By Sallylyn Hill
Staff writer
A cat and three dogs are dead and an
other dog is barely a live after being
reportedly poisoned over the
weekend.
The Forsyth County Humane Soci
ety is warning residents in Northern
Forsyth County to keep their children
and pets close to home and under a
watchful eye.
The owners of the pets live on
McConnell Road off Aaron Sosebee
Road.
The exact type of poison hasn’t been
determined but it appears to be rat
poisoning, said Veterinarian Tracy
Davis. Samples were sent to a lab
Monday morning.
Davis said could not determine if
the poisonings were intentional.
Someone could be also trying to kill
squirrels or other rodents and acci
dentally killing the pets.
Christmas season there is an off-duty
Forsyth County deputy employed as a
security guard at the local store.
Denise Houston, an Eckerd Drags
store manager, said the pharmacy, a
smaller outlet in the same shopping
center as K-Mart in Tri-County Plaza,
had not noticed more shoplifting dur
ing the Christmas season. Ip fact, ohe
said, it is never a problem.
“It is not a serious problem at this
location, but those closer to Atlanta do
see it more often,” she said.
K-Mart’s Barnett declined to give
an estimate of how much the store lost
each year to thieves, but he said,
“shoplifting is wrecking the retailer’s
pockets good.” ‘
He added what hurts the retailer
also hurts the consumer.
“We could actually lower our prices
a good bit if there was no shoplifting,”
he stated. “It eats away at profits like
most people wouldn’t believe.
Barnett said as few as five incidents
of theft a day can hurt a retail busi
ness badly.
Small but expensive items are the
veteran shoplifters prime target, ac
cording to Barrett.
“Cordless phones, pre-recorded
video tapes, cassette tapes and car
stereos,” a thief can grab a few of
them and make big bucks selling
them,” he said. “It only takes a few
dedicated shoplifters to do a lot of
damage.”
Barnett said a man had been appre
hended recently leaving K-Mart with
Please see SHOPLIFT, page 2A
In figuring for added employees
and salary increases, the department
also called for increases in some ar
eas to offset increased expenses.
These included jumps in the county’s
FICA portion, uniforms, pre-employ
ment physicals, retirement and,
along with the rising costs of premi
ums, health and life insurance.
Please see BUDGET, page 2A
Until they find out how the animals
are being poisoned, Davis warned
parents to carefully watch the chil
dren to ensure they don’t find the
poison.
Although Davis would not say if the
poisoning might be intentional, inci
dents of animal poisonings were first
reported several months ago in Cher
okee County.
It seems to be spreading this way,
Davis said.
Last October at least seven dogs
were poisoned with strychnine near
the Forsyth-Cherokee County line.
Several residents offered a SSOO re
ward for information leading to the
arrest of the poisoner.
Sheriff’s Department investigator
Ernie Bom was investigating the pre
vious incident. He was not available to
comment on that investigation.
Police have also taken a report on
the most recent poisonings, Davis
said.
10 CENTS