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400 holiday basketball tournament begins Tuesday Sports, IB
VOL o NUMBER 94
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T m question
Scnool, county tax
rates are lowered
By Sallylyn Hill
Staff Writer
Property owners may see a decrease in
their tax bills with both the county and
school board lowering their millage rates.
But actions last week by the county com
mission and school board to reduce the mill
age may be affected by a pending court
motion which could affect the tax digest.
That digest is used by the governments to
determine what the millage rate will be. A
digest lists the assessed value of every piece
of property in the county.
Forsyth County Commissioners on Thurs
S6O million lawsuit
filed by Lakeside
Dr. Derrick says
he’s not surpised
by latest action
By Sallylyn Hill
Staft Writer
Owners of Lakeside Community Hospital
are suing the chief of staff for S6O million in
damages alleging he has damaged the hos
pital’s credibility with hopes of profiting.
The lawsuit filed Thursday, in U.S. Dis
trict Court in Atlanta by Health Care of For
syth, Inc. charges Dr. Bob Derrick with sev
en counts including slander and conspiring
to weaken and destroy the hospital as a via
ble provider of services to the community.
“Defendant Derrick intends by his
scheme to set up a hospital facility in which
he has a business interest and to eliminate
the community hospital as a competitor or
to buy it on a ‘fire-sale’ basis and to prevent
Corps' plan is heavily criticized
doesn't consider recreation loss
By Sallylyn Hill
Staff Writer
Criticism poured out to the Army Corps of
Engineers about a plan to drain Lake Lanier
even more in the future to provide more drink
ing water for Atlantans who live downstream.
Wednesday, at the first of eight public meet
ings, nearly 200 Lake Lanier property and
business owners met with the Corps to review
the plan and ask questions.
For more than three hours at least a dozen
speakers representing lake associations to
senators questioned the Corps’ study, often
times laughing or jeering at unacceptable
responses.
The Corps’ plan calls for reducing the lake’s
water supply storage for hydropower by
207,000 acre-feet and using it for storage of
water for domestic, municiple and industrial
INSIDE
What is happening in area in
Cumming Events... Page 1C
Roundup of area sports activi
ties... Page 2B
Abby ..2C
Births 9A
Church Briefs 4C
Classified 5C
Deaths
Editorials 4A
Engagements 9A
Events 1C
Horoscope 2C
Letters 5 A
Sports 1B
Sanford Wagoner.4A
Lake Lanier Levels
Date Lake level
/
Nov. 13 1070.48 feet
Nov. 14 1070.42 feet
Nov. 15 - 1070.38 feet
Nov. 16 1070.49 feet
Nov. 17 1070.50 feet
Forsyth Count v New s V
day set the county’s millage at 4.99 plus 1
mill for the fire district and .25 state mill for
a total of 6.24 mills.
This is expected to cover the $12,324,813
needed for the county’s general operating
fund and is a reduction in last year’s rate of
6.36.
Commissioners also adopted a millage
rate of 19.50 also set Thursday by the For
syth County Board of Education.
The school board’s new rate includes 18.75
for the general school board budget and .75
of a mill for the bond indebtedness.
Please see BUDGET, page 2A
its expansion and construction of a new fa
cility,” charges the suit.
Derrick combined with others affiliated
with the Forsyth Physicians Association to
acomplish his “illegal goal of destroying
and weakening” the hospital for his person
al economic gain, according to the lawsuit.
None of the physicians will have any eco
nomic gain from a new facility, said Der
rick when contacted about the suit.
He is not surprised at the lawsuit, said
Derrick. It further proves the hospital’s at
titude toward situation, he said.
“We hope this will be of great benefit to us
in that it will help people understand the
attitude of the hospital toward the local phy
sicians and the community,” he said.
Although the suit only names Derrick as a
defendant it is really against the entire phy
sicians’ association, of which Derrick is
chairman, he said.
At least 22 physicians signed a petition in
support of the group working toward a new
health center.
Please see SUIT, page 2A
purposes in metro Atlanta. An acre-foot of wa
ter is about 335,000 gallons.
In the same plan the Corps would imple
ment a new water management plan for its
four dams on the Chattahoochee River.
The water supply study called the Post Au
thorization Change Notification Report began
in 1978 in an effort to find a water supply to
meet projected growth until the year 2010.
“About 90 percent of the future water needs
for Atlanta will have to come from the Chatta
hoochee,” said Ken Sims study manager.
Lake Lanier leads into the Chattahoochee
River.
By the year 2010 approximately 151 million
gallons of water per day will be needed to ade
quately supply surrounding counties, said
Sims. Current demand is about 85 million gal-
Please see LAKE, page 2A
HOLIDAY
SCHEDULE
CHANGES
The upcoming Thanksgiving
holiday will bring a change in the
deadline schedule for the Forsyth
County News.
The office will be closed Thurs
day for the holiday.
However, there should be no
change in the delivery time for
this Wednesday’s, Nov. 22
newspaper.
The retail advertising deadline
for the Sunday, Nov. 26 newspa
per will be Wednesday at 5 p.m.
The classified advertising
deadline will be Friday at noon.
The deadline for any news sto
ries for the Sunday paper will be
Friday at noor,
If you have any questions
please call the Forsyth County
News at 887-3126 and ask for the
news or advertising departments.
You are also welcome to come by
the office at 121 Dahlonega.
Employees at the Forsyth
County News wish you a safe and
happy Thanksgiving holiday.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1989-CUMMING, GA. 30130-28 PAGES 4 SECTIONS
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Early snow
The balmy late fall weather decided to take a chilly turn
Thursday night. Mother Nature also took time to deposit
something besides cold weather in Forsyth County. This
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During Book Week at Coal Mountain Elemen
tary, classmates in Shirley Holtzclaw’s second
grade read 506 books, more than any other sec
Students encouraged to read
with ‘Book Week' activities
By Cynthia Clark
Stall Writer
Shirley Holtzclaw’s second graders art
avid readers.
During this year’s Book Week Celebra
tion, 506 books were read in the month of
October by her class of second graders at
Coal Mountain Elementary.
“I really encourage reading,” she said.
Some of the students within the winner’s
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Ron Seder discusses Lake Lanier proposal
circle said reading was fun to them.
They were able to read many kinds of
books including mysteries and stories about
young people in various adventures.
“Book Week got me reading a lot,” said
Rebecca Peels.
“Books make you feel all kinds of differ
ent feelings. They are exciting, funny, fun,
sad, and bad. You learn a new word on ev
ery page,” said Grant Galland.
“Reading books sometimes make me
Stall photo Sallylyn Hill
picnic table, located at the home of Harold and Dorothy
Nicholas on Oak Grove Circle, proved there was a bit of
the white stuff in November.
ond grade in the school system. Left to right are
Heather Gooch, Rebecca Peels, Alicia Proctor,
Jessica Bennett, and Grant Galland.
Cumming man arrested
with drugs worth $40,000
By Cynthia Clark
Stall Writer
A Cumming man was arrested and
methamphetamine with a street val
ue of $40,000 was confiscated in a drug
raid Wednesday.
The arrests were made by officials
in the Forsyth/Pickens/Jasper Drug
Task Force with assistance from the
Federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
The arrest culminates a six-month
investigation.
The F.P.J. Task Force executed a
search warrant for a local Cumming
resident and arrested the suspect in
his business called Fat Boys Garage.
As a result of the search, Ralph
Larry Pace, 31, was arrested and
charged with possession of metham
phetamine with the intent to distrib-
Staff photo Mike Webber
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leam,” said Brie Rainey. “If kids read
more, they could get a better job.”
Book Week is a part of the American Edu
cation week celebration. The annual Book
Week event is generally celebrated system
wide with each school doing something dif
ferent, Holtzclaw said.
Each year, the Book Week event is spon
sored by the American Library Association.
Please see BOOKS, page 5A
ute and manufacture the drug.
The methamphetamine confiscated
weighed in at one pound, task force
officials said.
Pace was denied bond and is pres
ently in the Forsyth County Jail.
The business, Fat Boys Garage, is
located on Highway 20 West three
miles west of Cumming on Bramblett
Road, said David Bennett of the
F.P.J. Task Force.
An underground bunker was also
discovered on the property of the Fat
Boys Garage, said Bennett.
Drug task force officials believe the
bunker to be the remnants of a meth
amphetamine lab.
The bunker was buried under
ground in the shop area. The room it
self was circular in shape and about 8
feet across at its diameter.
A food collection campaign entitled
Hands Across Forsyth is still moving
ahead.
The goal of the countywide effort is
to try to collect as much food to help
needy families in Forsyth County.
Since the campaign was announced
Sunday several residents have called
asking for information and saying
they would help.
For instance, Shady Shores Subdi
vision has agreed to donate food to
help at least two families, and First
Baptist Church has dropped several
bags of food items at the News office.
Those interested in helping in this
campaign the following information
might be useful:
• Items can be brought to the For
syth County News, Jim Wallace Food
store on Hwy 9 and Buford Dam Road
or to collection areas in the schools.
• It is requested that checks be
made out to the Department of Fam
ily and Children Services.
• The department will be selecting
the needy families, but if you know of
a family you ait welcome to call the
department at 887-6158.
• If you need further information
please call 8874126.
10 CENTS