Newspaper Page Text
?orsy th County News
VOL C*> NUMBER 100
in
Ec is key
to "It!! at abuse
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SILENT CRY;
First in a series
By Sallylyn Hill i
Staff Writer I
There are many ways to fight child abuse. 1
Through education and counseling many abusive
incidents can be stopped. However, if preventative m
methods fail then the legal system takes over.
Nearly 400 cases involving child abuse were
opened in Forsyth County during 1989, said Chief >».
Assistant District Attorney Russ McClelland.
If a child is abused, whether mentally, physi
cally or sexually, the child can be removed from
the home and
can be removed from the home and put into
temporary custody or even a foster home.
“Our main gsal-wiik the sheriff’s depart- , J
ment and the Department of Family and I jigg
Children’s Services (DFACS)is the safety fW&k
and protection of these children,” said Jean l fjjjg!
Gamer investigator with Forsyth County j _
Sheriff’s Department, specializing in child f
abuse cases.
Finding safety for the abused child, $
doesn’t always mean removing the Jmm g™.
Please see ABUSE, page 5A Jj
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The Christmas Tree Debate
By Cynthia Clark
Staff Writer
Merchants who provide Christmas trees
to the public cannot agree what most people
prefer in their trees, real or artificial.
Christmas trees are already on sale with
a wide variety of both real and artificial
available. Artificial trees are available in
the larger department stores in a variety of
sizes and shapes. Real trees are available in
many nurseries or small independent tree
sellers.
Most tree sellers say they are able to sell
90 percent if not all of their Christmas tree
stock each year. The kind of tree that is
most often bought is as different as the per
son who is buying it.
The sizes of trees available for customers
this Christmas season, are from table top
two-footers on up to 7 footers. These sizes
are in many cases can be found in artificial
as well as real trees.
Of the real trees, there are two kinds,
fresh cut trees and live trees.
The live trees have bulbs on the bottom
which allow the trees to be planted after the
Christmas season.
The fresh cut trees cannot be planted but
should stay fresh.
The Optimist Club tags the trees they will
be selling a month in advance before they
come to cut the trees down the day before
their Christmas tree sale begins.
“The next two weekends will be killers for
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Local artist designs ornament for Festival of Trees 3A
Should it be real or artificial?
“Look for good color when
you are shopping for trees. To
check weather the tree is fresh
and supple, run your hand in
side a branch toward you. If the
needles from the tree fall readi
ly out, the tree is already dried
out,” Dills said.
us. It will be the busiest in our whole sale,”
said Ken Hill of the Optimist Club.
Fellow member and Chairman of the
Youth Committee, Perry Bush adds, “Peo
ple look for height in their trees. They want
a full, pretty tree.”
Out of state trees that have been shipped
into the area, have been cut for some time
and are shipped in open trucks, forestry of
ficials said.
“Georgia grown trees can be cut and sold
the same day, so they are fresher and in
better shape, than trees from out of state,”
said Sadie Dills of the Forsyth County
branch of the Georgia Forestry Service.
Georgia trees provide a good selection of
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1989-CUMMING, GA. 30130-24 PAGES 4 SECTIONS
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Industrial customers get brunt
of county’s water rate hike
By Sallylyn Hill
Stiff Writer
Most county water customer’s will see an in
crease in their next water bill, while others may
see a decrease.
Forsyth County Commissioners last week ap
proved a water rate increase having its biggest
affect on commercial customers.
The increase is a result of the city’s decision to
increase its wholesale county rate by nearly 26 per
cent, said Tom Heard, director of the county’s wa
ter department.
City officials voted Sept. 12 to increase its rates
to help cover increasing costs that have left the city
water and sewer department in debt, said City Ad-
Concerns expressed and answered
on site of personal care homes
Session covers
range of topics
By Sallylyn Hill
Staff Writer
Some fears were aired Monday
about two recently opened personal
care homes during a question and an
swer session.
County commissioners held the ses
sion during their regular public forum
in hopes of giving the neighbors of the
personal care homes a chance to learn
how the facilities are operated and
who live in the homes.
Up to four residents who are clients
of North Georgia Mental Health and
Mental Retardation Center will be liv
ing in each of the two homes one locat
ed in Deerwood subdivision and one in
Shady Shores.
Most of the questions asked at the
forum were whether the clients had
any violent tendencies, how are the
homes monitored, will values of
different kinds of Christmas trees, includ
ing Virginia Pine, White Pine, Spruce, Red
Cedar, and Leyland Cypress, Dills said.
L and L Christmas Tree operators located
on Highway 9 have over 250 trees and sell
fresh cut trees from two feet to 7 feet.
“We offer three kinds of trees so the cus
tomer has a choice of the kind of tree they
want. The best selling trees we offer are the
Frasier Firs, because they are fuller, and in
better shape,” said one of the owners of L &
L Christmas Trees.
“We expect to sell 50 percent live trees
and 50 percent cut trees. Most of the trees
we sell will be in the five to six foot range.
The best sellers we have are the Frasier
Firs, because they are a prettier shape,
they hold their shape better and they aren’t
sticky,” said Sun and Shade Nursery man
ager Leona Shealy.
Artificial Christmas tree sales are excel
lent as compared to last year, said Wal
Mart Manager Bruce Graves.
Quality is the main emphasis this year. It
doesn’t seem to matter about price. Shop
pers are shopping earlier this year to get
the best buy, Graves said.
There are eight different sizes of artificial
trees, from three footer, to a seven and a
half foot tree, Graves said.
Please see TREES, page 2A
ministrator Gerald Blackburn.
“The costs of water and sewage have risen but
the rate for these services has not risen since Octo
ber, 1984,” said Blackburn.
The last county water rate increase was March
14,1985, said County Administrator Donald Major.
If county commissioners did not raise the rates
the water department would be losing money,
Heard told commissioners last week.
“We’re at a break even point this year,” said
Heard.
Residential customers’ monthly bills may in
crease $2.62 per month from $23.54 to $26.16 per
7,000 gallons.
The rate is sl2 for the first 3,000 gallons and $3.54
per 1,000 gallons above 3,000.
neighboring property decrease and
are there going to be minorities living
in the homes.
The clients are not violent and only
are dangerous to themselves, said
Bob Herrin, Developmental services
chief with North Georgia.
“That’s a real common misconcep
tion. They aren’t any more violent
than you and I,” said Herrin.
As for monitoring, each home is su
pervised 24-hours a day, including an
awake night shift, he said.
Many of the staff members are re
quired by the state to be college edu
cated and have several years of expe
rience, Herrin said. Those who are not
college educated do not train the cli
ents and are also supervised.
The homes are licensed by the state
and funded by the Forsyth County
Board of Health and must meet all in
spection requirements, Herrin said.
The program is also reimbursed
federally so it must undergo federal
inspections, said Herrin.
“We get more investigations, moni
toring, inspections than you’d ever
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want to know about,” he said.
Studies show the presence of the
homes have no adverse affect on prop
erty values, said Herrin.
As for minorities, although North
Georgia cannot actively exclude
black people, there are no black
residents.
Since the idea behind the program
is to place clients to fit within a cer
tain community, North Georgia is not
planning on placing a black client into
a home in Forsyth because there are
not any black residents in the commu
nity, said Herrin. Additionally many
of the clients are already living in the
community or live in nearby counties.
What really seemed to bother the
property owners is the homes were
opened and operating before anybody
was told what was happening in their
neighborhoods.
Property owners have a right to
know what was going on and it should
have been brought up to the neigh
bors, said Sherry Barber of Shady
Shores.
How come the neighbors weren’t
Lindsey Smith, 3, enjoys assortment of Christmas trees
Gentle now
A program to fingerprint children was
held last weekend sponsored by the
Sawnee Junior Woman’s Club in con
junction with the Forsyth County Mar
shal’s Office. Despite blustery weath
er, it is estimated nearly 60 children
took advantage of the opportunity. In
cluded among those was Brandon Ev
ans, 4, who gives an uncertain look as
Ann Crow fingerprints the youth.
StaM photo Leonard Kransdori
“This is a 11.1 percent increase compared to the
25.9 percent passed on by the City of Cumming,”
said Heard.
Some residential customers, especially the
smaller users, may see a decrease in their bills
because the rate structure was changed reducing
the minimum usage and minimum charge.
“We hope by lowering our 6,000 gallon minimum
at S2O to 3,000 at sl2, this will help our elderly cus
tomers who use less,” said Heard.
Monthly industrial bills, however, will increase
between 42 percent to 49 percent.
The commercial rate increase is much higher
because commissioners eliminated the sliding
Please see WATER, page 2A
notified, asked another resident.
“Quite frankly I didn’t think it was
necessary,” said Herrin.
How many people in the subdivision
did you walk around and tell that you
were moving in, asked Herrin.
Why a home in a private subdivi
sion, someone asked.
“Would you want your child in an
institution,” asked an employee with
North Georgia.
Toward the end of the meeting 15-
year old Sara Parrish stood up and
told the audience she had toured the
home in Shady Shores and met the
clients.
Although she isn’t a property own
er, she said, these people have a right
to live in those homes.
“They’re like me, they depend on
other people,” Parrish said.
People should give them a chance to
live like everybody else does, she
said.
Commissioner .fames Harrington
agreed with the residents, saying
Please see COMMISSION, page 2A
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Staff photo Leonard Kransdorf
The Hands Across Forsyth cam
paign is continuing through the
Christmas holiday.
For the upcoming holiday, interest
ed residents are asked to contribute a
toy which will be given to a needy
child in the county. The program is
being coordinated with the local
Jaycees.
While a new toy would be preferred,
we are asking that if it is not new that
it be in workable condition.
The toy can be dropped off at the
Forsyth County News at 121 Dahlon
ega or Jim Wallace Food Store at the
comer of Hwy 9 and Buford Dam
Road.
For further information please call
the Forsyth County News office at 887-
3126.
25 CENTS