Newspaper Page Text
Forsyth County reallocation, page 3A
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VOLUME LXXXI —NUMBER 45
Wanted more input
School board Ok’s plan
with some reservation
By Kristin Jeffries
Staff Writer
Forsyth County School Board mem
bers approved the state facilities re
port with a certain amount of fear and
trepidation.
The acceptance of the report on
Tuesday, completes the new 5-year fa
cility plan listing Forsyth’s needs. The
plan allows the state to determine
how much funding the county will re
ceive. It will go to the state board for
approval June 14.
School board members were con
cerned at locking themselves into a
certain progression since the plan
outlines the order the state will help
fund the projects.
“I would like it noted that I would
have liked to have some input into
setting the priorities. I think we
missed a meeting somewhere,” said
member Catherine Amos.
Chairman Johnny Stone agreed.
Compromise reached
on sign ordinance
By Kristin Jeffries
Staff Writer
It took more than three months of arguments and many
drafts, but Forsyth County commissioners reached a com
promise Wednesday on amending the billboard
ordinance.
Commissioner Barry Hillgartner began working to
amend the county’s sign ordinance to restrict billboards
in February, when a moratorium was placed on new bill
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Learning dynamics
Forsyth Central High School students Jason Hanline,
from left, Amanda Quinlan, Bradley Young, Adam Casey
and Neal Spence learn about Newton’s laws of dynamics
by “playing" with a hovercraft while physics teacher No
INSIDE
Abby 5B
Births 5A
Church Briefs 3B
Classified 7B
Deaths 6A
Editorials 4A
Engagements 6A
Events 9A
Horoscope 5B
Letters 5A
On Campus 4B
Sports 1B
Lake Lanier Levels
Date level
May 28 1071.72 feet
May 29 1071.70 feet
May 30 1071.67 feet
May 31 1071.62 feet
Junel 1571.75 feet
Forsvti I /u iiv t i
f mr ra99lkr
First on the list to be built is an
elementary school and second is a
new middle school in south Forsyth
County. Following these projects is
bringing North Forsyth and Otwell
middle schools completely in line
with the Quality Basic Education mid
dle school program to qualify for the
13 percent incentive grants.
After these projects, the state and
the school board identified sl7 mil
lion worth of improvements to be
made in the 11 county schools.
This is the order in which the state
expects the board to apply for funds,
said Jim Gurley, director of regional
services of North East Georgia. “You
can take local funds and address the
priorities in any way you choose.”
Priorities may also be changed
without losing state funds ifthe school
board can justify the reasons to the
state.
The order of projects was based on
two things: “unhoused” students and
board applications until the issue was settled.
In past drafts, he proposed essentially banning off-site
advertising by billboards, which raised concern in the
business community attending a May commission
meeting.
The amended ordinance, adopted unanimously, limits
billboard placement to three per mile in neighborhood
shopping, highway business, commercial business nis
Please see SIGN, page 2A
lan Floyd, right, looks on. The craft was provided for the
class by Ben Cooper of Hover Dynamics of Ga. Inc. on
Bald Ridge Marina Road. The craft can operate on land
and water.
Leadership Forsyth graduates its second class
By Sallylyn Hill
Managing Editor
It was a group that began with no
direction. In the beginning they
seemed like the blind leading the
blind. As a matter of fact during one
training session they were
blindfolded.
But now that graduation rolled
around, the Leadership Forsyth class
of 1990 is headed in the direction of
becoming leaders in the community.
“I think the program becoming to
everything I hoped it would be," said
Phill Bettis, one of the creators of the
local leadership program. "We had a
enthusiastic, very interested class. A
good cross section of the
community.”
The class met seven times includ
ing orientation and graduation. Dur
ing four hour sessions issues such as
local government, economical devel
opment social programs and educa
tion were discussed by people al
ready leading in their fields. The
gr*up met with Representative Bill
Barnett, Department of Transporta
SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 1990-CUMMiNG, GA. 30130-24 PAGES 2 SECTIONS
the available flow of funds from the
state.
“There are more unhoused elemen
tary students than any other popula
tion,” said Gurley
The board plans to begin the ele
mentary school this summer with re
imbursements from the state for re
cent renovations at Big Creek and
Chestatee elementary schools. Then,
when enough state entitlement funds
have built up, apply for funding of the
new middle school probably in the
summer of 1991.
“Let's not get too hung up on any
thing past numbers one and two," said
Gurley, adding the board will proba
bly not get far past the new’ elemen
tary and middle schools.
“Once we get past those two it will
be time to start over again anyway,”
agreed board member Dennis
Anderson.
Please see BOARD, page 2A
tion Commissioner Hal Rives, Dr.
Sam Dayton executive director of the
Georgia Mountains Regional Plan
ning and Development Commission
and local county officials. They
toured the City of Cumming’s water
plant, South Forsyth High School and
Georgia Power Center in Atlanta.
The goal of the classes are bot h an
educational and inspirational pro
cess to become active in the commu
nity, said Bettis. The members were
to become more knowledgable of the
needs and problems facing this
community.
Graduation ceremonies were held
in Georgia Governor Joe Frank Har
ris’s office last Wednesday. During
his brief introductory remarks Harris
pointed out the most emerging com
munities have developed these lead
eiship programs. The programs are
popular on a statewide basis and say
a lot for the community, he said.
While this year’s program was an
improvement over the program, in
tarms of quality of programs, there is
sJril more room for improvements,
said Bettis.
Staff photo - Kristin Jeffries
V cl- ■
staff photo - By Sallylyn HI
Lucky dollar
In a iition to the traditional cap and gown this Forsyth Central High Schoo
gra ate of the class o : 1990 tuci -■ a little sorr-vning extra behind his ear fo
gß'c-n -uc ■ •;rit is a syr ro T s tope for a long a. 1 p r csperous *rfe c* sc
just couldn't find his pockets, the now former FCHS senior is beginning his
march nto note of life’s experiences.
Commission moves to rezone
13 farm land parcels
By Kristin Jeffries
Staff Writer
/After some hot discussion county
commissioners called for the blanket
rezoning of 7.209 acres from agricul
ture 1 to agriculture 2,
The A-2 zoning is designed to pro
tect active farms from comp
against their future neighbors cs a
zoning classification it will air artect
property taxes.
Under the A-2 classification any
property owner filing for rezoning of
property which adjoins ar. A-2 parcel
will be notified there 15 a working
farm next door.
Despite the verbal disagreements
the rezoning was approved with four
votes. Chairman Michael Bennett
who originated the zoning cat<
disqualified himself been us
flicting interests.
Commissioner James Harrington
voiced strong doubts concerning the
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The * Leadership Class of stands with r*- —'or Joe Frank Harris 1
fairness of the classification.
“These efforts to favor a very small
minority in the county is why we are
all going to have a tax increase." said
Harrington.
He implied the zoning would help a
large landowner who sits on the board
of commissioners.
Of 156 eligible landowners, 137 ap
plied for the new zoning. To qualify
for A-2. property must have the state
preferential assessment for
agriculture
Commissioners Barry Hillgartner
and Michael MeGaughey spoke in fa
vor of supporting farmers just as the
county has supported development
“It is a land planning measure to
give legitimate working farms fair tax
ation within their classification of
land use," said Commissioner Barry
Hillgartner He explained he did not
appreciate unwillingness to help
fanners when the board has gone out
of its way to help developers in the
Supreme Court
fines KJan/
supremacists
By Brad Hundt
Stßff Wmer
Another legal skirmish related to
the 1987 civil rights marches in For
syth County apparently ended last
week in the U S Supreme Court
The high court upheld an 11th U.S.
Circuit Court ruling requiring Ku
Klux Klan members and other white
supremacists pay SBfJO.OOO in dam
ages for violating the rights of around
70 marchers in a Jan 17,1987 “Broth
erhood” march.
The ruling stated two Ku Klux Klan
groups, three Klan officers and a
white supremacist sparked a mob to
attack protesters led by the Rev Ho
sea Williams with bottles, sticks,
bricks and clods of dirt.
Williams and the marchers were
protesting Forsyth's virtually all
white status. The attack focused na
tional attention on the county and led
to a march the following weekend by
an estimated 20.000 people.
The defendants had argued the rul
ing violated their right to free speech.
Lawrenceville resident David Hol
land. former Ku Klux Ktar. grand
dragon, has to pay $44,000, while the
the other are being hit with bills total
lings26.oooeach. Liens have been put
on the homes and paychecks of each
of the men. said Atlanta attorney Bri
an Spears.
One of the four has already paid.
Spears said, while two are refusing to
disclose financial information about
themselves, citing their Fifth Amend
ment right to avoid self-incrimination
- a move Spears described as “another
way of insulting the verdict”
I intend on taking them to court for
failing to give us information on their
financial holdings.” Spears said. "I
dor. ‘think any court will uphold then
Please see COURT, page 2A
county by creating C-l zoning and
granting exceptions in sewerage
facilities.
Those who speculate in land and
area developers have also gotten tax
breaks, auued MeGaughey.
Harrington held that the classifica
tion could be abused by owners who
are not actively farming the land.
“There are two- and three-acre
plots on this list that are classified as
tree farms," said Harrington.
If parcels are taxed according to
use instead of zoning it will hurt the
tax digest tremendously, he
reiterated.
Commissioner Charles Welch said
he hopes the zoning classification will
prove to protect farmers as it is
designed.
“It is an attempt to more clearly de
fine true agricultural land from va
cant property,” said Welch. “I do
think there is a tax implication - or
will be in the long run."
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