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VOLUME LXXXIII —NUMBER 6
City, county
in agreement
on land sale
By Kara Sproles
Staff Writer
It looks as though the city of Cum
ming and Forsyth County - each
known for their bickering politicians
- may have at last found common
ground.
Literally, that is.
The county recently closed the $1
million sale on a block of buildings
located within the Cumming city
limits.
The block, which the county bought
from the Otwell family estate, stands
on the comer of Ga. Hwy. 9 or Dahlon
ega Street and Main Street, extending
to School Street and around to Mason
Street
Also purchased was the old auto
body shop and the adjacent parking
lot located south of the square facing
Main Street
The close of sale means that down
town Cumming may soon be receiving
a facelift, officials say.
The city and county plan to work
together to decide the future of the
block and a half.
“We’re going to be meeting with the
county to find out their plans,” said
Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt
According to City Councilman Ru
pert Sexton, a letter was recently sent
to the Forsyth County Board of Com
missioners asking what they plan to
do with their new purchase.
County Administrator Donald Ma
jor confirmed the action.
“It will be coordinated,” he said.
“We received a letter recently asking
what the plans were.”
Sexton said he wants the city coun
cil and Cumming business and prop
erty owners to also have a hand in the
planning.
“After we meet with them and re
ceive a response we’re going to sit
Please see CITY, Page 2A
Weather:
Cold
Stay warm and catch some
Zzzz’s. Monday and Tuesday
will be fair with lows in the mid
dle 20s, highs in the 40s, rising
intothesosTuesday.lncreasing
cloudiness brings a chance of
rain Wednesday and warmer
temperatures.
•*
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INSIDE
Abby 4A
Church Briefs 5A
Classified 6B
Deaths 5A
Editorials 8A
Engagements 7A
Events 108
Horoscope 4A
Lake Lanier Levels
Date level
Jan. 13 1065.27 ft
Jan. 14 1065.30 ft
Jan. 15 1065.34 ft
Jan. 16 1065.32 ft
Jan. 17 1065.34 ft
0 I 'l I 4
March on Forsyth Part 2 - See Page 10A
Forsvth CountvNevvs BT
Voting date is still up in the air
By Kristin Jeffries
Staff Writer
A commissioner’s resignation and a
legal complication in the presidential
preference election has Forsyth
Special election,
reapportionment
on a crash course
By Kara Sproles
Staff Writer
State legislator Bill Barnett is send
ing a word of caution to those seeking
to take over the recently vacated dis
trict in Forsyth County.
It’s time for new lines to be drawn,
he said, which means the person who
wins the special election may not
even be eligible for the same district
when it comes time to vote in
November.
County Commissioner Barry Hill
gartner recently announced he is
stepping down from the board leaving
district number five, which includes
the Lake Lanier area, open for a spe
cial election.
In order to hold office, the candi
date must reside in the district they
represent When the lines are re
drawn, districts could be different,
the state representative said.
“I think it’s important for anyone
running now to understand that is
possible,” Barnett said.
The state representative Thursday
received three possibilities from the
House and Senate Reapportionment
Office of where the county commis
sion and school board district lines
may be drawn.
All three scenarios call for voters
now in district five to be shuffled over
to district four.
“Right now, they’re unequal,” he
said.
By law, the districts are to be exam
ined every ten years and the seats are
redistributed according to
population.
Barnett received three preliminary
plans which he intends to discuss
with the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners and the Board of
Education.
According to figures from the 1990
U.S. Census Bureau, districts three,
located in west Forsyth County, and
five are bursting at the seams.
Districts one which includes the
city of Cumming, two which includes
the south portion of the county, and
four in north Forsyth need to increase
their number of voters in order to
balance.
The states first scenario would
transfer voters in district five who re
side in the Chestatee area to District
Four. It also calls for those in the
Mashbum and Haw Creek area to
switch from District Five to District
One. Finally, it would re-draw the
lines around the Bethelview Road
House eyes SRIS9
By Kristin Jeffries
Staff Writer
On its last leg before hitting the No
vember ballot, a bill to allow schools
to use the local special use 1 percent
sales tax will be voted on in the Geor
gia House Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Senate Resolution 159, sponsored
in part by local senator Nathan Deal,
D-Gainesville, passed out of the
House Ways and Means Committee
Friday, said Rep. Bill Barnett, D-
Cumming, a member of that
committee.
The bill would provide for a consti
tutional amendment to allow the spe
cial tax to be shared between local
local governments and the school sys
tem for building programs. It does not
provide for an additional one percent
sales tax - it adds school construc
tion as an eligible activity.
The tax has been used solely for
government infrastructure projects
since its inception in 1987. People
who purchase goods in Forsyth Coun
ty now pay 1 cent per dollar which is
used for water and sewer projects in
Forsyth County and Cumming.
This use was and always must be
applied by the local voters. Under to
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 1992-CUMMING, GA 30130-28 PAGES 3 SECTIONS
County Voter Registrar Melvin Stan
di in a quandary - but regardless of
when the elections will take place he
has one piece of advice: register to
vote now.
Stancil spent Wednesday morning
and Polo Fields community so that
constituents in District Three would
vote for District Two.
The second plan would also move
the dividing lines so Chestatee area
residents would switch from district
five to District Four and transfer Polo
Fields/Bethelview Road residents
from three to two. In addition, this
second proposal calls for voters in the
Haw Creek area south of Ga. Hw. 20 to
vote in the Second District instead of
the first and those in the Mashbum
area to switch from District Five to
District One.
Plan three would again move the
Chestatee residents in the northern
part of District Five to District Four
and the Mashbum/Haw Creek area
from five to one as well as those near
Ga. Hwy. 20 from one to two. The sce
nario also calls for two changes in dis
trict three. Polo Fields/Bethelview
Road residents would switch from
Please see ELECTION, Page 2A
Open meeting
Sierra Club
enters fight
Opponents of the proposed Outer
Perimeter are hoping to see strength
in numbers.
At 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22
the Atlanta Sierra Club will sponsor
an open meeting at the East Roswell
Recreation Center.
The 100-year-old conservation or
ganization wants to unite all groups
fighting the efforts ofthe state Depart
ment of Transportation to build the
211-mile highway.
Two guest speakers will be on hand
to provide key insight on road con
struction issues.
Atlantan Mike Norwood, an envi
ronmental writer and photographer,
will speak and present slides regard
ing the current impact ofGa. Hwy. 400
on its surrounding communities and
residents.
Danny Hall, who the Sierra Club de
scribed as “an expert on the Second
Outer Perimeter,” will discuss the
current state and current develop
ment of the proposed road.
The recreation center is located on
Fouts Road off of Holcomb Bridge
Road at Ga. Hwy. 400.
proposed amendment several pro
jects for different jurisdictions could
be on one referendum call.
The county averages $217,000 a
Please see SRIS9, Page 2A
Hillgartner: County has no clout
By Kristin Jeffries
Staff Writer
As Forsyth Coun
ty native Barry
Hillgartner re
signed his post as
commissioner af
ter serving three
years and pre
pared to move out
of state, he gave
some parting ad
vice to county
residents.
“I think it is very important that the
county continue to stand on its own
and make decisions in its own best
interests. That has not been the case
in the past,” he said.
“I hope people in the county under
in state offices trying to figure out how
the special election should be run and
if voters could come out to the polls
once in March to vote for both the
District 5 commission seat vacated by
Barry Hillgartner and their favorite
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Photos by Porfirio Solorzano
Brrrr! It’s cold
The freezing temperatures that greeted Forsyth Countians Thursday and
Friday mornings this week had the message on the thermometer at Lanier
Bank & Trust dipping way down. Some of the faithful bank thermometer
watchers say it read as low as 11 degrees on Thursday. The reading you
see above was the low for Friday. Below at the Country Cupboard on Hwy.
20, Ray Butler tries to get a grip on refueling, a tough job when the gas
nozzel has been hanging around in Winter’s grasp.
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stand there are persons in the com
munity whose personal agenda is not
in the best interest of the county. This
group will make a very determined
effort to gain control of the
commission.”
Even more important than local
power struggles is the structure of
Forsyth County government, said
Hillgartner.
The county government does not
have a strong voice of authority in
dealing with state and federal offi
cials, Hillgartner said.
“Right now we don’t have any clout
Our county right now is not being tak
en seriously,” he said.
Other counties’ leadership have
more time to spend lobbying.
“Metro counties are lobbying hard
against our bg c t interests. We had bet-
S'
Hillgartner
presidential hopeful.
However, a legal challenge by pres
idential hopeful David Duke has put
the date for the presidential prefer-
Please see VOTE, Page 2A
ter wake up and do something about
it Wringing our hands and crying in
commission meetings about it is not
getting the job done,” he said.
“The most frustrating thing for me
has been having limited time and au
thority to negotiate,” he said. ‘The
current situation with part-time com
missioners is inadequate in dealing
with the needs of this county.”
Hillgartner offered that a possible
way to mend this problem is to re
structure the government
He would like to see commissioners
voted in strictly by district then allow
a county-wide vote to choose the
chairman, who would be a full-time
county employee.
“The chairman should have author-
Piease see CLOUT, Page 2A
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AARP
keynote
speaker
Page 4A
Contender
line building
for D-5 race
By Kristin Jeffries
Staff Writer
Every day new candidates for the
now-vacant District 5 commission
seat are throwing their hats into the
ring in hope of serving the county for
the last year of Barry Hillgartner’s un
expired term.
To date five residents have contact
ed the Forsyth County News an
nouncing their candidacy.
Actual qualifying will not begin un
til the Voter Registrar’s Office an
nounces the date of the special
s
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election.
Jim Avery is a
long-time resident
of Forsyth County.
He recently retired
from the Fulton
County Fire De
partment and is
one of the founders
of the Forsyth
County Volunteer
Fire Department. He also serves as
chief of training for both the Forsyth
County and Cumming fire
departments.
He is a founder of the Forsyth Coun
ty Little league Football Association
and member of the Disabled Ameri-
9
can Veterans.
Avery is very in
terested in seeing
the county's water
system completed
and brought up to
the standards of
the American Wa
ter Works Associa
tion. He also wants
the county to re-
Howard Mathes
ceive a lower fire insurance rating.
Concerning solid waste situation:
“We need to start seeking long-term
answers to our problems,” he said.
Avery suggested seeing one central
landfill with limited incineration and
complete recycling on the site. He is
also concerned with keeping the
ground water pure at this site.
Concerning the sewer situation: He
is interested in seeing sewer come to
the county after an adequate waste
water treatment plant is established.
“Sewage is a long
way down the line
but it’s got to be
planned for now.”
Concerning city
county relations: “I
get a long very well
with the city. I have
no problem with
them. But thatl
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Madonna Parrish
doesn’t mean I won’t fight for what is
right.”
Howard Mathes has lived in For
syth County for six years. He is a self
employed insurance agent
This is the candidate to whom Hill
gartner is throwing his mantle if the
people agree.
“In my opinion Howard Mathes rep
resents a lot of the things that I feel
are important He is a person of integ
rity. He is not tied to special interest
groups. He is a hard worker. He will
speak out on the is
sues. It is impor
tant that a person
like Howard be in
office. There is a
real danger of spe
cial interest groups
regaining control
of the commission
and that would be a
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Dwight Taylor
disaster for the county,” said
Hillgartner.
In the county’s solid waste situation
Mathes believes the county should do
less burying of garbage.
“We simply can’t afford to utilize
land in this way in this area,” said
Mathes.
He suggested looking into selling
methane gas, limited incineration,
and enhanced recycling techniques.
H
Concerning the
sewer situation in
the county: ‘‘We
have made abso
lutely no strides to
ward implement
ing a sewer plant
but we are going to
have to have one.
Mother earth can
Allen Tuggle
only stand so much abuse.”
Concerning city and county rela
tions: “Abraham Lincoln said at the
end of the Civil War, ‘let us go forth
and bind up our adversaries’ wounds,’
Please see DIST.S, Page 2A
25 CENTS
Jim Avery