Newspaper Page Text
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VOLUME LXXXIV, NUMBER 53
An all-American
celebration brings
out thousands
By Kara Sproles
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Between 10,000 and 15,000
packed in around the Camming
square Saturday to watch the
36th Annual Thomas-
Mashburn Steam Engine
Parade.
The traditional festivities sur
rounding July 4 brought on
lookers of all ages to downtown
Cumming. Saturday’s sunny
skies added the perfect touch to
the 10 a.m. parade which fea
tured the county’s famously
loud steam engines, doggers,
horses and even the town
garbage man.
Lining the parade path were
display booths selling every
thing from snow cones to jewel
ry. And, of course, barbecue
concocted by Cumming Mayor
H. Ford Gravitt.
For Lorie Nielson and hus
band Jeff, watching the parade
was a first. The couple and
their four-year-old son Trent,
who enjoyed a green sucker
thrown from one of the parade
trucks, just moved to south
Forsyth this year.
“This is all-American!” said
Jeff Nielson.
“It reminds me of my home
town in lowa,” his wife reflect
ed.
Long-time Cumming resident
Gladyse Barrett, a local histori
an, made history herself
Saturday as she served as the
parade’s first female grand
marshal. Barrett, who wore a
red, brimmed hat, rode with
Mayor Gravitt in the convert
ible that led the parade.
Following not too far behind
was Little Miss Cumming Julie
Ann Greeson and Forsyth
County Young Woman of the
Year Jessica Dempsey.
Weather:
Muggy
It’s ditto. Posible scattered
showers; highs in the 90s,
lows in the 70s through
Thursday.
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! INSIDE
Abby. 4A
Church Briefs 12A
Classified. 6B
Editorials. 10A
Events 8A
Grover Johnson. 11A
Horoscope 4A
Pat KHmark. 6A
Sports. 1B
Outdoors. 2B a
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Forsyth Count s&**** z
Then came the steam engines
with whistles that made the
crowd jump when they blew.
Bonnie Martin didn’t pass up
the opportunity to purchase ear
plugs for her two young sons
when a member of The
Cumming Chorale chorus group
passed by with a sign advertis
ing the sound-blocking devices
for SI.OO a pair.
She then replaced cotton in the
ears of two-year-old Drew and
two-month-old Luke with the
ear plugs.
Chorale member Liz Sommers
said more than 200 pairs of ear
plugs were sold Saturday.
See PARADE 2A
New state laws take effect from bike helmets
to regulating chemical sprays for apples
Bicyle riders under 16 must
now wear a helmet, thanks to a
new Georgia law which took
effect July 1, the beginning of
the state’s fiscal year.
The minimum age for buyhing
cigarettes also rises from 17 to
18.
Parents will also face up to a
$25 fine for failing to use safety
belts on children under 18.
Among the other new state
laws that went in effect in
Georgia on Thursday, July 1:
• Doctors and chiropractors
will have to make known their
financial interest in health ser
vices to which they refer
patients. Starting in 1997,
they’ll be barred from making
those referrals.
• Judges may order repeat
drunk drivers to install a
breathalyzer device that won’t
let them start the car if they
have been drinking. Habitual
violators (three or more convic
tions) must have the device
installed.
• In an effort to curb loan
abuses, particularly in home
equity loans, the state is requir
ing mortgage brokers to be
licensed by the state
Department of Banking and
Finance.
• Farmers may sue people
who disparage their products.
The law makes Georgia the only
state in the nation that offers
the agriculture industry protec
tion against food safety cam
paigns, such as, the 1989 effort
to force apple growers to stop
spraying the chemical Alar on
See LAWS 2A
Ashton Woods decision postponed
for three months by commission
By Kristin Jeffries
Staff Writer
The largest item on the Planning
Commission’s plate at its Tuesday
meeting was postponed for three
months.
Developers of Ashton Woods
Atlanta, a 636-acre tract which is
part of the Bluegrass Business
Park, asked their rezoning request
be postponed for 90 days to allow
them to work with the area resi
dents and handle other issues
which have come up.
There were an estimated 20 resi
dents attending the meeting who
were interested in the Ashton
Woods project. The rezoning
request ask that the agricultural
and manufacturing land be rezoned
for CR-1 subdivision. These subdi
visions are the highest density
neighborhoods allowed in the coun
ty. They are also usually the more
upscale neighborhoods. Polo Golf
and Country Club and Aberdeen
£
Cumming, Ga. / July 7,1993
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Mrs. Gladyse Barrett rode at the head of the 36th Annual Thomas-Mashbum Memorial Parade last Saturday. Mrs.
Barrett, a local historian, served as the parade’s first female grand marshal and she looked like she had a ball as she
rode with Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt In the front of the parade. The Independence Day parade allows everyone a
chance to get out, greet their neighbors and enjoy the small-town atmosphere one can stiH find here.
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Just like an updated scene from an “Our Gang” movie or a modem version of “The Little Rascals” these buddies rest
for a moment in the shade at one of their homes during a break in summer fun which includes biking in the neighbor
hood at Rolling Oaks Subdivision. These youngsters have been required for some time by their parents to wear hel
mets when riding even before the new rule was made into state law in Georgia. Now the helmets are sort of a status
symbol. Pictured are Thomas Brett Young, Andrew Young, Carl Meadows, Mitchell Meadows and Ryan Smith.
Parents and guardians over the state are being urged to have children wear the helmets. The youngsters above
agreed that they don’t mind obeying the law. It’s not that much trouble and “you get used to K pretty soon.”
are two examples af CR-1 zoning.
In other business:
• The board approved two rezon
ing requests on Peachtree Parkway
from Dewey C. White. The first
increased his CR-1 holdings from
100 acres to 181 acres. The second
increased his commercial business
district land along Peachtree
Parkway to 2G4 acres.
Nearby residents in Aberdeen
voiced concern about the impact of
both projects on traffic and schools.
Commercial development would
bring more traffic over from Old
Atlanta Road on Aberdeen
Parkway, one of the few connectors
between Old Atlanta and Peachtree
Parkway, they said.
Many children in the neighbor
hood have to cross that road to get
to the community’s pool and tennis
courts, said Aberdeen resident Bill
Bridges.
Commission members mentioned
that the Department of
Transportation has long been inter
ested in east-west corridor in
7 \
that area but no plans had yet been
made for it.
The residents also said they were
concerned about overcrowding at
south Forsyth County schools.
“We talked with the school board
two years ago and told them to
start planning to build schools in
the south,” said Planning
Chairman Buddy Castleberry.
Member Howard Mathes men
tioned that the state will not
approve new schools until the stu
dents for it are already in the coun
ty.
A 3-1 vote, with Mathes in opposi
tion, approved the request for CR-1
zoning. Member Ricky Rice east the
opposing vote in the 3-1 decision in
favor of the commercial zoning.
• The commission recommended
approval on a 110-lot development
by Ben G. Bowen and Co., Inc. on
Old Atlanta Road. The developer
reduced his proposed lots by 22
after a meeting in the hall with
See ZONES, 2A
Photo by Porfirio Solorzono
Photo by Porfirio Soiorzono
lan Cowie named
County Agent of the Year
Forsyth County Agent, lan Cowie was selected by the
Georgia Commercial Flower Growers Association as the
“County Agent of the Year” recently at the Association’s
Annual Conference in Greenville, S. C.
The Association presents this award annually to the
county agent who has assisted their members.
Cowie has given support to Forsyth County green
house operators over the last several years by improving
services from University of Georgia’s diagnostic labora
toiy, troubleshoot and find solutions to problems, and
promoting educational activities.
Forsyth County is an
important county in
greenhouse production.
Several growers are
mqjor suppliers of bed
ding plants in the
Atlanta area.
Cowie has been work
ing in Forsyth County
for the past four years
involved with various
services of the
Cooperative Extension
Service.
Cowie writes a weekly
column for The Forsyth
County News.
25 cents
Wright expected
to testify at
July 13 hearing
By Kara Sproles
Staff Writer
A teenager charged with the
shooting deaths of his mother,
step-father, and half brother in
February, is expected to testify
“briefly” at a July 13 pre-trial
hearing, according to his attor
ney.
The attorney for accused mur
derer Michael Wright has
requested that a court hearing
scheduled for next week be
closed to the public.
Rafe Banks, the court appoint
ed lawyer, has filed the request
that it be closed to the media,
prosecutors and general public.
An open trial “will result in
more external pretrial publicity
than has already occurred...”
states his request, filed June 25
in Forsyth County Superior
Court.
Meanwhile, records show
WXIA-TV (Channel 11) has
appealed to the Supreme Court
of Georgia to open records of
part of a motion hearing held
last month which was closed to
the media and public.
Banks also plans to introduce
a psychiatrist and an expert in
dealing with children who mur
der their parents, the document
shows.
DOT plans
roadwork
in coirnty
Georgia Department of
Transportation Commissioner
Wayne Shackelford today
announced authorization of a
contract for Forsyth County to
cover the following work:
• Covering widening on 3.330
miles of roadway on Bethelview
Road, estimated cost $49,032.
• Covering resurfacing on
26.42 miles of roadway on vari
ous county Roads (Brannon
Rd.; Daves Creek Trail; Old
Atlanta Rd.; Mullinax Rd.;
Settles Rd.; Crystal Cove; John
Burruss Rd.; Mayfield Dr.; Old
Keith Bridge; Westbrook Rd.;
Friendship Cir.; Wade Valley
Way; Keithwood Dr.; Bethel
Rd.; Century Trail; Fleetwood
Trail; Habersham Marine;
Impala St.; Southers Cir.; Old
Buford Hwy.)
This project has been autho
rized for funding under the GA
DOT County Contract
Program, and will begin as
soon as the contract has been
duly executed and a work order
issued.
“An efficient system of local
roads and streets is as impor-
See ROADS, 2A
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lan Cowie
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