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•* ATHENS GA 7,0607
VOLUME LXXXVI, NUMBER 38
Bed’N B’fast
turned down
again by
commission
By Karleen Chalker
Editor
A request to rezone a resi
dence on Nuckolls Road into
a Bed ’N Breakfast Inn failed
again Monday night when the
Forsyth County commission
unanimously turned it down
for the second time.
Commissioner Ron Seder
recommended to deny a
request for a Home Business
Use Permit to Charles and
Darlene Gilmor for the opera
tion of a Bed ‘N Breakfast Inn
in a home that is now a resi
dence The Gilmor’s were try
ing to purchase the home with
the intent of turning it into an
inn. '
In moving for the denial,
Seder said there had been a
lot of discussion for and
against this proposal. “But,
this is not about whether or
not we should have Bed ’N
Breakfast Inns in Forsyth
County.”
Seder said he based his
recommendation for denial on
the fact that the area is
“developing nicely as a resi
dential area. The comprehen
sive plan also shows this area
should be left for residential
use.”
He added he also believed
having the “hotel like” busi
ness in the area would
“adversely affect the property
values of the adjoining prop
erty owne'rs.”
This is the second time a
request has come before the
commission involving the
Victorian home. The first
request was for a change from
See MEET, Page 2A
WEATHER
Isolated thunder
showers on
Wed. Portly
cloudy on
Thurs., Fri. Highs
in 80s.
;
INDEX
Abby 4A Events 10A
Deaths 3A School 6A
Legals SB Horoscope 4A
Classifieds 8B Business 14A
Editorial 18A Sports IB
COMING SUNDAY...
Mothers Day:
Meet some special Mothers in
Forsyth County who manage multi
ple responsibilities but stilrmanage
to be top moms.
Vision 20/20 edition:
A special insert will be included in
Sunday's edition discussing the plan
for growth in Forsyth County and
asking for input from the citizens.
Don't miss this special section!
Missed paper policy: For replacement
paper call between 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
on Wed. and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sun.,
4|7-3126 or 523-7303 (Atlanta).
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Photo/Tom Brooks
Ultra-Lite plane crashes in field
An experimental Ultra-Lite plane crashed off of Tribble Gap Road in Cumming around 10
a.m. Monday after the pilot said he heard a noise in the plane, dropped his altitude to
check it out, only to have one of his wheels get caught in the high grass. The pilot, Bill
Hinkelmann, of Forsyth County, was not injured. Above, sheriff’s department deputies
guard the site until FAA officials could arrive to investigate the cause of the accident.
Five churches hit by vandals
By Karleeri Chalker
Editor
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Dept,
investigators are still working to
apprehend the person or persons
responsible for a rash of vandal
ism that occurred at six area
churches over the past two week
ends.
Sometime between this past
Thursday and Sunday, five
churches suffered damage after
vandals broke windows in all of
the churches. Hit by vandals was
Bethel Baptist Church, Mt. Tabor
Baptist Church, Zion Hill Baptist
and New Hope Methodist Church,
all located in the northern portion
of the county. Also hit by the van
dals was New Light Baptist
Church, located on Wills Road, in
the southern portion of the county.
According to sheriff’s depart
ment reports, Bethel Baptist was
vandalized sometime between late
Saturday night and 6:30 a.m. on
Sunday. About 30 windows were
School board tables
decision on Midway
charter school status
By Beth Faw
Staff Writer
The Board of Education has
tabled a decision on whether or
not to allow Midway Elementary
School to become one of the first
Charter Schools in Georgia.
At a called meeting last week,
State Department of Education
representative, John Rhodes, gave
a presentation about the laws and
policies behind a charter school
in Georgia and Midway adminis
trators, including Principal,
Dennis Whittle, were present to
answer any questions.
Some of the questions raised
during the meeting included the
hiring and firing process, enroll
ment, the parents’ role in the
decision making, financing and
liability, decisions made concern
ing curriculum and the overall
role the school board would play
Dogs whip N. Springs;
go to State 2nd round
SPORTS, IB
Cumming, GA / May 10,1995
WEDNESDAY EDITION
broken. A small bush had been
pulled up from the front of the
church and allegedly used to
break the windows.
At New Hope United
Methodist Church on Old Keith
Bridge Road, vandals struck
sometime between 11 p.m. on
Saturday night and 9 a.m. on
Sunday morning. Vandals appar
ently took a metal lid from an area
used to cover water pipes and
used it to break a window pane in
the preschool Sunday School area.
Estimated damage there was
SIOO.
Vandals struck New Light
B'aptist Church sometime
Saturday night between 10:15 and
10:45 p.m. Two stained glass win
dows were broken out. The van
dals used a garbage can and a con
crete block. Estimated damage
was SI,OOO.
At Mt. Tabor Baptist on Mt.
Tabor Road, vandals struck
between 8 a.m. on Thursday and
if Midway did become a charter
school.
According to Whittle, charter
school teachers would be
employed by the local school
board, making them eligible for
all the local teacher benefits and
the board of education would
continue to have the final say on
the hiring or firing of any teacher
at Midway.
School Board attorney, Sam
Harbin, told Midway administra
tors that it was the
Superintendent of schools’ legal
responsibility to make recom
mendations to hire or fire any
school employee, but that it
wasn’t against the law for the
schools to be involved in the
interview process.
According to Midway’s char-
See CHARTER, Page 2A
j ™
11 am. on Saturday. Painters dis
covered a window broken in the
upstairs Sunday School room, and
two other windows had been bro
ken by rocks. The wall in the
basement had also been damaged
See CHURCH, Page 2A
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Walk for Healthier Babies a
success
Forty-eight teams came together on
Saturday morning to walk for healthi
er babies in the March of Dimes
Walk-A-Thon. The event raised
$47,400, exceeding the goal of
$45,000. The six-mile walk began at
Forsyth County Stadium and contin
ued down Tribble Gap Road, crossing
Hwy. 20, winding around by Baptist
North Hospital, continuing down
Samaritan Drive up by Hardee’s and
then back to the school. At top, walk
ers of all shapes and sizes walk down
Tribble Gap Road as the walk begins.
At right, eight-month-old Morgan
Cantrell gets pushed in her stroller
during the walk. More photos and
details of the walk on Page 14 A.
Photos by Tom Brooks.
Nite in Olde
Cumming is success
PAGE 15A
"We're concerned'
commission says of
sheriffs dept, issues
By Karleen Chalker
Editor
Controversy and confusion is
still surrounding the Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Department this
week as no action has been taken
by Sheriff Jerry Padgett to rein
state investigator Russell
Matthews to his position of chief
investigator, and the Forsyth
County Commission is question
ing what legal responsibility they
may have to step in and straighten
things out in the department.
Patricia Ball, attorney for
Matthews, stated Monday she
plans to file a mandamus petition
by Friday to go before the Forsyth
County Superior Court to get
Matthews his job back as chief
investigator. This process is not a
simple matter, she explained.
“Procedurally this is a difficult
matter to draft. I will ask for an
expedited hearing, however.”
The entire process could take
30 to 60 days or more to resolve,
Ball said.
The Forsyth County Civil
Service Board ordered last
Thursday, May 4 that the action
by Major Jesse Layne and Padgett
to demote Matthews from chief
investigator to a lieutenant in the
uniform division be reversed and
that Matthews be reinstated
immediately to his former posi
tion.
As of Monday afternoon,
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Matthews had not been reassigned
to investigations, nor had he
received any written or verbal
orders from his department that
he was moved back to the rank of
captain. His office was moved
Monday morning to an office next
door to the one he had been occu
pying since his demotion in
March.
Padgett has stated that he is
seeking to appeal the decision,
and is declining any further com
ment until he gets legal advice on
the situation.
Ball said she is prepared to go
as far as filing a contempt order
against Padgett if the Superior
Court rules in Matthews’ favor
and Padgett continues to refuse to
reinstate him to his investigation
position.
“Russell has gotten the clear
message that he is to stay out of
investigations,” Ball said,
although he has gotten no written
orders from anyone in the sher
iff’s department regarding his
employment status. '
Ball continues to maintain that
the demotion, as well as the
action being taken now, is politi
cally motivated based on the fact
that Padgett and Matthews both
ran for sheriff last year. Padgett
defeated Matthews in a run-off.
See CONCERN, Page 2A
50 Cents
- V ‘—4