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PAGE 2A FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS —Wedne*d«y, November 29. 1995 COUNTY from 1A • Also regarding meeting dates, the Commission meeting sched uled for Dec. 25 will not be held on Christmas. It will be postponed until Thursday, Dec. 28. Nine rezoning requests were heard at Monday’s meeting. Several had been postponed including the request by Billy Evans for commercial zoning to plate a convenience store on Bethelview Road near Chamblee Gap Road. The request was opposed by 40 people at the Sept 26 meeting of the Planning Comjnission. Due to the absence of David Filson the Planning Commission the vote was split leaving no rec ommendation for the Board of Commissioners. This marks the second time the hearing has been postponed. When askjed why it was postponed, Commissioner Lamar Suddeth said the Commissioners were still studying it. TOWER from 1A growth is expected. “Being a not-for-profit compa ny, we have no other reason to build there except to help the con sumer,” he said. Homeowners in the area are concerned the sub-station and new lines will bring property values down, will cause environmental problems and could potentially cause health problems. “We’re talking about well over 1 .(XX) homes involved opposed to the towers,” said David (A.J.) Pritchett, an organizer of the South Forsyth Homeowners Coalition, put together specifically to address this issue. Jones said Oglethorpe has been listening to homeowners all along and has made several costly modi fications to the plans at the request of the homeowners including rerouting the lines to avoid dis turbing an old oak tree. Health risks, Jones said, have not been substantiated by studies. Although a few statistical studies have made links between health problems and electric or magnetic fields, as a whole, the scientific community has found no basis for those claims. “Those fears, although under standable, are not founded,” he said. Pritchett said health concerns remain in the minds of residents. “Even one test saying there are health risks is enough for us,” he said. Beer ©rcch Chores Jlrcsbytcrian (Shunrh 7620 Lanier Drive off Shady Grove Road Sunday School - 9:45am Worship Service -11:00 am Wednesday Family Nite - 6:oopm Nursery Care Provided 887-6801 Dr. Gerhard Grau, Ph.D. Minister ALVAREZ BLINDS COMPANY A Division of Alvarez & Associates Specialists In CUSTOM MADE WINDOW TREATMENTS Direct From Manufacturers At 50% - 70% EVERYDAY DISCOUNTED PRICE Select From A Wide Variety of Styles, Patterns & Colors HORIZONTAL / VERTICAL i • Vertical Blinds in Stained Glass; •1”-2” Wood Blinds •1”- 2” Metal and Vinyl Blinds i • Cellular Shades • Vertical Blinds PVC Fabric ; • Pleated Shades • Specialty Shape Shades • Wood & PVC Shutters • Roman Shades • Plantation Shutters • Micro-Blinds El FREE IN-HOME ESTIMATES EE3 CALL 255-9836 or 1-800-892-9301 Mention This Ad For Additional Savings “Okay.” said Jim Kidwell of the Cove Creek Subdivision who opposes the store. “Study it hard.” Also included in the postpone ments was a 150.2 acre subdivision on Little Mill Road near Browns Bridge Road. Five people had opposed this rezoning at the Oct. 31 Planning Commission meeting. The Planning Commission recom mended it be approved but had list ed 13 conditions. A rezoning request for a motor cycle repair shop on Castleberry Road and Piney Grove Road was denied by the Commissioners at the Monday meeting. Tommy David Pruitt’s request was opposed by eight people at the Planning Meeting on Oct. 31. Two opposed the rezoning at Monday’s Commissioner’s meeting. Pruitt had hired an attorney, Lisa G. Shippel of Rolander & Rolander in Roswell, to speak on his behalf. Shippel showed photographs of To help maintain the aesthetic value of the area, homeowners have asked Oglethorpe Power to bury the lines rather than build the unsightly towers. Jones said independent studies have shown that it is not practical to bury the lines in this case. Buried lines not only cost more money to install but are more diffi cult to maintain. When repairs are necessary, outages can pot be found easily underground, he said. Several meetings between the homeowners and Oglethorpe have not settled the matter to the satis faction of the residents. Even after Ga. Sen. Clint Dav (R-Norcross) mediated a discussion between the homeowners and Oglethorpe Power, a compromise could not be met. Pritchett said the homeown ers came up with several options but Oglethorpe would not accept any of them. “Everyone of them they shot down for one reason or another,” he said. Oglethorpe Power sees it dif ferently. Jones said Oglethorpe has tried to stay involved with the homeowners since the beginning of the project. The line towers will be spaced as far apart as possible and will be single-pole structures made from concrete or steel. They will run primarily along the road side and will only touch a few lots. “We want to make it as pleas ing as possible within reason,” Jones said. r mom *S f BIRTHDAY \ J PARTIES! I if* K»n and *o«y Ostfv l), onyourl J Call for info. & ressrvTl CUMMING SKATE 2 , CENTER i V*wß3S-KATE Our Major Brands Include A Full Line Of Orober Best try Design Hunter Douglas Window Fashions J!^S. - ... delPmar. f International existing businesses up and down Piney Grove Road and Castleberry Road including a junk yard and pine straw sales. The shop, Shippel said, would be contained and have no noise or unsightliness. It would be as if someone were fixing their motor cycle in their own garage, she said. Dan Wolf, a near-by resident, said he still believes there would be a noise problem. “I still have concerns that a repair shop for motorcycles would not be in the best interest of the community,” he said. Wolf also pointed out that most of the businesses sited by Shippel were on the other side of Piney Grove Road. “This area is distinctly differ ent,” he said. Shippel also brought up a simi lar rezoning approved by the Commissioners two weeks ago. Zoning for a vinyl siding company was approved on a lot previously Oglethorpe has offered to bring representatives of the homeowners to other areas with similar struc tures to help quell their fears of looming towers, Jones said. But the homeowners remain unconvinced that Oglethorpe is doing all it can to eliminate the eyesore. Pritchett balked at Oglethorpe’s offer to put a buffer of trees and bushes around the sub-station. “If you’ve ever seen one of those sub-stations, they’re hideous, they’re huge. You can’t hide them,” he said. At the crux of the final deci sion about the power sub-station and the power lines is a federal law that allows power companies to install what they think is neces sary to provide adequate power. The homeowners have little recourse. “There is a federal law on the books that allows them to do whatever they want,” said Forsyth County Commissioner James Harrington. Because federal law provides Oglethorpe the ability to place the sub-station and towers where they want, federal help is needed to alter the situation, Harrington said. Pritchett said Ga. Sen. Day is on their side in the matter as is Harrington, but they cannot help with congressional matters. Letters have been sent to U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA. 9th dist.) ask ing for his help. TQRes.ce I Qiaptuftr Qkurck-j I ... FecoMetHe cart* fvruou.. SUNDAY Sunday School 9:45 am Worship 11 am WEDNESDAY Adult Bible Study 7pm JARS 7pm Tim J. Holland, Pastor 4940 Martin Road, Cumming, Ga. Church Residence 844-8896 887-5988 Count on me to provide the best Homeowners insurance value in town. 99 ' Ifli |ggj| CALL ME. Like a good neighbor. State Farm is there.® approved for a convenience store despite the protests of residents. Commissioner Seder said that case was different because he expected a siding company to be TREASURY from 1A Jack Branson, of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Criminal Investigation Division of the Public Corruption Task Force. The subpoena was issued by the United States Attorney. Layne, who is second in com mand of the Sheriff’s Dept., was made aware he was under investi gation by the U.S. Treasury LIBRARY from 1A midst of a battle. First, the Forsyth commissioners asked local library board members to resign because four out of five of them refused their requests to put Woman's Body by Dr. Miriam Stoppard, a health book with pictures of couples engaged in sex acts, behind the check-out counter or in an adults only area. And on Nov. 13. the Gwinnett Library Board voted to drop Forsyth from the counties’ 39-year-old agreement. The Friends held a county wide meeting Nov. 14 at the court house, during which White gave an emotional, impromptu speech stating his stand on the library issues. “Due to the recent turn of events, we as the Friends of the Library have found ourselves in a more adversarial position with the county commissioners,” White said Monday night. “But the Friends need to take a more posi tive stand. Nobody wins in a fight. KO H N from 1A against each other. “I made the National Team last year. We went to Dallas Texas and placed sixth,” she said. Cheerleaders can never rest because they must try out for their varsity spot and scholarship each year. “You fight for your spot every year. It is really competitive, with 50 or 60 girls trying out for seven spots.” FELLOWSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH Pastor Randy P. Holt 3155 BETHELVIEW RD. CUMMING, GA 30130 PH.886-1177 09 ★INDEPENDENT* Sun Sch. 10:00 AM Worship 11:00 AM Eve Service 6:30 PM Wads. Service —7:30 PM Tnursery PROVIDED* Dave D. Harden Insurance Agency, Inc. 3565 Hutchinson Rd., Suite 100 Cumming, GA. 30130 889-2138 STATE FARM INSURANCE rj State Farm Fire and Casualty Company Home Office: Bloomington, Illinois less obtrusive to the neighborhood. The rezoning for the motorcy cle shop was denied unanimously. The only other rezoning request opposed by members of the com- Department in late August when agents came to the Sheriff’s Department and talked with him for about 15 minutes. At that time, Layne stated that the agents “asked me about my tax returns...l don’t know what all of this is about.” When asked on Monday after This issue with the ACLU has to be stopped now.” Charles Hobgood, who sits on the Friends five-member advisory board, agreed. "The ACLU is a third party not familiar with our community,” Hobgood said. “It’s not time for a last resort. The two sides can still come together and resolve the situ ation.” The Friends also voted unani mously Monday to renew its mis sion statement, which reads, “The mission of the Friends of the Library as stated in the by-laws is to support the library’s effort to be the best connection for free access to informational educational and leisure interests, fostering the love of reading and encouraging the pursuit of knowledge in a chang ing and diverse community.” White said the ACLU may still pursue an investigation of the library controversy in Forsyth, but the Friends of the Library will not Above all, Kohn is thankful for the friends she has made while at the University and the opportuni ties that cheerleading has given her. “Because of cheerleading I have gotten to meet a lot of people and have visited a lot of places that I never would have if I was not involved in cheerleading.” Another thing that Kohn is I Forsyth County News I J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J USPS 205-540 Your Hometown Newspaper Since 1908 (Established 1908) PUBLISHER DENNIS STOCKTON Forsyth County News EDITOR KARLEEN CHALKER 121 Dahloucga Street MARKETING DIRECTOR JEFF MORGAN Cunumng, Georgia 30130 Phone:Bß7-3126 CIRCULATION DIRECTOR WES DORSEY Fax: 889-6017 OFFICE MANAGER JENNIFER RICE Published Sunday, Wednesday and Friday by the P isyth County News Company, 121 Daliloncga | > Si second Class Postage paid at Cumming, Ga and additional olTiccs. Subscription rale for Forsyth * K| county, $25.00 per year, oilier Georgia and exit of stale subscriptions arc $44.00 per year. Advertising | rates and deadlines available upon request. Postmaster: Send address change to Forsyth County | cws/P.O. Box 210, Cumming, Ga 30130. A Swartz-Morris Media Inc, publication Forsyth County News I J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J Customer Service Policy p Miss your paper? We hope not, but if you live it. Forsyth County we will deliver a I replacement copy to you. If your newspaper is not delivered by 6:30 AM on Sunday, Wednesday or Friday please call the circulation department at 887-3126. ■ Service calls will be taken from 8:00 AM until 6:00 PM on Wednesday, 8:00 AM until | 1:00 PM on Friday, and from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM on Sunday. ((% If your call is received during the above listed times, a replacement copy will be I delivered to your home. Calls received after the above times will be extended credit to their account Any changes in publication will be announced in preceding issues. I I DISPLAY ADVERTISING I For Sunday: Retail & Classified deadlines are 12 noon Thursday jjj For Wednesday: Retail & Classified deadlines are 5 pm Friday || For Friday: Retail & Classified deadlines are 12 noon Tuesday || CLASSIFIED LINERS (Help Wanted. For Sale, etc.) H For Sunday: Deadline is 12 noon Friday | J For Wednesday: Deadline is 12 noon Monday |l For Friday: Deadline is 12 noon Wednesday munity was for William Clarke Rawson’s 1.13 acre lot of land on Old Atlanta Road near McGinnis Ferry Road. The Commissioners approved the rezoning unanimous ly noon to comment on the subpoena, Layne said he had no knowledge that the subpoena had been served and had no comment. Sheriff Jerry Padgett also had no comment regarding the subpoena. No representatives of the U.S. Treasury Dept, could be reached for comment. help with the effort. In other business, White said one of the main purposes of the Friends of Library is to offer support to the Forsyth Library staff, which is under “tremendous strain” because of the sexually explicit materials con troversy. To show their apprecia tion of the staff, the Friends voted unanimously to buy the turkey and ham for the library’s annual holi day party Dec. 8. They will also present the staff with a floral arrangement. The board voted unanimously to make the Friends’ advisory committee official. The advisory board will work closely with White and make recommendations to the 21-member Friends of the Library Board. The advisors are Hobgood, Joni Booker, Mary Helen McGruder, Pam Boles and Doug Smith. looking forward to is the University of Georgia Cheerleading squad has recently tried out to be in the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. “I’ve got two more years and I’m looking forward to cheering for the school. It’s hard work, but it is definately worth it.”