Newspaper Page Text
Couple tells students
of Gulf trip
PAGE 4A
Forsyth Counts
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J
VOLUME LXXXVII, NUMBER 45 Copyright© 1995 Forsyth County News
Youth
goes on
trial for
vehicular
homicide
By Jennifer Eskew
Staff Writer
Opening statements and
testimony from medical per
sonnel were heard in the first
day of the trial of a young
man charged with vehicular
homicide.
Jonathan Ed Cronan was
indicted by the Forsyth
County Grand Jury for the
death of Robert Lewis Green
following a car accident on
Hwy. 20 on February 1, 1995.
Cronan, who was 17 at the
time of the accident, allegedly
rear-ended the car Green was
driving. The collision sent
Green into the path of a trac
tor-trailer. Cronan was indict
ed for vehicular homicide, dri
ving under the influence for
marijuana found in his sys
tem. reckless driving and vio
lation of the Georgia
Controlled Substance Act.
The jury consists of seven
women and five men, with
one woman alternate. Cronan,
with dark red curly hair was
dressed in a dark green shirt
and rarely moved during testi
mony.
David Gaffnea, the assis
tant district attorney, present
ed the case for the prosecution
saying, “We will hear the tes
timony of those who actually
saw the accident.”
See COURT, Page 2A
WEATHER
Wed. will be
sunny, high of
69. Thurs. will
be warmer, high
of 72. Partly
cloudy on Fri., L
high of 75.
INDEX
Abby 8A Events 9A
Deaths 3A School 4A
Business 6A Horoscope 8A
Classifieds 5B Legals 3B
Editorial 10A Sports IB
COMING FRIDAY. ..
Cumming City Council
The Cumming City Council met on
Tuesday night. Details of the regular
monthly meeting will be included in
Friday's edition.
Commission meets with
DOT
The Forsyth County Commission
met with the Department of
Transportation on Tuesday to dis
cuss future road plans for the coun
ty. See Friday's edition for details.
»
Missed paper policy : For replacement
paper call between 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on
Wed., 8 a m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, and 9
a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sun., 887-3126.
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And Forsyth County’s Jr. Miss is...
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Forsyth County’s 1997
Junior Miss was selected
Saturday night as 24
young girls from Forsyth
Central, South Forsyth
and North Forsyth High
Schools competed in the
scholarship program at the
Sawnee Community
Center. Above, in center is
1997 Junior Miss and the
runner-ups. From left to
right are: Stacie Dover, 3rd
runner-up; Kerri Wheeler,
2nd runner-up; Forsyth
County Junior Miss 1997,
Melissa Danchetz; April
Wilder, Ist runner-up; and
Cherie McLaughlin, 4th
runner-up. At right,
Melissa Danchetz is
crowned as the new
Forsyth County Junior
Miss by the 1996 Georgia
and Forsyth County Junior
Miss Kim Jordan. More
photos and details of the
competition in Friday’s edi
tion. Photos by Tom
Brooks.
Come celebrate spring!
Cumming Spring Celebration kicks off
By Thomas W. Krause
Staff Writer
Although Tuesday evening began the Cumming
Spring Celebration, all day Monday, organizers were
still busy preparing for the event.
“Everybody’s really hoppin’,” Eddie Canon,
director of the Cumming Recreation and Parks
Department, said Monday afternoon.
The Great James H. Drew Exposition arrived
early Monday and began setting up midway rides for
the fair.
Vendors also began checking in Monday.
Although rain sprinkled throughout the afternoon,
about 70 percent of the vendors were present, said
Lori Grindle, programs coordinator for the
Recreation and Parks Department.
“We’re up and running,” she said.
The spring fair is a smaller version of this past
October’s fall fair. But even though the fair will be
smaller, it has the potential to draw a larger crowd,
Grindle said. Two major entertainers are booked
Tracy Lawrence performing at 8 p.m. Friday and
Shenandoah performing Saturday at 7 p.m. and 9
p.m.
Another enticement for the crowd, with any luck,
will be the weather. According to the Weather
Channel, skies are expected to be clear beginning
Tuesday and highs are supposed to be in the middle
70s all wee*?. pt
“Keep your fingers crossed,” Grindle said.
Forsyth County Track
Championships
SPORTS J B
Cumming, GA / April 17,1996
WEDNESDAY EDITION
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The fair in October was rained out for two days
due to Hurricane Opal.
The Spring Celebration will be open Tuesday
through Thursday from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m., Friday
from 4 p.m. until midnight, Saturday from 11 a.m.
until midnight and Sunday from 12:30 p.m. until 7
p.m.
Motorists should be aware northbound
Castleberry Road will be closed at 4 p.m. Tuesday
through Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday.
Southbound traffic will be open. No shuttle bus ser
vice will be available for this fair.
Exhibits and shows at the fair should appeal to a
wide variety of interests. Heritage Village will be
decorated in a spring theme and will feature a work
ing cotton gin running every hour, a saw mill run
ning every half-hour and a com mill running all day.
Charlie Dingier will be operating a blacksmith’s
shop, also open all day.
Pig races will be run on every hour from 6 p.m.
to 9 pm. and a petting zoo will be open throughout
the fair. Thursday at 7 p.m. the livestock section will
feature a hog show.
The Hurdy Gurdy Monkey, a real live monkey,
will be traipsing around the fairgrounds all week
taking coins from interested spectators.
The characters from Farmyard Frolics will be
performing at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. every day.
Members of the cast, who dress in farm animal cos-
See FAIR, Page 2A
Forsyth for Families
planned for Sunday
at NFHS
PAGE 3A
Decision on new
auditoriums
will be Thursday
By Laura Boggs
Staff Writer
To delay or not to delay? That
is the question Board of Education
members will answer about the
construction of high school audito
riums Thursday night.
They will vote on Facilities
Director Steve Tomlinson’s rec
ommendation to hold off on build
ing the facilities at Forsyth
Central. North Forsyth and South
Forsyth until “construction costs
come down.” It is estimated that
proceeding with the projects this
summer would cost $1 million
more than is budgeted, or between
$300,000 and $400,000 per audi
torium. While $1,269 million was
Building permits only
increase slightly over
those issued in 1995
By Thomas W. Krause
Staff Writer
Although it is too early to pre
dict a trend, construction in
Forsyth County has been leveling
out in 1996.
The total number of building
permits issued in the first quarter
1996 is barely up from the first
quarter 1995. The number of
building permits issued, however,
is significantly higher in 1996 than
two years ago.
This time last year, the Forsyth
County Planning Department had
issued 925 building permits. The
Planning Department issued 955
building pennits in the first quarter
1996 only a 3.2 percent
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Photo Tom Brooks
This windmill is another addition to the Cumminq
Fairground’s Heritage Village. S
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budgeted for the auditoriums, bids
could come in at about $1.7 mil
lion per facility, Tomlinson said.
He said he wants to wait until
summer 1997 to accept bids from
builders, and the auditoriums
would be complete by December
1997 at the earliest instead of
the original target date of
December 1996. Metro Atlanta
school systems are having trouble
finishing building programs
because of the area’s high con
struction prices, Tomlinson said.
“A lot of nearby counties
like Bartow and Cherokee are
experiencing growth and working
See SCHOOL, Page 2A
increase.
In the first quarter 1994, how
ever, the department had issued
649 building permits. First quarter
building permits have increased by
47 percent between 1994 and
1996.
Larry Robertson, director of
the Planning Department, said it is
too early to tell if the leveling out
of permits is a trend. The middle
of the year traditionally sees a
higher number of permits.
The long winter may be to
blame, for the slow growth in con
struction.
“People may just be waiting for
See PERMITS, Page 2A
50 Cents