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THIS ISSUE
Copyright © 1997 Forsyth County News
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the news.
Page 15A
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Raiders win first-ever
post-season games.
Page IB
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Feb. 8 1072.89 ft
Feb. 9 1072.76 ft
Feb. 10 " 1.072.56 ft
Feb..ll 1072.33 ft
Normal 1070.00
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Lanier UMC hosts
blood drive.
Page6A
INDEX
Abby. ...l2A
Church ...SA
Classifieds 4B
Deaths.....—„ 2A
Entertainment lC
Events. l4A
Opinion._..! 5A
Horoscope l2A
School ■•••••■•■«■•■■■■■■■■■•■••••«.. 1 1A
Sports.— IB
COMING
SUNDAY
Community Profile
Take a look at one person who is
making a difference in Forsyth
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Forsyth ('< unit
•/ Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 < * UNIUERSITv of Georgia
ATHENS GA 30602
Vol. 89, No. 19
Sheriff declines BOCs offer for free arbitration
By Michael Kurtz
Staff Writer
The dispute between two of the county’s
most powerful offices will be settled by the
courts, and not an independent counsel.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Denny Hendrix
refused to have the civil service dispute
between his office and the Board of
Commissioners settled by a local attorney.
Hendrix sued the board last month,
claiming they are trying to “take control of
the Sheriff’s Office by repealing certain
aspects of the Sheriff’s budget and thereby
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Redistricting committee submits
proposal to school board for vote
By Laura Lavezzo
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Schools
Redistricting Committee met Monday
night and voted to modify its recommen
dation to the Board of Education follow
ing a discussion with the Central Office
staff.
Modifications to the committee’s ini
tial recommendation came about due to
the Central Office’s concerns about:
overpopulating certain middle schools;
availability of space to expand those
March of Dimes kicks off local Walk America 1998
By Sheri Toomey
Staff Writer
Celebrating 60 years of success for
healthier babies, the March of Dimes
held its kickoff luncheon Tuesday for
Walk America at the Sawnee Center.
With a news broadcast format
Walk America volunteers informed atten
dees about the ongoing progress of
March of Dimes’ research and programs
for saving babies.
In the 1990 s March of Dimes
researchers identified genes and proteins
that contribute to debilitating diseases in
babies. They also found a cure for persis
tent pulmonary hypertension.
But there is still more work to do.
“Last year in Georgia over 1,095
babies died, enough to fill 39 class
rooms," said Vicky Griffith, chairperson
for 1998 Walk America committee.
limiting his ability to employ counsel of his
choice.”
Last week, local attorney Phil Bettis
offered to arbitrate the matter between the
Sheriff’s Office and the Board of
Commissioners free of charge to either side.
Hendrix refused the offer Tuesday in a
letter to Commission Chairman Bill
Jenkins.
In the correspondence, Hendrix said the
county did not need another attorney to
clear up a matter which he feels is clearly
explained in the law.
“I have noted no less than six lawyers
Photos/Tom Brooks
Tall Tales
Chattahoochee Elementary
fifth graders told some ‘Tall
Tales” in during their
Tuesday PTO performance.
Top, left to right, Madison
Pruitt, Jessica Franks,
Jessica Currie, Meggie
Ingram and Alise Lovin. At
left, Hillary Cagle,
Samantha Glenton and
Johnnie Raner.
“Lumberjacks” Michael
Hammontree, Brian Carson
and Adam Hammons. See
Sunday’s Forsyth County
News for more.
schools when needed; distribution of spe
cial education students and English as a
Second Language (ESOL) students; and
a desire not to complicate transportation
plans more than necessary.
In December, when the committee
made its recommendation for redistrict
ing plans, students in the Chattahoochee
Elementary district, Zone 2, had been
included in Otwell Middle School’s dis
trict. However, based on transportation
issues and a fear of overcrowding at
See REDISTRICTING, Page 2A
“Today in Georgia, 29 babies will be
born prematurely, 30 will be born to
school age girls, nine babies will be bom
with a major birth defect and three will
die.”
County businesses and groups are
continuing the fight for healthier babies
with Walk America Saturday, April 18 at
Forsyth Central High School.
This year’s goal is SIOO,OOO,
announced Griffith.
Some of the top fund raising teams in
1997 were Kroger, American Proteins,
Lanier Bank & Trust, Sawnee EMC,
Coal Mountain Baptist Church, GTE,
Publix, Longstreet Baptist Church,
Atlanta Gas Light and Big Creek
Elementary School.
Our schools raised $14,000 last year
and already have teams set up, said Paula
See KICKOFF, Page 2A
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13, 1998
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Photo/Tom Brooks
Steven Curl, a customer service manager at Kroger and volunteer for the March of
Dimes, sets up a sign at the Walk America kick-off luncheon Tuesday.
representing the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners on correspondence directed
to me or my attorney over the past month,”
states the letter. “Now you want to hire
another lawyer to tell us what the law pro
vides. No sir.”
Jenkins said on Wednesday that Hendrix
letter leaves the board and the county no
options except to respond to the suit. He
said he would have preferred to have the
matter settled outside of court, and doesn’t
know why the sheriff is fighting.
“The board has been more than fair,”
said Hendrix. “Anything we can do to help
’9B’s second domestic murder
logged as shooting victim dies
By Michael Kurtz
Staff Writer
The county had its second domestic mur
der of the year, Tuesday, when 45-year-old
Rebecca Susan James was shot to death by
her husband. Franklin Jesse James, at the
couple’s Fowler Hill Road home.
Franklin James
owas arrested when
deputies responded
to the mobile home
after a neighbor
called 911 in refer
ence to gun shots
being fired.
Sheriff’s Office
spokesperson
Karleen Chalker
said Franklin James
Franklin Jesse home when
James deputies arrived,
and surrendered without incident. He was not
trying to flee the scene, said Chalker.
Rebecca James’ body was found sitting in
a reclining chair in the home. She had a gun
shot wound to the head.
She was taken to Baptist North Hospital
then Life Flighted to Georgia Baptist
Fatality on Ga. 400 in Fulton
impacts local drivers, family
By Michael Kurtz
Staff Writer
The fallout from Tuesday’s tragic rush
hour accident on Ga. 400 is being felt by
Forsyth County residents.
Alpharetta resident John Bettis died about
4 p.m. when the pickup truck he was driving
swerved into the northbound lane of Ga. 400
and into the path of a flatbed 18-wheeler dri
ven by Forsyth County resident Robert
Milford.
Sgt. Ed Densmore of the Alpharetta
Police Department said investigators have no
idea what caused Bettis to cross the median
from the southbound lane.
“We don’t have a clue,” said Densmore.
“It’s being looked into but even witnesses
said they didn’t notice the pickup until it was
too late.”
the sheriff, we have.”
Commissioner John Kieffer, who
Hendrix singled out in his letter to Jenkins,
agreed with the chairman.
Since January of 1997, the board has
approved a $2,000,000 increase in the
Sheriff’s Office budget, allowed the sheriff
to hire 50 new deputies and approved
almost all purchase requests made by the
board, said Kieffer.
Kieffer said he did not know why
Hendrix, in the letter to Jenkins, brought up
See SHERIFF, Page 2A
Hospital, where she died Wednesday after
noon.
Chalker said the couple had been arguing.
Rebecca James reportedly told her husband to
leave when he got a handgun and shot her in
the head, said Chalker. The gun was found in
the trailer by deputies.
It is unclear what started the argument,
but investigators may have a witness.
Chalker said Rebecca James’ mother was
in the trailer with the couple during the inci
dent. She is expected to be questioned by
investigators this week.
Franklin James was taken into custody by
deputies Tuesday night. He was charged with
murder Wednesday after his wife died and is
in the Forsyth County Jail awaiting a bond
hearing.
Tuesday’s incident was the second homi
cide of the year.
On Jan. 22, George L.
Coggins was allegedly stabbed to death by
his common-law wife, Regina Gail Callahan,
at their Turner Road home. Callahan is in
custody in the jail trying to make a $50,000
bond. She is tentatively scheduled to appear
in Superior Court on March 13.
Last year, three people died as a result of
domestic disputes, including two in a murder
suicide.
Milford was not hurt in the wreck. No
charges have been filed in the case and
Densmore said there probably won’t be any,
though the investigation is continuing.
After securing the scene, Alpharetta
police worried about dealing with the rush
hour traffic which was backed up several
miles from the accident scene at Kimball
Bridge Road.
The flatbed truck blocked both north
bound lanes of Ga. 400, and investigators
kept it shut as they collected evidence at the
scene.
For four hours, police officers rerouted
traffic to side roads such as Hwy. 9 and Old
Milton Parkway.
Densmore said those roads quickly filled
due to the extra thousands of drivers trying to
get home.
Ga. 400 was reopened about 8 p.m.
50 Cents