Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
, FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, February 15,1998
Computer system to link county's departments
By Michael Kurtz
Staff Writer
After several months of comparing prices and
lobbying the Board of .Commissioners and
Fbrsyth County’s court officials will be getting a
computer system to link all their branches
together with the Sheriff’s Office.
On Monday, the board voted 3-2 to write a
contract with The Software Group to link the
courts.
The package will combine the paperwork of
the Clerk of Courts, Solicitor Generals Office,
District Attorney, State Court, Superior Court,
Magistrate Court, Probate Court and the
Sheriff’s Office.
Clerk of Courts Doug Sorrells said the system
will be an immeasurable benefit to anyone using
the courts.
“This will avoid duplication of paperwork and
give everyone access to documents they need,”
said Sorrells. “I think this will set a pattern for
other counties.”
The computer network will link all court mate-
Sheriffs Office Incidents Report Summa
By Michael Kurtz
Staff Writer
Sheriff’s Office investigators are
looking for a 1991 Chevrolet
pickup truck that was stolen
Tuesday by a pair of hitch-hikers.
According to the report, the
truck’s owner and his girlfriend
picked up a male and female
walking on Atlanta Highway
about 10 a.m.
The truck stopped to get gas at
the BP Station at the intersection
of Hwys. 9 and 141.
When the truck owner went to
pay, the male suspect reportedly
got in the driver’s seat and drove
off with the female suspect and
the truck owner’s girlfriend.
The girlfriend was let out at a
Citgo station on James Burgess
Road.
The truck was last seen heading
into Gwinnett County on Hwy.
20.
The truck is a red Chevrolet
1500.
Other incidents reported to the
Sheriff’s Office include:
• A 1990 Ford Bronco was
stolen from the Lakeland Plaza
parking lot Feb. 5. According to
the report, the vehicle was locked.
It has a Delta Airlines sticker on
the left side of the windshield and
an O’Brien Ski sticker on the left
long window. The vehicle is tan
and dark blue with a Georgia tag.
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rials between the eight departments.
For example, a prosecutor in the Solicitor
General’s Office will have immediate access to
any warrants coming out of the Magistrate Court
at the touch of a button.
Case files in the system will list everything
from the date a suspect is arrested by deputies to
fines they have paid as a result of the charges.
Sorrells said the system will help save time,
avoid duplication and help save what little room
there is in the courthouse.
The eight departments which will be involved
with the system wanted the computers badly
enough to pool funds to pay $71,000 for the first
year of the system.
Sorrells said the entire system, including hard
ware, software, training and maintenance, will
cost about $600,000.
Eventually, maintenance and training may be
brought in-house with county employees being
trained to train others.
The cost and which company will supply the
product has been debated by the courts and the
board for several months.
• Someone stole a 1989
Chevrolet pickup truck from an
Old Cornit Road residence on
Feb. 12. According to the report,
the truck was parked in front of
the residence with the keys inside.
It fs blue and white and is missing
a headlight.
• Someone attempted to steal a
coin-operated electric air pump
from the Antioch Road Country
Cupboard on Feb. 12. According
to the report, the machine’s hose
was tied to the bumper of a vehi
cle to pull it out. The machine
broke open, and about sls worth
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Hannah & Kelsey McQueen , »W
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Two identical reasons to be grateful there’s a
neonatal intensive care unit close to home.
When Joy McQueen’s doctor told her she was carrying twins, her heart
leapt - from excitement and from fear. “I knew that twins could mean compli
cations and lower birth weights,” she says. “I was frightened for my babies.”
Nearly two months before their due date, the twins -- Hannah and
Kelsey- made their arrival only a minute apart and each weighing just over 4
pounds. In the neonatal intensive care unit at Northeast Georgia Medical
Center, they received the specialized care they needed to begin their journey
home.
Leaving the hospital without their babies was very difficult for Joy and her
husband, Mike. But they are grateful that the service is available locally.
“When my sister’s twins were bom 10 years ago,” says Mike, “they had to
drive to Atlanta every day to see the babies.”
It was a long month before their babies could go home with them, but the
homecoming was a joyful event. “We have been blessed and are grateful they
could receive the care they needed here in Gainesville.”
Northeast Georgia Medical Center and Health System
“The community’s good health at heart.”
743 Spring Street • Gainesville, Georgia 30501-3899 • (770) 535-3553
of coins were taken.
• Someone broke several win
dows and the back door of a
Canton Highway residence on
Feb. 12. According to the report,
the damage was found by a
Sawnee EMC employee who was
reading meters. It is unknown if
anything was taken.
• A S2OO money order was
stolen out of the mailbox of a
Hwy. 9 address on Feb. 12. The
key to the mailbox is missing
from the mobile home park office,
states the report.
• A cellular telephone and a set
Superior Court Judge Stan Gault said on
Monday that every possible company has been
explored and The Software Group had the best
package.
Commissioners Lamar Suddeth and Julian
Bowen, who voted against implementing the
system, expressed concerns about a single
source provider and wanted to make sure the
best possible price had been found before
approving the project.
Gault said he has talked with a number of
providers and has said he feels The Software
Group would provide the best service and price.
The contract was not put out for bid, though
the county’s purchasing manager said a soul
source policy has been used in surrounding
counties.
Sorrells said it will take about six months from
the time the contract is signed to have the system
fully operational in all eight departments.
The Clerk of Courts will be the first depart
ment to get the system.
Sorrells said he hopes to have a computer on
his desk within the next three weeks.
of English Pub darts were stolen
out of the glove compartment of a
1997 Ford Club Wagon parked at
a Wallace Tatum Road address
between Feb. 11-12. The vehicle
was unlocked, states the report.
• A Motorola cellular telephone
was stolen out of a 1993
Chevrolet pickup truck parked at
a Doc Sams Road address on Feb.
12. The truck was unlocked,
states the report.
• More than S7BO worth of lum
ber was stolen from a Ridge
Court construction site between
Feb. 10-11.
Student in critical
r
condition after crash
By Michael Kurtz
Staff Writer
A South Forsyth High School
honor roll student is in very crit
ical condition at Georgia Baptist
Hospital after a two-vehicle col
lision Thursday evening.
John Leon Ricketson, 17, was
Life Flighted to the hospital after
his 1994 Ford Tempo was hit in
the driver’s side by a 1990
Chevrolet Suburban driven by
24-year-old Alpharetta resident
Wayne I. Abernathy.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson
Karleen Chalker said Ricketson
Sergeant suspended pending
internal affairs investigation
By Michael Kurtz
Staff Writer
A Sheriff’s Office sergeant has
been suspended with pay for what
Sheriff Denny Hendrix is calling
a case of excessive force.
The sergeant was suspended
Tuesday after some complainants
said he crossed the line during a
call.
The Sheriff’s Office is not
was turning left from Brannon
Road onto Old Atlanta Highway
when his car was hit.
Rescue workers had to cut
Ricketson out of his seat belt
and free him from the vehicle.
He reportedly had surgefy
Thursday night and on Friday:
He was in the intensive care unit
as of presstime Friday.
Abernathy was not injured in
the crash. ' ’
Chalker said Ricketson was on
his way home from the school
about 5 p.m. when the crash
occurred. The accident is still
under investigation and ffo
charges have been filed. \
releasing details on the incident
pending an investigation, but
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson
Karleen Chalker said the incident
did not occur during a traffic stop.
Internal Affairs is investigating
the case.
Hendrix said the sergeant will
remain suspended until Internal
Affairs charges him or hp is
cleared, at which time the dffice
will release more details.