The Forsyth County news. (Cumming, Ga.) 19??-current, April 15, 1998, Image 1

The Forsyth County news., April 15, 1998, Image 1

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Newspaper Page Text1 SHOWWfS Storms possible. Highs in the 70s. Lows in the 50s. THIS ISSUE Copyright C 1997 Forsyth County News Opinion 7S5 —I V> v "/7\ IkdßzMyif ’ Cartoonists’ views on the news. Page 10A Sports Bulldogs-Raiders Round II: Central wins again Page IB LAKE LANIER LEVELS Date Level April 10 1071.77 ft Apt# 11 N/A April 12 N/A April! 3 1071.63** Normal 1070.00 ft School •--••• ip J V/ » Poem wins kindergartner first place in state Page 11A INDEX Abby .9A Business ........SA Classifieds 5B Community •••••••••••••••••••••a ~4A Deaths 2A Events 8A Horoscope .9A Lendls 3B Opinion •••••••••••»••••••••••••••••• 1 2AI aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasaaaaaaaaal B COMING FRIDAY Entertainment extra Soap Opera Updates, Critics Comer, Jill Jackson's Hollywood, Country Music all in Friday's edition. Missed paper policy: For a replacement paper, call 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday - (770) M 7-3126. w Forsyth County News J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J Vol 89, No. 45 Noise ordinance passes, with amendments By Phillip Hermann „ News Editor Unincorporated areas of Forsyth County will now be subject to a new noise ordi nance that seeks to put an end to complaints by area residents about the noisy dogs, loud music and defective vehicles that are rob bing some of needed sleep. The Forsyth County Commission Monday night voted 3-2 to approve the new law that has been amended by District 3 Commissioner Lamar Suddeth to include the establishment of decibel limits on the B v 1 IWk SMI KLk Bl- Kir I ZiAw’U c v ; z3i/a Ifffi-lB mJ ■ pyf L&. Ifid T m Photo/Tom Brooks Safe because of Chester, Wayne Shackelford stands outside his Mercedes Drive home. Owner: Canine companion saved life By Phillip Hermann News Editor Wayne Shackelford has two smoke detectors. One operates on batteries and goes, "beep, beep, beep.” The other, the one he says saved his life early Monday morning, runs on Purina Dog Chow and goes, “bark, bark, bark.” Shackelford’s home on Mercedes Drive was a complete loss after the fire. What he still has is his life, courtesy of 4- School system employee says she’s being conspired against By Jennifer Eskew Associate Editor One of three women who reached a settlement in a lawsuit against the Forsyth County Board of Education last fall, received notice Monday she will be not have her contract renewed at the end of the school year. Susan Steffey, an assistant principal at South Forsyth Middle School, along with assistant superintendent Betty Benson and director of spe cial education Charlotte Phillips settled a federal lawsuit in October 1997 dating from 1995 for an undisclosed amount. The lawsuit alleged women of equal experi ence, education and position were not paid as Photo/Chris Pugh Weighing a winner Kelly Bagley (right) watches as Bob Bellipanni of the South Lanier Bass Masters weighs in Bagley’s 7.2- pound bass, the largest fish caught during Saturday’s March of Dimes Walk America bass tourna ment sponsored by American Proteins. Bagley and his father, Jackie Bagley, partnered up for the tournament. More informa tion on Page 4A. various types of offences. Suddeth said setting acceptable decibel limits would be valuable when it comes to enforcing the new law, adding that there are probably “no two ears in Forsyth County that hear alike.” What those limits are, and who will be in charge of enforcing them, are still to be studied, according to County Attorney Rachel Iverson. She told the commission that most counties use a “reasonable per son” guideline, that is, defining noise prob lems by what would be considered loud or year-old Chester (short for “Winchester”), a chocolate labrador raised by the 49-year old construction superintendent ever since he was a puppy. “I was sleeping and Chester jumped up on the bed. He never does that. I was about to give him heck for it when I smelled the smoke,” Shackelford says. “He alerted me at least four or five minutes before the smoke detector did. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for Chester.” much as men in the central office during the time period of 1988 to 1994. Since the lawsuit was settled, “the Central Office has conspired against me,” Steffpy says. “I stand up for students and faculty and have been chastised for doing so,” she said. Steffey has worked for Forsyth County for 16 years, has four college degrees and been assistant principal at South Middle for two years and Coal Mountain for eight years. For the last month and half, Steffey felt she was being pushed to resign from her position and now, with non-renewal of contract, must finish out the school year in the transportation department. See EMPLOYEE, Page 2A nHIBr s JL KAKok rfj|£v: *•*<» *« Hf ■ B ÜBIb #* WEDNESDAY APRIL 15, 1998 Shackelford recalls that he was able to grab only a few items while fleeing the blaze. “I grabbed one box of books. One box of bedding and cloth ing, and then I grabbed one bag that I found out later was trash.” He says, smiling, “With the smoke and what was hap pening, you just try to grab the first things you can get your hands on.” See CANINE, Page 2A excessive by what the average citizen would think. The commission will be approving deci bel limits at a later date after Iverson has prepared a series of recommended limits. District 5 Commissioner Julian Bowen and District 4 Commissioner Andy Anderson voted against the new ordinance. Bowen said it was obvious from questions raised by various commissioners that more study is needed before the ordinance is adopted. He quipped that his idea of a rea sonable standard would be if the noise was County police force on ballot July 21 By Phillip Hermann News Editor Forsyth County voters will go to the polls July 21 to determine if there should be a county police department. The Forsyth County Commission Monday night took the first step toward creating such a department when it authorized the elections superintendent to advertise that the referendum question will appear on the general election primary ballot. If voters choose to create the new department, some enforcement duties currently being handled by the sheriff’s department would be altered. Sheriff Denny Hendrix’s forces would continue the department’s constitutionally mandated powers under state law. Those duties include maintaining deputies at the court house, serving warrants and papers IHHF \ VIEt at---. L 1 . .. Photo/Chris Pugh Christ on the cross Concord Baptist Church presented “Once and For AH” on Easter Sunday with Lawrence Williams portraying Jesus, Paul Moss and Chris Simpson as the Centurions and Joe Kleid as Simon of Cyrene. loud enough to “knock tools off the wall.” He attempted to have the law’s adoption postponed until the commission’s next meeting on May 4. The motion failed. Anderson attempted to amend the law by leaving out a section that includes “noisy animals or birds.” He raised questions about how a resident could accurately determine the decibel Jevel of a dog barking, and how the county would be able to determine if a specific dog was involved. Anderson’s See NOISE, Page 2A and maintaining the county jail. The approval Monday night came despite an attempt by District 1 Commissioner John Kieffer to stall the plan. Kieffer said, “My concern is that this has been put on the con sent agenda without public input.” He added, “Because of the cur rent political situation right now, I don’t think that this is the right time.” Kieffer didn’t elaborate on what he meant by “political situa tion.” But the sheriff and some mem bers of the commission have been embroiled in various disputes in recent months. Kieffer attempted to have the vote on the item delayed until the commission’s next meeting May 4. But District 5 Commissioner Julian Bowen reminded Kieffer that such a postponement could only be accom plished if another member of the See POLICE, Page 2A Man dies in jail By Michael Kurtz Staff Writer Several inmates of the Forsyth County jail made a startling discovery on Monday morning when they found the body of Thurman Marcus Cook, 56. Jail Administrator Mark Thomas said inmates found Cook’s body about 8 a.m. when they tried to wake him for breakfast. “He looked asleep, and when we went back there, he still just looked like he was asleep," said Thomas. Cook was laying on his left side facing a wall and was covered with a blanket. Thomas said deputies tried to verbally wake Cook earlier to take medication. When he didn't respond, they assumed he was sleeping. See JAIL, Page 3A 50 Gents .