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THIS ISSUE
CaggrrifM © IMS Forsyth County News
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Powell’s commentary
on gas tax hike.
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County prep baseball
players stay active.
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LAKE LANIER LEVELS
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Are they checking the
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Page4A
INDEX
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Deaths... —2A
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; Events —BA
Opinion *———llA
J Horoscope 9A
Sports IB
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Forsyth County News
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J
Vol. 89 z No. 67
Commissioner seeks master plan changes
By Sheri Toomey
Lifestyle Editor
Density was the main topic Wednesday
at a called meeting of the master plan panel.
Panel chairman Bill Kehres called the
meeting to discuss changes to the goals and
strategies of the revised master plan pro
posed by County Commission Chairman
Bill Jenkins who did not attend the meeting.
Jenkins sent a letter to County Planning
Director Jeff Watkins on May 29 requesting
changes to six goals developed by the panel,
by saying “These are the changes I would
ri-Ti' in i hm s—i
bkwer -
Night shift
Work on the Hwy. 369 bridge creates a striking nighttime scene as a
welder’s sparks shower down toward the water below when
Photographer Tom Brooks captured this after-dark scene.
Frady investigators concerned about case’s integrity
By Beth L Chester
Staff Writer
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation
spokesman said this week that the agency
will neither confirm nor deny whether pos
sible details of Levi Frady’s murder report
ed by area media earlier in the week are
accurate.
Ground broken for Habitat’s
second Crystal Cove home
By Sheri Toomey
Lifestyle Editor
Habitat for Humanity broke ground
Sunday for a second home in Crystal Cove.
Members of Good Shepherd Catholic
Church, First Baptist Church, Johns Creek
Methodist Church and the Board of
Realtors are working together along with
Habitat and the future homeowners,
Burma Parks and Sandy Holcomb, to build
the house, said Mary Beth Grenner, a
Habitat board member.
Parks is a member of Good Shepherd
and spends a lot of time helping out peo
ple in the county, said Grenner.
“She is very involved in the county in
assisting people that need help,” said
Grenner, adding that she helped Sisters
June Racicot and Kathryn Cliatt start The
Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908
FRIDAY JUNE 5. 1998
like to see in the Comprehensive Land Use
Plan.”
During a Wednesday 4:30 p.m. conver
sation between Jenkins and Watkin , the
changes were discussed and Watkins said
Jenkins was not in favor of incentives or
increased density.
Watkins said Jenkins would consider
keeping the goals as presented if the master
plan panel would just delete strategy 5-3
which reads, “ Design ordinances for over
all density and eliminate minimum lot sizes
and setbacks.”
Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the
Gainesville GBI office Fred Stephens said
the integrity of the continuing investigation
could be jeopardized if agents either dispel
or support wire service and Atlanta media
reports about the number of times 11-year
old Levi was shot, the location of the
wounds, whether he had been molested or
Place. This social service agency provides
emergency aid for county residents such as
medical services, fuel, youth programs, a
food pantry and assistance for the elderly.
She currently helps the sisters out at the
Cedar Hill Enrichment Center by taking
care of the goats and dogs when they’re
out of town, said Dr. Ellie Campbell,
Habitat for Humanity president in Forsyth
County. Parks was also on the task force to
'create a community health center which is
now Georgia Highlands Medical Center
and continues her work for the facility as a
member of the board of directors.
Parks was also the first extraordinary
minister to serve Good Shepherd Church,
said Campbell. These lay people are
trained to give communion during church
See HABITAT, Page 2A
As a compromise, panelist Mary Helen
McGruder suggested adding to the state
ment to design ordinances for overall densi
ty without minimum lot sizes and setbacks
“in some zoning categories.”
Discussion between panel members
showed this as a reasonable compromise.
When asked about the revision
Wednesday night after the meeting conclud
ed, Jenkins said, “I didn’t think it was good
for the county not to have minimum lot
sizes and setbacks. We’ve got to be able to
control our growth and our density through
Holtzclaw Road development
goes before board on Monday
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
The Forsyth County Commission is expect
ed to make a decision on Monday night on a
proposed rezoning by a local developer that
will pave way for a massive subdivision on
Holtzclaw Road south of Browns Bridge
Road.
The commission conducted a public hear
ing on the proposal from T.R. Reece at its May
27 meeting. The county’s Planning
Commission has recommended approval of a
modified plan lowering the density of the
County opening talks with
engineers about dam repairs
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
The Forsyth County Commission hasn’t
run out of ideas for finding away out of the
quagmire that finding how to fix Pine Lake
Dam has become.
Commissioner Lamar Suddeth said earlier
this week that he has met with engineers from
Landworks Development Inc. in Gwinnett
County to discuss what it will take to fix the
dam.
Suddeth began the discussions following
action by the commission to authorize Suddeth
and Commissioner John Kieffer to attempt to
get a second opinion on the dam.
That action came in the wake of a report by
the engineering firm of McGill-Schnabel that
the position and location of the boy’s body
when he was found.
“It’s not that we don’t believe the public
has a right to know,” said Stephens, “but I
feel very strongly in cases like this that my
obligation is to the victim.”
He says agents are trying to make cer
tain leaked information doesn’t prevent
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Photo/Tom Brooka
Habitat for Humanity volunteers, board members celebrate with groundbreaking. ’•
50 Cents
zoning ordinances,” said Jenkins.
“That would be unacceptable to me,” he
said, about revising the strategy he recom
mended for deletion. He said it would “neg
atively affect the quality of life.”
At the meeting. Commissioner Lamar
Suddeth said that he agreed with the sug
gested compromise but didn’t have a prob
lem if there was no change to this strategy.
Commissioner Julian Bowen said he
agreed with McGruder’s suggestion but
See PLAN, Page 2A
development from the proposed 176 homes to
136 homes.
The land is currently zoned for agricultural
use and the tract is approximately 1,500 feet
from the road’s busy intersection with Hwy.
369.
At least one commissioner raised questions
regarding the potential impact of the project
on traffic in the area. District 4 Commissioner
Andy Anderson said at the May 27 hearing
that his daily travels through the area have
shown him that vehicles have a hard time mak-
See PROJECT, Page 2A
fixing the dam could cost up to $590,000. That
figure is based on repairs that would bring the
dam into compliance with the Category I sta
tus placed on it by the Georgia Environmental
Protection Division.
Suddeth said that he presented soil samples
to Landworks and the company is expected to
report its findings to the commission at its
June 22 meeting. “I personally didn’t think we
needed to duplicate taking the soil samples,”
Suddeth said, noting that the county provided
Landmark with them. In addition, county
repairs on its findings on the dam have been
turned over to the firm.
Suddeth said the estimate from McGill-
Schnabel was “too high.” He added, “I think
See DAM, Page 2A
them from finding Levi’s killer -or help
the killer go free once found.
Both scenarios are very real concerns for
officials. Their greatest worry centers
around a legal concept known as “guilty
knowledge,” Stephens says - knowledge
. See FRADY, Page 3A