Newspaper Page Text
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Friday, Juna 12, INI
Grants from ia
;| lhe last minutes before the
meeting.
“Very often, when we get
up there, there’s a list,” Kieffer
said. He added that every com*
- missioner receives requests up
40 the meeting date and they get
added.
Jenkins said items “are
added by commissioners with
.knowledge of that topic.”
. He said had the sheriff
called him and discussed the
grants with him, he could have
decided to put the item on
Monday’s agenda.
A form is available to
j request additions to the com
* npssioners’ agenda, but some
don’t have to go through the
paperwork.
Senior Center Director
Libby Jackson said the com
missioners add her to the agen
da, anytime there is something
to discuss. She said she was
placed on Monday’s agenda by
a commissioner and didn’t fill
,>put any paperwork to get heard.
Hendrix said he realizes the
request came after the
Thursday deadline, adding that
' was the earliest date the grant
request was ready for approval.
He said the commissioners
have never refused a grant
request for his office, and start
that practice now would be
•detrimental to the community.
**;» 4 ‘Bill Jenkins is letting his
personal feelings against me
come in the way of this county
by refusing to approve the
grant. This is free money,”
Hendrix said.
Jenkins denied letting per
sonal feelings influence his
decision and said he will con
sider every grant request from
any department that is filed in
the proper manner.
The deadline to submit an
approved form for the three
grants is Friday, June 12.
* Bob Mclemore, who coordi
nates grant applications for the
Deaths
■ »*
Nathan Chad Stacy
. " 'Nathan Chad Stacy, 16, of
Dawsonville, died Friday, May 22
from injuries sustained in a four
wheeler accident. Born in Flint,
Mich., he was a member of
Gateway Baptist Church and a
IQth grade student at Dawson
Cdunty High School.
Survivors include his father,
Jatnes Lawrence Stacy of Byron,
Mich, and Tina Gail Hurley Stacy
Phillips of Dawsonville; a sister,
Jamie Nicole Stacy of Byron,
Mich.; maternal grandmother
Hattie Hurley of Hurley, Va.; and
paternal grandparents James and
Virgie Stacy of Grand Blanc,
Mich. Aunts, uncles and cousins
also survived.
Funeral services were held
May 27 at the Kelsa Freewill
Baptist Church in Kelsa, Va. The
H?vs. E.C. Honaker and Britt
Jackson officiated.
, Interment was held at the Conn
Cemetery, in Hurley, Va.
--Grundy Funeral Home of
< Grundy, Va., had charge of
* arrangements.
J Forsyth County News
< June 12.1998
I
Rene Gable
f " ' Florene “Rene” Gable, 79, of
Cumming died Tuesday, June 9,
; 1998. She was preceded in death
.by her husband, Samuel L Gable.
Survivors include a son and
* daughter-in-law, Mike and Nancy
>Gable of Cumming; grandchil-
* dren, Lisa Gable of Dunwoody
‘ and Sam Gable of Cumming; and
i sisters-in-law, Doris Ponder of
J Woodstock, and Nita Ponder and
I Forence Gable, both of Marietta.
1 Nieces, nephews and other rela
i tives also survive.
* J*, Funeral services were held
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Sheriff’s office, said the dead
line for one of the grants could
be extended. The county loses
consideration for the other two
if not approved by the commis
sion by Friday.
Hendrix said the grant
money will be used to hire new
Community Oriented Policing
Services (COPS) officers for
the schools, to upgrade com
munications and other equip
ment and to create a driving
under the influence task force.
According to Jenkins, some
of his reservations are the result
of the lack of time the commis
sion has to evaluate each of the
grants and determine if they are
economically feasible. He also
said time was required to deter
mine if the additional employ
ees are actually needed.
“We currently have 32
vacant positions in the
Sheriff’s office,” Jenkins said,
expressing his concern about
adding additional slots which
bring with them other expenses
related to the new hires,
including uniforms and bene
fits. He estimated those resid
ual costs to the county which
would not be covered by the
grant money could total
$25,000 per person.
Jenkins said the county still
awaits audit-related informa
tion from the Sheriff’s office
which is required for further
grant approval.
Mentioning again that his
role as chairman requires him
to have the authorization of a
majority of the commissioners
before taking any action, such
as signing the approval to apply
for the grants, Jenkins advised
Wednesday evening he was
attempting to contact board
members to get their verbal
endorsement by the Friday
deadline.
“I can’t sign those grants
without authority,” Jenkins
said.
June 11 at the Ingram Funeral
Home Chapel with the Rev.
Kenneth Lark officiating.
Interment was held at the
Crcstlawn Cemetery.
Ingram Funeral Home of
Cumming had charge of the
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
june 12,1998
Bob Buffington
Bob Buffington, 76, of
Cumming died Monday, June 8,
1998.
A native of Atlanta, he was a
member and deacon of Cumming
First Baptist Church and had
taught Sunday School for many
years. He was the owner of Dresco
Mechanical Contractor Inc., for 30
years and a veteran of the United
States Navy. He served in World
War II and was stationed in the
Phillipines. He had retired to Lake
Lanier in 1977.
Survivors include his wife,
Mary Lou Buffington of
Cumming; daughters and sons-in
law, Cheryl and Glen Fox of
Savannah, Susan and Chuck Burks
of Atlanta and Janet and Steve
Francesconi of Marietta; grand
children, Justin and Meredith Fbx
and Katherine Francesconi; step
grandson, Charley Burks; brother
and sister-in-law, Emmett and
Martha Ruth Buffington of
Houschton; sisters and brother-in
law, Ferrell Mayo of Jonesboro,
Virginia and Cliff Martin of Ohio,
Martha and Buck Garmon of
Stone Mountain and Mary Ann and
Howard Narkates of Pennsylvania.
0 *
Little Sister,
Big Mama
*■-■<"' ' - - ——■—
TRIBUNAL from 1A
working for the past two years, testified.
Opening statements from the board of educa
tion’s attorney Phil Hartley indicated Steffey was
fired due to her lack of professionalism, insubor
dination and incompetency.
He said Steffey was transferred to South
Forsyth Middle School to be an assistant princi
pal for the 1996 school year along with several
other employees to give her more experience.
Steffey had previously worked for eight years as
an assistant principal at Coal Mountain
Elementary.
Hartley said Steffey was frequently absent
from the building and her attitude toward
Chandler changed in the second year to open
hostility and animosity. He also said she was
unprofessional to other teachers and many
duties, such as special education, had to removed
from her.
Hartley said the administration went to exten
sive efforts to remediate the situation. "We ask
that you uphold the decision of the board,”
Hartley said.
Steffey’s attorney, Wyc Orr, opened by saying
there was a “sharp line of demarcation, such a
sharp delineation in the treatment toward Susan
Steffey before that suit they referred to was set
tled and after that suit was settled.”
He said Steffey had always received good
evaluations and even received a letter of recom
mendation from Chandler to be a principal as
late as October 1997.
However, he said, once the lawsuit was set
tled on Oct. 10, the treatment of Steffey changed
until finally on Nov. 20, she received a letter
threatening her with non-renewal of contract.
Chandler, who has some 26 years school sys
tem experience, testified the 1996-97 school year
was very busy since all three administrators,
Chandler, Steffey and another assistant principal,
were new to the school.
When asked if there were any problems with
Steffey in the first year, Chandler paused and
then said she had concerns with Steffey handling
discipline problems, connecting with the stu
dents and having a high level of frustration.
Chandler said she knew Steffey was involved
in the lawsuit and building a new home and fig
ured once all that was finished things would
improve.
On Steffey’s year-end performance evalua
tion, Chandler said she gave a satisfactory per
formance, the highest available, because things
were moving in a direction she hoped for.
Later under cross-examination she told Orr if
there had been significant issues she would have
Nieces, nephews and other rela
tives also survive.
Funeral services will be held
Friday, June 12, at 11 a.m. at the
Ingram Funeral Home Chapel in
Cumming. Dr. B.V. Franklin Jr.,
Dr. A. Y. Howell and Bill Jones
will officiate. Interment will be
held at the Sawnee View Garden.
In lieu of flowers, memorial
donations may be made to the
High Ground Community Church,
20 N. Big A Road, Toccoa, Ga.
30577.
Ingram Funeral Home of
Cumming has charge of the
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
June 12. 1998
Joe K. Abbott
Joe K. Abbott, 70, of
Dawsonville died Tuesday, June 9,
1998.
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talked to Steffey about it but she was trying to
build a relationship of trust and camaraderie.
The next year, 1997-98, Chandler said,
“There were some signs that just the level of
commitment and the interest in the job was drop
ping.”
Chandler said she felt Steffey began to take
advantage of her by leaving the building and the
campus and began to see a problem with the way
teachers worked with her.
Various e-mails regarding the leaving of cam
pus and bus duty were sent between the two
women and Chandler said Steffey began sharing
those e-mails with other teachers and asking to
see their e-mails.
Problems also arose regarding the handling of
the special education department, the counselor’s
office, the transfer of a teacher to another school
and the disciplining of students.
Chandler said she felt South Forsyth Middle
was going downhill and said tension increased in
the front office. She added at one point she didn’t
even want to be in the same room with Steffey.
Chandler commented on Steffey’s body language
and eye rolling, which she observed during
meetings.
Chandler then asked the Central Office if
Steffey could be transferred to another school but
was told there were no openings and it was not
the policy of the board to transfer administrators
who were having problems.
Chandler was given suggestions to have a
meeting, not have so much formal writing
between them and to make things more positive.
That meeting was held on Nov. 20 and
Chandler gave Steffey a list of duties and tasks
including not leaving campus without permis
sion, stopping gossip and conducting meetings
professionally.
At the end of the list is a statement that if not
resolved then Chandler would have to recom
mend to the superintendent that disciplinary
action be taken or her contract be non-renewed.
Regarding the refusal to give Steffey comp
time and reprimanding her for the “condo for
rent” sign, Chandler said Steffey could not pro
duce any record of the time she worked in order
to receive the days off.
Chandler said a person had to work in the
school in order to receive time and said she
didn’t recall if she told Steffey to work at home
but added that’s why the administrator’s have
laptop computers.
Orr then asked Chandler about her meetings
with the other assistant principal, Larry
Cornelius. She stated she met with him alone in
Survivors include his children
and their spouses, Mark Abbott,
Jeff and Margaret Abbott, Terry
and Deborah Abbott and Bruce
and Elaine Abbott, all of
Dawsonville; daughter and son-in
law, Joanne and Paul Wilder of
Dawsonville; grandchildren,
Samantha Gilreath, Elijah Wilder,
Jeffrey Abbott, Jenna Abbott and
Drew Abbott; brother and sister
in-law, John and Betty Abbott of
Cumming; sister-i '-law, Betty
Abbott of Dawsonville. Nieces,
nephews and other relatives also
survive.
Funeral services were held
June 11 at Ingram Funeral Home
Chapel in Cumming. The Rev.
Tommy Lamb and Dr. Rupert
Bramblett officiated.
Interment will be held at
Sawnee View Memorial Gardens.
Ingram Funeral Home of
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Cumming had charge of the
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
June 12,1998
Kristi Lawhome
Kristi Lawhorne, 18, of
Cumming died Saturday, June 6,
1998 as a result of injuries sus
tained in an automobile accident.
She was a student at North
Forsyth High School, where she
was a varsity football and basket
ball cheerleader, class secretary,
and a member of the student coun
cil, the FCA and drama club. She
was named Honor Thespian and
1998 Basketball Homecoming
Queen. She was a member of
Concord Baptist Church.
Survivors include her parents.
Forsyth County News
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order to give him guidelines and job duties to
help him in his first year as an assistant principal.
When asked if there were times Steffey
asked to meet with her and she couldn’t.
Chandler said, unless there was a specific issue,
she didn’t have time. Chandler said she was
busy with planning for the new school, Vickery
Creek Middle School, splitting students and
checking plans.
Chandler said she reprimanded Steffey for
the “condo for rent” notice because as an admin
istrator Steffey should have known it was against
the rules. She also said she is normally in and out
of the lounge so quickly she doesn’t always
notice the other, similar signs but that Steffey’s
was in a very obvious place.
Regarding the letter recommending Steffey to
a principalship, Chandler said she wrote the let
ter so Steffey could be added to the pool of
applicants to be considered as a principal in the
future because she felt Steffey had the potential
but not the skills to advance.
She said she was delighted Steffey was inter
ested in a principalship and felt it would give her
an opportunity to work on her skills.
Later, under cross-examination, Chandler
was asked about the words “the special educa
tion department has dramatically improved” and
should be considered for an opening at an ele
mentary level in the letter.
She said if the letter were read by a person
used to reading recommendations, some things
are missing and what is not said in the letter is
very important.
“I would not write that letter about her
today,” Chandler said under redirect from
Hartley.
On Wednesday, some witnesses for Susan
Steffey testified including one first grade teacher
from Coal Mountain Elementary who said she
enjoyed working under Steffey and never saw
any unprofessional behavior. She also said she
would welcome the opportunity to work with
Steffey again.
Hartley called two counselors from South
Forsyth Middle, three members of the front
office staff and some other witnesses also from
South Forsyth Middle to testify.
“We feel so far the evidence has fully sup
ported the charges in the charge letter and are
confident that the tribunal will find the evidence
supports the superintendent’s decision,” Hartley
said.
Orr said he preferred to wait until after the
hearing is finished to give any comment on the
matter.
Tommy and Dianne Lawhome of
Cumming; brother, Brent Maddox
and sister, Alycia Lawhome, both
of Cumming; grandparents, Eddie
and Jane Lawhome of Rome and
Hazel Cox of Dalton. Aunts,
uncles and other relatives also sur
vive.
Funeral services were held
Monday, June 8, at the North
Forsyth High School gymnasium.
Dr. Jimmy Orr, Dr. Rusty
Ricketson and the Rev. Brad Prater
officiated.
Interment was held at Sawnee
View Garden.
Ingram Funeral Home of
Cumming had charge of the
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
June 12,1998