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THIS ISSUE
Copyright O 1998 Fonyth Coonty News
Outdoors
Hiking in at Amicolola’s
Len Foote Lodge.
Page IB
Sports extra
*
7th-grade hoops
update.
Pag@3B
062-69 ft
Schools
Developing talents at
Cumming Elementary.
Page 5A
? INDEX
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S Events ~~.~~~~~~.~~~»~j6A
Kids'Page
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Forsvth Coun'j*isi"" ’s
- Vol .89, No T 5.0.
Cooperation is vital to future, Evans says
By Jim Riley
Staff Writer
The Cumming/Forsyth County Chamber
of Commerce Legislative Breakfast was
well-attended Tuesday morning, with U.S.
Rep. Nathan Deal, State Sens. Billy Ray
and Casey Cagle, and State Rep. Mike
Evans and Rep.-elect Bobbie Reese speak
ing to the crowd.
Evans criticized the Forsyth County
Commission, saying that with the exception
Growth-slowing effort
is not sitting well with
some in community
By Jim Riley
Staff Writer
The controversy over the 16-
month zoning moratorium initiated
by the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners is sure to continue,
with the development community
upset at the growth-slowing mea
sure.
“We are highly disappointed in
the manner in which it was han
dled,” said Forsyth Area Board of
Realtors President Ronnie Waller.
“The moratorium was not the
answer to correct the problems.”
Forsyth County Chamber of
Commerce President Pat Topping
said that the water and sewer issues
need to be handled quickly in order
to keep the right balance of residen
tial and non-residential properties.
“Without sewer, you are defaulting
property to residential,” Topping
said. “Businesses contribute a lot
more per square foot for property
tax.”
Topping said he is afraid that
if the sewer issues are not
Local man is two-time winner
Woodworking hobby wins
him national acclaim from
Wood-Mizer Products
By Roxane Campbell
Associate Editor
Cumming resident John Jennings won honorable
mention in Wood-Mizer Products’ semi-annual
“Personal Best” woodworking contest for construc
tion of his kitchen cabinets, netting him SIOO in prize
money.
The cabinets were built in his house in Hart
County, which he also constructed himself, an
endeavor that brought him first place in the South
Region as well as North American Grand Champion
in the tool manufacturer’s 1996 contest.
“I thought I did a real good job on the cabinets,”
Jennings said. “It was just a real fun project.”
The cabinets, produced using his Wood-Mizer
portable band sawmill, were made from red oak lum
ber from Jennings’ land.
“My wife, Martha, planned out what she wanted,
and did the finishing work. I did the cutting and the
sawing,” Jennings said of the three-month project.
Home heating help may be
available to homebounders
Low-income homebound, particularly
the elderly and disabled, can apply for
help paying their home heating bills
beginning Dec. 1,1998.
The Georgia Department of Human
Resources will help pay heating costs for
gas, electricity, wood, coal or kerosene.
One-time payments averaging $l3O will
be made primarily by checks issued to
home energy suppliers on behalf of eligi
ble households.
Eligibility for the program is based
on the income of all members of the
household. All eligible households must
be responsible for their home heating
COM*.
J Your "Hometown Paper” Since 15
of John Kieffer, commissioners have been
unwilling to meet with him. “We need to
work together,” Evans said. “If we get into a
situation where we are not working togeth
er, there will be a real problem.”
After the breakfast, Kieffer indicated he
was not aware of Evans’ comment before
hand, but agreed with his sentiments.
“Forsyth County needs to make every
effort to work with our local delegation,”
Kieffer said. “We need to avoid even the
resolved that high-end commercial
developments will be eliminated.
“Developments such as Johns
Creek and the Meadows - without
sewer, they just won’t be built.”
The zoning moratorium does not
apply to anyone having vested
property rights as defined under
Georgia Law. There has been some
confusion over what actually con
stitutes a vested property right.
66
The moratorium
was not the
answer to correct
the problems. •
99
“A vested right is a right that
cannot be changed or altered by
changes in regulation,” said Forsyth
County Planning and Development
Director Jeff Watkins. Watkins said
that if a developer feels that he has
See EFFORT, Page 2A
Photo/LeAnne T. Bell
John Jennings’ handiwork recognized again.
Jennings, a machinist by trade who retired from
AT&T (now Lucent Technologies) in 1995, said he
See WINNER, Page 3A
When applying for assistance, per
sons must present must proof of income
for all household members. This can be a
paycheck stub, public assistance check or
unemployment check. Applicants must
also supply a social security number for
each person in the household and a most
recent home heating bill or documenta
tion.
Depending on availability of funds,
other households may apply for the regu
lar program which will, open to the pub
lic on Jan. 4, 1999. To apply for assis
tance, contact Ninth District Opportunity,
Inc., your local Community Action
Agency at (770) 889-9420.
THURSDAY DECEMBER 3 1998
Legislator critical of commissioners
appearance of a lack of cooperation. I
would hope that our board will make an
appointment to sit with our delegation in
January.”
Evans spoke about other issues affecting
Forsyth County residents, including crime.
“The jails right now are full,” Evans said.
He also criticized the lack of personnel in
Connecting
Forsyth County
drivers to
proposed
reliever roads
Pictured, at right, is an
initial concept of the
Ga. 400 Corridor
Connector Roads that
are currently being
designed by the firm
of Moreland Altobelli.
The proposed roads
on the west side
include a connector
from Pilgrim Mill Road
to Keith Bridge Road
(Hwy. 306), and Bald
Ridge Marina Road to
Pilgrim Mill Road. On
the east side of Ga.
400, the proposed
connectors are Shiloh
Road to Majors Road,
Majors Road to Hwy.
141, Hwy. 141 to Hwy.
20 and Buford Dam
Road to Bald Ridge
Marina Road. As the
project is still in the
design stages, no
timeframe has been
set for completion.
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Integrated computer
system experiencing
some start-up woes
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A computer system linking
together the courts and Sheriff’s
Office should go on-line soon
after Jan. 1, but the transition has
contained its fair share of glitch-
es.
The Software Group, based in
Texas, is currently installing the
system and training employees
from various county departments
how to use it.
Clerk of Courts Doug Sorrells
said -transferring software
designed for another municipali
ty into the language of Forsyth
County has caused some delays.
Fines and laws are different in
Texas. And they call case num-
the state crime lab.
While Evans said that he would prefer a
Republican in the Governor’s mansion, he
did say that it was nice to have a governor
that he knew. Evans got to know Barnes dur
ing his 20-plus years in state government.
See COOPERATION, Page 2A
bers cause numbers there.
“It didn’t .exactly fit our for
mat and we had to make some
adjustments,” Sorrells said. “It
has caused us a lot of headaches
like any system.”
The switch put an imaging
machine at the Sheriff’s Office
indefinitely out of service.
Although the new machine is
operational, technicians are hav
ing problems downloading data
from the old system. Mug shots
can’t get printed until the prob
lem gets fixed.
Maj. Ron Casper said hard
ware difficulties send documents
to the wrong printers. “This is
their ball of wax and they need to
See COMPUTER, Page 2A
50 Cents