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> FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Friday, January », 1880
PAGE 2A
PARENTS from 1A
The foster parents took the 2-year-old to
Baptist North Hospital on Jan. 1. Emergency
.personnel immediately transported him to
••Scottish Rite Children’s Medical Center in
’‘Atlanta, where he was placed in intensive care.
“He has a very serious sinus infection that
‘■bad not been treated, and it had gone into his
brain,” Chalker said. According to Det. Cindy
-Payne, hospital officials hope to release the boy
back into the custody of the foster parents in the
< next few days.
*• The foster parents took the 15-month-old to
'"Baptist North Hospital on Jan. 2. He was trans
sported to Scottish Rite Medical Center, where he
••was treated for an eating disorder. He weighed
15 pounds when first admitted to the hospital
and had to be fed intravenously.
%. Alewine and Payne are not married but had
’’•lived together in the county for the last six
'months. He works for a landscaping company
'and she is unemployed. Although the Sheriff’s
•Office was never called to a domestic dispute at
•’the couple’s residence, there were previous
•» jcports of neglect at their former home in Barrow
Chalker said.
***♦' Investigators continue to sort through the past
**few months to find out why the parents did not
feed or seek medical care for their children. They
did not find any bruises or any other signs that
point to physical abuse.
■/., “They are still investigating,” Chalker said.
“We don’t know all the answers yet.”
>
Veteran recalls WW II convoy en route to points unknown
By Alton Bridges
Staff Writer
, DeWitt and Helen Pace moved
to Cumming to be close to their
children, who came to the Atlanta
area with their jobs. Both DeWitt
and Helen say they enjoy Forsyth
County and North Georgia because
df the people, lakes, mountains and
their children and grandchildren liv
ing nearby.
The Paces are natives of
Mississippi. DeWitt graduated from
high school in his native Madison
andjppved to Memphis, Tenn. For
twff he attended Hemphill
Diesel school. When he finished
school, they got married and he
soon got a job.
In 1943, DeWitt Pace went into
the U.S. Army. His first duty station
was Camp Phillips in Salina, Kan.
After basic training, he went to
Camp Myles Standish where he and
• |he Ist Battalion went to
'Commonwealth Pier in Boston,
Mass., and then to Europe.
• “As we started up the gangplank,
' the Red Cross gave us hot coffee
and doughnuts,” said Pace recently.
Deaths
Mary Gibson Slover
J. Mary Gibson Slover, 88, of
'Cumming, died Tuesday, Jan. 5,
Slover was a dental assistant for
" Dr. John M. Jenkins of East Point
* for 20 years. She attended Martin
Institute in Jefferson and was a
member of Mary Branon United
Methodist Church and the
Fellowship Sunday School class.
She was preceded in death by her
husband, John Fletcher Slover Sr.
Survivors include her son and
daughter-in-law, Jack Sr. and
Becky Slover of Cumming; grand
-children, Jack G. Slover Jr. of
/Alpharetta, Ginger Slover
/’Qresham of Sugar Hill, Mike
>?slover of Texas and Malcolm
‘'Slover of Savannah; eight grand
children; three nieces; and three
£ nephews.
i' Graveside services will be held
on Friday, Jan. 8 at 1 p.m. at
Westview Cemetery. The Revs.
-Olive Kellum and Owen Kellum
/ will officiate.
L.W. McDonald & Son Funeral
Home of Cumming had charge of
The Lanier Lodge #B2
W* Fraternal Order of Police
• •
is Sponsoring It’s 1999
“Booster Sticker Drive”.
Funds raised will go for
Drug & Gang Awareness &
Kid’s Day Programs.
Solicitations will be done
by telephone.
COLD from 1A
With 142 buses running the
county’s children on a daily
basis, Allen said things could
have been much worse.
“If the buses hadn’t been sit
ting so long it wouldn’t have
been a problem,” Allen said.
“And I’m pleased to say we only
had two buses late to school. But
whenever it gets cold, I worry
about those children stuck wait
ing out there.”
According to Allen, some
buses use air brakes, and when
moisture becomes trapped in
those brakes, it can freeze in
place. A bus will not operate
under those conditions. This hap
pened to one bus on Monday.
“We sent a spare bus over and
those students ran a little late.”
Allen shuffles drivers’ schedules
to make sure everyone makes it to
school as efficiently as possible.
“If we can’t get a spare bus to
them, we send another driver to
pick up the kids.” Assistant to the
Superintendent Paula Gault said
no students who were late to
school due to the bus problems
would not be counted tardy.
In effort to help winterize the
“The name of the ship was the
Strathmore, a British steamer and
the third largest ship on the ocean at
the time. It was built to accommo
date only 1,500 people as a cruiser
in peacetime, but with all the cots
and hammocks the Army installed,
it held 6,000 G.l.s.
Pace remembers the trip to
Europe. His company was assigned
to help the British sailors man the
guns on deck, but were shooting
dice and playing cards, telling sto
ries, playing music, sleeping and
trying to avoid getting seasick. “No
words can describe the emotion or
thoughts of the soldier when he
experiences the first glimpse of the
open sea and finds himself a part of
a large convoy en route to points
unknown,” said Pace.
“Possibly no other experience
with the exception of actual combat
lives more vividly in my memory
that being at sea the first time. This
was my first time away from home.
The entire 313th Regiment, plus the
310th Field Artillery and 63
American nurses were aboard the
ship. We were in a convoy of 30
ships,” he said.
the arrangements.
Forsyth County News
Jan. 8, 1999
Bertha Anderson Pruitt
Bertha Anderson Pruitt, 77, of
Alpharetta, died Wednesday, Jan.
6, 1999 after a long illness. Pruitt
was a native of Dawson County
and had lived in Forsyth County
and Fulton County for the majority
of her life. She was preceded in
death by her son, H.C. Pruitt.
Survivors include her husband,
Hershell H. Pruitt of Alpharetta;
children, Mrs. H.C. (Grace) Pruitt
of Duluth, Mrs. Ted (Elizabeth)
Hood of Roswell, Doris and Andy
Gullixson of Dahlpnega, William
and Kathy Pruitt and Michael
Pruitt, all of Duluth, Charles and
Ann Pruitt of Cumming, Melvin
and Judy Pruitt of Alpharetta,
Laverne and Mark Ashley of
Loganville, Gayle and Wayne
Bowman of Cumming, Travis
Pruitt and Rena Whitt of Norcross;
26 grandchildren; 60 great-grand
children; four great great-grand
children; sisters and brothers-in-
fleet of school buses, Allen has
instructed the mechanics to
replace all batteries if they seem
low. Each bus is equipped with
two batteries - both are needed
for the bus to function. Each
Forsyth County school bus is
checked by a mechanic at the
transportation department every
20 school days. The batteries and
the antifreeze levels are among
the items checked specifically in
winter conditions. Each summer,
school buses must pass the
Georgia State Patrol inspection.
At that time, all fuel filters, air
filters and oil filters are replaced.
The cold weather also con
tributed to first day glitches at
Vickery Creek Middle School,
which opened for the first time
Monday. Principal Toni Eubank
reported that although all stu
dents were at the new school
facility by 8:28 a.m., they were
shuffled among classrooms to
deal with heating problems. A
lack of heat in the art and band
rooms, for instance, meant tem
porarily sending those students
into regular instructional class
rooms.
The troops ate their meals in
their quarters because all of the
space was used to house the sol
diers. Only two meals per day was
served and they were brought to the
soldiers in cans. The tea and coffee
were constant targets of good
natured criticism and comment.
“The voyage lasted 10 days,”
said Pace. “The sea was rough but,
on April 15, 1944, the ship docked
at the Port of Grenck, Scotland. The
next day, we sailed to Glasgow and
stayed on the ship for two days wait
ing for orders. When we disem
barked, we took a train from
Scotland to England where the 79th
Infantry stayed in tents in a public
park known as Garswood Park in
the town of Makersfield, Lancashire,
England. The days were cold and
rainy and we slept in our clothes.”
Half the soldiers were allowed to
go on pass until May 30 when they
were given orders to prepare to
move.
“We knew D-Day was near and
we were prepared,” Pace remem
bers. “D-Day had to be put off twice
because of bad weather. General
Eisenhower wanted to postpone the
law, Lillian and Billy Faulkner of
Alabama, Annie Lou and Doc
Turner of McDonough, Geneva
Meeks and Rose Newton, both of
Auburn, Gladys Johnson of
Roswell, and Louise Gee of
Conyers; brothers and sisters-in
law, Howard and June Anderson of
Conyers, Loy and Dale Anderson
of Atlanta, Herman and Marie
Anderson of Loganville; brothers
in-law and sisters-in-law, Martha
Day, Dora Pruitt, Lemuel and
Joyce Pruitt, Barbara and Buddy
Burnett, all of Cumming, Virginia
and H.B. Burnett of Dahlonega,
Rebecca and Mac Mann of Duluth,
and Patricia Dean of Alpharetta;
and a number of nieces, nephews
and other relatives.
Services will be held Friday,
Jan. 8, at 2:30 p.m. at Ingram
Funeral Home Chapel. The Revs.
Roy Biddy, Daniel Samples and
Glendon Bennett will officiate.
Interment will be held at Haw
Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.
Ingram Funeral Home of
Cumming has charge of the
arrangements.
ZONING from 1A
feel trapped in a sea of traffic and commercial
development. Both, along with three other
adjoining landowners, are attempting to sell
their property to The Atlanta Company.
“These people (subdivision residents)
have nice big homeowners’ associations to
represent them,” Fouts said. “We don’t have
that kind of wherewithal.”
After Sharon Road is widened and a traf
fic light is installed at the intersection, which
is right in front of Fouts* and DeLong’s
homes, Fouts said that the noise will be
unbearable.
“What really scares me is that the trees
and bushes act as a cushion against the noise,”
she said. Fouts said that the right of way will
begin about five feet from her front porch.
Due to the fact that DeLong is the only
caregiver for his wife, who is very ill, he
doesn’t see any option other than selling his
property and moving to a less congested area
without a road in his front yard.
“It’s not fair that I have to give up my
quality of life,” he said. “It makes a difference
when you live two blocks off the street”
Above all, DeLong believes that the only
option for his property is for the zoning to be
changed to CBD or NS (Neighborhood
Shopping).”This is a commercial comer, I
just need to get out of it and retrieve my qual
ity of life.”
Commission Chairman Bill Jenkins said
invasion of June 6, but other gener
als said ‘no’ because the morale of
the soldiers was high.”
The 79th Infantry landed on
Utah Beach on June 14, eight days
after D-Day. “The first night in
France, I was on guard duty,” recalls
Pace. “I was really scared. The next
day, a chaplain came and prayed for
us. I only remember one thing in
that prayer - he said the good will
die alongside the bad. I hadn’t
thought of dying. I knew I was
going to make it. Going up to the
front lines, we came to a field where
a battle had taken place the night
before. I remember seeing a lieu
tenant, who was dying. He wrote a
note saying, ‘The Germans shoot
high, stay low.’ Every day, I kept
remembering those words.”
The 79th Infantry relieved the
90th Division and got orders to take
the port of Cherbourg. Several
towns had to be taken before reach
ing Cherbourg and the Germans
always had the high ground and the
advantage of fighting from behind
hedgerows. The German pill boxes
were so strong that close range,
direct fire from the Allied tanks and
Forsyth County News
Jan. 8, 1999
Mary Priscilla Kirby
Mary Priscilla Kirby, 53, of
Cumming, died Tuesday, Jan. 5,
1999.
Survivors include her husband,
Horace Delbert Kirby of
Cumming; daughters, Lisa Miram
Kirby of Cumming and Stacie
Priscilla Kirby Burnley of
Rockmart; sons. Heath Delbert
Kirby of Cumming and Shane
Edward Kirby of Commerce;
mother, Ruth Elizabeth Nix
Allison of Cleveland; brother, Gary
Newton Allison of Cleveland; and
four grandchildren.
Services will be held Friday,
Jan. 8, at 2 p.m. at Bethlehem
Baptist Church. The Revs. Tim
Davenport and Danny Bennett will
officiate. Interment will be at
Sawnee View Memorial Gardens.
L.W. McDonald & Son Funeral
Home of Cumming had charge of
the arrangements.
Forjyr/i County News
Jan. 8,1999
57mm guns would simply bounce
off them.
On June 26, Cherbourg was
taken and thousands of prisoners
were taken. “That was the first time
I had ever tasted champagne,” said
Pace. “My dad did not drink beer or
whiskey. Not even coffee. He did
not smoke, chew or say bad words.
He believed in hard work and only
drank a cup of hot water every
morning.”
See VETERAN, Page 3A DeWitt Pace in Germany.
APPEALS from 1A
said the sheriff has followed all of
the proper procedures in request
ing the exemption.
“If it’s the wrong decision, the
courts will make that ruling,”
Howell said.
Hendrix told the majors in
December they would have to
leave the department by the end of
the year, either by resignation or
termination. He would not com
ment on what events led to the
decision.
Under the county’s civil ser
vice rules, Casper and Thomas
have the right to appeal the
board’s decision in Superior
Court.
Thomas had served as the jail
administrator since May 1997 and
was appointed commander of the
newly formed Special Response
Team. He worked at the DeKalb
County Sheriff’s Office for 17
Forsyth County News
J Yo*r "HmmUtwr Hftr" Shut 1908 J
USPS 205-540
302 Old Buford Road, Cumming, Georgia 30040
Phone:77o-887-3126 Fax:77o-889-6017
Internet Address: www.forsythnews.com
ePubisbcr DENNIS STOCKTON
General Manager NORMAN BAGGS
Corperate Editor LEANNE T. BELL
Advertising Director BARBARA SCOHIER
Circulation Director PHIL JONES
Sports Editor STEPHEN UNDERWOOD
MEMBER Graphic Systenn Manager TOM JORDAN
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For Thuraday’a paper retail and classified display ads by noon Monday
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OassilM Um Advertising Deadlines
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For Sunday’s paper dasnfied line ads are due by noon Friday.
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Lepi advert Wag is due by Friday noon and nuts onb m WodnesAqr’s papa.
that he recognizes the situation that Fouts and
DeLong are in, and that he supports an O&I.
(Office and Institutional) rezoning for their
property. “I feel for the people who want to
sell,” he said.
However, for the remainder of the proper
ty, Jenkins would like to see it zoned residen
tial. “You have to preserve the quality of life,
of the citizens,” he said. “This (a commercial
rezoning) would create a terrible gridlock as.
far as traffic goes.”
Jenkins said that he supports business and.
industry, but would rather it develop along
the main thoroughfares such as Ga. 400 and
Hwy. 20. Also, he said that the majority of
nearby property owners do not support the
proposal. “I’ve found one person besides the
five property owners that support it,” he said.
Still, the conditions that Fouts ajid
DeLong are living in are very difficult. “This
is not a quality of life that any of these conF,
missioners would accept,” Fouts said. “It’s
obvious and logical that this little area would
be commercial.”
One issue that was brought up at the last;
Commission meeting was a possible conflict
of interest by Jenkins due to his residence
being in the vicinity of the property. Jenkins
said he could not comment on the legal ques
tion of whether he should abstain. That issue
will be decided at Monday’s commission
meeting.
' 1 1118*0
years prior to his employment
here. Most of his time in DeKalb
was also spent working at the jail.
Casper mainly handled finan
cial matters and worked in secur
ing grant money for the depart
ment.
The board will hear the appeal
of deputy James K. Latonis at its
next meeting, scheduled for Jan.
14. <
Hendrix fired Latonis -in
November. He cited unsatisfactory
performance and abuse of authori
ty as reasons for the termination.’
“The commissioners say I have
to go by the civil service board
and then they don’t recognize the
board’s rulings,” Hendrix said.-
“I’vc always believed my com
mand staff was exempt... Look at
the governor and other sheriffs,
they have a right to appoint advi
sors.” ; •'