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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Thumtoy, January 14,1W9
Deputy shot in pursuit of bank robbers
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A Forsyth County deputy was shot in
the right shoulder after a bank robbery
Friday afternoon at the Wachovia branch
on McFarland Road.
The male deputy, David M.
Witkowski, 29, was taken to North Fulton
Hospital, where he was treated and
released. The bullet entered and exited his
shoulder.
According to Sheriff’s office spokes
woman Karleen Chalker, Witkowski
Fire chief
named state
association
president
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Fire Chief Norris Bennett, who
was sworn in as president of the
Georgia Firefighters Association
Aug. 15, remembers when county
firemen served fried chicken and
sponsored cakewalks to buy a used
truck.
“The early
years we had
to spend a
tremendous
amount of time
having
fundraisers,”
he said.
- Bennett
Bennett
joined the
department as a volunteer in 1973,
when only a secretary, mechanic
and fire chief received salaries. At
the time, he was self-employed as a
furniture craftsman.
; “I knew some of the ones who
were instrumental in starting the
department up,” Bennett said. “I
fell in love with it.”
Since then, he has watched the
department grow to 30 paid fire
fighters and a volunteer force
exceeding 200. To keep up with
booming growth in the county, a
new station is currently going up on
Hwy. 20 East and plans are in the
works to replace station No. 10 in
the Sharon Springs area.
Only four years ago, it took
“everybody and their brother” to
build the fire headquarters on
Settendown Road, Bennett said.
And people call the fire depart
ment with all sorts of problems. In
addition to putting out fires, fire
fighters are on the scene at nearly
every accident. If people are trapped
in a vehicle, firefighters get them
out with the Jaws of Life. If a
drowning is reported, the depart
ment’s dive team swings into
action. If lightning strikes or a tor
nado moves through town, firemen
turn on their sirens.
Bennett said the county’s 14 sta
tions receive about 5,000 calls a
year. And some of them, inevitably,
involve a frightened cat and an inac
cessible pine tree.
“We get those calls, but we try
for the most part not to commit men
and equipment,” he said. “It really
depends on the situation.”
And the situations are getting
more serious. Bennett said the
department needs a hazardous
materials team to deal with con
struction mishaps.
Although the department annu
ally receives one mill from the
county, which grows as the tax base
increases, Bennett thinks the depart
ment could use more.
“Our call load continues to go
up and we’re making so many
demands on the volunteers. It
doesn’t generate enough to pay
additional firefighters,” he said.
Surrounded in his office by
dozens of antique fire engines he
has collected over the years,
Bennett said he greatly misses
going out on calls, being a part of
the action.
But he is also looking forward to
serving as leader of the state fire
fighters’ association. “You have to
have someone to oversee and
direct,” he said.
Bennett, who donned the chief’s
hat in 1990, assumes the position
after serving on the association’s
board for six years. He will serve a
one-year term. His responsibilities
include attending 12 district meet
ings and lobbying the state legisla
ture on behalf of firefighters.
Published Aug. 28,1998
joined the department on Feb. 20 as a
detention officer and became a certified
officer on Sept 14. He was in field train
ing and his supervising deputy, Lynwood
Widener, who was also in the vehicle, was
uninjured. Both were wearing protective
vests.
The shooting happened after two
armed men wearing ski masks walked
into the bank, which sits directly across
from the SouthTrust Bank which was
robbed Monday, and demanded money.
The suspects got away in the branch man
ager’s Dodge Neon with an undisclosed
County noise ordinance: Its a beginning
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
“It’s a beginning. Nothing’s perfect. We
might want to come back and do away with it.
We might not have enough money for
employees to enforce it.”
That, according to District 3
Commissioner Lamar Suddeth, who was com
menting on the unanimous approval Monday
night by the Forsyth County Commission of a
new county noise ordinance.
The new law is designed to limit and
establish penalties for various types of noises
that are loud and excessive. The law covers
activities in unincorporated parts of the coun
ty-
The new law was amended by County
Attorney Rachel Iverson to include a level of
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Thank you
Dear Forsyth County Citizens, •
Lanier Technical Institute would like to cordially thank you for the
■ M warm hospitality extended to our new Forsyth Campus since it opened-
jl . ■ in January 1998. Since the Forsyth Campus opened, you have made us
■ir **** not on ty we * come ’ but an essential part of the community.
For over years Lanier Technical Institute has been providing quality
technical training for the citizens of Forsyth County. However, by open
ing our new state-of-the-art facility at 7745 Majors Road, we have been
able to make this training even more convenient and accessible. If you
haven’t had a chance to visit our new facility-please do so. We’d love to
have you come for a tour and to discuss the many training opportuni
ties available at our new campus.
Thank you again, for your support of our institution. We look forward
tO meetin ® y° UF tec^nica * tra ’ n * n ß needs both now and in the future.
TECHNICALINSTITUTE Appreciatively,
Dr. Joe Hill, President of Lanier Technical Institute
Dan E. Willis, Vice President of Operations - Forsyth Campus
7745 Majors Road • Cumming Forsyth Cam P“’ Administration. Faculty and Staff
BEST STORIES OF '9B
amount of money.
Deputies spotted the green car on
McFarland moments later. The suspect
vehicle turned into a Curie Drive office
park less than a mile from the bank. “At
that time, they began shooting at the offi
cers and one was hit,” said Chalker.
Both the suspects and officers
remained in their vehicles during the
shootout. Bullets riddled the patrol car’s
hood and front windshield. One punctured
the windshield and went through the pro
tective glass separating the front and back
seat. Shots also flattened a tire and rup-
65 decibels as being excessive, and to mandate
that a dog must bark consistently for one hour
for its owner to come under possible penalty.
Noises coming under the law would
include those from noisy animals and birds,
radios, phonographs, cassette or CD players,
musical instruments, loudspeakers, sound
trucks, construction-related work, defective
vehicles, blowers, motors and the unloading,
loading or destruction of boxes.
The new law also would make yelling,
shouting, whistling, hooting or singing on
public streets from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. subject to
penalties if too loud.
Enforcement duties will fall to the
Sheriff’s Office or a designated enforcement
agent. At last report, the county had not pur
chased the equipment necessary to measure
decibel levels.
tured the radiator.
After emergency personnel transport
ed the deputy, his blood-stained protective
vest lay on the trunk
Kevin Cain was working at Standard
Electric next door when he heard gunfire.
He said the Neon was parked up a hill not
far from the patrol car. “All the traffic
behind them was stopped,” he said.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, [the sus
pects] were good shots because they could
have blasted into them [motorists].”
See related story published
on Oct. 25,1998
The law also provides penalties for viola
tors who create excessive noise on any street
adjacent to any school, institution of learning,
church or court when in use, or hospital if it’s
determined that patients might be disturbed or
annoyed.
There also is a provision where a person or
agency could apply to the enforcement entity
for a special variance for a specific activity.
In another matter, the commission
approved the $1,310,033 fiscal year 1999 bud
get for the Forsyth County Library. The bud
get year begins July 1. Library director Jon
McDaniel said the pact represents an increase
of $104,849 over FY 1998, or an 8.7 percent
increase.
Most of the increase will go to pay for
three full-time and one part-time employee.
McDaniel said two full-time employees will
Bagwell and Mathis open since 1947
In 1947, Myron Bagwell
and William Mathis, who
grew up together and went
away to serve in World War II
together, returned home and
opened a service station
across from the courthouse.
Their original business was
mostly a service station, but
they also sold tires. The tire
side of the business would
prove to be most successful.
By 1957, Bagwell and
Mathis had moved their busi
ness to Pirkle Ferry Road and
had specialized in tires.
Today, Bagwell and Mathis
is still owned by the same
family. Although Myron
Bagwell passed away in 1985
and William Mathis has
retired, Myron’s sons, Tony
Bagwell and Stan Bagwell, as
well as William’s son, Kris
Mathis, carry on the family
tradition in operation of the
tire sales and auto service
business at 107 Pirkle Ferry
Road, in Cumming.
Since Bagwell and Mathis
is an independent tire dealer
they do not have to stick to
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Photoffom Brooks
Forsyth County Sheriff’s officers and Georgia
Department of Natural Resources law enforce
ment agents search vehicles leaving the area
where robbery suspects were being hunted.
one brand of tires. “We carry
a lot of major brands and sev
eral private brands,” Tony
said.
Bagwell and Mathis Tire
stocks tires for just about
everything that requires them
including: farm equipment,
•cars and trucks. They also sell
batteries and custom wheels.
Since 1957, Bagwell and
Mathis has gradually been
adding service to their busi
ness. They offer brake, shock
and strut service. They do not
do engine, muffler or trans
mission work.
“We try to treat people
right and be honest with
them,” Tony said. He also
praised his father and Mr.
Mathis. “They left a good
foundation for us,” he said.
~ -I
be hired to handle materials and acquisitions
associated with the new South Forsyth branch
library on Old Atlanta Road which is slated
for completion in summer 2000. The $4.2-
million facility will contain 40,000 volumes
and 10.000 other materials, such as books on
tape, magazines and paperbacks. Money for
the new library comes from the Special
Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (1996,1998).
Another full-time employee will be added
as a computer operations assistant, and one
part-time employee will be hired to serve as an
inter-library loan system coordinator,
McDaniel said.
McDaniel added the budget doesn’t call
for any cuts in library hours or services.
See related story published
on May 6, 1998
The business expanded in
1971 and was remodeled in
1992. Brake service and
alignment were added to the
business’ list of service offer
ings.
The 51-year family tradi
tion of the locally-owned
business serving customers
honestly and fairly has contin
ued and the goal for the future
is to continue to serve Forsyth
County and North Georgia.
For details on your tire and
auto service needs, call
Bagwell & Mathis Tire at
(770)887-2351.
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