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CloiKSy
Mild.
Highs in the low 60s.
Lows in the mid-40s.
THIS ISSUE
Copyright © 1999 Forsyth County News
Rainforest mural in
need of repair gets
students attention.
Page IB
*
Tough slate of region
games for 7-AA
contenders.
PagelC
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Jan. 12 1063.07 ft
Jan. 13 1063.07 ft
Jan. 14 i ft
•#**' l; 'ft
Local man receives
recognition.
Page 7A
INDEX
Abby .78
Business -6A
Classifieds .4C
Deaths 2A
Forsyth Life— IB
Opinion- 8A
Schools 4A
Sports 1C
Weddings .48
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Forsyth County News
•/ Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J
Vol. 90, No. 10
Hearing: Man was jailed witnom cause
By Colby Jonea
Staff Writer
Sheriff Denny Hendrix admitted
Thursday his department arrested Timothy
Seay by mistake last September, then left
Seay in jail for 21 days without a committal
hearing.
The mistaken arrest and incarceration
became public for the first time during
Jamey Latonis’ six-hour appeal hearing
before the Civil Service Board on Thursday.
Hendrix fired Latonis in November after
internal affairs sustained allegations against
'
Phot o/Tom Brooks
Dennis W. Barron, director of Forsyth County Information Technology, is working with his staff and
vendors to address the Y2K issue for the county and the computers in its various departments.
Robbers hit First Union
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Investigators are searching for two
black males who held up a newly
opened First Union Bank in Alpharetta
Thursday morning.
A teller said she immediately hit the
silent alarm after seeing the pair, who
were wearing black mesh masks, enter
through the front door at 9:41 a.m. They
immediately began shouting for every
one to remain calm and think about their
families, she said.
One of the men held a handgun to the
teller’s head while the other man jumped
behind the counter. The men ran out of
the bank less than a minute later with
three bags of cash.
Witnesses said the robbers left in a
blue Mercury Topaz, heading south on
Hwy. 141.
Deputies found the vehicle 30 min-
Schrenko at war with education status quo
By Cheryl Vaughn
Features Writer
Say the name “Linda Schrenko”
and get an immediate reaction. Love
her or hate her, virtually everyone has
an impassioned opinion about one of
Georgia’s most controversial state offi
cials. Since stunning the political com
munity in 1994 and becoming not only
the first woman ever elected to state
office but a Republican woman, she
has inspired strong
emotion.
Re-elected in
November to the
state school super
intendent position,
the former teacher,
principal and
school counselor
from metro
Augusta has never shrunk from the
challenges before her, nor from her
highly vocal detractors. It is no secret
that her meteoric climb to state office
has been in spite of many who would
have stalled her, including some in her
own political party.
“If you look at the good ol’ boy
system, women are not given strong
leadership roles,” she says. “The ‘big
and important’ committees are always
run by men. So a lot of women who
might run just wait for their turn. Well,
I wasn’t a waiter.”
Schrenko, 49, was first elected to
state office during a Republican tidal
wave with a strong educational plat
form which resulted in the U.S. House
of Representatives and Senate going
Republican and which also elevated
Newt Gingrich into the role of Speaker
of the House.
who might run just
wait for their turn.
Well, I wasn't a
waiter.
Schrenko’s name was near the end of
the ballot and it has been said that
many Democrats didn’t bother to wade
through the tedious pages of individual
candidates.
Responding to speculation that her
demise was predicted for this past
election, Schrenko, with characteristic
confidence and candor, is nonplussed.
See SCHRENKO, Page 3A
SUNDAY JZ®
the veteran officer related to the Seay
imprisonment.
Thursday’s hearing was an appeal of the
dismissal of Latonis. The Civil Service
Board is expected to reach a decision on the
appeal later this week.
Attorneys representing both sides agreed
on the basic facts leading up to the 7 dis
missal:
Seay, 33, was incarcerated in October of
1997 for failing to pay child support.
Superior Court Judge Stan Gault issued a
“stay” seven months later, which ordered
utes later in a parking lot next to the ten
nis courts in nearby Deer Lake subdivi
sion, which is located off Fawn Drive
near McGinnis Ferry Road. A crime
scene specialist processed evidence from
the car, which had been reported stolen
in Cobb County. Investigators said the
men most likely escaped in another vehi
cle that was waiting on them in the area.
One of the suspects is described as 5-
feet, 5-inches tall and 150 pounds. The
other man is 5-feet, 8-inches tall and
about 200 pounds. Both were wearing
dark blue clothes.
The bank robbery was the sixth in
Forsyth County since Jan. 1, 1998, four
of which happened in the south end of
the county near Ga. 400. Two remain
unsolved, including a Januaiy 1998 rob
bery at Regions Bank, which sits across
See ROBBERS, Page 2A
Her chances may
have been further
improved by the state
of Georgia eliminat
ing the straight-party
vote, which forced
voters to individually
select their preferred
candidate for each
particular office.
authorities to release Seay so he could
resume making child support payments. He
was released, however, the paperwork
ended up in the warrant division, where a
secretary created an arrest file and put the
order in it, even though it was not a warrart.
Seay’s girlfriend called Latonis the
morning of Sept. 3, incorrectly telling the
deputy there was an outstanding warrant for
Seay and where he could be found.
Latonis said he glanced at the order,
which he described as confusing, and later
asked two officers from the domestic vio-
Newly-opened First Union Bank joined the ranks of banking institutions hit by robbers/
ww [ / J KJA
Schrenko, the first woman ever elected to state office.
County working to
address Y2K issues
By Jim Riley
Staff Writer
The national hysteria over
the Year 2000 computer prob
lem is growing to a fever pitch
and certainly will not lessen
until next year arrives. While
some predictions of the rami
fications may seem strange to
a reasonable person, most
experts agree that computer
problems are very possible.
Forsyth County govern
ment is doing its best to try
and deal with the problem by
having all county systems
compliant. “Our goal is to
have everything compliant by
June 30,” said County
Administrator Stevie Mills.
The new systems that have
been installed in the judicial
and business departments are
50 Cents
lence unit to assist him in making the arrest.
Deputy Matt Allen knocked on the front
door that evening while Latonis waited in
the woods behind a trailer. When Seay went
out the back door, Latonis drew his gun and
placed him under arrest.
The mistake was brought to Hendrix’s
attention when attorney Marc Cunat of the
local firm Banks, Stubbs and Neville threat
ened legal action against the sheriff in a
Sept. 23 letter.
See HEARING, Page 2A
already Y2K compliant.
However, older systems, such
as those which are in use by
the Sheriff’s Department and
Tax Department, might have
problems.
Mills said that the county
is looking to software vendors
to certify that these systems
will be compliant.
Dennis Barron, director of
the Information Technology
Department, said that the Cott
Corporation will send soft
ware updates by the middle of
See Y2K, Page 2A
Harwell to be
principal of
new school
By Laura Lavezzo
Lifestyle Editor
Daves Creek Elementary
Principal Mary Harwell will
transfer to the new elementary
school on James Burgess Road
this August, it was decided in
executive session at Thursday’s
meeting of the Forsyth County
Board of Education.
Harwell had agreed to accept
the position, and Superintendent
Dr. Allene Magill wanted an
experienced Forsyth County
administrator to be in place when •
the new school opens. The James
Burgess school is due to open in
August 1999. A district line com
mittee of parents, teachers and
administrators has been formed
and is meeting weekly to devise a
plan for building up the new
school’s student body.
In its first regular meeting of
the new year, the Board of
Education took care of many
See SCHOOL, Page 4A
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