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THIS ISSUE
Copyright © 1999 Forsyth County News
Community
4-H’ers compete at
project achievement.
Page 4A
Sports extra
Complete pairings for
7th-grade tourney.
Page 5A
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
< Jan. 23 1063.39 ft
Jan. 24 1063.40 ft
Jan. 25 1063.77 ft .
Jan, 26 1063.99 ft
Normal 1070.00
Business
fl BETTER foRSYTT
Student designs logo.
Page IB
INDEX
Abbv 7A
Classifieds •••••••••••••••••••••a* .™3B
Deaths ,2A
Kids Page 8A
Events ...6A
Opinion .9A
Horoscope w..............
SpOrtS
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Babies of '9B
Special photo pages spotlight
some of the new additions to
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Vo!. 90, No. 16
Judge: DA's office can prosecute case
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A defense motion to dismiss the District
Attorney’s office from prosecuting the Ed
McCrimmon case was denied by Senior
Judge Don A. Langham on Tuesday.
McCrimmon, the former Sheriff’s Office
attorney, faces two counts of impersonating
a police officer for a Jan. 8, 1998, confronta
tion with neighbors L.G. Mathis and Patrick
McLaughlin.
In arguing for the motion, McCrimmon’s
attorneys outlined a conspiracy theory relat
ed to the McCrimmon warrant hearing held
last March. They alleged Magistrate Judge
Pam Boles, the wife of District Attorney Phil
Smith, compromised the state’s case by
refusing to show a videotape of the incident
and denying officers present at the hearing a
chance to testify, both of which they said
would be favorable to McCrimmon.
Attorney William B. Hill also questioned
1 I I , i | t
Photo/Tom Brooks
Commissioners at their first meeting of the year, held Jan. 4.
Pending rezoning hearings held
By Jim Riley
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Commission held
several public hearings concerning rezon
ings Monday night, including a request by
Ernst Enterprises of Georgia asking that 8
acres inside the Martin-Marietta quarry off
American Red Cross serving Forsyth County area
Ready for storms
By Lisa Renzi
News Intern
The recent weather disasters in Tennessee may have
wreaked havoc on its residents, but the American Red
Cross disaster team has taken its stand in helping make
the repercussions a little easier to bear.
Sixteen Georgia Disaster Volunteers journeyed to
Tennessee late last week to take care of family service
needs, damage assessment and disaster mental care for
victims of the Jan. 21 disaster. Results of the aftermath of
the tornadoes left nine dead, hundreds of homes damaged
and affected more than 1,500 families statewide.
Red Cross Disaster staff from around the state, 12 of
whom are from the metro area, departed from the Atlanta
headquarters, with more potential assignments to be
announced in the future.
The Red Cross regularly deals with disasters such as
this, and there are currently many methods of storm
See STORMS, Page 3A
Cumming Mayor
Ford Gravitt cele
brated Y-Club with
representatives from
each of the Y-Clubs
in the Forsyth
County School
System. The mayor
proclaimed this
week as Y-Club
Week.
Photo/Tom Brooks
the integrity of the district attorney and
solicitor for selectively prosecuting the case
against McCrimmon, but not prosecuting
the wives of Mathis and McLaughlin for a
previously reported beating of
McCrimmon’s wife.
Hill, who twice called Smith by the
wrong first name, said the relationship
between the magistrate and district attorney
presented a conflict of interest.
“Your Honor, this is a tangled web,” Hill
concluded.
As reason not to dismiss the district
attorney, prosecutor Penny Penn argued
Garry Moss, not Phil Smith, was the district
attorney at the time of the warrant hearing,
which was provided only as courtesy to the
defendant.
“The defense wants you to dismiss the
DA simply because he is the spouse of
another person involved in this case,” Penn
said. “I keep expecting to see some reference
to a shooter on the grassy knoll.”
Peachtree Parkway be rezoned from MINE
(Mining District) to M 2 (Heavy Industrial)
so that a concrete plant may be constructed.
The planning commission recommend
ed approval last month, with a host of con
ditions.
See REZONING, Page 4A
fl
H L J
THURSDAY JANUARY 28, 1999
Disaster training
By Lisa Renzi
News Intern
Volunteer efforts in Forsyth County have been a major
emphasis throughout the past month, and the American
Red Cross is turning its efforts to another major part of
volunteering, disaster relief.
The Northeast Georgia Chapter of the American Red
Cross is making efforts to strengthen Forsyth County’s
Disaster Team by holding an organizational meeting on
Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Buford Dam Army Corps of
Engineers office at 10 a.m.
The Disaster Relief Team provides assistance to fami
lies who are victims of fires and disasters, refreshment
relief for the Forsyth County Fire Department and taking
part in other disaster relief.
The Feb. 6 meeting will offer the free “Introduction to
Disaster Services” course to interested residents to
become a part of the Forsyth County Team.
See DISASTER, Page 3A
Penn claimed to possess the original
videotape of the incident despite allegations
there are as many as seven copies in circula
tion.
Langham denied the motion and
informed the defense he did not want to hear
the warrant hearing brought up again at trial.
“It appears to me the conduct at the mag
istrate hearing is moot to the issue this court
and any jury will have to decide,” ruled
Langham, noting McCrimmon’s attorneys
waited until the last minute to “drop this” on
the court.
After testimony from jury commissioners
and the Clerk of Courts, Langham also
denied a defense motion claiming the jury
selection process was prejudicial.
The final order of business was a defense
motion to move the trial out of Forsyth
County due to extensive media coverage.
After reviewing articles from this newspaper
See JUDGE, Page 2A
Commission to proceed
with watershed assessment
By Jim Riley
Staff Writer
At its meeting Monday night,
the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners voted to begin
their Watershed Assessment
study conducted by the design
firm of CH2MHHI.
The study is required before)
any land application permits are j
issued to the county for waste- j
water treatment.
The board had asked
Cumming city officials if they
wanted to be included in the
study, but Mayor Ford Gravitt
and the council declined.
Commissioner Andy
Anderson made the motion to
approve a study at the regulatory level not to
exceed $620,000, excluding the Cumming
water service area. Commissioner Julian
Bowen provided the second and the vote
passed unanimously.
Plans for the new water plant are going
forward, with the board holding a Water and
McCrimmon
•B/ f ib. SH
■ JBE
Commissioner
Bennett
announced that the county has
received a grant for 272 fire detectors. These
will be used for the elderly and less fortu
nate. For information, call (770) 781-2180
and ask for the fire safety prevention pro
gram.
See COMMISSION, Page 2A
Blood services
By Lisa Renzi
News Intern
January has brought national blood supply concerns to
a peak, and volunteer blood donations are responsible for
saving the lives of citizens nationwide.
The Church of the Good Shepherd will sponsor a
blood drive on Jan. 31 at the church on Holtzclaw Road.
The bloodmobile will arrive at 8 a.m. and depart at 1 p.m.
Volunteers are needed to make the drive a success, and
the only requirements for this safe, non-toxic procedure
are that donors be at least 17 and weigh 110 pounds.
To prepare for blood donation, volunteers should
drink plenty of juices and fluids, not caffeine, and eat a
good meal before donation. For information on how to
volunteer, call Lola Kearney at (770) 889-0806, or call
the Northeast Georgia Chapter at (770) 532-8453.
Lanier United Methodist Church will sponsor a blood
drive on Feb. 1 from 2 -7 p.m. at Lanier United Methodist
Church off Hwy. 20 in the church sanctuary. A nursery
will be provided. To reserve a space, call (770) 887-0615.
Y-Club Week
is observed
By Lisa Renzi
News Intern
“To create, maintain and extend,
throughout the home, school and com
munity, high standards of Christian char
acter,” is a motto that has been heard for
many years throughout Forsyth County.
This creed of the Y-Club, a
Christian-based club active in middle
and high schools throughout the state of
See Y-CLUB, Page 2A
50 Cents
Sewerage Authority meeting
before its regular 5 p.m. meeting
on Monday.
The Authority, which includes
all five commissioners and Water
and Sewer Department Director
Tim Perkins, voted to approve the
first amendment to the design
build agreement. Commissioner
Michael Bennett and Perkins
were absent, but the rest of the
board voted unanimously for the
amendment.
The measure provides for
pipelines to be designed to carry
the water to homes and businesses.
During the announcements
portion of the meeting, Public
Safety Director Miles Butler