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Partly Cloudy
■■ *
Hot temperatures in
the 90s and lows
in the mid-70s.
THIS ISSUE
Copyright © 1999 Forsyth County News
Car enthusiast makes
life interesting.
Page IB
jflravi
Junior Peachtree Road
Race participants
Page2C
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
.Date Level
Starts 1067.26 ft
Junfejo 1067.28 ft
July I ...
TvTTuO ft
~zl
Baptist Medical Center
auxiliary has bake sale
Page6A
INDEX
Abby • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 7B
Births .4B
Business 8A
Classifieds... ..3C
Deaths 2A
Forsyth Life IB
Health •••••••••••••••••a ••«•••••• ••■•••• 8A
Horoscope 7B
Opinion ••••••••••••••■•••••••••••••• 10A
Sports 1C
e-mail address:
eddor@forsythnews.com
COMING
WEDNESDAY
Behind the Scenes
A talk with Bud Thomas, the
man who helps keep the steam
engine whistles blowing.
Missed paper policy:
For a replacement paper, call
8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. -1
p.m. on Sunday - (770) 807-3126.
TH
Forsyth CountyJNJe” r s
•/ Your Hometown Paper" Since 190 5nVg 1 X GEORGIA
Vol. 90, No. 95
Cumming grows by 78.9%
By Jim Riley
Staff Writer
After naming Forsyth County the
fastest-growing county in the United
States earlier this year, the U.S. Bureau of
the Census released population estimates
for Georgia cities this week.
While Alpharetta was dubbed the
“fastest-growing city in Georgia,” with a
growth rate of 90.8 percent since 1990,
Cumming has almost doubled in the same
period, growing at a 78.9 percent rate.
Photo/Tom Brooks
Rusty Green teaches the art of floating last week at the city pool. Chlorine levels get tested hourly
to ensure public safety. The pool has been averaging about 170 swimmers per day.
City will sound
warning sirens
each Wednesday
Beginning Wednesday July 14, the City of
Cumming's Warning Siren will be activated each
Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. for a system test,
according to Forsyth County Emergency
Management Agency director R.M. “Bob” Lady.
The siren will sound for two minutes, and
then off for two minutes and then on again for
two minutes.
At any other time, the Warning System will be
activated when the National Weather Bureau
releases an official weather warning (but not a
watch) for Forsyth County or the City of
Cumming, when the doppler radar at Peachtree
City indicates a severe thunderstorm or a tornado.
A Severe Thunderstorm can cause heavy rain,
destructed hail, damaging winds in excess of 55
miles per hour and/or deadly lightening. For your
protection, be aware of local conditions and move
to an interior room or hall on the lowest floor of
your home or office, if necessary.
If you hear the Warning Siren, turn on to the
local radio or television stations for more detailed
information.
See SIRENS, Page 3A
Late veteran’s sacrifice for freedom is not forgotten
Sewell, the soldier
The actual population of Cumming
was 2,868 in 1990, growing to 5,132 in
1998. The Bureau has listed a 10.6-per
cent increase since this time last year,
with the 1997 population listed at 4584.
Cumming City Administrator Gerald
Blackburn said that while the numbers
may be a little high, it is obvious that
Cumming has grown.
“Road and recreational building and
municipal building...all of these things
are addressing growth issues,” Blackbum
July 6 meeting to review plan for Chestatee
By Laura Lavezzo Carrico
Lifestyle Editor
Like a mundane song popping up on
the radio too often, the Forsyth County
Board of Education is having to con
stantly remind local residents, both “old”
and new, that the school system is strug
gling with ever-present population
increases.
This September, county residents will
be asked to vote in favor of further bond
funding to pay for the expansion of
school facilities. A total figure of $125
million was presented as the current
need at a June 24 meeting of the school
board. A Sept. 21 election was called for
unanimously, and if the referendum is
passed, board members said it would
help prevent further overcrowding in
schools.
One of the schools to benefit from
this financial help is Chestatee
Elementary, which has been serving stu
dents in Forsyth County longer than
most of the other facilities. Chestatee
parents are encouraged to attend an
informational meeting on Tuesday, July
6, at 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria to dis
cuss the school’s situation.
By Alton Bridges
Sports Writer
(Editor’s note: Before this story
went to press, John Anderson Sewell
passed away. His efforts and the
efforts of his comrades in arms will
he remembered by a grateful family
and nation. He sincerely wanted life
to he easier for his family and future
generations.)
John Anderson Sewell is a descen
dant of a family that arrived in
Georgia about the time of the
American Revolution and in Forsyth
County about 200 years ago, long
before the Gold Rush in North
Georgia.
The men in his family have been
soldiers in most of the major wars in
the history of the United States.
James Ervin Sewell participated in
the Battle of Chickamauga and
Atlanta when Sherman
Georgia during the War Between the
States. He served with at least two
other Forsyth Countians, Creighton
SUNDAY JULY 4, ]999
said.
Cumming Planning and Zoning
Director Scott Morgan credited the rise in
population to new subdivisions inside the
city limits on Pilgrim Mill Road, and
multi-family units on Castleberry Road.
The top 10 fastest-growing Georgia
cities with populations in excess of
10,000 include: Alpharetta, Kingsland,
Duluth, Kennesaw, St. Mary's, Peachtre’e
City, Powder Springs, Douglasville,
Snellville and Hinesville.
Phillips and Abe Bramblett.
His mother and father bought an
old home at the intersection of Pisgah
and Hurt Bridge Road. The house had
no windows, so his mother and father
would work in the fields during the
day and at night his mother would
hold the lantern while his father cut
holes in the wall and put windows in
the house.
Six boys would be born in the
family and three - Anderson, Carl
and Broughton - would serve in
World War 11. “It had been a family
tradition that the men in the family
would follow the American flag,” said
Sewell. “So when the war broke out,
we were called and we went. After
Pearl Harbor, everyone knew we had
tough days ahead, but we were deter
mined to do what was necessary to
win. Everyone participated. The folks
at home did without and worked in
the factories or somewhere else to
help the soldiers who were fighting.”
Sewell was the first person under
See VETERAN, Page 4A
Swimmers head to pools
as temperatures rising
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Looks can be deceiving when it
comes to pool safety.
Health officials and those in the
pool industry say crystal clear water
can be an indicator of a low pH level
and a toddler’s accident can throw
off chlorine levels in a matter of
hours.
As last summer’s E. coli bacteria
outbreak at White Water in Cobb
County fades from the public eye,
experts warn swimmers to check
what they are getting into before
diving head-first into the neighbor
hood pool.
“The No. 1 criteria is to make
sure they have adequate chlorine
and keep it there, particularly during
peak usage times and the highest
“We’re overcrowded now,” said
Chestatee Principal Ann Sefzik. “And
they’re going to demolish eight of our
classrooms.”
Damp, musty classrooms, Sefzik
explained, are to be abolished per a rec
ommendation made by the state
Department of Education. “We’ll be get
ting eight new classrooms to replace
them - and I believe we’ll be getting a
total of 42 new class
rooms,” she said,
adding that this figure
does not include the
new core areas; a new
cafeteria, kitchen and
media center are also in
the planning stages.
Chestatee is one of
the oldest school build-
ings in the county, and the unsatisfactory
classrooms were constructed on low
ground in the early 19605. The result,
said Sefzik, is a damp, musty environ
ment unsuitable for educating young
children. The state DOE agreed in its
facilities report last year.
The original building on the
Chestatee site was opened in 1933. That
Happy
of
it °^* ce
11 the Forsyth
County News
Kl' 1 will be closed
Monday.
site is no longer in existence. (In fact, the
original gym collapsed years ago - at the
time, it was beyond its days of use.)
Sefzik said the oldest part of Chestatee
Elementary currently occupied (other
than the musty classrooms) dates to the
’7os. She has been the principal at the
school since 1987, and taught there prior
to that appointment.
Richard Beard, Klaus Darnall and
Chestatee parents
are encouraged to
attend a Tuesday
information
meeting.
In December, the officials presented
a series of worksheets and reports on the
capacity of Forsyth County schools,
including facts and figures on population
trends, the history of facility improve
ments in the county, spending schedules
with regard to the Local Education Sales
See MEETING, Page 3A
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'' '?•
Photo/Tom Brooks
The late John Anderson Sewell
50 Cents
Cleanliness, safety are
concerns after ’9B’s E.
coli, recent drownings
bather load,” said Kent Lawson of
the Forsyth County Health
Department.
There currently is no county
ordinance in place to ensure that
neighborhood pools are being ade
quately maintained. The pool opera
tor, who can be anyone from a life
guard to homeowner, remain
responsible for keeping chemical
levels balanced.
The health department reports it
has not received any complaints about
neighborhood pools so far this year.
See POOLS, Page 3A
Jerry Rochell, offi
cials from the state
DOE’s Facilities
Unit, examined area
school facilities last
winter and offered a
few options on how
the district might
adapt to continued
school growth.