Newspaper Page Text
Partly Ctoudy
Partly cloud and hot.
Highs in the 90s.
Lows in the 70s.
THIS ISSUE
Copyright © 1999 Fonyth County News
i
aw®
Our annual
“Back to School”
special section
Inside
Sawnee Center
5K run draws
big crowd.
PagelC
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Aug. 10 1066,30 ft
Aug. 11 1066.24 ft
Aug. 12 1066.16 ft
Aug. 13 1066.08 ft
Norma! 1070.00 ft
set records
at summer camp.
Page IB
INDEX
Abby ,6A
Births 4B
Business 5A
Classifieds 4C
Deaths 2A
Forsyth Life . IB
Horoscope 6A
Opinion 8A
Schools m..m.. h ... m ..............7A
Sports 1C
e-mail address:
edrtor@forsythnews.com
COMING
WEDNESDAY
Commentary Galore
Read Bill Shipp and
Phil Danner in
Wednesday's edition.
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) 887-3126.
riisn
90994"0400™
Forsyth CountvNews
J Your "Hometown Paper” Since j D K 3f> 12/31/99
Vol. 90, No. 118
Chamber of Commerce finds new home
Oldest house in Cumming soon may become organization’s headquarters
By Norman Baggs
General Manager
A 19th century house considered the
oldest in the city of Cumming may well be
the 21st century home of the Chamber of
Commerce.
The Cumming/Forsyth County
Chamber announced this week that it has a
contract to buy the old Dr. Ansel
Strickland home on Kelly Mill Road to
serve as its office.
The home is being purchased from
Cumming Mayor Ford Gravitt, who bought
the property about 30 years ago and has
lived there for 20 years.
A 30-day inspection period is under
way. with a January closing expected. If
the purchase is completed the Chamber
would move into its new headquarters
shortly after closing.
The purchase includes a two-story
home, a separate special events facility and
approximately three acres of land.
“The Chamber has been analyzing the
need to purchase its own facility for more
than five years now,” said Donna Wade,
Wjßßr -
. • , ■ 'lS.;'':
Photo/ Scott Rogers
Gov. Roy Barnes stands before the impressive Lanier Tech
building to address the crowd at Friday’s dedication.
Barnes praises technical
education at dedication
of Lanier Tech/Forsyth
By Laura Lavezzo Carrico
Lifestyle Editor
“Gentlemen, remove your
coats,” began Dan Willis, senior
officer at Lanier Tech's Forsyth
County campus, during Friday’s
dedication of the facility.
More than a handful of note
worthy guests, including several
local and state leaders, perched
beneath the blazing sun for the out
door ceremony on one of the
hottest afternoons of summer. In
reverence to the occasion, guests
were professionally suited, but the
near 100 degree temperature had
everyone shedding their skins early
in the program. Plenty of ice cold
water and paramedics were on
hand in the interest of health, and
scheduled speakers kept their com
ments brief, or opted not to talk at
all.
Special guest Gov. Roy Barnes
spoke concisely of technical edu
cation and its importance in the
future of Georgia’s economic suc-
Chairperson of the Chamber. "We knew
that we wanted to be in the heart of
Forsyth County, the city of Cumming, and
that property was going fast. This is an
ideal opportunity for the Chamber.
“The property is perfect for the
Chamber,” Wade said. “With little renova
tion, the home will be suitable for the
Chamber office for many years. There is
also an events facility on the property
which can house various meetings and
events, something that is needed by the
Chamber. For the future, there is ample
excess land for expansion.”
Gravitt and his late wife, Carolyn, reno
vated and restored the historic home,
which records indicate was built around
1879. The Gravitts raised three children in
the house, which holds many fond memo
ries for the mayor of his wife and family.
“The Chamber asked me about it when
they found out 1 was going to sell. I had a
contract on it, but am glad the Chamber is
going to get it,” Gravitt said.
See CHAMBER, Page 3A
cess.
‘Technical education is high on
my agenda,” Barnes said. “It is the
key to Georgia’s continued pros
perity ... it’s clearer to me now that
we can do more for technical edu
cation in Geoigia.”
Overall, Barnes evoked a sense
of pride that Forsyth County's
technical education resource will
help set the example statewide for
future strides in this area of acade
mics. Prospects in business and
industry, he said, will be drawn to
the state if there is a work force
equipped to support them.
“Lanier Tech is responsible for
training thousands of Georgians,”
he said. “It is helping us meet the
needs of our local communities by
training people for jobs - jobs that
build families, and that build com
munities.” He cited the local effort
to involve high school students in
technical career preparation as an
See TECH, Page 3A
SUNDAY AUGUST 15, wWMSS
Civil Service: Fired officers
‘pawns’ in power struggle
between Sheriff and county
One major is rehired,
second dismissal upheld
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Two former ranking officers with the Sheriff’s
Office were the “unwitting pawns of a power strug
gle” between county administrators and the sheriff
that “reportedly cost our county approximately a
quarter of a million dollars,” according to the Civil
Service Board.
The board issued the statement in a ruling on the
termination appeals of Mark Thomas and Ron
Casper, both former majors with the department.
Sheriff Denny Hendrix fired both men in December
1998.
County Commission Chairman Bill Jenkins said
the Civil Service Board’s estimate of costs associated
with the dismissal and appeals by the two employees
was inaccurate.
Settles Bridge expected to open Oct. 4
By Laura Lavezzo Carrico
Lifestyle Editor
It’s “settled,” you could say.
Settles Bridge Elementary School,
the local school district’s newest
project, is expected to open for busi
ness on Monday, Oct. 4.
“That would be the first day for
the students,” said Facilities
Director Jake Grant at the regular
Aug. 12 work session of the Forsyth
County Board of Education.
Despite struggles against last
spring’s poor weather conditions
and the anticipation that the build
ing may not have been ready until
closer to the holiday break. Grant
said maintenance crews are only a
fft'.
z 1 ?' , ~
Photo/Tom Brooks
Animal Control Officer Mary Swisher with a lion cub taken into
custody with the arrest of a fugitive wanted by Gwinnett County
last week. The suspect faces more charges. Story, 2A.
.MM w • j - n ,
Photo/Tom Brooks
This house on Kelly Mill Road, the oldest in Cumming, may become the new
headquarters for the Cumming/Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce.
few short weeks away from opening
the school.
Crews are working diligently,
Grant said, to add finishing touches,
clean up any remaining construction
messes, move furniture in and set
playground equipment up outside.
“On the first day of school,”
Grant said, “the building will be
cool, it will be bright and it will be
clean. The kids should be proud of
this new school.”
In related business, Grant report
ed that the classroom additions at
North Forsyth Middle School are
running ahead of schedule. It is
expected that NFMS students and
faculty will inhabit these rooms
near the end of October.
“It is ridiculous and unfounded. I think the Civil
Service Board should base its decisions on fact and
leave their opinions out of it,” Jenkins said.
Repeated attempts to contact Sheriff Hendrix
were unsuccessful Friday afternoon.
In the ruling, board members overturned the sher
iff’s termination of Casper, but upheld the termina
tion of Thomas.
Both men were informed of the board’s decision
in Aug. 13 letters, with copies sent to the sheriff and
each county commissioner.
The legitimacy of the December dismissals quick
ly became a part of the sheriff’s ongoing legal battle
against county commissioners. Hendrix sued com
missioners in 1997 claiming, among other things, that
his advisors or command staff did not fall under civil
service policies. The exemption means the sheriff can
hire and fire command staff members at his discre
tion.
However, county officials disagreed, holding com
mand staff members did fall under civil service.
See BOARD, Page 3A
Superintendent of Schools Dr.
Allene Magill said the much-need
ed classrooms would not have been
built had the school board not
approved money from the general
fund to do so last spring.
“We would literally have been in
trouble out there,” Magill said of the
overcrowded middle school’s situa
tion. “We would definitely have had
to put some mobiles out there.”
The school board has approved
a $125 million bond referendum to
be put before voters on Sept. 21.
This money, should it be granted to
the school board, will play a major
role in the future of local schools
and their ability to handle Forsyth
County’s growth.
Timetable
for roads
pushed up
By Jim Riley
Staff Writer
After some serious lobbying
by members of the Forsyth
County Commission, the Georgia
DOT and the Atlanta Regional
Commission have placed some
much-needed road projects back
on schedule.
Commission Chairman Bill
Jenkins and District 5
Commissioner Julian Bowen,
along with former DOT
See ROADS, Page 2A
h)0 Cents