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THIS ISSUE
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Agriculture
Our annual
“Salute to Agriculture"
section.
PagelC
LANIER LEVELS
tMe * Level
1063.94 ft
J Sept 12 106180 ft
apt 13 1063.78 ft
Sports
Forsyth’s Rowdies are
off and running.
Page3B
INDEX
Abby 5A
Classifieds SB
Community IB
Deaths -2A
Events BA
Government 3A
; Kids Page AB
Opinion— 7A
Horoscope. SA
Sports SB
““otminc
SUNDAY
High School
Football
Complete coverage
of the county's
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Fa a can
8 aM - 5:30 pm Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday, and 9 am * 1
pm on Sunday - (770) 887-3 IN.
Forsyth Coi mi x News
.Vd 90 No i 36
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Photo/Tom Brooks
Kicking things off
Local Scouts and 4-H’ers took part in the United Way of Forsyth County’s 2000 fundraising cam
paign kickoff Tuesday at the Sawnee Center. Above, Campaign Chairman Roger Swofford helps
the young volunteers place hearts on the campaign “thermometer,” a symbol of progress toward
this year’s goal of $600,000. For the story, see Page 18.
Georgia prepares for Hurricane Floyd
By Laura Lavazzo Carrico
and There— Allan Vanattia
News Staff
By Tuesday evening, hotels in Cumming and
other North Georgia towns were booked solid with
evacuees from the Southeast coastline.
At that time, Hurricane Floyd, a storm span
ning more than 400 miles in diameter, threatened
landfall, yet its precise target remained unpre
dictable.
The National Weather Service reported
Tuesday the hurricane's force winds most likely
will be felt as far as 50 miles inland, and tropical
storm force winds could reach as far as 290 miles
Chamber needs help
with float for parade
By Jocta Browning
Staff Writer
The Cumming-Forsyth County
Chamber of Commerce will honor
Forsyth County’s historic roots and
promising future with a unique float
in the Nov. 13 Year 2000 Parade.
The chamber has chosen the
theme, “The Right Place ... The
Right Time ...Through 2000 And
Beyond!" The concept, demonstrat
ing aspects of the community from
the past into the future, places par
ticular emphasis on the contribu
tions of the Chamber as the county
moves into the new millennium,
according to the chamber's leader
ship.
“I’m fond of this concept as it
represents a sense of continuity,”
said Jamie Tubman. communica
tion/events coordinator of the cham
ber. “We are honoring the area’s his
toric roots and, at the same time,
celebrating our move forward into
the 21st century.”
The Ambassador/Diplomat
Program, a valuable adjunct to the
Construction of new library is on track
Sharon Forks branch will open next summer with 60,000 volumes on shelves
By Joda Browning
Staff Writer
Construction of a new library to serve
the southern portion of the county is
going as expected, much to the liking of
members of the Forsyth County Library
board of directors.
The board met Monday night, with a
discussion on the construction as part of
its agenda. By the end of this month,
concrete will be poured and plumbing
will be put into the Sharon Forks
Library. Depending on weather, the roof
should be put on the 20,50 G-square-foot
facility by January
The county has requested construc
tion of a turn lane, however, which was
not included in the original construction
budget. It is estimated this would cost
between $30,000 and $40,000. The
county and the library board will meet in
the future to discuss funding options for
the road improvement.
Board members noted Monday night
J Your "Hometown Paper'
from the hurricane’s eye.
The National Weather Service predicts the
metro area will feel 25-35 mph winds and possible
heavy rainfall from Floyd. In addition, a weak
cold front from the West is expected to produce
thunderstorms later in the week.
Also a factor in upcoming weather is Hurricane
Gert, which is currently situated in the middle of
the Atlantic, but has not been ruled out as a poten
tial problem.
A Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday that bor
dered on Category 5 status, Floyd is bigger than
See STORM, Page 2A
chamber's board of directors as a
volunteer force, will work with a
chamber formed steering committee
to build the float.
Tubman noted the committee is
currently working diligently on
design and overall plans for the pro
ject However, there is need for the
community's help in several areas,
including the donation of materials
needed to construct the float.
In addition, vintage and “space
age" costumes and clothing are
needed because chamber members
riding on the float will dress in vari
ous types of clothing, with the
ambition of representing the coun
ty's past and ongoing progression
from the pioneer period to the
future.
“The costumes will be treated
with respect. We will be borrowing
them for a brief time,” Tubman said.
In addition to materials and the
other items, volunteers are also
needed to assemble the float.
See FLOAT, Page 2A
that everything is going according to
schedule. Sharon Forks Library on Old
Atlanta Road in south Forsyth County is
expected to open by next summer, and
initially will house approximately
60,000 volumes. The new library will
have a total capacity to house 100,000
volumes.
Currently, 19,322 items have been
processed for Sharon Forks.
Library officials noted this is one
third of the projected opening day level
of 60,000. Some items have been pur
chased with local sales tax funds, and
others were bought with state funds.
Some were donations, and some were
duplicate items pulled from the shelves
of the main library in Cumming. The
library has spent about a fourth of the
SBOO,OOO allocated from local sates tax
funds. Most of the remaining funds will
be expanded in the months immediately
preceding the opening of the branch.
The Forsyth County Branch spent
$265,687.97 for materials in fiscal year
THURSDAY St:PI
Overturned
The driver of this Ford Bronco suffered minor injuries after being
run off Ga. 400 south of Hwy. 369 Monday night. According to
the Sheriff’s Office, a pickup driver had a seizure and accidental
ly ran the motorist off the highway.
1999. These materials include both print
and non-print items but exclude maga
zines. During this period, 15,998 items
were received. Os those, 52 percent were
for adults and 48 percent were for chil
dren.
In other matters, the budget for fiscal
year 1999 totaled $1.6 million. The
library system exceeded its budget by
$46,000.
‘This is not a very big number,” said
chairman Mary Helen McGruder, who
seemed very pleased with the figure.
Considering that $3,000 in additions
were made to the Cumming facility after
a fire marshal inspected the building, and
extra money was spent in an effort to
make the library more accessible to the
school system, with the purchase of
wiring to up-grade the terminals, this fig
ure was considered to be reasonable by
the board.
Several key accomplishments in cir-
See L/BOWr, Page 2A
Teen is indicted
for bringing gun
onto school bus
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Prosecutors will pursue charges
against a former South Forsyth High
School student who admitted to
school officials he brought a hand
gun aboard his school bus eight
months ago.
Kenneth Pierce Finley, 17, was
indicted Monday on a charge of car
rying a weapon onto school proper
ty-
The District Attorney's Office
elected not to move forward with
the case against Finley after his
arrest Jan. 5. instead requiring him
to complete a pre-trial diversion pro
gram.
“He did not comply with the
terms of the program," said Distnct
Attorney Phil Smith on Tuesday. “In
this case there was an offense.”
Smith said he could not recall
the nature of that breach of the pre
trial requirement
Jeff Frazier, the prosecutor who
initially was assigned to the case,
said in a previous interview there
was not enough evidence to convict
Finley. Frazier is no longer with the
distnct attorney’s office.
Officers never recovered the gun
and the student did not confess to
investigators, Frazier said. However,
school officials received an admis
sion from the teen during a Jan. 13
tribunal.
“The student was charged with
possession of a deadly weapon, a
- ag,
Ropm youngsters
First Baptist Church’s annual “Music and
Missions Roundup** drew more than 100 chil
dren to register for church programs last
week. Above, Larry Townsend offers a loping
demonstration for youngsters.
. 50 Cents...
handgun, on school property,” states
the tribunal report. “The agreement,
signed by the student and a parent,
stated that the student was guilty of
the aforementioned charge."
Finley has been permanently
expelled from the school system.
Officials don’t believe the teen
intended to threaten anyone with the
gun.
Donna Leister, director of the
pre-trial diversion program,
described the student's actions as a
“show off” incident.
Leister could not be reached for
comment Tuesday.
Although investigators never
recovered the gun from Finley, three
of his classmates told deputies they
saw the weapon.
According to Sheriff's Office
reports, the students told investiga
tors Finley raised his shirt and
removed the handgun from inside
his pants shortly after boarding the
bus the afternoon of Jan. 4. One wit
ness said he also removed a bullet
from the gun and passed it to anoth
er student.
A parent reported the incident to
the bus driver and the Sheriff's
Office later that evening.
The crime of carrying a weapon
onto school property is punishable
up to a SIO,OOO fine and from two
to 10 years in prison. There was
only one report of a student bringing
a firearm onto a Forsyth County
campus during the 1998-1999
school year.
Man faces
trial for
vehicular
homicide
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A 22-year-old Hampton man
was indicted Monday on
charges of vehicular homicide
and driving under the influence
in connection with a 1997
wreck that claimed the life of a
Cumming teenager.
According to the Sheriff’s
Office, Michael Cooly was dri
ving a Pontiac Firebird south on
Hwy. 306 near Mayfield Drive
when he lost control of the car
shortly before midnight on July
10,1997.
The car rolled into a ditch,
throwing passenger Chris
Miller, 19, out the front win
dow.
Paramedics performed CPR
See INDICT, Page 2A