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Possible Rain
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Low in the low 70s.
THIS ISSUE
Copyright C 29M Forwyth County Newii
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Page7A
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Juniors tee off at
Ode Atlanta Golf Club.
Page IB
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
June 9 1067.28 ft
June 10 1067.14 ft
June 11 1067.12 ft
June 12 1067.07 ft
Normal 1071.00 ft ~
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Dear Abby dishes out
good advice.
RagelOA
INDEX
Abby 10A
Business . 9A
Classifieds 5B
Community 4A
Deaths 2A
Horoscope 10A
Legate 3B
Opinion 12A
Sports... IB
COMING
THURSDAY
Community Living
Sunday singing
returns to Forsyth County -
all in Thursday's
special section.
Missed paper policy:
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Low water pressure
leaves area high, dry
By Jonathan Hamilton
Staff Writer
Tasks as simple as taking
showers and flushing toilets have
become an ordeal lately for some
Forsyth County residents because
of low pressure in the county
water system.
Since the state last week
imposed a daily outdoor watering
ban from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., some
county residents have found little
or no water available from their
taps in the four-hour period before
the ban takes effect.
“The Y2K preparations that
we took are coming in handy,”
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Girl Scouts
tour new fire
safety house
By Lisa Renzi
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Fire
Department gave something more
to the community’s youth
Thursday as Station 15 hosted
Brownie Troop 3784 in an effort
to share valuable fire safety infor
mation that could potentially save
lives.
Under the guidance of Troop
Leader Jackie Parker and
Assistant Troop Leader Pam
Elzey, the girls from Chatta
hoochee Elementary met with Fire
Education Officer Sam Henderson
and Chief Norris Bennett at the
county’s Fire Safety House to get
a rundown of what to do in a fire.
“It’s really a valuable teaching
tool because we can tell and
explain fire safety, and now we
can show them as well,” said
Henderson. “We can let the chil
dren practice some of the things
they can do to keep them safe in
their homes, schools or anyplace
they are visiting.”
The house is, in essence, a
two-story portable trailer that is
designed to imitate an actual
Watering ban expanded
The Forsyth County Commiss
ion has expanded the county’s
watering ban. See Page 2A for
the full story.
said Aberdeen subdivision resi
dent Steve Kirkpatrick. Because
of the lack of water pressure, his
family has resorted to keeping
buckets of water so they can flush
toilets early in the morning.
The Forsyth County De
partment of Water and Sewer
believes the problem has been
Photo/Tom Brooks
Scout members feel around on the floor for an escape as the
county’s new fire safety house fills with smoke.
house. Set up as many real homes
are, the safety house comes
equipped with a fireplace, a down
stairs living area and kitchen and
sleeping quarters on the second
floor.
Once the scouts were assem
bled in the house, Henderson
explained the principles of fire
safety and achieving a safe escape
in the event of an actual fire.
After the lesson, the scouts had
WEDNESDAY ‘ .
limited to the south end of the
county.
“The problem isn’t not having
enough water to get to the resi
dents,” said Mitch Clarke, Forsyth
County spokesman. “The problem
we are having is a pressure prob
lem. You can only get so much
water through the pipes.”
Doug Mercer, city of
Cumming water superintendent,
said the city has not experienced
any water pressure problems this
year.
“The watering ban has certain
ly made the situation worse,”
Kirkpatrick said, “i understand
why the state issued the outdoor
an opportunity to try out some of
their new skills.
The house has a unique mech
anism that mimics an actual fire.
First, the building fills with non
toxic smoke to show the children
that, in the event of fire, they need
to crawl on the ground to be able
to breathe the cleanest and coolest
air.
See FIRE, Page 2A
Lanierland Music Park hosted the graduation cer
emonies of three county high schools Saturday.
For more information and photos, see Page 11A
Photos/Tom Brooks
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Aberdeen subdivision resident Steve Kirkpatrick says his family
has resorted to keeping buckets of water so they can flush toilets
early in the morning.
watering ban. It makes getting
ready in the morning a challenge.”
Several times in the past few
weeks Aberdeen residents have
Let the
future
commence
Board upholds electrical
inspector’s suspension
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
An appeals board has decided
a senior electrical inspector with
the Forsyth County Planning and
Zoning Department deserved to
lose a week’s pay after he alleged
ly spread rumors that he would try
to get his boss fired.
The Civil Service Board
upheld Gill Johnson’s five-day
suspension and loss of about $525
pay following a Thursday hearing.
Johnson received the suspen
sion in March after allegedly
telling a coworker during a lunch
meeting that he planned to attempt
to get Chief Building Inspector
Tony Pierce fired. The coworker
testified Johnson told him he had
two county commissioners “in his
pocket” and could get a third vote
by contributing money to another
commissioner’s re-election cam
paign.
Pierce said he knew about the
rumors and had previously warned
his entire staff about the pitfalls of
office gossip. The director of the
county’s planning and zoning
department, Jeff Watkins,
approved Pierce’s decision to sus
pend Johnson on March 3.
Pierce, who represented him-
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not been able to get water until
after 10 a.m. The outdoor water-
See WATER, Page 2A
Farmers’
Market
reopens
in county
By Cheryl Rhodes
Features Writer
Smoldering heat’s not the only
thing to roll back into Forsyth
County with the arrival of sum
mer. The kitchen sink sandwich is
back.
Each Wednesday and Saturday
at the Cumming fairgrounds,
beginning today at 7 a.m., local
farmers and gardeners will be
backing up their pickups filled
with homegrown, backyard fare
and sharing the wealth,
It is an annual tradition that
will continue through the early
fall and one that vendors and cus
tomers alike eagerly await.
“I’m 77 and I grew up on the
farm around here,” said Waymon
Tate, a longtime vendor of vegeta
bles at the Forsyth County
Farmers’ Market. “I like to grow
tomatoes the best because I just
like them. You take them toma
toes and some mayonnaise and
loaf bread and you’ve got yourself
a good meal.”
Tate piles armloads of his
offerings even he has a tough
time naming them all, but rattles
See MARKET, Page 2A
self at the hearing, denied making
any threatening remarks about his
boss.
The county lawyers argued
Johnson was bitter because he had
not worked for the county long
enough to be considered for the
position of chief building inspec
tor when it became available in
March 1998.
It was not the first disciplinary
action taken against Johnson. He
received a written reprimand in
August 1999 for taking a second
job with an electrical company.
Testimony showed the work was
performed across county lines, but
the company handled many
Forsyth County projects.
Pierce said the extra work
caused a potential conflict of
interest.
“I wouldn’t want to see an
inspector inspect his own work,”
Pierce said.
County attorney Angela Davis
told the three-member board the
suspension was more than fair
because Johnson was informed at
the time of his reprimand that he
would not be given another
chance.
“It was a conservative position
for the county to take,” Davis said.