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THIS ISSUE
Copyright © 2000 Forsyth County News
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June Singing returns
to Cumming.
Page IB
Roller hockey
season ends
with championship.
PageSA
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
„ Date Level
£ June 10 1067.14 ft
June 11 1067.12 ft
t June 12 1067.07 ft
June 13 1066.97 ft
Normal 1071.00 ft
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A special page of news
for young readers.
PageSA
♦
INDEX
Abby 6 A
Classifieds
1 Community 1B
, Deaths 2A
'.Events 7A
i; Government 5A
Kids page 8A
f Opinion— 9A
'Horoscope 6A
Sports 8A
COMING
FRIDAY
Commentary Galore
Columnist Linda Bowles shares
her perspective of events
on the editorial page.
Missed paper policy:
For a replacement paper call
8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Thursday and Fnday, and 9 a.m. -1
p.m. on Sunday - (770) 887-3126.
JE
Forsvth Count
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J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J ATHENS I GA AR 3«602
Vol. 9], No. 93 THURSDAY JUNE 15 ~2000 50 Cents |
Sheriff testifies in firing hearing
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Fredieu
Books staying open for local kids
Program
encourages
summertime
reading
By Jonathan Hamilton
Staff Writer
Although school officially
ended last week, 692 local resi
dents turned out to “hit the books”
Saturday morning when the
Forsyth County Library kicked off
its summer reading program.
More than 350 kids signed up
for the reading program.
“The response was great,” said
Donna Me<?ks, children’s services
director.
Children can still register for
the program at the library.
The summer reading club was
developed to encourage children
in grades K-5 to continue reading
throughout the summer. There is
also a reading club for preschool
ers.
The parent and child decide
how many books the child must
read to be eligible for a reading
certificate. Every time the child
completes a book, it is entered on
the reading folder.
Once the child reaches the
reading goal, the completed folder
is brought back to the library and
the child receives the reading cer
tificate.
Reading certificates are avail
able at the library until late
August. Area schools will receive
a list of children receiving certifi
cates so they can be recognized
for their reading accomplish
ments.
There are also special chil
dren’s programs every Wednesday
at 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. until
July 19. The programs last 45
minutes and include puppet
shows, music, contests, games,
prizes and crafts.
In addition to signing up for
the summer reading program, the
children were entertained by “Zoo
to You,” a program with several
wild animal and reptile exhibits.
The animals displayed
Saturday morning were an ana-
River Alliance to discuss preserving local waterways
By Cheryl Rhodes
Features Writer
Something must be done to save the
Etowah and Chattahoochee Rivers, a report
cautioned four years ago.
Co-ranked by the American Rivers study in
1996 as the third most imperiled rivers in the
United States, the Etowah’s swath reaches
through the upper western portion of Forsyth
County and also impacts Cherokee, Dawson,
Lumpkin and Pickens counties.
The warning did not fall on deaf ears and a
Hendrix unsure if chief deputy was
questioned during internal probe
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
During more than four hours on the wit
ness stand. Sheriff Denny Hendrix testified
Tuesday he immediately launched an inter
nal affairs investigation after his payroll
coordinator accused his top deputy of order
ing pay records be falsified.
Hendrix said he personally ordered the
investigation after Pat Fredieu informed him
in an April 27 grievance memo that she was
ordered by Col. Earl Singletary to falsify
pay records.
Hendrix also testified he was unaware of
possible payroll problems until receiving
the April memo, even though Civil Service
Board members said they discussed the
issue with Singletary in January.
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Photos/Submitted
In addition to signing up for the summer reading program, the children were entertained by “Zoo to
You,’’ a program with several wild animal and reptile exhibits. The animals displayed Saturday
morning were an anaconda, capuchin monkey, coatimondi, alligator, macaw, wallaby, tarantula,
bear cat and a serval cat.
conda, capuchin 'monkey, coati
mondi, alligator, macaw, wallaby,
tarantula, bear cat and a serval cat.
“The bear cat was the highlight
of the show for me,” said Liz
Forster, library public services
director.
The show lasted an hour.
The library hosted a Scholastic
book fair Meeks said was
extremely successful, raising S3OO
for the library.
“The great part about the book
sale is that the proceeds will help
us buy the reading club gift bas
kets,” she said.
Drawings for two gift baskets,
one for grades K-5 and the other
for preschool, will be conducted
on Mondays throughout the sum
mer.
concerned committee was formed. But now
those who took note say it will take far more
than just a committee listening to truly make a
difference.
“Forsyth County is a county with a lot of
opportunity to do some things right, in the way
they manage their future growth, that other
counties have not done right,” says former Lt.
Gov. Pierre Howard.
Keynote speaker at tonight’s first annual
meeting of the Upper Etowah River Alliance,
he is also a board member of nationally known
The sheriff said he appointed Lt.
Thurmond Atkinson of the internal affairs
office to “fully investigate” Fredieu’s com
plaint, but testified during the hearing that
he did not remember whether Singletary
was interviewed as part of the investigation.
Fredieu’s lawyer said the chief deputy
was not questioned.
Less than two weeks after the investiga
tion was started, Fredieu was fired.
Tuesday’s hearing before the county's Civil
Service Board was to determine if the dis
missal was justified.
In his May 8 termination letter, Hendrix
accuses Fredieu of gathering information
against the department to further her own
career and for refusing to submit to a poly-
See PAYROLL, Page 2A
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The Nature Conservancy and the University of
Georgia’s School of Ecology.
“As all of us know, Forsyth County is one
of the fastest growing in the nation and there is
a lot of growth that’s going to occur in the
future,’ says Howard. “I think the quality of
life in Forsyth County is going to be deter
mined by how it is handled. This Upper
Etowah River Alliance is made up of a lot of
local people that are interested in the river
See RIVERS, Page 2A
Hendrix
Hwy. 9
traffic
problem
unsolved
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
Sometimes a problem with a
seemingly simple solution turns
out to be more complicated.
That is the situation apparent
ly facing the Forsyth County
Commission when it comes to
determining a safe way to elimi
nate the potential traffic hazards
associated with the gathering of
day laborers on a portion of Hwy.
9 just south of the Cumming city
limits.
Monday night, the commis
sion couldn't decide on a solution
other than to ask the sheriff’s
office to try and keep the road
clear because vehicles slowing
down to let the workers jump in is
creating a safety hazard.
One possible solution, sug
gested in May by District 3
Commissioner Michael Bennett
involved the county creating a
paved location off the side of the
road where the workers could
wait and trucks could pull in off
Hwy. 9 to load.
The county's legal staff
Monday night said creating such
a “facility” would mean the coun
ty would have to accept liability
for what happens at the site. In
addition, the county would have
to install bathrooms for the work
ers and maintain the area. County
Engineer John Cunard provided
the commissioners with a $3,140
estimate to construct the area.
After hearing that, Bennett
said he is not willing to have the
county accept such liability or
have to find away to pay for the
installation of restrooms and
maintenance.
He said his suggestion came
from trying to make a “safer situ
ation” for residents and business
es in the affected area.
“You just can’t do something
simple anymore to make a situa
tion better,” he said. Later, he
added, “Until somebody can
come up with an idea, I wash my
hands of it.”
Commissioner John Kieffer
said that, because of the liability
question and possible costs, the
commission should meet with
representatives of the sheriff’s
office to see if something can be
done to eliminate the hazard.
“1 have searched hard for an
answer but it appears there is no
simple answer,” he added.
Kieffer represents the area
where the problems are occurring.
Local developer Bill Marett
suggested one possible solution
See TRAFFIC, Page 2A