Newspaper Page Text
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Highs in the mkJ-70s.
Lows in the high 50s.
THIS ISSUE
Copyright 0 MW Fanyth Coanty New
Church honors
Sunday schoolers’
achievements.
Page 4A
Local athlete to play in
Pan Am Games.
Page IB
LIKE LANIER LEVELS
I Date Level
Aug. 29 1060.09 ft
Ati|.3o 1059.94 ft
Au&jßfcg>»#9.72 ft.
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ft
Dear Abby dishes out
good advice.
Page GA
INDEX
Abby 6A
Classifieds 4B
Community.-. 3A
Deaths 2A
Education 4A
Horoscope .—6A
Legals 3B
Opinion .....8A
Spot te i—llß
COMING
THURSDAY
Outdoors
Father and son enjoy
Canadian bounty
all in Thursday's
special section.
Missed paper policy:
For a replacement paper, call
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Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. -1
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Forsyth County News
J Your "Hometown Paper” Since 1908 J
"Vo .
County's fuel bill exceeds budget pians
By Bill Johnson
Staff Writer
By the end of this year, Forsyth County
government taxpayers will have spent
an estimated 85 percent more on gasoline
for county-owned and operated vehicles
than was earmarked in the fiscal year 2000
budget.
The reason, county officials say, is obvi
ous: the skyrocketing cost of gasoline.
Last October, the county commission
allocated $291,371 for gas to fuel the coun-
A wild ride
in Cumming
The Cumming Fairgrouhds were
filled with the sights, sounds and
smells of professional rodeo over the
Labor Day weekend. The Treadway
Rodeo came to town with bronco
riding, steer wrestling, calf roping
and all the elements of a traditional
professional rodeo. Weather condi
tions forced the postponement of
Sunday afternoon’s show until
Monday. Right, Ira McKippip of
Nebraska hangs on during a bronco
ride Monday afternoon. Below, Glen
Freels of Woodstock tries his hand
at calf roping.
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Census: Forsyth growing, diversifying fast
Bill Johnson
Staff Writer
Recent population projections released by
the U.S. Census Bureau confirmed what most
Forsyth Countians already knew: The county
is growing at a stunning pace.
Between July 1990 and July 1999, Forsyth
County’s population swelled from 44,763 to
96,686, an increase of 116 percent, making it
the fastest-growing county in the state and the
second-fastest growing in the nation.
That type of population growth presents
new opportunities and new challenges.
County planners reject
three zoning applications
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
Local developer Bill Marett
went 0-3 in trying to secure favor
able recommendations for pro
posed rezonings from the Forsyth
County Planning Commission at
its Aug. 29 meeting.
The commission recommend
ed denial for three rezonings
sought by Marett, including one to
move forward on a 223-acre busi
ness and school development on
the west side of Ga. 4QO with
frontage along Hwy. 369.
The other requests were to
rezone 31.28 acres on the west
side of Ga. 400 near Crossroads
ty’s vehicles. By mid-August, however, the
total expenditure for all departments had
soared to $270,743, making it almost cer
tain the commission will have to approve a
contingency play in order to keep those
vehicles running.
“When gas prices nearly double on you,
you’re going to have problems,” said
Clemma Wilson, financial analyst for
Forsyth County. “There really isn’t a lot
you can do about it. If the work you're
doing depends on your having gas for the
car you’re driving, you have to find the
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Photos/Tom Brooks
Road and 3.41 acres on the south
side of Brannon Road near Hwy.
141. Both requests involved
changing the land use to accom
modate business developments.
The vote on all three projects
was unanimous, with the commis
sion saying denials were appropri
ate because none of the projects
were in the “best interests of the
county.”
The county commission is
expected to decide on the projects
at its Sept. 11 meeting.
At the public hearing Aug. 29
on the largest project, Marett said
he had been contacted by a
See ZONING, Page 2A
WEDNESDAY SI Pl I MIM R 6 ,\W
Forsyth County Commission Chairman Bill
Jenkins sees the county’s infrastructure as the
biggest challenge arising from the expanding
population.
“Infrastructure, by far, is the No. 1 chal
lenge we face here in Forsyth County,” he said.
“Roads are the major issue right now and
water. We have a new water plant being built
that will supply up to 16 million gallons of
water daily.”
Jenkins added the distribution of that water
has also been a problem, particularly in the
south end of the county where there is a criti
cal need for more and larger water lines. But
money somewhere.''
Sheriff Denny Hendrix's office main
tains the largest fleet of county-owned vehi
cles approximately 85-90 and has the
largest budget at SIOO,OOO.
However, as of Aug. 15, Hendrix’s office
was already 50 percent over budget at
$150,420.06.
The sheriff’s office is not alone.
The fire department budgeted $25,000
for the year but by mid-August had already
spent $27,747.65.
The engineering department, which
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acquiring rights-of-way to land where those
pipes can be laid has been a problem.
Jenkins said the county has hired an attor
ney who will work full time on land acquisi
tion. Meanwhile, older, smaller water lines,
mostly six inches in diameter, are being
replaced with 36-inch lines.
The latest census projections also reveal a
major shift in the cultural diversity of Forsyth
County.
In 1990, the Hispanic population was 643.
Today it is projected at 2,835, a staggering
See CENSUS, Page 2A
includes all of the public works vehicles,
had overspent by nearly $2,000.
But the explosion in gas prices hasn’t
been the only problem. The county’s shift
to alternative-fuel vehicles also ran into
some stumbling blocks.
Two years ago when the state amended
the Federal Clean Air Act of 1990, Forsyth
was one of 13 counties required to begin
purchasing clean-fuel vehicles. Since then,
the county has bought 23 such vehicles.
See FUEL, Page 2A
S. Forsyth
teen killed
in wreck
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A 16-year-old South Forsyth
High School student and three of her
friends died Friday night in a car
wreck in north Fulton County.
Rebekkah Evans, a sophomore
who was active in her school choir
and church youth group, lost control
of a Mercedes Benz on Medlock
Bridge Road while on her way
home from bowling with friends.
The four-door car crossed over a
median and slammed head-on into a
Jeep Cherokee, according to police.
The teen was killed in addition
to three passengers identified by
police as Brett Bailey, 16, of Ball
Ground, Nathan Deafenbaugh, 17,
of Alpharetta and Amanda Samford,
15, of Duluth. Bailey and
Deafenbaugh attended Sequoyah
High School and Samford attended
Duluth High School.
The driver of the Jeep Cherokee,
42-year-old Michael Kakta of
Alpharetta, was treated for minor
injuries and released.
Police said an investigation is
continuing into the cause of the acci
dent.
A celebration of Evans’ life was
scheduled for Tuesday night at
Perimeter Church in Duluth.
Crowell Brothers Funeral Home in
Norcross was in charge of funeral
arrangements.
Roads in the north Fulton area,
and Medlock Bridge in particular,
have proved especially brutal to
inexperienced drivers over the past
six months.
Four teens were killed June 29 in
another accident on Medlock Bridge
Road when a 16-year-old Alpharetta
motorist, who had his driver’s
license for less than three months,
hit a puddle and lost control of his
sport utility vehicle.
Three local teens also died on
county roads at the close of last
school year. Forsyth Central High
School student Brian Herstowski,
16, was killed June 8 when he lost
control of a Geo Tracker on a curvy
stretch of Bettis-Tribble Gap Road
in Cumming. The fatal wreck was
only a month after FCHS students
Adam Alfrey and Steven Grant,
both 16, were killed on their way to
school. Deputies cited excessive
speed as a contributing factor in
both of those accidents.
Stream
disguised
as a river
This inlet stream
near the Pilgrim Mill
Acres subdivision
and Lake Lanier was
doing its best
impression late last
week of a rampaging
river as nearly two
inches of rain
doused Forsyth
County. Although the
rain was much need
ed, local officials say
it will take a lot more
than that to put the
drought behind us.
Photo/Tom Brook*