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THIS ISSUE
Copyright © MM Fonyth County New*
Forsyth Life
Old-fashioned fun on its
way to north Georgia.
Page IB
Sports
I-' ~ ;
North takes two wins in
county tri-match.
PagelC
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Sept 5 1059.75 ft
Sept 6 1059.70 ft
Sept 7 1059.00 ft,
Sept 8 1059.49 ft
Normal 1071.00 ft *
Business
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’wiflr
? Check the closing
prices of
local-interest stocks.
Page 12A
INDEX
Abby 3C
Deaths 2A
Forsyth lie IB
OpinionlSA
Schools 6A
Sports . 1C
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Forsyth CountyNgws
Vol. 91. No. 123
'Urban Village' up for final vote
Supporters, foes of proposal expected to fill auditorium during Monday’s meeting
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
Dozens of supporters and opponents of
the plan to construct an “Urban Village” on
the west side of Post Road are expected to
flood the auditorium for Monday night’s
meeting of the Forsyth County
Commission.
Opposition to the mixed-use develop
ment focuses on the traffic wots it could
create and the impact more than 700 hous-
Local writer talks trash
A day spent
on garbage
truck proves
illuminating
By Cheryl Rhodes
Features Writer
“My wife is putting on makeup
to go work on the garbage truck,”
observed my drowsy husband,
mirthfully.
It was 5:30 in the morning and
I wasn’t feeling particularly jocu
lar. I wasn’t putting on makeup; I
was cleaning my face, 1 reasoned.
Besides, my picture would be in
the paper, I rationalized aloud,
and a full day in the newsroom
would follow my manual labor
stint.
“So there,” I emphasized,
scrawling on my lipstick emphati
cally. No reason to sacrifice femi
ninity just because I’d be spending
the day clutching the outside of a
trash-compacting roadster, inhal
ing la fumage and upending the
discards of a county’s populace.
Ah well, best laid plans.
The lipstick soon found its
home on the rim of a Styrofoam
coffee cup and left my face forev
er. My perky smile wasn’t far
behind. It was waaay too early in
the morning for me and my java
boost chilled in minutes.
Thank goodness for the cheer
ful demeanor of Brent McKee, the
operational manager of Total
Waste and my boss o’ the hour.
His cheerful chatter soon had me
enthused about the day’s adven
ture.
As I pulled myself up by the
hand grip into the cab of the haul
ing truck, I initiated a mistake that
I would perfect by day’s end:
banging my shin on the jutting
step and inspiring, even through
the protective denim of my jeans,
a nice, rosy bruise and abrasion.
Still, our first stop held an
ever-so-pleasant surprise. Though
I had assumed we would be man
ually hoisting overloaded tubs of
Officials urge action on
water reclamation plans
By Bill Johnson
Staff Writer
The top water official in
Forsyth County says it’s time
water reclamation takes the fore
front in the ongoing battle to
ensure the county has enough
water capacity for the future.
There are currently private
companies and facilities in the
county already using reclaimed
water, proving it can work.
Water & Sewer Department
Director Tim Perkins said Friday
the ever-increasing demand on
Lake Lanier means the county
must proceed with its plan to
build a water reclamation facility
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 •
ing units will have on nearby schools.
Supporters argue the concept of a self
contained community with nearby shop
ping, office space and amenities will actual
ly reduce traffic congestion.
The 214.3-acre tract has been targeted
by The Vickery Land Co. and Hedgewood
Properties as the site for 649 single-family
homes, 71 townhome units and 24 loft
apartments, all built over a 12-year period.
The development would also include green
space, recreational areas and facilities,
fl
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leaking goo into the rear of the
truck, in fact mechanization has
made the task a cinch.
Literally.
It explains why many trash
collection services dole out their
own oversized canisters to cus
tomers for stowing away each
week’s gotta-gos. The hook on the
back of each can conveniently
slides onto the hoisting mecha-
See TRASH, Page 10A
to make greater use of reclaimed
water.
“The amount of water that is
going to be available for us to use
in the future is going to be limit
ed,” Perkins said. “There is a lot
of demand on Lake Lanier, which
is our main source of water, and
the state is planning to start issu
ing allocations regulating how
much water each of the munici
palities can withdraw.”
Reclaimed water is wastewater
effluent treated to the urban re-use
standards established by the
Georgia Environmental Protection
Division.
It is nonpotable but has numer
ous uses, including land irrigation.
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 10 2000
Working 9
An occasional series \
looking at working- \
class jobs and what it
takes to do them. gs - j
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Water & Sewer Department Director Tim Perkins said the
ever-increasing demand on Lake Lanier means the county
must proceed with its plan to build a water reclamation facility
to make greater use of reclaimed water.
Some industrial plants use it for
cooling engines. Rock quarries
use it for cleaning gravel and for
dust suppression.
office space, a community center, library
and commercial ventures.
The development would be four miles
west of Cumming on the west side of Post
Road, across from the intersection of Post
and Majors roads.
At a public hearing Aug. 29 before the
planning commission, residents of the Ivy
Manor subdivision engaged in verbal duels
with supporters before the commission
voted to give the rezoning application a
favorable recommendation for final action
I Perkins believes the more uses
that are found for reclaimed water,
See WATER, Page 15A
Photos/Tom Brooks
Columnist Cheryl Rhodes
hangs on tightly to the side
of the Total Waste truck
driven by Brent McKee as
they travel through the
county collecting residen
tial trash.
by the county commission.
County planning and development staff
had also recommended approval of the
rezoning, with conditions affecting traffic
controls, the greenspace and erosion and
sediment controls.
The project is being coordinated by
nationally known residential planner
Andres Duany.
Duany told the planning commission the
See VILLAGE, Page 15A
Firm
fined for
trench
cave-in
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A month after a construction
worker was nearly buried alive in
a trench, the federal government
has fined a Gainesville company
$49,050 for allowing its employ
ees to work in what it labeled
“unsafe conditions” at a local ele
mentary school.
The dirt trench, 8 feet deep and
30 inches wide, collapsed on 42-
year-old Perry Martin of
Gainesville while he was working
June 29 on a construction project
outside Mashburn Elementary
School on Samples Road in
Cumming.
Martin suffered broken ribs
and a collapsed lung as a result of
the accident.
Officials said his employer,
Construction Services, let the
sewer project continue though
there were no safety measures in
place to prevent a cave-in.
“The day before the accident, a
rented trench box was returned
because it was too large to fit the
narrow trench,” said Ray Finney,
area director for the federal
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration. Finney said the
company could have used an alter
nate method of protection, such as
sloping or shoring the trench
See CAVE-IN, Page 15A
Residents
opposed to
possible
Super Target
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
Residents of the Grove Park
subdivision are up in arms over a
proposal to build a Super Target
retail store near their neighbor
hood on a 30-acre tract along
Sanders Road, near Owens Road
and Hwy. 20 just outside the
Cumming city limits.
Rick Castleberry, vice presi
dent of the subdivision’s home
owner’s association, said Thurs
day residents believe allowing a
large retail center with an estimat
ed 1,000 parking spaces will cre
ate traffic and noise nightmares
and lower property values for
home owners.
The tract would have to be
rezoned to allow for a commercial
business use. The development
company handling the project,
Atlanta-based Sembler, is expect
ed to file its rezoning request in
time for the Sept. 26 meeting of
the Forsyth County Planning
See TARGET, Page 2A