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Partiv Cloudv rwwj wwraj High in the high 80s. Low in the high 60s. 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 h ’wiflr ? Check the closing prices of local-interest stocks. Page 12A INDEX Abby 3C Deaths 2A Forsyth lie IB OpinionlSA Schools 6A Sports . 1C email address: ; erftof@Aorsytftneiivs.com COMING WEDNESDAY Commentary Galore Bill Shipp offers his opinion about politics and government on the editorial page. Missed paper poky: For a replacement paper, call 8 am - 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9 am -1 ' pm on Sunday-(770) 887-3120. w 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 ■'/“ r , - I ft u. ’ T v li |j||irJflF la ;>iiwibSßES < MM A 3|| . ’W j ■’ t i B it ' BP" ~ 7~ 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 flMilgnHllgMHM \ 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