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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Sunday, April 8,2001
Board to discuss plans
for Mathis Airport Road
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
After several delays, the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners is expected to act Monday night on a
rezoning application that would mean construction of
townhouses and single-family homes on Mathis
Airport Road.
The meeting begins at 5 p.m. in the auditorium on
the second floor of the county administration building
in downtown Cumming.
The county’s planning commission has imposed
24 conditions for the rezoning and has recommended
approval to change the land use on the 19-acre site
from agricultural to high density residential.
The tract is on the west side of Mathis Airport
Road near Bagley Drive.
Leaders of the South Forsyth Homeowners
Coalition have expressed bitter opposition to the plan,
first unveiled in February.
At a Feb. 27 public hearing, SFHC official and
local attorney Al Decusati said, “We’re aware of the
owner’s rights to develop this property, but it needs to
be in tandem with the needs of the nearby home own
ers. If you approve this, we’re getting one step farther
away from the master [land use] plan and setting the
stage for more townhomes or apartments on Mathis
Airport Road.”
County commissioners delayed taking action on
the proposal when it first came before them in early
March.
There will be no public hearing on the matter
Monday night.
In another zoning-related matter, the commission
is also scheduled to take final action on the applica
tion by Danbry LLC to rezone 47.42 acres near the
intersection of Truman Mountain and Old Keith
Bridge roads that would pave the way for the coun
ty’s first Conservation Subdivision.
On March 27, the planning commission voted
unanimously to recommend approval of the rezoning.
At a public hearing before the planning commis
sion, Danbry LLC architect Richard May said
between 40 and 50 percent of the site’s natural areas
will be untouched and the developer will create the
lots keeping in mind the need to save as many older
trees as possible. In addition, -there will not be any
crossings permitted on any of the natural creeks on
the property.
The CS designation, which is part of the county’s
new Unified Development Code outlining zoning
Charge dropped in simple battery case
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
A local woman has been
cleared of a charge of simple bat
tery in connection with an incident
in June 2000 involving a dispute
between families that live in the
3600 block of Era Drive in
Cumming.
Solicitor General Leslie
Abernathy gave B. LaFaye Glenn
written notice on April 2 that her
office has decided to drop the case
County’s communications director resigns; replacement sought
Forsyth County Communications Director
Michael Haas resigned this week, spurring a search
for his replacement.
Sheriff Ted Paxton said he will consult with the
E-911 board and county officials about hiring a
replacement. The communications director oversees
Deaths
Chuck Cook
Mr. Chuck Cook, 56, of
Cumming, died Wednesday, April
4, 2001 in Florida. He had lived in
Forsyth County for the past 30
years but was a native of Florida
and an avid golfer.
He is survived by his wife,
Susan M. Cook of Cumming;
daughters. Anne Patrick with the i
U.S. Army stationed in Germany,
and Amber Cook of Gainesville; '
stepchildren, Nicole Buss of
Alpharetta, Ryan Williams of !
Jasper and Heather Williams of (
Powder Springs; grandchildren,
Keeton, Karly, Gabrielle and
Craig; sister, Paula Ratcliff of ■
Michigan; and many wonderful
friends also survive.
Services will be Monday, April
4, 2001 at 4 p.m. in the Ingram
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guidelines, stresses preservation of natural areas and
trees. In return, the developer is not penalized in
terms of how many homes can be built on fewer
acres.
The Danbry plan calls for building a maximum of
58 homes on the tract.
Opponents say putting 58 homes on approximate
ly 24 acres at the site amounts to cluster construction
and could detract from the value of the homes in
existing subdivisions nearby.
Also on Monday night, the commission will con
sider:
• The application by Mesquite *Creek
Development Inc. and RaceTrac to rezone 1.77 acres
on the northeast side of McFarland Road near Ga.
400 for a convenience store.
• The application by Peachtree Properties Group
in Suwanee to rezone 11.8 acres on the northwest
side of Christopher Robin Road near LongPointe
Pass to expand the LongPointe subdivision by 12
homes.
• The application by W. Perry Cash to rezone
37.07 acres near the intersection of Hwy. 9 and Piney
Grove Road for a residential subdivision.
• The application by Beazer Homes Georgia to
rezone slightly more than 104 acres on the east side
of Bethel view Road near Drew Road for a 230-home
subdivision.
• The application by B&B Associates in
Gainesville to rezone 6.77 acres at the northeast cor
ner of Jot ‘em Down Road and Ga. 400 for a develop
ment that would include a convenience store and day
care center.
• The application by Tony Boles of Cumming to
rezone 1.674 acres on the north side of Hwy. 9 near
Post Road for a rental car center with detailing and
styling. Boles filed disclosure he made a SSOO cam
paign contribution in 2000 to District 5 County
Commissioner Eddie Taylor.
• The application by Sprint Com Inc. to rezone less
than one quarter of an acre near the intersection of
Hwy. 369 and Hubert Martin Road for a 200-foot
tower that company officials say will eliminate a
“dead zone” for cell phone usage in the area.
The company has asked to rezone the small tract
from agricultural to commercial use and requested
the necessary Conditional Use Permit for a cell tower
installation.
The planning commission has recommended
approval of all the above rezoning applications with
conditions.
because “witnesses have recanted
and there is no corroborating evi
dence of simple battery.”
An earlier charge of cruelty to
children filed by the Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Office when the
incident occurred also has not
been pursued by authorities.
“I’m glad the charge was
dropped and I want people to
know all the charges were false
and now it’s time my name is
cleared,” Glenn said Thursday.
The incident began shortly
all operations in the center, where emergency calls
are dispatched to local law enforcement, fire and
ambulance services. The E-911 center is run through
the sheriff’s office.
Paxton said Friday there are no plans to name an
interim director.
Funeral Home Chapel with Rev.
Guy Kent officiating. The family
will receive friends on Sunday,
April 8, from 7-9 p.m.
Ingram Funeral Home in
Cumming has charge of the
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
April 8, 2001
( Thomas Kinkade
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after midnight on June 4 when one
of Glenn’s neighbors phoned the
sheriff’s office to file a complaint
about the alleged simple battery
and child cruelty incident.
Deputies responded to the
scene and after investigating the
incident, arrested Glenn on those
charges.
Since that time, she noted, she
has attended numerous court hear
ings in an attempt to get the
charges dropped and to clear her
name.
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Photo Tom Brooks
Pappy Red's plane blown from perch
During a recent storm, high winds flipped the vintage airplane that rests atop Pappy Red’s
barbecue on Hwy. 20 in Cumming. Restaurant officials have yet to put the plane back on its
familiar perch. The mannequin, pictured above, that keeps watch over the plane was unaf
fected by the blustery weather.
WRECKS from 1A
neer.
Plans call for expanding the
stretch of road to four lanes and
revamping the entire intersec
tion.
To provide commuters with
immediate relief, county com
missioners two years ago
pushed for improvement prior to
the massive widening project.
The DOT responded about a
year and a half ago by adding
left-turn lanes on both Ga. 400
exit ramps and creating another
eastbound lane for those turning
off Hwy. 20 toward Baptist
Medical Center.
Cook said the improvements
have helped but conceded the
intersection will be “a mess” as
construction begins in the next
couple of years.
Hwy. 20 at Market Place
Boulevard, which changes its
name to Baptist Medical Center
Drive where it crosses the high
way, ranks as the No. 2 worst
intersection with 58 accidents
and 13 injuries.
The boulevard was designed
to alleviate traffic on Hwy. 20
and serve as a collector road for
Ga. 400.
Since its completion in 1999,
Cumming officials annexed the
property into the city and wooed
a number of high-profile stores
to the area.
The commercial growth
translates into more cars.
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Although sheriff’s deputies
normally handle accidents at the
intersection of Hwy. 20 and
Market Place Boulevard-Baptist
Medical Center Drive, city
police officers handle wrecks on
Market Place Boulevard,
between Buford Dam Road and
Hwy. 20.
Cumming Police Chief Buck
Jones said his officers respond
to many fender-benders involv
ing motorists attempting to
cross over the road from Lowe’s
Home Improvement Center to
Wal-Mart and a string of other
restaurants and businesses locat
ed there.
The third worst intersection,
Ga. 400 and Hwy. 369, logged
52 accidents and 20 injuries.
The signaled intersection,
however, accounts for fewer
serious wrecks than the six
intersections to the north that do
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Forsyth County News
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J
USPS 205-540
Veterans Memorial Blvd, Cumming, Georgia 30040
Phone:77o-887-3126 Fax: 770-889-6017
lnternet Address: www.forsythnews.com
Publisher DENNIS STOCKTON
loI OH General Manager NORMAN BAGGS
\ AllSalA,'/ Advertising Director BARBARA SCOHIER
Circulation Director PHIL JONES
MEMBER
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Company, Veterans Memorial Blvd., Cumming, Ga. Second Class Postage paid at
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not have traffic lights.
The six nonsignaled intersec
tions between Hwy. 369 and Jot
’em Down Road have claimed
12 lives over the past three
years.
In the south end of the coun
ty, Ga. 400 at McFarland Road
ranked No. 4 on the list with 45
accidents and eight injuries.
There are no projects cur
rently planned by the DOT for
the intersection, according to
Cook.
Prior to completion of Ga.
400 in the late 19705, Hwy. 9
carried the bulk of traffic north
and south from Cumming.
Its intersection with Hwy. 20
ranks No. 5 on the list with 44
accidents.
The DOT recently added
dual left-turn lanes at Hwys. 20
and 9 to alleviate the backup of
motorists at the light.