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THIS ISSUE
Copyright © 2001 Forsyth County News
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Forsyth family
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Page IB
Sports
North baseball team
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Page6A
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COMING
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Commentary Galore
Columnist Linda Bowles
shares her perspective
of events on the
editorial page.
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Forsyth County News
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J
92. Hg • THURSDAY APRIL 12, 2001 |
Schools at odds with Ti.
By Linda Irvine
Staff Writer
Officials of the Forsyth County school
system have questions about the 1999-2000
Title 1 Accountability Results report
released by the Georgia Department of
Education in March.
Jennifer Caracciolo, system spokesper
son, said, “We strongly disagree with the
ranking because it uses the results of one
test to rate student performance in reading
and math.”
Staff Writer
One hurt in Ga. 400 collision
Wre ck halts
Tuesday’s
morning
rush-hour
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
An apparent hit-and-run
Tuesday morning seriously
injured a 33-year-old Dawson
County woman and stalled rush
hour traffic on Ga. 400 for miles.
Police said Julia Mitchum suf
fered a broken leg and severe gash
to her head and chest in the wreck
on Ga. 400 at Martin Road near
the Forsyth-Dawson line.
Mitchum was transported by
emergency helicopter to Atlanta
Medical Center. Officials said she
remained in stable condition
Tuesday afternoon.
A blue 1992 Chevrolet Blazer
driven by Mitchum was struck by
a 1986 Chevrolet Cavalier at the
intersection shortly before 9 a.m.,
according to the Georgia State
Patrol.
Mitchum was alone in her
vehicle.
Police said she was traveling
south on Ga. 400 when the other
motorist attempted to cross over
the highway from Martin Road.
Police said die other driver, whose
name was not immediately
released, failed to yield the right
of way before her car collided
with the Blazer. A woman in her
60s left the accident scene when a
Forsyth County sheriff’s deputy
arrived, said sheriff’s spokes
woman Karleen Chalker. Deputies
stopped her, returned her to the
accident scene and turned her over
to officers with the state patrol.
Teen wreck victim dies from injuries
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A North Forsyth High School junior died
Tuesday from injuries she suffered in an April
4 accident on 1-85 in Gwinnett County.
Officials said 17-year-old Laura Lee
Grimes was taken off life support at Gwinnett
County Medical Center Tuesday evening.
Lanier claims year’s
first drowning victim
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Authorities are working to
identify a man who drowned
Tuesday night while swimming at
West Bank Park in Cumming.
A dive team with the Forsyth
County Fire Department pulled
the body of a man, described as a
white male between the ages 35-
45, from the chilly lake about 5:50
p.m. The body was found 8 feet
below the surface in an inlet about
20 feet from shore. Officials said
the man was swimming with a
friend when he went under and
never resurfaced. The victim’s
For the 1999-2000 school year the
report used the Criterion Referenced
Competency Test to rank schools according
to student performance. Previously, the
lowa Test of Basic Skills was used.
“We would rather see these students
assessed on their daily classroom perfor
mance throughout the year as opposed to
the one-time test performance,” Caracciolo
said.
The GDOE report ranked the seven
county schools receiving Title I funding
according to their progress during the 1999-
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I
Photos/Tom Brooks
A blue 1992 Chevrolet Blazer
driven by Mitchum was struck
by a 1986 Chevrolet Cavalier
at the intersection shortly
before 9 a.m., according to
the Georgia State Patrol.
Charges are pending comple
tion of an investigation by the
state patrol, said Sgt. C.D. Kiser,
commander of the state patrol’s
Cumming post.
The accident halted the morn
ing commute for hundreds of
motorists heading south on Ga.
400 as emergency crews loaded
the crash victim onto a helicopter
and investigated the accident.
According to the Gwinnett County Police
Department, Grimes was driving a white 2000
Dodge Neon north on 1-85 in the far right lane
when she lost control of the car near the
Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road overpass at 9
p.m. An unidentified passenger in the car told
police a white truck cut them off and Grimes
hit the brakes to avoid a wreck. The passenger
reported hearing a loud “pop” before the car
shoes, socks and shorts could be
seen next to a zipped body bag as
deputies, park rangers and fire
fighters attempted to piece togeth
er exactly what happened.
“I think they were out there
swimming next to the buoy. He
did not make it back,” said
Forsyth County Fire Chief Norris
Bennett.
The two men were accompa
nied by a woman who was watch
ing them swim from the shore.
The man told a sheriff’s deputy
the victim drank a 12-pack of beer
See DROWNINC, Page 2A
2000 school year into two categories:
Daves Creek Elementary, Midway
Elementary Sawnee Elementary and Otwell
Middle were listed as “Adequate Yearly
Progress” and, in the “Needs Improvement”
category, Chestatee Elementary, Cumming
Elementary and North Forsyth Middle were
listed.
The other two categories available for
ranking schools are “Distinguished” and
“Needs Improvement/Adequate Yearly
Progress.”
Created in 1965, Title I is a federally
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slammed into the median wall and flipped,
police said.
Grimes was transported by ambulance to
Gwinnett County Medical Center.
Grimes was active in the NFHS ROTC pro
gram, said local sheriff’s spokeswoman
Karleen Choker.
No funeral arrangements were available as
of deadline Tuesday night.
*Ol F 006130 12/31/20
PROJECT
* UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
MAIN LIBRARY-UGA
ATHENS GA 30602
funded program that targets assistance to
those schools with a high concentration of
at-risk or disadvantaged students.
State Department of Education officials
say the goal of the program is to provide
additional assistance and instruction in
reading and math to all students who meet
the system selection criteria and who will
benefit from it most. The strategic ideal is
to reduce the performance gap between
low- and middle-income children and to
Landfill
owner
sues
board
By Phillip Hermann
News Editor
Asserting that her property
rights have been violated, the
owner of a local landfill is suing
the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners over its recent
denial of her rezoning application
that sought to expand the facility.
Jerry Ann Elliott, owner of the
JAE Landfill at 250 Nichols Rd.,
filed suit in early March as her
legal reaction to the board’s denial
Feb. 12 of the application to
rezone nearly 40 acres adjacent to
the existing landfill to pave the
way for the expansion.
The board took the action
based on a recommendation by
the county’s planning commission
to deny following heated public
opposition at a public hearing in
late January at the county admin
istration building.
Named as defendants are z
Commissioners John Kieffer,
Michael Bennett, David “A.J.”
Pritchett, Marcie Kreager, Eddie
Taylor and the board as a whole
entity.
The lawsuit was filed by
Elliott’s attorney, Dana Miles,
who also represented JAE Landfill
during the regulatory process.
According to the suit, the
board’s refusal to rezone the tract
from agricultural to manufactur
ing with a conditional use permit
“arbitrarily and capriciously man
dated a use of the property, which
is not economically feasible” and
is “an abuse of discretion.”
The suit also states: “The con
tinuation of the present zoning
and the denial of the application
destroys the property values of the
plaintiff [Jerry Ann Elliott] to her
significant detriment and fails to
bear a substantial relationship to
public health, safety, morality or
general welfare.”
Elliott is asking the court to
order the board to reconsider its
denial of the rezoning and
issuance of a conditional use per-
See SCHOOLS, Page 2A
See LAWSUIT, Page 2A
A dive team
with the
Forsyth
County Fire
Department
pulled the
body of a
man from
the chilly
lake
Tuesday
evening.
Photo/Tammy
Garrison