Newspaper Page Text
Forsyth Count vNews
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 *Ol F 006130 12/31/20
Vol. 93, No. 186
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Photo/Jonathan Phillips
A sailboat lazily wanders across Lake Lanier at Mary Alice Park. The
lake is currently a little over nine feet below full pool.
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Photo/Submitted
The drama department of Forsyth Central High School won the state AAAA one-act competition.
Forsyth Central actors win state
By Susan Norman
Editor
”Wow.'”
As it has in regional and state
competitions for many years,
Forsyth Central High School’s
Drama Department wowed
Saturday’s audience in a high school
in Warner Robins.
But, this time, in the audience
were the judges for the state AAAA
competition.
And after watching eight one-act
performances, the judges unani
mously selected the Forsyth County
school’s play as the best in the state.
This is what the judges wrote to
the 28 members of the cast and crew
following their performance of “The
Runner Stumbles,” a play by Milan
County hopes share of taxes doesn’t get LOST
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
With the state’s December dead
line looming, the Forsyth County
Board of Commissioners on Tuesday
night voted to maintain the current
sales-tax arrangement with the City of
Cumming.
The county and city governments
must reach agreement on their propor
tionate shares of the Local Option
Sales Tax revenue before the end of
December or forfeit the collection of
millions of dollars in sales taxes.
To prevent that from happening,
the commissioners in a 4-0 vote, with
Commissioner A.J. Pritchett absent,
approved the same split that has been
in effect for the past 10 years: 85 per
cent for the county and 15 percent for
the city.
“If we lose it, we’re looking at
about a 4.5-10-5 mill increase for both
Missed paper policy:
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8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, lINLzEA Sunny
Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. -1 L 11111 L—l 111 laHM Jft LAKE LANIER LEVELS
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Copyright® 2002 Forsyth County News ClaSSlfiedS 3B Date LCVGI
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THURSDAY November 14, 2002
"THTTiTETrTTTL L (AND AUTUMN) OF LAKE LANIER
THE BEST
Stitt about a priest who was accused
of murdering a young nun in 1911:
• “Wow! As near-perfect com
pletion of the performance task as
possible ... feeling of ensemble,
team work, community is clear...
Excellent entertwining of listening
and responding, of being and doing
“All seem connected to the focus
at any given moment.”
• “What a wonderful, honest
show filled with true moments that
avoided melodrama... ‘Father
Rivard’ and ‘Sister Rita’ amaz
ing!
• “Beautiful story. Well done.
Thank you. You are all to be com-
' mended for your work.”
In addition to top honors for the
play, Kane Miller, who played the
the county and the city taxpayers for
the county taxes,” District 3
Commissioner Michael Bennett said,
adding the loss over five years would
total about $250 million.
All counties and municipalities
statewide that impose Local Option
Sales Taxes arc undergoing such
negotiations.
“Every county that has a LOST
has to submit to us by Dec. 30 a rene
gotiated ticket,” said Charles Willey, a
spokesman for the Georgia
Department of Revenue, in an inter
view Tuesday.
If an agreement is not reached by
then, Willey said LOST taxes could
not be collected after the end of the
year.
“They can no longer collect taxes
after the 31st. And then the LOST
would go away, and they would have
to go through a new resolution and
| Rainy days and Mondays keep
Lake Lanier’s level on the rise
I By Susan Norman
Editor
There was a silver lining to
the storm clouds that rolled
through north Georgia this
week.
Though the violent weather
damaged or destroyed hundreds
of homes in the region, it also
dumped bucketsfull of needed
rain onto the drainage basin
that feeds Lake Sidney Lanier.
According to figures
released by the U.S. Army
! Corps of Engineers, the lake’s
level at 6 a.m. Tuesday was
priest, won Best Actor for State
AAAA. He also won best actor in
regional competition.
Other members of the cast who
won at the Region 6AAAA level
were Kim Frederick, who played
the nun, was named Best Actress for
Region 6AAAA. and Jaymi Galpin
and Nick Westbrook were named to
All-Star Cast in their supporting
roles.
At the regional competition on
Nov. 2 in Cumming, all three of the
county’s high school drama depart
ments placed in the top 4.
South Forsyth High School
placed second, and North Forsyth
High School placed fourth.
This was the first time that the
See ACTORS Page 2A
have it passed by the voters of the
county before it could be reinstituted,”
he said.
But County Commission
Chairman John Kieffer said during the
board’s meeting that he had been
informed that the stale had moved up
the deadline to Dec. 20.
“It was going to be the end of the
year, but they moved that up,” he said,
responding to questions from District
5 Commissioner Eddie Taylor.
As of the end of last week, 87 out
of 146 counties in the state with a
LOST had mailed their updated distri
bution certificates.
In neighboring Hall County, which
has eight municipalities that share the
money, the only change this year was
a .01 percent drop in the county’s
share in order to provide something to
See TAX, Page 2A
1,062.93 feet above mean sea
level that is, above the level
of the sea at the ocean’s edge.
While that is still about
eight feet below the full pool
level of 1,071 feet, it does rep
resent a one-foot rise in the lake
level in a week and a 1.75-foot
rise in a month.
The lake’s pool level, in
fact, is now 3.66 feet higher
than it was on the same date
one year ago, said Mark
Williams, chief park ranger for
the Corps at Lake Lanier.
“That’s a tremendous
Mashbum
rezoning
approved
Conditions amended prior
to commissioners’ vote
By Phillip Hermann
Business Editor
The Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners on Tuesday night
did not postpone its vote on the
Mashburn Family Trust rezoning
application for a 1,598-home con
servation subdivision near the
Etowah River in north Forsyth
County, as neighboring property
owners had requested.
With District 2 Commissioner
A.J. Pritchett absent, the remaining
commissioners voted unanimously
to approve the application.
But before the vote, District 4
Rouse development
gets the green light
By Phillip Hermann
Business Editor
Forsyth County will have a mall.
On Tuesday night, the Forsyth
County Board of Commissioners
voted unanimously with District
2 Commissioner David “A.J.”
Pritchett absent to rezone 151
acres near Ga. 400 and McFarland
and Union Hill roads for The Rouse
Company’s plan to build a mixed
use development that will include
1.4 million square feet of retail
space for the county’s first shop
ping mall.
After the vote, board Chairman
John Kieffer thanked Rouse offi
cials who attended the meeting.
“This is a big day for our coun
ty. We’re grateful to you for the
interest you have in our county,” he
said.
The project, to be completed by
2011, will be built in three phases,
with the first to include construc
tion of most of the retail space.
Neiman Marcus already has agreed
Forecast: Forsyth will grow
amount of water when it is
spread out over 38,000 surface
acres,” he said.
Even though Georgia has
been in a prolonged, multi-year
drought, this fall season has
been unusually wet.
According to the Corps,
See LAKE, Page lOA
Lake Lanier's levels U
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Kreager
cussed during that
said, she amended
See TRUST, Page 2A
The project
• 1.4 million square feet of
retail
• Mall anchors to include
Neiman Marcus, four oth
ers projected
• 500-room hotel
• 375 luxury condos
• 900,000 square feet of
office space'
• Projected completion
date: 2011
to serve as one of five projected
anchor stores for the mall.
In addition to the retail space,
the $350 million project is to
include a 500-room hotel, 375 luxu
ry condos or apartments and
900,000 square feet of office space.
In addition to the rezoning applica
tion, the board approved a condi
tional use permit for the residences.
See MALL, Page 2A
1071.00
full
pool
Commissioner
Marcie Kreager
said she and the
applicant’s attor
ney, Emory
Lipscomb 111,
had met Monday
night with some
neighboring
property owners.
And based on
what was dis
meeting, Kreager
I some of the con-