Newspaper Page Text
Forsyth County xu " e
Vol. 94, No. 123
Fluid spill closes section
of Hwy. 369 on Wednesday
By Steven H. Pollak
Staff Writer
A milelong stretch of Hwy. 369 was closed
Wednesday afternoon as crews worked to clean up about
100 gallons of hydraulic fluid that spilled from a wrecked
garbage truck.
Drivers who normally travel along Hwy. 369 in the
afternoon had to find ways around the closed area
between Gravitt Road and Hubert Martin Road in north
Forsyth.
Kevin M. Wells, an emergency response supervisor
with Contaminant Control, an environmental cleanup
firm based in Suwanee, said he expected to have one lane
Church marks silver bliss
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50 couples celebrating
the big ‘5-O’this weekend
By Kim Ash
Staff Writer
Johns Creek Baptist Church and
community members are in for a real
wedding treat Sunday.
The church will conduct a unique
celebration at noon to honor 50 cou
ples that have been married at least
50 years including the pastor. Bill
Self, and his wife. Carolyn, who
were wed in 1953.
At least 1 .(XX) people are expect
ed to attend the special service and
reception. The church has about
3.800 members total
“Everyone is welcome to come."
Self said. “We encourage everyone to
come to the 11 a.m. service. That is
when more people will come, and the
reception is right after." he said.
The event is a get-together for
church members and the community.
Carolyn Self said.
Photo/David McGregor
Craig Denton said he’s upset with the county government for failing
to monitor contractor and development work in his community off
Lee Circle in northeast Forsyth. He said the lack of oversight has
resulted in a six-foot silt deposit into Lake Lanier.
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"We are all going to sit around
and enjoy each other's company.” she
said.
“We will have a trumpet player
INDEX
Abby. 12A
Church events 10A
Classifieds .....~~.........«...„.38
Deaths • •• ••• •••••••••• *•* ••••• •••••••• M 2A
Food 0000000 oooooooooooo* Mooooowooooooeooe 6A
Horoscope 12A
Opinion 13A
Sports •oowooooooooowooooooooo••*«•••••••• IB
FRIDAY August 1,2003
of Hwy. 369 opened by Wednesday evening and then fin
ish the job and have both lanes open a few hours after
ward. .
The fluid began spilling from the garbage truck after
it collided with an 18-wheel tractor-trailer shortly before
noon on Wednesday just east of Hendrix Road on Hwy
369.
The garbage truck was traveling east on Hwy. 369 at
the same time the tractor-trailer was coming west,
according to a firefighter on the scene of the cleanup.
The two vehicles hit along their sides as they passed
See SPILL, Page 3A
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Photos/Audra Perry
Pictured above left and right, Bill Self, pastor of Johns Creek
Baptist Church, and his wife, Carolyn, will celebrate their 50th wed
ding anniversary Saturday. The church is hosting a celebration on
Sunday for 50 couples to celebrate their silver wedding anniver
saries occurring this year. At left, the Selfs’ wedding album and
other mementos are lovingly preserved.
doing jazz music, a grand piano and
each couple's favorite song will be
played from their dating times," she
said. "We will also have a photogra
pher taking a photo of the couples
Going with the flow
Home owners request
county water service
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
Home owners with property off
Lee Circle near Lake Lanier in north
Forsyth need water and have peti
tioned county commissioners to
extend waterlines into their commu
nity.
Commissioners Monday agreed
to their request.
Jo Puckett and Alan Dobrin each
have owned land off the road for
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and their families.”
“And we will have refreshments,"
Self said.
See SILVER, Page 3A
more than 20 years and were provid
ed water from a neighbor’s well.
However, new owners of that well
and the property of which it was
part in May informed Puckett and
Dobrin that they would no longer
provide water service as of the end of
August due to “expense and worry
with the situation."
In their letter to Dobrin and
See WATER, Page 2A
See what’s
happening in
local churches.
PagelOA
Possible Rain
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
. Date Level
J July 27 1071.39 ft
t Ju, V 2B 1071.35 ft
77///7//// July 29 1071.30 ft
////////// July 3o 1071.22 ft
Full 1071.00 ft
High in the mid-80s.
Low in the high 60s.
IDE, 8A
Kid* enjoy 'Fun in the Sun'
A wrecker prepares
to haul a garbage
truck that was ~
struck Wednesday
and spilled 100 gal
lons of hydraulic
fluid onto Hwy. 369.
Road crews
worked into the
evening to clean
the spill.
Photo/David McGregor
Planning
board OKs
River Hill
for county
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Planning
Commission Tuesday recommend
ed rezoning of 518 acres in north
Forsyth for a mixed-use develop
ment featuring houses and retail
space despite one person’s warn
ings about potential pollution of the
nearby Etowah River.
After deliberating since Nov
ember 2002. the Georgia Moun
tains Regional Development Center
and the Georgia Regional Trans
portation Authority recommended
approval of the project planned by
River Hill LLC.
“This is a project that has been
reviewed more than any other pro
posal in my career in Forsyth
County,” said Emory Lipscomb,
attorney for River Hill LLC.
The project is planned for a site
on Hwy. 369 (Matt Road) and
Nicholson Road. It was proposed to
include 480 houses and about 34
acres of retail/office space
anchored by a 50.000-square-foot
supermarket .
The public voiced concern about
several issues related to the devel
opment.
The proposed River Hill com
munity would back up to Nicholson
Road, which is less than a mile
from the Etowah Riser.
Water runoff from River Hill
would carry pollutants such as lawn
pesticides, vehicle emissions and
sewer leakage from the proposed
sewage treatment plant for the proj
ect into the Etowah, altering the
river ecosystem, said activist Joyce
Neuner.
“Six species [of fish] have
already disappeared from the
Etowah,” Neuner said.
The river at one time had more
than 90 species of fish, according
to the Etowah project manager for
the Nature Conservancy.
Neuner also said she was con
cerned about the amount of silt that
will end up in the Etowah and its
tributaries, possibly causing flood
ing.
A condition in the planning
commission’s recommendation lim
its River Hill to a maximum of 15
percent impervious surface, defined
as pavement and other materials
that do not absorb water.
A development with 10 to 20
percent impervious surface is con
sidered to have a medium amount
of potential watershed pollutants,
according to the Source Water
Assessment Project completed in
See PLANNING, Page 9A