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Forsyth J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J ****************** 3 _ E Vol. 94, No. 200 Middle schoolers pop pills Three taken from Vickery Middle to hospital for treatment; six juveniles facing charges By Nicole Green and Steven H. Pollak Staff Writers Six students from Vickery Creek Middle School are facing criminal charges for their roles in distributing and consuming a prescription drug commonly used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Three female students who had taken the drug had to be rushed Friday afternoon to the emergency room at Northside Hospital Forsyth for treatment of minor com plaints. All three were expected to recover, said Capt. Frank Huggins, the public information officer at the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. According to Huggins, a 14-year-old student from Vickery Creek Middle brought 14 Adderall pills to school on Thursday. Monday vote possible on impact fees Public hearing is scheduled From staff reports The cost of building a new home or business in Forsyth County may increase by more than SI,OOO if the board of commissioners adopts a new impact fee ordinance after pub lic hearings Monday night. Impact fees are paid by develop ers to fund additional government infrastructure improvements needed to support the growth in population. The plan for the county includes improvements needed for the parks and recreation department, libraries and public safety departments such as the sheriff's office and fire depart ment. ‘ Commissioners must decide if the fees will be based on the size of a home or on a flat fee per house, regardless of size. T n addition, commissioners also musi decide if the fees will help fund a proposed new jail an item which is slated for residents to vote on in March. New businesses would only pay for public safety improvements. The fees for businesses would be based on the size of the business and the type of business retail, office or industry. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs has approved plan revisions to include the new impact fees, eliminating the need for further adoption delays, according to Tom Brown, assistant director of the planning department. “We just got the state to sign off,” Brown said Friday. Other public hearings scheduled before the board Monday include revisions to the Unified Development Code that would prohibit new sewer facilities from being owned by pri vate companies. The board may adopt the UDC sewer revisions after the public hear ing. Local fugitive arrested by sheriff’s office By Steven H. Pollak Staff Writer After four months on the run, life on the lam came to an abrupt end Wednesday night for one of Forsyth County’s “most wanted.” An anonymous tipster called the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office after seeing the mug photo of 27-year-old Timothy Carnes on a local cable channel. Deputies descended on a Forsyth County residence Wednesday night and took Carnes into custody. Missed paper policy: For a replacement paper, call 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. -1 p.m. on Sunday - (770) 887-3126. Copyright 0 2003 Forsyth County News 0 90994 0400<il T Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 Photo/David McGregor Tis the season... With Jack Frost nipping, Richard Guillmeet works to put out a new shipment of Christmas trees at Big John’s tree stand on Hwy. 20 last week. Despite expected cold and rainy weather, this weekend was expected to be busy for tree sellers as Christmas is less than two weeks away. He is being held with out bond at the Forsyth County Adult Detention Center. According to Tony Holbrook, assistant chief at the Georgia Department of Corrections Probation Office in Cumming, Carnes was sentenced to five years on probation on June 5, 2002, for possession of marijuana and possession of opiates. INDEX Abby aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 9C Births aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 4B Classifieds aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 3C Deaths .2A Forsyth Life eaaaaaaaeeaaaaaaaoeaaaaae IB Horoscope 9C Opinion 10A Sports „ 1C SUNDAY December 14,2003 He gave the pills to a 13-year-old boy who, in turn, dis tributed them to the three female students who ended up in the hospital and one additional male student, Huggins said. All of the boys and girls involved in the incident were students at Vickery Creek Middle, Huggins added. As a result of taking “one or more” of the Adderall pills, the three girls had to be taken to Northside Hospital Forsyth. Two of the girls were transported by ambulance and one was driven by her parents, Huggins said. The other boy who took the prescription drug did not require medical attention and was taken home by his par ents. The 13-year-old boy who gave the pills to the other See DRUGS, Page 2A I Hb 1 I I s Carnes Holidays Find great ideas in our Last Minute Gift Guide. Inside He remained in the authorities’ good graces until he stopped reporting to probation this past summer. The last time Carnes reported to his proba tion officer was on June 16, 2003, Holbrook said. Authorities from the local probation office and the sheriff’s office tried to track down Carnes at his last known address but were not successful, Holbrook added. A few weeks later, Carnes became a fugi- See ARREST, Page 2A Sports Forsyth basketball hits the road for region action. PagelC ' I '’ -r Photo/Audra Perry Fire trucks and ambulances wait in front of Vickery Creek Middle School, from which three students were transported to the hospital after ingesting the drug Adderall. Property once planned for mall now is for sale By Harris Blackwood Community Editor A local attorney who represented a major shop ping mall developer in its Forsyth County zoning application confirmed Friday that discussions to sell the 140-acre site are under way. , Emory Lipscomb, who served as local counsel to the Rouse Co., said that discussions have been under way between the Maryland-based mall developer and Atlanta developers Wayne Mason and Kim King. “I know there have been ongoing discussions, but that’s about all I can say at this time,” said Lipscomb. Rouse acquired the tract, located off Ga. 400 between McFarland and Union Hill roads in 2002 and announced plans for an upscale open air shop ping facility that would be anchored by Neiman Marcus. Earlier this year, a soft retail market caused the developer to postpone plans for the site, which was to have included office, residential, and hotel space. A story in the Dec. 12 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that Mason and King have until the end of the year to decide if they will buy the Rouse property. The story said the two developers have been working on the project for the last few months. Mason confirmed by telephone Friday the approaching deadline for a decision on the transac tion, but offered nothing more on his plans for the property. Calls to King and Rouse were not returned. Mason, a former chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission, is one of Gwinnett County’s major players on the development scene. He made his first foray into Forsyth County a few years ago, when he and a group of investors, includ ing Lipscomb, purchased a large tract of land at the intersection of Georgia highways 400 and 306. A large strip shopping center, anchored by Kroger, is now on the site. Other outparcels, including two banks, an Eckerd pharmacy, fast food outlets and a convenience store have been developed on the site. Other property along Freedom Parkway, a road which parallels 400, remains undeveloped. King is a former Georgia Tech football star who has become one of the metro area's premier develop ers. He has been involved in projects throughout the metro Atlanta area. Rouse’s decision to postpone the development was due in part to the developer’s difficulty in finding major anchors to join Neiman Marcus. The decision came as Macy’s announced the merger of its Rich’s and Macy’s stores into a single entity and was fol lowed by an announcement by St. Louis-based May Stores that it would close 32 of its Lord and Taylor department stores. The planned closure included the locations at North Point Mall in Alpharetta and Mall of Georgia in Buford. Joni Owens, president and CEO of the Cumming- Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, said she has not been contacted about the project but remained hopeful the site could be utilized. “The retail market has not recovered to the point that investors are interested in new retail projects,” said Owens. “My hope is that they (Rouse) will be cautious and judicious in their negotiations to ensure that we will have a retail project of the caliber we deserve.” She called the site one of the prime locations for a major, upscale retail and multi-purpose facility in the region. Rain LAKE LANIER LEVELS JL Date ' ■ Level Dec 9 1069.23 ft ll ml Dec 10 1069.29 ft 7 ////// Dec 11 1069.36 ft ////////// Dec 12 1069.40 ft Fu || 1071.00 ft High in the high 40s. ■ ,’7 “ Low in the low 20s.