Newspaper Page Text
Forsyth County News
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J
Vol. 94, No. 203
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McClelland chosen r jdge
By Steven H. Pollak
Staff Writer
Gov. Sonny Perdue on Wednesday
appointed T. Russell McClelland 111,
an attorney in private practice, to
become the new State Court judge for
Forsyth County.
The newly-appointed judge is
scheduled to be sworn in by the gov
ernor on Dec. 30 at 10 a.m. in the
Senate Chamber at the state Capitol
in Atlanta.
“I am both excited and honored to
be selected,” he said on Wednesday. “I
am honored that the governor has such
confidence in me. After he told me,
and I had a chance to reflect, I had a
whirlwind of emotions about the task
Students
learn from a
view behind
the wheel
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
A few weeks ago, tractor-trailer
driver Cecil Vaughan with John
Christner Trucking was delayed two
days on a shipment of potatoes because
of snow and ice in the northern United
States. Normally, this delay would only
be of interest to the trucking company
and the purchaser of the cargo.
However, this particular shipment, like
all of Vaughan’s travels, was monitored
by a class of fourth-grade children in
Cumming.
Vaughan is a “Trucker Buddy.” As
part of Trucker Buddy International, a
non-profit educational organization,
Vaughan was paired with Tina Misko’s
class at Matt Elementary School to
enhance the curriculum in a unique
way.
“It is a wonderful program,” Misko
said. “The students learn so many need
ed skills. We write e-mails, read his let
ters, learn about economics, supply and
demand, math and more.”
Vaughn sends the class weekly post
cards from all 48 states he travels. From
the postcards, the children plot his
course across the U.S.
“On the outside map [outside the
classroom] we trace where he’s been,”
said Harley Chester, 10, a student in
Misko’s class.
On Wednesday, Vaughan’s second
See BUDDY, Page 9A
Cumming home daycare
center closed by state again
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
The state has shut down a home
daycare center in Cumming for the
second time this month.
Joanne Sharp on Dec. 1 surren
dered her license to operate a home
daycare center after her husband,
Carl, was charged with molesting a
preschooler. The molestation
allegedly took place late last month
at the daycare center within the
couple’s Wade Valley Drive home.
Following the surrender of
Joanne Sharp’s license, the daycare
center was moved from the cou
ple’s home to another home near
by, according to officials with the
Georgia Department of Human
Resources.
The DHR, which regulates
home daycare centers, last week
closed down the new location
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I' 11111 111
Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908
McClelland
bench which was left open by the July
23 death of Richard S. “Stan” Gault.
McClelland, 46, and Solicitor
General Leslie Case Abernathy were
the other two candidates recommended
for the Superior Court judgeship when
Perdue appointed Dickinson.
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Photo/Audra Perry
Harley Chester, 10, a student in Tina Misko’s fourth-grade class at Matt
Elementary School, points out the route traveled by a participant in the
Trucker Buddy program. Each week, trucker Cecil Vaughan sends the class a
postcard from his delivery trek across the U.S. The students learn a lesson in
geography while plotting his course on this map outside their classroom.
because it was being run without
the required state license. Despite
the warning, the children returned
and the daycare center continued to
operate, according to DHR.
State officials on Tuesday
closed down the center a second
time and warned those running it to
stop caring for children at the loca
tion, according to Martin Rotter,
director of the DHR Office of
Regulatory Services.
Joanne Sharp apparently was
not working at the center when a
state inspector arrived on Tuesday,
Rotter said.
If the home daycare center con
• tinues to operate without a license,
the state will take legal action to
stop it, he added.
Rotter said it is not necessarily
See DAYCARE Page 9A
INDEX
Ab by. •■•••••••••••■•■■•••••■■•■•(•■••■•a 10A
Church events 11A
Classifieds 3B
Deaths .2A
Food
Horoscope 10A
Opinion 13A
Sports IB
FRIDAY December 19,2003
at hand.”
The vacancy on
the State Court
bench was created
in October when
Perdue selected
then-chief judge of
the Forsyth County
State Court, David
L. Dickinson, to fill
a spot on the
Superior Court
I believe I
I can fly...
Third-grade students in
Beth Scarboro’s class
at Sharon Elementary
School were able to
relive Wednesday, on
the 100th anniversary
of flight, what it was like
for the Wright brothers
to fly the first plane in
Kitty Hawk, N.C.
Thomas Kaye, who has
two daughters that
attend Sharon, made a
hands-on simulator so
people could see, hear
and feel what it was like
to fly in the Wrights’ first
airplane.
At right, Brady Ridnour
pays close attention to
where he is 'Hying.”
Photo/David McGregor
Food
A Polish Christmas:
Recipes to keep
the tradition alive
Page GA
Their names were automatically
added to the list of recommended nom
inees for the State Court opening.
The group responsible for recom
mending candidates to the governor,
the Judicial Nominating Compmission,
considered other attorneys for the job
including two who were interviewed
last week.
However, the Commission did not
add any other names to the short list of
Abernathy and McClelland.
On the State Court bench,
McClelland will listen to misdemeanor
criminal cases as well as most types of
civil cases.
While much of his practice these
days consists of criminal defense
work, McClelland also has been a
prosecutor.
He worked as chief assistant district
attorney for the Blue Ridge Judicial
Circuit from 1984 to 1992. At that
time, the judicial circuit included both
Cherokee and Forsyth counties.
Last year, McClelland was a finalist
when State Court Judge Philip C.
Smith was appointed to the Forsyth
County bench.
Smith said Thursday he believed
Perdue “made a fine choice.”
“I’m sure Judge McClelland will
be quite an asset to the court and we’re
real happy to have him,” Smith said.
Local attorneys welcomed the gov
ernor’s selection.
Bill Finch, the vice president of the
Forsyth County Criminal Defense Bar,
■F — :
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Opinion
Robert Novak:
New faces attack
post-war Iraq problems
Pagel3A
said McClelland’s experience on both
sides of the courtroom will be benefi
cial.
“As both a former prosecutor and
criminal defense attorney, I think he
brings a well-rounded approach to the
bench,” Finch said.
Similarly, Cumming attorney Larry
A. Ballew noted McClelland’s experi
ence when asked about the new judge.
“He’s been both a prosecutor and
defense lawyer,” Ballew said. “I think
he’ll be a good fit.”
A native of Savannah, McClelland
received his undergraduate degree
from Armstrong State College and
later graduated from the University of
Georgia School of Law. He and his
wife, Janice, have one child.
Businesses not
in love with
impact fees;
compromise OK
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
While developers within the business community
agreed Wednesday that the Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners worked diligently to prepare and pass
a proper Impact Fee Ordinance, they also say they
would rather not have to pay the fees.
“We understand the county’s need to implement
impact fees,” said Jeff Pape, the vice president of
development with North American Properties, a retail
development company.
Impact fees are imposed on new buildings in the
county and are used to fund infrastructure improve
ments needed to support the growth in population
sustained because of those developments.
Commissioners Monday approved residential
impact fees to fund improvements for libraries, the
parks and recreation department, the fire department
and emergency communications.
As the code now stands, fees collected from the
construction of new businesses would only be applied
to needs of the fire department.
Retail development companies, such as North
American Properties, would be charged 22 cents for
every square inch of heated floor space.
“We would like to have seen them a little bit
lower,” Pape said Wednesday.
The vote was 3-0 in favor of imposing the new
fees.
Commissioners Marcie Kreager and Eddie Taylor
were not present Monday. Attempts to reach them
were unsuccessful by deadline.
During the discussion process leading up to
Monday’s vote, Pape and other members of the busi
ness development community met with Cumming-
Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce President
Joni Owens and county impact fee consultant Marie
See FEES, Page 2A
School’s out today
Today is the end of first semester and the
last day of school before winter break for
Forsyth County Schools. Winter break for stu
dents and teachers will last through Friday,
Jan. 2, 2004. Then students will have off
Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 5 and 6, for staff
development. Students will return to classes
on Jan. 7.
These holidays remain for the 2003-04
school year:
Jan. 19, MLK Day
Jan 28, Early Release/Professional
Development
Feb. 13, Staff Development
Feb. 16, President’s Day
Feb. 17, Inclement Weather Day
Mar. 10, Early Release/ Professional
Development
Mar. 19, Inclement Weather Day
Mar. 25-26, Early Release/ Parent
Conferences
Apr. 1-2, Inclement Weather Days
Apr. 5-9, Spring Break
Apr. 21, Early Release/Professional
Development
May 7, Inclement Weather Day
May 28, Last day of school
Partly Cloudy
High in the lower 40s
Low in the mid-20s
*
SPORTS, IB
aunty rivals square off
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Dec 14 1069515 t
Dec 15 1069.53 ft
EJtefc.l6 106952 ft
Dec 17 1069748 ft