Newspaper Page Text
Forsvth Count
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Vol. 94, No. 207
Phone scams targeting senior citizens
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
An 89-year-old Forsyth County
man wired $15,000 to Canada earlier
this month after a phone caller told
him he won $1 million but needed to
pay taxes before collecting the prize.
Forsyth County Sheriff Ted
Paxton said the man apparently fell
victim to a cruel scam targeting sen
iors.
“Unfortunately, this is not an iso
lated type of incident. This is a scam
that has been perpetrated over and
over again,” Paxton said.
According to a sheriff’s report,
Nitrous oxide
tank found in
Honda Accord;
driver cited
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Robert Cole Davis apparently
wanted a jump on traffic.
A routine traffic stop by a
Forsyth County sheriff’s deputy
uncovered a working nitrous oxide
tank in the trunk of a 2000 Honda
Accord driven by Davis, states a
sheriff’s incident report.
Nitrous oxide, the same chemi
cal dentists use to anesthetize their
patients, can give cars a boost by
infusing the chemical into the car’s
com justion chamber. During the
combustion process in the engine,
nitrous breaks down and releases
oxygen, allowing more fuel to burn
and making the car go faster.
The deputy reported locating
two nitrous oxide tanks in the trunk
of Davis’ car after stopping him for
running a red light at the intersec
tion of Hwys. 306 and 309 in north
Forsyth County shortly before 10
p.m. on Dec. 17. The tanks were
connected to the engine with hoses,
states the report.
Nitrous oxide can legally be
used in certain race cars but not on
public roads, said Capt. D.T. Smith.
The vehicle was impounded to
give authorities a chance to remove
the nitrous oxide system from the
car. Davis was issued a citation and
released from custody.
A passenger in the car, August
M. Meuth, 44. of Freeport, Texas,
was taken into custody for posses
sion of methamphetamine after the
deputy found the drug wrapped in
cellophane next to the passenger’s
door.
North Georgia tech fair
is coming to Cumming
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
Sports enthusiasts anticipate a championship
game. Musicians practice diligently for an upcoming
concert. And young computer prodigies look forward
North Georgia
Regional
Technology Fair
‘O4, Feb. 6-7
• Register online
by Jan. 9 to be a
participant, judge
or sponsor at
http://techfair.fors
yth.kl2.ga.us.
est really aren’t recognized, and this is a great way,”
fair director Linda Spudic said.
Public, private or home-schooled children in
See TECH, Page 2A
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Copyright © 2003 Forsyth County News
91 994 cl (I
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908
the victim received a call from a man
identifying himself as a Western
Union security agent on Dec. 11. The
caller told the man he won $250,000
but was required to pay $2,500 in
taxes to the United States and
Canada before he could claim the
prize. The agent, presumably after
receiving the initial wire transfer,
requested additional payments and
informed the man he won $1 million.
The man wired $15,000 total in
$2,500 increments between Dec. 15
and 17. He was required to pay a
$129 processing fee for each transac
tion. The $1 million check was sup
posed to arrive Dec. 18, but the man
■ ■O : fl
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111 ■ 111 ■ fIIML
H nff II s MMIk wo
Photo/Audra Perry
Capt. Frank Huggins of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department demonstrates to the
Forsyth County Newcomers Club a vest that every sheriff's deputy in Forsyth County
wears. The group donated $395 to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office for the pur
chase of a new set of body armor.
to the annual technology fair
to show off their genius.
The fourth annual North
Georgia Regional
Technology Fair will take
place at Cumming
Elementary School on Feb.
6-7.
“Sports are a big thing in
high schools and middle
schools, but kids who really
have the tech skills and inter-
INDEX
Abby 118
Church events 4B
Classifieds 8B
Events 4A
Food 5B
Horoscope ...... 118
Opinion 7A
Sports IB
FRIDAY December 26, 2003
A BULLETPROOF SOLUTION
'J-’'*
*
Thirteen educators
get National Board
Certification
PagelA
never found the prize in his mailbox.
He filed a report with the Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Office on Monday.
It will be difficult to tie the
money to the caller because the sus
pect used Western Union and
received the transfer in Canada,
Paxton said.
“We’re going to have to rely on
the feds to help us because it’s
crossed international lines,” Paxton
said.
The sheriff reminded the public,
and senior citizens in particular, to be
wary of offers sounding too good to
be true. It is impossible to win a con
test if you have not entered it, he
added.
“The bottom line is, if people get
phone calls like this, notify us imme
diately,” Paxton said.
The recent fraud is the type of
crime the sheriff is hoping to prevent
through creation of a group dubbed
“Seniors and Lawmen Together” or
S.A.L.T. A partnership between law
enforcement and the Forsyth County
chapter of the American Association
of Retired Persons, the group plans
to take proactive steps to educate and
protect local seniors.
Crimes against seniors often go
unreported because victims feel
ashamed about being taken advan-
Enjoy a
New Year’s Eve
meal for two
Pagesß
False alarms an
epidemic for
Sheriff’s office;
remedy eyed
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
In a scene played out dozens of times every
day, Forsyth County sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday
morning responded to a burglar alarm at a local
business. When they arrived on the scene, deputies
located two employees of the business but found
no evidence of a break-in.
The employees informed deputies that their
boss gave them keys to open the business but neg
lected to provide them with the security code to
disarm the alarm system. It was another waste of
law enforcement manpower and taxpayer resources
in the eyes of Sheriff Ted Paxton.
As of Monday, the Forsyth County E-911
Center had received 9,219 false alarm calls this
year. The total response time for each alarm call is
14 minutes, meaning deputies spent 21,511 hours
this year responding to false alarms alone.
The sheriff said those numbers translate into
two sheriff’s deputies working around-the-clock on
nothing but alarm calls for the entire year.
In 2002, statistics were not compiled on the
number of false alarms. Deputies, however,
responded to 10,332 total alarm calls.
’’Data shows over 99 percent of the alarm calls
are false,” Paxton said.
The sheriff praised action taken by the Forsyth
County Board of Commissioners Monday to pur
sue strengthening of the county’s false alarm ordi
nance. The ordinance would not take effect until
after public hearings and an official vote by the
board.
The proposed change increases penalties for
business and property owners who cannot control
their alarm systems. Under the proposed ordi
nance, a warning would be issued for the first three
false alarms during a calendar year and a SI,OOO
fine imposed for a fourth violation. It would
amount to a significant strengthening of the ordi-
See FALSE, Page 2A
New look at fairgrounds
Two buildings and a covered bridge show
the first complete touches of the
Cumming Fairgrounds’ new Cherokee
Heritage Indian Village that is being con
structed on 2.2 acres at the fairgrounds
off Castleberry Road. The village, similar .
to the existing Heritage Village at the fair
grounds, will be a tribute to the Cherokee
Indians. The village will serve as an exhib
it for the fair in the fall. The project, which
should be complete in time for the annual
fair next fall, has been in the works since
the fairgrounds opened in 1995, said
David Horton, fairgrounds administrator.
The first phase of the project included
placing the Buffington, or Blackburn
Tavern on the land, said Horton. Future
additions to the village may include primi
tive Cherokee Indian homes and items to
place in the exhibit, Horton said.
Photos/Audra Perry
— i4_
Sunny
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Aug. 6 1063.36 ft
Aug. 7 1063.31 ft
W Aug. 8 1063.19 ft
Aug. 9 1063.11 ft
Full 1071.00 it
High in the upper 50s .
Low in the mid-30s ■** *
SPORTS, 1B
ims ready for holiday tournaments
tage of in a scam. The group plans to
inform seniors on how they can pro
tect themselves, Paxton said.
The group currently has 15 char
ter members. Anyone interested in
participating in S.A.L.T. should con
tact Shelley Johnson, director of the
Forsyth County Senior Center, at
(770) 781-2178 or Deputy Woody
Woodward at (770) 205-4547.
The next S.A.L.T. meeting is
scheduled for Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. at
the Forsyth County Senior Center.
Future S.A.L.T. meetings are
planned for the second Wednesday of
each month at the Senior Center. The
public is invited to attend.