Newspaper Page Text
E KX I S Mfcßfe/A S
I t J rawi pg Ja MB
w &■ E2xK% ASHkK B VfWcjVJ L\V
Fnrsvth Cniirir- VC
y Lil f 306
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 : G B N ?SL Y nF R ™, Q MQIh ,,,
Vol. 95, No. 001
Holiday traffic: One death, one injury
By Steven H. Pollak
Staff Writer
The extended Christmas holiday
period ended Sunday with relative
ly few serious traffic incidents in
Forsyth County.
One man died and one man suf
fered a minor injury in one of the
22 wrecks reported to the Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Office over the
holiday period which extended
from 6 p.m. on Wednesday through
midnight on Sunday.
The Cumming Post of the
Georgia State Patrol reported one
wreck with injuries in Forsyth
County over the same period. The
Ashley Babcock, 18
As senior class president, she wants to
make more time to read books. “I want to
expand my vocabulary,” she said.
Kristina Vaughan, 17
She would like to read more literature. “I
find myself getting sucked into senseless
T.V.,” she said.
Brandon Batt, 17
“I want to find a happy medium between
next semester’s education and beyond and
contentment,” he said. As college rapidly
approaches, he said he wants to concen
trate on learning in his classes, rather than
just finishing them.
Alexandra Thomas, 18
She does not have a New Year’s resolution.
“I am under the school of thought that if you
really want to change yourself, you don’t
have to wait for the new year,” she said.
Zach Dunkerly, 17
“I want to spend more time practicing guitar
and putting music to the songs I -write,” he
said. His homework fills most of his
evenings, he said.
Babcock
Public participation key in
2003, will continue in 2004
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
After a year that marked signifi
cant participation from the public in
local government politics, residents
will again play a major role in 2004
shaping the future of Forsyth
County.
County residents will have an
abundance of choices to make next
year, including electing three mem
bers to the board of commissioners
and whether to fund new sheriff and
judicial facilities through bonds
which will be repaid by tax dollars
and probably mean an increase in
property taxes.
The board’s decision to let voters
decide on the bonds came after a
recommendation from a grand jury
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 © 2003 Forsyth County News
<i ii mu
Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908
Cumming Police Department han
dled 12 wrecks during the extended
Christmas holiday, none of which
called for hospital treatment.
Across the state, a total of 24
people died and 707 suffered
injuries in 2,699 wrecks on Georgia
roads. The State Patrol had pre
dicted 17 persons would die on
Georgia roads during the holiday.
The sole victim of a fatal traffic
incident in Forsyth County, 22-
year-old Mateo Miguel Gasper of
Friendship Circle in west Forsyth,
died in a Christmas Eve wreck on
Spot Road near McCoy Circle.
According to a report released
Batt
K
Vaughn
Pritchett
committee in
2003 was extremely influential in
decisions the board made throughout
the year.
He said the emphasis for public
involvement began in early decisions
commissioners made in 2003 to
See KEY, Page 2A
INDEX
Abby 4B
Classifieds 5B
Events •■■•••■■•■■■••■•■■■■•••■■■•••■■■■■a 4A
Government 11A
Horoscope 4B
Kids Page 12A
Opinion •••■•■••■••■••■•■■■■■•■■■••■a 13A
Sports •■■•■■••■•■•■••■•••••■••■•••••■••a 3B
THURSDAY January 1,2004
RESOLVED: In 2004,1 wi11...
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
By definition, a resolution is a “firm determina
tion.” The difference between the dictionary
definition and society’s idea of New Year’s res
olutions is evidenced by the annual number of aban
doned diets, unread books and forgotten promises.
In spite of a laundry list of failed resolutions, tra
dition forces us to propose a grandiose list of
changes for the new year. New Year’s Eve celebra
tions are scattered with groups of people discussing
the merits of Atkins and South Beach diets.
Jennifer Knievel, the psychosocial rehabilitation
director at the Forsyth County Mental Health Center,
said that making a New Year’s resolution is similar to
goal setting. Because the goal is set at New Year’s,
she said, the goal setter may be more likely to fail.
“It is significant because there'is so much empha
sis placed on it,” Knievel said. “Someone who starts
a diet in February might have a better chance
because it’s not such a dramatic event.”
To increase the likelihood that a resolution will be
kept, Knievel encourages that people have realistic
expectations. Unfeasible goals are the primary rea-
Thomas
committee.
District 2
Commissioner A.J.
Pritchett, who rep
resents the compar
atively more
densely populated
south Forsyth area,
said public partici
pation such as
the grand jury
Roger Simon:
Epidemic would end if
sick would stay home
Pagel3A
by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s
Office, Gasper was killed instantly
when his 1995 Hyundai Sonata
apparently crossed the center line
on Spot Road and collided with an
eastbound delivery truck at approx
imately 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
An EMS crew transported the
driver of the delivery truck, Jose
Israel Galvan of Gainesville, to
Northside Hospital Forsyth where
he was treated and released.
Aside from Galvan, no other
traffic related injuries were report
ed by the sheriff’s office during the
holiday period.
Os course, law enforcement offi-
J
Jacobs
Dunkerly
"W ®
H a
-• H dp -
cers were kept busy despite a lack
of serious injury wrecks.
A total of 12 people were
booked into the Forsyth County jail
on charges of driving under the
influence.
Another man eluded a charge of
driving under the influence but still
found himself behind bars after
running over a crosswalk pole and
having a half-empty, half-gallon of
vodka in his car, deputies reported.
Kavtaradze Bakar, 35, of Bristol
Lane in Alpharetta, was allegedly
driving a black Honda Accord
shortly before midnight on Sunday
when he struck the crosswalk pole
son for failure, she said.
“If your resolution is to be a rocket scientist in the
next 12 months and you’ve never had a science class,
your resolution might be a little unrealistic,” Knievel
said.
“If they didn’t keep resolutions in the past, maybe
it’s because they were too unrealistic,” she said.
Perhaps the younger generation of New Year’s
resolution setters will have better resolve.
Several seniors at North Forsyth High School had
varying goals for the new year. Some want to con
centrate on their last semester of high school acade
mia. Others say they have spent too much of then
high school career stuck in a book and are out to
regain their childhood passions.
In kindergarten, children are just learning about
the New Year’s tradition. When asked before the hol
iday break about his New Year’s resolution, 5-year
old Alan-Michael Jacobs said his resolution was
“Christmas.” After a little coaching from his kinder
garten teacher Ann Harrison at Mashburn
Elementary, Jacobs remembered that his goal is to
get along with his sister.
We all need a little reminder when making such
difficult changes.
I ■ . J/Xl
Karickhoff
Workforce, jobs increase
in November,
unemployment drops
Page IB
■HF
Buck
■ W-
Hull
Sunny
High in the lower 60s
Low in the lower 40s
L
SPORTS, 3B
Testing leaves time to tinker
at the corner of Peachtree Parkway
and Johns Creek Parkway in south
Forsyth.
A few bystanders stopped to
check on Bakar but he fled on foot
in the direction of a bank across the
street.
Almost an hour later, a deputy
reportedly found him at a QuikTrip
gas station on Peachtree Parkway.
Bakar was subsequently arrested on
charges of striking a fixed object,
leaving the scene of an accident,
obstruction of a law enforcement
officer and driving with an open
container of alcohol.
See TRAFFIC, Page 2A
Alan-Michael Jacobs, 5
“To not fight with my sis
ter," is his new year’s
goal.
Annie Karickhoff, 6
She plans “to help other
people who need help”
this new year, especially
her mother and little
cousin.
Marisa Hull, 6
“To spend more time with
my family,” which involves
lots of playing, is her goal.
Scott Buck, 6
In kindergarten, he hopes
“to learn to read more,” he
said. One of his favorite
books is “The Polar
Express” by Chris Van
Allsburg.
Lauren Schmidt, 6
Her New Year’s resolution
is “helping Mom around
the house.”
Schmidt
Judge
McClelland,
officially
Gov. Sonny
Perdue swears
in T. Russell
McClelland 111,
right, to the
State Court
bench for
Forsyth County
as McClelland's
son, Matthew,
holds the Bible
and his wife,
Janice, looks on
in the Senate
Chambers in the
state Capitol in
Atlanta Tuesday.
Photo/Audra Perry
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Dec. 27 1069.23 ft
Dec 28 1069.22 ft
Dec 29 1069.20 ft
Dec 30 1069.14 ft
Full 1071. 00 ft