Newspaper Page Text
Forsyth CountvNews
Vol. 95, No. 018
New county drug court suffers first setback
By Steven H, Pollak
Staff Writer
Drug Court suffered its first setback on
Tuesday.
The woman who was the first participant to
enter the county’s new Drug Court program
earlier this month returned to jail Tuesday after
testing positive for methamphetamine.
Tasha D. Maxie, 25, will remain behind
bars for seven days until the next drug court
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Photo/Audra Perry
Recent cold weather does not deter friends and classmates Abby Gerwit, MacKenzie Prichard and Danielle Norris from having
fun during recess at Klub Kids daycare center on Peachtree Parkway.
GOP activist considers school board seat
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
The race for three Forsyth County
Board of Education positions kicked
into gear Tuesday night when former
Republican Women of Forsyth
County president Sharon Kasica
announced her candidacy.
Kasica plans to run for the District
3 seat which is currently represented
by school board chairman Jeffrey
Stephens. Though school board mem
bers must run from the specific dis
tricts in which they live, they are
Attorney says she’s planning race
for Magistrate Court judgeship
By Steven H. Pollak
Staff Writer
A local lawyer this weekend
announced her intention to run against
incumbent Barbara A. Cole in this
year's race for chief magistrate of
Forsyth County.
Melissa M. Banker, an attorney in
private practice who handles divorce,
child custody, and child support cases
as well as court-appointed criminal
cases and Juvenile Court deprivation
and delinquency cases, says her pro
fessional experience will enhance "her
ability and credibility to serve as a fair
and impartial judge" in the Magistrate
Court system.
“During my time practicing law in
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9C99< C'4 0
•/ Your "Hometown Paper" Since 190
hearing on Tuesday afternoon when she is
expected to be brought back before Chief
Judge Jeffrey S. Bagley of the Superior Court
of Forsyth County.
Jennifer R. Johnson, the Drug Court coordi
nator for Forsyth County, said she anticipates
Maxie will be permitted to come back into the
program following her release from custody.
Johnson said participants in the Drug Court
program are not punished if they test positive
upon their entrance to the program. But, once
voted on by residents throughout the
county.
District 3 covers the Midway,
Piney Grove. Vickery, Oakmont and
-■<*** fl
Banker
"Each judge in this county should be
able and willing to call on fellow
judges for assistance and cooperation.
Such cooperation would result in a
judicial system that works efficiently
and fairly for the people of Forsyth
County.”
INDEX
Abby 5B
Church events 4B
Classifieds 8B
Deaths 2A
Food 5A
Horoscope 5B
Opinion 9A
Sports IB
FRIDAY January 30, 2004
Forsyth County, I
have learned the
necessity of coop
eration, courtesy
and professional
ism," said Banker,
who graduated
from ' Emory
University School
of Law in 2000 and
passed the State
Bar exam in 2001.
Comfort foods: recipes to
nourish your mind
and body
Page 5A
enrolled in Drug Court, participants may
receive sanctions if they continue to test posi
tive.
Johnson said the Drug Court committee
received notice of Maxie's positive drug tests
on Tuesday afternoon and decided that seven
days in jail would be an appropriate punish
ment.
Maxie is the first participant to lapse during
the program, Johnson said. A total of eight peo
ple have enrolled since the start of the Forsyth
'IRT 4 v
Brandywine com
munities. The dis
trict is in the south
west corner of the
county bordered by
Ga. 400 and Hwy.
9 on the east and
Hwy. 20 on the
north.
District 5 repre
sentative Nancy
Roche and District
4 board member Paul Kreager also are
up for re-election.
Banker will join a field of three
other candidates, including Cole, who
have taken the first step toward elec
tion by submitting their names to the
Forsyth County Board of Registrations
and Elections.
A former assistant magistrate, John
G. "Jerry" Adams, who lost the 2000
election to Cole, said Monday that,
although he submitted his name for
this year's election, he is still not sure
that he wants to run.
Another candidate who submitted
his name, William P. "Bill" Daniel of
Cumming, was not available to com
ment.
As for the incumbent, Cole said
See BANKER, Page 2A
Kasica has established a commit
tee to raise funds for her campaign.
Qualifying for the Republican Party
primary election is April 26-30,
according to Gary Smith, chairman of
the board of elections in Forsyth
County. The primary is July 20.
Kasica said she decided about 10
days ago to take her participation in
Forsyth education to the next level by
seeking election to the school board.
She is the District 13 PTA
Legislative Representative. She found-
Kasica
I
wtRTT '1
Ml
See what’s
happening in
local churches.
Page4B
Drug Court program on Jan. 6.
The voluntary 18-month treatment program
is considered an alternative to serving time
behind bars.
If defendants successfully complete the pro
gram, prosecutors will dismiss the pending
charges and nothing will appear on the offend
er's criminal record.
The county's Drug Court committee meets
See COURT, Page 3A
See KASICA, Page 2A
Cloudy
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
. Date Level
f ‘ Jan - 25 1068.01 ft
WO Jan. 26 1068.07 ft
Jan. 27 1068.03 ft
Jan. 28 1068.03 ft
Full 1071.00 ft
High in the low 50s.
Low in the high 20s.
V if
SPORTS, IB
Rivals nimble in Coal Mountain
Cagle
bills
address
taxation
Flexibility urged on
school SPLOST use
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
ATLANTA State Sen. Casey
Cagle has introduced legislation call
ing for two constitutional amendments
that could affect local funding of pub
lic school systems.
Senate Resolution 580 would
increase the amount of flexibility local
school systems have over Special
Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
(SPLOST) usage. Senate Resolution
581 would link growth of the millage
rate and property assessment to the
inflation rate.
To amend the state constitution, a
resolution must be approved by a two
thirds majority in both houses of the
General Assembly and then a majority
of Georgia voters.
SPLOST is a voter-approved 1 per
cent sales tax that now can be levied
only for school construction or debt
reduction. The constitutional amend
ment proposed by Cagle would allow
school systems to also use SPLOST
revenue for maintenance and opera
tions.
“I want to create more options for
local governments and local school
boards,” said Cagle, R-Gainesville,
whose district includes part of Forsyth
County.
If passed by the Legislature and the
voters, individual school systems
would have the option to use SPLOST
for all, 25 percent or none of their
maintenance and operations budget,
which is part of the general fund budg
et.
Property taxes supply revenues
See SPLOST, Page 2A
Honored
Sheriff’s Deputy Bill
Keeton speaks after
Kiwanis Club Pres
ident Marty Byars
presented him with
the club’s 2003 Citi
zen of the Y ea r
award Wednesday.
Keeton “went above
and beyond the call
of duty” to find a
home for Louis
Spearman, who
lived in a dilapidat
ed barn for nearly
eight years until
Forsyth County
Schools purchased
the property he
occupied.
Photo/Audra Perry