Newspaper Page Text
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. FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Friday, February 6,2004
Shoeless suspect found in lobby of Siemens
By Steven H. Pollak
Staff Writer
A 43-year-old Atlanta man
ran from deputies last week in
south Forsyth but he didn’t get
far. Kelvin Keith Payton
showed up three hours later
shoeless, cold and dirty in the
lobby of Siemens Energy and
Automation off McFarland
Road.
On Jan. 29 at about 1:25
a.m., a deputy saw a 1984
Chevrolet Monte Carlo travel
ing about 45 miles per hour
down Ga. 400 while drifting
in and out of its lane.
When the deputy checked
on the car’s license plate, he
discovered the car did not
have valid insurance and pro
ceeded to initiate a traffic
stop.
The driver, later identified
as Payton, did not respond at
Delinquent taxpayers to be listed online
From staff reports
ATLANTA On Feb. 9,
Georgia residents with
Internet access will be able to
review a list on the Georgia
Department of Revenue’s
Web site naming individuals
and business that are not pay
ing their state taxes.
“We intend to take advan
tage of the authorization given
the Department during the
2003 session of the Georgia
Legislature and begin publish
ing the names of individuals
and businesses that have a
deficient tax account with the
Department,” said Revenue
Commissioner Bart L.
Zoning for houses near airport OK’d
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
The private Stoney Point
Field airport was a source of
concern for the Forsyth
County Planning Commission
during recent public hearings
for rezoning requests.
The Planning Commission
recommended the county gov
ernment approve a rezoning
request for a subdivision near
the private airport six miles
southwest of Cumming.
However, planning commis
sioners approved their recom
mendation after requiring that
potential home buyers be told
of the airport’s existence. They
also required that the Stoney
Point Homeowner’s
Association representing
residents in an existing subdi
vision adjacent to the airport
will be allowed to cut trees
within the new subdivision’s
Rep. Linder sets
open meeting
U.S. Rep. John Linder is
scheduled to lead an open meet
ing Saturday at 10 a.m. at the
cafeteria of South Forsyth High
School, 585 Peachtree Parkway
IHwy. 141],
Linder, who represents
Georgia’s 7th Congressional
District which includes part of
Forsyth County, is to give a leg
islative update and open the
meeting to constituent concerns.
For more information, call
(770) 232-3005.
CABLE from 1A
would have to adopt such an
agreement for that to happen.
While the county has not
yet paid for anything other
than independent contract
work, the public information
department is currently adver
tising for a video production
specialist who would make
$31,630.
Johnson said the new posi
tion is in the 2004 budget.
However, he also said if an
agreement with Adelphia to
BONDS from 1A
ties.
“We just consolidated our
Delaware office here,” Bauer
said.
In addition to>its Georgia
facilties, Bauer said Scientific
Games International Inc. also
has printing plants in
Santiago, Chili, and Leeds,
England; and a software plant
in Vienna, Austria.
y ■ J* 4
Payton
first but then
began to
accelerate.
The car
sped down
Ga. 400 at
110 miles
per hour
before taking
the exit at
McFarland
Road.
At the top of the ramp, the
driver failed to stop for the red
light and skidded through the
intersection. He turned east on
McFarland Road and then
turned left onto Bluegrass
Lakes Parkway.
When the vehicles reached
a cul-de-sac, Payton leaped
from his car while it was still
moving.
The deputy had to hit the
brakes in order to avoid hitting
Payton who jumped into the
Graham. ,
The list will contain the
names of 200 individuals and
200 businesses, against which
the Department has recorded
public liens with the superior
court where the individual
resides or the business is
located.
“The individuals and busi
nesses appearing on the list
should not be surprised. The
Department has mailed a min
imum of three official notices
to each of the list entries and
they choose to ignore our
efforts,” said the
Commissioner.
Georgia statute 48-3-29
required 50-foot buffer if the
trees are within the flight path
of airplanes accessing the run
way.
Two people spoke in oppo
sition to the request from Faith
Development Group LLC to
rezone 22.6 acres of agricul
turally zoned property to resi
dential for the new subdivision
off Stoney Point Road.
The residential zoning that
was approved allows up to two
units per acre in the subdivi
sion.
Each of the opponents pre
ferred a housing density of 1.5
units per acre instead of two.
While that was not added to
the requirements, the commis
sion did take into account a
request from Greg Bitzer, the
president of Stoney Point
Field, for the homeowners
group to be able to cut the
trees to maintain the safety of
flight operations.
LEGISLATION from 1A
we do to try to focus on those
students who need additional
support,” said Associate
Superintendent Ellen Cohan
of Forsyth County Schools.
Holmes’ bill would allow
schools to use this year’s
CRCT scores to identify ris
ing third-graders who could
benefit from extra instruc
tion. Scheduled implementa
tion of the law for fifth- and
eighth-graders would not
change.
The bill would have .a
extend broadcasting govern
mental programs is not
reached before the end of
March, it is unlikely the video
technician will be hired.
“Adelphia has been excel
lent,” Johnson said. “They
could be charging us [now],
and they’re not.”
“We’re going to want to
wait and see, and have some
good feel from Adelphia
[before hiring the techni
cian],” he said.
“We won’t invest county
FIRST CALL
770-781-HELP
(4357)
Emergency help line for
Forsyth County.
O (
A SERVICE OF UNITED WAV I
air before running into the
nearby woods.
The deputy took two pas
sengers into custody and
called for a K-9 unit from the
Alpharetta Police Department.
The dog was sent into the
woods to try to find Payton.
The passengers were released
without charges and the car
was impounded.
The dog never found
Payton.
A few hours later, deputies
received a call of a suspicious
man at Siemens.
The law enforcement offi
cers arrived at the south
Forsyth business at about 7:30
a.m. and spoke with a
Siemens employee who said
that a black male had come
into the lobby and told
employees that he had been
hiding in the woods for the
last three hours.
slates that, “the commissioner
may publish in the media or
on the Internet for public
access any or all information
with respect to executions
issued for the collection of
any tax, fee, license, penalty,
interest, or collection costs
due the state which are
recorded on the public records
of any county.
“The publication provided
for in this Code section shall
not constitute an unlawful dis
closure of any information
even though the executions
giving rise to the information
may be subsequently partially
paid, paid and canceled, or
“This property is a little bit
unique in that it’s directly
across Stoney Point Road and
in the flight path for the pri
vate airport there on Stoney
Point Road,” said attorney
Emory Lipscomb, represent
ing Faith Development Group.
Lipscomb also said the
development's density was in
line with the density of other
subdivisions in the area.
In other business at the
public hearings, the planning
commission recommended the
Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners:
• Approve a request from
Ivey Building Corp, for 91.3
acres of property located on
the west side of Hopewell
Road near the intersection
with Burruss Road to be
rezoned from agricultural to
RES-3.
Requirements placed on
the single family home devel-
greater effect on systems that
strictly rely on CRCT scores
to designate low performing
students.
Forsyth uses CRCT, a sep
arate comprehensive reading
test and other secondary indi
cators to identify students
, who do not meet standards,
Cohan said.
“In Forsyth we have really
put in some safeguards. We
don’t put the weight all on
one test,” Cohan said.
Most school systems in
taxpayer’s dollars without an
agreement.”
“We may know before
March what they’ll allow us to
do,” he said.
In addition to the video
technician, the county would
have to buy equipment and
possibly find space to film the
programs which are cur
rently taped at Byars Funeral
Home for free.
“Marty Byars has offered
us the use of the facility to
tape as many programs as we
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The deputies went over
and spoke with the black male
who was sitting in the lobby
and “appeared to be covered
with dirt,” according to a
report at the Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office.
The man was wearing blue
running pants with a stripe, a
yellow and black fleece sweat
shirt and a black jacket. He
had no shoes and only one
black sock. In addition, he had
a gray mesh shirt wrapped
around his ankle, the deputies
reported.
The man initially told
deputies his name was “Kevin
James” and gave them a false
birth date.
He went on to tell deputies
that he had been visiting a
girlfriend at an unknown near
by trailer park when a man
came into the trailer with a
gun and he fled without his
withdrawn.”
“We intend to use all the
resources like the Internet,
garnishments, private collec
tion agencies and liens to
collect the taxes owed. We
intend to treat everyone in a
fair and equitable way but we
will not be ignored,” Graham
said.
The Georgia Department
of Revenue estimates that
approximately 420,693 tax
payers with deficient
accounts dating back to 1988
owe the state more than $1.6
billion.
The Department’s Web site
address is www.gatax.org.
opment requires a Civil War
era grave site within the devel
opment to be set off with a 6-
foot high fence. No one spoke
in opposition to the request.
• Approve a request from
Lock Inns Inc. to rezone 6.8
acres of property located on the
south side of Hwy. 306 near the
intersection with Hwy. 369
from agricultural to commer
cial. No one spoke in opposi
tion.
• Approve a request from
Slate Pro LLC to rezone 1.9
acres of property located on the
east side of Valley Lane in
Mountain Valley Estates
Subdivision from agricultural to
RES-3. One person spoke in
opposition.
• Approve a request from
ABG Development to rezone
14 acres of property located at
the intersection of Shiloh
Road and Poole Road from
agricultural to RES-4.
the state had all their eggs in
the CRCT basket, she said.
As a result, some low per
forming students may have
slipped through the cracks.
“While I’m not as worried
about implementation here
[in Forsyth] at all, I think the
bill is the right bill,” Cohan
said.
“I have a very strong feel
ing against penalizing chil
dren for things over which
they have no control and we
have no control,” she said.
would like at no charge,”
Johnson said.
In addition to Dean,
Destiny Kelley who for
merly reported for Adelphia
volunteered her services to
introduce programs last
month. Johnson said the help
is welcomed.
“She’s offered to do some
more work for us, too,” he
said. “That’s one thing we
need. We don’t have a whole
lot of dollars to fund this right
now.”
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shoes to hide in the woods.
One of the deputies recog
nized “Kevin James” as
Kelvin Keith Payton. The law
enforcement officers took the
suspect to the Forsyth County
Adult Detention Center where
an old mug shot of Payton
proved the man’s true identity.
In addition, the deputy who
originally chased Payton down
Ga. 400 returned to the jail to
confirm that he had been in
pursuit of the same person.
Payton was arrested on
charges of giving a false name
and date of birth to a law
enforcement officer, fleeing
and attempting to elude a law
enforcement officer as well as
several traffic violations.
As of Tuesday, he
remained in custody at the
Forsyth County jail with a
bond set at $4,030.
GROUP from 1A
because of its knack for spark
ing controversy.
According to NSTA, the
document also omitted central
concepts in the theory of evo
lution.
"The draft Georgia stan
dards fall short of fully repre
senting good,science because
they do not provide an accurate
and complete presentation of
evolution," John Penick, NSTA
President, said in a public
release Wednesday.
NSTA’s National Convention
will come to Atlanta on April
1-4. Georgia science teachers
are invited to use the conven
tion as a forum to discuss it.
WRECK from 1A
Thursday morning.
According to Georgia State
Patrol Trooper J.A. Warren,
Land was driving his patrol
motorcycle westbound on Hwy.
20 with his emergency lights
and siren working on the after
noon on March 26.
About one mile east of
Cumming, Land attempted to
pass a Chrysler Town & Country
minivan traveling in the same
direction. As Land attempted to
pass, Sells turned left into the
parking lot of a furniture store,
according to Warren.
The “sideswipe collision”
caused Land’s motorcycle to
run off the south shoulder of
Hwy. 20 and strike a Mercury
Mountaineer parked in front of
the store. No one else was
injured in the accident.
Sells is scheduled to appear
in Forsyth County State Court
on March 23 in connection
with the case.
Forsyth County News
J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J
USPS 205-540
Veterans Memorial Blvd., Cumming, Georgia 30040
Phone:77o-887-3126 Fax:77o-889-6017
Internet Address: www.forsythnews.com
e Publisher DENNIS STOCKTON
General Manager NORMAN BAGGS
Editor TOM SPIGOLON
Advertising Director MARTI BARNES
Circulation Director PHIL JONES
MEMBER
Published Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday by the Forsyth County News
Company, Veterans Memorial Blvd., Cumming. Ga. Second Class Postage paid at
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Deaths
Willard Hannigan
Mr. Willard Flannigan, 85,
of Cumming died Wednesday,
Feb. 4, 2004. Mr. Flannigan, a *-
native of Dawson County, was
a member and deacon at
Amicalola Baptist Church for
many years. He was preceded
in death by his wife, Polly
Flannigan; son, James
Flannigan.
Survivors include his chil
dren, Susie Belle Almond of
Dahlonega, Bertie Collins, ;
Fred and Patricia Flannigan, ;
Clyde and Julia Flannigan, ;
Betty Jones, all of Cumming; ,
19 grandchildren; 32 great-’
grandchildren; 19 great-great
grandchildren; and several
other relatives also survive.
Funeral services will be
Friday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. at the
Amicalola Baptist Church with
the Revs. Dave Holbrook,
Dean Pugh and Lawton Burt
officiating. Interment will fol
low in the Amicalola Baptist ‘
Church Cemetery.
Ingram Funeral Home is in
charge of the arrangements.
Forsyth County News
February 6, 2004
Myrna L. Koch
Mrs. Myrna L. Koch, 76, of
Cumming died Tuesday, Feb.
3, 2004. Mrs. Koch, a native of
Calumet County, Wis., was a
member of the Messiah
Lutheran Church in
Alpharetta. She was preceded
in death by her son, Gerald
Koch.
Survivors include her hus
band of 55 years, Melvin A.
Koch of Cumming; children,
Karen and David Francoeur of
Lilburn, Gary Koch of
Cartersville; grandchildren,
D.J. Francoeur, Jeff Francoeur,
both of Lilburn, Heather and
Barrett Karvis of Atlanta, Julie
Koch of Cartersville, Gary
Koch Jr, Melissa Koch, Mary
Katherine Koch, all of
Cartersville; sister, Gladyce
Zutz of Hilbert, Wis.; sisters
in-law, Mildred Behnke,
Darlene Reinke.
Memorial services will be
Friday, Feb. 6, at 7:30 p.m. at
the Messiah Lutheran Church
with the Rev. Larry Zahn offi
ciating. The family will
receive friends following the
service at the church.
Memorial donations may
be made to the Messiah
Lutheran Church, 4765
Kimball Bridge Rd.,
Alpharetta, GA 30005.
Ingram Funeral Home is in
charge of the arrangements.
Forsyth County News
February 6, 2004