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Forsyth Count Vol. 95, No. 023 ■W . x -»' ' 4r *"* ShBPXw, tRS*- H«' Photo/Audra Perry Walk America Begins Forsyth County Walk America Co-Chair Jackie Meadows greets Katharine Hewell, the 2004 Ambassador for Walk America in Forsyth County. A kickoff event was held on Thursday to begin prepa ration for the April 17 event, which benefits the March of Dimes. Katharine is the 6-year-old daughter of Mark and Elizabeth Hewell of Cumming. Justice Center is town hall meeting topic By Todd Truelove Staff Writer The Forsyth County Republican Party’s Town Hall meetings series kicks off this Tuesday at Cumming City Hall with a discussion regarding the March 2 bond refer endum for new facilities in downtown Cumming including a jail and courthouse. Moderator and Town Hall Meeting director Gray Smith said Friday all county residents are invited to attend regardless of their political party affiliation. A five-member panel consisting of Sheriff Ted Paxton, Solicitor Leslie Abernathy, Clerk of Courts Doug Sorrells, County Commissioner A.J. Pritchett and Board of Elections member Brant Meadows has agreed to answer questions posed by attendees. In addition, Mayor H. Ford Gravitt will be present to offer the city's opinion of the proposed project. “It’s not going to be a debate format,” Smith said. Traffic Court Paying a fine is all that’s necessary for some road violations, but others require a visit with the judge By Colby Jones Staff Writer The difference between pay ing a speeding ticket and being forced to face a judge as a crimi nal defendant often turns on a few miles per hour. Driving 59 mph where the posted speed limit is 35 mph, for example, would require the speeder to appear in Forsyth County State Court while travel ing 58 mph would require the same motorist to pay a $96.75 fine. Welcome to the nuances of Forsyth County’s Traffic Violations Bureau. Like other judicial circuits in Georgia with no full-time traffic court, the bureau has a home in the clerk’s office, located on the ground floor of the county court house in Cumming. Forsyth County Clerk of Court Douglas E. Sorrells regularly receives copies of all Citations that do not require a motorist to appear in court from sheriff’s 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 0 90994 04000 T •/ Your "Hometown Paper" Since 190< deputies and state troopers. Paying the citation to the clerk normally will end the case. The route is a popular one evi denced by the $1.95 million in fines collected last year by the clerk’s office for Forsyth County State Court. The payment of a ticket, how ever, comes with a cost. ' “When you pay the ticket, you are pleading guilty,” said Cumming attorney James E. Hardy 11. Pleading not guilty to a traffic ticket will result in the Office of Solicitor General becoming involved in the matter. The solici tor’s office, which prosecutes misdemeanor offenses such as DUI and simple battery, can elect to prosecute a case or negotiate with the motorist. If the motorist takes the case to trial and loses, the judge is not bound by the fine list kept in the clerk’s office. In other words, if a motorist fights a ticket and loses, simply paying the original fine INDEX Abby 6B Births 4B Classifieds 3C Deaths 2A Forsyth Life IB Horoscope 6B Opinion 10A Sports 1C SUNDAY February 8,2004 “We will have a panel of five people that will be there to answer questions from the public.” The meeting is separate from additional informational meetings scheduled later this month and sponsored by the “Let’s Build It” committee, which is backing the plan. “The bottom line is this meeting is not intended to endorse nor oppose the justice center, but to provide information,” Smith said. “1 know that I have many questions that have not yet been answered, and I’m hoping to learn more about this on Tuesday night,” he said. The most pressing question, he said, seems to be the cost associated with building the facilities and acquiring the land on the Cumming Square that’s now owned by Goodson pharmacy and Wachovia Bank. Though registered voters will be choosing whether to approve bonds totaling $65 million. Smith said taxpayers See CENTER, Page 2A may no longer be an option because the judge can impose a more severe sentence. On the other hand, a prosecutor may offer to reduce the charge if the motorist has a good case, Hardy said. For some offenses, paying the fine and going home is never an option. Those cited for speeding in excess of 23 mph of the posted speed limit, reckless driving, rac ing, failure to report an accident or driving on a suspended license must appear in court to answer for the traffic misdeed. All cases involving an acci dent must go to court. Lesser known offenses requir ing a driver to appear in court are failing to obey an officer directing traffic, overtaking a school bus, permitting an unlicensed person to drive and crossing a fire hose. For tickets not requiring a court date, fines range from sls for not buckling up to $378 for See COURT, Page 2A Moving b'brwani JbrJOYmn OF Cof*’* 4 Turner trial moved to Houston County Poisoning case scheduled for April in Perry By Nicole Green Staff Writer Nearly everyone within a 100- mile radius of Atlanta apparently has heard or read about the poisoning murder trial of Julia Lynn Turner of Cumming. Because a sufficiently impartial jury could not be found in Cobb County, Superior Court Judge James G. Bodiford on Thursday moved the case 125 miles south to Perry in Houston County. The case is scheduled to begin April 26 and expected to last one month, Bodiford’s law clerk Leann Dolin said. Turner is charged with one count of murder., She is accused of poisoning her Cobb County police officer husband, Glenn Turner, in 1995 using ethylene glycol. The sweet tasting poison is the main ingredient in antifreeze. Turner is also the prime suspect in the 2001 poisoning murder, of Randy Thompson, a Forsyth County fireman and father of her two chil dren. Members of the fire depart ment told investigators that in his last days, Turner brought Thompson food and sweet tea while he was at home sick. Thompson got sicker and sicker, and in January his co-workers broke into his house and found Thompson dead. It was the tea, some of his co workers claim, that was sweetened with poison. Houston County media have already picked up on public interest in the case. Colleen McClintic, chief deputy clerk in Houston County, said the news was all over the television by Friday morning. However, McClintic still believes the court will have no problem finding an impartial jury. “I suspect it is going to be easier than it would be in [Turner’s] home- * -fit BSf ■ i w y i Photo/David McGregor | Inside Chamber of Commerce celebrates 50th anniversary. Special Section town,” McClintic said. Out of a normal jury pool of 250 people, only about 110 show up for duty, McClintic said. Residency is transient because Robins Air Force Base is located in nearby Warner Robins, she said. McClintic will meet with Cobb County Superior Court Administrator Skip Chesshire this Turner The county seat of Perry, where the trial will be held, has a popula tion of 9,600 people. The courthouse sits in a restored downtown and has a small town feel. The dominant media outlet is a local daily newspa per, The Houston Home Journal. The area is also covered extensively by newspaper and television outlets in Macon, about 25 miles away. “Just somewhere outside of the general news media coverage area,” attorney Vic Reynolds said, who is defending Turner along with Jimmy Berry. The prosecution has called more than 100 witnesses in this case. Along with the judge, attorneys and defendant, witnesses will be trans ported to Houston. Chesshire said the trial will cost taxpayers around $25,000, compared to SIO,OOO if the trial was left in Cobb. The defense and prosecution will agree on bond conditions, where Turner will be held in Houston, clos er to the trial date, Dolin said. Turner is currently under house arrest at her parents’ home in Cumming. An ankle monitor tracks her location. Partly Cloudy LAKE LANIER LEVELS a. Date Level Feb-3 1067.98 ft "Y Feb. 4 1068.00 ft f Feb. 5 1068.03 ft W- ■/ W** Feb. 6 1068.03 ft V Full 1071. High in the mid-40s. , , " ' . . Low in the high 20s. LIFE, 1B Doctor helps after earthquake week to determine how many jurors will be sum moned. The 12 trial jurors and three alternates will not be sequestered, Dolin said. Houston County has a population of about 117,000. About 36 percent of the county is farm land. The judge and attorneys were looking for some where far removed from the frenzied atmosphere in Cobb surrounding the trial. Soldier home from Iraq faces drug charges By Colby Jones Staff Writer A soldier who recently returned from Iraq faces felony drug charges in connection with a traffic stop early Thursday morning. Matthew Denbo, 23, of Cumming was charged by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office with possession of methamphetamine with the intent to dis tribute, possession of LSD and misde meanor possession of marijuana. Denbo later told sheriff’s detectives he returned from Iraq and remains on active duty in the Army out of Fort Hood in Texas, said Capt. Ron Freeman. The military has been notified of the arrest, he added. The arrest resulted from a routine traffic stop. A deputy responded short ly after midnight to a report of a “sus picious vehicle” at a Quick Trip gas station in the 2800 block of Keith Bridge Road in north Forsyth County. The deputy said the car appeared sus- See ARREST, Page 7A h ■ | I I .. ] Denbo