Newspaper Page Text
Forsyth County
•t Your Hometown Paper Since 1908 J *GD R DowGs* WSPfiPER PROJECT
Vol. 95, No. 024
CHAMBER HONORS LATE JUDGE
1 -
’ i
f 9
. a ■ -j
Photo/Audra Perry
County School Superintendent Paula Gault, right, wipes away tears as she speaks on behalf of her late husband,
Judge Stan Gault, during the 49th annual meeting of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Saturday night at the Sawnee Cultural Arts Center. The chamber, including president Joni Owens, left, gave Stan
Gault its 2003 Charles F. Welch Sr. Citizenship Award for his contributions to the community. For more photos,
story, see Thursday's Forsyth County News.
Board extends planned development ban
Allows staff to prevent ‘loophole ’ that could allow higher densities on smaller sites
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners Monday unanimously extend
ed a ban against Planned Unit Developments
(PUD) and Conditional Use Permits (CUP)
until May 1.
The extension gives staff in the county
Planning Department time to strike the two
zoning categories from the Unified
Development Code (UDC). However, the
PUD zoning will likely be rewritten to prevent
developers from using the classification as
'He wanted to get out and see the world'
Friends recall ‘poster
soldier’ 37 years after
death on battlefield
By Harris Blackwood
Community Editor
To his friends, Billy Charles was
a renegade teenager when he left
Cumming in 1955 to join the Army.
His friend, Don Pruitt, describes
the day when Charles left high
school for the final time.
“He was tired of school,” said
Pruitt, “but he wanted to get out and
see the world. "He had a burning
desire to be in the military so he
went to join the Army. He walked out
of class one day and the English
teacher asked him where he was
going. He said, ‘l’m going to the
Army.’ She said, ‘Sit down, you’re
not going anywhere.’”
But the 16-year-old managed to
convince Army officials he was old
enough and joined the Army. His
career took him to various duty sta
tions around the globe. The final stop
was on the Cambodian border, where
a land mine exploded on Feb. 7,
1967, killing Charles and two of his
comrades.
For retired Army Col. John
See VETERAN, Page 2A
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 Nows
<i '>94 JUI
WEDNESDAY February 11,2004
what commissioners described as a “loop
hole” to increase the density of new residen
tial subdivisions built on smaller plots of land.
“1 don’t see anything [for PUDs] in small
plots.” Chairman Jack Conway said at the
called meeting.
PUDs generally are a mix of building
types commercial and residential with
common amenities and allow a greater densi
ty than what would normally be tolerated.
As written, the county code does not set a
minimum required acreage for such a devel
opment an omission the rewrite may
address.
r z
U1 liar
\ •-
I Ki. uiETnfldi
a?. ? "•
W » j||.,
Photos/George Pirkle, submitted, David McGregor
A group of friends gathered Saturday at the Veterans Memorial to
remember Sgt. Billy Charles. From left, Mickie Pruitt, Charles’ first
wife; Don Pruitt; John Pirkle; Wallace Brooks and Herschel Fuller.
Above, right, Don Pruit, left, poses for a photo with Billy Charles in
Korea in 1959. Bottom, right, Charles’ name is shown inscribed on
the Veterans Memorial as one of three casualties of the war from
Forsyth County.
INDEX
Abby..... 108
Classifieds 1 IB
Deaths 2A
Events 4A
Horoscope 108
Legals 4B
Opinion .....10A
Sports IB
Education
Forsyth schools’ special
education program
among state’s best
PageßA
Commissioner A.J. Pritchett, who repre
sents south Forsyth, said the minimum lot
acreage on PUD rezoning requests needs to
be 500 acres. However, Commissioner Eddie
Taylor, who represents central-east Forsyth,
said the amount is probably too restrictive.
“It’s hard for me to imagine many more
500-acre sites,” Taylor said.
Planning Director Jeff Chance suggested a
minimum size of 100 acres for mixed use
developments be added in the UDC modifica
tions.
See BA/V, Page 2A
Opinion
Isakson campaign not
exciting enough for
MTV-era voters?
PagelOA
jai TS* ’’*<
Two boys
found dead
in house fire
Both former Liberty M.S. students
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
Two former students of Forsyth County Schools
died when their home burned early Monday morn
ing in Cherokee County. The boys were home
alone.
Christopher and Jeffrey Johnson, 11 and 13,
attended Liberty Middle School until October
2003.
The boys were found by
Cherokee County firefighters in
the charred remains of their
home at 13778 Cumming
Highway, near its intersection
with Holbrook Campground
Road in northeastern Cherokee
County near the Forsyth County
line. Fire had consumed the
entire residence when firefight
ers arrived around 4:30 a.m.
“When our guys got there it
was fully involved. It was more
of defensive attack than anything
else because it was already
engulfed in flames,” said Tim
Cavender, spokesman for the
Cherokee County Fire
Emergency Services.
The children’s parents arrived
shortly after the firefighters.
The cause of the fire had not
been determined as of Tuesday
morning, Cavender said. John Oxendine, state
Insurance Commissioner, is assisting the Cherokee
County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department with
the investigation.
Cavender said there are conflicting reports as to
whether the family had electricity. Power company
officials said that the electricity had been cut off at
the house. However, the landlord said he was not
aware that the family was without power.
Cavender did not know at this time if the house
was equipped with smoke detectors.
The family recently moved from Forsyth
County in October, school spokeswoman Jennifer
Caracciolo said. Chris entered Liberty as a sixth
grade student in 2002-2003 and started his seventh
grade year there. Jeff entered as a sixth-grade stu
dent this year. Both boys previously attended
Sawnee Elementary.
See FIRE, Page 2A
Possible Rain
W/
High in the low 50s.
Low in the low 30s.
IB
SPORTS, 1B
Christopher
■fish
gggg-- " mH
Jeffrey
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Feb. 6 1068.03 ft
Feb. 7 1068.51 ft
Feb. 8 1068.77 ft
Feb. 9 1068.86 ft
Full 1071.00 ft