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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