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Forsyth CountvNews
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Vol. 95, No. 030
Turner trial staying put in Peny
Attorneys fail to convince judge to transport jury to Cobb County
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
In spite of objections from
prosecution and defense attor
neys, Lynn Turner of Cumming
will be tried in Houston County
for the poisoning murder of her
husband, the judge ruled
Wednesday.
On Feb. 4, Superior Court
Judge James G. Bodiford
moved the trial out of Cobb
County where the Turners
resided until Glenn Turner's
mysterious death in 1995.
I
Photo/Audra Perry
Georgia Regional Transportation Authority director Steve Stancil talks with Randy Scott, center, and Tommy Eubanks,
right, during Stancil’s Wednesday meeting with members of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce.
Shorter 400 commute not in immediate future
Transportation Authority head predicts slightly less time to Atlanta after road work
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
Forsyth County commuters can look
forward to a shorter trip time on Ga. 4(X).
but not until 2025.
On Wednesday, the Cumming-Forsyth
Chamber of Commerce heard from
Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
(GRTA) director Steve Stancil on the
board’s recommendations to improve traf-
2 .1
® aimUS PREMIUM 1
Photo/Audra Perry
Going up
Gas prices, as shown on this sign above a store on Hwy. 9 in
Cumming, have been rising quickly in recent days. Prices appear to
be no lower than $1.50 a gallon in Forsyth. See story, page 2A.
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Copyright 0 2004 Forsyth County Nows
90994 04001
FRIDAY February 20, 2004
After
three days of
jury selec
tion, the
judge deter
mined that an
impartial
jury could
not be assem
-1 bled due to
extensive
media cover-
Turner
age of the case.
The trial, which is expected
to last a month, was resched-
sic in the Ga. 400 corridor.
The current morning trip time from
Cumming to the Buckhead area of north
Atlanta is between 54 and 57 minutes,
according to GRTA. After 5482 million in
recommended improvements to Ga. 400,
the commute would only shorten by four
minutes due to predicted population
growth.
“By 2025 everything will be built out
and your trip will be a little bit shorter,"
INDEX
Abby
Church events 8A
Classifieds 7B
Deaths ,2A
Food 10A
Horoscope T 6A
Opinion 11A
Spot IS 1 B
uled for April 26 in Perry, Ga.
Two weeks later, lawyers on
both sides of the case petitioned
Bodiford during a hearing
Wednesday to change his mind.
"The state and defense
expressed their objections to
having a complete change of
venue and asked the judge to
bring the jury back to Cobb,"
said Bodiford’s law clerk,
Leann Dolin.
Judge Bodiford, a team of
Cobb district attorneys led by
Patrick Head, defense lawyers
Law forcing criminals to pay victims
would be hard to enforce, DA says
By Harris Blackwood
Community Editor
ATLANTA A bill requiring
convicted criminals to pay for their
victim's medical or emotional
injuries has passed the Georgia
Senate by a vote of 47-1.
The bill, sponsored by Sen Renee
Unterman. R-Loganville. requires a
presiding judge to hold a hearing to
determine the costs the convicted
criminal must pay to the victim for
medical and psychological expenses.
Under, current law, the decision on
payment of expenses is left up to the
judge.
Unterman’s decision to sponsor
the legislation followed a case in
Gwinnett County where the judge
failed to assess medical or psycho-
Food
Soup is
good food,
has long history.
PagelOA
Jim Berry and Vic Reynolds,
Turner herself and myriad wit
nesses will have to be trans
ported and housed in Houston
County. Rather than move
Cobb to Houston, the attorneys
urged the judge to bring 12
Houston jurors and three alter
nates to Cobb.
Bodiford said that if jurors
were brought in from Houston
County he would have to
sequester them. Consequently,
he ruled to conduct the trial in
Perry, Dolin said.
Stancil said.
GRTA recently released the Northern
Sub-Area Study/GA 4(X) Corridor Analysis
which has been in the works since 2000.
Study results recommend making use of
the median and shoulder of Ga. 400 to cre
ate an HOV lane and an express bus transit
lane. By 2025, Ga. 400 would be three
lanes south of Ga. 306 in Forsyth County
See COMMUTE, Page 2A
Religion
See what’s
happening in
local churches.
PageSA
□EUnbIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT
«G 0 DAWGS*
* UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA MAIN LIBR
ATHENS GA 30G0E a
logical counseling
costs for a com ict
c c " 1,11 na ' w °
molested his
daughter.
|H *-•> “The family
raß JH has suffered and
jSwy h at i ,o p ;, y t° r
years of therapy
BL—BEB f° r ’l l6 young
Unterman f ,rl ' sa ‘ d
Unterman, who
represents the
eastern portion of Forsyth County in
the Senate. “This happened in a very
exclusive neighborhood. He got
away with just jail time and is not
having to pay."
She said that the family was on
the brink of financial ruin as a result.
The bill was supported by the
Voters’ choice
Photo/Audra Perry
Forsyth County Chief Registrar Gary Smith
shows sample ballots for the choice between the
2001 and 2003 state flags. Georgia voters can
make their decision Monday through Friday of
next week during the state’s advance voting
period, or on Election Day on March 2.
Georgians can cast ballots
next week or on March 2
From staff reports
Registered voters in Forsyth County can begin cast
ing their ballots next week at the County
Administration Building upstairs just outside of the
commissioners' auditorium.
The program is a new' initiative by the state to
encourage more people to vote by adding days to the
voting period. It works, in part, much like casting an
absentee ballot only the voter does not have to pro
vide an excuse as to why they would be unable to vote
on the designated day; in this case March 2.
"They must fill out an absentee ballot form," said
Forsyth County Chief Registrar Gary Smith. "Once
they turn it in, they vote on electronic voting
machines."
Included on the ballot will be the county's $65 mil
lion bond referendum for a justice center and a choice
of state flag.
In addition, those who vote on the Democrat ballot
w ill be electing a candidate for the November presiden
tial election.
Smith said he does not think there will be a big
turnout for the election, due to the number of absentee
ballots that have been filed.
As of Wednesday, about 100 absentee ballots had
been cast at the elections office.
"At this point in time, it would appear that the elec
tion is going to be very light," Smith said.
Advance voting at the County Administration
Building will occur Monday through Friday of next
w'eek from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Possible Rain
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
\ Date Level
j | Feb. 15 1069.13 ft
Feb. 16 1069.24 ft
ill ml Feb. 17 1069.31 ft
111 II I Feb. 18 1069.35 ft
Fuß 1071.00 ft
High in the low 60s. „.
Low in the mid-40s.
Forsyth prep soccer previewed
■O C r * m * na l Justice
Cooidi n a t i n g
Council iCJCC).
JjW victim- wit ne • s
MH fIIH assistance
I grams. and
'■ nggfr" Fl "'unen’s adsoi.K'
groups, according
Br*R to Unterman.
UgHSk— J Forsyth County
p enn District Attorney
Penny Penn said
that Unterman’s bill would be diffi
cult to enforce.
“If you commit a murder and are
in prison, how on earth are you going
to pay that?" asked Penn. "Look at
all the defendants who are indigent
and have court-appointed attorneys.”
See LAW, Page 2A