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l - FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Friday, February 20,2004
OPEC supply cut, weather blamed for gas price rise
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
Gasoline prices rose for
drivers across the nation last
week due to factors that
include cold weather in the
northeast U.S. and an
announcement by the
Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC)
that they are reducing crude
oil supplies.
As of Wednesday, many
gas stations in Forsyth County
were charging more than
$1.50 per gallon for unleaded.
Since Monday, gas prices
kfr ‘A *
'itLul 1-111 -i. -
Photo/Audra Perry
On the move
Forsyth County firefighters arrive with ladders to assist others already fighting a
house fire earlier this week off Plantation Lane. No injuries were reported.
Deaths
Rufus Riherd Greene
Mr. Rufus Riherd Greene.
86. of Cumming died Feb. 17.
2004. Mr. Greene was a mem
ber of Alpharetta First Baptist
Church.
Survivors include his wife.
Edna Greene of Roswell;
daughter and son-in-law, Ann
and Tim Larsen of Chino Hills.
Calif.: sons and daughters-in
law, Frank Greene of
Memphis. Tenn., Lee and Sheri
Greene of Boulder Creek,
Calif.; brother. Burwell Greene
of Denver, Colo.. 12 grandchil
dren, three great-grandchil
dren. nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be
held Friday at 1 1:30 a.m. at
Alpharetta First Baptist
Church, with the Rev. Jeff
Witcher and A.B Hatfield offi
ciating. Burial will follow at
White Chapel Cemetary.
Louie E. Jones Funeral
Home is in charge of the
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
February 20, 2004
Susan Renee Pruett
Mrs. Susan Renee Pruett.
46, of Cumming died Feb. 17,
2004. A native of Powell,
Wyo., Mrs. Pruett lived in
Cumming for the past 12
years, moving from Los
Angeles. Calif. She was an
insurance adjuster with
Travelers Insurance Co. and
was a member of Lakewood
Baptist Church in Gainesville.
Survivors include her hus
band. Douglas L. Pruett of
Cumming; daughter, Cindy
Kristine Pruett of Cumming:
sons, James Mitchell Masoncr
of Valencia. Calif., Douglas
Jay Pruett of Cumming; sister,
Jadonrra McArthur of Tulsa,
Okla.; brothers, Jim McArthur
of Sonora. Calif., Jerry
McArthur of Hannibal, Mo.,
Scotty McArthur of Sonora.
Calif.; best friend, Cindy
Larsen of Gainesville.
Memorial services were
Thursday, Feb. 19, at the
Alpharetta Presbyterian
Church with the Rev. Joe
Clifford officiating.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home and Crematory is in
charge of the arrangements.
Forsyth County News
February 20, 2004
in Cumming ranged from
$1.37 to as much as $1.59,
according to http://www.geor
giagasprices.com —a Web
site that depends on spotters to
track gas prices.
Jason Toews, a co-founder
of the organization
Gasßuddy.com, said between
30,000 and 50.000 people
access Gasßuddy’s 174 vari
ous Web sites that cover met
ropolitan areas as well as
states. Though spotters work
on a volunteer basis, Toews
said participation is awarded
through free gas cards.
He said it is expected that
LAW from 1A
Penn said that prosecutors
make restitution and other
payments a condition of pro
bation.
"Within reason, we try and
get that back while they are
under court supervision." Penn
said.
The district attorney said
that her office often seeks pay
ment from the CJCC as a final
resource for victims.
"CJCC is a state agency
that oversees programs for the
rights of victims. They will
pay for victim’s medical
expenses and psychological
counseling. In the case of
death, they will pay for funeral
expenses. All of those pro
grams have caps and the
FIRST CALL
770-781-HELP
(4357)
Emergency help line for
Forsyth County.
* scffvce or vwtfd war 1
NOTICE OF DEATH:
JOEL GRAY HENRY
Joel Gray Henry, an employee of Publix and a dedicated volunteer for the Stone Mountain
Highland Games of Georgia, died on February 14, 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia. The cause of death
was a brain tumor. He was 36 years old.
Joel began his career with Publix at age 16, while still in high school in Tallahassee, Florida, his
home town. He relocated to the Atlanta area in late 1993, where he grew with the company and
achieved a valued reputation as a "store opener" for the expanding chain of stores. He was
eventually promoted to produce manager at his last store in Cumming. He was popular with
his fellow employees, who affectionately referred to him as"potato head."
Joel was a collector of knives and swords and an active volunteer with the Stone Mountain
Highland Games, a large and well-attended annua) Celtic festival. He regularly volunteered his
time as a member of Clan Donald to the Highland Games organization to assist with the
event's set-up.
Joel was born on November 2,1967 in Miami, Florida, the son of Jim and Sara Henry. They
moved to Tallahassee, Florida in 1971, and Joel graduated from Lincoln High School there in
1986. He later attended Tallahassee Community College for two years. He is survived on his
father's side by his father, Jim Henry, his father's second wife, Peggy Henry, both of Tallahassee,
by his stepbrother, Mac McDuffie, Sr., of Mercer, Pennsylvania, and by his stepsister, Lisa
Robbins, of Seagrove, Florida. On his mother's side, he is survived by his mother, Sara Brunger
and her second husband, Robert Brunger, both of Tallahassee.
Joel will be buried in Tallahassee on February 18. A memorial service will be held in Cumming
on Saturday February 21 at 2:00 PM at McDonald and Sons Funeral Home, 150 Sawnee Drive in
Cumming (770-886-9899). At the request of the family, memorial contributions may be made to
the Stone Mountain Highland Games for a Celtic studies scholarship account in Joel's memory.
Checks may be mailed c/o Jim Henry, 5991 Pbnder Lane, Tallahassee, FL 32309-8940
gas prices will continue to rise
as the weather warms and the
number of drivers increases.
"We typically see lower
gas prices in the winter,”
Toews said. "We may even see
higher gas prices in the com
ing months."
However, Bob Slaughter,
president of the National
Petrochemical and Refiners
Association (NPRA),
remained optimistic that
prices may not necessarily
increase.
"Traditionally when
demand picks up over the
summer, prices can be higher,"
amounts vary." said Penn.
She said that convicted
persons are often required to
make restitution to the CJCC.
as a condition of probation.
Penn said that victims also
have the additional remedy of
filing a civil suit against the
defendant.
"Depending on the circum
stances, the victim or the vic
tim’s family may sue the defen
dant personally or in cases
involving a vehicle, they can
sue his insurance company.”
Byars Funeral Home
“Comforting Your Family”
Open House H «
Sunday, February 22nd Marty l Byars
2:oopm until s:oopm Funeral Director
3:oopm Dedication Ceremony
678-455-5815
155 Professional Park Drive, Cumming, GA 30040
Slaughter said, “but they can
go down also; we've seen
examples in the recent past
where prices were actually
lower.”
NPRA is an organization
that speaks on behalf of the oil
and refining industry.
"[The rise in gas prices) is
basically reflecting the high
er price for crude [oil] that
we have experienced over
most of this year along with a
significant demand for heat
ing oil caused by the severe
winter weather," Slaughter
said.
He said refiners produced
COMMUTE from 1A
and four lanes beginning at
Ga. 141.
Over the next five years, a
general purpose lane in the
median from Haynes Bridge
Road to McFarland Road
would alleviate considerable
traffic headaches. A north
bound lane could be added
from Holcomb Bridge Road
to Windward Parkway to
shave minutes off the after
noon commute for Forsyth
residents.
GRTA advises that more
buses, bus routes and park
and-ride lots are needed to
encourage the use of mass
transit rather than the high
way. To support bus traffic,
they recommend widening
the shoulders of Ga. 400 to
include an express lane for
buses. The cost for short
term GRTA recommendations
is $63 million to $75 million.
Mid term, in six to 12
years, GRTA recommends
converting the center lanes to
HOV lanes from North
Springs to Old Alabama
Road. Bus traffic would
move to the center HOV
lanes, leaving outside lanes
to general traffic.
A southbound lane from
Unterman said that her bill
opens the door for more
immediate action.
"In a civil suit, you have to
wait years to go through a
court case.” said Unterman.
"Under this bill, you have a
judge making a decision
before sentencing."
The bill will be sent to the
State House for consideration.
Unterman said that she had
spoken with House members
about the bill and found many
in support of the legislation.
more heating oil and less
gasoline as a result of the
cold snap; the reduced pro
duction, coupled with OPEC
cutbacks and high demand,
have caused gasoline prices
to soar.
Spotters in California
reported some gas stations
were charging more than
$2.00 per gallon.
Slaughter said the gas
prices, when compared with
those of the early 1980 s, are
low.
“Prices today are below
what they were in the 'Bos, if
you correct for inflation,” he
• The entire Northern
Sub-Area Study/GA 400
Corridor Analysis can be
viewed online at
www.ga4oonsas.com.
Holcomb Bridge to
Windward Parkway would be
added to match the north
bound lane. Ga. 400 would
be six lanes all the way to
Hwy. 20 [exit 14) in Forsyth
under GRTA’s plan by 2016.
Crucial to mid term
improvements is the con
struction of connector-dis
tributor roads, feeder roads
near the Interstate 285 inter
change with Ga. 400. If side
roads are not enhanced along
with the highway, inter
minable lines of cars will still
line up on the exit ramps.
“If we’re really going to
solve the problem on Ga.
400, that collector-distributor
system is going to be the
key.” Stancil said at
Wednesday’s chamber pres
entation.
Mid term improvements
are estimated to cost around
$267 million.
In the last phase of the
GRTA plan, Ga. 400 would
be widened to six lanes north
to Ga. 306 in Forsyth.
P MOVIES 400 gfcß
Friday 2/20/04 ■ Thursday 2/23/04 .
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Forsyth CountvNews
J Your Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J
USPS 205-540
Veterans Memorial Blvd., Cumming. Georgia 30040
Phone: 770-887-3126 Fax: 770-889-6017
Internet Address: 'Av w.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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said, adding the leap in
prices through the past week
is in large part due to the
market reacting to OPEC’s
announcement.
“OPEC has been restrict
ing output relatively success
fully over the past year,”
Slaughter said. “They have
announced they will be cut
ting back an additional 10
percent.”
Toews said OPEC likes to
keep the price of crude oil
between $22 and S2B per bar
rel, and that they work to
ensure the cost stays at that
level.
Interchanges for HOV pas
sengers would be constructed
in the next 15 to 20 years.
The last phase would cost
about $l2O million.
Currently the 13-county
Atlanta metro area contains
about 3.3 million people. The
Atlanta Regional Commission
(ARC) predicts that the popu
lation will be 4.8 million by
2025. GDOT, GRTA and
ARC are working to finalize
a plan that would put Atlanta
roads in shape for the expect
ed traffic stampede and meet
national clean air standards.
Currently during the
morning rush hour, south
bound Ga. 400 traffic begins
moving at a snail’s pace
around Windward Parkway.
At the rate subdivisions are
being built in Forsyth
County, traffic soon could be
backed up to Hwy. 20, offi
cials said. An aggressive
improvement plan is needed
reminiscent of the hoops
Atlanta jumped through to
prepare for the 1996
Olympics, GRTA board
member Jeff Anderson said
Wednesday.
“We’re in such dire
straights now that every day
ought to be the Olympics
coming to town. Eleven years
just ain't gonna cut it.”