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Forsyth CountvNews J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 #»*«»<*****#***#»* 3-DIGIT 30& ■■ nmpr.TD mfucsdqdfr dpiUFFt Vol. 95, No. 038 Hot situation ,< t ■ 4 r M ■PV'y' |Mw • J - W; * T IM nSSSSw' 'flWvl a ? \ •®L| I a. ixrtf \ Fy-t ’ A%r Photo/Audra Perry Forayth firefighter Mark Davis motions for water as he and other firefighters fight a fire in a field and abandoned house Wednesday afternoon off Hwy. 306. The county forestry department was called in to dig a trench around the structure to let the fire burn out. Fire investigators believe the blaze to be caused by arson. Forsyth dedicates new Sharon School By Nicole Green Staff Writer Old and new students of Sharon Elementary School on James Burgess Road gathered for a dedication ceremony on Sunday. The new building, the first two-story school in Forsyth County, is named after the old Sharon School that still stands across Old Atlanta Road. Forsyth County residents who attended the original Sharon brought .■ xL. - ••• .■ r %^i^* < ® SZj W "S ®%TRHH • ■• ‘ * •"• - ’wL Wd ’ >- " A f jfy /j Mt* x\\ „ , ?■' ' £ ' i '‘' 's \. - - -" Photo/David McGregor Trapped Firefighters work to free the driver of a Honda Civic after it crashed Wednesday after swerving to avoid another vehicle that appeared to be in its lane, sheriff’s deputies said. Emergency workers trans ported three patients to North Fulton Regional Hospital after the vehicle left the roadway at Old Alpharetta and McGinnis Ferry roads. No one in the vehicle was wearing a seatbelt, and speed was definitely a factor, deputies reported. See additional photos, 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) M7-3U6 Copyright C 2004 Forsyth County Nsws I ■ IJII i * pictures and stories to share with the new students and faculty on Sunday. New Sharon opened Oct. 27, 2003, and was built with funding from the 1999 voter approved bond referendum. The $125-mil lion bond paid for one new middle school, two elementary schools, 205 classroom additions, land acquisitions, school safety enhancements and technology improve ments. Old Sharon was originally built by the Georgia School Authority. The Forsyth INDEX Ab by 118 Church events 8A Classifieds Deaths 2A Food 10A Horoscope 118 Opinion 11A Sports 1B FRIDAY March 5,2004 County could begin $600,000 mountain project by summer By Todd Truelove Staff Writer The Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Department has targeted construction on the first phase of new outdoor recreation facilities on Sawnee Mountain to begin this summer. Though 5600.000 has been allocated for the project, the actual cost depends on bids that will be received later this spring. Matt Pate, the department’s outdoor recreation super visor, said the department will utilize around 350 to 400 acres of county owned property around the Indian Seats to offer activities such as rock climbing and repelling. “We will not know how much [construction] will be until after bids are put out at the end of April," Pate said. The funds for the project are expected to come from the county’s I percent, voter-approved sales tax. Most of the area will remain in its present natural state. Guests will be able to access the park off Bettis- Tribble Gap Road. Features at the new park are to include hiking trails, a playground area, picnic pavilion and an amphitheater that will seat between 109 and 150 people. Events such as Shakespeare performances, jazz and bluegrass con certs may be conducted at the amphitheater. “We’re trying to be as environmentally friendly as possible with the designs," Pate said. “We want to have the facilities blend with nature.” "This is going to provide recreation activities that [county residents] would have to travel more than an hour to get,” Pate said. “We’re going to start having a lot of outdoor programs for the county." Though the hiking tails will eventually lead guests to the Indian Seats, Pate said when the park first opens hik ers will be able to see, but not access, the historical mon uments so the area can “re-vegetate.” See COUNTY, Page 2A Food Recipe ideas to help make your brunch a success PagelOA County Board of Education purchased the school in September, 1931, for $5. In March, 1969, the building was sold. Superintendent Paula Gault presented Sharon’s principal, Janet Reid, with a print of the old Sharon community school. “We are not dedicating only a school building today, we are dedicating the future of our children. With an appreciation for our See NEW, Page 2A Religion See what’s happening in local churches. PageSA Judge gives warning to meth dealers Man gets 15-year sentence By Nicole Green Staff Writer Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Bagley broadcast a warning to methamphetamine dealers Wednesday with the sentencing of a convicted drug trafficker. Arthur Stephen Bowden Jr., 40, of Roswell was sen- tenced to 15 years in prison, 15 years of probation and a $200,000 fine for possession and trafficking of metham phetamine. Bowden’s attorney, Jeffrey Purvis, had requested a lighter sen tence, but Bagley said he wanted to make an example of this felon. “There’s been an explosion of this kind of drug in our society. It’s easy to make, easy to distribute. “What comes to mind obviously are the people who come before me on a regular basis who wear the scars of meth...What comes to mind is a man sobbing in my chambers because he was married to a woman for 16 years and he doesn’t know that person anymore. He’s afraid of that person, and his children are afraid of that person,” Bagley said. “In those cases, someone did the trafficking. I think a message needs to be sent by this community that this E9ll director resigns By Nicole Green Staff Writer The director of the Forsyth County E9ll Communications Center resigned Tuesday. Miles Butler was placed on administrative leave last week by the Sheriff’s Office pending a personnel investigation of an undisclosed nature. He would not comment on his resignation. “What more is there to say? I resigned,” Butler said See E9ll, Page 2A /W* ’J ?7'. jv y File photo County officials have targeted construction on the first phase of recreation facilities on Sawnee Mountain to begin this summer. Thunderstorms iff High in the low 70s, Low in the mid-50s. H ■fl SPORTS, IB Rough night in region play Bagley See METH, Page 2A LAKE LANIER LEVELS Date Level Feb. 29 1069.61 ft March 1 1069.62 ft March 2 1069.63 ft March 3 1069.68 ft Full 1071.00 ft