Newspaper Page Text
Forsyth County News
Vol. 95, No. 039
FCHS teacher arrest ' is
Veteran auto tech instructor charged with sexual assault oj student
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
A teacher at Forsyth Central High
School was arrested Thursday and
charged with sexually assaulting a
female student, the Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office reported.
William George Hembree, 51. of
Dawsonville was arrested at 1:15
p.m. Thursday and released Friday
on a S2S,(XX) bond.
The alleged victim is an 18-year
old female Forsyth Central student.
She filed a report on Wednesday
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Photo/David McGregor
Susan McNulty joins the approximately 100 Three Chimneys residents who protested a plan for Windermere
Parkway for more than an hour Thursday in front of South Forsyth Middle School. See more pictures page BA.
Cohan ending
38-year career
Associate superintendent retires
from Forsyth County Schools
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
Ellen Cohan may be officially retiring from her position as
associate superintendent of teaching and learning for Forsyth
County Schools, but she undoubtedly will never leave the
school system.
Cohan announced Friday that her last day will be June 30. In
an interview with Superintendent Paula Gault and Cohan on
Friday. Gault said she knows Cohan will not be able to stay
away from the schools.
"We all know Ellen, and she’ll be here all summer." Gault
said.
Cohan laughed and nodded in agreement. She may be
retired, but Cohan will continue working with children as she
has for 38 years, she said.
“I hope I'm still working to help children. I just don’t know
how yet," Cohan said.
Cohan came to Forsyth County four years ago from the
Cobb County School System where she was executive director
of middle school curriculum and instruction. She has 20 years
of classroom experience, which she says were the highlight of
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Hembree
The Criminal
Investigation Division questioned
Hembree and booked him to the
Forsyth County Detention Center,
deputies said.
Residents protest road plan
See COHAN, Page 3A
INDEX
Ab by 68
Births 48
Classifieds 6C
Deaths 2A
Horoscope .68
Opinion 12A
Sports 1C
SUNDAY March 7,2004
evening alleging
that Hembree
“inappropriately
touched" her dur
ing class, a sheriff’s
office report stated.
Hembree was
arrested at the high
school Thursday
morning.
Photo/ Audra Perry
Associate Superintendent for Teaching and
Learning Ellen Cohan announced her retire
ment Friday. Here Cohan is seated in a
decades-old school desk that occupied one of
the historic community schools pictured
behind her. This corner of history is on display
at the Board of Education and Professional
Development Center on Dahlonega Highway.
Inside
County’s House
delegation clicks with
online lottery sales
RagellA
Sexual assault, a felony, encom
passes any sexual contact that is
against another person’s will. The
offense is punishable by one to three
years imprisonment.
Superintendent Paula Gault
would not comment on the arrest.
The Board of Education is aware of
the charge, she said.
It is the policy of Forsyth County
Schools to screen each potential
employee for criminal history, a
school official said.
"We do extensive screening and a
fingerprint criminal background
check," said Candace Norton, execu
tive director of the Forsyth County
Schools Human Resources
Department.
Until Hembree resigned on
Thursday, he was the automotive
technology teacher at Central, a posi
tion he had held since 1999.
Previously, Hembree taught for 11
years at Riverdale High School in
Clayton County. He is an Air Force
veteran.
Hembree has a bachelor of sci
ence degree in education and a bach
elor of business arts degree from
Restaurateur readies
run for south Forsyth
seat on commission
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
Brian Tam. a managing partner of
Outback Steakhouse in Cumming,
announced last week he will campaign
for the District 2 seat on the Board of
Commissioners. District 2 represents
the southern portion of Forsyth
County.
A.J. Pritchett, the commissioner
who currently represents south
Forsyth, has announced he intends to
run for tax commissioner in this year's
elections —a decision Tam said
helped to convince him to run for the
post.
“As a business owner, I have a lot at
stake here,” Tam said. “I don't just live
here; 1 work here too."
Tam and his wife, Kelly, have three
children, two of whom are enrolled in
the county's school system. He moved
from Dunwoody into Forsyth County
10 years ago.
Sports
South Forsyth girts, boys
knock off state soccer
heavyweights
PagelC
SI.OO
Vote leaves
sheriff, judges
seeking space
County considers options
following bond issue failure
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
Forsyth County law and judicial officials said last week
they will continue renting space and operating out of over
burdened facilities as the Board of Commissioners consid
ers options to alleviate court and jail space problems.
Last week, voters rejected a bond referendum that
would have funded the construction of new facilities in
downtown Cumming including a jail, courthouse and park
ing deck.
Though some opponents of the bonds agreed the coun
ty’s facilities need to be updated, they argued that alterna
tives to the estimated 565 million in construction fees
and additional property and furnishing costs had not
been fully explored.
The bond proposal failed by just 341 votes 6.219
against, and 5.878 in favor out of more than 12,000 cast,
according to final results at the Voter Registrar's Office.
However, it’s the third time since 2(XX) that voters have
denied bond funds to build the facilities.
Chairman Jack Conway said he didn’t expect such a
narrow difference
"I was surprised to see it was so close." the chairman
Sunny
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March 3 1069.68 ft
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High in the low 60s.
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Turning dinner into a dream
Georgia State University.
He received a master’s degree in
education from the University of
Georgia and is a certified master
automotive technician.
Hembree’s students at Central
were regional champions in
Daimler Chrysler’s “Build your
dream vehicle” competition in 2000
and 2001.
For the last three years, Hembree
sponsored a team in The Great Race,
a vintage automobile race through a
number of states.
See BOND, Page 2A
The 44-year-old is a graduate of the
Leadership Forsyth program.
He is involved
with the county
school system in dif
ferent arenas includ
. ing school business
councils and as a
partner in education,
for which he
received an award.
Tam is a director
of the Cumming-
Forsyth County
Chamber of Commerce and received
that organization's Small Business
Member of the Year award for 2003.
If elected. Tam said relieving traffic
is one of his priorities.
"I think the biggest need we have is
to try to offer solutions to relieve our
transportation gridlock," Tam said,
adding the county’s infrastructure
See TAM, Page 2A
H
r IB
Tam