Newspaper Page Text
Forsyth CountvNews
Vol. 95, No. 44
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Forsyth reps may be in s 4
By Nancy Smallwood
and Harris Blackwood
Staff Writers
Forsyth state representatives Tom
Knox and Jack Murphy could be
forced to face off against each other
in the fall if new district maps issued
by three federal judges Monday
remain final.
Federal judges directed a Special
Master to draw new maps of the
Senate and House of Representatives
districts after legislators failed to
draw their own by a March 1 dead-
Cumming duel
fir/ Jl\l \ sfll
Photos/David McGregor
Above, 8-year-olds Mark Peter, left and Hunter Kent, react following a crash during their race
Saturday during the North Georgia Quarter Midget Association's inaugural Kids Racing for Kids
Spring Nationals event at Cumming Fairgrounds. The drivers were not injured, but neither car
finished the race. Below, crew members from Hunter Kent’s car attempt to fix a problem with the
car’s rear wheel which was damaged in a wreck.
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Six Otwell students charged with possession
of prescription drugs, two with distribution
By Nancy Smallwood
Staff Writer
Six eighth-grade Otwell Middle
School students will face charges of
possession of prescription drugs in
connection with the incident during
the week of March 8 when school
authorities were informed the stu
dents brought painkillers and mus
cle relaxers to school.
Two additional students also will
be charged with distribution of the
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Knox
are now placed in
districts with a current House mem
ber. In addition, 10 senators are
thrown in the same district as another
prescription drugs.
All of the students involved in
the incident are female, according
to Maj. Gene Moss of the Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Office.
“We think they got the drugs
from home.” said Moss.
Two students brought the pills
to school on March 8 and distrib
uted them to seven of their friends,
according to Jennifer Caracciolo.
spokesperson for the school sys-
INDEX
Abby
Classifieds.™ 1 IB
Deaths ,2A
Events 7 A
Horoscope 6A
Legals 3B
Opinion 10A
Sports IB
WEDNESDAY March 17, 2004
line. The new
maps were un
veiled Monday by
the judges to the
legislators.
According to
the newly pub
lished map. 66
members of the
House of
Representatives
Advice
Dear Abby
dishes out
good advice.
Page6A
Murphy
senator.
The new map
directly affects
Forsyth County
since it puts
Cumming
Republicans Rep.
Tom Knox and
Rep. Jack Murphy
in the same dis
trict. A new state
House seat also is
assigned exclusively for the southern
portion of the county.
Only two Senate seats will be
tern. Nine of the students took the
pills at various times during the
school day and classmates informed
the teachers about the drugs. Moss
said the school system contacted
the sheriff’s office on Friday about
the incident. A school resource offi
cer assigned by the sheriff's office
assisted the department in the inves
tigation.
See DRUGS, Page 2A
given to Forsyth if the map remains
in place. If the plan is followed, cur
rent Sen. Bill Stephens of Canton,
the Senate majority leader, would
represent the largest portion of the
county and the northern two-thirds of
Cherokee County. Democratic Sen.
Carol Jackson of Cleveland would
represent a small northeastern sec
tion of Forsyth. However, both sena
tors are up for re-election this year.
Stephens said he thought the new
Senate district pairs counties with
comparable interests.
"It is an incredibly positive thing
Commissioners
OK tree ordinance;
all sides not happy
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners unanimously adopt
ed a revised tree ordinance Monday.
However, all of the votes that
were taken concerning the tree ordi
nance were not unanimous. The
board disagreed on several proposed
amendments to the law which
requires developers to maintain a set
volume of trees on project sites or
pay fines.
The adoption comes after several
discussions between the board, coun
ty staff and residents.
Opponents complained the ordi
nance as originally drafted would
force them to plant trees on property
where trees did not originally exist,
such as pasture land.
While that requirement was
changed in the revised ordinance, an
amendment by District 2
Commissioner A.J. Pritchett to delete
the word “forested" passed 3-2
making the ordinance applicable to
any disturbed land, regardless of
whether trees were originally there.
April Atkins of the Greater
Atlanta Homebuilders Association
said eliminating that word is a con
cern.
County may allow lot
size variance requests
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners Monday directed
Planning Department staff mem
bers to draft revisions to the coun
ty's Unified Development Code
that will allow developers to
request variances for lot sizes
when submitting rez.oning applica
tions.
Staff are working on a host of
revisions for the county's develop
ment code that will bring it in line
with proposed land uses on a map
the county government consults
when considering rezoning
requests.
A main component of those
revisions includes a new classifica
tion for Mixed Use (MU) develop
ments that combine commercial
and residential uses within a com
munity.
Such zoning requests are cur
rently allowed under classifications
for Planned Unit Developments
(PUD) and Conditional Use
Permits (CUP). However, the coun
ty is not accepting zoning classifi-
Opinion
Columnist Bill Shipp says
Georgia inattentive to
higher education.
PagelOA
50 Cents
Partly Cloudy
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
jjßisß, March 12 1069.88 ft
r ) March 13 1069.85 ft
i March 14 1069.86 ft
« March 15 1069.86 ft
Full 1071.00 ft
High in the mid-60s.
Low in the mid-40s.
SPORTS, 1B
Local man wins gold
for me and fpr Forsyth and Cherokee
counties," said Stephens. "It is bitter
sweet because several of my friends
are paired together across the state."
Stephens, who was elected last
year as the majority leader in the
Senate after Republicans took con
trol following the defections of two
senators from the Democratic Party,
said he would be a candidate for the
new district. He has served in the
Senate since 1998.
Jackson said she plans to comment
See REPS, Page 2A
It's weaker than
what we currently
have.
- Patty Durand
“They took two steps back,”
Atkins said after the ordinance
passed, adding the requirement will
hurt current property owners who are
trying to sell their pasture land "by
requiring the replacement of trees
that were not there in the first place."
Pritchett's amendment also
included a compromise allowance for
trees planted in buffer areas to count
toward the total required volume
winning the vote of District 5
Commissioner Eddie Taylor.
District 1 Commissioner Charles
Laughinghouse also voted in favor of
the amendment.
Chairman Jack Conway and
District 4 Commissioner Marcie
Kreager cast the dissenting votes.
“We've worked on the tree ordi
nance for quite some time." Conway
See TREE, Page 2A
Kreager
cations for either
of those cate
gories each of
which is being
eliminated from
the UDC.
County Senior
Planner Audra
Miller said there
are about 130
UDC revisions
staff are working
to complete by later this fall.
For the most part, the revisions
affect the county's commercial
zoning codes and designate pre
ferred businesses within the com
mercial zoning categories of
Neighborhood Shopping. Urban
Village. Central Business District.
Highway Business. Heavy
Commercial. Business Park. Office
and Institutional. Office
Residential. Office Commercial
Multi-story, Industrial and Mixed
Use.
Miller said until those changes
are made, developers could still
plan for mixed use communities
See LOTS, Page 2A