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<» Forsyth Count^ NK ” ~ J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 w Vol. 95, No. 46 Assembly keeps sales tax holiday alive Fails to take action on district maps, faith-based groups By Harris Blackwood Community Editor The Georgia General Assembly held its marathon "crossover" day on Wednesday and the most notable distinction is what was not passed. Wednesday was the 33rd day of the Legislature's 40-day session. Under House and Senate rules, any legislation which is to be considered for passage must be approved by one body of the assembly by the end of the 33rd day. The Democratic-controlled house did not approve new redis- New historic statue planned for town square City honors Confederate history By Nicole Green Staff Writer At Tuesday’s Cumming City Council meeting. Mayor H. Ford Gravitt unveiled the design for a sec ond historic statue to be placed in the downtown square. The 7-foot likeness of Hiram Parks Bell will stand in front of City Hall at the edge of the flower garden, Gravitt said. He will be portrayed reading a copy of his book, "Men and Things,” published in 1907. Bell is remembered as an author, a legislator in the Congress of the Confederate States, a lawyer and a farmer. He is buried in the Cumming Historic Cemetery. On Jan. 20, the mayor signed a contract for the second bronze statue in the Historic Sculpture Series. Twenty-five models of the statue are avail able for 52.500 each and can be purchased by con tacting hometown development coordinator Linda Heard. The money will go toward the full-size stat ue. Gravitt said he hopes the statue will be finished by Labor Day. Alongside the unveiling of a Confederate veter an’s statue, the mayor proclaimed the month of April 2004 to be Confederate History and Heritage Month. The Civil War began and ended in the month of April. The proclamation “encouragefs] our citizens to become more knowledgeable of the role played by the Confederate States of America in the history of our great country,” as stated in the document. In other city business: •The mayor and council approved a special use permit to allow Daniel Fries & Associates Inc., a real estate appraisal business, to locate in the Corn family home. The two-story home owned by Doris Corn is located in a residential area on Dahlonega Street. In the permit, the mayor and council specified that Fries renovate the existing home. Guest parking will be allowed in the front with a paved parking lot behind the building. Access to the property will be located on the southern property line. The special use permit is viable for one year. "At some point I can see Dahlonega Street being all commercial property. But at the present time there are still some residents in that area that want to maintain their lifestyle,” Gravitt said. •The Department of Utilities was given the go ahead Tuesday to purchase several items on the 2004 budget. The city of Cumming approved the purchase of a new 2-inch water line tapping machine for the Department of Utilities. Delta Municipal Supply was awarded the contract for $2,667. The Department of Utilities also purchased a sewer camera for $8,075 from Superior Industrial Products Corp. The technology is used to examine the pipes for obstructions. The council approved the purchase of a spec trophotometer for $3,357.50 from Hach Company. This technology is used to test waste water hourly 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) 887-3126. Copyright 0 2004 Forsyth County Nows ill! Smith Jack Murphy, R-Cumming, reacting to the House leadership’s decision not to take up the redistricting issue. A "special master" appointed by a three-judge federal panel has drawn new district lines for the state House and Senate. The maps placed 66 members of the Legislature in the same district, meaning they would have to oppose one another INDEX Abby 9A Church events 10A Classrfieds 4B Deaths 2A Food 8A Horoscope 9A Opinion 11A Sports lß FRIDAY March 19,2004 tricting maps for the House. The lawmakers also failed to act on a proposed Constitutional amendment regarding faith based charities. "1 am some what surprised,” said state Rep. | 1 . F If* ■K' Ba/ W WK Wfe i H This is a replica of the statue planned for a spot outside Cumming City Hall. for toxins before it is released into the water stream. The new spectrophotometer will replace a 14-year old piece of equipment. Anthracite coal used to filter lake water for drinking must be replaced every three years. The city council approved the purchase of new coal at $9,335 from Shamokin Filler Company Inc. •A major water line break at Freedom Parkway and Pilgrim Mill Road in late February caused $52,000 in damage to the roadway. The cast iron pipe line laid in 1969 is not as durable as modern lines. An emergency road crew was hired to repair Pilgrim Mill Road. •The Cumming Historic Cemetery needs fence repairs, and Castle-Tec Inc. was hired Tuesday to do the job. The company will repair damaged areas of the fence, remove rust and apply a coat of black gloss paint at a cost of $5,932. Food Mushrooms are an excellent source of vitamins and tasty too. PageßA for re-election later this year. Murphy, a freshman lawmaker, was placed in the same district with Rep. Tom Knox, R-Cumming. "We still have Friday to do something on the maps,” said Murphy. The judges allowed a five day comment period on the pro posed maps, which were made pub lic on Monday. Murphy believes there is an out side chance that the Legislature could approve its own version of the district maps and submit them to the U.S. Department of Justice for pre clearance under the Voting Rights Act. "1 believe they (the Justice Department) would consider it. but I'm not sure how they would rule,” said Murphy. The maps which were drawn by the court do not require Justice Department approval. “I don’t think these are the final maps,” said Murphy, who said that he was weighing his political options, but would not make a final decision until the district issue is finally resolved. Among the options the lawmaker is weighing is whether he would run for his current House district against Knox or for the new Senate seat which includes most of Forsyth County and the northern two-thirds of Cherokee County. Sen. Bill Stephens, R-Canton. would be the incumbent in the district. Stephens said Tuesday that he would be a candidate for re-election. Stephens, who is in his third term in the Senate, serves as majority leader, the top Republican in that body Knox, who is completing his Local nurseries on the lookout for California plants Infection risk called 'extremely serious ’ By Nancy Smallwood Staff Writer Local plant nurseries have banned all shipments of plants from California due to an outbreak of a devastating fungal disease in at least one nursery there. Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin issued the quarantine March 17 after receiving notice that the Sudden Oak Death fungus (Phytophthora ramorum) had been discovered on camellias at a California nursery that is a supplier of many kinds of plants to garden centers across the country. The disease is suspected of killing tens of thousands of oak trees along the West Coast since 1995 and was recently found on a variety of camel lias at the Monrovia Nursery in Azusa, Calif. Irvin said the California Department of Food and Agriculture has taken samples of 1 I other California nurseries and are 90 per cent sure the samples are positive for the disease. "But they will not quarantine the nurseries and have said they will not release the names of the nurseries See PLANTS, Page 2A KI Photo/Audra Perry Pizza Time With help from a Pizza Hut employee, 4-year-old Jessie Sutko makes herself a cheese pizza as Colm and Caelan Wykoff watch and wait their turn at the restaurant on Atlanta Highway. Jessie and her friends took a tour of the restaurant with her friends from the Forsyth Christian Home Educators group. Religion See what’s happening in local churches. PagelOA 50 Cents second term in the House, has not announced his intentions to run for re-election. Murphy said that one of the final bills to emerge from the House on Wednesday was the annual Sales Tax holiday for back-to-school shoppers. “I wound up voting for it with some reluctance, knowing what the state budget looks like,” said Murphy. For the past two summers, Georgia has had a sales tax holiday on weekends offering shoppers tax free purchases on items including school supplies, clothing, footwear, computers and computer related accessories. If approved by the Senate, the holiday would take place July 29 to Aug. 1. until the samples are confirmed posi tive." said Irvin. "We are closing the borders to all California nurseries today until they release the names of the nurseries,” Irvin said Tuesday. The disease is extremely serious and has killed oaks along the coast of Oregon as well as Northern California. The disease affects other plants such as azaleas, rhododen drons. maples, beeches and buck eyes, according to Irvine. Ginger Robertson, team leader in the garden center at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse in Cumming, said Thursday morning she was unaware of any plants taken off the shelves as a result of the quar antine. However, a spokesperson for Pike Nurseries. Matthew Gogen, said Pike carries only one of the varieties of camellias in which the fungus was detected. Pike receives camellias from California, Oregon and Alabama, according to Gogen. The disease has not been found in any plants in Georgia but as a pre caution the plants have been moved Sunny High in the low-70s. Low in the low-40s. SPORTS, IB Local racer turns pro LAKE LANIER LEVELS Date Level March 14 1069.86 ft March 15 106936 ft March 16 ,1069.87 ft March 17 1069.88 ft Fult .