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Forsyth County News •/ Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J Vol. 95, No. 54 New tree ordinance may be v By Nancy Smallwood Associate Editor Schools, developers and busi nesses are taking a closer look at the economics of planting trees since Forsyth County approved revisions to its tree ordinance. County commissioners voted March 15 to require a set amount of trees on all land proposed for devel opment requiring trees even where trees were not previously present. Residential subdivisions of seven units or more will now be required to have 20 tree units on each acre that is disturbed, accord ing to the newly adopted ordinance. Commercial developments will need at least 15 tree units per acre. Montessori site sought Neighbors concerned By Todd Truelove Staff Writer Luz Cafferatta has been teaching students ages 2 to 6 at the Chattahoochee Christian Church on Bell Road in Duluth for almost two years. She says it's time to move the school into its own facility and is asking the Forsyth County govern ment to rezone an acre of property off Old Atlanta Road from agricul tural to residential with a conditional use permit so a house can be built where she can continue running the operations of her Montessori school. However, some residents of neighboring subdivision Old Atlanta Club want the local government to place more conditions on the parcel before allowing the school on it. Due to their concerns, members of the Forsyth County Planning Commission Tuesday postponed making a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners allow ing Cafferatta and residents near the proposed building, including Paul Corbeil. president of the South Forsyth Homeowner's Coalition, the opportunity to continue negotiations. Cafferatta said Wednesday she wants to build a 5.000-square-foot See SCHOOL, Page 2A ‘Spring forward’ this weekend From staff reports Once again, it is time to “spring forward." Daylight Saving Time offi cially begins at 2 a m. Sunday, the night that most Americans give up that extra hour of sleep. The phrase “spring forward" is a reminder that this is the time that clocks move ahead by one hour. Daylight saving time is observed in fnrS w 8 2 \ UM most of the continental U.S., with the exception of Arizona and portions of eastern Indiana. The program of shift ing an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening was first used • during World War I to preserve fuel reserves. The first attempts to formalize the observance occurred in the late 19605. In 1986, Congress passed a law mov ing the time change from the last to the first Sunday in April and continu ing until the last Sunday in October. The time change also is used by local fire departments to remind resi dents to check the battery in their smoke detectors. 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) 887-3 1 26. Copyright C 2004 Forsyth County Nows i Sewell their site plans and running cost fig ures of future projects. The new ordinance will have a definite effect on the housing industry, according to April Atkins of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. "We support any type of tree preservation as long as it is fair and Pinwheels for the children r -r4 i SiJ ‘ Photo/Audra Perry HESS (Home Educators Support System) in partnership with the Forsyth County Child Advocacy Center, placed 150 pin wheels on the lawn of the Forsyth County Courthouse on Tuesday. Nine-year-old Josh Krout and 7-year-old Joy Krout helped place the pinwheels which represent the 811 investigat ed cases of child abuse in Forsyth County in 2003. Rodeo time is here again By Antonia Hertwig-Benson Staff Writer Though its participants get kicked, bucked and thrown, there is one sport where your competitor cheers you on and helps you out. That is why Kevin Taylor, 30. of Dawsonville, likes what he calls “rodeoing.” “It's the camaraderie in it,” he said. Born and raised in Montana, Taylor has participated in rodeos since he was 13 and has competed professionally since 1993. "My father was the county sheriff and a deputy rodeo'd and got me into it,” he said. Taylor, one of six local riders will compete in the International Professional Rodeo Association’s World Championship Rodeo this weekend. Competitors from Forsyth include INDEX Abby BA Church events 9A Classifieds .........4B Deaths .2A Food .................................... 1 0A Horoscope 8A Opinion 11A Sports IB FRIDAY April 2, 2004 The ordinance defines a tree unit as an existing tree with a diameter of 13.5 inches or two newly plant ed trees each with diameters of 6 inches. Builders and developers are now re-examining Cheese recipes that are sure to please everyone’s palate. PagelOA equitable,” said Atkins. “It all boils down to economics and demograph- 1 ics. The county needs more housing choice and this will add to the expense of housing." The cost of developing the land and tree saving or planting eventu ally will be passed on to the home owner. Atkins said she would have liked the county to be more specific on the tree replacement fund set up by the ordinance. The fund will act as an “emergency relief valve" and will be utilized at the county's dis cretion. Developers who cannot meet the required site density factor of planted trees can contribute S4OO per unit for each unit short to the fund. “They fell short on when and World Championship Rodeo Cumming Fairgrounds Friday, April 2, 8 p.m. and Saturday, April 3, 8 p.m. For more information call (770) 781-3491 Moe Modzelewski, Wendy Rafferty and Sherri Thornton, all competing in barrel racing, Friday night. Todd Holbrook, team roping, and Todd Walls, bull riding, will compete Saturday night. Taylor said he has competed at the Cumming Fairgrounds, “every time they’ve had it, but one." He has also placed every time he has com- See RODEO, Page 2A See what’s happening in local churches. PageSA where th? money will be used,” said Atkins. “They need to be held accountable.” Forsyth County Schools Facilities Director Robert Sewell said he would like to see the county contribute some of the tree replace ment funds to the schools. Since the approval of the tree ordinance, school officials have been trying to find a solution to how they will pay for tree planting at new school sites. The site for the next high school on Drew Road was chosen specifically for its center pasture area which was perfect for the school facility "footprint,” Sewell said. See TREES, Page 2A Sheriff debuts new reverse 911 system Area residents notified during standoff By Nicole Green Staff Writer A suicide threat in north Forsyth County resulted in a standoff between the subject and the sher iff’s office Tuesday, prompting the debut of the county's new reverse 911 system. S. W. AT. team negotiators worked with a 38-year-old man who was threatening to shoot himself in his Hamptons subdivision home. Meanwhile, in the first use of the reverse 911 system, the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office alerted nearby residents to remain in their homes. School bus routes to the area were delayed, Sheriff Ted Paxton said. The man surrendered to sheriff's deputies at 3 30 p.m. after having barricaded himself in his house for more than an hour. The suicidal man was taken into custody for a mental evaluation, said sheriff's spokesperson Capt. Frank Huggins. A domestic dispute between the husband and wife was reported ear lier in the day. Paxton said drug use may have been a factor. The reverse 91 1 system left an "all clear" message for residents after the standoff concluded. “The Reverse 911 System worked exact!) as we had planned,” Paxton said. “With it, we were able to keep the neighborhood informed about what ———————— Photo/ Nancy Smallwood K-9 Unit visits students Forsyth County Sheriffs Cpl. Josh Cox and his K-9 "Kalito" attended Chattahoochee Elementary School's Career on Wheels Day on Wednesday. Kindergarten students at the school listened as Cox gave a brief description of his job. fV \ \W e K- Photo/David McGregor Greg Wallace, county arborist, looks over a map of develop ments that will be affected by the new tree ordinance. f L 1 » E JT , 4 4/ LJI. A. Paxton time last weekend. Forsyth County residents and businesses may have received an unexpected call from the sheriff on Saturday or Sunday. The Sheriff’s Office will continue to make the test calls until all 129,000 phone lines in the county have been contacted, sheiff's offi cials said. The system can make 250 prere corded calls every two to three min utes to selected phone numbers. Warnings of a chemical spill, an escaped criminal or missing child can be distributed quickly to those in the vicinity of the incident. Reverse 911 also can be used to check on the welfare of homebound residents in the county. As part of the “Guardian Project." the reverse 911 system will place a prerecorded call to a list of homebound individ uals. If the call is not answered, the See 97 1, Page 2A Partly Cloudy LAKE LANIER LEVELS Date Level I. March 28 1069.88 ft March 29 1069.89 ft March 30 1069.89 ft '■ March 31 1069.93 ft Full 1071.00 ft High in the low 60s. Low in the low 40s. 5,1 B •ps rival North was going on and. at the same time, arranged for the children to be safely secured away from a potentially haz ardous situation.” The sheriff’s office tested its new Reverse 91 I system for the first