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Forsyth Count v x J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 J Vol. 95, No. 58 Two banks in Forsyth robbed in two days Photo/Nicole Green From left, Forsyth County sheriff’s Cpl. David Garrison and Deputy Richard Blevins use K-9 officer Ranger to search a nearby parking lot for the robber of a Browns Bridge Road bank Wednesday. The suspect scattered the contents of a bag he took from the bank, right on the ground, after a dye bomb went off. Assembly ends session without balanced budget Library, college funds remain By Harris Blackwood Community Editor As the final gavel falls on the 40th and final day of the Georgia General Assembly, the grand doors of the House and Senate are opened and the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House peer at each other down the center aisle of their chambers and across the Capitol rotunda. IrW The two presiding officers now use I 9 the convenience of the telephone to' ■ simultaneously adjourn the legislature H "Sine Die." a Latin term meaning with- out a day or with no time fixed. That grand old tradition was carried out Wednesday night and as the gavels banged, the lawmakers sent the remain in ing papers on their desks flying skyward * 0X in a giant celebration. A floor below, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced that there would be another day for the legislature. A special session will likely convene Tuesday after the Legislature failed to do the one task required during its regular session ... pre senting the governor with a balanced budget. The lawmakers also failed to act on a bill regarding indigent defense. The bill would have generated an estimat ed $52 to 557 million from court fines and would have filled a gap in the budget. Now, lawmakers will have to come back to Atlanta and fix the budget and address any other matters that Perdue may include in his call for a special session. “I've been there twice in special sessions that ended up being a month or longer,” said Rqp. Tom Knox (R- Cumming) on the morning after the the Legislature's final regular day. Knox's House colleague, Rep. Jack Murphy (R- Cumming), was equally disappointed. “I'm not looking forward to a special session," said Murphy, who is hopeful that the $45,000 a day cost would hold the called meeting to about a week. Forsyth fifth fastest growing in nation; Census estimates population at 123,811 By Todd Truelove Start Writer Forsyth County continues to have one of the fastest growing population bases in tbe United States, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. From April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2003, Forsyth County’s population grew by 25,404 people and was the fifth fastest growing county in the nation with a 25.8 percent increase from a population of 98,407 reported in the 2000 Census. An estimated 123,811 people now reside in 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 € 2004 Fortyth County N*wi jE See LEGISLATURE, Page 2A Forsyth County. In Georgia, only Chattahoochee County on the Alabama border ranked second with a 29.9 percent increase grew faster than Forsyth County through the three-year span. Chattahoochee is dominated by Fort Benning, the Army post near Columbus. Nearly three-fourths of the county’s land mass is contained in the military reservation. The state has five counties ranked in the top 10 fastest growing counties in the nation. The other three all within the metro Atlanta area are Henry County, ranked at No. 6 with a INDEX Ab by 5A Church events 6A Deaths 2A Food 8A Horoscope 5A Opinion 9A Sports IB FRIDAY April 9, 2004 Fire destroys mobile home "Hra. , Tat * ■k_—* Photo/David McGregor Forsyth County firefighters pour water on a mini van after it and a mobile home burned at 6420 Crystal Cove Drive near the Forsyth/Dawson County line Wednesday. Both the residence and vehicle were destroyed. Battalion chief Tommy Coleman said the home, owned by Rebecca Schuman, and van were fully involved in flames when two fire engines arrived on the scene. The home reportedly was not connected to power or gas. One occupant of the house was treated on the scene but no serious injuries were reported. Parents of 2 killed in fire face charges By Nicole Green Start Writer A Cherokee County man and woman have been charged with reckless conduct in connection with the house fire that killed their two sons on Feb. 9. An investigation also revealed that the father of the two boys had methampheta mine in his bloodstream on the morning the house at 13778 Cumming Highway • Recipes for a terrific Easter brunch to please everybody. PageßA Two suspects remain at large in separate incidents By Nicole Green Staff Writer Robbers hit two Forsyth County banks on two separate days Tuesday and Wednesday in north and south ends of the county. The incidents occurred Wednesday at United Community Bank on Hwy. 369 (Browns Bridge Road), and Tuesday at Bank of America on Hwy. 141 (Peachtree Parkway). In the Wednesday incident, a man escaped with a wad of cash from the bank in Lanier Commons shopping center until a security dye pack exploded his prospects. “We feel confident that the rob ber. at minimum, has his hands cov ered in red dye which came from the dye pack in the money he stole,” 25.7 percent increase; Newton County, ranked at No. 8 with a 22.8 percent increase; and Paulding County, ranked at No. 9 with a 22.7 percent increase. According to the Census figures, Fulton County has the largest popu lation base in Georgia with 818,322 residents. Greg Harper, a demographer with the U.S. Census Bureau, said data indicates the majority of Forsyth County’s population increase about 18.500 was from people See CENSUS, Page 2A Food said Capt. Ron Freeman, command er of criminal investigations for the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. Wearing a red bandana around his face, a white male in his mid 30s entered United Community Bank at 4365 Browns Bridge Road around 9:30 a.m. He was not carry ing a weapon, nor was a weapon implied. Freeman said. The robber went around the teller counter and took the money himself, including the dye pack. The dye pack exploded in the thief’s hands just as he reached the Publix supermarket parking lot next to the bank. "He lost all his money right there,” Sheriff Ted Paxton said at the scene. A bank drive-through security burned. Cherokee investigators say. John David Johnson. 39. and Belinda Palmer Johnson, 38, saw and smelled smoke in their residence before they left on a 4 a.m. trip to the grocery store, say Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office investi gators. Unable to find the cause of the smoke, the Johnsons left their two chil dren alone and asleep in the house. When the Johnsons returned at 5:45 a.m., they were met by fire engines and the tragic Religion D See what’s # happening in local churches. Page6A The 10 fastest growing counties in the nation from April 1,2000 to July 1,2003: COUNTY—2OO3 estimate—2ooo count —change—percent change 1. Loudoun County, Va. —221,746—169,599—52,147—30.7 2. Chattahoochee County, Ga. —19,333 —14,882 —4,451 —29.9 3. Douglas County, Colo. —223,471—175,766—47,705—27.1 4. Rockwall County, Texas —54,630 —43,080—11,550—26.8 5. Forsyth County, Ga. —123,811—98,407—25,404—25.8 6. Henry County, Ga. —150,003—119,341—30,622—25.7 7. Flagler County, Fla. —62,206—49,832—12,374—24.8 8. Newton County, Ga. —76,144—62,001—14,143—22.8 9. Paulding County, Ga.—100,071—81,587—18,484—22.7 10. Kendall County, 111.-66,565—54,544—12,021—22.0 Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau Sunny LAKE LANIER LEVELS Date Level April 4 1069.96 ft Aprils 1069.96 ft April 6 1069.94 ft April 7 1069.94 ft Full 1071.00 ft High in the mid-70s. Low in the high 40s. 06 ■ Ljnp SPORTS, 1B L ” mg break for Forsyth teams camera spied the man fleeing on foot to the end of the Publix park ing lot. The Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, with the help of German shep herd Ranger, tracked the thief’s footprints to where he most likely intercepted a getaway vehicle, Freeman said. No one was injured in the inci dent. The Sheriff's Office is work ing with the regional Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Gainesville to find the suspect, Freeman said. The Tuesday robbery was reported at 3:15 p.m. in south Forsyth. A black male stole a bag full of SIOO, SSO and S2O bills from Bank of America at 3651 Peachtree See ROBBERY, Page 2A news that Christopher Johnson. 11. and Jeffrey Johnson. 13. were dead. The couple was arrested Monday in Cumming where they have resided since the fire. Each was charged with two counts of reckless conduct, according to a sheriff’s office report. The sheriff’s office collected informa tion for their case while they waited on See PARENTS, Page 2A