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Forsyth CountvNews J Your "Hometown Paper 1 ' Since 1908 • lo^*^wswr\rsject t 306 Vol. 95, No. 60 Is it spring yet? jfc w I 1 f wk 1 w-' x ■ / x" z' / A <a—J' ’£>, —•••—• s' ' ,r f> f Photo/David McGregor Emily Trong and Lily Vo battle the cold weather Monday afternoon in front of the county courthouse in downtown Cumming. With overcast skies, gusty winds and temperatures in the 50s, Forsythians had to bundle up once again. Owens named to Lanier Islands board By Harris Blackwood Community Editor Joni Owens of Cumming has been named to the Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority. The nine-member board has administrative oversight for the 1,200-acre islands park north of Buford. The appointment, which will not affect her job as president of the Cumming- Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, was announced Monday by Gov. Sonny Perdue. “I'm looking forward to serving as Cumming and Forsyth County ’s represen tative and working with fellow authority members,” Owens said. The Lake Lanier Islands Authority was created in 1962 by the General Assembly to develop the site. The park first opened CRCT testing to begin for Forsyth students By Nancy Smallwood Associate Editor Principals and teachers are asking parents to give their children a head start on being prepared for the Criterion Reference Competency Tests (CRCT) this week by making sure they eat a good breakfast and get plenty of rest. Students in grades one through eight will be sharpening their No. 2 pencils to take the tests beginning on Wednesday and ending on April 23. Georgia law requires that schools administer the testing in the areas of reading, language arts and mathemat ics. Students in grades three through eight also will be tested in science and social studies. The governor's education bill which was recently approved requires all third-graders pass the CRCT reading assessment before they can be promoted to the fourth grade. The CRCT is designed to measure how well students acquire, learn and accomplish the knowledge and skills set forth in a specific curriculum. The 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 N»wt 90994"0400 WEDNESDAY April 14, 2004 Owens changed from operating to administrative oversight. “ said Lee Smith, executive director of the authority. "All major con struction has to be approved by the author ity and after that by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers." KSL. a California-based company has been the lease holder since 1996 and has tests give educators and parents infor mation on academic achievement at the student, class, school system and state level. The information is used to diagnose individual student strengths and weaknesses as related to instruc tion. The mandated test consists of only multiple choice questions currently, but officials say it could contain a small number of constructed response questions in future years. Ninety four percent of all first-graders in 2002 passed the reading CRCT exam, according to the Forsyth County School System's Web site. Ninety one percent of the third-graders in 2002 passed the reading exam. The state’s results were lower and only 84 percent of third-graders passed the reading exam. The bill requiring third-graders to pass the reading exam also authorizes local school systems to place students that fail the exam in a transition class or provide extended learning for such students. The state also requires a performance study on each student who fails the test. INDEX Ab by ■•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• MO 3B Classifieds 138 t3eaths ~ Events 6A Horoscope 3B Legals 4B Opinion 8A Sports IB in 1974 and now includes a number of major attrac tions including two golf courses, two hotels, and a beach and waterpark. The authority operated the facilities until 1996, when the operation was leased to a private compa ny under a plan by then- Gov. Zell Miller. “At that time, our role r WEIL ■ Photo/Audra Perry Sixth-graders at Liberty Middle School practice for the Criterion Reference Competency Test. Advice Dear Abby dishes out good advice. Page3B made a number of improvements, includ ing the construction of a convention center at the Emerald Pointe resort. The authority oversees the company’s operation of the park under terms of the lease. Owens. 44, succeeds Catherine Amos, who served two four-year terms on the authority’s board. The board is made up of representatives from Forsyth. Hall, and Gwinnett counties, along with five at-large members. The commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources is also a member of the authority. Owens has served as head of the Forsyth chamber since 1999. She has served as a director of the Georgia Economic Developers Association and the Georgia Chambers of Commerce Exec utives Association. She and her husband. Randy, have three children. Opinion Columnist Bill Shipp shares his perspective of Georgia politics. PageßA Chief takes responsibility Wants an ‘inspector general’ By Nicole Green and Todd Truelove Staff Writers Fire Chief Danny Bowman publicly took responsibil ity before the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners Monday for the April 4 fires that destroyed five Forsyth homes. “As your fire chief, I am ultimately responsible for all actions taken by the entire fire service in our county,” Bowman said. Bowman said he is determined that such a disaster will not happen again at least not on his watch. Two fire hydrants were inoperable in Manchester Court subdivision on Hutchinson Road where the fire took place. The fire department reported the problem to the Cumming Department of Utilities, Bowman has said. However, there is no doc umentation to prove that the water department received the maintenance request, and firefighters did not follow up on the service. “Although it is not my job to repair the water system, it is nonetheless my responsibility to assure that staff submits such reports in a timely manner, and then com pletes the process by rechecking the hydrants in a timely manner,” Bowman said. High winds on April 4 propagated the flames fire investigators say began with a charcoal grill underneath a screened porch. Seven fire engines later, five houses on Deerbome Drive were left a smoldering pile of memories. “Although 1 cannot turn back the hands of time and bring back the homes and contents of the residents who so tragically lost all of their possessions. I have begun the process of assuring that such a chain of events never occurs again.” Bowman said. Bowman would like to hire another set of eyes to oversee fire department operations, he told the board of commissioners. The proposed “inspector general" would inspect station operations in the fire department. Holding the rank and authority of a captain, the inspector general would report directly to the fire chief. "[The inspector general] would inspect everything mandated by the fire chief." Bowman said. For example, if the fire chief instructed the inspector general to review the map books. Bowman said he would expect a report on the condition of the fire department's map books on his desk at the beginning of the next busi ness day. The fire department budget would fund the position, if approved by the board of commissioners. Bowman plans to formally submit his proposal to the board at the May 3 commission meeting. In an effort to correct any loopholes in hydrant inspection procedure, the three department battalion chiefs will create an “airtight process” for reporting dys functional hydrants to the city or county water depart ments. See FIRE, Page 2A Partly Cloudy High in the low 60s. Low in the high 30s. TTrW JnwLJLBHI SPORTS, 1B K Fighting. Southern style IH Bowman LAKE LANIER LEVELS Date Level April 9 1069.94 ft April 10 1069.95 ft April 11 1069.95 ft April 12 1069.99 ft Full 1071.00 ft , ***“ ** ’ -7?.<