Newspaper Page Text
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Photo/David McGregor
Postal Service employee Glen Smith takes tax information from Lisa
Scheib outside the Cumming Post Office on Tax Day, April 15, shortly
before the office’s 5 p.m. closing. Taxpayers lined up to mail their returns
so they would not be forced to drive to another county for a post office
that stayed open later.
School board listens to parents’ concerns about Sharon’s leadership
By Nancy Smallwood
Associate Editor
A group of organized par
ents at Sharon Elementary
School took their complaints
about the school's administra
tion to the Forsyth County
School Board on Thursday.
Debra McCormick, add
ressed the board during a pub
lic forum at the April 15
school board meeting.
McCormick, a resident of
St. Mario subdivision and par
ent of two children who attend
the school, said at least 100
parents would like the board
to take an active role in resolv
ing the problems at the school.
Several parents have
already sent e-mails, letters
and made phone calls to
school board members about
issues surrounding the admin
istration of the school, said
McCormick during her pres-
In Remembrance of
Melody Marie Mizer
/ nIKH \
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\ H "iH
\ ' HF
With deep appreciation to the friends, colleagues,
students and extended family members who gave
their time, prayers, love and support during
Melody’s battle with ovarian cancer.
The comfort provided by all of you during this
difficult time will forever remain in our hearts.
Gratefully,
The Mizer family
Mary Ann, Mountie,
Stacy, Lee & Made,
Glen, Paige & Brodie
entation. She said a broad
overview of the group’s issues
include: intimidating treat
ment of teachers, lack of
teacher support, the school’s
policies in regards to pro
grams and activities both cur
riculum-based and extracurric
ular, teacher morale and the
discouragement of parental
involvement.
“Hundreds of parents from
Sharon Elementary School are
extremely concerned about the
conflict at Sharon Elementary
School and the way the school
has been administered since
its induction,” said Mc-
Cormick.
Concerns were made pub
lic over the school’s adminis
tration when county officials
confirmed the resignation of
the school's music teacher,
Miriam Reynolds, for the fol
lowing year. Several parents
also brought their concerns to
the school’s recent Parent
Teacher Association meeting.
The group even designed
their own Internet survey for
other parents to complete con
fidentially concerning the
administration issues and pre
sented the results of the survey
to the school board at the
meeting. Results from the
survey have been both positive
and negative, according to
McCormick.
In an interview after the
meeting, Stephens said the
school board would evaluate
the comments and information
presented by McCormick but
would not in any way commit
the board to a specific action.
The board is in the process of
reviewing and approving their
own survey for parents to
complete at all elementary
schools, according to
Stephens. Stephens confirmed
the board had received infor-
Police: Pair files false rape report
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A local woman and her hus
band fabricated a story about two
Hispanic men kidnapping, raping
and holding her hostage for four
days in her own car, leading to a
nearly two-month investigation
into the case, according to the
Cumming Police Department.
Cumming residents Angela
Dawn Wilbanks, 31, and her hus
band, Moises Rodreguez, 32, face
criminal charges in connection
with the case. Both were charged
with making false statements.
Wilbanks also was charged
with false report of a crime. The
crimes are misdemeanors punish
able by a SI,OOO fine and up to a
year in the county jail. Rodreguez
was taken into custody on April
13 and released on bond.
Wilbanks was charged on April 14
and remains in custody at the Hall
County Jail, where she is being
held on drug charges in an unre
lated case.
The extensive police investiga
tion began Feb. 22 when a woman
walked into Northside Hospital
Forsyth and relayed the following
story to medical staff: As she left
Aguilera’s Food Market in
Cumming in her mother’s car on
mation from the Sharon parent
group’s survey but said he
along with other board mem
bers would like to hear from
additional people at the school
before taking any action.
“We will continue to
gather information since
there also have been calls to
us in support of the adminis
tration at the school,” said
Stephens. “I do think there is
room for improvement, but
we want to get more people
involved.”
The organized parents will
continue to work within
school system policies to have
their issues addressed, accord
ing to McCormick. Parent rep-
400 North Board of Realtors
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April 24th. 2004
10:30 - 11:00 rtffcrtration and sign up for favorite bike at the 1 AXf T* dunr T this event I may he ph tographed and/or videotaped and by sign
Dawsonville Kroger Parking mg give permission set the future use of my image to he used in promotional material
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sponsors. supporters volunteers and all other associates of the events from all manner
You can pre-order your t-shirts for $15.00 each. of actions. causes << actions. suits, debts, claims, anti demands whatsoever relating to
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Make Checks Pay able to The American Cancer Society
Send Registration form and payment to:
5364 Highway 53E, Dawsons ilk, GA 30534 * n * <Urc Date
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, April 18, 2004
Feb. 19, two
Hispanic males
whom she did
not know asked
her for a ride to
a nearby resi
dence. She
agreed.
On the way
to the resi
dence, the man
in the back seat
held a knife to
her throat and
forced her to
drive to an
unknown loca
tion. She said
she remained
hostage in her
mother’s car for
four days
before the cap
tors left her
Rodreguez
A
Wilbanks
near Ga. 400 and drove away. A
Good Samaritan pick-ed her up
and drove her to the hospital.
At the hospital, the woman
refused to submit to a rape exam
or take a drug test. During ques
tioning about the kidnapping, she
stormed out of the hospital with
her husband, who had arrived to
comfort her, according to Capt.
Frank Goss, chief investigator for
resentatives have met twice
with Sharon Principal Dr.
Janet Reid and have
exchanged detailed informa
tion with Forsyth Schools
Superintendent Paula Gault
"We have every confidence
in the superintendent and in
this board, and we trust that
you will make the appropriate
decision to try and turn our
school around.” McCormick
said.
Two other members,
Richard Pickering and Angie
Garmon Page, prior to the
board meeting did voice con
cerns about the recent resigna
tion of one of the school’s
music teachers. However.
Cumming police.
With the report of a serious
crime filed but without the aid of
the alleged victim, police attempt
ed to locate witnesses and gather
evidence to corroborate the
woman’s account. The investiga
tion took a turn in Talmo, Ga., in
Jefferson County —a 35-mile
drive from Cumming when
Goss located the victim’s 1998
Chevrolet Lumina abandoned off
a desolate pulpwood road. Inside
the car was a green ball cap with
Pardue’s Pawn emblazoned on the
bill.
A visit to the Talmo pawn
shop revealed Moises Rodreguez
pawned a nail gun during the time
period his wife was supposedly
being held hostage, Goss said.
Rodreguez received the hat as a
promotion, he added.
The investigation went from
Talmo to Hall County, where
Wilbanks was arrested on March
22 on charges of cocaine posses
sion and violating her probation.
In the end, evidence disproved
the statements given by Wilbanks
and Rodreguez, according to Goss.
The suspects apparently filed
the false report to cover up the
fact Wilbanks borrowed her moth
er's car. then failed to return it,
Goss said.
McCormick said the group
was not there because of the
treatment of one teacher.
"While that incident has
moved many of us to finally
take action you need to realize
it was just one symptom of
much greater concern and
those concerns are why we are
here," said McCormick.
The group and Reid have
agreed to schedule a third
meeting to continue to work
on the concerns.
"We are working through
the procedural steps to try and
have our issues addressed.”
said McCormick. “But now
we feel the need for the board
to get actively involved."
PAGE 3A