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Forsyth ( nui it > v --- ■ J Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT r *GO pAWbb* Q mOIN | ib r Vol. 95, No. 66 Race comes through Forsyth Roads to close for the Tour de Georgia bicycle event By Nicole Green Staff Writer The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office will close several roads Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p in. to clear a path for the Tour de Georgia bicycle race. The event which features Lance Armstrong and other world class cyclists will pass through Forsyth County on the final day of the statewide tour. Race organizers rec ommend that spectators wishing to view the race arrive 30 minutes prior New base for probe Four investigators seek clues to disappearance By Nicole Green Staff Writer The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office relocated the operations center for further investigations into the dis- appearance of Patrice Tamber Endres, a beauti cian missing since April 15. from north Forsyth to downtown Cumming on Wednesday. Roughly 200 people attend a candlelight vigil for Patrice Endres. See page 3A. For a week investigators were stationed at Zion Hill Baptist Church on Hwy. 369 near the site of Endres' suspected abduc tion. The sheriff moved the command post to 304 W. Main St to allow the church to continue its regular business. "We appreciate the church opening its doors to us and allowing us to use this facility,” Sheriff Ted Paxton said Wednesday in a statement. The new command center will "remain open indefinitely," the sheriff said. The relocation of the command center is not an indication that the investigation into Endres' disappear ance has slowed. This investigation has not slowed down one bit since Thursday after noon. Chief Deputy Robbie Hamrick said. Though sherifffs officers have explored every possible lead, they are still unsure who and how many people are involved in the kidnapping. Hamrick said. A witness provided the sheriff’s office w ith a description of a suspect seen in a white cargo van out side Tamber's Trim-N-Tan salon on Hwy. 369 (Matt Highway) around the See SEARCH, Page 2A i Vfl L < BBt S ■■ ” r *9K 4HE ' * ,*■ A ■ < ▼ jhk k I j 9 re t ~ 4H , Photo/David McGregor Artist Gloria Winters is joined by third-grader Brenden Hull, Kindergarteners Joanna Cone, Caleb Butcher, Steven Finley, Quinn Oppehiem, Alexis Godfrey and assistant principal Kathie Braswell in front of Winters' favorite part of the mural she painted at Mashburn Elementary School. 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 C 2004 Fortyth County Now* <1 ' 94 04 )0 to the cyclists' tentative schedule. Racers will enter Forsyth on Hwy. 369 from Cherokee County. Hwy. 369 to Hwy. 9 South will be closed to Spot Road. The event will then travel down Dr. Bramblett Road to Hwy. 20 (Canton Highway) into downtown Cumming. From down town Cumming, cyclists will travel down Castleberry Road to Hwy. 9 into Fulton County. The racers will be involved in a sprint as they near the courthouse Students get lesson in the law i JI Photo/David McGregor North Forsyth Middle School seventh-grader Jory Walsh takes a turn with Judge Jeffery S. Bagley s gavel during North Forsyth Middle School's leadership team's visit to the Forsyth County Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon. INDEX Abby 4 A Church events 8A Classifieds ...~.».„„.... U ........68 Deaths 2A Food 6A Horoscope 4A Opinion 11A Sports IB FRIDAY April 23, 2004 square in Cummipg. A sprint is a race within the race, awarding the winner a reduction in his overall time. The Cumming finish line will be just after the turn onto Castleberry Road, though racers will not stop in Forsyth County. The actual finish line is on Haynes Bridge Road in Alpharetta. Capt. Mark Hoffman of the Special Operations Unit said that only traffic going in the direction of the race will be allowed during the event. Mural teaches importance of planet earth By Nancy Smallwood Associate Editor While many chose to remember the beauty of natural resources on Earth Day. April 22. Mashburn Elementary students have a lasting reminder of the Earth's brilliance preserved on the walls of their school. Students, parents and elementary school staff, along with local artist Gloria Winters, gave input into the discovery theme for the mural that runs throughout the hallways of the school. The grandness of the theme also can be seen in the school’s media center and courtyard area. Winters completed research on animals in various countries and the South American rain forest before beginning her painting at the school. “The people at the library got to know me fairly well by the time I was finishing the project.” said Recipes for pork tenderloin that will make your mouth water. Page GA ' ' tr iji4.mrj»i ■■■■J Tour de / Georgia / route > / •Yellow line indicates race route ,'T" / H i BuforStHwy. Atlant* Hwy. f Graphic by Tracie Callaway & The students loved to watch and acted as my own personal cheer leaders throughout the project. -Gloria Winters Winters. The Mashburn Teacher-Parent Organization (TPO) paid for the mural project and it was the kinder garten grade chairperson. Barbara Vella, who expressed the need to have the design flow from one area to the next. Children and parents at the school helped paint the signs that name each location point in the hallways. “The students loved to watch and actpd as my own personal cheerleaders throughout the proj ect,” said Winters. See what’s happening in local churches. PageSA Board eyes building ban until safety standards set By Todd Truelove Staff Writer Fire safety was the dominant theme of zoning discus sions of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners Monday during public hearings. The board is considering banning building permits until county staff devel op safety standards. In the aftermath of a fire that ram paged through the Manchester Court subdivision off Hutchinson Road in cen tral Forsyth destroying five homes and damaging 14 others in the process the board approved conditions to developers' zoning requests that ranged from the distance between fire hydrants to requiring noncombustible siding materials for houses. Commissioner A.J. Pritchett, whose district encompasses most of south Forsyth, led the charge toward placing conditions on several zoning requests requiring siding to be made of noncom bustible materials. In addition. Pritchett voted against a new site plan for a subdivision off Gilbert and Trammel roads that, while calling for more fire hydrants at 400- foot intervals, reduced the amount of space between the homes from about 22 feet to 13 feet. “There's a considerable distance change,” said Pritchett. His concerns sparked a debate with Chairman Jack Conway. Partly Cloudy High in the mid-80s. Low in the high 50s. SPORTS, 1B Eagles just miss region title See COMMISSION, Page 2A The media center’s walls now feature kangaroos and koala bears from Australia, eagles and black bears from America along with a pride of lions from Africa. "1 used what I thought would delight the kids," said Winters. The project began last summer and Winters continued to work on the paintings for three to four hours a day until it was completed in January. The idea for the shark painting came from one of Winters' two sons who attend Coal Mountain Elementary School. The focal point of the mural is the school’s courtyard where stu dents often take a break for lunch and the school’s annual Blue Bear Festival is held. One portion of the wall features a large waterfall with a swimming capybara —a semi aquatic rodent from South America. A toucan and jaguar along with a See MURAL, Page 2A LAKE LANIER LEVELS Date Level April 18 1070.29 ft April 19 1070.30 ft April 20 1070.31 ft April 21 1070.33 ft Full 1071.00 ft fTi Pritchett ■ u 4 *. Ji Conway