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Armstrong souvenir left by famed biker in Forsyth By Harris Blackwood Community Editor It’s not exactly an Elvis scarf, a Barry Bonds baseball, or a Mean Joe Greene towel, but Dodi Mace came away with an unexpected souvenir from the final leg of the Dodge Tour de Georgia ...a Lance Armstrong water bottle. Mace said that she could not convince other members of her family to make the trek, by automobile, to see the rac ers pass by the Publix Shopping Center at the inter section of Hwy. 9 and Post Road. "I was standing in front of the Chevron station and they came flying past.” said Mace. "1 saw something come flying my way and it hit me in the knee." She picked up the water bottle and was suddenly besieged by persons offering to buy it. "At first. 1 didn’t realize it was his (Armstrong’s)." Mace said. The source of the water bottle was confirmed when she viewed a neighbor's home Pritchett reconsidering political future; others qualify By Colby Jones Staff Writer Forsyth County Commis sioner A.J. Pritchett is recon sidering whether he wants to run for tax commissioner, make a bid for re-election to his District 2 seat or forego political office altogether. “All three of those." Pritchett said of his options on Monday the first day those seeking office were allowed to officially declare their candi dacy by paying a qualifying fee. The announcement by Pritchett comes two months after he declared his bid to enter the crow ded field for tax commissioner. 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"My husband said that 1 should sell it on E-bay, but I’m going to hang on to it.” Aside from the water bot tle. the passage of the Tour de Georgia was rather uneventful. Families with folding chairs and seated on the back of pickups gathered 30 to 45 minutes before the bikers came whizzing through down town Cumming. Within a few minutes the event was over for those who came to view the racing spectacle as it pedaled toward the finish line in Alpharetta. "I was surprised how many people were there,” said Armstrong about the large crowds who showed up from Dawsonville to Alpharetta for the Grand Finale of the Dodge Tour de Georgia. “Actually I was surprised how many peo ple came out the whole week. 1 didn’t really expect that, and I don't think the other riders expected that. It was great for the race. 1 hope it's an indica tion of what we can do in the future with cycling." Armstrong, the five-time Tour de France winner, won Pritchett "I have a few i’s to dot and t’s to cross," Pritchett said of his indeci sion. "It’s ab out my per sonal ambi tions and considera- tions of my family." Following the first day of qualifying, candidates for the tax commission post included Matthew Maiorano, Wayne Plummer and Matthew Ledbetter. Maiorano, an accountant w ho works in the tax commis sioner's office, and Plummer. the General Classification (G.C.) in the second annual Dodge Tour de Georgia. Armstrong walked away with the title after spending four days defending the yellow Dodge Race Leader jersey, Gord Fraser captured Sunday’s final stage, an 88.4- mile course that finished on the streets of Alpharetta. Armstrong edged Jens Voigt of Germany by 24 sec onds for the G.C. title with a final time of 25 hours. 39 min utes and 20 seconds. While on his way to victo ry, Armstrong claimed two stage victories on an epic dou ble stage day in Rome on April 22, the Stage 3 stage race from Carrollton to Rome and the Stage 4 Individual Time Trial. Finishing second overall. Voigt had a final time of 25.39 minutes, 44 seconds 24 seconds behind Armstrong. Defending Dodge Tour de Georgia champion Chris Horner of Webcor Builders was third, 1 minute, .01 of a second back in the G.C. Among the other classifi cation winners, Fraser, of a local political activist who managed Commission Chairman Jack Conway’s campaign in 2002, previously announced their intention to run for the tax commissioner’s post. A lifetime resident of Forsyth County, Ledbetter works for R & L Poultry Supply and is the son of Lewis Ledbetter, who has served on the Cumming City Council for more than three decades. It is the younger Ledbetter's first foray into politics. The 37-year-old said he wants to make the tax com missioner's office more effi cient and customer friendly, possibly establishing satellite Canada, representing the Health Net team, won the MAXXIS Sprint jersey. He wore the jersey after the first stage in Macon, and reclaimed if in Stage 6 on the top of Brasstown Bald Mountain. Kevin Bouchard-Hall (USA) of TIAA-CREF won the Powerade Best Young Rider jersey, retaining it for the third consecutive day. Jason McCartney (USA) of the Health Net team won the Georgia Power King of the Mountain jersey after a solo breakaway in Stage 5, the first of two challenging mountain stages, and remained the cov eted climber’s jersey to the end. Team CSC won the Best Team category with the lowest cumulative time of 77.05'17”, 1’39” ahead of the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling team. Finishing behind Fraser at the line in Alpharetta for sec ond place in Stage 7 was Juan Jose Haedo (Spain) of the Colavita Olive Oil team. Crowd favorite Mario Cipollini (Italy) of Domina Vacanze finished third with the same time. offices in the county allowing residents more convenient access. A former chairman of the county commission. Bill Jenkins, announced his plan to run for the post but had not qualified as of late Monday afternoon. In other local races, the following candidates officially threw their names into the hat as of late Monday afternoon: • Board of Commissioners District 2 - Michael Busse; • Board of Education District 3 - Sharon J. Kasica; • Board of Education District 4 - Ronnie Pinson, Michael R. Schlabra; • Sheriff - Ted Paxton (incumbent); FORSYTH COUNTY NE WS W«dn«»d»y, April 28,2004 - |R i ■ CP I lb b I HL ! > ■ Photo/David McGrego: Forsyth resident Dodi Mace holds a momento from the Tour de Georgia U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong’s water bottle. Armstrong threw the bottle into the crowc that gathered at the Midway Publix. • Solicitor General - Leslie Abernathy (incum bent); • State Court Judge - Philip Smith (incumbent); • State Court Judge - Russell McLelland (incum bent); • Clerk of Court - Douglas Sorrells (incumbent); • Probate Court Judge - Woody Jordan; • Chief Magistrate - Melissa Banker. The qualifying period runs until noon Friday. The sitting commissioner from District 2 said he will make his decision by then. “That's the good news," he said. ENDRES from 1A owners feel their sense ol security has been broken. The sheriff’s office utilized the reverse 911 system that alerted all in the area of the search foi Endres. Neighborhood Watch pro grams are on specific alert lot the possible suspect and the white cargo van he was driv ing. All leads will be investi gated in the hopes that one small tip could bring the beau tician's safe return, according to sheriff's Capt. Rot. Freeman. Anyone with information i Endres or the suspect is askee to call the Forsyth Counts Sheriff's Office at (770) 781 2222. A $5,000 reward i offered for information leadin to Endres' recovery. PAGE 3A