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Your " Hometown Paper" Since 19 i
Vol. 95, No. 106
Hie rain just keeps coming
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Photo/David McGregor
Vehicles drive in the Cumming Square area as heavy rain storms hit Forsyth County for a few hours on Wednesday
afternoon. Scattered showers are forecast through the weekend.
County prepares for Fourth - rain or shine
By Nancy Smallwood
Associate Editor
It will be rain or shine for both
the Cumming fireworks show and
parade.
Dave Horton, Cumming’s fair¬
ground administrator, confirmed the
fireworks show would proceed as
usual despite the call for scattered
showers by the weather service.
“We run rain or shine,” said
Horton. “And usually there is a win¬
dow in which the band can take
advantage of and play through.”
More than 1,000 pounds of fire¬
works are scheduled to light up the
skies during Cumming’s annual fire¬
works show. The steam engine
parade is also set to begin the next
morning.
Cumming’s grand celebration of
Independence Day will begin on
Friday. The fireworks show will be
launched at 9:30 p.m. on Friday and
the famous Cumming steam engine
parade will begin at 10 a.m. on
Saturday, July 3.
ublil
MAPI
7
Photo/Tina DiFabio
A tanker truck used to collect raw sewage sits at Publix supermar¬
ket’s Lanier Crossing location until a sewer disposal agreement
between the city and county governments is finalized.
Missed paper policy:
Fora replacement Wednesday, paper, call
8 am - 5:30 p.m.
Thursday Sunday and Friday, (770) and 9 a.m. -1
p.m. on - 807-3120.
Copyright C 2004 Foroyft County Now«
FRIDAY July 2,2004
The best place for families and
friends to watch the fireworks show
is from the Cumming Fairgrounds on
Castleberry Road, according to
Horton.
The fairground gates will open at
6 p.m. for the start of the activities.
Plenty of hot dogs, hamburgers,
pizza and barbecue should be avail¬
able for purchase.
A live band featuring Craig
Collins and Kurt Thomas will begin
playing about an hour later for the
city’s annual street dance.
Radio station Gold 104.3 FM will
broadcast from the fairground site.
The music will pause for the fire¬
works show and will start up again
after the show for the annual dance
contest. Savings bonds will be dis¬
tributed as prizes for the dance con¬
test. Alcoholic beverages are prohib¬
ited.
“All ages are invited to partici¬
pate. It’s great family fun,” said
See PREVIEW, Page 2A
INDEX
Abby 11B
Church events 7A
Classifieds—. 4B
Deaths ...2A
Food ,6A
Horoscope Opinion 11B
•OMOOOOOOOM *••*•*••••••**»»*«* 9A
Sports IB
Lake Lanier more than full pool
for the weekend
From staff reports
As of Wednesday afternoon, staff
from the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers reported that for the sec
ond year in a row. Lake Lanier is
half a foot over its full pool level.
“Due to recent rainfall, Lake
Lanier has finally surpassed its full
lake level for this year,” said Mark
Williams, the Corps’ chief park
ranger for Lake Lanier.
Williams said the lake was at
about the same level in 2003.
However, he said levels in 2001 and
2002 were 8 and 6.5 feet below the
full level during a state drought.
“It’s kind-of a big deal for us to
be above the full level in the middle
of summer,” said Williams.
He said the Corps anticipates a
good crowd for the July 4 weekend.
County and city discuss agreement
on sewer service for shopping center
By Nancy Smallwood
Associate Editor
The sewage transport truck in the
Publix shopping center in north
Forsyth may no longer be needed
because an agreement is near
between Forsyth County and the city
of Cumming.
Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt
and Forsyth County Commissioner
Charles Laughinghouse have been
meeting to discuss an agreement
between the county and the city
regarding sewer service for the shop¬
ping center at highways 306 and 369.
Last week Gravitt sent a letter to
Laughinghouse expressing the city’s
intention to authorize the acceptance
of the development’s sewer line.
“We feel this is in the best interest
of the community.and the Publix cor¬
porate investors,” said Gravitt. “The
Food
A game plan for
making summer
entertaining a success.
PageSA
If the rain lets up, Williams said
about 400.000 are expected to utilize
the lake and adjacent federal proper
ty ^ rains, about 100,000 are
expected. “It’s very dependent on
the weather,” he said.
While the lake is above full,
Williams said it’s not at a threaten
* n 8 level. “It would take a lot more
than we currently have [to cause an
emergency discharge],” he said,
adding many things are taken into
consideration before draining water
through Buford Dam.
“You can’t just manage Lake
Lanier, you’ve got to manage all the
lakes as one unit,” said Williams.
He said in the next 30 days, it’s
projected the level will drop slightly
but remain around the full level of
1,071 feet above sea level.
if
We are sure it will be
resolved real soon...
--Dewaine Stevens, Publix
99
city of Cumming is proud to have
this fine corporation in our county
and wish them much success.”
Dewaine Stevens, a Publix
spokesperson, confirmed the store
opened in March of this year and. has
yet to be allowed to utilize the sewer
line.
"We are a tenant and it is the
landlord that will be notified if that
service becomes available,” said
Stevens. “We are sure it will be
resolved real soon and until then it is
business as usual.”
The shopping center’s sewage
Local
Planning commission
recommends Hwy. 9
drive-in theater proposal
Page2A
1
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SPORTS, IB
Former Forsyth resident blazes trail
Cobb judge
denies bail
for Turner
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
Lynn Turner will remain at Metro State Prison in
Atlanta while her attorneys appeal a May 14 murder
conviction.
Cobb Court James G. Bodiford
denied Turner’s request for bail
Tuesday.
A Houston County jury recently
determined that the former Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher poi¬
soned her husband with antifreeze in
Marietta in 1995. Bodiford sentenced
Turner to life in prison with parole.
On May 18, defense attorneys
Jimmy Berry and Vic Reynolds filed a
motion for new trial. A hearing on that
motion is set for Aug. 31.
The defense also filed a motion for
supersedeas bond that, if granted, would have allowed
Turner to return to Cumming until the judge ruled on the
motion for new trial.
Berry argued for bond by citing Turner’s record of
good behavior while out on bond during the original
trial. Turner was under house arrest in Cumming and
wore an ankle monitor. Cobb District Attorney Pat Head
countered that Turner has an incentive to flee justice
See TURNER, Page 3A
Law enforcement
ready for traffic
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
Speeding and impaired drivers
beware — the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) is out to get you.
The 100 days of Summer
HEAT” campaign will be enforced
during the Fourth of July holiday
weekend, according to NHTSA
Administrator Jeffrey Runge.
“We’ve convened law enforce¬
ment leadership from the eight
NHTSA Southeast Region states to
show a unified, unprecedented com¬
mitment to cracking down on all
motorists who break the law,” Runge
said at a Monday press conference.
Last July 4 weekend. 164 people
died in traffic accidents a cross the
See SAFETY, Page 3A
treatment service has become a pawn
in a disagreement between the coun¬
ty and the city. After the county with¬
held the city’s 15 percent share of
Special Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax revenue for two months last year
without explanation, the city council
delayed action on water and sewer
allocation with the county until the
two governments could discuss the
validity of all intergovernmental
agreements.
In 1997, the county purchased
500.000 gallons of sewer treatment
capacity for $3 million from the city
with 350,000 gallons to be used in
the Bethelview Road area and
150.000 gallons for unspecified use.
Since the use of the 150.000 was not
specified in the agreement, the city
See SEWAGE, Page 3A
Possible Storms
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
1 Date Level
June 27 1071.33 ft
June 28 1071.46 ft
Ifh h June 29 1071.58 ft
June 30 1071.63 ft
Full 1071.00ft
High in the mid-80s.
Uiw in the low 70s.
•V
Turner