Newspaper Page Text
s
■ Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 rrrn-rJ*********** 3-DIGIT
Vol. 96, No. 100
Local man
found guilty
of animal
cruelty
Sentencing deferred until
later, could get 1 to 5 years
By Stephen Gurr
Staff Writer
A jury decided a Forsyth County man was not within
his rights to shoot a Labrador named Molly with an
arrow when the dog wandered onto his property in
November.
Joseph Ted Williams, 45, was found guilty of aggra¬
vated cruelty to animals, a that carries a sentence
i
Williams
dog with a 60-pound compound bow and razor-tipped
arrow because it was a threat to his chickens, about 100
of which he raised behind his trailer home. But he con¬
tradicted the story he initially gave detectives when he
testified Wednesday that the dog was “gulping back”
feathers in his front yard when he drew a bead on it from
his kitchen window.
“There was feathers everywhere, dude,” Williams told
Assistant District Attorney David Lyles during often
rambling testimony under cross examination.
Williams told detectives shortly after the shooting that
the dog never touched his chickens, but appeared to be a
threat to them, according to court testimony. Several
chickens had been killed on the property by an unknown
animal, he told authorities.
See CRUELTY, Page 2A
Citywide water system expansion planned
Bids for the improvements are
being accepted through July 14
By Crystal Ledford
Staff Writer
City water system expansions are
in the works for both the southern
and northern ends of the Cumming
system.
At the June meeting Tuesday, the
Cumming City Council voted unani-
Sheriff’s office to continue
conducting ‘safety checks’
By Stephen Gurr
Staff Writer
A roadblock set up near a popular teen
hangout in south Forsyth last weekend yielded
seven arrests in 30 minutes, part of an ongoing
campaign by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s
Office to focus on teen driving in die wake of
several recent fatal crashes.
Officers set up what they called a “safety
check” on Westminster Lane at the Aberdeen
subdivision from midnight to 12:30 a.m.
Saturday, sheriff’s officials said. The result:
two teens charged with DUI, two teens charged
with underage consumption of alcohol, two
teens charged with violation of their provi-
Missed replacement paper policy: call
For a paper,
8:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m. and Wednesday, Sunday
Thursday, Friday,
( 770 ) 887 - 3126 .
Copyright 0 2005 Fowyth County Hmi
>4
FRIDAY June 24,2005
of one to five years. Sentencing before
Judge Jeffrey Bagley was deferred to a
later date.
Williams took the witness stand in
his own defense Wednesday to try to
justify the Nov. 12 shooting, which ulti¬
mately ended in the dog’s death after
surgery at a local veterinarian hospital.
The dog was a pet of Williams’ neigh¬
bors on Nicholson Road who discov¬
ered the wounded dog at their doorstep
with an arrow protruding from its side.
Williams maintained he shot the
mously to solicit bids for construc¬
tion of a new Fenwick Pump Station
in southern Forsyth and to extend
water lines near Georgia Highways
369 and 400 in northern Forsyth.
John Heard, director of utilities,
said both projects are necessary due
to Forsyth’s ever-increasing popula¬
tion.
Paxton
on a regular basis and are determined to keep
our roads safe for everyone.”
See SAFETY, Page 2A
INDEX
Abby 15B
Church events 10A
Classifieds—
Deaths.™.______ M
Food BA
Horoscope 15B
Opinion...... 11A
Sports IB
Castles in the sand
«ip m
■
• 4*
'V- > V
i
>j
■fW
He said the existing Fenwick
Pump Station was built in the early
1990s to handle “small flow” from
the Panduit Corp 1 . of Georgia plant
and some homes in the area.
However, due to population growth
in the area, the station is now “under¬
sized” and needs to be replaced.
“That area has grown so rapidly.
For instance, one subdivision alone
has added 950 homes,” he said.
Heard said the new Fenwick
Pump Station already has been bud¬
geted through the city’s utility fund.
Fire damages home
r“~“ zm ti:
—'si V.
■ VJ
{• if
nil. v W 1,
.....
Photo/Sam Freeman
Firefighters work to extinguish a house fire on Buford Dam Road Wednesday.
No injuries were reported. See story, page 2A.
sional driver’s licenses, and
one 24-year-old arrested on
a charge of marijuana pos¬
session.
“I hope we’re sending a
message to parents and teen
drivers that we are very
serious about teen drivers
violating the law and con¬
suming alcohol,” Sheriff
Ted Paxton said. “We will
be conducting safety checks
Food
Simple weeknight
chicken saute
recipes.
PageBA
Campers from the Sharon Springs Park Spy Camp take
part of the day to enjoy the beach at Young Deer Park on
Lake Lanier Wednesday. Above, from left, Amy
Rutherford, 10, and Alex Merck, 8, build in the sand. Left,
Claire Darling, 7, builds a sand castle. Below, from left,
Natalie Myers, 12, Maddison Umbaugh, 9, and Cassidy
Weekes, 9, build a dam.
Photos/Ron Logan
— 1 T»r
rSm?*' I ■
-
However, he did request that the city
council allow for solicitation of bids
for the project to secure the lowest
cost.
Heard said the growing popula¬
tion is also the reason for the exten¬
sion of water lines in the northern
part of the system.
“The north is also growing,” he
said. “There are several proposed
businesses in that area, but there’s no
city waterline to handle them at this
time.”
Bids will also be taken for this
Religion
See what’s
happening in
local churches.
PagelOA
306
■.« Dizzy
gets .
libr
project, which will include approxi¬
mately 6,600 feet of 12-inch water
line and 250 feet of 24-inch steel cas¬
ing bore under Ga. 400.
Bids for the water line project
will be accepted through July 14 and
for the pump station through July 14.
Heard said the cost of the water
line project will come from the utili¬
ty renewal fund, but that upcoming
businesses in the area will also be
See CITY, Page 2A
Partly Cloudy LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
June 19 1071.86 ft
j June 20 1071.77 ft
June 21 1071.61 ft
\ June 22 1071:46 ft
ippp Full . 1071.00ft
High in the high 80s. „ a*.-'
Lj&fPt h ■
Low in the mid~60s.