Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
Deaths
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Robert Louis
McGowan Sr.
Robert Louis McGowan, Sr.,
80, of Cumming died on
Wednesday, May 28, 2008, at
Embracing Hospice. A of .
native
Honesdale, Pa., Mr. McGowan
was the son of the late Leo and
Hilda McGowan. His brother,
Bud McGowan also predeceased
him.
A Korean War Veteran and a
graduate , of „ the , „ Franklin ,. Institute .
ol Art, New York City, Mr.
McGowan enjoyed a 40-year
career as an Interior Design
Representative for Paul Hanson
Lamps and Diane Shades. His
interests included . , , , gardening, , .
reading, ait, music, and especial¬
ly trqveling to Europe. His
favorite destination was Paris,
France, where he and family
enjoyed many vacations.
Mr* McGowan had tremen¬
dous love and devotion for his
family. He is survived by his
beloved wife of 56 years, Ann
Davies McGowan of Cumming;
son, Robert L. (Kimberly)
McGowan Jr. of Cumming;
daughters, Deborah (William)
Slaughter of Ellijay; Mary (Rob)
Penney of Olympia, Wash.; and
Perian (Mickey) Rogers of
Alpharetta; sister. Jeanne Schott
of Honesdale, Pa.; brother,
James (Louise) McGowan of
Albuquerque, N.M.; grandchil
dren. Rebecca and Andrew
Penney and Annabelle and
Michaej Rogers.
- Th6 Funeral Mass will be
held at Good Shepherd Catholic
Church at 11 a.m. on Saturday,
May 3J.' Father Peter Rau and
Father Richard Morrow will
officiate. Interment will follow
at SqWnee View Memorial
Gardens. >Jfie family will
receive 6-^fr:XH. ’ffietylij Friday, May 30,
from at the funeral
home, v *
In lieuof flowers, the family
requests McGowan’s tffat donations be made
in Mf. memory to
the’ "'Mzbeimer Society,
www.alz.org or 800.272.3900.
Condolences may be
expressed online at
www.mcdonaldandson.com.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home and Crematory is in
charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
May 30. 2008
Judith Chihlas
Judith Chihlas of Roswell
died on May 12, 2008. A
native of New York, she was
the daughter of the late
William and Florence DiCarlo.
Judith is survived by her
daughters, Julie-Ann (Tony)
Collins of Cumming, and Lisa
Barra of Atlanta; brother,
James (Mary Ellen) DiCarlo of
White Lake, N.Y.; four nieces
and three nephews.
A memorial service will be
held from 2-4 p.m. on
Saturday, May 31, at the
Tuscany Italian Restaurant,
281 South Main Street, Ste.
Ill, Alpharetta, GA 30004.
Condolences may be
expressed online at
www.mcdonaldandson.com.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home and Crematory is in
charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
May 30, 2008
Viola Elizabeth White
Viola Elizabeth White, 81,
of Cumming passed away May
27, 2008.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home and Crematory is in
charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
May 30, 2008
LOOK
FOR
OBITUARIES
ON 2A
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Friday, May 30, 2008
Incident reports
Editor's note: The following
reports came from the listed agen¬
cies.
Cumming Police
Department
Out of whack - A man reported
May 25 that someone had taken two
weed whackers from his home on
Denson Drive in Cumming. He told
the investigating officer he thinks
the burglary occurred after 1 p.m.
May 23. He said he thinks the sus¬
pect entered his home through a
window in the door that was cov
ered in cardboard. The window was
broken before , he incident and he
used the cardboard to fix it. The
man said he did not know of anyone
that would have taken the lawn
equipment.
Y’all get out of here - A
woman reported that about 2:45
a m . May 25, when she and her
friends entered the Waffle House on
Canton Highway, another patron
yelled at them to leave. The investi
gating officer reported that the
told him the group came in
and harassed a cook at the restau¬
rant.
The patron said he and his
friends asked the group to stop and
then the group accused them of
being racist. Two members of the
woman’s group had left by the time
officers arrived. Those who
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from 1A
September, came to a head
Tuesday night when leaders on
both sides huddled at the county
administration building.
Among those taking part,
officials confirmed, were:
Cumming Mayor H. Ford
Gravitt; County Commissioner
Jim Harrel; County Commission
Chairman Charles Laughing
house; and County Attorney Ken
Jarrard.
Also present were James
McCoy, president and chief
executive officer of the
Cumming-Forsyth County
Chamber of Commerce, Lynn
Jackson, administrator of
Northside Hospital-Forsyth and
a past chairman of the chamber
board and two representatives
from North Georgia College &
State University,
The meeting was called by
Commissioner Brian Tam, who
asked the university and cham
ber representatives to meet at the
administration building about 4
p.m. Tuesday. The meeting last¬
ed until shortly after 10 p.m.,
Tam said Thursday morning.
“It’s not important who
organized the meeting. What’s
important is that the meeting took
place,” Tam said. “1 did what I
had to do to get all eight of them
in the room together at the same
Overview of tax accord
The intergovernmental agreement between the city of Cumming and Forsyth County on
SPLOST V and SPLOST VI includes 10 points.
The full, signed agreement can be found online at forsythco.com. The following is a brief
summary of each of those points.
1. The county’s portion of the tax must go toward the specific capital outlay projects attached
to the agreement. The projects and estimated cost are part of a prioritized list approved previously
by the county.
2. The city will fund a municipal parking deck with its SPLOST VI proceeds, as indicated in
the February referendum.
3. After receiving proceeds from the Georgia Department of Revenue, the county will have five
business days to pay the city its 4.29 percent cut monthly. The county will retain its 95.71 percent of
the gross amount received, which must first be spent to pay its bond debt before funding projects.
4. Proceeds from the sales tax will be maintained by each entity in separate accounts and
both governments must maintain all records and comply with all audit requirements.
5. Within 10 days of closing of the $100 million parks and green space bonds, or by Dec. 31,
whichever comes first, the county must pay the city a sum of $10 million, to be used toward the
cost of an aquatic center. The funds, in addition to $4.8 million left over from the current
SPLOST, will fund acquisition, design, construction and equipping of the center on Pilgrim Mill
Road. At least 80 percent of the money must be spent on aquatic-related features and activities;
the center must contain an outdoor pool; and competition pools will be built to standards. And
despite the goal of Dec. 31, 2010, the city will have until Dec. 31, 2011, to substantially complete
the center, among other conditions.
6. By the end of the year, the county must pay $2.5 million to the city. The funds must be
used toward any of the city’s eight prioritized projects listed in the agreement. All projects must
be completed no later than Dec. 31, 2011.
7. The county will have no further funding obligation on any of the projects funded on this
agreement. Nothing prohibits possible future SPLOST VII funding from being used on these proj¬
ects.
8. Within five business days of the agreement’s execution, the county must pay the city all
funds withheld from its April payment of the current SPLOST V, of which the city receives 15
percent. The county must also pay interest received on the funds during that time period to the
city.
9. All pending litigation and appeals from both governments on SPLOST V and SPLOST VI
will be dismissed. The city’s two lawsuits and the county’s one lawsuit will be dismissed and both
parties agree not to sue the other over any cause of action prior to the agreement related to
SPLOST V and SPLOST VI.
10. If any part of the agreement is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining por¬
tions will not be impacted.
i#
remained were told to leave.
Not so suspicious after all - On
May 24 a woman reported seeing a
suspicious-looking man walking
down the sidewalk in front of her
vehicle while she was parked at a
massage clinic on Market Place
Boulevard. She said the man smiled
at her, which made her nervous. He
then got into the passenger side of a
nearby white Mercedes. She said
the man rummaged through the
vehicle, which was not occupied,
and then went inside the clinic.
The investigating officer spoke
with the man, who advised he had
gone to the lake across the street on
his break and then went to his
Mercedes.
The officer apologized for the
inconvenience and left.
Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office
Stolen tools - A man reported
that someone had taken construc¬
tion tools from his garage on
Samples Road sometime between
7:30 p.m. May 26 and 3:45 p.m.
May 27. He told the investigating
deputy that he returned home May
27 to find his garage door open and
the tools gone. The screen in the
front window of the garage had
been removed and the window was
open. Total value of the tools was
estimated at $4,000.
time.
“The end result is what counts
and we can accomplish a lot of
good with the talent we have
around us if we can just keep
everybody talking.”
Laughinghouse said if more
than two commissioners were
present, an executive session or
public meeting would have been
necessary.
“Being very honest, I think
everyone knows Commissioner
[David] Richard’s position on
the issue, and I believe most
people recognize Commissioner
Tam and Commissioner [Linda]
Ledbetter’s position on the
issues,” he said.
Both Tam and Ledbetter
supported a compromise with
the city, while Richard did not.
Laughinghouse said that sit¬
uation left Harrell and himself
as swing votes.
“The idea was for the two of
us to work to come to an agree¬
ment that he and I could feel
comfortable with, and hope the
rest of the board would go
along,” he said.
Regardless of who attended
and why, the meeting resulted
in a version of an agreement
that both sides were willing to
meet. Because the current
Special Purpose Local Option
Teens sought in southern
Forsyth County burglaries
Authorities increase
curfew enforcement
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
Recent incidents in a subdivision off
Post Road have local authorities remind
ing the public about the state’s curfew
law.
Investigators with the Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office say they are closing in on
a group of 14- to 16-year-old boys and
girls they think took DVDs, a video
game system and various other items
from one home and two vehicles in
Vickery Creek, a community in southern
Forsyth.
According to sheriff’s office reports,
the burglaries occurred between 10 p.m.
Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. It appears
that Thursday night, the suspects also
vandalized the Vickery Lake pool.
Sheriff’s Investigator Duane Piper
said Vickery residents were “extremely
helpful in giving us information and
leads from things they found out in the
neighborhood.”
“As a result of the information,
we’ve conducted three interviews relat¬
ed to the incidents so far and we’re con¬
fident we know who most, if not all, of
the parties involved are,” Piper said.
Authorities declined to say exactly
how many teenagers they think were
involved in the incidents, though Piper
Sales Tax, or SPLOST V,
expires June 30, the agreement
was necessary to keep the tax
going. SPLOST VI will begin
as scheduled on July 1.
Wednesday morning, the
Cumming City Council and the
mayor approved a proposal,
which they then sent to the
county. Councilman Rupert
Sexton was absent, Gravitt said,
Richard cast the lone dis
senting vote on the agreement at
Thursday’s county meeting.
“It’s a bad deal for the citi
zens of this county and I can’t
support it,” Richard said prior
to the vote. “This is a bad
agreement. This was a bad
agreement from the start. It will
be a bad agreement forever.
“We are settling something
that has to do with SPLOST
with non-SPLOST money.”
With the exception of
Laughinghouse, each commis¬
sioner spoke Thursday about
the compromise. There was
some banter between Richard
and the other commissioners,
but the 4-1 super majority
sealed the deal.
Harrell cited the opportunity
to build roads, which is his top
priority.
“I know that [the state
Department of Transportation]
said most of the suspects “live in the
Vickery community.”
Lt. Col. Gene Moss of the sheriff’s
office said local authorities will step up
curfew enforcement efforts in the com¬
ing weeks.
By state law, youths age 16 and
under are not allowed out in public
between midnight and 5 a.m.
Capt. Ron Freeman, commander of
the sheriff’s office south precinct, said
curfew violations tend to increase at the
end of the school year. Enforcement
efforts have already begun in south
Forsyth.
“If we catch kids out in violation of
curfew, we will take them into custody
and call their parents to come and get
them,” he said.
“We want to keep them safe and cut
down on the vandalism and mischief
these kids are getting into.”
Piper said area parents have been
“very cooperative.”
Deputy Mike Garrison said the sub¬
division’s neighborhood watch group
was notified within an hour after resi¬
dents reported the incidents and that
information was sent to groups in the
entire south end of the county, which
equals about 13,000 homes.
“We got some leads out of other
neighborhoods, but those out of
Vickery Creek were the best ones,”
Garrison said.
E-mail Julie Arrington at juliearring
ton @ forsythnews. com
looks with favor with those
counties like Forsyth that are
spending local tax dollars to try
and solve their transportation
needs,” he said. “I sincerely
believe that we would miss out
on millions of 2008 GDOT
funds if we did not go forward.”
Ledbetter thanked those
who attended Tuesday’s six
hour meeting, saying the
money is desperately needed
this year, not next.
I am so, so proud of every
body for negotiating and coming
up with what they consider, not
the best deal for either side, but a
good deal for the citizens of
Forsyth County," she said,
Tam said having one modem
aquatic center, instead of trying
to fund separate ones for the city
and county, will benefit the
region.
“This is a win-win for every¬
body,” he said.
Following the meeting,
Gravitt said both the city and the
county made concessions. "By us
coming together [Tuesday], is a
beginning, I think, that we can
build on for success.”
The result, he said, can only
be progress for both entities.
As outlined in the agreement,
the city will receive $12.5 million
from the county’s parks, recre¬
ation and green space bond. The
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•V
funds will go toward the city’s
aquatic center and infrastructure
projects.
The bond money is in addi¬
tion to the $ 11.7 million the city
will receive from the 1-cent
sales tax, and which can be
used only for a municipal park¬
ing deck. This cannot change,
as the city’s population-based
cut of the tax money was part of
the referendum voters approved
in February.
Though the tax has a tremen¬
dous impact on local businesses.
McCoy said, the resolution of the
issue “was the best possible out¬
come for the entire community.”
“It is the right business
decision to make, and it’s the
best decision to make for the
long-term interests of everyone
in this community, both citizens
and businesses,” he said.
The deal still needs the
blessing of visiting Superior
Court Judge Hugh W. Stone.
In April, Stone sided with the
city in its lawsuit against the
county, dismissing the referen¬
dum on the grounds that it
deprived the city of using its
share as it felt best.
He gave both sides time to
negotiate a compromise before
his decision would take effect.
E-mail Jennifer Sami at jen
nifersami @forsythnews. com.
Publisher JOHN HALL
Editor KEVIN R. ATWILL
General Manager NORMAN BAGGS
Advertising Director LISA FERRELL
Circulation Director GARRY TINSLEY
Production Director JEFF BUCCHINO