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Vol. 99, No. 93
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As water pours down around him, a Forsyth County
firefighter emerges Monday from a burning building
on Tallant Drive. Right, the top of the building burns,
nets four suspects
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Search followed chase
from Dawson outlet mall
By Julie Arrington
Staft Writer
Four suspects in a foiled
burglary attempt at a
Dawsonville outlet mall were
arrested Tuesday morning after
an hours-long manhunt in
northern Forsyth County.
The four men, whose identi¬
ties had not been released, were
captured over several hours.
The last three were apprehend¬
ed after authorities said they
asked for a drink of water at a
business near Keith Bridge
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Police find stolen church bus
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
Authorities have recovered
a bus that was stolen from a
local church last week.
The bus and about $1,600
worth of tools were taken June
2 from First Baptist Cumming
on Sawnee Drive.
Cumming Police Chief
Mike Eason said no suspects
have been identified.
Investigators are working with
the Forsyth County Sheriff’s
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Copyright © 2007 Forsyth County News
Your "Hometown Paper" Since
WEDNESDAY June 11, 2008
Firefighters brave heat, flames
Three blazes in two-hour strain on
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
Forsyth County firefighters
battled flames and near record
breaking heat to put out three
fires in a two-hour span Monday
afternoon.
No one was injured in the
incidents, which occurred on
opposite ends of the county. But
partly because of the heat, one
call required several units to
rotate through over about three
Road and Dahlonega Highway.
The early morning pursuit
and wreck that followed the
attempted heist at Saks 5th
Avenue in North Georgia
Premium Outlets shut down a
portion of Ga. 4(X).
The ensuing manhunt
expanded to include helicopters
and search dogs from the
Georgia State Patrol and
Forsyth County, as well as a
SWAT team.
Tuesday morning’s incident
marks the second time in less
than a month that bandits have
Office crime scene unit on the
case.
Cumming Investigator
Scott Burgess said someone
called Gwinnett police after the
bus turned up Saturday in the
parking lot of a Kroger on
Hwy. 20 in Buford.
Burgess and Sheriff’s Capt.
Ron Freeman, who is deacon at
the church, brought the bus
back to Cumming.
Lee Weeks, the church’s
associate pastor of evangelism
and missions, said the bus is a
INDEX
Abby............. 18B
Classifieds.. 16B
Deaths— 2A
Events.......... 3A
Horoscope 18B
Legals.......... 3B
Opinion....... 6A
Sports.......... IB
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sheriffs deputy Jason Knight asks Anthony Tisi if he
had seen anything suspicious in the Pilgrim Mill Road
area Tuesday. Bottom left, the suspects’ vehicle where
it was left on Ga. 400.
targeted the retail outlet. In ntid
May, more than $10,000 in
designer blue jeans was taken in
an early morning smash and
grab.
Authorities were not saying
if the two incidents are connect¬
ed or if either is related to a rash
of similar jean thefts in the
Atlanta area since last summer.
Lt. Tony Wooten of the
Dawson County Sheriff’s
Office did say that authorities
found a large rock, which they
key tool in his ministry.
.. We are thrilled and count¬
ing our blessings, obviously
thank God for the recovery of
it,” he said. “We use the bus for
mission projects and so we’re
glad to have it back. »»
Weeks said the bus has
been used for the church’s
three trips to New Orleans to
work with Habitat for
Humanity. This spring, it shut¬
tled volunteers to and from a
Habitat project off Post Road.
Burgess said there was still
Local
EPD fines
lottery ticket maker
for violations.
Page2A
hours, said Forsyth Fire Capt.
Jason Shivers.
Monday’s high reached 95,
according to the National
Weather Service.
“In times like these our job is
made that much more difficult by
the heat,” Shivers said.
About 2:30 p.m., firefighters
were called to a structure fire
behind a house at 3565 Tallant
Drive, where a large storage
building containing farm equip
ment had ignited and spread to
Employees of
The Place, back¬
ground right,
watch Tuesday
as a Georgia
State Patrol heli¬
copter takes off
from the nonprof
it’s parking lot.
The helicopter
landed to allow
two Forsyth
County SWAT
officers to board
while pursuing
suspects in an
attempted rob
bery.
Photos/Jim Dean
believe was “going to be used
to break into the store,” in the
suspects" van.
The suspects abandoned the
van after wrecking just north of
Pilgrim Mill Road.
“These two are definitely
similar in nature in that the sus¬
pects backed a van up to the
front door and had an object in
the van that appears to be used
for breaking into the store,” said
See CHASE, Page 2A
gas in the bus, which seats
about 18 people, and that it
was in good condition “other
than the stereo was stolen and
there could be damage we
don’t know about depending
on how hard they drove the
vehicle.
He speculated that the sus¬
pects used the bus to haul the
stolen tools, which were not
recovered. Various items
including toolboxes, a 27-inch
television, wire strippers, car¬
buretor kits and a scaffolding
Opinion
The days of
cheap oil prices
are gone.
Page 6A
. adjoining buildings.
At nearly the same time, fire
fighters responded to an oven fire
at 6055 Hannamill Drive, also in
north Forsyth. The fire was con
tained to the oven and the scene
Zack Foley
of Reality
Bikes
looks at
plans for
an outdoor
skate park
Monday.
Photo/Frank
Reddy
Designer submits
skate park plans
Area riders, skaters
like what they see
By Frank Reddy
Staff Writer
Forsyth County cyclist Zack
Foley could hardly contain his
excitement Monday,
“It’s totally sick,” he said
while looking over the design of
a skate park planned for Fowler
Park.
And by “sick,” Foley means
he likes it. Totally.
The scaled-down blueprint
of a 20,000-square-foot concrete
obstacle course is the result of a
March brainstorming session
California designer Wally
Hollyday held with local skate¬
boarders and cyclists
Hollyday, who encouraged
attendees to tell him what they
wanted in their skate park, sent
the plans to the county parks and
recreation department last week.
“Wally knows it’s all about
imagination,” Foley said.
“Sports that use a skate park are
based on imagination and the
ability to take what you’re given
and improvise. Wally left room
for improvising in this design.
Hollyday said he spent a lot
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set were taken.
He said a church member
recalled seeing the bus turning
onto Hwy. 20 from Sawnee
Drive about 6:30 a.m. June 2,
Possible Storms
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Tup’ Date Level
June 6 1057.56 ft
i III,'h'll June 7 1057.55 ft
June 8 1057.50 ft
June 9, 1057.42 ft
Full 1071.00 ft
High in the high 80s.
Low in the high 60s.
£
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SPORTS, 1B
Freshman earns region honor
was cleared in about 20 minutes.
While crews were battling the
Tallant Drive blaze, a call came in
at 3:19 p.m. for a deck fire at 3635
Chartwell Drive in south Forsyth.
Firefighters were able to
extinguish the fire before it
reached the house, though
Shivers said there was extensive
damage to the deck.
The fires on Tallant and
Chartwell drives remain under
See HEAT, Page 2A
i
of time designing the park for
the county.
“It’s one of my favorites,”
said Hollyday, who has been in
the business for 30 years. “This
park stands out from my other
designs.”
Local skateboarder James
Dowdy, 21, agreed.
“It looks amazing,” Dowdy
said. “It’s an all around great
skate park. Kids [in Forsyth
County] are gonna love it.”
And that’s the idea,
Hollyday said.
“Skate parks function as a
community center for kids who
wouldn’t walk into a communi¬
ty center,” he said. “It’s to pro¬
vide for kids with needs that
don’t get addressed in other
facilities.”
The skate park will be just
one of many facilities planned
for Fowler Park, which sits on
80 acres at Hwy. 9 and
Castleberry Road.
Plans also call for a baseball
and softball complex, as well as
soccer fields and tennis courts.
Also included are multipurpose
courts, sand volleyball courts,
playgrounds, large recreation
center and walking/jogging
trails.
See PARK, Page 2A
Authorities
found a bus
stolen from
First Baptist
Cumming in
a Buford
parking lot.
Photo/Jim Dean
but thought it was taking
church members on a trip.
E-mail Julie Arrington at
juliearrington@forsythnews.
com.