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Forsyth J Your "Hometown CountyNews Paper" Since 1908
Vol. 99, No. 128
Shooting, prior assault may be linked
Officials probe ties to attack, man defends late friend’s reputation
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
Authorities think a 75-year
old man who was shot to death
earlier this week may have been
targeted because he was a witness
to a previous assault involving his
attacker.
Forsyth County Sheriff’s
investigators say 75-year-old
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Photos/Emily Saunders
Above, a homeless camp appears
to have been abandoned. Left, a
homeless man sits in a camp not far
from downtown Cumming.
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
Forsyth County may be second on
Forbes’ list of best places to get ahead,
but in the city of Cumming, some resi¬
dents are barely getting by.
Law enforcement authorities say
there is a small homeless population
inside the city limits.
Cumming Police Chief Mike Eason
said there are about six to eight home¬
less men his department is aware of
living in the city.
While authorities with the Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Office said they are
aware some may pass through, sheriff’s
Lt. Col. Gene Moss said as far as he
knows, there is no homeless population
outside the city.
Eason and Cumming Police Officer
John Coffman said most of the home¬
less men they encounter are those who
have gotten in trouble, but it’s likely
there are more.
“At one time there were about 15
tents, over where
Provino’s is, back
when it was all
woods,” Coffman
said.
Coffman, who
has been with the
Cumming Police
Department for 10
years, said there are
at least three home
less camps in the
city.
Abput two weeks
ago, Coffman dis¬
covered a man living
in a tent near a
sewer easement off
Canton Highway.
Leave early, take side roads, be patient
Residents warned of back-to-school traffic tie-ups
By Lara Moore
Staff Writer
When school starts at 7:40
a.m. Monday, traffic in southern
Forsyth County could be tight.
Besides teen drivers, par
ents dropping off students and
241 busses that will circulate
the county, a road-widening
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Thursday, Friday, Sunday
(770) 887-3126.
Copyright © 2008 Forsyth County News
□ T
SUNDAY August 10,2008
Iowa Hill “Buddy”
Preston was shot in the
head sometime between
Monday and Tuesday in
an apartment he owned
on Carlton Road.
The suspected gun¬
man, who authorities
have identified as 50-
year-old John Michael
Lito, later shot and killed himself
On hard times
City’s homeless move camp to camp
In a recent interview, the man declined
to give his name, but said he is 51 and
has lived in Forsyth County all of his
life.
The man’s clothing, a white T-shirt and
jeans, appeared clean. His face was
shaved. He hunched over a little as he
stood and he shook as he spoke.
He said hard times forced him to his
current situation.
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Cumming Police Officer John Coffman exam
ines the remnants of a homeless camp.
project on Peachtree Parkway
could tie up traffic and turning
lanes.
Bruce Wagar, director of
school safety and discipline,
said Peachtree Parkway, or
Hwy. 141, a major artery in
South Forsyth, will be
■ extremely congested.
Last year we had about an
INDEX
Abby
Classifieds 2C
Deaths_______ 2A
Forsyth Life IB
Horoscope Opinion_____________ 6C
10A
Sports.................. 1C
Lito
By Wednesday
evening, Forsyth County Sheriff
eight-car turn lane going into
the school... that lane no longer
exists,” he said, adding that any
time someone tries to turn left
off Hwy. 141 into the school
will hold up traffic.
Peachtree Parkway is the
major access road to Shiloh
Point Elementary, Piney Grove
Middle, Forsyth Christian
Local
Emergency crews
contain south Forsyth
tar spill.
Page 3A
in his own apartment,
which was next door to
Preston’s.
Preston’s body was
found around 1 p'.m. by
one of his employees.
Lito’s body was found by
investigators a few hours
later.
My moth
er died three
years ago and I
had a nervous
breakdown and
lost my job, ■
he said. “Right
now I’m work
ing part time
and 1 can’t
afford a place
to live. M
The man
said he makes
about $50 a
da y> when
work is avail
able, through
temporary
Academy, Lanier Technical
College, Big Creek Elementary
and Pinecrest Academy.
In addition, The Avenue
Forsyth retail complex recently
opened just across the street
from South Forsyth High.
Highway 141 is being
expanded to a four-lane road
from McGinnis Ferry Road to
Hwy. 9, a project the Georgia
See ROADS, Page 2A
Sports
Forsyth softball
squads prepare for
fastpitch season.
Page 1C
Ted Paxton had announced that
the shootings were being investi¬
gated as a murder-suicide.
Porter Downey, a longtime
friend of Preston, said Friday he
was upset with recent media
reports that portrayed his late
friend an unsavory manner.
Specifically, Downey was
See SHOOTING, Page 2A
staffing business¬
es. He said he
, occasionally uses
food stamps to
get by.
He said he
still has family in
Forsyth County
and sometimes a
friend of his
comes and stays
with him.
There are
homeless shelters
in neighboring a pillow is all that
Fulton County, re mains of a make
but there are shift bed.
none in Forsyth
or Gwinnett County.
Hall County has at least two facilities
for men; however, space is limited and res¬
idents have to meet certain requirements.
Coffman said the closest thing to a
local homeless shelter would be Family
Haven, a shelter for women who are vic¬
tims of domestic violence.
Coffman said he found a camp off Mary
See HOMELESS, Page 4A
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Photo/Jim Dean
Sheriff’s deputies investigate the scene of an
alleged murder-suicide Wednesday off Carlton
Road in eastern Forsyth County.
Runoff
recount
is likely
Elections board
certifies results
in District 5 race
By Jennifer Sami
Staff Writer
The District 5 county commission
runoff appears to be headed for a
recount. •
The Forsyth County Board of
Elections certified the results of
Tuesdays runoff election Friday
afternoon, declar¬
ing District 5 com¬
mission winner Jim
Boff ahead of
opponent Julie
Tressler by 30
votes.
Tressler then
announced she
would be seeking a
recount.
I It’s not out of
the ordinary be¬
cause of the small
margin,” she said.
I just think we
owe it to ourselves
to verify.
During the certi¬
fication meeting
one of four over¬
seas and provision¬
al ballots was
counted, increasing
Boff’s 29-vote lead
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g. 3% is:
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to 30 votes.
Both Boff and Tressler attended
the board of elections meeting Friday
to witness the certification.
■ It appears like I picked up one
additional vote there,” said Boff.
I’m the winner and I’m very happy
about that. *»
See RECOUNT, Page 4A
■ ■
.
• ,
Photo/Jim Dean
School officials expect traffic to be extremely congest¬
ed along Peachtree Parkway at South Forsyth High
when the new school year begins Monday.
Partly Cloufly LAKE LANIER LEVELS
i. Date Level
Aug. 4 1054.91 ft
Aug. 5 1054.83 ft
Aug. 6 1054.74 ft
» !m:;S t 1054.65 ft
Ful 1071.00 ft
High in the high 80s.
Low in the mid-60s.
LIFE, IB
Taming the wild
Tressler
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Boff