Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
Deaths
Julia D. Cochran
Julia D. Cochran, 87, of
Dawsonville died Tuesday, Aug.
12, 2008, following a period of
declining health. Born in
Habersham County, she had
lived in Dawson County since
1968 having moved from
Cartersville. Mrs. Cochran was a
homemaker and a member of
New Hope Baptist Church. She
was preceded in death by her
husband, Artis J. Cochran; sons,
Tommy Martin, Danny Martin;
parents, Lawrence and Janie
Worley; three brothers and a sis
ter.
Survivors include her chil
dren, Allen and Elaine Martin of
Dawsonville, Randall Martin of
Cartersville, Sue and Walter
Taylor of Blue Ridge, Patricia
and Jerry Cranford of
Dawsonville, Carol and Milan
Wallace of Dawsonville, 15
grandchildren; and 24 great
grandchildren.
Funeral services were held
Thursday, Aug. 14, at 4 p.m. at
Bearden Funeral Home Chapel
with the Rev. Dean Pugh officiat
ing. Interment followed in Bethel
Baptist Church Cemetery.
Bearden Funeral Home in
Dawsonville is in charge of
arrangements.
Sign the online guest book at
forsythnews.com.
Forsyth County News
August 15, 2008
Barbara Daniels Huggins
Barbara Daniels Huggins,
63, died Tuesday, Aug. 12,2008,
at her residence.
Memorial services will be
hud h - , o Print.., Fuday in the
lr at r, p.m. m in
_
ChapelatMuJberry Street
United Methodist Church with
the Rev. Tommy Martin officiat¬
ing. The family will meet friends
following the services and asks
that, in lieu of flowers, memorial
contributions be made to
Wesleyan College, 4760 Forsyth
Road, Macon, GA 31210.
Ms ., Huggins „ daughter , , of _ the ,
late Ollie Pearl Daniels and
Louise Yaden Daniels, was bom
in Corbin, Ky., and was educat
ed at Wesleyan College in
Macon where she studied
English and Religion. She was
an educator and a gardener hav¬
ing lived in Cumming before
returning to Macon in 2005.
Survivors include her son
and daughter-in-law, Scott and
Nancy Huggins of Macon; her
daughter and son-in-law,
Heather and Billy Kaplan of
Athens; three grandchildren,
Owen Scott Huggins, Merit
Chandler Huggins and Frank
Lewis Kaplan; her brother, John
Daniels of Greer of South
Carolina.
Visit www.mem.com to
express tributes.
Snow’s Memorial Chapel
Funeral and Cremation Services,
Cherry Street is in charge of
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
August 15, 2008
Yvonne Louise von Meyer
Mrs. Yvonne Louise von
Meyer, age 76, of Cumming
passed , away Monday, ,. , Aug. 11,
2008. She was a homemaker
and a very giving, caring, gener¬
ous and compassionate mother,
grandmother and friend. Mrs.
von Meyer participated in
church and public chant.es and
loved cooking, gardening and
animals.
Survivors include her hus¬
band, William H. von Meyer of
Cumming; daughters, Christine
Louise von Meyer of Cumming,
Susan J. Olson of Wisconsin;
sons, William H. von Meyer Jr.
of Sugar Hill, Kurt W. von
Meyer of Coon Rapids, Minn.;
grandchildren- . .... ^ Tanner A. .
Duncan, Noah C. Duncan,
David W von Meyer, Kate
Olson, Laura Olson and
Gretchen Olson; numerous
nieces nephews and other rela
lives also survive.
Funeral services will be held
Saturday, Aug. 16, at 11 a.m. in
the Ingram Funeral Home
Chapel with the Rev. Newell
Graham officiating. Interment
will follow at Sawnee View
Memorial Gardens. The family
will receive friends Friday, Aug.
15, from 7-9 p.m.
Ingram Funeral Home and
Crematory is in charge of
arrangements.
Sign the online guest book at
forsythnews.com.
Forsyth County News
August 15, 2008
— FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Friday, August 15,2008
Mr. Don Stephens
Mr. Don Stephens, age 69,
of Gainesville (Forsyth
County) passed away
Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008, at
his residence following an
extended illness.
Survivors include his wife
of 37 years, Pat Stephens of
Gainesville; children Donnie
Stephens of Chattanooga,
Tenn., Cindy O’Rear of
Chattanooga, Tenn., Sandra,
Dongail, Terry of Cumming,
Charles Bryson of Cumming,
Cathy Bryson of Woo'dstock,
Jaquava Bice of Dallas; several
grandchildren; and one great
grandchild also survive; broth
er, Clyde Stephens of Roswell; i
numerous nieces, nephews and
other relatives also survive,
Funeral services will be
held Friday, Aug. 15, at 1 p.m.
at Ingram Funeral Home
Chapel with Dr. Charles
Blackstock officiating.
Interment will follow in North
Atlanta Memorial Park. The
family received friends at
Ingram Funeral Home on
Thursday from 2-9 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the fami
ly request that donations be
made to Ingram Funeral Home
to help defer funeral expenses.
Ingram Funeral Home and
Crematory is in charge of
arrangements.
Sign the online guest book
at forsythnews.com.
Forsyth County News
August 15, 2008
...... Violet Leona ... Webb ■ ,
Violet Leona Webb, age 92,
0 f Alpharetta passed away
Tuesday , Aug. 12, 200&, at
Cumming Nursing Center. A
native of Alpharetta, Mrs.
Webb was a member of Clear
Springs Baptist Church. She is
preceded in death by her hus¬
band, Horace D. Webb.
Mrs. Webb is survived by
her two sons, Paul and Lewis
Webb) both of Alpharetta; four
grandchildren; and six great
grandchildren
Funeral services were held
Thursday, Aug. 14, at 2 p.m. in
the McDonald and Son Funeral
Home .. Chapel , with . . the , Rev. _
Bill Sperry officiating.
Interment followed the service
in the Greenlawn Cemetery in
Roswell.
Condolences may be
expressed online at
www.mcdonaldandson.com.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home and Crematory is in
charge of arrangements.
Sign the online guest book
at forsythnews.com.
Forsyth _ , County _ News ,,
August 15, 20U8
Mr. Michael T. Wilkerson
Mr. Michael T. Wilkerson,
age 19, of Gainesville (Forsyth
County) passed away Tuesday,
Aug. 12, 2008. He was a mem¬
ber of Shady Grove Baptist
Church. He was active with the
Army National Guard.
Survivors include his moth
er, Pamela Youngblood; broth
er, Jimmy Wilkerson; sister,
Jennifer and husband Michae ,
A yers; grandparents, T.J. and
Frances Youngblood; aunts and
uncles, Boyd and Betty Wood,
j T Wood , Gene and Jane
Wood, Louis and Terry Wood;
and several other relatives also
surv j ve
Funeral services will be
held Friday, Aug. 15, at 3 p.m.
at Ingram Funeral Home
Chapel with Rev. Pete Martin
and Rev. Keith Martin officiat
ing. Interment will follow in
Sawnee View Memorial
Gardens. The family received
friends at Ingram Funeral
{j ome on Thursday from 5-9
pm and w in receive friends
Friday from 9 a m _ until hour
0 f service
Ingram Funeral Home and
Crematory is in charge of
arrangements.
Sign the online guest book
at forsythnews.com.
Forsyth County News
August 15, 2008
Mrs. Ruth Relyea
Mrs. Ruth Relyea, age 96,
of Cumming passed away
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2008.
Ingram Funeral Home and
Crematory is in charge of
arrangements.
Forsyth Cdunty News
August 15, 2008
South Forsyth High proves a top ACT
School is one of states’ best
on U11 UdSCU tp>ct IC51
By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
When it . to taking the
comes
ACT, South Forsyth High
School knows what’s up.
South ranked among the
State s t0 P ^ schools with the
highest composite 2007-08
ACT scores, which were
re ^ eas ^d Wednesday by the
Georgia Department of
Education.
• Forsyth County Schools as
a whole exceeded state and
national scores for all content
areas on the test.
Forsyth Schools
Superintendent . Buster Evans
said in a statement that the
2008 significant, . ...
scores are
especially in a year where
national scores have taken a
s,1 .... h J decline. ..
§
^ s won derful to know
^ at our resuks on l ^' s ^ m P or "
tant exam continue to be some
of the highest in the state,” he
said.
Dill I K| ^ from , 1A
the future to consider hiring a
lawyer.”
Leifeste said after the deci
sion that she felt satisfied.
“I feel he’s a fair judge,” she
said. “He did his job.”
She said she thought she did
a pretty good job, too.
“p or m y a g e anc j m y lack 0 f
legal knowledge, I did pretty
decent”
Laughinghouse did not
attend the proceedings. Reached
by phone afterward, the chair
man sa j d he was relieved.
DOG from 1A
Mike Garrison met with Brock
on Wednesday to take a report of
the incident, which has been clas¬
sified as a hit and run.
Brock said they were unable
to get the license plate number
on the truck, which she
described as a dark, full-size
extended cab Chevrolet pick
wit h a toolbox. The family
could not teU if a man
woman was driving.
Garrison said it will be diffi¬
cult to investigate without the
tag number, but the information
is still valuable.
He said the report will be
provided to the sheriff’s north
precinct in the event a truck
matching the description is
stopped.
“It doesn’t hurt to just look
int0 it » Garrison said wish
we bad more descrip
t * on ) > but were going to go
ahead and document it and get
it taken care of.”
He said these types of cases
are difficult to solve “because
there is no license plate.”
TURKEY from 1A
she was hired earlier this year
, by _ Forsyth County . Schools c , .
Superintendent Buster
Eva ”f'
^ b ^? T ™ as °*7 , c ed , . .
job . , by Dr. Evans, he said,
U s one of my favorite
schools because they have a
pet turkey, she said.
“ r "7 miad ’ *
in . g a little turkey but the first
timel saw him-he s huge
,7 key f an e f ly bird ’
said ^ lder ; butso,ssbe '
™i? n I come in, it s usual- .
, h a lmle early for him, she
said. But dunng pre-planning
week, he actually chased me in
the parking lot, so I’ve had my
encounter with the turkey.
“I was able to shoo him off
while everyone sat in the office
and laughed at me. He didn’t
actually physically attack me ...
it was just like a stare-down
contest.
“He was staring at me like
he was saying, ‘Are you really
going to come into my parking
lot? IM
The kids love the wild bird,
who Stalder said has been
hanging around the school for
years. But the love is mutual, as
Lurkey Tfrrkey only visits when
school is in session.
VS All summer long I was
here every day working and I
never saw him,” she said. “It
wasn’t until the cars kept com¬
ing back and teachers came
back last week that he started
The ACT measures what a
student has learned from high
school coursework. The SAT is
an aptitude test. The tests are
often used as entrance exams
for many colleges and universi
ties.
West Forsyth High School
closely followed South’s com¬
posite score.
West Principal Richard Gill
said the score is “a reflection of
the staridards-based curriculum
of Forsyth County Schools and
of the strategic academic plan¬
ning of West Forsyth High
School.”
South’s 2007-08 composite
score is 23.3, good for 20th in
the state, while West’s is 23.2.
Forsyth Central High School
scored 22.2 and North Forsyth
High School scored 21.9.
The number of Forsyth stu¬
dents taking the test has
increased each year for the past
five years, according to school
district figures, and the local
schools have maintained a lead
“The county can devote its
time and money to other
issues,” he said. “There have
been staff members that have
put a lot of time into this.”
In order to appeal the com¬
mission’s 3-2 decision from
April 14, Leifeste filed a Writ of
Certiorari, which she said was
necessary to appeal a commis¬
sion vote.
She brought a complaint
against Laughinghouse to the
county ethics boanJ shortly after
the April 14 decision, but the
‘And unless we see it, it’s
very difficult to press charges,”
he said. “Unless we talk to the
guy and he says, ‘Yeah it was
me.’
But these are few and far
between though, thank good¬
ness. I’m a big animal lover and
that must have been devastating
for her little boy.
Brock said the incident hap
pened about 11 p.m. Aug. 4,
when a truck veered about 10
feet off the road into her yard,
hit Wilson and barely missed
Jake.
Brock said the driver got
back on the road and “kept on
**
going.
“Jt’s been really hard,” she
said. “It kind of just stunned
us.’
She said her 7-year-old
daughter, 14-year-old son and a
couple of friends watched from
their porch. Brock was on her
way out the front door when she
heard them screaming.
“You could have heard my
kids a mile away,” she said.
appearing.”
Evans, who got to meet the
turkey last year, simply calls
him Matt. There was initially
some question as to Matt’s gen¬
der, but Evans was able to clar¬
ify that Matt is in fact a young
gobbler, as indicated by his
growing beard.
As the incoming superin¬
tendent last year, Evans hadn’t
heard about the turkey until
they met in person. Was he sur¬
prised?
a Good gracious yeah,” he
said. “I pulled out my camera
phone and took a couple of pic¬
tures of him. Even though he’s
become somewhat domesticat
ed, you might say, I thought it
was kind of neat.
“He’s made quite a home
there and I guess he can very
well be considered an informal
mascot.”
Though the turkey is a long¬
time friend of Matt Elementary,
he could follow his natural
instinct and gravitate away
from the domestic life of a
school mascot, Evans said.
And the superintendent
should know.
“This is terrible to say, but
one of my pastimes is actually
wild turkey hunting,” he said.
“But he’s given me a new
appreciation of the wild
turkey, I’ll assure you.”
E-mail Jennifer Sami at
jennifersami@forsythnews
.com.
9
1
,
Hi* <1
;
m
over state composite scores.
All four high schools’ com¬
posite scores for 2007-08 top
the state and national averages.
Evans said the school sys¬
tem is particularly proud of
South.
“I commend former princi¬
pal Gary Davison, current prin¬
cipal Jason Branch, the South
Forsyth High School staff and
students on this great achieve¬
ment,” he said.
Branch said South is excit¬
ed that once again students
board voted 5-0 to dismiss it.
At that time, she contended
that Laughinghouse’s behavior
had been unethical, citing e
mails between the chairman and
the project’s developer, Sal
Migliore.
The board disagreed, saying
it is not uncommon for commis¬
sioners to have discussions with
developers about pending pro¬
posals.
Leifeste also noted traffic,
safety and other concerns in her
opposition to the developer’s
Brock said she wouldn’t
push the issue if Wilson had
been in the road. She has asked
around her neighborhood for
information about the vehicle,
but has had no luck,
After Wilson was hit, the
dog dragged himself to Brocks!
driveway,
He came in the house and I
was sitting there rubbing his
head,” she sajd. “He was real
calm.”
Brock then took Wilson to a
24-hour veterinary clinic, where
she learned he had a shattered
pelvis, broken leg and damaged
bladder. She said treatment
would have cost about $3,000.
“I had to have him put
down,” she said, adding that she
was discouraged from taking
Wilson home that night.
When I tried to take him
home with me the vet said, ‘I
don’t feel comfortable with you
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Forsyth
Schools
Superin¬
tendent
Buster
Evans said
the 2008
South
Fosryth
High School
scores are
significant.
Photo/
Jennifer Sami
have performed well on the
ACT.
“We are very pleased that
this year we had our best
English ACT score and all
other areas remained consis¬
tently stellar.
“These results are a testa¬
ment to the hard work of our
teachers and the great students
that walk through the doors of
South each day.”
E-mail Julie Arrington at
juliearrington@forsythnews
.com.
plans.
In February, the commission
voted 3-2 to deny the develop¬
er’s rezoning request. But the
vote was rescinded in March
after Commissioner Linda
Ledbetter changed her mind.
The issue returned before
the commission in April, when
it was approved 3-2, this time
with Laughinghouse, Ledbetter
and Commissioner Jim Harrell
supporting it.
E-mail Frank Reddy at
frankreddy@forsythnews.com.
doing that and what kind of vet
would I be if I let you take him
out of here,’” Brock said.
She said she has lost sleep
over the loss and her children
cried themselves to sleep that
night.
Saturday, the Brocks set up
a memorial to Wilson in their
yard. It’s marked by a cross
with flowers and Wilson’s pic¬
ture, toys and collar.
Brock said people have
offered her husband beagle pup¬
pies.
“They’re not going to
replace Wilson and they’re not
going to be the same, but
they’ve actually offered some
beagle pups,” she said, adding
that she is uncomfortable with .
the idea of taking in another
dog.
E-mail Julie Arrington at
juliearrington@forsythnews
.com