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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Weekend Edition-Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2022 FORSYTHNEWS.COM (Jforsythcountynews Q @ForsythNews (@J@ForsythNews $2.00
Man charged with murder in OD death
Bakarich
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
A Suwanee man has
been arrested and charged
with murder after alleged
ly selling a Forsyth
County teen a drug that
killed her.
Kai Hudson Bakarich,
19, of Suwanee, was
arrested on Thursday,
Sept. 15, and charged with
murder of a non-family
member with other weap
on in the death of Kaylee
Boxer, 18, who died of a
drug overdose in
November 2021.
“On November 4, 2021,
the Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office Major
Crimes Unit began an
investigation into the
death of Kaylee Boxer, an
18-year-old female that
died after ingesting a
lethal amount of fentanyl,”
FCSO officials said in a
statement.
“After a lengthy investi
gation by the Major
Crimes Unit and the
[Johns Creek and Forsyth]
Drug Task Force, Kai
Bakarich was identified as
the dealer that sold the
illicit drugs to Kaylee. An
arrest warrant has been
secured for the arrest of
Kai Bakarich for the mur
der of Kaylee Boxer.”
Bakarich is being held
on no bond at the Forsyth
County Jail.
Preparing for the storm
Kelly Whitmire Forsyth County News
Forsyth County leaders discuss Hurricane Ian during a meeting onTuesday, Sept. 27.
Local leaders make plans for Ian, but system
changes from projected path and likely to miss Ga.
Buford man
arrested after
150 mph chase
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
A Buford man was recently arrested by the Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Office after leading deputies on a chase
going more than 150 mph on Ga. 400 and other local
roads.
According to an FCSO news release, Tejas Desai, 27,
of Buford, was
I PI S i d G arrested on S aturday,
Sept. 24, and
Ex-driver indicted on charged with reck-
charge of driving bus while Iess | nving and feIo _
run ' ny fleeing after alleg
edly leading a deputy
on a chase after an attempted stop on Ga. 400.
The deputy attempted to stop Desai and another driver
after both “were clocked at doing lOOmph and accelerat
ing” on Ga. 400 northbound.
“The cars continued northbound at speeds more than
150 mph and passing cars on the right shoulder,” the
release said. “One of the cars exited off at Buford
Highway as the other stayed on 400 with the deputy
continuing to chase.”
See Chase 14A
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
Though state and local lead
ers were prepared for Hurricane
Ian, it appears the storm will
not directly hit Georgia.
As of press time, after mak
ing landfall on Florida’s west
coast on Wednesday, Sept. 28,
Hurricane Ian has been down
graded to a tropical storm and
is expected to make a second
landfall in South Carolina. The
storm is expected to weaken
inland overnight Friday before
dissipating Saturday.
Forsyth County was original
ly projected to be in the path of
the storm, though it now only
areas in south and east Georgia
are expected to be impacted by
rain.
Through Thursday evening,
Forsyth County was in a wind
advisory, meaning sustained
wind speeds between 20-30
mph with winds gusts up to 40
mph possible.
On Tuesday, Sept. 27, Gov.
Brian Kemp announced a state
of emergency order for all
counties in Georgia that began
at 7 a.m. on Thursday in prepa
ration of the storm.
In Forsyth County, local lead
ers met several days in advance
to prepare for the storm,
according to Chris Grimes,
director of the county’s emer
gency management agency.
“We started sharing informa
tion several days ago with our
partner agencies so they could
begin thinking about how they
want to prepare,” Grimes said
on Tuesday. “Obviously, with
hurricanes things change and
can change forecast to forecast
or over time, which is what
we’ve seen with this storm, but
we do still expect to see some
impacts here in north Georgia.”
Grimes said he met with sev
eral partner agencies — includ
ing the Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office, Forsyth
County Fire Department,
University of North Georgia
and others — on Tuesday, and
daily meetings will continue
through the storm.
He said the county has also
been in contact with power
companies in the area and Red
Cross ahead of the storm.
“Hurricanes are a time when
people really need to be looking
to prepare for high winds and
impacts from high winds,”
Grimes said. “So, whether that
be trees that would come down
or loss of power, those are real
ly the impacts we expect to see
with this storm.”
Grimes advised that Sawnee
EMC and Georgia Power have
online outage maps and ways
for customers to report outages
online.
Residents can also sign up for
emergency and weather alerts
from the county at www.for-
sythco.com/Departments-
Offices/Emergency-
Management-Agency/Weather.
According to the EMA’s web
site, during storms and other
emergencies, residents are
encouraged to get together a
disaster supply kit with water,
food and other emergency
items.
Here’s what should go in the
emergency kit.
Disaster Supply Kit
• Water, one gallon of water
per person per day for at least
three days, for drinking and
sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day
supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand
crank radio and a NOAA
Weather Radio with tone alert
and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batter
ies
• First aid kit
• Emergency Preparedness
Guide
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask, to help filter
contaminated air and plastic
sheeting and duct tape to shel
ter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, toilet
paper, garbage bags and plastic
ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off
utilities
• Manual can opener for food
(if kit contains canned food)
• Local maps
• Prescription medications
and glasses
• Non-prescription medica
tions (fever, pain relievers, anti
diarrhea, etc.)
• Household chlorine bleach
and medicine dropper — When
diluted nine parts water to one
part bleach, bleach can be used
as a disinfectant. Or in an emer
gency, you can use it to treat
water by using 16 drops of reg
ular household liquid bleach
per gallon of water. Do not use
scented, color safe or bleaches
with added cleaners.
• Thermometer
• Fluids with electrolytes
• Cleansing agent
• Soap
• Vitamins
See Ian 15A
Planning
commission
hears proposal
for apartments
By Ashlyn Yule
ayule@forsythnews.com
A contentious rezoning request that could bring a new
apartment complex to north Forsyth was a hot topic at a
well-attended planning commissioners meeting.
On Tuesday, Sept. 27, planning commissioners heard
a request from applicant Cottages at Shady Shores LLC to
rezone 57.7 acres off Pilgrim Mill and Holtzclaw roads and
Freedom Parkway from the current lake residential zoning
to master-planned district.
The proposal included a request for 314 apartments with
a proposed density of 5.44 units per acre, 29,300 square feet
of commercial space with 148 parking spaces and 29.6 acres
See Apartments 14A
Ashlyn Yule Forsyth County News
Residents share their views with the planning
commission on a proposed 300-unit apartment
complex in north Forsyth.
85/63
Forecast! 2A
Sugar Hill man,
67, finds swim
ming across
Lake Lanier
'a refreshing
experience. 5A
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Volume 113, Number 76
© 2022, Forsyth County News
Cumming, Georgia