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Teacher of the Month Manning brings passion for shaping leaders to classroom. See story Page 3A Previews for the second round of football playoffs. Page IB FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Weekend Edition - Nov. 18-19, 2022 FORSYTHNEWS.COM $2.00 Ambulance driver killed in wreck By Kelly Whitmire kwh itm i re@fo rsyth n ews. com One person died in a Thursday morning wreck on Canton Highway involving an ambu lance and two other vehicles, according to the Georgia State Patrol,. In a news release, GSP offi cials said ambulance driver Gina Ayres, 57, of Cumming, was killed in the crash and three oth- Inside Authorities investigating pedestrian death in crash, 2A ers were injured. The wreck involved the ambulance, a Ford Mustang and a Dodge Ram pick up buck and occurred just before 7 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17. According to the GSP, the ambulance was responding to an emergency call on Hwy. 20 and used the center turn lane to pass traffic. A tractor-trailer traveling west on the road “yielded to the ambu lance by abruptly applying the brakes and coming to a stop,” causing the Mustang behind it to swerve into the center lane, according to the release. “A green Ford Mustang that See Wreck 13A An ambu lance driver was killed Thursday in a three-vehi cle wreck on Canton Highway. Jim Dean Forsyth County News 'The outpouring has been incredible' Photo submitted to Forsyth County News Aaron Davis, a North Forsyth High School graduate who was recently found dead in Rome was described as an "awesome son" and "just friends with anybody" by his father, Randy Davis. Father remembers slain NFHS grad By Kelly Whitmire kwhitmire@forsythnews.com The father of a North Forsyth High School graduate who was found dead over the weekend described his son as an “awe some son” and “just friends with anybody.” Aaron William Davis, 21, of Cumming, was found dead in Rome on Saturday, Nov. 12, after his car was found aban doned in a ditch in a park in the city and he did not arrive at his girlfriend’s home in Alabama. “Saturday morning, I got a call saying that my car was found abandoned in a ditch up in Rome,” Randy Davis, Aaron Davis’s father, told Forsyth County News on Tuesday, Nov. 15. “I explained that my son had been up in that area, but it seemed odd because he was sup posed to be in Alabama by that point. We hadn’t heard from him, but that wasn’t atypical. He doesn’t always tell us where he is every day, he’s 21.” Randy Davis said the suspect in the case, Brandon Christopher Inside Man indicted on murder, robbery charges in mom's death, 6A Woman indicted in deadly wreck that killed child, 6A Risner, also 21, was a long-time friend of his son and the plan had been for Aaron Davis to stop at Risner’s home in Rome on Thursday, Nov. 10 and travel to Alabama the next day. “This is a friend he grew up with, and he was like one of our sons that stayed at our house all the time... just good friends ever since we’ve lived here for the last 11 years or so,” he said. Randy Davis said the family filed a missing person report when they did not hear from his son and “because it was odd the car had been put in neutral and appeared to be rolled into a ditch.” Randy Davis, other family members and members of Aaron’s girlfriend’s family trav eled to Rome to help with the search before authorities found his body around midnight on Sunday morning. Risner, also 21, was arrested on Saturday and is being held on no bond at the Floyd County Jail with charges of felony murder, concealing the death of another, aggravated assault and willful obstruction of law enforcement officers. According to warrants taken out for his arrest, Risner reportedly “was involved in an altercation with the victim which caused the death of the Risner victim and then removed the body from the location to anoth er in an attempt to hide the crime” and ran from and dis obeyed all commands to stop from police during the missing person investigation. A Rome Police Department spokesperson said Aaron Davis had several wounds that See Davis 18A House fire in north Forsyth kills 1 person By Kelly Whitmire kwhitmire@forsythnews.com The Forsyth County Fire Department respond ed to a fatal fire on Thursday morning, according to FCFD Division Chief Jason Shivers. Shivers said firefighters responded to a residential fire at 5810 Riley Road at about 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, where one victim was found dead. The fire was con tained to one bedroom of the house. “The fire was con tained to the room of ori gin,” Shivers said. “As the crew made entry, the fire was very small, it was easily extinguished, but sadly there was a civilian victim of the fire inside at the time.” A roommate of the vic tim was not injured in the fire, and damage to the home is “fairly limited,” Shivers said. Shivers said the victim was in bed and likely asleep and there were no working smoke alarms in the home at the time of the fire. “There were no smoke See Fire 12A Industrial park continues to final step in rezoning ByAshlyn Yule ayule@forsythnews.com The proposed North Georgia 400 Business Park will be reappearing before the Board of Commissioners with a rec ommendation for approval despite loud and persistent opposition from neighbor ing residents. The industrial park would be on the east side of Settingdown Road, south of the intersection at Smith Drive and Bottoms Road and the Hampton area neighborhood. While a previous propos al for this item was county- initiated, it returned before the planning commission ers for a public hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 15 under the applicant The Pacific Group Inc. of Sandy Springs. The applicant is request ing to rezone approximate ly 37 acres from agricultur al district to restricted industrial district for three warehouse buildings total ing 383,175 square feet together with 384 parking spaces. Hampton residents were particularly concerned about potential truck traffic on Settingdown Road, with many stating there is already truck traffic on the road today. One Hampton resident Lindsey Reissig, who is also on the neighborhood’s HOA board, said she was See Industrial 13A Tanner leaving Forsyth for Tanner By Ashlyn Yule ayule@forsythnews.com County Manager Kevin Tanner will be leaving Forsyth County to pursue a position as the head of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities in mid-December. According to a press release from the office of Gov. Brian Kemp, Tanner’s appointment to the role fol lows Commissioner Judy Fitzgerald’s retirement. “Kevin Tanner is a capable Ga. Dept, of Behavioral Health and dedicated leader who has made significant contri butions to both the state and his community over more than three decades of public service,” Kemp said in the release. “It is thanks to his forward-thinking approach as head of the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission that Georgia is now implement ing meaningful improve ments in how we address mental health. The depart ment will be in good hands under his leadership.” Tanner has served as the Forsyth County Manager since January 2021, working on issues that he is passion ate about such as traffic and transportation. “I would like to congratu late Kevin Tanner on his See Tanner12A 51/29 Forecast! 2A Georgia House Speaker David Ralston dies, 6A Forsyth County News app available for download Find the app at forsythnews.com/apps for local news at your fingertips. □ 7 Volume 113, Number 88 © 2022, Forsyth County News Cumming, Georgia