Forsyth County headlines, school news, photos

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Atlanta's near-death experience of losing Lake Lanier as a water source may have ended last summer, but the threat is not over for nearly 5 million area residents who rely on the lake and its releases into the Chattahoochee River for their existence.

Forsyth County will dedicate two new recreation centers at area parks in the coming weeks. The Old Atlanta Park center, 810 Nichols Road, Suwanee, will have an opening ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The new center at Fowler Park, 4110 Carolene Way, Cumming, will be dedicated at 2 p.

Cumming will host its second regional Georgia Mock Trial competition Saturday. Approximately 100 students from Forsyth County's five public and one private high schools will be competing at the Forsyth County Courthouse, Forsyth County Administration Building and Cumming City Hall for a chance to advance to the state level.

The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday unanimously struck down a key provision of a state law that criminalized some assisted suicides, finding it violates free speech rights. The court's ruling means that four members of the Final Exit Network do not have to stand trial on felony charges in Forsyth County in connection with the 2008 suicide of 58-year-old John Celmer, who killed himself two years after he had been diagnosed with cancer.

It's been a busy month for 10-year-old Remington Youngblood of Cumming. The Johns Creek Elementary student has met with Gov. Nathan Deal, spoken before the local civic groups and the Forsyth County School Board and County Commission to promote his non-profit organization, "Change 4 Georgia.

Concord Road in Forsyth County will be temporarily closed to through traffic beginning Feb. 6, to allow for the replacement of a stormwater cross drain. Public works crews will close the road from Corn Drive to Pirkle Place. Officials said the road is expected to re-open Feb.

A former contractor for the U.S. Postal Service was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for stealing more than $30,000 in government funds and using the proceeds on a golf cart, boat supplies and luxury gifts for himself and his family, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

With more than two dozen advocates swarming the commission chamber, Forsyth County commissioners Tuesday took initial steps to allow beekeeping in residential areas of the county. The unanimous vote left Nicholas Weaver beaming. Weaver, who has eight hives at his one-acre home in rural Cumming, was cited last August for raising livestock in a residential area.

Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison and his opponent in this year’s election, David Waters, may not agree on who should lead the agency of 332 sworn officers, but they do agree the economy will be the biggest challenge for whoever voters choose in November.

A Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputy has been suspended three weeks for allegedly having sex with a woman while he was on duty. Lt. Todd Maloney admitted to having an affair with the woman, who was on probation between May and September of last year, according to Forsyth Sheriff’s Office internal affairs documents obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Minutes after stripping the position of much its power last week, Forsyth County commissioners ousted Chairman Brian Tam Thursday and replaced him with first-term Commissioner Jim Boff. The move surprised Boff. “I didn’t see it coming, but I kind of sensed something in the breeze this morning,” he said during a meeting break.

Forsyth County commissioners Thursday retreated from a move to wrest control of its parks facilities from a citizens advisory board and place it in the hands of the county manager. General outcry from residents and from members of the county's 20 youth athletic associations spurred the decision.

Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies are looking for man who allegedly snatched a father’s paycheck out of the hands of a 6-year-old girl at a Publix supermarket in Cumming. The incident happened about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 20 in the gift card aisle of the Publix at 508 Atlanta Highway, according to the police report.

Forsyth County's Board of Ethics is wrestling with an ethical question of its own. The five-member panel has been slapped with an ethics complaint alleging misconduct over meeting dates, times and places. Problem is, no one knows what to do with it. Board members say they can't consider the matter themselves, nor can they recuse themselves and appoint replacements.

A Georgia man has been charged with repeatedly ramming his SUV into a Monroe County sheriff's deputy's car. Michael J. Thurman, 24, was charged with aggravated assault, reckless conduct and other charges after the incident on Saturday, according to a WMAZ-TV report.

Human skeletal remains were found scattered in a wooded area Friday afternoon off Ga. 400 just inside Forsyth County, authorities said. Forsyth Sheriff’s deputies suspect the bones had been there for years, Channel 2 Action News reported. Deputies were assisted by a forensic anthropologist as they pored over the grounds, also finding bits of clothing.

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office said Friday it is looking for two more people believed to have been involved in a $3 million jewelry heist earlier this year. Milano Fine Jewerly near Cumming was ransacked in September when thieves cut a hole in the wall shared with a neighboring business and made off with jewelry and cash, according to police.

Forsyth County District 4 Commissioner Patrick B. Bell has scheduled a town hall meeting for 7 p.m. Jan. 17, at the Coal Mountain Park Community Building, 3560 Settingdown Road in Cumming. The meeting is designed to provide constituents an opportunity to discuss with the commissioner topics of interest to them.

Forsyth County residents can help keep highways litter-free in the coming year by volunteering to work on one of two mobile trash units. The two units, one for families and another for students, will be in different areas of the county one day each month.

More than 100 volunteers have signed up to cook, serve and clean at a community dinner to feed the hungry Thursday in Cumming. The meal, which runs from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., is the brainchild of McDonald and Son Funeral Home, the MSG Foundation -- formerly the Forsyth Disability Coalition -- and area residents.

It was a bloody rampage that stunned Forsyth County: four people, including three teens, fatally stabbed at a popular youth hangout. By the next morning, three people had been arrested and charged. Monday -- nearly six years after the massacre -- the first of the three defendants to stand trial pleaded guilty to four counts of malice murder, three counts of aggravated battery and one count each of aggravated assault and burglary.

Moody's Investors Services reinstated "stable outlooks" for six metro Atlanta government bond issuers this week after each had been placed into "negative outlook" status last summer. Cobb, Gwinnett and Forsyth counties, Gwinnett County School District, Cobb Water and Sewer and Gwinnett County Water and Sewerage Authority were placed into negative outlook status during the federal budget crisis in August.

An avid outdoors enthusiast reported missing since Nov. 26 has been located unharmed, police said Sunday. Felicia Williamson Lane was found Saturday evening camping in Vogel State Park in north Georgia, said Capt. Tim House with the Forsyth sheriff's office.

A Forsyth County couple charged with second-degree cruelty to children after deputies found a decaying opossum, piles of feces and rotting food in their upscale Lake Lanier home were released on bond Wednesday. Robert and Laura Lancaster were told they must clean up their home before the court considers allowing their two juvenile children to move back in.

Solar Energy USA of Alpharetta plans to introduce solar powered electric vehicle charging free to the public within the next couple of weeks. The company, which runs its headquarters entirely on solar power, is extending the plug outside to refuel electric cars for free.

The 15-year-old North Forsyth High School student found unresponsive Monday morning in a friend's backyard smoked pot, drank bourbon, ingested prescription medication and huffed dust cleaner the night before he died, according to the sheriff's incident report.

Forsyth County deputies are investigating the death of a 15-year-old found unresponsive Monday morning in the back yard of a friend's house following a sleepover. The teen never regained consciousness after being transported to Northside Hospital Forsyth, where he was pronounced dead.

President Barack Obama has signed into law a bill named for a 24-year-old Peace Corps volunteer from Cumming killed in 2009 in West Africa. The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act is aimed at providing better security and protection for Peace Corps volunteers and was introduced by Georgia Republican Sen.

The director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division has asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce the amount of water released from Lake Lanier by more than 10 percent because of drought conditions and forecasts of below normal winter and spring rain.

About a half-dozen people gathered in downtown Cumming Thursday afternoon for an Occupy Cumming demonstration. Group organizer Sharon Gunter said the purpose of the demonstration was to show solidarity with the national movement and to build a coalition calling for jobs, Congressional term limits, lobbyist reform and tax equity.

A man died during the height of the Wednesday afternoon storms when a huge pine tree fell on top of an SUV in south Forsyth County. Kevin Neenan, 51, of Suwanee, was driving a 2008 GMC Yukon north on Brookwood Road, about 500 feet from the intersection of McGinnis Ferry Road, when a tree crushed the roof of his vehicle, Investigator Ron Tomblin of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said.

Drama students at Cherokee County's Sequoyah High School  placed second at the Region AAAA One Act Play Competition for their one-act version of “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller. Benjamin Fierke was named best actor, and Nich Stinson was selected for the All Star cast.

The Forsyth County Civil Service Board affirmed an earlier decision Thursday sustaining the county's dismissal of former planning director Jeff Chance. The board upheld Chance's firing last December after sexually and racially charged emails were found on his office computer.

Forsyth County police said Wednesday they have arrested two more suspects in connection with a $2.8 million burglary of a jewelry store in September. The latest arrests bring to eight the number of people charged with burglary and theft by taking for the heist at Milano Fine Jewelry on Buford Highway near Cumming, a Forsyth's sheriff's spokeswoman told the AJC.

Pinecrest Academy, a private Catholic school in Cumming, is hosting an informational coffee from 9-11 a.m. Monday for PreK3-5 grades. An open house for grades 6-12 will be held from 9-11 a.m. Tuesday. Visitors will be able to talk with parents, teachers and students about the school.

Forsyth County Senior Services is looking for people to help make the holidays special for home-bound senior citizens by donating to its meal delivery program. Participants can choose to provide meals for a day ($3.41), week ($17.05), month ($75.02) or year ($887).

A pair of pit bulls that attacked and killed a horse in Forsyth County have been euthanized, Channel 2 Action News reports. The Forsyth Sheriff’s Office confirmed that animal shelter officials put down the canines after a 30-day quarantine period. The dogs had escaped from their home in early October and attacked and killed an 800-pound horse in a pasture on Watson Road.

A man holding his live-in girlfriend hostage in Forsyth County was taken into custody late Tuesday morning. Matthew Scott Whelchel, 28, was arrested after he allegedly beat up his girlfriend and refused to let her leave their home in the 5700 block of Burruss Mill Road northeast of Cumming.

Georgia’s highest court on Monday will hear a challenge that seeks to strike down the state’s assisted-suicide law, passed by the Legislature almost two decades ago to punish people like the late Jack Kevorkian who helped people kill themselves. Four members of the Final Exit Network say the law violates the right to free speech and does not really prohibit those who assist others committing suicide.

Watson Road northwest of Cumming will be temporarily closed to through traffic for several weeks beginning Wednesday.  The temporary closure will allow for construction of a reinforced concrete box culvert on Watson Road at Yellow Creek. John Cunard, director of engineering for Forsyth County, said providing a larger culvert will help eliminate flooding of the roadway.

The Forsyth County Civil Service Board has scheduled a meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday, November 10, where it is expected to render its decision in the case of fired Planning Director Jeff Chance, according to county risk manager Charity Clark. The Civil Service Board last December upheld Chance's August 2010 firing after sexually and racially charged emails were found on his office computer and for other violations of county policy.

Georgia's highest court is set to review an appeal by four members of a suicide group charged with helping a cancer-stricken man kill himself. The Georgia Supreme Court is set to hear the arguments Monday. The four were indicted by a Forsyth County grand jury in March 2010.

A Cumming man and woman face armed robbery and aggravated assault charges in the home invasion of a Forsyth County home Halloween morning, police said. Sean M. Kinney, 27, and Jodie Marie Davis, 22, are both being held without bond at the Forsyth County Detention Center.

WASHINGTON -- It won’t bring her back, but Lois Puzey of Cumming expressed hope that a bill named for her daughter that cleared Congress on Tuesday would forestall another parent’s pain. Kate Puzey was a Peace Corps volunteer in the west African nation of Benin in 2009 when she was murdered, in apparent retaliation for accusing a local Peace Corps employee of molesting village girls.

A Forsyth County beekeeper said Monday that he’s gotten a reprieve from the county after an official declared his insects were “livestock” and told him that he'd have to remove the hives behind his home. Nicholas Weaver, who lives just outside Cumming, said in a phone interview with the AJC that he’s now working with a county commissioner on allowing honey bees in residential areas.

The Forsyth County Archery Club will host its fourth annual Archery Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Ducktown Park, 5895 Heardsville Road, Cumming. The event benefits 11-year-old Hunter Williams, a club member who underwent a heart transplant in September.

When a woman who had just dropped her child off at a Forsyth County gymnastics center told an armed robber she didn’t have her purse with her, the bandit demanded and took her wedding rings instead, authorities said. The 40-year-old victim told Forsyth County sheriff’s investigators that she was outside the Northwinds Gymnastic Center, 7545 Industrial Court, about 2:20 p.

An 84-year-old man reported missing Thursday afternoon was found safe several hours later, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. Joe Thompson, who has Alzheimer's disease, was found shortly before 10 p.m.

A Cobb County woman accused of stealing three million-dollar metro Atlanta homes could be charged with trying to heist nine more. A DeKalb County Superior Court judge granted Susan Loraine Weidman a $60,000 bond Thursday despite a prosecutor’s demand that she remain in jail.

The arrests of three suspects in Canton who allegedly tried to pass counterfeit money in a local store could lead to additional arrests targeting a criminal ring active throughout the metro Atlanta area, police said Tuesday. The investigation began Wednesday evening when three people were arrested at the Canton Marketplace shopping center on Cumming Highway.