Empty Nest
Sponsored Section ►►PAGE 22
Education bills Legislature mulls new laws ►►PAGE 14
Gwinnett Tech
New campus stresses strong biz ties ►►PAGE 21
Event facility partially approved Gets new pavilion, no more people ►►PAGE 4
February 25, 2015 | miltonherald.com | 75,000 circulation Revue & News, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald & Forsyth Herald combined | 50¢ | Volume 10, No. 9
50 years later… Bailey Johnson state champs recall victory
By JONATHAN COPSEY jonathan@appenemediagroup.com NORTH FULTON, Ga. – On Feb. 27, 2015, it will be 50 years to the day since the boys of Bailey Johnson public school won the state championship in basketball. There were 12 members of that team in 1965. Six of the surviving members gathered Feb. 18 at Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Roswell to reminisce about their shining moment five decades ago. The men went to Bailey Johnson public school, the only all-black school for North Fulton students. A grade 1-12
school, it only had about 100 students. It schooled students for all of North Fulton County as far south as Dunwoody. “This team was a machine,” said Almond Martin. “We were all spark plugs. If one of us sputtered, it didn’t run.” They were coached by Jerry Hobbs, a former college football player who taught physical education as well as math. For a basketball team, they were small guys. Averaging in the upper 5-foot range, they were dwarfed by their competition. But that didn’t matter. They had speed on their side. “Coach would make us run over and over for so long,” Martin said, laughing as he called it “abuse.” Hobbs would have them run every day he could, around town and in gyms, for hours on
See CHAMPS, Page 43
The 1964-65 basketball team from Bailey Johnson, which used to be a public school in what is now Alpharetta. The team went 14-2 to win the state championship. Front row, from left, are Aubrey Manning, Arthur Manning, Leroy (Charles) Grogan, Almond Martin, David Taylor and Larry Strickland. Back row are coach Jerry Hobbs, Jimmy Taylor, Melvin Peters, James Emerson, Claude McCan, Willie Brown and Larry Wells.
No Milton land conserved in 2014 City looks at options, promotes TDRs By SHANNON WEAVER shannon@appenmediagroup.com
JONATHAN COPSEY/STAFF
The state champion Bailey Johnson basketball team gathers to celebrate 50 years since their big win. Front row, from left, are Charles Grogan, Almond Martin and David Taylor. Back row are Jimmy Taylor, Melvin Peters and James Emerson.
MILTON, Ga. — In the past year, 350 acres of land in Milton were developed while no land was set aside for conservation, Milton’s head of conservation told the City Council work session Feb. 9. “Up through a few years ago, we saw a lot of open space, our rural character,” said conservation expert Laurel Florio in an update about the city’s conservation efforts. “Today, it might be a little less so.” In 2014, 386 new homes were completed and 166 additional permits were issued, she said. If the city continues
HIGHER SCORES MEAN MORE COLLEGE OPTIONS.
What is it that makes Milton so special to us? Driving around, it’s the open space, it’s the scenic, rural view that we see from road to road.” LAUREL FLORIO Milton conservation expert
to build 300 homes per year, 5,000 acres are projected to be developed in 16 years. “The rate we’re going now, we’re definitely pushing the envelope,” Florio said. The city completed its conservation plan last year, including preparations to implement transfer of development rights. In essence, the TDR program allows developers to “swap” the
density of one piece of land to add to another. This could cause land in rural Milton to stay rural while encouraging development along Ga. 9, for instance. Florio said the first landowner has agreed to participate in the TDR program, which will conserve 5 to 7 acres. Florio suggested designat-
See MILTON, Page 40
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