The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 107

FRIDAY. OCTOBER 28, 1988 ffbf Atlanta journal AND CONSTITUTION WHAT'S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR TOWN 1 A f- I i NCR to Break Ground on New Complex DULUTH The NCR a Dayton, Ohio-based builder of retail business systems and cash registers, will break ground Friday for a $15 million engineering, research and manufacturing facility near Duluth. Construction has already begun on the complex located on 40 acres on the corner of Satellite Boulevard and Boggs Road. The facility is expected to employ about 800 people when completed by the fourth quarter of 1989. Allan M.

Quick, vice president of retail systems, said Gwinnett Tech and Georgia Tech were among persuasive factors in his company's decision to locate in the Atlanta area. About 150 administrative personnel will be housed in the facility in addition to 400 engineers. "To build these kinds of systems, you need highly skilled people," he said. Oct 11, Chief Deputy Sheriff Jim Lawler said Thursday. The county has paid more than $700,000 in fines since they were imposed by a federal judge in March 1987, but $209,064 was refunded to lease more trailers.

The trailers, which will house 47 additional inmates, will be delivered in about seven weeks, Chief Deputy Sheriff Lawler said. The county paid $5,500 in fines Wednesday for exceeding the jail's capacity of 116 by 55 inmates, he said. The jail has housed as many as 117 inmates already sentenced to state prisons, and has averaged 70 to 80 state Department of Corrections prisoners during the last two weeks, Chief Deputy Sheriff Lawler said. "We're overcrowded, but we're doing everything possible to get some of these inmates out by using the prosecutorial part of the criminal justice system," he said. "We're talking to the district attorney and the Magistrate Court to get bond reductions and getting them to take pleas as soon as possible.

We're going to call the state and ask them to pick the inmates up. We know the state is overcrowded too." Chief Deputy Sheriff Lawler said most inmates stay an average of 24 hours, but those incarcerated longer stay an average of 30 to 45 days and are mostly felons with high or no bonds. "We're working desperately to get misdemeanors out of jail," he said. CHARLOTTE B. TEAGLEStaff shopping, inspects the holiday decorations at Rich's.

Doris Small of Gainesville, who drove to Gwinnett Place mall to do some Christmas Shopping From Page 1 Hi 4.3. Lawrenceville Man's Death 'Unusual' LAWRENCEVILLE A 31-year-old Lawrenceville man whose body was found in his home Wednesday night died of a perforated esophagus in what Gwinnett's medical examiner called one of the most unusual cases he has seen. The body of Lonnie E. Killen of 312 Oakland Road, who worked for a pest control company, was found in his bed about 6:50 p.m. by his employer, police said.

Dr. Joseph L. Burton, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy Thursday, said he will not rule the death accidental until he receives toxicology reports from the State Crime Lab. "We're trying to determine if he ate something or ingested something that set the stage for this," Dr. Burton said.

Dr. Burton said police do not suspect foul play. "It's been my experience with exterminators who are working with chemicals quite toxic most of them treat them very nonchalantly," he said. "We could be dealing with a man who was just very sick. It's one of these cases where we just want to cover all the bases." Dr.

Burton said he has asked the crime lab to check for evidence of drugs, pesticides or heavy metals, such as arsenic or lead in Mr. Killen's system. The medical examiner said that if pesticides or toxic substances from chemicals used in his profession are found, he will notify the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. State to Be Asked to Pick Up Inmates LAWRENCEVILLE Gwinnett County Sheriffs Department officials said Thursday that they will again ask state officials to pick up state-sentenced prisoners at the county jail in the wake of paying a record fine for overcrowding. Gwinnett County paid $153,300 in fines for exceeding the jail's capacity for the period of Sept 11 through Sears' Homart to Buy Site for Offices DULUTH Homart Development the development branch of Sears, Roebuck and has signed a contract to purchase a site at the corner of Pleasant Hill Road and Interstate 85 for a proposed multi-story office building, a company official confirmed Thursday.

Charles Mitchell, vice president of Homart's office development division in Atlanta, said the Chicago-based company placed the site, which was home to a Union 76 truck stop, under contract 10 days ago. "We are still doing feasibility studies so we can't tell exactly what will be placed on the property yet," he said. "It's highly visible the best site in the marketplace," he said. Mr. Mitchell would not confirm the selling price of the 12-acre tract, located at the southeast quadrant of Interstate 85 and Pleasant Hill Road near the Atlanta Marriott-Gwinnett Place.

But an official in Unocal Southern Division office in Atlanta, which is selling the property to Homart, said the company would pay $5 million for the site. Although Homart has placed an undisclosed deposit on the property, the deal will not be closed until February, Mr. Mitchell said. Two hotel companies have also placed deposits on the site in the past year and both pulled out for financial reasons, sources said. wrapping paper, reindeer stickers, snowy Santa scenes and little, knickknacks like potholders that say "Christmas calories don't count" have occupied half of the store since Oct 15.

Only a few paper skeletons and fuzzy creepy-crawlies flying over a row of jack-o'-lantern cards stand in the way of the total Christmas takeover in November, Mrs. Hudson said. Christmas trees and wreaths have been twinkling at Rich's customers since September. In defiance of corporate rules that forbid press interviews, sources at the store's Trim the Tree shop warned that such decorations as Christmas lights held by pink and gold angels and the "Dickens Village" collection of lamplight, wat-tle-and-daub houses were moving fast "I think we may run out of the angel lights this weekend," said one employee. "A lot of these things come from overseas, so we won't be getting more in stock before it's too late." People who are acting on the stores' cues to start shopping earlier say a tree without angel lights CHARLOTTE B.

TEAGLEStaff Hallie Morgan, 3, daughter of Cindy Morgan of Norcross, is fascinated by a Christmas water globe on display at the Trim the Tree shop at Rich's. Towns and Kathy Scruggs' Staff writers Hollis R. contributed to this article. is not the only tribulation they manage to avoid. "If you have it all done, you can enjoy Christmas," said Mrs.

Hansen. "You don't have to worry about the crowds. My kids and I bake on my days off." For those who wonder how early shoppers keep presents they bought six months ago a secret from their children, Mrs. Hansen has an easy answer. "Layaway!" she said triumphantly.

"You put them on lay-away for so long that you don't even remember what they are." nwstt Ira Trouble Spots TdDwm? ON GWINNETT ROADS Csuwaneo JU-n ff fcgTlawrencovllte Your search is over you'll find it here for Spas, Pool tables, la. 1 1 ri a -was, rmuMT TVsets! SATURDAY Places where potential traffic bottlenecks may delay you SUNDAY! Tips IN GWINNETT RigJitofWayKey To When Project Will Be Finished Dear Traffic Tips: The new courthouse is finished, and one entrance is OK. But there are entrances off Perry Street and Stone Mountain Street which are supposed to be four-laned, and now there is a small two-lane road for about 300 feet leading into these. Why were they not completed at the same time? When will they be finished? What caused the delay and lack of coordination? No Name These roads were originally to be funded through the bond program for the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, according to George Black, county director of transportation. "The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners decided that is was not appropriate to use construction money for road projects," Mr.

Black said. The three scheduled entrances to the center were included in the 1986 road bond program. Langley Drive has already been widened to five lanes from Pike Street to the courthouse. Two others still must be completedOne is the extension of Constitution Road along the alignment of Hillside Drive to Georgia 124. "We did traffic studies after the projects were assigned to our department, and we found that the projected traffic far exceeded the capacity of the engineering designs already done for this particular project" Mr.

Black said. The project is now in right-of-way acquisition. Construction likely will begin by mid-1989. The second project still not complete is the Clayton Street-Perry Street connector, which is a state Department of Transportation (DOT) project to be funded by the county. "We have had problems in right-of-way acquisition," Mr.

Black said. "The DOT was going to bid this project as a supplement to their Law-renceville one-way pair project, so technically, we're holding up their project" When this project gets under Q3 $4 0' burn to Culver Street in Lawrenceville. 5 Pleasant Hill Road is under construction between Buford Highway and the Fulton County line. 6 South Norcross-Tucker Road is under construction between Pleasantdale Road and Jimmy Carter Boulevard. 7 Interstate 85 is being widened from two lanes in each direction to four lanes between Boggs Road and 1-985.

The inside northbound lane will be closed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Friday. Traffic will be slowed. 8 Hillcrest Road in Lilburn will be closed for bridge repairs no later than Nov.

7. 1 Highway 20 is being widened from two to five lanes for two miles from Pike Street in Lawrenceville to Park Place just outside Lawrenceville. 2 Shackelford Road is being widened from two to five lanes. Construction will be under way through late 1988. The detour from Woodington Circle to Franklin Road is open.

The project also includes the widening of Club Drive from Pleasant Hill to Sweetwater Creek Road from two to five lanes. 3 Satellite Boulevard is being widened from two to five lanes from Beaver Ruin Road to Pleasant Hill. 4 U.S. Highway 29 is being widened to five lanes from Sweetwater Creek Bridge in Lil- 100 7H Limited to stock at FINANCING time of purchase. Prior sales excluded.

AVAILABLE! WITH APPROVED CREDITI ments about traffic in Gwinnett dangerous intersections, when road construction projects will be tin way will depend on how much longer it takes to get the necessary right of way. Write Letter to Traffic Tips Do you have questions or com- i- IfilDiilM) ElifTtifeft ished, complaints about traffic patterns? If so, please write to Traffic Tips, 6455 Best Friend Road, Norcross 30071,.