The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • E1

RMAIN1221OE1 Annual stampede Photos by T. LEVETTE BAGWELL Staff Matthew Eliopulos 8, stamps a Greetings from message on Christmas cards Thursday afternoon at the post office in Bethlehem. The family drove 44 miles from Danielsville for the opportunity. Postmark from Bethlehem is seasonal symbol for crowds By ANDREA JONES Bethlehem Neil Rapersad spent an hour sticking stamps to 600 holiday cards for customers in this only post office, determined to get them out before big day. was a little late this the Monroe auto repair shop owner said as he peeled and pounded Wednesday.

I drove over here because important to have the is that of little town of Bethlehem, a one stoplight hamlet sandwiched between Lawrenceville and Athens. Most days, two-room post office is as quiet as a church on Tuesday. But come December, the rectangular brown brick building is a flurry of activity as hundreds pass through the doors for the all-important marking. a said a smiling Fran Loffler, as her 7-year-old daughter Sunny stamped carefully written Christmas cards. do this every While making the trek to Bethlehem is a yearly pilgrimage for some, Postmistress Cathy Montgomery said traffic has really taken off this year.

She expects to process about 60,000 more cards this season than last, or 150,000 total. think more people are sending cards, getting in touch with family and Montgomery said. everything gone on, people want to pull even Sandy Allman agrees. The Monroe resident dropped off her two dozen cards Wednesday several more than last year and drove off in a sedan covered with American flag stickers. wanted to send them from Bethlehem this year, she said.

Back inside the office, Rapersad affixed the last few stamps to his hundreds of cards and dropped them at the counter. The New York native said he usually mails a holiday-themed calender card to customers, but this year, opted for something a little different. An American flag waves in the background and the words We run under his auto logo. all doing what we he said. holidays are a great time for ON THE WEB: For more information about this topic: Metro Online, E2 GEORGIA Atlanta AREA SHOWN 985 85 20 78 316 Miles 10 0 Athens Winder Lawrenceville LOOP 10 BETHLEHEM DALE E.

DODSON Staff Security slowing holiday travelers a trip The holiday scene at the airport. A comprehensive guide to using Hartsfield. On ajc.com Please see HARTSFIELD, E10 By MARY LOU PICKEL Dina relatives only wanted to be nice when they gave her a suitcase full of wrapped presents to take home to Chicago. As luck would have it, Glardon, her husband and son were chosen randomly for a baggage search at the AirTran ticket counter Thursday at Hartsfield International Airport. There went the wrapped presents.

Glardon, 54, sat on a table, looking away, as security guards gingerly opened each package and tried, unsuccessfully, to fit them back in the colored paper. our Christmas presents are gone Glardon said. our luggage has been gone through. The whole world has seen my padded bras. so One way or another, extra security will color the season for holiday fliers.

Saturday is the projected peak day at Hartsfield with about 230,000 people expected to pass through the airport. Most of them are making connections; roughly 40 percent are coming to or going from Atlanta. State help for MARTA proposed Route cuts prompt talk of bailout Please see MARTA, E9 Do you favor a state bailout of MARTA? Vote at ajc.com By MILO IPPOLITO plan to cut bus routes, and the resulting public uproar, has raised talk about a possible state bailout for the financially strapped transit authority. have advocated that the governor step in because this situation is too said state Rep. Billy McKinney (D-Atlanta).

Faced with a $10 million financial crisis, MARTA has proposed to cut 14 regular daily bus routes and 99 Saturday or Sunday bus routes. MARTA also proposes to run trains every 10 minutes instead of every eight minutes and raise the price of discount monthly transit passes. The proposals have met with widespread opposition from riders. Hundreds attended each of the four public hearings this month. An estimated 600 people came to the final hearing Thursday night at Atlanta City Hall, spilling out of the council chambers and into an overflow room.

state needs to get involved in some said state Sen. Vincent Fort (D- Atlanta). MARTA goes, so goes public transportation in metro Atlanta and the McKinney, who heads the MARTA oversight committee, believes the state will step in to save the routes. think they will actually be McKinney said. Some MARTA board members individually grumble that CARNEGIE AWARDS JOHN SPINK Staff Kevin Snyder an attorney who works in Atlanta, won the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission award for pulling three children from a burning car in February.

ON THE WEB: For more information: Metro Online, E2 Please see HERO, E11 Two area men recognized for heroism By ROCHELLE CARTER One man pulled three small children from a burning car. The other drowned trying to save a woman whose car plunged into a golf course pond. Both are now officially heroes. The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission recognized Kevin Snyder, 33, of Peachtree City and the late Richard Maindelle, 57, of Jonesboro for risking their lives to save others. Snyder, an Atlanta commercial bankruptcy attorney, and Maindelle, a retired military officer and a supervisor at the Lake Spivey Golf Club, performed their heroic acts within eight days of each other in February.

Snyder and Maindelle are among the 112 people who received the $3,500 award and Carnegie Medal, which are handed out five times a year. The 24 Americans and Canadians who received the Carnegie Hero Fund award this week have done things typically associated with comic book super heroes. They run into burning buildings and try to stop knife attacks. One man tangled with a bull. But these are mortals, and there always a happy ending.

Like Maindelle, about one in five honorees are recognized posthumously, according to the Couple draws a line against sewer growth By DAVID PENDERED Controversy over a planned sewer line expansion in north Fulton County is the latest chapter in metro continuing saga over growth in once-rural communities. This is another tale of relatively recent arrivals to a tranquil place who oppose changes that will allow more residents to move into the neighborhood. What makes this episode a bit different is the $12,000 to $15,000 that two or three families have spent in fighting the sewer expansion. The setting is Mountain Park, a town on the border of Fulton and Cherokee counties. The leading characters are a recently married couple, Dan Rosis and Julia Neal.

They lead a small group opposing the installation of a bigger sewer line, which just happens to run between the homes of group members and a lake that is one of the main reasons for being. Lake Garrett is to be refilled after the sewer pipe is replaced. In the meantime, the brush growing in the dry lake bed is a constant reminder of a lost sense of escape and vulnerability to what the couple views as big government run amok. a constant dark cloud hanging over Neal said Please see SEWER, E5 Inside this section: More national news, E13-20, E28 Sunday-Friday: The Vent Monday-Saturday: Close to Home Monday: Spotlight Investigative Team Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday: Colin Campbell Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Lane Ranger by Joey Ledford METRO CONTACT US Cindy Gorley, Metro editor 404-526-2696 INSIDE TODAY EVERY WEEK Gang killing: Two Gwinnett County teens, including Hasia Sauceda (right), will offer testimony on executions they took part in. E3 Flights resume: The FAA has lifted restrictions on civil flights near all but the busiest airports.

E11 FRIDAY, DEC. 21, 2001 CLOSE TO HOME E2 OBITUARIES E22-23 Drink it up: Do you prefer tap or bottled water? Vote at ajc.com/horizon Your community: News about your neighborhood. www.accessatlanta THE WEB TODAY FMAI51221OE1 5 Star 1E 1E RR RR BlueRedYellowBlack BlueRedYellowBlack.