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Shannon Casas | Director of Content The Times ’ Gainesville, Georgia
770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com Friday, October 26, 2018
Woman killed
in Forsyth crash
BY ALEXANDER POPP
apopp@forsythnews.com
A Dawsonviille woman
was killed Wednesday
morning when authorities
say an SUV driven by a
Gainesville man crossed the
center line of Jot Em Down
Road in North Forsyth
County and struck the SUV
she was driving.
Barbara Morgan Fowler,
71, was killed when the
Honda CRV she was driving
east was struck by a 2001
Toyota Sequoia traveling
west at about 9:30 a.m. Oct.
24 near County Lake Road,
according to Cpl. Doug Rain
water of the Forsyth County
Sheriffs Office. The Toyota
was driven by Sean Charles
Campbell, 31, of Gainesville.
Rainwater said the force
of impact from the colli
sion took the vehicles off the
roadway and into a nearby
yard.
Fowler’s husband, Rob
ert Fowler, was riding in
the CRV and transported to
an area hospital with seri
ous but not life-threatening
injuries.
Campbell and a front-seat
passenger in the Sequoia,
Kelsey Sullivan, 23, of For
syth County, received minor
injuries and declined treat
ment at the scene, Rainwa
ter said.
“This incident is under
investigation by the (Traf
fic Specialist Unit) to deter
mine what caused the
Sequoia to cross over the
center line,” Rainwater
said. “(The driver) was not
showing any signs of intoxi
cation at the scene, but we
will be looking at any other
factor that may have played
a part in the crash.”
Fair to connect students
with Historically Black
Colleges and Universities
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@
gainesvilletimes.com
Gainesville High School
will host a college infor
mation fair featuring His
torically Black Colleges &
Universities from 9 a.m.
to noon on Saturday, Oct.
27, for all Gainesville City
and Hall County schools’
students.
There are 101 public and
private HBCUs in the United
States, which were estab
lished prior to the passage of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Twenty-seven of these
schools offer doctoral pro
grams; 52 offer master’s
programs; 83 colleges offer
bachelor’s programs; and
38 schools offer associate
degrees.
The LIO Chapter of Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority
Incorporated is working in
collaboration with Gaines
ville High School to host the
event.
The following colleges
and universities will par
ticipate: Howard University,
Stillman College, Tuskegee
University, South Carolina
2018 College
Fair
What: College fair
featuring Historically
Black Colleges and
Universities
When: 9 a.m. to noon
Saturday, Oct. 27
Where: Gainesville High
School, 830 Century
Place, 30504
More info: Email rakia.
marcus@gcssk12.net
or the event chair at
nannygadsden@gmail.
com
State University, Claflin
University, Payne College,
Johnson C. Smith University,
Southern University, Florida
A&M University, Alabama
A&M University, Fort Val
ley State, Morris College,
Allen University and Bene
dict College.
Informational materials
from several other colleges
would be provided.
And breakout sessions for
parents and students on col
lege recruiting topics, such
as the application process,
and scholarship and finan
cial aid opportunities, will
also be held.
Bus with no students
aboard involved in accident
A Hall County Schools
bus was involved in an
accident with a work truck
on Highway 52 near the
intersection of Bethel
Road in North Hall on the
morning Wednesday, Oct.
24.
The driver of the truck
was transported to the
Northeast Georgia Medi
cal Center for evaluation
of non-life-threatening
injuries, according to Hall
County Schools spokesman
Gordon Higgins.
Bus driver Dwight Reyn
olds, described as a 15-year
veteran, was the only per
son on the bus at the time
of the accident and he
reported no injuries.
The Georgia State Patrol
is conducting the accident
investigation.
Joshua Silavent
SAT
■ Continued from 1A
average score slipped to
1142 from 1157 in 2017.
However, overall, Geor
gia’s improvements took
place even as more students
took the SAT.
In Forsyth County Schools,
for example, 2,206 students
took the test this year with
an average score of 1167
compared with just 1,649 stu
dents scoring an average of
1146 in 2017.
In Dawson County
Schools, three fewer stu
dents took the test this
year, but the average score
increased to 1065 from 1046
in 2017.
“We are seeing historic
improvements in our edu
cation outcomes here in
Georgia,” State School
Superintendent Rich
ard Woods said in a press
release. “On the SAT, which
was once used to label Geor
gia as ‘last in the nation’
‘We are
seeing historic
improvements
in our education
outcomes
Richard Woods, State
School superintendent
in education, Georgia’s
public-school students are
now beating the national
average.”
A focus on improving
scores among minority
students also fared well,
according to the Department
of Education.
African-American stu
dents across Georgia scored
an average of 961, higher
than the national average of
935 and an increase over 957
in 2017.
Georgia’s Latino students
averaged a score of 1022, a
slight decrease from 1023
last year but still better than
the national average of 979.
SAT scores
- 2018 high school
graduating class
Number of
Average
test takers
score
Hall County
1,090
1054
Gainesville City
234
1000
Buford City
238
1142
Forsyth County
2,206
1167
Dawson County
131
1065
Source: Georgia Department of Education
Man charged after fleeing traffic stop
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
An East Point man is facing more
than a dozen charges after he alleg
edly fled a traffic stop on Interstate
985 Wednesday, Oct. 24, according to
authorities.
Samuel Rivers, 29, was charged with
speeding, speeding in a construction
zone, failure to maintain lane, follow
ing too closely, driving within a gore
or median, driving in the emergency
lane, passing on the shoulder of a road
way, failure to signal when changing
lanes, improper lane change, reckless
driving, possession of an open con
tainer, possession of less than an ounce
of marijuana, obstruction of an officer
and felony fleeing or attempting to
elude a law enforcement officer.
A Georgia State Patrol trooper
stopped a Ford Fusion for speeding
near mile marker 14 of the southbound
highway. As the trooper approached
the car, the Ford Fusion sped off back
onto the interstate, according to state
patrol.
As the pursuit entered Gwinnett
County, the trooper was able to per
form a precision immobilization tech
nique, causing the suspect’s vehicle to
crash near mile marker 4.5.
The passenger, Brittanie Long, 21,
of Buford, was charged with misde
meanor possession of marijuana and
taken into custody from the vehicle.
Authorities captured Rivers in a
wooded area shortly thereafter and
found he had multiple outstanding
warrants, according to state patrol.
Rivers was taken to Northeast Geor
gia Medical Center for minor injuries
sustained in the crash. Long and all law
enforcement involved were uninjured.
Kemp plans to appeal injunction over
absentee ballot rejections in Georgia
BY TYLER ESTEP
The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA - Over
renewed objections from
Georgia Secretary of State
Brian Kemp and other
elections leaders, a federal
judge on Thursday officially
issued an injunction stop
ping the state from rejecting
absentee ballots because of
signatures deemed not to
match those on file.
The injunction, which
Kemp’s team now says
it intends to appeal, was
granted by U.S. District
Court Judge Leigh Mar
tin May. It orders Kemp’s
office to inform local elec
tions offices that, instead of
issuing rejections,
they should mark
such ballots as
provisional, then
give the would-
be voter “pre
rejection notice”
and an opportu
nity to resolve
the discrepancy.
Absentee ballot
applications with potential
signature issues are ordered
to be treated similarly.
Several hundred ballots
would likely to be affected.
May had released a pro
posed version of the injunc
tion Wednesday but gave
Kemp’s office and the Gwin
nett County Board
of Registrations and
Elections — both
plaintiffs in a pair of
ongoing voting rights
lawsuits — until noon
Thursday to files
responses.
With less than two
weeks until Election
Day, Kemp’s attor
neys called the injunction
“unworkable given the need
to have votes counted and
the election certified by the
Monday after the election.”
They made similar
arguments in a new filing
submitted late Thursday
afternoon — a motion to stay
injunction pending appeal.
It essentially amounts to
Kemp asking May to hold off
on enforcing the injunction
while Kemp’s team appeals
it to the 11th Circuit Court of
Appeals.
“Last-minute challenges
to longstanding election
procedures have long been
disfavored because they
threaten to disrupt the
orderly administration of
elections, which is essential
to the functioning of our par
ticipatory democracy,” the
motion said.
Kemp
Hall commissioners reverse course,
approve community for disabled adults
AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Seth Barnes Jr. of Adventures in Missions argues on behalf
of the rezoning on Bogus Road for construction of the
Adventures in Missions community during a Hall County
commissioners’ meeting on Thursday, Oct. 25.
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
Adventures in Missions
will be building a commu
nity for disabled adults in
North Hall after the devel
opment was unanimously
approved by the Hall County
Board of Commissioners
Thursday, a departure from
the planning commission’s
unanimous denial of the
proposal earlier this month.
Seth Barnes Jr. of Adven
tures in Missions said that
since the planning commis
sion meeting, Adventures
in Missions has gone door-
to-door and reached out
to the community to talk
about the project, which has
been named the Flourish
Community. Families with
special needs children said
they saw a need for a com
munity for disabled adults,
he said.
“It’s the community step
ping up that made the differ
ence,” Barnes said after the
project was approved. "...
Hall County is such a great
place with a lot of people
who care deeply about
people with disabilities,
and I think it’s due to them
that we were able to get this
passed.”
The property on Bogus
Road in North Hall is next to
Adventures in Missions’ cur
rent offices. The community
will eventually house up to
48 disabled adults who will
live with full-time care fam
ilies in four homes. Adven
tures in Missions recruited
several local families who
supported the project to
attend Thursday’s meeting
and voice their support.
Homes would be added
gradually, with one being
built about every 12 to 18
months, Barnes said.
However, several resi
dents in the Bogus Road
area said they were wor
ried that the development,
which they said would be
relatively high density for
the area, would threaten
the rural character of North
Hall.
Karen Pruett and Ken
Torbett said they are not
opposed to the idea for the
community, but they do not
think Bogus Road is the right
spot, a sentiment agreed
upon by their neighbors who
also spoke Thursday.
“We picked Bogus Road
because it is a country road.
... (This project) is a change
of character to the rural
neighborhood,” Torbett
said.
Torbett and other resi
dents said they were also
worried about traffic that
could come with the devel
opment. Bryan Jackson
said Bogus Road already
has blind spots and can
be unsafe. Construction
vehicles will just make that
problem worse, he said.
Barnes said because the
residents of the Flourish
Community will not be driv
ing, traffic will be relatively
limited. Because the com
munity will expand gradu
ally, with homes being built
in stages and residents mov
ing in one at a time, any
change would not happen
overnight, he said.
The next steps for Adven
tures in Missions are fund
raising for the project and
starting construction, which
Barnes said he expects to
begin next summer or fall.
DOG
■ Continued from 1A
Black said. “(Dogs) know they’re on
a chain. ... This ordinance could be
the domino in a series of dominoes
that helps us help a lot of dogs in Hall
County.”
Commissioners asked the crowd to
identify whether they supported the ban
by standing. A solid majority of people
in the room said they supported the ban
on unsupervised tethering.
A few people in the room did stand up
to signify that they were in opposition
to the rule, with one person choosing to
address commissioners Thursday.
Gregory White of Gainesville said he
adopted a dog who was accustomed to
spending time in a backyard, pacing
along the fence line of his enclosure.
But White said he noticed his dog was
more relaxed on a leash, so he decided
to tether the dog to his deck and noticed
a difference in his behavior.
White said the tethering ban will still
not ensure that people properly love
and care for their dogs.
“You will just change the form of
confinement and not the love for the
animal,” he said. “I believe that every
one here has good intentions. They see
a problem that there is only one solution
for, and that is changing the hearts and
minds of the dog owner.”
The ordinance prohibits tethering
unless someone is staying with the dog
for supervision. The rule is the result
of a months-long study by the Humane
Society of Northeast Georgia and the
Hall County Animal Shelter, which
included focus groups, a survey and a
study of other municipalities’ policies.
TRAFFIC
■ Continued from 1A
The prickliest issue is the
city’s considering a proposal
to close the Chattahoochee
Street railroad crossing.
Norfolk Southern has
offered to put in a signal
known as a “lunar light”
that would help guide trains
to at least clear the Lights
Ferry crossing, the most fre
quently used crossing down
town. Lights Ferry provides
a straight shot for motorists
from McEver Road to Inter
state 985.
In return, though, Norfolk
Southern wants to close the
Chattahoochee crossing, just
north of the Spring Street
crossing. The railroad would
pay for the closing, plus give
the city $50,000.
But the city, if it wants to go
that route, has to act fast. The
railroad has the expenses in
its budget, ending Dec. 31.
“This is probably the best
deal we’re going to get from
the railroad,” Mayor Mike
Miller said at the night meet
ing. “They are at the point
that they could walk away
now and just say, ‘Fine,
we’re ... just going to park
the train where we’re sup
posed to. You all deal with
it.”
Still, residents said they
were concerned about how
downtown congestion would
only intensify with the cross
ing closed and hundreds of
homes being built nearby.
Residents talked about how
downtown streets need
improvements, including
sidewalks.
“Where’s our priorities?”
asked one resident. “All the
property is being used for
(new) housing.”
Kristi Watson asked city
officials if they would con
sider temporarily blocking
Chattahoochee Street at the
crossing to see how a closure
would work.
She and husband John,
who have properties on
Spring and Church streets,
were concerned that down
town streets couldn’t handle
the extra traffic.
“We’re all about develop
ment,” John Watson said,
upon leaving the morning
meeting. “However, the
infrastructure is so behind
that people who have
invested (downtown) — it’s
like we’re getting dumped
on. Our biggest concerns are
safety and infrastructure.”
Also, as part of helping
traffic flow at the Lights
Ferry crossing, the city is
looking at making Railroad
Avenue a one-way street
between Lights Ferry and
Main Street. Under the plan,
motorists wouldn’t be able
to travel Railroad Avenue
from Main to Lights Ferry.
Closing the Radford Road
crossing north of the Chat
tahoochee crossing also
has come up as an option.
The McEver Road side of
the crossing is in Flowery
Branch and the Atlanta
Highway side is in unincor
porated Hall County.
Will Miller, a Norfolk
Southern representative
who attended the morning
meeting, said the crossing’s
fate depends on how things
work out with the new Exit
14 being built on Inter
change 985.
The interchange,
expected to be finished
next summer, would con
nect Martin Road at Atlanta
Highway east of 1-985 to H.F.
Reed Industrial Parkway at
Thurmon Tanner Parkway
west of 1-985.
H.F. Reed leads to
McEver Road, crossing over
Norfolk Southern railroad
tracks.
“If trucks are safely cross
ing (over the tracks), then
we would try to eliminate
(the Radford) crossing over
time, if we’ve got support
from the county and the
city,” Miller said.
