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Georgia rolls to easy victory
over Florida, sports, ib
Honestly Local
H ELECTION 2018
Young voters mobilize for elections
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
Turnout for early voting in Hall
County has been more than double
what it was in the 2014 midterms,
and young voters in Northeast
Georgia are attributing that to
increased political awareness,
regardless of political party.
They also said voters seem more
open to candidates with ideas
that may differ from their own
or from what has been the estab
lished position of their party in
previous elections.
“There are always going to
be people who are going to vote
based on party lines, but I think
most of the people I’ve interacted
with at least are considering vot
ing for candidates from parties
they haven’t voted for in years or
ever,” said Kyle Leineweber, pres
ident of Brenau University College
Democrats.
Arturo Adame, president of Hall
County Young Democrats, said he
sees Republicans shifting further
to the right, and Democrats are
departing from tradition, too.
“Moderation isn’t going to win,”
Adame said. “It’s going to be a real
change that is going to affect things
more drastically.”
Hall County has traditionally
been a Republican stronghold —
76 percent of voters chose Donald
Trump in 2016, and 78 percent
voted to re-elect Gov. Nathan Deal
in 2014 — but Adame said he sees
that changing, even if the shift is
gradual.
“It’s going to be a generational
thing, where each person will have
to build on top of the next person,
but the foundation is there and it’s
a strong one,” Adame said.
Adame said many people
involved in Young Democrats have
only recently become politically
involved, but the 2016 election
“woke a lot of people up.”
Now, he said Democrats in Hall
County have several candidates to
support on the state and local level,
and people are turning out to the
polls and showing up to volunteer,
particularly for the campaign of
Josh McCall, who is running for the
U.S. House of Representatives.
James King, chairman of the
Young Republicans of Northeast
Georgia, said the region’s con
sistent favoring of conservative
candidates may negatively affect
conservative activism, but he still
sees people becoming invested in
the election.
“I feel like because Northeast
Georgia is such a conservative
stronghold.... I think that that has
led to some complacency,” King
■ Please see VOTERS, 6A
How do your wages stack up?
Chamber survey can show you
SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Human Resources receptionist Celibeth Rivera works with HR manager Joni Holloway Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the Hall County
Government Center.
Chamber says report is a tool to encourage ‘healthy competition
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Ever wonder how your pay stacks up
against others in similar roles in Hall
County?
You might get a hint by looking at the
Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce 2018
Wage & Benefit Report.
It has served as a meaningful tool for
Philip Wilheit Sr., head of Gainesville’s
Wilheit Packaging.
That’s particularly true these days, with
a surging economy and low jobless rate in
the Hall County area, he said.
“We have such a competitive labor
market,” Wilheit said. “I want to be sure
that our pay, our benefits — our package,
if you will — is competitive with other
industries similar to us.”
The chamber’s recently released
report is available in a PDF version or
book format for $30 for chamber mem
bers and $50 for non-chamber members,
but members, non-members and others
can get a quick online summary.
The summary, based on responses
from area companies/chamber mem
bers, gives a breakdown of average pay
for jobs in several categories, includ
ing production, maintenance, human
resources, finance and office.
Overall, 64 companies, agencies and
public entities participated in the survey.
Of those, about 20 responded to the wage
survey.
Salaries range from $31,000 for a mate
rial handler and receptionist to $192,000
for a president/CEO.
The paid version of the survey goes into
much deeper detail on pay scales, based
on job descriptions, industry types and
minimum salaries.
■ Please see WAGE, 4A
Tax mix-up
causes clinic
patients to
lose coverage
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
At least 1,600 patients of the Northeast Geor
gia Diagnostic Clinic in Gainesville could be
looking for new health care providers after the
clinic announced this month that it is no longer
serving individual plans covered by Alliant
Health.
“It was not our intent... we did not withdraw
from Alliant,” said Bill Beyer, CEO of the diag
nostic clinic.
The change comes immediately after North-
side Hospital completed its acquisition of the
diagnostic clinic this month. It was previously
owned by a physicians group.
■ Please see CLINIC, 4A
Casas named
editor in chief
of The Times
Shannon Casas, a mem
ber of The Times newsroom
staff for 12 years, has been
named as editor in chief for
the newspaper and its online
news web site.
Casas most recently was
director of content for The
Times, having previously
served as managing editor,
metro editor and assistant
life editor. She replaces Keith Albertson, who
left the newspaper earlier this month after a
33-year career with The Times.
As editor, Casas will be responsible for
■ Please see CASAS, 4A
Casas
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