About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 2018)
I2J OUR REGION Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief 770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Wednesday, October 31,2018 Pro Touch offers reward for info on $50K burglary BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Suspects in a burglary Friday morning at Pro Touch Landscapes cut the fence and ran an SUV through it before leaving with $50,000 in equipment. Owner Ryan Thompson said it happened around 4:45 a.m. Friday, Oct. 26, at the Thompson Bridge Road business in Gainesville. Thompson said they discovered the suspects — believed to be four men — had “busted the front door of our office, stole all of our equip ment and drove off in one of our trucks full of our equipment. ” “They cut the fence, and then they ran a car through our fence,” Thompson said. The Gainesville Police report lists $50,000 in property loss, including the $35,000 truck. Thompson estimated roughly 40 items, which included blowers, weed eaters, edgers, hedge trim mers and chainsaws, were missing. Thompson said they are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest, “no questions asked.” Anyone with information is asked to call Gainesville Police at 770-534-5252. Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times Brian Kemp, Georgia’s Secretary of State and Republican candidate for governor, speaks to supporters Tuesday, Oct. 30, at Longstreet Cafe. KEMP ■ Continued from 1A that blue wave down.” Kemp had the support of many Republican state politi cians, including Gov. Nathan Deal, U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, state Sen. Butch Miller and state Rep. Matt Dubnik. Con tinuing the work of Deal and other Georgia Republicans was a focus of Kemp’s speech Tuesday. He said he wanted to build on the growth of Georgia’s economy and support local businesses. “I have signed not only the back of paychecks, but I have signed the front of them,” Kemp said. “I know what it is like to fight for your survival during tough times, like dur ing the Obama recession. ” Kemp vowed to cut taxes and work to lower health care premiums. He also said he wants to protect the state’s Hope scholarship, but he does not think that program should be available to people who are not in the country legally. School safety would also be a priority of his administra tion, Kemp said. “Nothing is more important to me as a father, and nothing is more important to you as a parent or you as a grandpar ent, as well as our teachers and administrators,” he said. “We have to keep that envi ronment safe in this crazy world we live in.” Kemp also said he wanted to give teachers in Georgia pay raises. His focus on education policy was one factor in earn ing him the support of Brit tany Brookins and Cassidy Buck, two Brenau University students who are studying to become teachers. Brookins, who is from McDonough, said she likes how Kemp seems approachable. “Kemp has taken the effort to meet people and get per sonal and go to small towns like Gainesville and show them that their voice mat ters,” she said. “I think that really matters to people and gets their attention. ” Buck, from Roswell, agreed. “It’s very important to be personable,” she said. Art Gallegos Jr., co-founder of the Latinos Conservative Organization, said he also thinks Kemp is honest. “I think he’s a straight shooter. He says what he means,” Gallegos said. Gallegos said the Latino community judged Kemp more harshly at first, but from his conversations with people such as pastors and business owners, many seem to be changing their minds. “He might have said some things that perhaps were not very attractive, but at the end of the day, we need to keep this county, this city and this state conservative and red, because of our convic tions and because of what we believe,” Gallegos said. Some Latinos still have a “sour taste in their mouth” over Kemp’s immigration stances, but community lead ers seem to understand immi gration is a federal issue and are willing to work with Kemp if he is elected, Gallegos said. Speaking with the media after the event, Kemp criti cized out-of-state influence on the governor’s race. “My opponent’s got money flowing in here from New York and California, but I think Georgians are waking up now and saying, we don’t really want a billionaire socialist from California giv ing direction on the Georgia governor’s race,” Kemp said. Kemp, who is from Athens, also said he wants to focus on helping Northeast Georgia, particularly by supporting local businesses, transpor tation projects and higher education. “I know there’s great col leges in Northeast Georgia, as well as technical colleges, and we need to continue to work on those workforce develop ment issues and supply the workforce of the future,” he said. Deal also emphasized the importance of education in workforce development when speaking at Tuesday’s event. “If you’re going to have the kind of skills that compa nies are looking for, a lot of those are blue collar skills,” Deal said. “Some of you were with us just a week ago when we cut the ribbon at the new Lanier Tech. It is going to be one of the best institutions that our state has.” Deal said he felt that Stacey Abrams, Kemp’s Democratic opponent, would undo prog ress made in recent years in Georgia, like tax cuts and busi ness reforms. “I know that Brian is going to be someone who will stand against that,” Deal said. Kemp, Abrams and Liber tarian Ted Metz are on the ballot for governor in the Nov. 6 election. ‘Nothing is more important to me as a father, and nothing is more important to you as a parent or you as a grandparent, as well as our teachers and administrators. We have to keep that environment safe in this crazy world we live in.’ Brian Kemp, Republican candidate for governor BUFORD Concerns over natural gas odors fixed The rotten egg smell is gone in Buford. Buford City Gas operations returned to normal Tuesday, Oct. 30, after a couple days of unwelcome odors caused by an excessive amount of a chemical containing sulfur. “The city continues to encourage homeown ers to contact the city if they detect a smell of natural gas,” the city said in a statement. The problem stemmed from the city’s natural gas provider injecting an excessive amount of mercaptan into the natural gas system. Mercap tan is added to natural gas so that leaks can be detected, as natural gas by itself is odorless. “The city is not aware of any natural gas leaks or danger to the public, and the odor should sub side given dilution and passage of time,” the city said in an earlier statement. Residents can call the city at 678-889-4600, 770-932-7981 or 770-932-7986. Buford City Hall can be reached at 770-945-6761. Buford is mostly in Gwinnett County, but its boundaries stretch into South Hall. Jeff Gill IN OUR COMMUNIW For The Times Iris Smith turns 101 Born in 1917, Iris Smith turned 101 in October. She lives at Waterford at Oakwood Assisted Living Community in Oakwood and is involved in all the activities offered to the residents. For The Times Newcomers Club gives to day care center Edna Clinton, with the Gainesville Newcom ers Club; Danielle Latlippe, Little Steps Commu nity Day Care coordinator with Family Promise of Hall County; and Lindsey McCamy, execu tive director of Family Promise of Hall County. The Gainesville Newcomers Club presented a $4,000 check to Little Steps Daycare, which is in partnership with Family Promise, an agency that helps homeless families and those seeking employment. SARDIS ■ Continued from 1A The route “may vary some, especially if we find envi ronmentally sensitive areas, graves we didn’t know about or historical markers,” Farr said. “But at this time, we feel like this is the general area that the route is going to take. ” In addition to viewing maps, residents will be able to ask officials questions and com ment on the project at the meeting. A court reporter will be available to allow the public an opportunity to make verbal comments about the project. Written statements will be accepted concerning the proj ect until Nov. 29. The project will connect two major routes but also could help ease traffic traveling into Gainesville. Dawsonville Highway, particularly, bottles up as motorists cross Lake Lanier and approach McEver Road. Growth has been fierce in that area in recent years, with restaurants and other stores springing up. A new Holiday Inn Express opened recently in the area. Officials have long talked about an east-west corridor running across North Hall. Another project has been dis cussed — the North Hall Park way — with a study area run ning from Thompson Bridge Road at Mount Vernon Road to Ga. 365 around White Sulphur Road. The study area could possibly stretch as far north as Brookton Lula Road and near Clermont. A similar road project, dubbed the Northern Connec tor, was rolled out as a concept about nine years ago — and quickly shot down. At the time, planners con sidered two primary routes for that road, with both having their western side starting on Thompson Bridge Road near Mount Vernon. One route fea tured the road ending on Ga. 365 at White Sulphur Road and the other on Ga. 365 at White hall Road. A key concern at the time was possible bridges over Lake Lanier. Cars drive along Sardis Road on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. A public meeting is set for Nov. 15 on the Sardis Connector to look at maps of the project. Photos by AUSTIN STEELE The Times
