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I2J OUR REGION
Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief
770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Rape charge dismissed in man’s plea
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
Three out of five charges have
been dismissed in a Braselton
man’s plea agreement, including
rape and aggravated assault.
Emmanuel Kevin Harris, 28,
took a negotiated plea deal under
the First Offender Act on aggra
vated battery, according to court
documents. He was given a sen
tence of 10 years, with the first two
years in custody.
Harris will receive credit for
time previously served.
An attempt to reach Harris’
attorney Dawn Taylor for com
ment was unsuccessful.
Harris was originally charged
with rape by Braselton Police in
September 2017.
The woman and Harris were
previously acquainted.
“Sometimes the facts and cir
cumstances of a particular case
necessitate a negotiation on
charges and an appropriate plea
that still accomplishes justice for
the victim,” Northeastern Judi
cial Circuit District Lee Darragh
said in a statement regarding the
charges dismissed.
Darragh did not elaborate on
the specific circumstances on the
case.
Under the First Offender Act,
Harris will be “discharged of said
offense without court adjudication
of guilt and shall be completely
exonerated” if he fulfills all of the
terms of his sentence.
According to the special condi
tions of the sentence, Harris must
deal
Harris
provide verifica
tion of evaluation
and/or treatment
for anger man
agement and is
subject to random drug screens at
the direction of probation.
Harris will be allowed to serve
his custodial time in the Hall
County work release program,
according to court documents.
Stories of survival told at
regional trauma symposium
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Booths are setup for attendees to learn more about organizations during the Northeast Georgia Regional Trauma Symposium
at First Baptist Church of Gainesville on Friday, Nov. 2.
Gov. Deal receives inaugural award for boosting level of care
Attendees listen to Ashley Voss-Liebig of Travis Co. STAR Flight during the
Northeast Georgia Regional Trauma Symposium.
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
When Christy Henderson first got
the call in September 2016 about her
son, Mitchell, being in a wreck, she
assumed it was a fender bender.
Two phone calls later, she found
out her son, a Union County Sheriff’s
Office deputy, was set to be taken by
helicopter to Northeast Georgia Medi
cal Center in Gainesville.
“You can never, ever, ever be pre
pared for that... to think that he’s not
going to make it. There’s no describ
ing it,” Christy Henderson said.
Deputy Mitchell Henderson, who
was seriously injured in a wreck
while responding to a call, was the
patient survivor story featured at the
Regional Trauma Symposium that
took place Friday, Nov. 2, at First Bap
tist Church in Gainesville.
Habersham County Emergency Ser
vices Director Chad Black serves as
the chairman of the Region 2 Regional
Trauma Advisory Committee.
“If you look at the list of injuries
he had, very few people survive that.
But because of the great care he got
from start to finish, he’s back and at
work and was able to stand up there
... and say, ‘Here I am.’ And that’s why
we do this symposium and that’s why
we do what we do, because of people
like him. That’s what makes the dif
ference,” Black said.
Because of the dense fog, flight
nurse Martin Nethery saw they were
going to have to take Henderson on
the ground from Union County to
the Gainesville hospital. Nethery
described it in a video as a roughly
75-minute drive over curvy mountain
roads.
“In 40 years of EMS, I did not hold
out a lot of hope in this situation,”
Nethery said.
Henderson spent roughly a month
in the intensive care unit before
spending another month at the Shep
herd Center.
Gov. Nathan Deal was the inaugural
recipient of the Nathan Deal Gover
nor’s Award for Trauma Excellence.
Black said the governor is largely
responsible for the $1.5 million given
to the “Stop the Bleed” campaign,
which led to trauma training across
the state through the regional trauma
advisory committees.
The award will go in future years
to an individual who has “excelled
in either trauma care research or
prevention.”
“Over these past eight years, it has
been my goal to make Georgia not
only the No. 1 state for business, but
ultimately the greatest place to call
home,” Deal in a a statement. “As our
population continues to grow and our
communities flourish, quality health
care is crucial to ensuring the overall
well-being of Georgia’s citizens.”
Black lauded the medical center for
its support and resources available to
those in the region.
“I can’t say enough about the care
that they give our trauma patients
now, being a Level II trauma center,
and then how much they do for us in
supporting us,” he said.
Officers chase, arrest Casper on Halloween
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
Authorities spent part of Halloween
chasing someone named Casper, but it
wasn’t the friendly ghost.
A Gainesville man, Kyle Almon Casper,
is accused of running away from state
troopers twice, including once in hand
cuffs, after a traffic stop Halloween night.
A Georgia State Patrol trooper
attempted to stop a Ford Explorer
around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday for speed
ing on Limestone Parkway near Clarks
Bridge Road.
After the trooper pursued the driver
for roughly a mile at a high speed,
authorities said
Casper, 25, abandoned his car at the
intersection of Beverly Road and Lakev-
iew Drive.
“The trooper gave chase on foot not
ing that the driver was armed with what
appeared to be a holstered pistol,” Cpl.
Major D. Patterson wrote in an email.
Gainesville Police and Hall County
Sheriff’s Office’s K9 units assisted in
searching for Casper, who had fled into
the woods.
As the dogs were tracking Casper, state
patrol and other local law enforcement
patrol units established a perimeter.
Other officers started patrolling the resi
dential streets.
Officers found Casper behind a resi
dence on Nottingham Drive.
“Once handcuffed and while being
placed in the back of a Hall County patrol
car, (Casper) managed to flee on foot
again while still handcuffed,” Patterson
said.
Casper was apprehended at Brenau
Point Drive.
Patterson said Casper had multiple
outstanding warrants.
Casper was taken to the Hall County
Jail. He was charged with speeding,
reckless driving, driving without license
on his person, failure to apply for a
new license within 60 days of changing
address, obstruction of a law enforce
ment officer, fleeing or attempting to
elude a police officer and possession of a
firearm by a convicted felon.
1-85 express
lanes extension
opens today
The Georgia Department of Transportation is
opening the 1-85 express lanes extension to traf
fic today, adding 10 miles to the existing express
system.
The newly constructed lanes in northern
Gwinnett County extend from Old Peachtree
Road to Hamilton Mill Road and run alongside
general-purpose lanes. The extension creates
a 26-mile network into Georgia’s northeast
region.
“We’re excited to open this
extension of the 1-85 express
lanes that will not only pro
vide an additional choice for
motorists that can reduce
their travel times in the corri
dor, but will also enhance the
region’s transportation infra
structure,” Georgia DOT Com
missioner Russell R. McMurry
said.
According to GDOT, the lanes are engineered
to ease congestion to and from Atlanta during
the heaviest traffic hours. The lanes are HOT
lanes, free to vehicles with three or more pas
sengers, and allow transit and registered van-
pool customers to travel in the lanes toll-free.
Drivers traveling northbound can access the
express lanes extension at four locations, while
southbound drivers can access at six locations
beginning at Hamilton Mill Road, the northern
terminus.
The system features dynamic pricing, with
rates rising as demand increases. The mini
mum rate is $0.10 per mile. During periods
of very low demand, per mile toll rates on an
express lane facility may be replaced with
a fixed toll of $0.50 per trip, regardless of the
length of the trip.
Vehicles with no more than two axles or up
to six wheels may use the express lanes with a
valid Peach Pass. Public transit buses, regis
tered vanpools and emergency response vehi
cles also may use the lanes toll-free with a valid
Peach Pass. All other vehicles, including motor
cycles and electric vehicles, are required to pay
a toll to use the express lanes.
To open a Peach Pass account, visit SRTA’s
website at PeachPass.com.
From GDOT press release
McMurry
COUNCIL
■ Continued from 1A
to the land.
The money for the purchase will come from
the city’s economic development fund, City
Manager Bryan Lackey said. While that fund
does include some taxpayer dollars, he said, it
is largely funded by the city’s land sales.
Lackey said because of the demand for indus
try Gainesville is seeing, the city is not expect
ing to hold on to the land for too long.
Koch did not return a request for comment.
Midtown Overlay Zone regulations
The city may adapt its land development
code to prohibit some uses in its Midtown Over
lay Zone, which is bordered by the Norfolk
Southern railroad, E.E. Butler Parkway and
Jesse Jewell Parkway.
The new ordinance would prohibit several
uses in the area, including liquor stores, coin
laundry facilities, homeless shelters, extended
stay hotels and jails.
Planning staff has also recommended lim
iting where gas stations can go in the overlay
zone, and details are under discussion.
Existing uses that would be prohibited under
the new ordinance are allowed to stay, accord
ing to Planning Manager Matt Tate.
Hydro Extruder expansion
Hydro’s extrusion plant on Old Oakwood
Road may be expanding, if the council approves
the company’s request to annex about 22 acres
of land adjacent to the current Hydro property.
Hydro employs about 400 people locally. The
two properties included in the request are on
either side of the plant, which was built in 1986.
Attorney Donnie Hunt, who spoke on behalf
of the company at an Oct. 9 planning board
meeting, said the company has been interested
in the land for a while. Hydro is buying the land
now that it is on the market but does not have
immediate plans for expansion, he said.
No one spoke in opposition to the proposal.
Hydro would submit plans to the city when
they do decide to develop the land.
The Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board
recommended approval of the request.
Business park on Allen Creek Road
Gainesville wants to build a 1,300-acre busi
ness park on land the city has owned since 1990,
and on Tuesday, councilmembers will vote to
start the permitting process for the land.
The land is on Allen Creek Road near the
Allen Creek Soccer Complex.
The business park will be divided into 20 lots,
and the city wants to use one for equipment
storage.
Gainesville needs permits from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers to develop the land
because it has flood plains and ponds. The city
also wants to build a trail through the business
park, connecting to the soccer complex.