t*ZJ OUR REGION
Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief
770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Monday, November 5, 2018
Two GHS seniors selected as
Questbridge scholarship finalists
Courtesy of Gainesville City Schools
Gainesville High School seniors, Doris Toledo and Kingsley Owusu Otoo, have
been selected as 2018 National College Match Finalists for the Questbridge
National Scholarship program.
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
Gainesville High School seniors
Doris Toledo and Kingsley Owusu Otoo
have been selected as 2018 finalists for
the Questbridge National Scholarship
program.
According to a press release from
Gainesville City Schools, Toledo and
Otoo were two of 6,507 students selected
from more than 16,000 applicants
nationwide based on “their strong aca
demic achievement (with an average
grade point average of 3.90 or higher);
high test scores on the SAT or ACT;
financial circumstances; strong charac
ter; and exemplary accomplishments
and leadership roles in extracurricular
and community activities, while rank
ing in the top 10 percent of their gradu
ating class.”
“By getting Questbridge, my dream of
going to a college out of state seems to be
more realistic,” Toledo said. “I plan on
majoring in biology on a pre-med track.
I hope to work in the forensics field,
potentially as a forensic pathologist.”
Otoo, who is on pace to complete
500 hours of community service in the
spring, said he hopes to become a neuro
surgeon and plans to major in pre-med
icine in college with a focus on human
biology and neuroscience.
“Becoming a Questbridge finalist
is like a dream come true,” he added.
“It’s that one step closer to ensuring that
my parents won’t have to worry about
paying for (me) to go to college. It’s that
distinct pleasure of knowing that all
those sleepless nights worrying about
grades, stressing about tests, and focus
ing on school above all else will finally
payoff.”
Questbridge finalists will receive noti
fication in early December regarding
which college they were matched with
to receive a full academic scholarship.
Each student will be awarded a four-
year scholarship, which will cover
the full cost of attendance, including
tuition, room and board, and additional
expenses for four years, to one of the
nation’s top colleges.
“(They) are truly amazing students,”
Lynn Jones, spokeswoman for Gaines
ville City Schools, told The Times. “They
have worked hard to overcome many
barriers while maintaining outstanding
grades and positive attitudes. They are
both kind-hearted and respectful.”
TRUMP
■ Continued from 1A
system. Kemp didn’t provide evidence linking the
Democratic Party to the hacking attempt.
The Democratic Party of Georgia
called the allegation “100 percent
false” and “an abuse of power” by
Kemp’s office.
After election officials received a
report Saturday that the state’s voter
registration website was vulnerable,
they blamed the Democrats instead
of correcting the issue, said Demo
cratic Party of Georgia Executive
Director Rebecca DeHart.
The development Sunday intensified calls for Kemp
to resign as the state’s top election official while he’s
running for governor.
Throughout the campaign he has refused to do so.
Abrams called Kemp’s investigation “a desperate
ploy.”
“He twice this week was told by federal judges that
he was wrong when it comes to voter suppression,”
Abrams told WSB-TV.
“He is trying to rile up his base by misleading voters
yet again.”
The Georgia race has garnered attention from a list
of high-profile backers, including former president
Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey, who campaigned
for Abrams last week.
Abrams
985
■ Continued from 1A
adding a new “fresh coat of paint” and sanding to the
major highway connecting Northeast Georgia with
metro Atlanta.
According to the GDOT, lane closures for the project
will be allowed overnight from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday
through Sunday. Entrance and exit ramps will remain
open at all times during this work.
Joshua Silavent
What’s on the ballot: Candidates, questions
Here’s a preview of the candidates who
will appear in contested races at the local,
state and federal level to represent Hall
County residents. Ballot and registration
information is available at the Secretary of
State and Hall County Elections websites.
For previews of each local race and more
election information, visit gainesvilletimes.
com/election2018.
Governor
■ Brian Kemp, R
■ Stacey Abrams, D
■ Ted Metz, L
U.S. House, 9th District
■ Doug Collins, R (incumbent)
■ Josh McCall, D
Collins is an attorney and took office in
2013 to represent what is one of the most
conservative districts in the country. McCall
is a teacher in Gainesville making his first run
for public office.
State House, District 29
■ Matt Dubnik, R (incumbent)
■ Nancy Stead, independent
Dubnik first took office in 2017 and runs
a Gainesville marketing firm with his wife,
Katie Dubnik. Stead is a retired physician.
State House, District 30
■ Emory Dunahoo, R (incumbent)
■ Alana Watkins, D
Dunahoo first took office in late 2011 and
works in the poultry industry. Watkins is
a graduate of Brenau University and is
circulation director with the Forsyth County
News, a sister publication of The Times.
Hall County Board of
Commissioners, District 1
■ Kathy Cooper, R (incumbent)
■ Michael W. Parker, D
Cooper has run a cattle, egg and Christmas
tree farm off of Union Church Road for
more than 30 years with her husband. She
first took office in 2014. Parker is a retired
resident of Flowery Branch.
Hall County Board of Education,
at-large
■ Bill Thompson, R (incumbent)
■ Stephanie Lopez-Burgos, D
Thompson has been on the board for more
than five years and worked in the county
school system as a teacher and principal for
32 years. Lopez-Burgos works in customer
service and lives in Flowery Branch.
Hall County Board of Education,
Post 2
■ Mark Pettitt, R
■ William Wallace, D
Pettitt is a 2016 graduate of the University
of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus,
a United Parcel Service supervisor and
chairman of the Hall County Library System
Board of Trustees. Wallace is a father of
four, including one attending a Hall County
school. He worked with the New York and
Atlanta police departments and is now a
security officer at a private boarding school
in Sandy Springs.
OTHER STATEWIDE RACES
Lieutenant Governor
■ Sarah Riggs Amico, D
■ Geoff Duncan, R
Secretary of State
■ John Barrow, D
■ Smythe Duval, L
■ Brad Raffensperger, R
Attorney General
■ Charlie Bailey, D
■ Chris Carr, R (incumbent)
Commissioner of Agriculture
■ Gary Black, R (incumbent)
■ Fred Swann, D
Commissioner of Insurance
■ Jim Beck, R
■ Donnie Foster, L
■ Janice Laws, D
State School Superintendent
■ Otha E. Thornton Jr., D
■ Richard Woods, R (incumbent)
Commissioner of Labor
■ Mark Butler, R (incumbent)
■ Richard Keatley, D
Public Service Commission,
District 3
■ Chuck Eaton, R (incumbent)
■ Ryan Graham, L
■ Lindy Miller, D
Public Service Commission,
District 5
■ Tricia Pridemore, R (incumbent)
■ Dawn A. Randolph, D
■ JohnTurpish, L
Compiled by Times staff including Keith Albertson
and Shannon Casas
AMENDMENTS,
REFERENDUMS
Amendment 1: Georgia Outdoor
Stewardship Act
Question: Without increasing the current
state sales tax rate, shall the Constitution
of Georgia amended so as to create the
Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund to
conserve lands that protect drinking water
sources and the water quality of rivers,
lakes, and streams; to protect and conserve
forests, fish, wildlife habitats, and state and
local parks; and to provide opportunities
for our children and families to play and
enjoy the outdoors, by dedicating, subject
to full public disclosure, up to 80 percent of
the existing sales tax collected by sporting
goods stores to such purposes without
increasing the current state sales tax rate?
What it means: If it passes, up to 80 percent
of sales taxes collected by sporting
goods stores would go to the “protection
and preservation of conservation land,”
according to the secretary of state’s website.
Amendment 2: State business
court
Question: Shall the Constitution of Georgia
be amended so as to create a state-wide
business court, authorize superior court
business court divisions, and allow for
the appointment process for state-wide
business court judges in order to lower
costs, improve the efficiency of all courts,
and promote predictability of judicial
outcomes in certain complex business
disputes for the benefit of all citizens of this
state?
What it means: If parties to a lawsuit agree,
a case could be removed from the judicial
circuit’s Superior Court to a new statewide
business court. Judges for this court would
serve five-year terms by appointment of
the governor. They can be reappointed
for any number of consecutive terms,
according to the resolution. A Metro Atlanta
Business Court oversees cases in Fulton
and Gwinnett counties. According to the
business court’s 2016 data, half of the cases
were closed within 12 months of transferring
to business court.
Amendment 3: Forest land fair
market value
Question: Shall the Constitution of
Georgia be amended so as to revise
provisions related to the subclassification
for tax purposes of and the prescribed
methodology for establishing the value of
forest land conservation use property and
related assistance grants, to provide that
assistance grants related to forest land
conservation use property may be increased
by general law for a five-year period and that
up to 5 percent of assistance grants may be
deducted and retained by the state revenue
commissioner to provide for certain state
administrative costs, and to provide for the
subclassification of qualified timberland
property for ad valorem taxation purposes?
What it means: The amendment would
create a new class for ad valorem taxation
known as “qualified timberland property,”
which “includes only tangible real property”
primarily used for growing trees, according
to House Resolution 51. The Georgia
Forestry Association said it would increase
the acres “eligible for conservation under
the Forest Land Protection Act.” Currently,
land protected by the act must be 200
contiguous acres. This change would allow
it to be “an aggregate of 200 acres across
the state” if there are 100 acre parcels
in any county, according to the forestry
association.
Amendment 4: Marsy’s Law, crime
victims’ rights
Question: Shall the Constitution of Georgia
be amended so as to provide certain
rights to victims against whom a crime has
allegedly been perpetrated and allow victims
to assert such rights?
What it means: The law would give crime
victims certain constitutionally protected
rights, including timely notification of court
proceedings and the right “to be heard at
any scheduled court proceedings involving
the release, plea or sentencing of the
accused,” according to Senate Resolution
146. The Georgia General Assembly would
also create a process for a family member
or guardian to “assert the rights of such
victim” when the victim is a minor, legally
incapacitated or dead.
Amendment 5: County sales tax
referendum for school district/
districts
Question: Shall the Constitution of Georgia
be amended so as to authorize a referendum
for a sales and use tax for education by a
county school district or an independent
school district or districts within the county
having a majority of the students enrolled
within the county and to provide that the
proceeds are distributed on a per student
basis among all the school systems unless
an agreement is reached among such
school systems for a different distribution?
What it means: If passed, school systems
with the majority of students enrolled
in a county could call for a referendum
without needing approval from all school
systems. The funds would then be issued
on a per student basis among all school
systems inside the county unless another
distribution agreement is reached between
the school systems. According to Senate
Resolution 95, the per student distribution
formula would be based on the latest
“full-time equivalent count” prior to the tax
referendum.
Referendum A: Homestead
exemption
Question: Do you approve a new homestead
exemption in a municipal corporation
that is located in more than one county,
that levies a sales tax for the purposes
of a metropolitan area system of public
transportation, and that has within its
boundaries an independent school system,
from ad valorem taxes for municipal
purposes in the amount of the difference
between the current year assessed value of
a home and the adjusted base year value,
provided that the lowest base year value will
be adjusted yearly by 2.6 percent?
What it means: This would create an ad
valorem tax homestead exemption that
meets all of the requirements listed in the
referendum. If approved, the act would take
effect Jan. 1.
Referendum B: Tax exemption for
nonprofit homes serving mentally
disabled
Question: Shall the Act be approved
which provides an exemption from ad
valorem taxes on nonprofit homes for the
mentally disabled if they include business
corporations in the ownership structure for
financing purposes?
What it means: Similar to the first referendum,
this ad valorem tax exemption would affect
nonprofit homes serving the mentally
disabled. According to the secretary of
state’s website, it would make it clear that
the exemption applies “even when financing
for construction or renovation of the homes
is provided by a business corporation or
other entity.”
Compiled by Nick Watson
INTRODUCING
Little & Davenport
Funeral Home
To inquire about pricing packages available to
memorialize a pet in print, please contact Megan Lewis
at 770-535-6371 or mlewis@gainesvilletimes.com
Pets at Peace will appear in The Times
the last Sunday of each month.
