The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, November 09, 2018, Image 8

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The times., November 09, 2018, Image 8

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Newspaper Page TextA OUR REGION Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief 770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Friday, November 9, 2018 No charges in death of man shot while threatening woman BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com No charges have been filed in the death of a 29-year-old Maysville man accused of threatening an elderly woman at her North Hall home. Hall County Sheriffs Office spokes man Derreck Booth said James Earl Sanders was trying to get into the Graham Circle house of a 71-year-old woman on Oct. 15. Booth said the woman heard an ATV come down the road and drop Sanders off. “He basically is pulling on the screen door that was locked and started cursing at her, threatening her, telling her he would kill her if she called law enforcement,” Booth said. Sanders then reportedly went to a window and picked up a couple of bricks while continuing to threaten the woman. The woman called 911. A neighbor phoned the woman’s husband, who was working in a shop on the property. The man grabbed a shotgun, con fronted Sanders and escorted him down the road. “The guy turned back on the 73-year-old husband, started coming toward him, and (the 73-year-old) told him to stop or he would shoot him,” Booth said. The gun went off and Sanders was shot in the neck. When asked whether the shooting was accidental or inten tional, Booth said “the hammer was back on the shotgun and it went off,” adding it was still under investigation. Hall County authorities found Sand ers lying in the driveway and trans ported him for medical attention. Sanders died on Oct. 17. “They thoroughly investigated it, interviewed tons of people and no charges have been filed,” Booth said. Authorities: Drug dealers met at car wash to buy $100K in meth BY NICK WATSON nwatson@ gainesvilletimes.com Members of a metham- phetamine trafficking orga nization investigated by South Carolina authorities used a Gainesville car wash as a meeting point to sell roughly $100,000 or more of the drug. Quirino Hernandez, 31, Adam Stone, 28, and Luis Rodriguez, 29, pleaded guilty Oct. 31 to participating in a drug conspiracy. The three men and oth ers were reportedly respon sible for distributing more than $1 million in metham- phetamine in upstate South Carolina and other places, according to the South Caro lina U.S. Attorney’s Office narcotics unit head Andy Moorman. Moorman did not disclose the name or more specific location information regard ing the car wash. He said there was no evidence of any employees nor anyone with any ownership interest at the car wash being involved. Hernandez, of Gainesville, was sentenced to 17 years in prison, while Stone received 13 years and Rodriguez received 5 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attor ney’s Office. During the sentencing hearings, Moorman said Hernandez was the “source of supply for kilograms of methamphetamine” and would meet dealers from Anderson, South Carolina at a Gainesville car wash, according to the U.S. Attor ney’s Office. “While at the carwash, Hernandez would sell kilo grams of methamphetamine to these drug dealers for tens of thousands of dollars, and they would return to the Upstate of South Carolina to sell the methamphetamine to their customers,” accord ing to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “I’d probably say if I had to guess probably between $100,000 to $200,000 of methamphetamine was pur chased at that car wash,” Moorman said. Authorities would later seize more than $600,000, seven cars and other property. “The overarching goal of the organization was to go to Georgia to be resupplied with methamphetamine and to bring it back to Ander son and distribute it in the Upstate,” Moorman said. The sheriff’s office and police in Anderson worked with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies in the case. “I think it’s a great exam ple of how federal law enforcement working in con junction with state and local law enforcement can really investigate and prosecute these organizations in a com prehensive way,” Moorman said. Small group gathers in Gainesville to advocate protecting Mueller probe BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Fewer than a dozen people gathered near the Gainesville pedestrian bridge Thursday night with signs advocating to “protect” spe cial counsel Robert Mueller. University of North Georgia assistant professor Matthew Boedy organized the small rally. Responding to the ouster of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the appointment of acting Attorney General Matthew Whita ker, Rosemary Zumwalt called it an “abso lute travesty.” “I’m afraid they’re going to try to shut it down or de-fund (the Mueller investiga tion), which is the same as shutting it down. I am hoping that many people will rise up to object to that,” said Zumwalt, retired from Agnes Scott College. Boedy said they had roughly 10 to 15 people honk, while others expressed pro- Trump sentiments. The small protest dissolved as the rain strengthened around 6 p.m.. NICK WATSON I The Times Tom Kubala holds up a sign Thursday night near the Gainesville pedestrian bridge combining a classic beer slogan with the name of special counsel Robert Mueller. A small group gathered advocating for the protection of Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling. ELECTION ■ Continued from 1A 21,000 — almost certainly not enough to force a runoff. The elections chief from the secretary of state’s office said in a federal court hearing Thursday afternoon that the number is 21,190. “Even if she got 100 per cent of those votes, we still win,” Kemp told reporters. Abrams’ campaign argues the total could be higher, and the secretary of state’s office has been scant in sharing details as officials in Georgia’s 159 counties keep counting. “This is about the integrity of the election in the state of Georgia,” said Abrams’ cam paign manager Lauren Groh- Wargo. “Brian Kemp can’t just walk away from that... Our governor (Deal) can’t just walk away from that. ” John Chandler, one of sev eral attorneys for Abrams, promised to “litigate until we have determined that every person’s vote has been counted.” A runoff, if needed, would be Dec. 4. County authorities must certify final returns by Tues day. The state must certify a statewide result by Nov. 20. Deal appointed one of his Cabinet members to oversee the process in Kemp’s place. Abrams, other Democrats — including former Presi dent Jimmy Carter — and voting rights activists had for months called for Kemp to step down amid charges he was abusing his office to make it harder for some Georgians, particularly minorities, to vote. Kemp said his resigna tion “will give confidence to the certification process.” He maintained he wasn’t bowing to pressure but pre paring to be governor. “That was all political,” Kemp said of previous criti cisms, adding Tuesday’s turnout — about 1.4 million more than in Deal’s last election — proves it. One of the lawsuits heard Thursday in federal court requested Kemp be barred from overseeing the rest of the certification procedure — a requested pre-empted by Kemp’s resignation. Abrams’ campaign said it believes she needs to pick up about 25,000 votes to force a runoff. Offering examples of potential ballots Democrats say Kemp isn’t contemplat ing, Groh-Wargo said four counties reported consid erably fewer early votes in the governor’s race than the number of early bal lots cast. Groh-Wargo said it seemed implausible that voters cared enough to cast ballots early but not in the hotly contested governor’s race. She added officials in suburban Atlanta’s Cobb County added several hun dred votes to that count Thursday morning from absentee ballots. That came after the secretary of state’s office said all absentee and early ballots had been counted. HEALTH ■ Continued from 1A Medicaid through the ACA to adults with incomes under 138 percent of the poverty line. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams had prom ised to expand Medicaid, but she appears to have been defeated by Republican Brian Kemp. Even if Abrams had won, a state law passed in 2014 mandates that the Georgia General Assembly must give its approval to Medicaid expan sion as broadly as the ACA provides. Colbert said at least 250,000 Georgians could be provided Medic aid coverage if the program were expanded. A recent study from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families and the Univer sity of North Carolina’s NC Rural Health Project reports that residents of small towns and rural areas of Georgia have the most to gain if Medicaid coverage is broadened by significantly reducing uninsured rates. Colbert said her orga nization would advocate that state lawmakers work to raise minimum cover age requirements and pass protections for pre-existing conditions. During the campaign, Kemp said he supported federal waivers to help sta bilize insurance premiums through a $200 million rein surance program jointly funded by the state and the federal government, while also protecting patients with pre existing conditions. State Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville, told The Times in recent weeks that lawmakers may look at additional Medicaid waivers to cover more indi viduals in need. But stricter work requirements and eligibility limits could also be on the docket. “I want to take care of everybody, but we have to be able to afford them,” Hawkins said. “If we’re talking any expan sion, we have to be fiscally responsible.” Georgia is a balanced budget state, and mid-year appropriations to shore up the state’s portion of Medicaid costs are not uncommon. Hawkins said one way or another, health care is still an issue that’s on voters’ minds. “I hear from folks when I go to the stores ... health care for them is one of the top issues,” he said. “Being (in) health care, I’m very sensitive to that.” Hawkins Distillery closing its doors for good BY NATE MCCULLOUGH nmccullough@ gainesvilletimes.com Just months after a rebranding and reopening in north Georgia, the Zac Brown Distillery is shutting its doors. The business announced the closing on its Facebook page. “Z. Brown Distillery would like to take this oppor tunity to thank everyone in Lumpkin County as well as the city of Dahlonega, GA for being a welcoming and supportive community. To all of our patrons, visitors, friends and neighbors we’ve met here, we extend a bit ter sweet ‘see you later’ as we close the doors on Nov. 18th,” the post reads. Originally called Still- house Creek Distillery, the business shut down and rebranded in 2017 after the famous Georgia musi cian appeared as an angel investor for the shop on Town Creek Church Road in the edge of Lumpkin near White County. “At that point in time, we were just pleased to see anyone walk in the door,” founder of the oper ation Jeff Odem said in December. The distillery sold whis key, brandy and Zac Brown merchandise. According to the post, Brown is opening a restau rant, Zac Brown’s Social Club, in the newly reno vated State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times Beer Me is a newly opened craft beer store in Flowery Branch with 25 beers and ciders on tap. BEER ■ Continued from 1A “Being able to build this place from scratch was kind of our vision, and to create a place where people hope fully want to come in and hang out,” Stampfli said. The business features 25 beers on tap, including pale ales, stouts and lagers. Hard cider and non-alcoholic root beer also are offered. The store has tables and TVs, so patrons can drink on site or take beverages home. Ching said that after looking around the vacant space in the building, “my husband and I decided we would move Lakeside Mar ket into the new building,” Ching said. “The original building was just too small and (we) thought it was the per fect opportunity to grow,” she said. Lakeside Market, which was next door to the new building, will continue to offer prepared foods and other products, such as imported cheeses and assortments of crackers and bruschetta snacks. But because it has more room, visitors will be able to eat one of the freshly made sandwiches on site. The market also plans to eventu ally serve coffee. Ching’s building has another tenant, Home Care Matters, a home caregiver service, locating there in late October. As far as the old Lakeside Market building, “we have had many people interested, but they seemed to be more curious about the building,” Ching said. “We are just not sure, as of yet, what we will do with the building, espe cially with new develop ments planned in the city.” AUSTIN STEELE I The Times Jan Grissom performs during the annual Quality of Life Award ceremony at First Baptist Gainesville. SMITHGALL ■ Continued from 1A Brenau University Trustee Emeritus. Tennis was always one of her favorite activities, and she played until she was 89. Smithgall said she has enjoyed staying involved in the Hall County community. “We have many assets, good businesses and cul tural activities. It’s just a good place to live,” she said. “... I’ve been blessed myself, and I would like to share the many things I enjoy.” On Thursday, after receiving the award, Smith gall said she was thank ful for the community’s support. “I am deeply and con siderably grateful for the honor,” she said.