A
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.
