About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2018)
school Officials: Boy, 11, had gun at Student arrested after .22-caliber weapon found in book bag BY LAYNE SALIBA lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com A sixth-grader at East Hall Middle School was arrested and charged Friday after another stu dent reported he had a weapon while at school. Hall County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Derreck Booth said the 11-year-old student had a ,22-cali- ber handgun, which was found in his book bag in his locker. “School officials and the school resource officer immediately detained the boy, retrieved the bag from his locker, discovered the loaded handgun in it and seized it,” Booth said. A folding pocket knife was also found in the book bag, Booth said. The school was on lockdown after the report. The lockdown was lifted at 11:30 a.m., an hour after administrators were alerted. Investigators believe “the stu dent took the items at some point this week from a family mem ber without the family member’s knowledge.” Booth said there was no indica tion that the student made any threats with the gun and he coop erated with authorities while being arrested. The student was charged with two counts of possession of a weapon on school property, Booth said. School spokesman Gordon Hig gins said in a statement the student has been suspended and a mes sage about the incident was sent to parents. The student is being held at the Gainesville Regional Youth Deten tion Center pending a scheduled hearing Tuesday. Satisfying a community need SCOn ROGERS I The Times Carol J. Leverette checks a pan of macaroni and cheese in the oven at M&M Down Home Catering on Athens Street. The caterer is preparing to serve more than 800 people this Thanksgiving. Caterer prepares to feed 800 or more on Thanksgiving Photo courtesy RHONDA WHELCHEL I For The Times Volunteers prep for last year’s Thanksgiving Day meals provided by M&M Down Home Catering of Gainesville. BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@ gainesvilletimes.com Martha Randolph, owner of M&M Down Home Catering in Gaines ville, certainly knows a thing or two about feeding people. But the demand for her annual Thanksgiving Day meal this year keeps growing and growing — so much so that it’s beginning to take a village to feed the village. “We’ll take requests until the day of,” Randolph said. “It has grown every year (since its inception five years ago). We started out just feeding folks (liv ing) under the (Queen City Parkway) bridge.” In fact, the mission all along has been “to feed the homeless, elderly, and sick and shut-in here in the city of Gainesville,” Randolph said. But there are a lot of residents living paycheck to paycheck, right on the verge of poverty if their car breaks down or a medi cal injury pulls them out of work for too long. “There’s a big need, especially with the elderly because Meals on Wheels don’t serve that day,” Ran dolph said. “But you don’t have to explain to us what your need is.” Already, Randolph and her team have collected about 350 names of people to serve, including those assisted by local social ser vice agencies and homeless missions like the Salvation ■ Please see FEED, 6A M&M Down Home Catering holiday meal What: 5th annual Thanksgiving Day community feeding When: Thursday, Nov. 22 Where: Throughout Gainesville More info: If you or anyone you know is in need of a free Thanksgiving Day meal, call 678-696-5970 or email mandmcateringservice@yahoo. com. Meal delivery is restricted to a 10-mile radius from 996 Athens St. in Gainesville. Those outside this radius can still get a meal but they must pick it up. For more information, visit mandmdownhomecatering. weebly.com. What’s on the menu? Chicken, dressing and gravy, green beans and pinto beans, mashed potatoes, rolls and dessert. Donations needed: ■ Volunteers and financial contributions - call 678-696-5970 or email mandmcateringservice@ yahoo.com ■ Carry-out plastic or paper dining and dessert plates ■ Foil pans, trash bags, charcoal ■ Potatoes, onions, cornmeal, green beans, butter, poultry seasoning ■ Cleaning supplies ‘There’s a big need, especially with the elderly because Meals on Wheels don’t serve that day. But you don’t have to explain to us what your need is.’ Martha Randolph, owner of M&M Down Home Catering Committee: Consistency needed on broadband BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com State lawmakers want to expand broadband access throughout Georgia, particularly in rural areas. But to deploy that technology, utility compa nies often have to use space in public rights of way, which could be owned by a municipality or the state. A state Senate committee, which met in Gainesville Friday, is looking at ways to expand those utilities while working with util ity companies, as well as local and state governments. State Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, said the state needs a more consistent sys tem to address how utility companies use rights of way. “We have 159 counties and 600 cities, and everybody’s doing something different. First we need to address the immediate concerns, then address the long term concerns with a standardized system that benefits municipalities, the counties, the vendors, and most importantly benefits the citi zen,” Miller said in an interview. Not having broadband access in an area can deter businesses from moving there and can make it more difficult for existing businesses to operate, Miller said. The committee’s third meeting was Friday, ■ Please see BROADBAND, 6A Miller Family draws new leader to foster care support agency BY JOSHUA SILAVENT Jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com Natalie Milom had a few good reasons to relocate to Georgia to become the new execu tive director of Supporting Adoption and Fos ter Families Together, a nonprofit with family crisis centers in Gainesville, Cumming and Rome. But each of the reasons had to do with one thing: family. The move from Greenville, S.C., brings Milom closer to her own family, including a sister in the Atlanta area, and offers her the opportunity to get back to the kind of work she loves and does the best. “I knew I wanted to get back into working for children and families — the foster care population,” Milom said. SAFFT founders Brian and Ashley Anderson ■ Please see FOSTER, 6A Sponsor SAFFT at the ClubCorp Charity Classic What: Charity golf tournament for Supporting Adoption and Foster Families Together When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17 Where: Windermere Golf Club, 5000 Davis Love Drive, Cumming, 30041 More info: To register and sponsor, visit safft.org/clubcorp-charity-classic/ Milom 40901 06835 INSIDE WEATHER 2A DEATHS 7A Advice 5B Life 4B High Low 0 52 32 JoAnn McNeil Dyer, 87 Goldia Reece, 86 Bridge 5B Lottery 2A Joyce Bagley Wilson, 88 Buddy Ruis, 70 Business 8A Opinion 5A Lannie Fountain, 84 Francis Whitehead, 85 Calendar 2A Our Region 6A Bonnie Jean McGukin Headrick, 78 Beverly Ann Whitlock, 74 Classified 7B Sports 1B Lena Mae graham Mauldin, 96 Delores Wielkie, 70 Comics 6B TV/puzzles 5B Lake Lanier level: 1,069.42 feet Full pool 1,071. Up 0.02 feet in 24 hours Sabrina Morgan, 33 Joseph Yarberry, 58
