The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, November 13, 2018, Image 6

Georgia Historic Newspapers

The times., November 13, 2018, Image 6

About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2018)

Page of 16

Prev Issue Next Issue

Text PDF JP2 (2.8 MB) Clip/Print Image

Page of 16

Prev Issue Next Issue

Return to Top

Newspaper Page TextI2J OUR REGION Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief 770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Tuesday, November 13, 2018 From our teachers to our leaders 10 Hall County educators graduating from Growing Administrator Leader program this year BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com Hall County Schools continues to work to develop leaders, with 10 educators graduating its Grow ing Administrator Leader program this year. The program is designed to bring educators an immersive experi ence that educates and trains internal personnel for positions of leadership within their schools and districtwide. These educators mark the third cohort, with 13 more lined up for the next installation of the pro gram, which carries a rigorous application process. About 70 educators have partici pated in the program, thus far, with 41 percent now in formal leader ship roles in elementary, middle and high schools. “I wasn’t sure about leadership going in,” said Bryan Thomason, a teacher at Johnson High. “I was hesitant about leaving coaching behind. This program confirmed that it’s just changing from who and what I’m coaching.” For many of the graduates, the camaraderie and collaboration between mentors and peers was most beneficial. “I learned that it’s OK to ask questions, and to make mistakes and learn from them,” said Caitlin Hansard, a teacher at C.W. Davis Middle. Kristi Underwood, a teacher at Cherokee Bluff High, said the pro gram opened her eyes to what’s going on behind the scenes to make a school run efficiently and effectively. “I didn’t realize how big the world is outside my classroom,” she added. “I learned the importance of growing others around you,” said Josh Chapman, a teacher at East Hall Middle. “Know that you can’t do everything on your own. ” And it’s that message that reso nated with Superintendent Will Schofield, who quoted the best adage he’s heard about what lead ership really means: “The ability to influence others.” “I’ve seen an awful lot of people that call themselves leaders and kick up a lot of dust and never go anywhere,” Schofield added. The graduates also include Jen nifer Gibson of Chestatee High; Shasta Gundlach of Mount Ver non Exploratory; Amy Tyner of North Hall Middle; April Bagwell of C.W. Davis Middle; Kacie Land ers of Myers Elementary; and Allie Roberts of Chicopee Woods Elementary. The program mentors include Stan Lewis, principal of Johnson High; Tamara Etterling, principal of North Hall Middle; and Jamey Moore, principal of North Hall High. School officials have now launched a “legacy series” of semi nars for graduates of the program. The system also offers a new principal mentor program, which has had 18 new principals in the past three years receive mentoring from 15 experienced principals; a new assistant principal mentor program, with 27 participants in the past three years with 25 expe rienced assistant principals as mentors; and a Growing Teacher Leader program to develop peer coaches at the school level. School officials said they plan to implement additional continuing education opportunities for lead- ers-in-training, including intern ships, an increase in the number of workplace “shadowing” experi ences, and a broader curriculum across the different programs. JOSHUA SILAVENT I The Times Hall County Schools’ latest class of Growing Administrator Leader program graduates and mentors is recognized Monday, Nov. 12, at a Board of Education meeting in Gainesville. Back row, from left, are Bryan Thomason, Johnson High; Jennifer Gibson, Chestatee High; Caitlin Hansard, C.W. Davis Middle; Josh Chapman, East Hall Middle; and Stan Lewis, principal of Johnson High. Bottom row, from left, are Jamey Moore, principal of North Hall High; Amy Tyner, North Hall Middle; April Bagwell, C.W. Davis Middle; Shasta Gundlach, Mount Vernon Exploratory; Allie Roberts, Chicopee Woods Elementary; Kristi Underwood, Cherokee Bluff High; and Tamara Etterling, principal of North Hall Middle. Not pictured is graduate Kacie Landers, Myers Elementary. SCOn ROGERS I The Times U.S. Army veterans and brothers John, right, and Horace Smallwood look around Lakewood Baptist Church as they stand for the song “The Army Goes Rolling Along” Monday, Nov. 12, during the annual Veterans Day program. VETERANS ■ Continued from 1A prisoners of war and those missing in action. Also, there was the tolling of 11 bells, meant to signify the end of World War I. Sunday, Nov. 11, was the 100th anni versary of the end of World War I. “As you’ve heard before, (it was called) the war to end all wars, which we know didn’t happen,” American Legion past commander Ron Kellner said. “We continue to have our young men and women in conflicts and wars to protect the peace, tranquility and safety not only of our people or coun try, but other countries.” Hall County Schools names 6 new Reach Scholars Hall County Schools has named six Reach Scholars for the high school graduating class of 2023. Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen Georgia Scholarship is a needs-based mentorship and college scholar ship program. This year’s Hall County recipients are Deiler Aquino-Gas- par of North Hall Middle; Alondra Cordero Albarran of Cher okee Bluff Middle; Dayami Martinez of North Hall Middle; America Lucario of Chestatee Academy; Kassandra Martinez of East Hall Middle; and Diego Gonzalez of East Hall Middle. Students are selected for the program as they move from middle to high school. They must maintain a 2.5 grade-point average in core courses, have a clean discipline and strong attendance record, and remain free of drugs and criminal charges. Mentors and academic coaches will support these students through graduation with the aim they will attend college or university. Upon completion of high school, Reach graduates will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship to a Georgia college or post secondary institution of their choice. Students receive $2,500 per year for up to four years, and colleges and universities can match those funds. Reach has served 103 school systems across Georgia and nearly 1,200 students, committing over $17 million in scholarships. Scheman, Millwood named principals of Lula, South Hall schools The Hall County Schools Board of Education approved two new principals for Lula Elementary and South Hall Middle schools at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 12. Lynette Scheman will take over at Lula Elementary after Principal Theresa London announced she would be leaving the school district. And Joey Millwood takes the reins at South Hall Middle after Principal Paula Stubbs announced she would retire effective Dec. 28. Scheman began with Hall County Schools in 2001 teaching at McEver Elementary. After that first year, she transferred to Jones Elementary School as instructional coach. In 2004, Scheman moved to her current school, Lanier Elemen tary, to teach and then become an instructional extension administrator. Scheman moved to her current position as Lanier Ele mentary assistant principal in 2013. Millwood began his career in education in 1997 as a sci ence and history teacher in South Hall. During this period, he was named South Hall Middle School Teacher of the Year. In 2000, he resigned from the district to accept a position at Eagle Ranch in Chestnut Mountain. Millwood returned to Hall County Schools in 2005, accept ing a position as instructional coach at South Hall Middle School. He has served as assistant principal at the school since 2007. OAKWOOD Woman says she woke to find man raping her BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A 23-year-old woman reported going to sleep in an Oak- wood motel room and waking up to a man sexually assault ing her, police said. Oakwood Police said the woman was at the Quality Inn on Mundy Mill Road Oct. 6 with other people “where they were each consuming alcohol,” according to investi gator Todd Templeton. “The victim went to sleep and later awoke to find the suspect having unwanted sexual intercourse with her without her consent,” Templeton wrote in an email. “The victim immediately summoned the police to the location but the suspect fled as she did so.” Following the report, police interviewed the people involved and arrested Daniel Espinoza, 30. Templeton said the woman and Espinoza met that day. Espinoza was charged with rape and aggravated sodomy. He was booked Saturday, Nov. 10, in to the Hall County Jail, where he remains. Magistrate Court officials were unclear if Espinoza has an attorney. Police: Teen fight leads to assault with hammers BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Police say two South Hall teens assaulted two other teens with hammers in what an investigator described as a “fight among teenagers.” Christian Sanchez, 17, of Oakwood, and Steven Lane, 19, of Flowery Branch, are accused of entering a Flowery Branch home Nov. 2 and assaulting the two teen age victims, police said. Neither of the victims were seri ously injured, but both were treated and released at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Braselton. Police responded before 11 p.m. Nov. 2 to Fireside Lane in reference to an assault in progress. Investigator Robin Kemp said the vic tims were previously acquainted with the suspects. Kemp described it as a “fight among teenagers,” though the investigator did not elaborate further on motive. Kemp said Sanchez and Lane were identified as suspects and arrested on Nov. 5. Magistrate Court officials were unclear if either suspect had retained an attorney. Sanchez and Lane are charged with aggravated assault and first-degree burglary. They were both booked Nov. 5 in to the Hall County Jail, where they remain. Compiled by reporter Joshua Silavent Compiled by reporter Joshua Silavent MURDER ■ Continued from 1A were often robots or animals, were always yelling, spoke only negative statements, were not impacted by his mood or the presence of other individ uals, and would not go away no matter what he did,” according to the court order. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Matthew Norman was the first to assess Low ery in November 2017 and again in January. The doctor was “particularly con cerned with Lowery’s ability to assist his attorney and was troubled that he continued to speak of getting out ‘in a few months,”’ according to the order. “On cross-examination (at the Oct. 10 hearing), Dr. Norman offered that Lowery had received average grades in school and had no clinical or anec dotal history of psychosis,” according to the order. A second doctor opined at the hear ing that she believed he exhibited symptoms of a psychotic disorder. Brickman met with Lowery roughly 15 times at the jail and testified having “very little success at having a coher ent conversation with him,” according to the order. The court ruled Lowery was capable of understanding the charges against him and assisting his counsel at trial. Espinoza w Sanchez Lane GOVERNOR ■ Continued from 1A extricate himself from the national political environment that now drives every election down to the county level. You run for coroner, you have to say whether you want to ‘make America great again.’” For his part, Kemp notes “a very polarizing climate that we’ve been in.” But he defends his pledge to “put Georgians first” — a rhetori cal cousin to Trump’s “America First” — and he rejects any notion that he could take office under a cloud that would make his job harder. “It was a tough election,” Kemp said two days after the vote. He pointed to his time as a state sena tor representing a swing district: “I’m going to serve this whole state and move forward with the plans we have.” Undeterred, Abrams’ campaign filed a federal lawsuit Sunday ask ing a judge to delay the vote certifi cation until Wednesday and make officials count certain absentee and provisional ballots that would oth erwise be rejected. The campaign said thousands of ballots could be affected. Kemp spokesman Ryan Mahoney said Monday the lawsuit shows Abrams has “moved from desperation to delusion.” “Stacey Abrams lost,” he said, “and her concession is long overdue.” Georgia Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden, who was appointed after Kemp resigned last week, sent a bulletin to county election officials Monday telling them to count absentee ballots even if vot ers have not included their year of birth on the envelope as long as the signature and other information is sufficient to verify their identity. Crittenden also noted in the bul letin that the period for verifying eligibility of provisional ballots ended Friday required by Georgia law. The Abrams campaign lawsuit asks that a judge order that dead line extended until Wednesday at 5 p.m. Meanwhile, two Democratic sen ators — Cory Booker of New Jersey and Brian Schatz of Hawaii — sent a letter asking the Justice Depart ment for “a thorough investiga tion into the potential voting rights abuses that have been reported before, during, and after the elec tion” in Georgia. Leading up to the election, Abrams called Kemp “an architect of suppression.” Kemp says he’s faithfully enforced state and fed eral elections laws, though that’s not convinced some voters. Nina Durham, a 50-year-old Pow der Springs resident, joined a small a group of protesters last week. She said she didn’t have confidence in the results. Asked whether she could see Kemp as her governor, Durham, who is African-American, replied, “No. He hasn’t represented me as secretary of state. ”