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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2018 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Local comedian is making a
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Honestly Local
Fatal plane crash sparks investigation
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Federal investigators were sift
ing through evidence Sunday at
the scene of a fatal plane crash at
Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport in
Gainesville.
A preliminary report could be
issued in about 10 days, said Keith
Holloway, spokesman for the
National Transportation Safety
Board.
A more complete report — one
that gives possible causes of the
crash — could be released in 12-18
months, he said.
“It’s more about fact-gathering
and collecting all the perishable
evidence at this point,” Holloway
said. “The aircraft will be moved
to (another) facility for further
examination if necessary.”
Robert Carlisle Alberhasky, 68,
of Cumming died after his 2015
Lancair International Legacy RG
crashed Saturday, Nov. 17.
Alberhasky is believed to have
been the pilot, Gainesville police
spokesman Sgt. Kevin Holbrook
said.
Mark Lewis, 69, of Flowery
Branch was also in the plane and
critically injured. He was taken by
ambulance to Northeast Georgia
Medical Center, where he was in
fair condition Sunday afternoon.
Police and both the Gainesville
and Hall County fire departments
arrived on the scene shortly after
receiving a 911 call close to 7 p.m.
Nov. 17. The Federal Aviation
Administration arrived at about 10
p.m.
“It appears that the plane was
about to land when at some point
it possibly struck some trees across
Queen City Parkway and then
struck a tower here at the airport,”
Holbrook said Saturday.
Emergency personnel discov
ered the single-engine plane had
fallen down an embankment along
Queen City Parkway.
Holbrook said Sunday the tower,
believed to be used for lighting,
didn’t have major damage.
“It should not interfere with
operations of the airport,” he said.
Holbrook did say the airport was
“closed for air traffic (Sunday)
for investigative and recovery
purposes. Once that is complete,
things should return to normal
operations.”
Tragedy of’68 touched many lives
Photos by JEFF GILL I The Times
GAINESVILLE
Council to
vote on new
tax district,
midtown park
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
On Tuesday, the Gainesville City Council will vote on
two plans for development — a land purchase for a small
park on Davis Street and a new tax allocation district offi
cials hope will spur retail development.
Property acquisition on Davis Street
The Council will vote Tuesday on whether to purchase
property at 506 and 508 Davis Street that could become a
small city park along the Midtown Greenway.
The city has set aside $200,000 in Community Devel
opment Block Grant funds and $25,000 in parks and rec
reation funds for the purchase. An agreement has been
reached with the property owner, a Gainesville resident.
The site, which is about a third of an acre, would be used
for a park along the Midtown Greenway.
“One of the things that we think will add to the success
of the Midtown Greenway is to continue to give people
things to do along the greenway, reasons to keep walking,”
Assistant City Manager Angela Sheppard said.
Kathy Smith, left, and Eileen Goodson take a look at a memorial for their classmates killed in a Jan. 25, 1968, train
crash. The memorial was unveiled Sunday, Nov. 18, at the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus.
Family, friends remember victims of train accident 50 years ago
Richard Higgins, chairman of the Hall County Board of Commissioners, speaks Sunday,
Nov. 18, at a ceremony memorializing five students at what was then Gainesville Junior
College who died in a train crash Jan. 25,1968.
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
A train accident that
killed five Gainesville
Junior College freshmen
50 years ago continued to
stir emotions Sunday, Nov.
18, as a memorial was dedi
cated to the students.
“When you go through
something like that, you’re
just in a daze,” said Don
Elrod, reflecting on the
death of Ricky Boleman,
his brother-in-law. “When
all that passes and you look
back on the (tragedy), you
see how many lives were
touched and affected.”
Boleman’s name is
etched on the memorial,
along with Mike Gillespie,
Lanny Sewell, Don Cooper,
all of Gainesville, and Juli-
ann Whitney, of Athens.
They died after a train
collided with their car Jan.
25,1968, at the Mundy Mill
Road railroad crossing.
Law officers told The
Times in 1968 the train was
“unable to stop for a mile
and a half after the colli
sion because the impact of
the crash apparently dam
aged air lines to the diesel’s
brakes.”
About 50 family mem
bers and former classmates
gathered for a ceremony
remembering them in a stu
dent memorial garden next
to the student center at the
University of North Geor
gia’s Gainesville campus,
which began in the 1960s as
Gainesville Junior College.
Richard Higgins, chair
man of the Hall County
Board of Commissioners,
spoke briefly during the
ceremony, reading a couple
of Bible passages.
He also prayed, saying
of the students, “We know
they’re in heaven with
you.”
Hall County Commis
sioner Kathy Cooper read
a proclamation commemo
rating the victims.
“The lives of the students’
families, their friends
and the community were
changed forever,” she read.
The memorial is in the
shape of a podium and has
an inscription on a plate.
It reads: “On January 25,
1968, five college students
perished in a tragic train
car accident adjacent to the
campus.
The tragedy stunned the
college and the community
and left gaping holes in the
lives of their families and
friends.
“The editor of the Gaines
ville Daily Times penned
‘They were splendid young
sters who held the promise
of meaningful participation
in community life.’”
The inscription ends with
a quote from Isaiah: “Trust
in the Lord forever, for the
Lord, the Lord himself, is
the rock eternal.”
Higgins and Cooper
worked with Gainesville
school board member
Sammy Smith on the
memorial.
Elrod was grateful for
their efforts.
“It’s just another remem
brance of those young lives
that were lost too soon,” he
said.
Before the ceremony,
Kathy Smith and Eileen
Goodson stood at the mon
ument for several min
utes, remembering their
classmates.
“Three funerals in one
day,” Goodson said. “Don
didn’t pass away for sev
eral days — he was in
intensive care.”
The event rocked the
entire community, the
women recalled, but it hit
classmates especially hard.
“Gainesville was a lot
smaller town then,” Good-
son said. “We were all
really close with them.”
Westside Tax Allocation District
The city hopes to establish a new tax allocation district
covering Lakeshore Mall and several vacant lots and shop
ping centers, with the goal of bringing more retail options
to the city’s west side.
The Westside TAD
would use funds from tax
increases due to develop
ment to help pay for those
improvements.
Boundaries for the TAD
include Lakeshore Mall
and several parcels on Shal-
lowford Road, as well as
stretches of Pearl Nix Park
way, Browns Bridge Road and Atlanta Highway. Property
owners in the area could apply with the city to participate
in the program.
On Tuesday, the council will vote on a redevelopment
plan for the area and a resolution to create the district.
Gainesville City
Council
When: 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 20
Where: Public Safety
Complex, 701 Queen
City Parkway
No charges
coming after
bus incident
No charges will be filed in a Saturday accident in which
a 32-year-old Atlanta man fell out of a bus, according to the
Georgia State Patrol.
Masharn Austin suffered minor injuries in the accident
at the Sardis Road roundabout in northwest Hall.
“It is unknown as to how the door of the bus opened, but
Mr. Austin was leaning or had fallen against the door when
it opened,” Sgt. Auston Allen said.
Austin “fell onto the roadway and the bus pulled to the
shoulder of the road,” Allen said.
Austin was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center
in Gainesville. He was in satisfactory condition Sunday,
Nov. 18, according to the hospital.
The incident took place about 4:30 p.m. Nov. 17.
GSP Cpl. Major Patterson said Saturday the bus was reg
istered to a limousine company.
The bus was traveling south on Sardis Road through the
roundabout when the man fell out.
The group traveling in the bus declined to comment.
Jeff Gill
INSIDE
Advice
5B
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2A
Calendar
2A
Opinion
5A
Classified
7B
Obituaries
7A
Comics
6B
Sports
1B
Life
4B
TV/puzzles
5B
WEATHER 2A
DEATHS 7A
Samuel Smith, 72
Grace Anthony, 80
Garry Cochenour, 69
Werner Goeckel, 77
Edna Jones, 78
Cole Kraft, 20
Russell Lamp, 76
Helen Meyerink, 85
Hugh Roberts, 77
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Lake Lanier level: 1,071.17 feet
Full pool 1,071. Down 0.21 feet in 24 hours
