L2J OUR REGION
Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief
770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Gainesville, Hall smoke caused by Exit 14 controlled burn
BY NICK BOWMAN
nbowman@
gainesvilletimes.com
Don’t blame those Cali
fornia fires: The smoke
wafting over Gainesville
and parts of Hall County
Wednesday morning was
coming from a controlled
burn related to the con
struction of Exit 14 on Inter
state 985.
Dense smoke passed
through Gainesville on
Wednesday, putting fire
fighters with Hall County
Fire Services and the
Gainesville Fire Depart
ment on a search for any
one burning without a
permit in the area.
“I actually rode around
town trying to locate any
one that might be burning,”
wrote Keith Smith, division
chief for Gainesville Fire,
in an email to The Times.
“We will not be issuing burn
permits today due to wind
gusts of up to 15 mph. I was
unable to locate anyone
burning but the smoke does
appear to be dissipating and
moving southward through
town. The area around First
Baptist Church and Green
Street is nearly clear now.”
The source of the smoke
was found just before noon
on Wednesday near Geor
gia Department of Trans
portation construction at
the interstate, according to
Hall County Fire Services
spokesman Zachary Brack
ett. The new exit is being
built at Martin Road.
City, county offices
Gainesville, Flowery Branch, Oakwood
and Hall County will close their offices today
and Friday to observe the Thanksgiving
holiday.
Hall County libraries and community cen-
closed for holiday
ters at the county’s parks will also be closed
today and Friday. In Gainesville, the Fran
ces Meadows Aquatic Center will be closed
both days.
Megan Reed
IN OUR COMMUNITY
Jackson EMC Foundation awards
$16Kto agencies serving Hall County
For The Times
A $9,000 Jackson EMC Foundation check to the Hall-
Dawson CASA Program will help provide training for new
volunteers. Pictured from left are Janet Walden, executive
director of the Hall-Dawson CASA program; Christy Moore,
Jackson EMC Foundation board member; and David Lee,
Jackson EMC district manager.
The Jackson EMC Foun
dation board of directors
awarded a total $96,300 in
grants during their Octo
ber meeting, including
$16,500 to organizations
serving Hall County.
$9,000 was given to the
Hall-Dawson CASA Pro
gram, which trains and
supervises community
volunteers who serve as
advocates for abused and
neglected children in Juve
nile Court proceedings in
Hall and Dawson counties,
to train new volunteers,
cover costs for family visi
tation, and provide fund
ing for children’s food and
clothing.
$7,500 was given to
CHRIS 180 (Creativity,
Honor, Respect, Integ
rity and Safety) Gwinnett
Counseling Center, which
serves Banks, Gwinnett
and Hall counties with a
mission to heal children,
strengthen families and
build community and to
support mental health
services and trauma
counseling.
From staff reports
For The Times
The American Legion Post 7 was able to pledge funds
to help a homeless veteran, center, at its annual veterans
resource fair Nov. 3.
Legion posts
raise funds
for homeless
veteran
On Nov. 3, American
Legion Post 328 & Post 7
hosted their annual Veter
ans Community Resource
Fair.
This effort combined
federal, state, nonprofit
and private agencies to
help numerous veterans
and people and offered
a broad array of free
services and assistance
such as food, clothing,
coats, gloves and health
screenings.
The American Legion
Post 7 was able to pledge
funds to help a homeless vet
eran, pictured in the center.
This would enable the
veteran to return to his
home in Virginia Beach,
Virginia, to be near his
family for more resources.
From staff reports
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Carniceria Tapatia owner Diego Covarrubias offers a full selection of groceries, meat and
produce for his customers. He also has a restaurant inside that sells a lot of tamales,
especially around the Thanksgiving holiday.
TAMALES
■ Continued from 1A
A tamale is any type of seasoned meat or vegetables
wrapped in cornmeal dough and steamed or baked in
corn husks.
Mexico, agreed that
Thanksgiving for Latinos is
about the “mixing of both
cultures.”
But the food “definitely
has to be spicy,” she said.
She admits that in her
home, getting the turkey
cooked right can be hit or
miss.
“Maybe we don’t know
how to prepare it” prop
erly, she said with a laugh.
Morales Villa said
she’ll be staying home for
Thanksgiving this year and
celebrating with just her
immediate family mem
bers. But, typically, like
so many Americans, she
travels for the holiday to
be with relatives.
And adopting the
Thanksgiving tradition
is easy for Latino immi
grants, she added.
For example, a true
Mexican fiesta lasts three
days, Morales Villa said.
The first day involves
preparing the food. The
second day is the party.
And the third day, “the day
after,” Morales Villa said,
is for eating “recalentado”
food, or leftovers.
Ah, leftovers. If that’s
not a staple of Thanksgiv
ing, then what is?
Rosa Cisneros, owner
of Supermercado La
Rosita on Atlanta High
way in Gainesville, which
features a cafeteria that
serves popular Mexi
can and Central Amer
ica dishes, said she has
adopted the Thanksgiving
tradition in a unique way
that incorporates her roots
in El Salvador.
Cisneros came to the
United States with her
mother and siblings about
40 years ago, when she
was just 15 years old, but
she’s never forgotten one
of the traditional dishes
of her native country: pan
con polio, or bread with
chicken.
But for Thanksgiving,
she adopts the traditional
turkey.
“Here in the United
States, we make pan con
pavo,” Cisneros said, and
it includes oven-roasted
turkey served on French
bread with lettuce, tomato,
radish and other toppings.
“Some people put salsa
on it, but not the hot one,”
she added. “It’s delicious.
A lot of people like it.”
The turkey itself is pre
pared by first washing it
with salt and grapefruit.
Of course, Thanksgiving
is not just about the food.
It’s also about reflecting
on all for which we have to
be grateful.
Cisneros is a breast can
cer survivor, and her hus
band grew very ill about
this time last year. But he’s
recovered and doing well
now.
“I like to say thank you,
God,” Cisneros said.
For Covarrubias,
Thanksgiving is a powerful
reminder of the sacrifices
his parents made, and the
benefits he and his siblings
are now reaping from their
lifetime of hard work.
“It’s always about fam
ily and being thankful for
what we have in this coun
try,” he said. “That’s the
bottom line. We’re thank
ful that we’re here.”
AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
A group of people huddle around a fire to stay warm while
fishing at River Forks Park on Wednesday, Nov. 21.
PARKS
■ Continued from 1A
about 200,000 now. Ruffner
said the county’s parks pro
grams, particularly in ath
letics, have grown quickly,
and the master plan will
help adjust for that growth.
“Based on what we’ve
seen as far as the growth
in those programs over the
last few years, we believe
that will only continue to
grow,” she said. “As those
programs grow and they
get richer and richer and
fuller and fuller, and you
have more participants,
then your needs will change.
You’ll need more resources,
more personnel.”
Hall has 25 parks and
three community centers.
The survey asks people
to identify the area of Hall
Provide input on
Hall parks
Public meetings
6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27:
East Hall Community
Center
6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29:
North Hall Community
Center
6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec.
5: Mulberry Creek
Community Center
6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6:
Chestatee High School
Take the survey online:
projectsurveys.com
where they live so officials
can determine what the
needs are in each part of
the county. Ruffner said
that while growth has been
concentrated in South Hall,
the plan will look at all
areas of the county for pos
sible improvements or new
facilities.
SHOPPING
■ Continued from 1A
reward the people that are
here.”
The restaurant is offering
$2 off any order over $10,
and $5 off any order over
$20, with the purchase of
the coupon book.
“If we can offer people
a little something, we’re
happy to do that,” Gnome
said.
And, like Parks, Gnome
agreed that downtown busi
nesses can benefit from sup
porting one another.
“If there’s going to be
something for the square
and to be local, we defi
nitely want to be part of
that,” she said.
The National Retail Fed
eration forecasts holiday
retail sales in November
and December to increase
between 4.3 and 4.8 per
cent over 2017 for a total of
$720.89 billion.
The average annual
increase over the past five
years has been 3.9 percent.
“Our forecast reflects
the overall strength of the
industry,” NRF President
and CEO Matthew Shay said
in a press release. “Thanks
to a healthy economy and
strong consumer confi
dence, we believe that this
holiday season will con
tinue to reflect the growth
we’ve seen over the past
year. While there is con
cern about the impacts of an
escalating trade war, we are
optimistic that the pace of
economic activity will con
tinue to increase through
the end of the year.”
Tim Evans, vice presi
dent of economic develop
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Kristen Redmon, Main Street manager, puts up signs for Shop Gainesville in downtown
Gainesville on Tuesday, Nov. 20. Main Street is offering a coupon book for downtown
businesses for Small Business Saturday on Saturday, Nov. 24.
Main Street Gainesville is offering a Shop Gainesville
package detailing deals for Small Business Saturday in
downtown Gainesville on Tuesday, Nov. 24.
ment for the Greater Hall
Chamber of Commerce,
said Black Friday and Small
Business Saturday are
“attention-getting” events,
“particularly for our local
retailers to encourage peo
ple to shop locally.”
And though some of the
traditional shopping hab
its have changed as more
and more people spend
their money through online
orders, the official kickoff
to the holiday sales season
still gives shoppers an expe
rience they can’t find on the
Internet.
“People shop by going to
destinations,” Evans said,
and that could include the
downtown square, Lake-
shore Mall, or a string of
big-box retailers along Daw-
sonville Highway.
“Hopefully, it’ll be good
for our local retailers,”
Evans added. “Christmas is
already in the air, whether
we like it or not.”
SHOP
w£iesvill
