Gainesville’s
Watson avoids
hype as Texans
play for 8th
straight win.
SPORTS, 1B
Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Lighting of holly ushers
in season for Gainesville
LIFE, 4B
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2018 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Honestly Local
School calendars pose challenges
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
With students returning to school
today, it’s a reminder that the holi
day season presents some sched
uling challenges for local districts
as they aim to keep students and
teachers engaged between Thanks
giving and Christmas.
And as the fall semester comes
to a close this year, local school
officials are thinking longer and
harder about the school calendar.
“This time of year is unique for
students as they are often hav
ing to balance school against an
increased social calendar,” said
Jared Belew, principal of Spout
Springs School of Enrichment in
South Hall County. “By having flex
ibility at the local level, school dis
tricts can create a time structure
that helps alleviate some of these
additional, potential stressors that
may impact a student’s overall
educational success.”
School calendars have gener
ated more interest since a state
Senate study committee was
launched this fall to evaluate how
a uniform shift to a later start date
for schools across Georgia would
impact students and families; the
interests of local school districts;
and regional economies that
depend on the tourism and hospi
tality industries.
The 11-member committee will
report its findings in December.
Officials with Hall County and
Gainesville school systems have
expressed their desire to retain
independent flexibility to cre
ate school calendars that fit their
needs. But this amounts to a varia
tion on a theme.
“There will always be a variety
of opinion on school calendars,
and the current flexibility allows
school districts to consider the
needs and opinions of their local
communities,” said Ley Hathcock,
principal of West Hall High School.
For Hall Superintendent Will
Schofield, moving toward a “year-
round” schedule is most desirable,
particularly as a way to ensure low-
income students, and others facing
unique educational hardships, are
kept in the fold.
“What flexibility currently
does,” Schofield added, “is allow
local districts to find what works
best for the community. We talk
a lot about autonomy and schools
belonging to their communities.
I happen to believe that, and I
think school calendars should be
designed to meet the needs of a
majority of the families served.”
Gainesville Superintendent
Jeremy Williams said the weeks
between eating turkey and
unwrapping gifts is crunch time.
But it could be worse if the school
start date were pushed past Labor
Day, as some state lawmakers
have suggested doing.
For example, at the high school
level, Williams said, “the majority
of students are taking final exams
or the Milestones Assessment in
■ Please see SCHOOLS, 6A
From Lake
Lanier to
statewide
leadership
Barnard made director
of law enforcement
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A freshly hired Thomas Barnard
showed up in Athens-Clarke County in
January 1993 thinking he might retire as
a corporal or a sergeant one day with the
Department of Natural Resources.
Nearly 26 years later, with roughly
a decade of that as
the law enforcement
supervisor for Lake
Lanier, he is set to
become colonel and
director of the law
enforcement division
for DNR.
“When I first got
hired, it was never a
thought in my mind
about even going up
the ranks,” Barnard said. “I was proud to
get the job.... And I never thought of land
ing in this position. You know how life’s
road kind of carries you along, and God
puts you in certain situations at certain
times.”
DNR announced Nov. 19 that Barnard
was appointed by DNR Commissioner
Mark Williams to succeed Col. Eddie
Henderson. DNR spokesman Mark McK
innon said the board will approve Bar
nard at a December meeting.
“Under Col. Henderson’s leadership,
the division has worked hard to increase
recruitment and retention, education and
community involvement, and conserva
tion enforcement. Col. Henderson has
led the way in making these aspirations
a reality,” Williams said in a statement.
“I believe Thomas Barnard is the perfect
fit to take on the challenge of continuing
the division’s success. I know he will lead
the division with strength and integrity.”
In 2015, Barnard was promoted to the
DNR command staff, which involved
supervision of more than 200 officers
across seven regions.
“From the air you breathe, the water
you drink, the outdoors that you enjoy,
every citizen is affected by our natural
resources in some sort of way,” Barnard
said.
Barnard’s most recent responsibility
has been field operations manager over
the investigations and region offices,
McKinnon said in a news release.
“Everyday (I) wake up, think about
those officers that are in the field across
the state and what can I do to make their
job easier, better, look after them,” Bar
nard said.
His time with DNR has included
deployments during the 1996 Summer
Olympics in Atlanta working at the Geor
gia World Congress Center as well as
working with Mississippi agencies in the
Body Recovery Team during the deadly
2005 Hurricane Katrina.
Building a neighborhood
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Interactive Neighborhood for Kids founder Sheri Hooper surveys the children’s museum Tuesday, Nov. 20. Cleanup and sanitation
of the museum is complete from the September flooding, but repairs are still underway.
How to help
As the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids rebuilds, there are a few
ways community members can assist.
■ Make a gift card donation or direct contribution at www.inkfun.
org/donate/
■ Volunteer to clean up by contacting Executive Director Mandy
Volpe at mandy@inkfun.org or 770-536-1900.
■ Stay up to date on INK’S progress by visiting its Facebook
page.
Cleanup and sanitation of the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids in
Gainesville is complete and repairs are underway.
‘Families come to the door every day
wanting to come in and play.’
Sheri Hooper
Interactive Neighborhood for Kids founder
INK hoping to reopen by
spring following flooding
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Interactive Neighborhood for Kids plans to reopen
by the spring, months after a flood devastated the fam
ily-oriented attraction that features hands-on exhibits.
“That’s our drop-dead date, because we have 5,000
kids scheduled to come here in March,” founder Sheri
Hooper said during a visit last week. “So, we hope (to
reopen) much sooner.
“As many people we can get in here to help volunteer
and make donations, the sooner we can get open.”
Hooper, staff and volunteers have been in cleanup
mode since disaster struck in mid-September, when
a small fire set off the sprinkler system in the pottery
studio area.
“We’ve gone through every emotion possible,”
Hooper said.
INK, which is in the Featherbone Communiversity
at 999 Chestnut St. in Gainesville, allows families to
explore kid-sized exhibits such as a grocery store, den
tist office and post office.
“We strive to let your child’s imagination run wild
while learning about the world around them,” INK’S
website states.
The museum’s closing hasn’t been just heartbreaking
for staff.
Hooper said the museum gets frequent calls from
parents checking to see if INK has reopened.
“Families come to the door every day wanting to
come in and play,” she said.
Water especially damaged exhibits and flooring, but
“we had a great company in here that rid the place of
any hazardous materials,” said Mandy Volpe, execu
tive director. “So, it’s completely safe for the kids to
be in here.
■ Please see INK, 6A
□
40901 06835 8
INSIDE
Bridge
5B
Lottery
2A
Calendar
2A
Opinion
5A
Classified
7B
Obituaries
6A
Comics
6B
Sports
1B
Life
4B
TV/puzzles
5B
WEATHER 2A
High Low
y 48 30
Lake Lanier level: 1,070.53 feet
Full pool 1,071. Up 0.06 feet in 24 hours
DEATHS 6A
L. Wayne Abernathy, 80
Geraldine L. Braswell, 94,
James Larry Davis, 80
Charles Thomas Dennard Sr.,
William Richard Goode, 90
Donald Charles Heber, 83,
Irma Ramirez Hernandez, 56
Mary Kathryn Ledbetter, 99
Frances Miller Mathis, 94,
Paul Damian McMaster, 50,
78 Sue Pelfrey, 86
Hugh H. Roberts, 77
Henry Rue, 49
Robert Henry Watson, 92
