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Weaving
with love
Seniors use unique
materials to help
homeless. LIFE, 4B
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:
North Hall’s Mathew
Glenn leads Trojans
to first-place finish
in Archer Invitational.
SPORTS, 1B
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Gov. Deal reflects
on 3 highlights
of administration
OUR REGION, 6A
Honestly Local
HALL COUN^
SCHOOLS
Radios
on buses
will get
big boost
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
An infusion of $215,000 from the
state was added to the Hall County
Schools budget on Monday, Nov.
26, to convert the district’s bus
radios to digital and expand com
munications coverage to 99 per
cent of the county.
Hall County has approximately
400 school buses in its fleet.
“We are always looking to
improve security,” Board of
Education vice chairman Craig
Herrington said, adding that the
upgraded radio communications
are another piece of the puzzle.
Hall County Schools has allo
cated about $700,000 in new
funding for school safety mea
sures since a deadly shooting at a
high school in Parkland, Fla., in
February.
This includes a new silent alarm
network and other emergency
communication systems added to
all schools after a successful pilot
project in the spring and new stun
guns for school resource officers.
■ Please see BUSES, 6A
WAYNE
ABERNATHY
1938-2018
Man led
in service,
business
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Philip Wilheit Sr. still chuckles
at the memory of his close friend,
L. Wayne Abernathy, preparing to
speak at a business function, fol
lowing on the heels of an especially
eloquent speaker.
“I feel like a
tugboat following
the Queen Mary,”
Abernathy told
the crowd.
Abernathy
“was full of those
lines,” he said.
“He had a great
sense of humor
and great work
ethic.”
Family and friends are remem
bering the longtime area business
man, inventor and public servant,
who died Saturday, Nov. 24, at
Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
He was 80.
Abernathy began his career at
Georgia Chair and later worked at
Chicopee Manufacturing. He later
invented and patented a deboning
machine that was sold nationally
and internationally, according to
his obituary.
He would go on to buy Diane
Foods, which became Diago Mexi
can Foods.
“He was also a great customer
of ours,” said Wilheit, president of
■ Please see ABERNATHY, 6A
Abernathy
‘We’re just proud’
Charlie Company marches amid flag-waving, cheering
as unit prepares for 2019 deployment in Afghanistan
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Sandy North and son Sgt. Matthew North say goodbye Monday, Nov. 26, at Gainesville High School during a send-off for Gainesville-
based Charlie Company, which is being deployed to Afghanistan next year. The unit left Monday for Fort Stewart near Savannah.
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
I n the harsh cold, Carol
Hagood stood on the side
of Alta Vista Road hugging
an American flag.
Unlike many others who
had gathered with her Mon
day morning, she didn’t have
a loved one serving in Gaines
ville-based Charlie Company,
the unit that was about to march
by her on its way to deployment
in Afghanistan.
“I’m here in honor of my dad
and several of our family mem
bers who served in the mili
tary,” Hagood said, preparing
to unfold and display the flag as
the soldiers passed by. “I’m just
here to offer my support.”
Appreciation for Charlie
Company was on full display
Nov. 26 as the unit walked from
the armory at 153 Alta Vista
Road to buses at Gainesville
High School.
Onlookers waved U.S. flags
and signs with patriotic mes
sages, shouting “We love
you!” and “Thank you!” to the
soldiers.
“Thank you for answering
the call of duty, for putting on
this uniform and wearing that
flag I love so dearly on your
shoulder,” state Rep. Matt Dub-
nik, R-Gainesville said before
the unit boarded the buses.
“Thank you for being willing to
put yourself in harm’s way.”
A congressional recognition
from U.S. Rep. Doug Collins,
R-Gainesville, also was read to
the group.
After a few minutes of last-
minute hugs from family and
friends, the soldiers left under
police escort for final training
Charlie Company marches from the Alta Vista Road armory to Gainesville High Monday, Nov. 26,
during a send-off for Gainesville-based unit.
at Fort Stewart near Savannah.
The 1-121 Army National Guard
unit with the 48th Brigade then
will complete a nine-month
deployment.
Tammy and Joey Brown of
Clarkesville were at the send-
off for their 21-year-old son, a
member of Charlie Company.
“We’re just proud of him, so
proud of young men like him
who would join the military at a
time of war,” Joey said. “We’re
just proud of his service, along
with these other young men,
who are willing to step forward
and stand in the gap to fight for
our freedom and defend our
country.”
■ Please see CHARLIE, 8A
Gainesville High School student Eric Rico, 15, helps hold a large
flag Monday, Nov. 26, with members of the Gainesville High
JROTC during a send-off for the Charlie Company, a Gainesville-
based unit of the Army National Guard.
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40901 06835 8
INSIDE
Business 3B
Calendar 2A
Life 4B
Lottery 2A
Opinion 4A
Our Region 6A
Sports 1B
WEATHER 2A
j High Low
w 42 26
Lake Lanier level: 1,070.54 feet
Full pool 1,071. Up 0.01 feet in 24 hours
DEATHS 7A
James Bican, 72
Geraldine Braswell, 94
Jewell Camp, 92
Antenor Castillo-Uceda, 89
Keith Church, 58
James Davis, 80
Charles Dennard Sr., 78
William Goode, 90
Thelma Lance, 76
Gayle Lavin, 68
Rebecca Phillips, 73
Hugh H. Roberts, 77
Guy H. Rouse, 92
Roy Parks Segars, 93
Sherlon Allen Stokes, 62
Bruce Henry Stringer, 82
Cort Swanson
Joseph Walcher, 63
Robert H. Watson, 92
