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Honestly Local
2018 Teachers of the Year
GAINESVILLE
SCOn ROGERS I The Times
Amanda Studer was named Gainesville City Schools
Teacher of the Year. She teaches third grade at Mundy
Mill Academy.
Despite recent adulation,
top teacher Studer stays
dedicated to her passions
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
Amanda Studer, a third-grade teacher at Mundy Mill
Academy, faced a dilemma of the heart nearly a decade
ago when she found herself in a lucrative job in the boat
ing industry “but I went home unfulfilled.”
Deciding what to do next came easy, if only because
Studer, 37, always knew in the back her mind what she
was meant to do, she said.
“I came from a family of educators,” Studer added.
“It really is in my blood. That little thought kept
coming back, so I just decided to jump in”
So, for two years, she attended night school at
Brenau University while continuing to work dur
ing the day.
When she earned her master’s degree in
teaching, she joined the Gainesville City School System.
And now Studer is going to have to get used to being rec
ognized for her outstanding professional achievements.
She was recently named the Gainesville City Schools
districtwide teacher of the year for 2018. This comes after
she was recognized by Brenau in March at its Masters in
Teaching honors.
It’s high praise from her colleagues, though Studer said
accepting such well-earned esteem is “probably one of
my biggest struggles.”
“I don’t like to talk about myself,” she added.
For Studer, working at Mundy Mill is a dream come
true. She joined when the school opened last year so that
■ Please see STUDER, 6A
HALL COUN^
AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Frank Zamora was named the Hall County Schools
Teacher of the Year. He teaches at Johnson High
School.
Johnson Highs Zamora
credits family education
for what he has become
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
Frank Zamora’s story of immigration and profes
sional success is the kind that helps define the honest
pursuit of the American Dream.
“I’m a product of people who poured into me,” he
said.
This includes his parents, Mexican immigrants who
brought Zamora to the United States in 1995, when he
was about 6 years old.
It includes his teachers at Chestatee High,
where he graduated before attending the
University of Georgia. That’s where his pro
fessors helped him continue his maturation.
And it also includes his colleagues and
mentors at Johnson High, where Zamora
teaches U.S. History and ESOL courses.
“I’m a combination of that,” he said.
Now, at just 30 years old, Zamora has been named
the districtwide teacher of the year for Hall County
Schools.
“That recognition wasn’t just about me,” he said. “It
was about them and all their hard work.”
Zamora said his family has been his motivation all
his life. And he understood the American ideal that
every generation is meant to have it better than its
predecessor.
“I always wanted the sacrifices that my parents
made to be worth it,” Zamora said.
■ Please see ZAMORA, 6A
Inside
See bios of all the
nominees, 4,5A
GAINESVILLE
Land deal
about future
of midtown
City hospital say S10M buy
ensures beneficial use of
pedestrian bridge property
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
This fall, the city of
Gainesville and the North
east Georgia Health System
struck a deal that gives the
city control over the prop
erty on the southern end of
the Jesse Jewell Parkway
pedestrian bridge but lets
the health system have a
say in where that bridge
finally leads.
On Oct. 16, the Gaines
ville City Council voted
unanimously to take over a
$10 million contract on that
property from the health
system, with a few strings
attached.
One of those strings is
that the 6.8 acres at 110
Jesse Jewell Parkway can
not be developed to provide
medical services or prod
ucts without the permission
of NGHS.
The planned vote by
the council was not made
public in advance, but in
an Oct. 15 email to health
system spokesman Sean
Couch from city spokes
woman Nikki Perry, she
said the purchase would be
presented under “city attor
ney issues” on the agenda.
That email and others was
obtained by The Times in
an open records request.
“The opportunity arose
during conversation with
the prior owner, and we
moved quickly to secure
the property — knowing our
interest was aligned with
the City,” Couch wrote in
an email sent to The Times
Friday.
■ Please see LAND, 7A
Housing density key
concern in proposed
South Hall project
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
A heated debate over a
developer’s plans for a 279-
home subdivision in South
Hall goes to the Hall County
Board of Commissioners this
week.
Residents of the Chestnut
Mountain community have
taken to social media and
held community meetings
in mobilizing for the vote,
set for Thursday, Dec. 13, at
the Hall County Government
Center.
“This has the density of
an Atlanta sprawl,” said Joe
Savage, a 20-year resident of
the area who lives about 100
yards from the Ponderosa
Farm Road site.
Density has been raised as
a key concern among resi
dents, as the proposal calls
for 2.3 units per acre on the
121-acre site at L J Martin
Drive and Ponderosa Farm
Road.
“It is out of character with
the rural setting,” said Mark
Skelton, another nearby
resident. “It does not comply
with the Hall County land use
plan.”
The county’s staff report
on the project also states
as much, saying the Hall
County Comprehensive Plan
recommends a density of 2
units per acre if the develop
ment uses sanitary sewer.
“Despite the request being
inconsistent with the com
prehensive plan, the planned
■ Please see HOUSING, 6A
INSIDE
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Business 1D
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Viewpoint 3D
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Lake Lanier level: 1,070.25 feet
Full pool 1,071. Down 0.15 feet in 24 hours
Lizzette Aikens, 90
Dakota Beaty, 25
Eva Brooksher, 88
Jimmy Gossett, 78
Jackie Hughes, 75
Hazel Mullinax McKinzie, 86
Paula Newkirk, 84
Blanche Nix, 91
AnnSherby, 104
Alan George Swan, 75
Jessie Truelove, 82
Margaret Woodall, 83
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FORSYTH WOMEN’S CENTER
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