I2J OUR REGION
Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief
770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
HALL COUN^ BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Commission weighs subdivision, industrial park
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
On Thursday, the Hall County
Board of Commissioners will make
decisions on two large develop
ments, a South Hall subdivision and
an industrial park in East Hall. The
board will also vote on an appoint
ment to the Hall County Planning
Commission, a group that hears
and votes on zoning and proposed
developments.
Commissioners will also
decide on whether to restruc
ture how the county han
dles open records requests.
Subdivision on Ponderosa
Farm Road
A proposed 279-home subdivi
sion in the Chestnut Mountain area
that has drawn criticism from
neighbors is scheduled to go before
commissioners on Thursday.
The 121-acre property at LJ
Martin Drive and Ponderosa Farm
Road would have a density of 2.3
homes per acre. The Hall County
Planning Commission approved
the development on Nov. 5.
Building the subdivision would
require rezoning of the land from
agricultural residential to planned
residential development, a move
opposed by many nearby resi
dents, who spoke out Nov. 5.
Neighbors have said that they
are worried about the high den
sity of the proposed subdivision, as
well as the traffic and more urban
ized feel that could come with the
development.
Industrial park on Ga. 365
The more than 500-acre indus
trial park off of Ga. 365 that was
approved by the planning commis
sion on Dec. 3 will go before com
missioners Thursday.
The property at 3240 Chiplan
Drive is across the street from the
Gateway Industrial Centre, which
houses Kubota Manufacturing of
America. In August 2019, construc
tion will begin on an inland port for
that site, which will use Norfolk
Southern rail lines and will handle
up to 150,000 containers a year.
The proposed industrial park on
Chiplan Drive would have up to 2.6
million square feet of space, which
would mostly be used for industrial
purposes but could also have com
mercial and office space.
The land would be rezoned from
agricultural residential, planned
residential development and
planned commercial development
to planned industrial development.
Nearby residents told the plan
ning commission Dec. 3 that they
were worried about how the indus
trial park could affect their quality
of life and their home values.
David Edwards, whose property
is adjacent to the site, spoke in
opposition Dec. 3.
“It’s going to prevent me from
really enjoying my home any
more,” he said. “I won’t be able to
sell it with a factory right across
the line there.”
Open records officers
Commissioners will vote Thurs
day on possible changes to how
the county handles open records
requests.
Requests would be handled by
a designated employee in each
department. Each department’s
open records officer would be cho
sen by Dec. 28.
Lisa Ritchie, the clerk for the
Board of Commissioners, cur
rently handles most of the county’s
open records requests, although
the Sheriff’s Office, the Court
house, Hall County 911 and some
other departments have their own
records officers.
Appointment to Planning
Commission
Commissioners will vote to
approve a new member of the
Hall County Planning Commission,
following former Chairman Don
Smallwood’s retirement earlier
this month.
Gina Pilcher, a South Hall resi
dent and business owner, has been
nominated for the role. She previ
ously ran for a spot on the county
school board and has been active in
attending local government meet
ings and speaking on development.
The planning commission will
later elect its new chair.
SCOn ROGERS I The Times
The closing of the Mayfield Dairy plant in Braselton this year prompted shortages and spoiled deliveries of milk to Hall County
Schools, prompting officials this week to end their contract and now do business with Borden Dairy for all school milk supplies
at a cost of $500,000.
MILK
■ Continued from 1A
require public schools to
carry milk for students,
including for students eligi
ble for free or reduced-price
meals and drinks.
Hall County Schools has
contracted with Mayfield for
the last three years.
Schofield said the delivery
problems are not isolated to
Hall County, and that he had
received reports of similar
issues arising in other school
districts across Georgia that
contract with Mayfield.
Gainesville City Schools,
as part of the Georgia Educa
tional Cooperative, also con
tracts with Mayfield.
“However, we have only
had a few minor issues with
deliveries,” said Penny
Fowler, director of school
nutrition for GCSS, adding
that there are no plans to
change vendors at this time.
Hall Schools has con
tracted with Borden pre
viously and Jones said
the results were always
satisfactory.
She added that Mayfield
had been a “great partner”
until the recent problems.
Mayfield’s problems may
be a sign of its parent com
pany’s struggles, as well as
the changing dynamics of the
industry.
Dixie Truelove, vice presi
dent of Truelove Dairy Inc.
in Hall County, said “the
dairy industry has a much
bigger problem than just
what goes on here locally.”
Her company made a
decision two years ago
that reflects some of these
problems.
“We are no longer milking
cows for production to sell
the milk,” Truelove said.
Meanwhile, Truelove
said, retailers like Kroger,
Walmart and Publix are
investing more in their own
processing plants to pasteur
ize and bottle milk instead of
purchasing from suppliers
like Dean Foods, a Dallas-
based company that owns
Mayfield.
For example, Publix
announced a year ago that
it planned to expand its pro
cessing plant in Gwinnett
County.
Gas, drugs
cited in death
of Hall couple
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
An East Hall couple was killed by “carbon mon
oxide poisoning with drug(s) involved,” according
to a Hall County deputy coroner.
The bodies of the couple, Norman Reece, 43,
and Audrey Dahl, 35, were found Nov. 10 in their
mobile home by Reece’s 18-year-old son, who also
lives in the home on the 3500 block of Gaines Mill
Road.
Deputy coroner James Bell previously told
The Times methamphetamine and fentanyl were
found in the toxicology reports for the couple.
“He had a high count of methamphetamines,
but he also had a very high count of fentanyl....
She had counts of fentanyl in hers, but nowhere
near as high as what (Reece) had,” Bell previ
ously told The Times.
Fentanyl is an opioid drug considered roughly
100 times stronger than morphine.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office earlier
reported there were space heaters in the home,
which was without electricity, so Hall County Fire
Services tested the air quality but did not find
toxic carbon monoxide levels.
The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to an
inquiry Tuesday, Dec. 11, regarding the cause of
death finding and the potential source of carbon
monoxide.
When authorities were called to the house,
Dahl and Reece had “no obvious signs of trauma
or foul play,” said Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks of the
Hall County Sheriff’s Office in a release.
Reece’s 18-year-old son found them both in a
bedroom around 6 a.m. “after last having contact
with them the previous evening,” Wilbanks said.
“He discovered the deceased when he woke up
... after noticing that the house had become very
cold,” Wilbanks said in an email.
Athens Street duplex development gets go-ahead
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
A developer now has the governmen
tal approvals needed to move forward on
building five “Charleston-type” duplexes
off Athens Street in Gainesville.
KRM 2016 LLC got the Gainesville
Planning and Appeals Board’s approval
Tuesday night for a setback reduction so
the duplexes can fit on two tracts off Mill
Street, across from Burger King and next
to the Harper-Smith Historic House.
The board’s Dec. 11 vote followed
Gainesville City Council’s action on Dec. 4
to rezone the .85-acre tract from residen
tial and heavy industrial to residential.
The property also is near Newell Recy
cling Scrap Iron & Metal and Fockele
Garden Co. and sits on the edge of the
Newtown community.
Each building will have two units.
Eddie Martin Jr., who presented the
proposal to city officials, said he hopes
construction will start in early 2019. The
project could be completed in 6-8 months,
he said.
He said he hopes to rent out each unit at
under $1,000 per month.
“Building costs are really expensive
right now,” Martin said. “I’m hoping to put
in a lot of sweat equity to get it down to (be
more) affordable.”
FIRE
■ Continued from 1A
Underground, said the fire
looked to have started in the
front and then took off from
there.
“Once it went, it went.
I was just hoping there
weren’t any homeless people
in there,” he said.
Smith said the fire mar
shal’s office will return to
investigate Wednesday,
Dec. 12.
No one was hurt and the
cause is still undetermined,
Smith said.
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Left: People in the Tire Barn parking lot watch a structure fire at
Bradford Street and Industrial Boulevard while Gainesville Fire and
Hall County Fire put it out Above: A Gainesville firefighter gives a
thumbs-up while working a structure fire at Bradford Street and
Industrial Boulevard on Tuesday, Dec. 11.
JUST
■ Continued from 1A
perceive themselves.
Most of those who come into “Just” People’s
embrace have experienced their own success
story. For Dowling, she will never forget the man
who she found behind her thrift store.
When she first discovered him, he was curled
up in the back of a truck. Dowling said the man
had been dropped off on Roswell Road after com
ing out of foster care.
She took him into “Just” People and he now is
married and works full-time.
Kevin Dowling, co-founder of “Just” People
and Becky’s husband, said the nonprofit first
began with 15 rented apartments in 1995. After
the couple received negative remarks from those
at the complex, they decided to build their own
apartments.
The two sold their home to finance a portion
of the project, moved into a houseboat on Lake
Lanier and built the nonprofit’s first 53 apart
ments in Roswell. They later expanded the hous
ing and bought 30 townhomes in Gwinnett County.
Kevin Dowling said throughout his time with
his wife, she has taught him two valuable lessons.
“One is, they’re not broke, we don’t fix them,”
he said. “Number 2 is just because they’re dis
abled, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve nice
things.”
Ray Brennan came out to Tuesday’s grand
opening to show his support for not only “Just”
People, but his children who will soon move into
the Flowery Branch Village.
Brennan has held a close relationship with the
Dowlings for more than 25 years. Having tried
myriad programs for adults with developmen
tal disabilities, he found that “Just” People truly
treats its residents like family.
“Whenever anybody asked me years ago what I
think about it, I always say to drive up there unan
nounced and what you’ll see is a bunch of people
having a good time, enjoying life,” Brennan said.
RIDE
■ Continued from 1A
to comment.
Cavedon, a Hall County
assistant public defender,
is now representing Smith
pro bono on this civil case
which he called “funda
mentally unfair.”
“I think that we have
public safeguards and a
political process in place to
ensure that the public is a
part of what kind of funding
(law enforcement agencies)
receive, rather than letting
officers on the ground and
the district attorney’s office
make those calls for peo
ple,” Cavedon said.
During a hearing Mon
day, Dec. 10, regarding
the potential discovery in
the case, Assistant District
Attorney Jennifer Bagwell
raised an objection to Cave
don being involved in the
case because he is a public
defender.
Addressing the issue,
Cavedon said he would
ensure the case would not
be “using any county time
or salaried time to do this.”
“I think that it is unfair
that he would be left with
either trying to defend him
self or finding somebody
who would be cost-efficient,
even over a $3,000 moped
while he’s paying the costs
of rehab.
“I don’t think a man like
Mr. Smith would otherwise
have an attorney,” Cavedon
said.
The public defender’s
office represented Smith
on the underlying drug pos
session charge, for which
Smith was given three years
of probation and 50 hours of
community service.
In the discovery for
this case, Cavedon said he
would seek the evidence
the state has against Smith,
the decision-making pro
cess on forfeiture cases and
what is purchased with the
proceeds.
He is also requesting a
jury trial.
“I think again that when
rights like this are on the
line, it should be ordinary
people from the community
that look and are the judges
of this,” Cavedon said.
