About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2018)
L2J OUR REGION Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief 770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Thursday, December 13, 2018 4.4 quake, aftershock felt in Georgia BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck eastern Tennessee early Wednesday morning and could be felt in Northeast Georgia and metro Atlanta, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The light earthquake occurred about 4:15 a.m., and was centered about 7 miles northeast of Deca tur, Tenn., a city northeast of Chat tanooga and about a three-hour drive from Gainesville. About 15 minutes later, a 3.3 magnitude aftershock struck. On one social media thread shared with The Times, residents of Hall County and their friends said they were momentarily per plexed by the tremor. “This morning’s earthquake woke me up,” Arturo Adame, who lives in East Hall, said on Face- book. “I felt my house shake” for about six to eight seconds. Adame thought that, perhaps, a family member in his home had started the washer. Or was it just the trash truck rumbling past? “It’s funny, when you’re in ‘dan ger’ in the comfort of your own warm bed, you don’t fear death,” Adame said. “I was just like, ‘I guess this is my time, I’m not get ting up.’” Adame’s friend, Erin Parks, had a similar reaction, she said. “At first, I thought it was my dogs scratching and bumping against the bed,” Parks said. “Then when it registered to me, I was like, ‘Oh, OK. I’m going back to sleep.’” With an LOL, Parks added, “If it’s not strong enough to cancel work, it’s not strong enough to get out of bed for.” There didn’t appear to be any immediate reports of injuries, according to the Associated Press, but people definitely felt it. Emergency 911 dispatchers in Tennessee said some people reported their beds shaking and dishes rattling. The Tennessee Valley Author ity said engineers were inspecting the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant as a precaution, but the facility didn’t appear to be affected and was con tinuing to operate safely. It turns out that, according to the USGS, the Eastern Tennessee seis mic zone is one of the most active earthquake areas in the entire Southeast. The zone extends across parts of Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. And with that in mind, Hall resident Diana Vela-Martinez summed up the sentiments of those who slept through the whole thing. “I’m more concerned about the fact that everyone felt this earth quake ... and I didn’t,” she said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. NICK WATSON I The Times Sgt. Ryan Daly shows off the in-car terminal inside a Hall County Sheriff’s Office patrol car Monday Dec. 10. The move to a new records management system has made the system easier for Daly and other officers. SYSTEM ■ Continued from 1A difference. It’s amazing how you scan a couple things, push a couple buttons — I don’t even have to pull out a pen,” Daly said. When Daly or any other officer makes an arrest and is headed to the jail, the person can be pre-booked and entered into a book ing queue. By the time the detainee arrives at the Bar ber Road jail, everything is ready for processing. Clerical training coor dinator David Kelley said it can double the output in terms of people moving through booking. “It’s a much faster, streamlined version of what we used to do, where every thing had to be entered by hand, piece by piece,” he said. While some staff at the courthouse have experi enced trouble in November during the switch between systems, McCusker and oth ers worked on training and improving access for court house employees needing certain information. As of Dec. 5, McCusker and others created access for more than 100 users at the courthouse into the new system. “Anytime there’s a conversion, there will be a learning curve,” Hall County Management Infor mation Systems Director James Thomas said in a statement. “That is why we are taking our time, working out bugs, hold ing frequent meetings to evaluate our progress, and above all, making sure that citizen safety is never compromised.” Thomas said in a news release he believes the systems “will become completely integrated into county operations dur ing the first few months of 2019,” with all speed bumps being smoothed out by then. At the jail, Sgt. Jeff Ash ley said a good amount of human error has been removed from the system, including a feature that keeps members of rival gangs separated. “When it goes time for the classification process and I’m going to place (an inmate) in housing, that pod location doesn’t even become available for me to even put that inmate in the same pod,” he said. Without having to run around to several different departments, Kelley can generate reports all from his laptop that were previ ously not possible. “There’s a lot of reports in here that help me see how efficiently we’re run ning, clearly stating how many we’ve booked today, how many we booked yes terday, same time last year, month to date, year to date,” he said. FIRE ■ Continued from 1A to get to the bottom of it. Payne is leading the investigation with three of the Gainesville Fire Department’s investigators. “It’s going to be kind of difficult to conduct the investigation because there’s so much metal and wood,” Smith said. “Once they do the investiga tion, then they’ll put the pieces together. It could be several days, or unable to determine.” Only yards away, the staff at Tire Barn Tire Pros witnessed the blaze unfold. Jack Payne, co owner of the business, said after spotting the fire it only took around 30 minutes for the building to burn to the ground. He said the Tire Barn employees avoided walking outside because the heat from the fire was unbearable. Despite the raging fire that took place next door, customers weren’t deterred from getting their tires and oil changed Tuesday. “Business was normal, we just had a little extra action going,” Payne said. A crew from ATT works to repair lines Wednesday, Dec. 12, damaged by Tuesday’s fire in a vacant building on Bradford Street. The building was a complete loss in the blaze. SCOn ROGERS The Times Law office on Green Street has safe stolen BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A safe was stolen from a Green Street law office after a break-in, police said. The burglary was reported at 403 Green St., which houses Gillsville Law and Ibrahim & Rao, happening between 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9 and 7:05 a.m. Sun day, Dec. 10. Gainesville Police Sgt. Kevin Holbrook said a small safe with $500 was reported missing. “The report states the office door (was) forced open with some type of tool or item,” Holbrook wrote in an email. Attorney Inez Grant said no case material was missing. No suspects are listed. Authorities find $20,000 in drugs in Baldwin home BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A North Georgia drug task force found roughly $20,000 in methamphetamine and marijuana at a Bald win home Wednesday, Dec. 12. The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office executed a search warrant at a Hubert Harris Road home following six months of investigation. “Authorities seized 6 ounces of methamphetamine, 5 ounces of marijuana, a handgun and $1,660,” Geor gia Bureau of Investigation Assistant Special Agent in Charge J. Michael Marlar wrote in an email. The estimated street value of the drugs is $20,000. John Mark Sims, 52, was arrested and charged with trafficking methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of marijuana. He was transported to the Habersham County Deten tion Center. FLOWERY BRANCH Police on lookout for construction equipment thieves BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletime.com Two people stole a Caterpillar skidsteer construction machine last week in Flowery Branch, police said. Flowery Branch Police are asking for help finding the suspects in the theft Dec. 4 at a construction site at Sterling on the Lake. Police found the skidsteer, which looks like a small bulldozer, behind a house on Amber Cove Way in Flow ery Branch. “In reviewing security video from the Shell Conve nience Store located at Spout Springs Road and Capi- tola Farm Road, we identified two suspects in a later model black Chevrolet Sienna 2500 pickup truck pulling a trailer,” Investigator Robin Kemp wrote in an email. Anyone with information is asked to call Kemp at 770-967-6336. PORT BRUNCH ■ Continued from 1A ■ Continued from 1A “We didn’t want to get out ahead of the announcement by the governor,” Syfan said of Wednesday’s vote. The project was announced earlier this year, but state officials, including Gov. Nathan Deal, touted and gave more details about the project at a gathering with area business and gov ernment leaders Dec. 3 at Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport in Gainesville. Construction is expected to start in August 2019 along a long, thin strip of land next to Norfolk Southern railroad lines. The port will serve the Interstate 85 region of Georgia, “an important (area) for the production of heavy equipment, food and forest products,” Deal said at the Dec. 3 meeting. It could eventually employ up to 20 people but “will also act as an economic development tool, drawing new invest ment from business and industry to Hall and its surrounding counties,” the gov ernor said. 12:30 p.m. on Sundays. The “brunch bill” only applies to restaurants, not grocery stores. Braselton Town Manager Jennifer Scott said the Braselton Town Council approved a new ordinance to adjust sales times in November. The rules have been in effect since then, she said. Oakwood followed suit on Monday, tweaking its alcohol ordi nance to reflect voters’ November approval of earlier Sunday sales. Oakwood City Manager Stan Brown told the Oakwood City Council Monday that the cities and the county “are looking at the implementation date” of Feb. 3. “We’re just trying to eliminate confusion between different jurisdictions,” he said. The Gainesville City Council will vote on the changes on Jan. 8, with earlier Sunday sales also starting on Feb. 3, city spokes woman Nikki Perry said. Feb. 3 will also be the first Sunday with early sales in Flow ery Branch, and the City Council there will hold two readings of the new ordinance on Jan. 3 and 17. The Council will vote on Jan. 17, according to City Clerk Melissa McCain. The Hall County Board of Commissioners will hold two pub lic hearings on Jan. 10 and 24, voting on Jan. 24. The county will have the same effective date as other areas, with Feb. 3 being the first Sunday affected by the change. Staff writer Jeff Gill contributed to this report. Ga. 53 bridgework may cause delays Dawsonville Highway drivers may encounter some nighttime delays as they cross the eastbound bridge over the Chattahoochee River. S & D Industrial Painting of Florida is starting a project to paint the bridge’s steel structure and replace the joints, with work taking place nightly from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. The project, which may reduce the bridge to one lane overnight, is expected to be completed in mid-January, weather permitting. A similar “bridge preservation” project is planned to start in 2019 on the southbound Thompson Bridge Road bridge over the Chattahoochee River. The overall work will cost $1.2 million, according to the DOT. Compiled from a Georgia Department of Transportation press release Rabid raccoon located in Murrayville; 7th case A rabies case has been reported in North Hall. There was contact between a rabid raccoon and a dog in the 5800 block of Bark Camp Road in Murrayville. Hall County Animal Control learned Tuesday that the raccoon, which had been shipped to the Georgia Public Health Lab in Decatur, tested positive for rabies. Positive alert signs will be posted in the area where the raccoon was found. People in the area who see an animal acting abnormally are advised to contact Hall County Animal Services at 770-531-6830 or during non-working hours call Hall County Dispatch at 770-536-8812. Rabies vaccines are available at the Hall County Animal Shelter for $10 Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 1688 Barber Road in Gainesville. This is the seventh confirmed case of rabies in Hall County in 2018. Compiled from Hall County Government press release
