—; _
Area seniors prepare for annual
FCA East-West Classic.
SPORTS, 1B
(The (times
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2018 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Artist uses nature’s ‘oddities’ as
her medium, life, sb
Honestly Local
Ponderosa Farm gets OK, with changes
CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN
Controversial subdivision approved, but density, number of lots reduced
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
With some changes to the design,
a hotly contested subdivision in
South Hall was reduced in density
and number of homes Thursday
night by the Hall County Board of
Commissioners.
The commission voted unani
mously Dec. 13 to approve the
development on 121 acres at L J
Martin Drive and Ponderosa Farm
Road in the Chestnut Mountain
community.
Tweaks pushed by Commis
sioner Kathy Cooper included
cutting out a rear part of the
subdivision and adding another
entrance. They took the number
of homes down to 230 from 279 and
the density to 1.89 homes per acre
from 2.3 homes per acre.
“Is that acceptable?” Commis
sion Chairman Richard Higgins
asked Brian Rochester, a Gaines
ville engineer representing the
property owner, Doug Magnus.
“Yes,” Rochester said.
After the meeting, Mark Skelton,
one of the vocal opponents to the
project, said, “It’s not everything
we wanted — we were hoping for
larger setbacks between houses
— but we did achieve some con
cessions and are thankful to the
commission for that. ”
Another resident had a different
takeaway.
“Nobody happy,” Mike McCo
nnell said in an email. “Magnus
lost profit from 49 houses and
we still get a very high-density
subdivision.”
Residents — many of whom
wore bright red shirts as a show of
unity — gave a litany of concerns
in comments to the commission,
but a couple of the main issues
were density and that the develop
ment didn’t seem to fit the charac
ter of otherwise rural area.
“We’re in one of the most rural
parts that’s left,” said Jane Range,
a Gainesville lawyer retained by
some homeowners in the area.
“I refer to Hall County as my
home and formerly rural county,
because it is changing. But it
doesn’t need to change this much,
this abruptly.”
■ Please see PONDEROSA, 9A
AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Kevin Jones, line cook and manager at Sliced,
prepares a pizza during the soft opening of Sliced’s
Gainesville location on Thursday, Dec. 13. This is the
third location of Sliced with the other two located in
Commerce and Hoschton.
New pizza place
fires up ovens
BY KELSEY RICHARDSON
krichardson@gainesvilletimes.com
The smell of fresh pizza drifted down Riverside
Drive as Sliced fired up its ovens and opened its doors
for business on Thursday.
Jeremy Green and Josh Tedder, co-owners of the
business, signed the lease for the former Little Italy on
Aug. 23. Gainesville will be their third Sliced location.
“At first we just opened a pizza shop, and then it
got to the point where we needed more,” Green said.
“Sliced is our little baby and we get to eat the best
pizza every day.”
Best friends since the
third grade, Green and
Tedder found it only nat
ural to team up as busi
ness partners.
They opened their
first Sliced in Hoschton
around three years ago,
then launched a second
restaurant a year later in
Commerce.
Green left Biba’s Ital
ian Restaurant in Gaines
ville after 10 years, and since then he has kept his eyes
open to start another business in town.
“I’ve always wanted to come back,” he said.
“There’s a community feel here, which is different
and we like that.”
When entering Sliced in Gainesville, customers are
met with industrial lighting, a handwritten menu on
the wall and rustic wooden tables. During the warmer
months the front garage window of the restaurant will
open up, filtering in fresh air and sunlight.
Straying away from traditional Italian restaurants,
Green said his aim is to impart a modern vibe.
He hopes to create a local hangout spot, where fam
ilies can feel at ease and eat quality pizza.
Green, who has 23 years of chef experience, said
the menu focuses on doing one thing well: pizza.
“We found out over time that if you’re trying to do
■ Please see PIZZA, 8A
Sliced
What: Pizza restaurant
Where: former Little
Italy building, 990
Riverside Drive,
Gainesville; also
Commerce and
Hoschton locations
Open: For lunch and
dinner
More info:
slicedhoschton.com
SCOn ROGERS I The Times
Gov. Nathan Deal attends the annual Eggs & Issues breakfast Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Lanier Technical College conference
center.
Legislators discuss priorities at
annual Eggs and Issues event
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
Hall County’s delegation in the Geor
gia General Assembly fielded questions
from a crowd of about 600 on health
care, technology, education and other
issues Thursday morning at the new
Lanier Technical College campus.
The Greater Hall Chamber of Com
merce’s Eggs and Issues event is an
annual tradition. It was the Ramsey
Conference Center’s first major event
since Lanier Tech moved to its new
campus off of Ga. 365 earlier this
month.
State Representatives Matt Dubnik,
Emory Dunahoo and Lee Hawkins,
all Gainesville Republicans, attended
Thursday, along with State Senators
Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, and John
Wilkinson, R-Toccoa.
State Rep. Timothy Barr, R-Law-
renceville, whose district includes a
portion of Hall County, was unable to
attend Thursday.
With Deal’s time as governor coming
to an end and the next legislative ses
sion set to begin on Jan. 14, legislators
discussed their priorities moving for
ward and how statewide issues connect
to people at home in Hall.
Funding for public schools
Tax exemptions, particularly for
seniors, have started debate in Hall
over the past year, as schools look to fill
the funding gap. Legislators discussed
how schools could be funded and how
exemptions play a role.
They agreed that education funding
should be a priority, and it is a compli
cated issue.
“I don’t think there’s any one answer.
I think we’re going to have to continue
to depend on property taxes, sales
taxes, possibly new sources of revenue
as we move forward,” Wilkinson said.
Miller said education is tied to qual
ity of life, and having well-funded
schools can ensure that families want
to stay in Hall County and in Georgia.
“We want this to be a place where
they can educate their children, where
they can have a good quality of life,
and I think in order to do that, we have
to support our schools,” Miller said.
“Every time there’s an exemption,
someone else has to pay a little more.”
The legislators said they were also
concerned about the burden on seniors
who have retired, and they want to find
a way to fund schools without worsen
ing seniors’ financial struggles.
“I think we have to come up with
a 1 percent or 1.5 percent where we
can charge and everybody pays, not
■ Please see EGGS, 8A
DAWSON COUNTY
Breaking badminton: Deputies playing instead of patrolling
BY ALLIE DEAN
adean@dawsonnews.com
Dawson County patrol officers
served up a little more than they
were trained to early Wednesday
when they entered the local mid
dle school and struck up a game
of badminton, leaving the county
without any patrol officers on the
roads.
Dawson County Sheriff Jeff
Johnson said Dec. 12 that he had
received a report from Dawson
County Schools of inappropriate
behavior by patrol officers who
were on duty early that morning.
Johnson said all five members
of the patrol shift met at Dawson
County Middle School at approxi
mately 2 a.m. Dec. 12 to conduct
building clearing exercises, and
that before conducting the train
ing, officers began to play badmin
ton in the gym while waiting for all
of the officers to arrive.
He said that when the final offi
cer arrived, the group did not go
directly to the drill but continued
playing. The game lasted approxi
mately 35 minutes, Johnson said.
The officers are issued indi
vidual key cards to access Dawson
County Schools buildings for secu
rity reasons.
Johnson said Patrol Commander
Capt. Matt Hester has conducted
interviews with each of the offi
cers involved and that disciplinary
action is forthcoming.
He has not released the names of
the officers involved, but said the
shift members ranged from the
shift supervisor to a new hire.
Johnson said he did not know if
Hester was aware the officers were
planning the training exercise.
“They were assigned the night
■ Please see BADMINTON, 8A
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Lake Lanier level: 1,070.92 feet
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James Marlowe, 86
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Herman Dover, 87
Thelma Gary, 77
Junior Ledford, 76
Harry McCampbell, 91
Barbara Miller, 84
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