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Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief
770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Saturday, December 15, 2018
•L3 OUR REGION
Want free Arby’s for a year? Head
to new Braselton location Monday
BY KELSEY RICHARDSON
krichardson@
gainesvilletimes.com
People in Braselton can
soon satisfy their roast beef
cravings because Arby’s
will finally arrive Monday,
Dec. 17.
Make sure to visit early
because once the restaurant
opens its doors at 10 a.m.,
the first 50 guests will be
rewarded with free Arby’s
food for a year.
As a part of the restaurant’s
Give Back Program, Arby’s
will donate the purchase
price of every kids meal sold
to Duncan Creek Elementary
School. This fundraiser will
continue throughout its first
month of operation.
The new Arby’s will employ
30 staff members. The restau
rant will keep its dining room
open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
daily, and its drive-thru open
from 10 a.m. to midnight.
The restaurant is located at
2620 Old Winder Highway in
Braselton.
Police say suspects in Flowery Branch
excavator theft caught in Rabun County
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
Two men accused of stealing
a Caterpillar skid steer exca
vator from a Flowery Branch
construction site were caught in
Rabun County allegedly attempt
ing a similar theft, police said.
Flowery Branch Police were
looking for two suspects who took the
construction machine Dec. 4 from a site
on Sterling on the Lake.
Police later found
the skid steer, which
looks like a small bull
dozer, behind a house
on Amber Cove Way in
Flowery Branch.
Rabun County
authorities arrested and
charged Brett Crissey,
39, of Flowery Branch,
and Kelley Hosch, 38, of Buford, on
Wednesday, Dec. 12, after the two were
“attempting to steal another excavator,”
said Flowery Branch Police
Investigator Robin Kemp.
Crissey’s address is on Amber
Cove Way.
Crissey and Hosch were
charged with felony theft by tak
ing and possession with intent to
distribute methamphetamine,
and both remain at the Rabun
County Jail.
Kemp said there are additional war
rants for felony theft by taking for the
Flowery Branch excavator.
Crissey
Hosch
Photos for The Times
A view up Main Street toward the square after the 1936 tornado.
Kayaks kick up spray as they head for the finish line in the
1996 Olympics at Lake Lanier.
BIRTHDAY
■ Continued from 1A
feet above sea level.
Lake Lanier Islands Devel
opment Authority was cre
ated as a state agency to
“plan, develop and operate
four islands in the southern
portion of Lake Sidney Lanier
for resort and recreation pur
poses and to enhance the
tourism potential of North
Georgia.”
In 1974, Pinelsle Resort
opened and would go on
to host a number of major
events, including a stop on
the Ladies Professional Golf
Association tour.
In the mid-1990s the author
ity signed an agreement with
the private company, KSL
Lake Lanier, Inc., to operate
the islands.
More than a decade later,
the family of Gwinnett
County businessman, Virgil
Williams, took over as the
new management.
In January 2018, the family
announced it would keep the
primary lease on the resort,
handling the hospitality side,
while subleasing to Safe Har
bor Development and Mar-
garitaville Holdings.
Poultry capital
of the world
Gainesville didn’t receive
the title of “Poultry Capital
of the World” just from rais
ing broiler chickens. It’s the
epicenter of many varied seg
ments of the poultry industry,
both state and nationwide.
“The poultry industry is
the heart and backbone of
the economy in Gainesville
and Hall County,” said Abit
Massey, president emeritus
of the Georgia Poultry Fed
eration. “The commercial
industry began at the time of
World War II and has contin
ued to grow and to make and
keep this area as the ‘Poultry
Capital of the World.’”
One of the main individuals
responsible for catalyzing the
poultry industry is Jesse D.
Jewell.
He opened his first hatch
ery in 1940, and soon after
ward progressed into creating
the vertical integration model
that revolutionized the poul
try industry.
Famous figures
Since Hall signed the Dec
laration of Independence and
became the state’s first gover
nor, the county has produced
more political leaders on the
local, state and national level.
Two of these notable names
include Allen Daniel Candler,
Georgia’s 54th governor, and
Gov. Nathan Deal.
Making history as one of
the only doctors who served
the area’s African-American
community during the days
of segregation, E.E. Butler
arrived in Gainesville in 1936.
“At the time, he was the
only black physician in
Gainesville,” said James
Brooks, member of the
Gainesville-Hall County
Black History Society and the
Men’s Progressive Club. “He
really cared about the black
community.”
Known for his time as
president of Brenau Univer
sity from 1985 to 2005, John
S. “Jack” Burd contributed
advancements in the univer
sity’s arts and music. Brenau’s
performing arts center is
named after him.
Emily Dunlap “Sissy” Law-
son became Gainesville’s
first female mayor in 1992.
Lawson won the Rotary Club
of Gainesville’s Woman of
the Year Award in 2017 and
received the Girl Scouts of
Northeast Georgia’s Gaines
ville Woman of Distinction.
During the late 1800s, Gaines
ville was the home of former
Confederate Gen. James
Longstreet, who was second
in command to Gen. Robert
E. Lee. He served as the city’s
postmaster, opened the Pied
mont Hotel and started the
area’s first Catholic congrega
tion, now St. Michael Catholic
Church.
He additionally joined the
Republican Party and fought
for the civil rights of former
slaves.
Longstreet apologized, “in
effect, for what the Confed
eracy stood for and what it
fought for,” said Glen Kyle,
Northeast Georgia History
Center executive director.
History of health care
Hall County’s first access to
a hospital was from the home
of Dr. James Downey in 1908.
Downey Hospital was on
South Sycamore Street before
moving to today’s location on
E.E. Butler Parkway.
One of Downey’s well-
known inventions includes
the “fracture table,” which
allowed broken limbs to be set
at an angle, so people could
recover from a wheelchair.
Before this tool, pulleys and
weights were used to set frac
tures, which forced patients to
lie on their backs while their
limbs healed.
In 1951, the 90-bed Hall
County Hospital first opened
with 14 physicians and staff.
It later became Northeast
Georgia Medical Center in
1976. The Northeast Georgia
Health System now has hospi
tals in Gainesville, Braselton
and Winder.
Tornado that killed
hundreds
Panic engulfed Gainesville
as a tornado tore through
town on April 6,1936.
When the skies finally
cleared, more than 200 peo
ple were estimated dead,
and more than 1,000 injured.
Hundreds of businesses were
affected, leading to around
$13 million in damages.
After listening to the story
of survivors, Kyle said a cer
tain “spirit of ‘36” prevented
a place like Gainesville from
crumbling over the tragedy.
“That would have killed a
lot of communities,” he said.
“That would have been it, but
it didn’t because everyone
came together.”
Within the next 36 hours the
citizens cleared the streets.
Because this occurred dur
ing President Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s New Deal, the
city received federal funds
to rebuild new housing and
infrastructure.
Three days after the tor
nado, Roosevelt stopped at
the train station, promising to
help revitalize Gainesville. He
returned on March 23,1938.
“I urge you to work for the
good of the whole people and
the whole nation,” the presi
dent said. “We need that spirit
in Gainesville today — and
throughout the nation.”
FLORES
■ Continued from 1A
Courtesy of Shelly Echols I Jaemor Farms
Edgar Flores, second from left, poses for a photo with fellow employees at Jaemor Farms. Flores
worked at Jaemor for several years prior to becoming a DeKalb County police officer. Flores was
killed in the line of duty this week.
The shooting set off a mas
sive manhunt for his alleged
shooter involving county SWAT
officers and a police dog.
Taylor was eventually found
hiding near a pile of tires
behind a business on Candler
Road, about a block away
from the initial traffic stop,
GBI spokeswoman Natalie
Ammons said Friday.
“When confronted, Taylor
fired his weapon, striking the
K9,” Ammons said in a news
release. “Three DKPD SWAT
officers fired at Taylor. Taylor
was taken to Grady Memorial
Hospital where he was pro
nounced deceased.”
The police dog, a 7-year-
old named Indi, was taken to
a local veterinarian for treat
ment and rushed into sur
gery. He was stable Friday,
Ammons said.
The GBI is conducting an
investigation into the deadly
shooting.
Flores was the fifth Georgia
officer killed in the line of duty
this year, and the 30th DeKalb
police officer to be killed on
the job. The last DeKalb offi
cer killed in the line of duty
was Master Patrol Officer
Kevin Jermaine Toatley, who
died in a car crash on Sept. 19,
2015.
Governor-elect Brian Kemp
tweeted his condolences for
the officer, saying, “We are
forever grateful for his service
and sacrifice. Our prayers are
with those who mourn.”
Tribune News Service
contributed to this report.
GBI forensic
testing leads
to rape suspect
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Gainesville man is accused of sexually assault
ing a woman at an October 2017 party in Gainesville,
according to authorities.
Jose Alfredo Vital, 20, was charged with rape and
aggravated sodomy.
Hall County Sheriff’s Office
investigators received Georgia
Bureau of Investigation forensic
test results stemming from an Oct.
22,2017, reported rape. The results
led the investigators to obtain war
rants for Vital, who is accused of
assaulting a 21-year-old woman at
the party on Poplar Springs Road.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman
Derreck Booth said Vital and the woman were
acquainted with one another.
Vital was booked Friday, Dec. 14, in to the Hall
County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
The case is still under investigation.
ASK THE
TIMES
From Times staff reports
Why are people
receiving mail at
7 p.m, or later?
If you’ve been wondering about something
in your community, Ask The Times is your
place to get answers. The following question
was submitted by a reader and answered
through the efforts of our news staff.
Why are we receiving our mail at 7 p.m. or
during the night?
Rick Badie, communications program spe
cialist for the United States Postal Service,
responded in an email that the post office
in Gainesville recognizes the importance of
timely, consistent and accurate deliveries to
its customers.
“During December, our busiest time of the
year, the Postal Service has been expanding
deliveries to earlier in the morning and later
in the evening to ensure customers receive
mail at the earliest date possible,” he wrote.
Share your thoughts, news tips and questions
with The Times:
■ news@gainesvilletimes.com
■ facebook.com/gainesvilletimes
■ @gtimes
PRINCIPAL
■ Continued from 1A
instructional coach for K-5 students, before moving
into leadership in 2013 as the assistant principal of
Lanier Elementary.
“I always felt the need that there was more,”
Scheman said. “I wanted to keep leading. And lead
others to help students.”
When the Lula role became available after Princi
pal Theresa London announced earlier this fall that
she would be leaving the school district, Scheman
said she reached out to her mentors, colleagues and
administrative officials to express interest.
“One of my goals was to be a principal,” Scheman
said.
And she wanted to achieve that goal here locally.
“I love Hall County and I don’t ever want to leave,”
Scheman said.
Scheman said her first few days on the job this
month have largely been spent trying to commit to
memory the names and faces of students, their fami
lies, teachers and staff.
It’s a challenge that fits her naturally.
“I’m a talker, ” Scheman said. “I love working with
people.”
Her husband, Nick, an assistant principal and
Advanced Placement coordinator at Chestatee High,
jokes that the two could travel anywhere in the world
and she’ll find someone to chat up, Scheman said.
When she became assistant principal at
Lanier, Scheman’s peers went from colleagues to
subordinates.
All of the sudden, she was thrust into a position of
evaluating those with whom she had been working
alongside, and that could be difficult, Scheman said.
But the challenge now is much different.
“I knew absolutely nobody coming in,” Scheman
said about Lula. “And they didn’t know me.”
But she’s been “impressed” with the welcoming
she’s received, “like I’ve always been here. The com
munity has been fabulous.”
And the newness of it all, despite her experience
shifting gears, is still a challenge.
For example, she has to wake up earlier now. And
her commute went from a minute or two to 45 min
utes solid.
But she arrives each morning at 6:30 a.m. sharp
to greet students and their families, Scheman said.
“I am who I am,” she added. “I live to see the
kids every day. I’m not going to change. I’m going
to blend.”
Scheman said that desire to blend includes con
necting and partnering with the wider East Hall
region.
Students from Lula typically matriculate to East
Hall middle and high schools.
The elementary school is the hub of a “tight knit”
Lula community, Scheman said, and making sure it
continues to serve that mission is essential.
Scheman said she is planning to host a meet-and-
greet night with students’ families soon so that they
“get to know me on a more personal level.”
“I’m here to serve and lead,” she added.
