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Athlete of the week:
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2018 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Tasty home cooking to go from
the side of the road. life,4b
Honestly Local
School board member arrested for DUI
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
AND NICK WATSON
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com,
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A representative-elect for the
Hall County Board of Education
was arrested on a driving under the
influence charge on Saturday, Dec.
15.
Mark Pettitt, 26, who will replace
retiring board member Brian Sloan
as the board’s South Hall represen
tative in January, was stopped near
the intersection of EE Butler and
Jesse Jewell parkways about 2 a.m.,
according to arrest logs.
“After a traffic stop, it
was determined that he
was impaired by alcohol
to the extent that he was a
less safe driver,” according
to the Gainesville Police
report.
He was also charged with
failure to maintain lane.
Pettitt was released later
that day from the Hall County Jail.
“I regret to share with you that I
was charged with driving under the
influence this past Saturday,” Pettitt
acknowledged in a Facebook post
on Monday afternoon, Dec.
17. “While I plan to defend
this accusation, I want to
convey my respect for law
enforcement and the rule
of law.”
Pettitt’s attorney, Gra
ham McKinnon, asked that
his client be allowed to be
“innocent until proven
guilty.”
McKinnon said Pettitt has an
arraignment date set for Feb. 11.
In May, The Times published
a story with Pettitt acknowledg
ing that he had received a boating
under the influence citation in For
syth County in February 2017.
He pleaded guilty on a misde
meanor BUI charge in the fall of
2017 and served probation until this
November.
The issue became politically
charged in the Republican primary
for the school board post represent
ing South Hall.
Pettitt’s opponent, Gina London
Pilcher, said at the time that school
board members have to be held to
a higher standard, and while she
didn’t “really care to comment
about that because his personal life
is his personal life... I do, however,
think someone that represents the
school board should not be in that
situation.”
Pettitt said then that the incident
was behind him “and it doesn’t
mean I’m not the better candidate
with the better ideas on how to run
the school system.”
In his Facebook post Monday,
Pettitt said, “I realize the people of
Hall County deserve the best from
their public servants and I look for
ward to resolving this matter in a
way that will restore your trust in
me.”
Pettitt
Gainesville Panda Express opens
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Panda Express customer April Kastner picks up food orders for friends from server Mariela Prieto on Monday, Dec. 17, at
the new restaurant at Gainesville Towne Center off of Browns Ridge Road.
DeKalb County Police Department
DeKalb County Police Officer Edgar Isidro Flores. Flores
was gunned down after a traffic stop and foot chase
east of Atlanta, Thursday, Dec. 13.
Fallen officer’s
funeral service
to close 1-985
NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
New location reaches beyond food to nurture, develop staff
BY KELSEY RICHARDSON
krichardson
@gainesvilletimes.com
Forget driving to Daw-
sonville or the Mall of Geor
gia to get your fix of orange
chicken — Panda Express
has arrived in Gainesville.
The fast-casual restau
rant is located at 1500
Browns Ridge Road in the
Gainesville Towne Center.
During its soft-opening
Thursday, Dec. 14, people
trickled into the restaurant
and then quickly spread
word of the place’s launch.
Chris Dang, the Gaines
ville location’s general man
ager, said the place became
engulfed with customers on
Saturday.
“Chinese food is a com
fort food, so what better
way to celebrate comfort
food than with your family
and friends,” he said.
Besides satisfying cus
tomers with chow mein,
fried rice and an assortment
of glazed meat options,
Dang said Panda Express
seeks to enhance the quality
of life for its staff and those
in the community.
He explained the mis
sion of Panda Express,
stating that its goal is to
become recognized as a
world leader in “people
development.”
Dang said people devel
opment involves helping
staff advance in the restau
rant industry or whatever
■ Please see PANDA, 6A
Panda Express server Ensly Chan takes customers’ orders
Monday, Dec. 17, as the new restaurant opens to hungry
customers at Gainesville Towne Center off Browns Ridge
Road.
Interstate 985 will be closed part of Tuesday and
Wednesday in connection with funeral services for
DeKalb County police officer Edgar Isidro Flores.
A funeral service is planned for 11 a.m. on Tuesday
at All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody.
The exit 12 on-ramp for Interstate 985 northbound
will be shut down around 12:30-1 p.m. that day, and
no traffic can access the interstate as the procession
passes through Flowery Branch, according to Flowery
Branch Police.
A funeral service will be held at Prince of Peace
Catholic Church in Flowery Branch at 11 a.m. on
Wednesday. The off-ramps for 1-985 northbound and
southbound will be closed to all traffic between 8:30
and 9 a.m.
“In addition, the intersections at Stonebridge Vil
lage Shopping Center and Hog Mountain Road at Spout
Springs Road will also be closed to allow (the) proces
sion to pass through,” according to a Flowery Branch
Police Facebook post.
The Hog Mountain Road and Spout Springs Road
intersection will be closed for roughly 30 minutes when
the service concludes around 1 p.m. Wednesday. Inter
ment at Yonah Memorial Gardens will follow the Flow
ery Branch funeral service.
■ Please see OFFICER, 6A
Nursing school gets go-ahead for new buildings in Oakwood
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
North Georgia Nursing Acad
emy is planning to add up to
two new buildings off Southland
Drive in Oakwood.
The school got the Oak-
wood Planning Commission’s
approval Monday, Dec. 17, to
reduce setback requirements,
a move that would allow con
struction on the nearly 4-acre
tract.
The property is in the Fair
ground Business Center off
Atlanta Highway/Ga. 13.
The school at 3616 South
land Drive was founded in 2012
and offers several health care
programs, including medical
assistant, nursing assistant and
emergency medical technician.
A 5,150-square-foot building
is planned on Oakly Avenue,
a short street jutting off South
land Drive and ending in a cul-
de-sac, according to a map of
the property.
The now-vacant property sits
just north of an existing building
used by the school.
The map also shows space for
a 7,275-square-foot addition. A
large part of the property will
be used for parking.
The project would mark near
build-out of Fairground Busi
ness Center, which is west of
Wallis Road and across from
Cresthill Drive.
The park has a mixture of
commercial buildings, includ
ing restaurants.
Buford-based Versa-Gard
recently proposed building a
15,000-square-foot plant there
that makes sneeze guards, the
see-through shields that protect
food in restaurant buffet lines
from germ-carrying patrons.
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North
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Nursing
Academy
plans on
building a
new school
on this
property off
Southland
Drive in
Oakwood.
JEFF GILL
The Times
0
40901 06835 8
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