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I2J OUR REGION
Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief
770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Pair dispute arrests after dog killed
Mother, daughter deny allegations over incident with school bus driver
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson
©gainesvilletimes.com
Alyce Black, 78, of Gaines
ville, said she would set her
watch to make sure her dog,
Petey, was not in the street
when the Hall County school
bus ran its normal route on
Parker Trail.
But the school was on a
two-hour delay, Dec. 11, and
the 10-pound dog was report
edly “accidentally struck
and killed” by a bus driver,
according to the Hall County
Sheriffs Office.
“The school bus hit him,
and it threw him up on the
curb,” said Kadee
Shermer, Black’s
daughter.
Lt. Scott Ware said
that later the same
day, about 4:20 p.m.
in the 2700 block of
Northlake Road,
the school bus was
blocked by Sherm-
er’s and Black’s
vehicles, but Shermer said
the driver had pulled up near
her vehicle.
Shermer said she pulled
over because another dog
was potentially in danger,
and other drivers were able
to pass on the road.
“I asked him, ‘Why did you
murder our
dog and not
even stop
to tell us?”
Shermer
asked.
The
driver radi
oed the bus
shop, which
in turn
requested law enforcement,
and a deputy responded to
the scene.
After the deputy’s investi
gation, warrants were issued
charging Shermer and Black
with disorderly conduct and
disruption/interference with
the operation of a public
school bus. The two
went voluntarily to
the Hall County Jail
on a later date and
posted bond.
But Black and
Shermer, 58, dispute
the Sheriff’s Office’s
allegation of “yell
ing, cursing and
banging on the bus.”
“I wouldn’t have ever
banged on anything because
I have arthritis in my hands
and I have long beautiful
nails,” Shermer said.
Black called the informa
tion released by the Hall
County Sheriff’s Office a
“lie.”
“You will never
find anybody in the
state of Georgia who
will ever say to you
that I have cursed at
a person. My vocabu
lary is large enough.
I don’t need to do
that,” Black said.
Hall County
Schools spokesman
Gordon Higgins wrote in an
email: “When I shared the
Sheriff’s Office media release
on the series of events that
led to the arrest with Clay
Hobbs, our director of trans
portation, he reported that
the details were consistent
with what had been reported
to him.”
Black and
Shermer claimed
others have com
plained about the
bus driver’s perfor
mance, but Higgins
said there were no
complaints in the
driver’s file.
Shermer said she
and Black were planning to
retain an attorney.
Nine students onboard the
bus at the time of the incident
were dropped off at their
homes roughly 30-40 minutes
later than normal, Ware said.
No one was injured during
the incident.
Black
Shermer
Petey
SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Cali mobile Boutique Bus owner JayDe Ramos arrives at West Hall High Tuesday, Dec. 18, to set up for faculty and staff
members and parents to browse the bus filled with women’s fashions to raise money for the school’s volleyball program.
BOUTIQUE
■ Continued from 1A
unfavorable weather.
Ramos said she owes most of the
remodeling credit of the bus to her
husband. Taking a shuttle bus, he
revamped it in a way that would
accommodate crowds of people.
Ramos said she never imagined
owning her own boutique. She worked
as a model for five years, which
exposed her to the fashion industry.
Frustrated with the inconsistency of
her jobs, she opened the online store
in 2014. Ramos said 99 percent of her
items are made in the U.S. She designs
most of the store’s graphic tops and
makes its embroidered hats. All of the
boutique’s jewelry is made by local
artists.
The Boutique Bus caters to a range
of ages, from teenagers to senior
citizens. Ramos also provides sizes
extending up to 3XL.
“Everything I buy has to speak to
me,” she said. “There needs to be
something about it. I wanted a well-
rounded store where anyone could
come in and find something.”
The bus parked outside of West Hall
High on Tuesday, Dec. 18, welcoming
eager groups of teachers and school
staff.
Like a teal beacon, women were
drawn to the bus throughout the day,
eyes widening as they entered its spa
cious quarters.
Samantha Alverson, media clerk at
the high school, said she was skeptical
about the size of the bus. To her sur
prise, the little bus opened up into a
roomy and organized store.
“I’m so excited,” Alverson said. “It’s
such a cute idea. I was wondering how
it would all be set up.”
Despite its size, the shop is even
equipped with a changing room.
When Ramos parks the bus at a
school or an event, she always donates
a portion of her sales to the host’s
selected cause. After leaving West
Hall High on Tuesday, she donated
20 percent of the day’s sales to the
school’s volleyball team.
Over the past two weeks, Ramos
said she has raised $1,000 for schools
in Hall County.
For private parties, she gives the
host a percentage back in “bus bucks,”
which can be used to purchase more
of the boutique’s items.
She is currently looking for more
organizations and groups to benefit
with fundraisers.
For those interested in reaching
Ramos or hosting The Boutique Bus,
they can email her at hello@shopcali-
boutique.com or visit theboutiquebus.
com.
Authorities: Man tried to meet child
after sexual messages on phone app
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson
@gainesvilletimes.com
A Blue Ridge man allegedly tried to
meet a child after conversations of a
“sexual nature” through a mobile app,
according to authorities.
Hall County Sheriff’s Office officials
said Sidney Wayne Phillips, 25, started
contacting “an individual he knew to be
a child” through a mobile application
Nov. 9.
“During the messaging, Phil
lips turned the conversation to
a sexual nature and requested
to move the communication to
text message.
During the continuing con
versation, Phillips asked the
individual to meet him for sex
ual interaction,” Hall County
Sheriff’s Office spokesman
Derreck Booth wrote in a news
release.
Phillips
Phillips allegedly agreed to a meeting
the next day at a Hall County
business, but the Blue Ridge
man never arrived, Booth said.
Detectives determined Phil
lips’ identity and charged him
with sexual exploitation of
children.
He was booked Dec. 14 in to
the Hall County Jail, where he
remains without bond.
Booth said no child was ever
in danger, and the case is still under
investigation.
Officials ID man crushed while repairing semi-truck
BY PIERCE W. HUFF
phuff@gainesvilletimes.com
The Gainesville man who was
crushed by a truck Sunday was killed
while doing brake repairs.
Jose Parras, 47, was working under
neath his semi in front of his house
in the 7300 block of Berry Hill Drive
when the vehicle rolled forward,
according to the Hall County Sheriff’s
Office.
There was no trailer attached to the
truck at the time of the incident.
The Sheriff’s Office stated that a
preliminary investigation showed the
semi was unoccupied at the time of the
incident.
A witness told deputies that Parras
asked him for a tool to work on the
brakes when the semi started to roll.
The witness, who was unable to stop
the truck, ran inside the home to call
911 after the incident occurred.
The case remains under investiga
tion by the Sheriff’s Office Criminal
Investigations Division.
CHIEF
■ Continued from 1A
you have a strong leader such as Chief
Martin, that that respect that is shown
all the way from the top down is evident
to our community,” Couvillon said. “I
have no doubt, Jay, that you are going
to step in to those shoes and still have
that respect from your peers. ”
Parrish said his first priorities as
chief will be assuring the department
again receives accreditation from the
Commission on Accreditation for Law
Enforcement Agencies. He will also
stay busy starting the job during the
city’s budget season to prepare for the
next fiscal year.
Parrish and his wife Katie have two
children. He is a graduate of North Hall
High School and North Georgia College
and State University. He also served in
the United States Marine Corps Reserve
for six years.
PILCHER
■ Continued from 1A
other concerns.
She spoke out in Novem
ber when Oakwood City
Council was considering a
107-unit townhome complex
off McEver and Flat Creek
roads.
The density of 9 units per
acre “may be a little higher
than what we would want to
consider,” Pilcher told the
council.
More recently, she spoke
out when the planning board
was considering a 279-lot sub
division at the intersection of
LJ Martin Drive and Ponder-
osa Farm Road in South Hall.
“For us to keep taking our
land and making it (planned
residential developments) is
a misuse of what we have in
the south end,” Gina Pilcher
said. “We need to start to slow
that growth to the point where
we can maintain some of our
ruralness.”
On a more political front,
Pilcher lost in May to Mark
Pettitt in a bid for the Repub
lican nomination for the Hall
County school board race to
represent Post 2 in South Hall.
Recent community experi
ences aren’t all that Pilcher
will lean on as she moves into
her new role.
“My background is in
architecture ... and I’ve been
in the construction business
for (about) 30 years,” she said.
Homelessness
on the rise, but
down in Georgia
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
A federal report released this week estimates that
552,800 people were homeless across the United States
in 2018, up by about 2,000 from 2017, with about 9,500 in
Georgia alone.
The latest figures come as state officials and local
nonprofit agencies prepare to conduct a biannual home
less count in Hall County and Northeast Georgia Jan. 28
through Feb. 3.
More info
To learn more about
assisting with Georgia’s
homeless count in Hall,
Habersham or White
Counties between
Jan. 28 and Feb. 3,
email Michael Fisher,
housing and program
planner for Ninth District
Opportunity, at michael.
fisher@ndocsbg.org
Ninth District Oppor
tunity will be the lead
agency conducting the
“point-in-time” count in
Hall, Habersham and
White counties, utilizing
a mobile application to
survey both sheltered
and unsheltered home
less individuals and
families.
“Preparations are now
underway recruiting
partner agencies to join in this most important project,”
Michael Fisher, housing and program planner for Ninth
District, said in an email to The Times.
There were 123 homeless individuals tallied in the
2017 count, but this almost certainly is an underestimate.
Advocates say some chronically homeless people
choose not to be counted, for example, or may have tem
porary housing during the count.
Fisher said the “goal is to contact representatives
from local agencies, churches, and law enforcement who
have interaction or knowledge of homeless individuals
or encampments. This information will take us to these
locations and include these individuals in the count.”
Fisher added that outreach would be conducted by
word of mouth, through online social channels and other
media, and training will be available for volunteers who
want to participate in the homeless count.
Outreach will be conducted at local missions, daycare
centers, food banks, public libraries and other places or
providers that homeless individuals and families access
for service.
Fisher said the state Department of Community
Affairs “is seeking to have a more concentrated effort
on this (count), with more hands-on training and specific
direction from the previous project. In doing so, the hope
is to improve the data, which should reflect a more con
sistent and accurate count of individuals and families in
crisis.”
In recent years, local agencies have focused on con
necting the homeless with supportive housing, health,
educational and job services.
The count directly impacts funding for housing and
counseling programs, and promotes education and
outreach.
Nationwide, the overall increase in homelessness this
year was driven by a 2 percent rise in the unsheltered
homeless population—those living in vehicles, tents and
on the streets — along with 4,000 people in emergency
shelters after hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters,
according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
This year marked the second consecutive increase
after seven straight years of declines, according to the
2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress
released this week.
However, the numbers of homeless veterans and fami
lies continued their long-term declines.
And the numbers in Georgia are falling, too.
For example, Georgia saw the fifth largest decrease
in homelessness last year of any state, falling 6.6 percent
from 2017, and has experienced the third largest drop,
at 51.6 percent or more than 10,000 persons, since 2007.
Georgia also saw a 64 percent decrease in homeless
families since 2007, one of the nation’s largest, with more
than 4,500 fewer considered sheltered or unsheltered.
But Georgia did have the fifth largest number of peo
ple in its most rural areas experiencing homelessness,
according to the federal report.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson said on a conference call
with reporters Monday that no one should be declaring
victory over homelessness despite decreases in certain
cities and states.
“We still have a long way to go even though there’s
been significant progress,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Lula to install new street
lighting along Main Street
Downtown Lula will be getting a little brighter.
The Lula City Council unanimously voted on Monday
to install four new street lights on Main Street through
downtown, going from the Cobb Street intersection, near
Lula Grocery and Amanda’s Farm to Fork, to the Athens
Street intersection, near Lula Veterans Park.
The improvements will cost the city about $72 a
month.
City Manager Dennis Bergin said Monday the public
may not realize how expensive street lights can be. The
city spends about $27,000 annually.
Megan Reed
