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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20,2018 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Legislators prioritize school safety
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvillletimes.com
With new federal and state
reports on school security now pub
lic, Georgia lawmakers are looking
to spotlight measures in 2019 to
address the safety of students and
faculty on campuses.
“School safety will be a very
high priority, and rightfully so,”
Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville,
said. “We’ve seen violence and
death and destruction in school set
tings as a national trend. ”
President Donald Trump’s
school safety commission on Tues
day made recommendations in
a report that lays out dozens of
suggestions to improve safety in
America’s schools.
Trump created the commission
in March following a Parkland,
Fla., school shooting that killed 17
students and staff members.
The report covers areas ranging
from mental health and cyberbul-
lying to the regulation of guns and
violent video games. On the ques
tion of whether schools should arm
teachers and other employees, the
panel said it should be left to states
and schools to decide, but the panel
noted that schools can use
certain federal grants for
firearms training.
“Our conclusions in
this report do not impose
one-size-fits-all solutions
for everyone every
where,” Education Sec
retary Betsy DeVos said
in a call with reporters.
“Local problems need local solu
tions. This report seeks to identify
options that policymakers should
explore.”
Along with DeVos,
the safety commission
includes leaders of the
departments of Justice,
Health and Human Ser
vices and Homeland Secu
rity. They issued their
findings after more than
a dozen meetings with
teachers, parents, students,
mental health experts, police and
survivors of school shootings.
■ Please see SAFETY, 8A
State lawmakers to highlight security measures in ’19
Miller
‘It’s a close-knit family’
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Officers salute while the casket carrying Flores’ remains is placed in a hearse on Wednesday, Dec. 19, during a memorial
service for Edgar Flores, a DeKalb County officer killed in the line of duty.
Police, family mourn loss of officer Edgar Flores at memorial
Industrial park
development
could start in
spring 2019
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Development of Gateway Village, a 522-acre indus
trial park off Ga. 365 in northeast Hall County, could
begin by late spring.
“We plan to start the grading and putting in the
infrastructure for the project (by then),” said Jona
than Collins of Gainesville-based Capstone Property
Group, which is developing Gateway, on Wednesday,
Dec. 19.
The project can move forward now that the Hall
County Board of Commissioners gave its rezoning
approval Thursday, Dec. 13, for all but about 4 acres.
The remaining acres are expected to come up for
approval in early 2019.
Some residents expressed some concerns at the
commission meeting, including potential lighting,
noise and traffic issues caused by the development.
■ Please see INDUSTRIAL, 8A
GAINESVILLE
School board
seeks influence
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
Officers from around North
Georgia came together Wednes
day, Dec. 19, to show their sup
port for DeKalb Police Officer
Edgar Flores, who was fatally
shot Dec. 13 in the line of duty.
“We’re doing the best we can
under these circumstances.
It’s a close-knit family,”
said DeKalb Police Maj. KD
Johnson.
A memorial was held
Wednesday at Prince of Peace
Catholic Church in Flowery
Branch, as the man had connec
tions to Hall and Habersham
counties.
At roughly age 15, Flores
began working for Jaemor
Farms in Alto. Jaemor’s Drew
Echols on Friday remembered
Flores telling him of his dream
to be a police officer.
Echols recalled he was a
happy and hard worker at the
farm.
Law enforcement formed
a procession Dec. 15 to bring
Flores’ body to Habersham
County, a spectacle that brought
a “renewed faith in people
respecting law enforcement”
for Habersham County EMS
Director Chad Black.
“What really touched me out
of everything was seeing the
citizens from Saturday stop
ping on (Interstates) 85 and
285 and getting out of their car,
■ Please see FLORES, 8A
DeKalb County Officer Tim Lewis adjusts his badge
and band honoring Edgar Flores, a DeKalb County
officer killed in the line of duty.
on tax district
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
The Gainesville Board of Education is discouraging
construction of any multi-family developments within
a newly established tax allocation district on the west
side of the city.
This focus could help the school system manage
enrollment growth, which is already pushing offi
cials to consider constructing a second middle or high
school in the years to come.
Annexations into the city, coupled with years of
strong residential and commercial growth, has grown
enrollment at both Gainesville middle and high
schools higher than 1,800.
“We as a school system, for the last 15 years,
we’ve reacted to annexation and the growth of the
city, sometimes without having a seat at the table,”
■ Please see SCHOOL, 8A
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