Newspaper Page Text
Gainesville graduate Will Maddox
works toward major league call-up.
SPORTS, 1B
Ctititattrffljpmiation
Life of
WWII
veteran
to be
celebrated
in Flowery
Branch.
LIFE, 4B
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26,2018 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Honestly Local
Syfan expansion could wrap by Feb.
Business hopes to staff at least 500 workers in next 2 years
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Jim Syfan knows about moving
trucks on the road, but he’s also
shown his hand lately in moving
desks.
The expansion of Gainesville-
based Syfan Logistics at 2037 Old
Candler Road has been largely a
reconfiguration of available space,
with employees moving from one
work area to another while the old
area gets enlarged.
“I tell (employees) it’s all an
adventure,” Syfan said.
It’s all part of Syfan’s plan to add
19,000 square feet to 12,000-square-
foot corporate offices in the build
ing, which is off Queen City Park-
way/Ga. 60 at Interstate 985.
“We outgrew what we had, so
we’re spending about $3.5 million
(on the project),” Syfan said during
a visit last week to the business.
The project also includes an
expanded fitness room for employ
ees. And Syfan has added an out
side elevator to especially target
disabled veterans as employees.
Employees will get adjustable
desks allowing them to stand or sit
as they work.
“I expect it will be the first week
in February before everything is
done,” Syfan said.
He hopes to have a grand
reopening ceremony in March.
Syfan Logistics also is hoping to
add workers. Now at 351 employ
ees, “I want 500 within the next
two years, probably the next year, ”
Syfan said. “We are growing so
fast.”
A second expansion is already
being considered.
The overall building size is
45,000 square feet, housing several
company operations in addition to
Syfan Logistics.
“We can keep on growing, and
we’ve got 50 more acres,” Syfan
■ Please see SYFAN, 6A
AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Workers assemble furniture as a part of the expansion taking place at
Syfan Logistics on Thursday, Dec. 20.
Its one big family’
AUSTIN STEELE I The Times
Nicole Whitefield, a resident at Kingdom Harvest shelter for the past month, comforts a fellow resident, Wondra
Waldon, on Tuesday, Dec. 25. Waldon says she feels sad this time of year because she misses being with her family.
Christmas a time of hope, humility for area homeless
JOSHUA SILAVENT I The Times
More than 70 homeless men, women and children gathered at The Way, a day
center and mission for the homeless in midtown Gainesville, for a Christmas
lunch on Tuesday, Dec. 25.
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
Dozens of homeless men, women
and children in Gainesville came to
the manger that is The Way to eat on
Christmas Day.
Though this manger is not the birth
place of Christ the Savior, of course,
it is a place of everyday rebirth for
those who squeezed into the mission’s
mess hallzz in midtown.
Jerry Deyton, pastor of The Way,
said he recognized faces of those who
come for breakfast or lunch six days
a week, and those who visit as a mat
ter of last resort.
“At least every one of you has been
here one time to eat,” he said before
blessing the meal. “We’ve been here
going on six years, and we haven’t
missed a meal yet.”
For many of Gainesville’s home
less, local shelters were a source of
hope and cheer on Christmas.
“It’s a special day,” said Kelly, who
has been on and off the streets for
several years as he works in poultry
plants and other labor-intensive jobs.
“We get to come in and sit down and
enjoy Christmas, because we can’t be
with our families.”
On the other side of the city, David
Trent, pastor of Kingdom Harvest
World Ministry, reflected on the fam
ily that his ministry had created for
dozens of homeless women and chil
dren since opening in a mostly empty
■ Please see HOMELESS, 6A
‘It’s gave me peace. I have a home. I don’t have to worry about what I’m
going to eat, where I’m going to sleep.’
Nicole
at Kingdom Harvest World Ministry
Retired police
captain wants to
commemorate
chief killed in 1890
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
On a Christmas Day nearly 130 years ago, Gaines
ville Police Chief William Jones Kittrell responded to
the train depot near what is now Industrial Boulevard
to assist one of his officers.
The officer, Henry Towery, responded about 4 p.m.
Dec. 25,1890, to a domestic dispute near the train depot
and saw a woman threatening a man and his children.
When the woman was told she was under arrest, she
resisted by holding on to a fence, according to research
by retired Gainesville Police Capt. Chad White.
The woman’s father arrived — armed — to inquire
about his daughter’s arrest.
When the assisting Kittrell told the father and
daughter to stop, the man fired his pistol at the police
■ Please see KITTRELL, 6A
For The Times
Retired Gainesville Police Capt. Chad White intends
to ask the City Council for a memorial to former police
chief William Kittrell, who was killed in the line of duty
on Christmas Day in 1890.
Where you can recycle
your Christmas tree
Hall County is again participating in the “Bring One
for the Chipper” program, recycling undecorated
Christmas trees for free after the holiday is over.
The event, which lasts from Dec. 26 to Jan. 6, is part
of a statewide tree recycling program.
Hall County’s 12 compactor sites and the Hall
County Landfill will be participating. Trees will be
mulched, and then residents can pick up free mulch
at the county landfill Monday through Friday from 8
a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting.
Artificial trees are not accepted, and all decora
tions need to be removed before the trees are handed
over for recycling.
Gainesville city residents can leave their trees
curbside for pickup, and Oakwood residents can drop
their trees at the corner of Allen and Railroad streets.
■ Please see TREE, 6A
□
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WEATHER 2A
High Low
w 54 41
Lake Lanier level: 1,070.79 feet
Full pool 1,071. No change in 24 hours
DEATHS 7A
John Barnett, 60
Patricia Gilleland, 75
Bevis Simmons, 83
Nesta Taylor, 86
