About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 2019)
Save up to $271 COUPONS INSIDE Community holds golf tourney for man who survived West Nile virus. OUR REGION, 1C SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2019 | $2.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com East Hall’s Banks enjoys when the pressure is on. SPORTS, 1B Honestly Local Marshal’s captain quit amid complaints County looks to move forward after investigation cites mismanagement, ‘bullying’ employees BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Capt. Andre Niles, who resigned Aug. 9 from lead ing the Hall County Marshal’s Office, said during an investi gation into his behavior that his leadership style was “not a martini or a margarita” but rather a “straight shot of whiskey.” That leadership style made some employees feel uncom fortable or intimidated, one of whom filed a formal, writ ten complaint about a hostile work environment created by leaders who were “bullying” employees and treating them unequally. That complaint kicked off an internal affairs investigation, completed by the Hall County Sheriffs Office at the request of the county’s human resources department and obtained in a written report by The Times, in which employees of the office said Niles ran personal errands with employees during the workday, gave inconsistent instructions and then berated employees publicly, made derogatory statements about women’s appearances and used derogatory nicknames for county administration, including “Pissy Pants” and “Gobble, Gobble,” in front of subordinates. The original complaint was filed July 4 following an ■ Please see NILES, 5A Niles HUNGER IN HALL Hie tough decisions Parents share stories of hardship in feeding a family BY LAYNE SALIBA lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com The Gills used to take their kids to Dunkin’ as a reward after a good week at school. The kids would get a dough nut or a drink and they’d all enjoy it as they sat around and ate. That doesn’t happen now. The Gills sometimes aren’t sure of how they’re going to afford groceries for the coming week. “Dunkin’ was their reward,” said Janine, the mother of the family. “We don’t have no rewards for them now. We can’t because we don’t have the money to give them rewards. I mean, it’s hard.” When things are really hard, Janine’s husband Rob ert said he will sometimes go without a meal. If he doesn’t go completely without food, he’ll at least eat much less than the rest of the family just to make sure they get their fill first. “What I’ll do is I’ll make enough for her and the four kids,” Robert said. “I’ll wait until they’re done eating and ask if they’re done and then I’ll finish what they eat. That way, it’s not going to waste and we’re all eating.” After paying for the roof over their head, the fam ily often has to weigh what in their life is second most important — the phone bill, car insurance, payments on their storage locker or food. “Do I take this $20 and put it in the car for gas or do I go buy food for my kids?” Rob ert said. “I’m going to buy food for my kids. I can walk to work. I’ve done it before.” ■ Please see FAMILY, 6A SCOTT ROGERS I The Times The Gills are a hardworking family. Both Robert and Janine work to support their children, but they still find it hard to put food on the table at times because of different circumstances. Food insecurity spans community BY LAYNE SALIBA lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com Monica Newton can’t help but picture each of her patients sitting in front of her when she thinks about food insecurity. It’s a struggle that affects one out of every 13 peo ple in Hall County, according to Feeding America. At 8% in the most recent data available, Hall’s food insecurity rate is in line with most of North Georgia’s counties. It’s not as bad as some counties in middle Georgia and parts of southwest Georgia, which range anywhere from 15% to 27%. Food insecurity is a struggle Newton said spans “the cross section of our community.” “It’s there, it just hasn’t reached the level of atten tion I think it probably needs to,” said Newton, chair of primary and urgent care for Northeast Georgia Physicians Group and a program director for fam ily medicine residency at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. “I think we’ve relegated it to something that ■ Please see HUNGER, 7A Many agencies combating hunger BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Private and public resources abound in Hall County to help residents cope with food insecurity. And as Mary Alice Swope, who runs the South Hall Community Food Pantry in Oakwood, has dis covered, those services often intersect. “There’s quite a lot of paths that people take,” she said. Many residents learn about her center, which is behind the city’s swimming pool on the Oakwood First United Methodist Church campus, through the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. Hall County has dozens of such pantries. Many are based at an organization, such as church. Other organizations, such as the Georgia Moun tain Food Bank, have a mobile pantry, while others are sponsored by a group, said Beth Oropeza, direc tor of The United Way of Hall County’s Compass Center. The Compass Center is a general resource center helping people find the right services and providers. ■ Please see HELP, 4A INSIDE WEATHER 2A DEATHS 2C 0 40901 06825 Advice 1E Business 1D Calendar 2A Classified 2D Comics Inside Kitchen 8C Life 6C Lottery 2A Opinion 8A Our Region 1C Sports 1B Fun+Games 1E High Low 91 67 Lake Lanier level: 1,069.34 feet Full pool 1,070. Down 0.07 feet in 24 hours Robert Gumm, 79 Geneva Wynne, 81 Willa Gardner, 81 Julie Anderson, 72 Millie Chumbler Michael Davis, 61 Donald Creed, 89 Candace Cordelia, 68 Gus Baker, 64 Lemuel Pruitt, 82 Wayne Wiggins, 84 ^ Northeast Georgia PHYSICIANS GROUP stay in the game Black & Blue Clinic | Walk-in Treatment for Athletes 770-848-6190 I ngpg.org/black-blue-clinic
