About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2020)
Region tournament seeding up for grabs on final night of basketball regular season, sporis,™ FRIDAY, JANUARY 31,2020 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local Fully open Exit 14 sits at key spot SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Orange barrels are removed from the Exit 14 ramp Thursday, Jan. 30, as the long-awaited bridge opens for traffic. City officials believe interchange will draw developers BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Exit 14 is finally open — all parts of it, including the once-troubled bridge spanning Interstate 985 in South Hall. The overpass and all entrance and exit ramps were opened by 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, as crews removed orange-and-white construction barrels. The $34 million interchange connects Martin Road at Falcons Parkway/Ga. 13 on the east side of 1-985 to H.F. Reed Industrial Park way at Thurmon Tanner Parkway on the west side. The new exit sits on the Flowery Branch-Oakwood border. Construction of the interchange seemed well on track until early 2019, when three of four spans on the overpass’ concrete driving sur face failed strength tests. The interchange partially opened Sept. 3, with motorists only able to use entrance and exit ramps. “We do think the new inter change will not only improve exist ing traffic flow for all, but will also be a stimulus for more develop ment in the H.F. Reed Industrial Parkway and Thurmon Tanner Parkway corridors,” Oakwood City Manager Stan Brown said. Flowery Branch Mayor Mike Miller said he believes develop ers will see the interchange “as a prime piece of real estate.” “Obviously, we hope it will bring some good development to the city limits and South Hall area,” he said. “At this point, no one has expressed any specific inter est in anything. We’ve had some questions about it but nothing on paper.” ■ Please see EXIT, 5A Deputy remembers his K9 partner Above, below: Dustin Cleveland’s personal photos of his time with his K9 Journey. Photos courtesy Dustin Cleveland Explosive-detecting dog dies of lymphoma week after retirement Senate race bill returned for rework Associated Press Georgia’s rules might not be changing after all for a special U.S. Senate election featuring appointed incumbent Kelly Loeffler, U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, the Rev. Raphael Warnock and others. Current law holds that all candidates, Repub lican and Democrat, would run against each other on the November ballot, with a January runoff if no one wins a majority. House Bill 757 would change Georgia law to require primary elections to determine each party’s nominees ahead of the special election. On Thursday, the rules committee decided it needs more work. The measure backed by House Speaker ■ Please see SENATE, 5A Central Park 5 man to share story at UNG BY KELSEY P0D0 kpodo@gainesvilletimes.com BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Five years ago at a North Carolina kennel, Deputy Dustin Cleveland and others were testing five dogs over the course of two days. That process whittled the field down to two options, but Journey was the one who ended up coming home as Cleveland’s partner. “He had the highest drive of all of them. He would push through anything to find explosives,” Cleveland said of Journey. Apparently Journey, who was named by a trainer with an affinity for 80s rock bands, didn’t stop believing. The 7-year-old English lab became a beloved member of the Sheriff’s Office team, working locally and in areas across the state as an explo sive-detecting dog. Journey died Jan. 23, one week after his retirement reception. “I feel like the entire time, the five years, we pushed every opportunity we had. We made the most of it,” Cleve land said. ■ Please see JOURNEY, 5A One wrongful conviction left Yusef Salaam serving nearly seven years in a juvenile detention facility. He was one of five teenag ers, four black and one Latino, who became known as the Central Park Five. Salaam will share his story and answer questions as the keynote speaking during Black History Month at the University of North Georgia. He will visit from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wednes day, Feb. 5, in the Robinson Ballroom at UNG’s Gainesville campus. The event is open to the public. Robert Robinson, director of multicultural stu dent affairs at UNG, said he hopes Salaam’s talk ■ Please see HISTORY, 6A Salaam 40901 06835 INSIDE Advice Business Calendar Classified Comics 5B 3B 2A 7B 6B Life Lottery Opinion Sports 4B 2A 4A 1B TV/puzzles 5B WEATHER 2A High Low 43 38 Lake Lanier level: 1,071.00 feet Full pool 1,071. Down 0.04 feet in 24 hours DEATHS 6A Dianne Brown, 69 Rickey Edwards, 59 Mattie Hulsey, 85 Joan Jackson, 90 Brenda Mance, 69 Ronald Rogers, 69 Thomas Richardson Jr., 61 Barbara Smith, 88 Corine Teasley, 75 Barbara Whittington, 72 HULSEY PLUMBING PLUMBING RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL -B SEPTIC Call us! We’ll be there! 770-536-1161 ***** WATER HEATERS DRAINS www.HulseyPlumbing.com SINCE
