About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2020)
LOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Saturday, February 22, 2020 7A Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Operations Director at Georgia Mountain Food Bank Steven Mueller wheels a cart of food items to a Habitat For Humanity Hall County new home opening Friday, Feb. 21, in the Copper Glen subdivision. HOME Jeremy and Sandy Roberts thank everyone attending their Habitat For Humanity of Hall County new home reveal Friday, Feb. 21, in the Copper Glen subdivision. ■ Continued from 1A that he could on the house. It was a family effort. ” As members of Habitat and other community sup porters revealed the home to the Roberts on Friday, emo tions ran high. Jeremy Rob erts embraced his daughter Katelyn, as her eyes welled with tears. “Words cannot convey what this means to me,” Jeremy Roberts said. “It’s a place for our kids to call home. I have immense pride and accomplishment in building this house. ” Alison McElvery, Habitat’s executive director, took the time to thank “the village” that tackled this home proj ect. Some of the supporters included 12 Stone Church, The Jackson EMC Founda tion, The Home Depot Foun dation, Kings Hawaiian, Roofing Resources of Geor gia, The Junior League of Gainesville-Hall County and other community partners. “This is such an amazing day, not only for Habitat, but for the Roberts family,” McElvery said. “We really thank each of you for being here from the bottom of our hearts.” Habitat For Humanity Hall County opens a home in the Copper Glenn subdivision Friday, Feb. 21, for the Roberts family of six. m . (||| . JRk | a. Erl Se foiml Four arrested in $42K marijuana investigation BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Hall County authorities seized roughly 2.5 pounds of synthetic marijuana worth about $42,000 and arrested four people over the course of three days, Lt. Don Scalia said. The Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad arrested three people Tuesday, Feb. 18 at a residence in the 2000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Gainesville. Kareem Amon Bishop, 36, Deric Leon Whitaker Jr., 22, and Tiara Kani- sha Cobb, 24, all of Gainesville, were charged with possession of synthetic marijuana with the intent to distribute. “The suspects were found in posses sion of approximately one pound of synthetic marijuana, chemicals and materials related to the manufacture of synthetic marijuana, protective chemi cal masks, digital scales, packaging materials, a money-counting machine, and other drug related objects,” Scalia said in a news release. Two days later, officers arrested Roos evelt Bishop, 35, of Gainesville, during a traffic stop in Gainesville. Scalia said Roosevelt Bishop had about 1.5 pounds of synthetic marijuana, a “container of (an) unlabeled liquid sub stance” and digital scales. Scalia said the unlabeled liquid will be sent off for testing. Roosevelt Bishop was charged with possession of synthetic marijuana with the intent to distribute. He, Kareem Bishop and Whitaker were also charged with possession of drug-related objects. Kareem Bishop also had a warrant out of Dawson County. Financing in place for upgrades to downtown Flowery Branch BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Financing for $5.5 million in down town Flowery Branch improvements appears in place, as the Gainesville-Hall County Development Authority voted Friday, Feb. 21, to approve issuing bonds for the effort. The loan extends through 2039, with a total repayment of $6.9 million. With Flowery Branch’s high credit rating, the interest rate through the term will be less than 2%, authority lawyer Tread Syfan said at the meeting. The city’s tax allocation district fund ing will pay for the bonds, but prop erty taxes will serve as the emergency back-up. A tax allocation district is an area where, when property is developed, property taxes go up, but amounts go into a TAD account and reinvested in public improvements. Friday’s action follows the Flowery Branch City Council’s approval Thurs day, Feb. 20, of financing terms for the efforts. The city is planning to build a park ing area, farmer’s market pavilion and a park off Pine Street across from City Hall. TAD funding was approved by the City Council in November 2018 in an applica tion between the city and Atlanta-based The Residential Group, which is building 15 apartments and 7,700 square feet of ground level retail on Main Street. Some of the $5 million will offset demolition and construction costs for the project. The Residential Group project, which is on property where the old City Hall stood, between Railroad Avenue and Church Street, could wrap up by Oct. 31, City Manager Bill Andrew has said. Lane closures set Feb. 24-28 for Browns Bridge work at Forsyth line Single-lane closures are planned next week on Browns Bridge Road/Ga. 369 at the Browns Bridge replacement project at the Hall-Forsyth County line. The closures are set for 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily Monday through Friday, Feb. 24-28. Weather permitting, crews will pour a concrete wall and offload steel bridge beams, according to the Georgia Depart ment of Transportation. The $28 million project, which involves demolition of the old bridge, is set to be completed in April. Jeff Gill ON SALE NOW! One price, Six tickets $150 reserves two tickets to each of the three concerts below Reserve your tickets today by calling Leah Nelson at 770-535-6330 METROMARKETmedia TU, EVENT! pnwFRFn RY- ®fi( (umes KUWbKbU bY. gainesvilletimes.com 2020 Concert Michael Combs March 21 Baillie and the Boys April 17 John Berry July 25 All Concerts are held at The Venue at Friendship Springs 7340 Friendship Springs Blvd. • Flowery Branch, 30542 Concert Series is sponsored by: Chastain Insurance \ Lanier Carts and Outdoor For information on becoming a sponsor, contact Megan Lewis at mlewis@gainesvilletimes.com. VOTE NOW THROUGH THE 24TH VOTING FOR OUR TEACHER OF THE MONTH CONTEST IS NOW OPEN. Be sure to give a shout-out to your favorite teacher. You can vote once per day. The selected teacher will receive a plaque and $200 in school supplies. Winner will be recognized in The Times. VOTE TODAY AT WWW.CAI N ES VILLETIM ES.COM/TEACH E R
