Ga. high court upholds canceling
of judicial election, insider
Friday, May 15,20201 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Kemp, state officials to visit Hall
Lawmakers to
Gov. Brian Kemp and other
state officials will visit Hall
County Friday, May 15, as part of
state efforts to address the coun
ty’s status as a COVID-19 hot spot.
Kemp will be joined by Agricul
ture Commissioner Gary Black
and Insurance and Safety Fire
Commissioner John King at an
11 a.m. tour of Fieldale Farms’
Gainesville facility.
Then, Kemp and King will visit
address COVID-19 response
La Flor de Jalisco at 425 Atlanta
Highway, where free testing for
the virus will be held from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Friday. Kemp and King
are scheduled to be at the testing
site at 1 p.m.
Kemp and King will end the
visit with a 1:45 p.m. tour of the
temporary medical unit installed
near the North Tower of North
east Georgia Medical Center
Gainesville. The 20-bed unit, pro
vided by the state, will be staffed
by Jackson Healthcare, a Georgia
company that has partnered with
the state and helps health sys
tems with staffing needs. About
100 medical professionals will be
working there.
The Times will have full cov
erage of the state officials’ visit
online Friday and in Saturday’s
print edition.
Megan Reed
Gov. Brian Kemp
wears a mask
and urged fellow
citizens to do the
same after touring
the temporary
medical pod that
has been placed
at the Phoebe
North Campus of
Phoebe Putney
Health System on
Tuesday, May 5, in
Albany, Ga.
CURTIS COMPTON
Associated Press
Pinnacle Bank adding
new branch in Gainesville
SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Pinnacle Bank is opening its third Hall County location across from Panera Bread at the intersection of Shallowford Road and
Dawsonville Highway on the former site of a gas station/convenience store.
Building underway on Dawsonville Highway will replace
A Pinnacle Bank is being built at 545 Dawsonville Highway in
Gainesville, replacing a longtime Citgo gas station/convenience
store.
The nearly 2,500-square-foot bank is off Shallowford Road and
across from Panera Bread restaurant.
With two other branches in Gainesville, “we’re looking to
expand our market share there,” President David Voyles said.
Pinnacle, based in Elberton, currently has 20 branches in the
region.
Construction started in January. The bank, with 5-6 employees,
hopes to open in early August, Voyles said.
Jeff GUI
Schools plan
for graduation
in age of virus
BY NATHAN BERG
nberg@gainesvilletimes.com
Over the next couple of weeks, hundreds of
students around Hall County will receive their
high school diplomas. Commencement ceremo
nies will look different from other years, but
area schools are doing what they can to make
sure the class of 2020 is sent off in memorable
fashion while still adhering to social distancing
recommendations.
Cherokee Bluff
Date: 8:30 p.m. May 23
Cherokee Bluff’s graduation ceremony
began earlier this week. The school spent
Monday through Wednesday bringing seniors
and their families into the school one group at
a time to walk across the stage in the school’s
theater and receive their diplomas. Each walk
was recorded on video, as were speeches from
■ Please see GRADUATION, 3A
Gainesville plans to roll back
general fund millage rate
Gainesville officials plan to propose a budget
with a rolled back general fund millage rate,
City Manager Bryan Lackey said Thursday.
The current general fund millage rate is .771
mills. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 in
assessed value.
The rollback rate would reflect the average
amount a city property owner would need to see
in order to avoid having to pay a higher rate due
to a higher assessed property value.
The city’s fiscal year restarts July 1. Lackey
will present the budget at the May 28 Gaines
ville City Council work session, and the council
will hold a public hearing on the budget June 2
before voting on June 16.
The budget presentation will be live streamed
on the city government’s Facebook page at 9
a.m. Thursday, May 28.
Megan Reed
Healthy aging center to hold virtual town hall for seniors
‘Were hoping that community members in
our region will consider this their opportunity
to listen to experts and ask questions.’
Pamela Elfenbein, director, Center for Healthy Aging
BY NATHAN BERG
nberg@gainesvilletimes.com
Older adults seeking information
related to COVID-19 will have the
perfect opportunity to ask questions
next week. On Tuesday, May 19, at
2:30 p.m. the University of North
Georgia’s Center for Healthy Aging
will be hosting a virtual town hall
meeting, featuring a panel of three
experts prepared to answer a host
of questions submitted by the senior
community.
“The Center for Healthy Aging
was created to provide a commu
nity-based center to offer educa
tion and services to our older adult
community,” said Pamela Elfen
bein, director of the center. “This is
just one way we’ve found to stay in
alignment with our mission.”
Elfenbein said the town hall was
originally planned to accommodate
around 100 participants, but inter
est has been much greater than
expected. By Thursday afternoon,
Elfenbein said she had already
received over 70 questions from
older adults in the area.
She expects participants to tune
in from all around North Georgia.
“We’re hoping that community
members in our region will con
sider this their opportunity to listen
to experts and ask questions,” Elf
enbein said.
The panel for the town hall will
be manned by Abby Cox, director of
the Georgia Department of Human
Services Division of Aging Services,
Pat Freeman, CEO of Legacy Link
— an area agency on aging — and
Pam Clayton, vice president of
quality advancement and regula
tory affairs for the Georgia Health
care Association.
The panel will answer questions
on everything from health and
sanitation recommendations for
older adults to the economic and
policy effects of COVID-19.
“The goals at the Center for
Healthy Aging are wellness and
disease prevention, leadership
and partnerships, to foster an
environment for healthy aging
and to impact healthy aging in
older adults through innovative
programming,” Elfenbein said.
“This meets all of the missions
and goals of the center.”
Participants can tune in to the
event through the link provided
on the Center for Healthy Aging’s
website. Questions can be submit
ted via email both before and dur
ing the event at healthyagingC
ung.edu.
