About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2020)
Seniors 2020: Flowery Branch’s Sechrist leaves legacy of outgoing personality, elite pitching talent, sports, ib Midweek Edition - JUNE 3-4, 2020 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local ‘Next step in a long pathway’ Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times A youth watches events from the pedestrian bridge Sunday, May 31, during protests along Jesse Jewell Parkway. ‘We have to stay together’ Braselton rally Tuesday afternoon sends message of unity BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com Shantwon Astin addressed a Brasel ton protest Tuesday afternoon with a message of unity. “We have the ability to change what’s happening right now, but we have to stay together,” he said. “We cannot be divided. When we move, we make sure that we move together.” Astin, a member of the Hoschton City Council, was one of many pro testers to speak at the peaceful rally in Braselton addressing the issues of police brutality and systemic rac ism. The gathering started at noon with around 50 people holding signs, hands or clenched fists in the air right outside the Braselton Parking Deck, down the road from the Bra selton police department and munici pal court. By 12:30, that number had swelled to around 100. As the day wore on, the crowd con sistently kept up chants of “No justice, ■ Please see BRASELTON, 5A Protesters gather Tuesday, June 2, in Braselton. Inside Officials react to killing of Floyd, Gainesville protests, 4A Old Joe vandalism over weekend is part of long, divisive history, 9A Gainesville Police vehicle ‘torched’ at private residence, 10A The Gainesville protests and what work is left to do BY NICK WATSON nwatson@ gainesvilletimes.com Backlit by the Jesse Jewell Parkway CVS signs, Gaines ville Police officers spoke to protesters who had pounded the pavement for hours late Monday night. Gainesville Police Sgt. Kevin Holbrook, who heads up the community relations unit, heard questions from the crowd. Is your badge real gold? No, it’s not. Why do you get to drive that nice truck? Just the luck of the draw and needing to tow trailers. Then there were more serious questions asking him about his thoughts on the cur rent climate, particularly in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Several nights of protests in Gainesville were sparked by the incident in Minne apolis, Minnesota, where the 46-year-old Floyd died May 25 while being arrested. A video showed a police offi cer pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, and the officer has since been charged with third-degree murder. “It’s OK to have the hard conversations. That’s what we need to do, especially right now,” Holbrook said. “We want people to know that we hear their voices, that we are listening to them. At the same time, we also want them to know that this is their community, this is their police department, and we’re all in this together.” Building relationships with the community has been critical, he said, so that these important discussions can come about. Holbrook said some may not know how the school resource officers have played a vital role in con necting with the youth and the next generations to come. “These are conversa tions that we should be hav ing each and every day, not when there’s just a situation across the nation that brings it to light.... We want to have those conversations,” Hol brook said. ■ Please see PROTESTS, 9A Young leaders call upon youth to do their part BY KELSEY P0D0 kpodo@gainesvilletimes.com Like their older mentors before them, two young lead ers from the Gainesville civil rights group, the Newtown Florist Club, have accepted the torch. As protests have sparked around the U.S. in response to the death of George Floyd, 19-year-olds Jackie Lip scomb and Aniyah Norman, have risen to the forefront to speak out against systemic racism and police brutality, and ask for change. “It’s definitely our time to start speaking up and doing something about it,” Norman said. “They’re (Newtown ■ Please see NEWTOWN, 4A Authorities: Man wounds 4 with knife, including man he defended BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Authorities say a man trying to defend a relative from an attack wounded four people with a knife May 30 at Burton Mill Park, includ ing the person he was trying to defend. Hall County Sheriff’s Office inves tigators are looking into a fight that broke out shortly before 4:45 p.m. in the Yacht Club Road park. A 19-year-old Buford man was allegedly attacked by several men. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Derreck Booth said one of the attackers and the Buford man had been in a previ ous dispute. One of the Buford man’s rela tives, who is also 19, wielded a fold ing pocket knife to “protect the man from further harm,” Booth said. Neither of the Buford men are expected to be charged. “The victim suffered several cuts, facial bruising and a stab wound to an ankle, believed to be an unintended injury from the relative’s knife,” Booth wrote in an email. The victim and three other men were transported to local hospi tals by the Hall County Fire Ser vices. None of the wounds were life-threatening. Investigators are still trying to determine how two 18-year-olds — one stabbed in the back and one stabbed in the abdomen — were involved. Three men from Flowery Branch and one from Cumming were charged with misdemeanor battery. One of the men arrested, a 21-year-old from Flowery Branch, suffered a stab wound to his arm, but he was medically cleared for arrest following treatment. Only one of the men was still behind bars Tuesday, June 2, as the other three men had posted a $5,700 bond. The case is still under investigation. DEATHS 6A Duke Aycock, 71 Sara Batten, 77 Orren Bell, 60 Patricia Bennett, 79 Melody Brockhoft, 59 Andrew Claborn, 33 Ivy Clemons, 97 Nora Colston, 95 Doyle Cromer, 85 Rodney Drake, 73 Lugene Glasper Jr., 78 Maria Gomez, 74 Tucker Grizzle, 21 Clarence Hood, 91 Wilma Hosch, 94 Jane Johnson, 78 Robert Kitchens, 71 Michael Landin, 77 Kenneth Mannix, 70 lla Martin, 92 Richard Mechler Carl McDearis, 78 Annie Merck, 83 Larry Mitchell, 70 Mary Mitchell, 87 Mildred Norrell, 79 Ada Parks, 84 Dessie Passmore, 93 Ethel Purdy, 89 Roman Rios, 51 Thomas Robinson Jr., 68 Adrian Samples, 72 Larry Savage, 74 Donald Staples, 85 Martha Smith, 82 James Stinchcomb, 59 Anthony Thomas, 33 Essie Treadaway, 82 Richard Valentine, 64 Surya Veeramachineni, 76 Teressa Waters, 64 Hope D. Woods, 77 0 *40901 06835 8 EH NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL We will make it through this, and the strength of hope will shine brightly.
