About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2020)
LOCA^STATE The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Weekend Edition - June 6-7, 2020 7A As local virus cases decline, gatherings could affect numbers BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Hall County’s COVID-19 cases remain relatively high in the state, with 2,508 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, June 3, making Hall the fifth highest in raw numbers and 15th highest in per capita numbers. The Northeast Georgia Health System was treating 67 patients at its facilities Wednesday, and 31% of the system’s ventilators were in use, according to its data. As of Wednes day, 728 COVID-19 patients had been discharged from treat ment, and 85 had died. NGHS has seen a decline in COVID-19 patients over the past month. On May 1, the system was treating 146 COVID- 19 patients. On May 15, that number was 95. Numbers are updated on the NGHS website each weekday. However, with recent large gatherings in the area for pro tests and rallies, along with the Memorial Day holiday, those numbers could again increase. “The incubation period for COVID-19 can range from 2 to 14 days, with most patients seeing symptoms by 5 days after exposure,” Dr. Supriya Mannepalli, chair of Northeast Geor gia Medical Center’s Infection Prevention & Control Com mittee, said in a statement. “Because of that, we will need to monitor the next few weeks very closely and we still urge everyone to wear a mask any time they’re out in public.” Hundreds attended protests in downtown Gainesville on the weekend of May 30-31. Following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, large protests have been held in cities worldwide to call attention to the issues of racism and police violence. Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the Department of Public Health, said at a press conference Tuesday the department would set up testing sites in Atlanta so those who attended protests could be tested for the virus. She also said testing would be made available for first responders, includ ing the Atlanta police and fire departments, Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia National Guard. The Georgia Department of Public Health is now updating its COVID-19 status report once daily at 3 p.m. to allow time for processing and validating cases. Local Department of Public Health spokesman Dave Palmer said testing sites in Hall have been able to handle the demand, but if demand increases, current locations can ramp up operations. Over the past month, six free testing events hosted by the department have served 2,596 people, he said. The next free testing event will be Saturday, June 6, at J&J Foods on Jesse Jewell Parkway. Toomey said “we want to ensure that the pandemic doesn’t spread because of this.” “This situation is no different than any other situation we have talked about. When you have this many people gath ered together in close proximity, you run the risk of viral transmission,” Toomey said. “I think you add to that the fact that individuals have come from out of state, where they maybe have even higher rates of infection and may be bring ing it into our state and transmitting it.” Plane crashes in rural Ga.; 2 children among 5 dead EATONTON — A small plane crashed Friday in rural Georgia, killing all five on board, including four members of a Florida fam ily who were traveling to a funeral in Indiana. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told local news outlets no one survived the afternoon crash about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south east of Atlanta. Sills identified the vic tims as Larry Ray Pruitt, 67, of Morriston, Florida; Shawn Charles Lamont, 41, of Gainesville, Florida; his wife Jody Rae Lamont, 43; and their two children, 6-year-old Jayce and 4-year- old Alice. The Federal Aviation Administration said the Piper PA31-T was flying from Williston, Florida, to Newcastle, Indiana. Tracy Carter, a Milled- geville resident, told The Union-Recorder he saw a plane circling the area and catch fire. Parts of the plane flew off and landed in the nearby field and he said he heard a loud boom. Emergency crews responded, putting out flames in a wooded area. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. Associated Press Marshal’s Office investigating fire that destroyed workshop Photo courtesy Hall County Fire Services A fire at 5707 Holiday Road “destroyed a workshop and several older model vehicles,” according to a news release from Hall County Fire Services division chief Zach Brackett June 5. BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes. com The Hall County Fire Marshal’s Office is looking for help regarding a suspi cious May 16 fire in South Hall. The fire at 5707 Holiday Road “destroyed a work shop and several older model vehicles,” accord ing to a news release from Hall County Fire Ser vices division chief Zach Brackett. Georgia Arson Control is offering a reward up to $10,000 for informa tion leading to an arrest and conviction for those responsible. Tips can be reported at 1-800-282-5804. 'bCst WINNER: 4 Consecutive Years 3 - 5 YEARS GUARANTEED ANNUITY RATE AS HIGH AS 3.1 % Some carriers may offer limited liquidity. A penalty is imposed for early withdrawal. Min. balance of $50,000 is required. Guaranteed rates are backed by the issuing company. 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Advisory Services Network, LLC and Moore's Wealth Management are not affiliated. NOTICE TO THE CITY OF GAINESVILLE TAXPAYERS The Gainesville City governing authority does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be held at the Gainesville Justice Center, Municipal Court Room, on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at 5:30 p.m., and pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G.A. 48-5-32 does hereby publish the following presentation of the current year's tax digest and levy along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past 5 years. CITY OF GAINESVILLE CURRENT 2020 TAX DIGEST AND 5-YEAR HISTORY CITY OF GAINESVILLE 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Real and Personal Property 5,201,195,033 5,314,867,383 5,785,528,256 6,360,655,830 6,773,562,201 7,383,639,921 Motor Vehicles 122,902,325 41,786,791 65,383,400 51,130,100 42,772,000 41,339,925 Mobile Homes 1,510 1,510 1,510 1,510 1,510 22,755 Timber - 100% 354,220 0 0 0 0 0 Heavy Duty Equipment 0 41,058 43,593 131,213 111,938 126,450 GROSS DIGEST 5,324,453,088 5,356,696,742 5,850,956,759 6,411,918,653 6,816,447,649 7,425,129,051 Less: Exempt Properties 1,105,368,685 1,106,359,708 1,127,749,910 1,175,929,635 1,226,721,090 1,284,893,675 NET DIGEST 4,219,084,403 4,250,337,034 4,723,206,849 5,235,989,018 5,589,726,559 6,140,235,376 Less: M & O Exemptions 287,493,785 277,120,558 330,204,965 368,040,063 369,714,168 439,046,845 NET M & O DIGEST 3,931,590,618 3,973,216,476 4,393,001,884 4,867,948,955 5,220,012,391 5,701,188,531 Gross M & O Millage 4.150 4.170 3.983 2.422 2.382 2.280 Less: Rollbacks 1.170 1.190 1.119 1.058 1.060 1.040 NET M & O MILLAGE 2.980 2.980 2.864 1.364 1.322 1.240 General Government 1.630 1.630 1.545 0.795 0.771 0.730 Parks & Recreation 0.750 0.750 0.750 0.000 0.000 0.000 Debt Service 0.600 0.600 0.569 0.569 0.551 0.510 NET M & O MILLAGE BY ENTITY 2.980 2.980 2.864 1.364 1.322 1.240 Net Taxes Levied 11,716,140 11,840,185 12,581,557 6,639,882 6,900,856 7,069,474 Net Taxes $ Increase 1,470,629 124,045 741,372 (5,941,675) 260,974 168,617 Net Taxes % Increase 14.35% 1.06% 6.26% -47.23% 3.93% 2.44% Parks & Recreation 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.750 0.750 0.750 Fire Services 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.250 1.250 1.250 SPECIAL DISTRICTS 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.000 2.000 2.000 Note: On July 1, 2018, Parks and Recreation, along with Fire Services, became a special district. As with prior years, the millage rate for the School System, including school related debt service, is established by the Gainesville Board of Education.
