About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 11, 2020)
Save up to $92 COUPONS INSIDE American Legion 1979 baseball team recounts historic World Series journey, sports, iob Weekend Edition - JULY 11-12,2020 | $2.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local Dozens nabbed in $700K drug bust 11-month investigation leads to 48 arrests; 50 kilos of meth seized BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com An 11-month drug investiga tion has led to 48 arrests and more than 50 kilos of metham- phetamine seized, according to authorities. The estimated value of the drugs seized was $705,000. The arrests were announced at 11 a.m. Friday, July 10, at the Hall County Sheriff’s Office. Georgia Bureau of Investiga tion Director Vic Reynolds was flanked by representa tives from local law enforce ment — Sheriff Gerald Couch and Gainesville Police Chief Jay Parrish — as well as other regional law enforcement leaders. Reynolds said the investiga tion “centered around a major methamphetamine and heroin trafficking distribution ring operating here in the North east Georgia area” and reach ing into the metro Atlanta area. The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office and the FBI Major Offenders Task Force worked together in the investigation that also seized half a kilogram of heroin, weapons, cash and vehicles. “As you look up here this morning, this is a great exam ple of how this is supposed to work. When you have this type of inter-agency cooperation at a federal level, at a state level ■ Please see DRUGS, 7A NICK WATSON I Associated Press Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh speaks at a press conference Friday, July 10, at the Hall County Sheriffs Office concerning an 11-month drug investigation. Ahead of the movement Confederate statue once on public display now stored at museum BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com For all those clamoring for Confed erate statues to be destroyed or put in a museum, a statue that once stood in downtown Gainesville went through both those fates years ago — but without a mob or protesters involved. The statue of Confederate soldier Col. Christopher Columbus Sanders was once an eye-catching sight, with Sand ers seated atop a stone base supported by four columns at the U.S. courthouse at Green and Washington streets. The tornado of 1936 swept away the monument, as it also brought tremen dous damage and death to the sur rounding area. Parts of the statue were scattered throughout town, with parts of it, including Sanders’ head, ending up in the possession of residents. Through residents returning pieces of the statue, Sanders today has a home at the Northeast Georgia History Center at Brenau University. But he’s still in pieces, with the head separated from his torso and chair, inside the museum off Academy Street and two of the columns stored outside the museum. Also facing the elements is the monument’s round base, which describes Sanders’ Confederate military credentials. Sanders, a Franklin County native, fought in the Army of Northern Virginia, which was led by Gen. Robert E. Lee. “He served throughout the war and was wounded twice,” said Glen Kyle, executive director of the History Center. “He was at Antietam, at Gettysburg. He was wounded three or four days before Lee surrendered at Appomattox.” “After the war, he went to South Geor gia to do some business, then he came up to Gainesville and started a bank and became a prominent member of the community,” Kyle said. Also after the war, he was offered the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army, but he declined, settling in Gainesville and later organizing and serving as president of the State Bank ing Company, according to his display. ■ Please see STATUE, 5A SCOTT ROGERS I The Times The remains of a statue of Col. C.C. Sanders resides today inside the Northeast Georgia History Center in Gainesville. The marble statue used to reside alongside the Federal Courthouse at the corner of Green and Washington Streets until it was destroyed in the 1936 tornado. Sanders was a Gainesville resident who served in the Army of Northern Virginia of the Confederate States of America. Remdesivir helping, but supply unclear BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Northeast Georgia Medical Center doctors have been using the anti-viral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19 patients since May, but the state may not be able to supply additional doses once supplies run out. “This medication works by reducing the virus’ abil ity to replicate and spread in the body,” Dr. Supriya Man- nepalli, chair of NGMC’s Infection Prevention and Con trol committee, said in a state ment. “I am usually fairly conservative in my evaluation of new drugs, but this one has truly impressed me and has been life-saving for many.” Mannepalli said NGMC started using the drug May 18, and as of July 7,144 patients had begun a course of treatment with remdesivir at ■ Please see DOSES, 4A Mannepalli 9th candidate faces charge of contempt A Democratic candidate for the U.S. House 9th District seat is in jail on a contempt of court charge. Gwinnett County Jail and Sheriff’s Department records show Brooke Siskin, who faces Devin Pandy in an Aug. 11 runoff, was jailed late Thursday. Records show the charge as contempt of court with no bond set. This is Siskin’s second arrest this year. She was arrested in March after an incident at a Gwinnett bank. Siskin was the top vote getter in the June Democratic primary, with Pandy second. Nate McCullough Siskin DEATHS 2B Billy Almond, 74 Denise Boggs, 67 Curtis Chappell, 94 Leonard Church, 85 Wanda Fields, 59 Jim Gable, 76 Kathleen Galbraith, 76 Johnny Gray, 57 Ricky Higgins, 49 Ruth Leonard, 87 Barbara Loving, 84 Victorina Mancilla-Torres, 78 Patricia Nash, 69 Elna Patterson, 82 Nolan Phillips, 34 Joseph Prinzo, Jr., 80 John Reed, 72 David Reesman, 94 Sarah Robertson, 82 William Rucker, 73 Carolyn Sheppard, 88 Jeffery Simpson, Sr., 58 James Smith, 73 Thomas Stapler, 17 Vallon Summerour, 70 Ima Underwood, 85 Carl Webb W. L. Whelchel, 90 Jack Whitlock, 45 0 4 0 9 01 06825 9 groove on. Find your orthopedic expert today at nghs.com/move I 770-462-5285 Northeast Georgia Medical Center ORTHOPEDIC SERVICES
