About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 2020)
High school football: 10 local * programs determined to start regular season on time, srams,™ Midweek Edition - AUGUST 19-20,2020 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local so far Few local mask mandates While most governments encourage them, only 2 cities requiring them Associated Press ATLANTA — Georgia’s gover nor, who has opposed local mask mandates and even sued over one in Atlanta, has signed a new execu tive order that allows local govern ments to enact mask requirements to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. As with previous orders, the one issued Saturday says residents and visitors of the state are “strongly encouraged” to wear face cov erings when they are outside of their homes, except when eating, drinking or exercising outside. But unlike previous orders, this one allows local governments in coun ties that have reached a “thresh old requirement” to require the wearing of masks on government- owned property. A county meets that threshold requirement if it has had 100 or more confirmed cases of COVID- 19 per 100,000 people over the pre vious 14 days. Local mask mandates cannot result in fines, fees or penalties against private businesses or orga nizations, and penalties against individuals for non-compliance cannot included a fine greater than $50 and cannot include prison time, the order says. If people are not in compliance, local authorities must warn them “about the health risks posed by not wearing a face mask or face covering” prior to issuing a citation. Gillsville Mayor Roy Turpin said the city had no immediate plans to issue a mandate, but “the people around here will prob ably do what’s right” and officials would monitor the situation. Cler mont Mayor James Nix said Cler mont also had no definite plans to require masks on its properties but was looking at its options. Brasel- ton Town Manager Jennifer Scott said Braselton encourages but does not require masks in city buildings. Lula City Manager Dennis Bergin said the mayor and City Council ■ Please see MASKS, 7A Picked for the party SCOTT OLSON I Pool via Associated Press The control room where live feeds are managed is in operation for the first night of the virtual DNC convention at the Wisconsin Center on August 17, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The convention, which was once expected to draw 50,000 people to the city, is now taking place virtually due to concerns with the coronavirus pandemic. Two of Ga. s delegates chosen for Democratic convention from Hall BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Wilson Golden of Gainesville is a veteran of Democratic national conventions, but he hasn’t seen anything like this year’s digital version. “I’m an old guy, not a tech guy, although I retired out of Xerox,” he said Tuesday, Aug. 18. “But I think this Zoom thing is a saving grace. It’s pretty good. You have to get your backdrop set up just right, need to comb your hair and wear your casual clothes. ” Golden, 72, is one of two Georgia delegates from Hall County attending this week’s Milwaukee-based Demo cratic National Convention, which began Monday, Aug. 17. The other is Carmen Gonzalez, 73, of Flowery Branch. Delegate selection for Editor’s note The Times will publish a story on the Republican Convention when it happens next week. Georgia’s representatives at the Democratic National Convention was done virtually. Neither Golden nor Gonzalez are Hall natives. Both had busy careers elsewhere — Golden as an attorney and lobbyist, and Gonzalez as a clinical psychologist — then retired here within the past few years. One difference between them is their politics. Golden is a lifelong Democrat, while Gonzalez describes herself as more of an independent. “A cradle Presbyterian and, I guess, you’d say, a ■ Please see DNC, 8A Golden Gonzalez Delegates were chosen remotely Delegate selection for Georgia’s representatives at the Democratic National Convention was done virtually. Georgia is allocated 129 delegates, nine of whom are alternates, according to the Democratic Party of Georgia website. District-level delegates were elected online within delegates’ congressional districts. There are 68 district- level delegates in Georgia for the DNC, with no alternates. Fourteen party leaders and elected officials were chosen using online voting by the district-level delegates. Then, 23 at-large delegates and nine alternates were elected by the State Committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia using online voting. Megan Reed Brenau moves students in by appointment BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com Brenau University students are moving in as part of a phased-in approach to welcoming students back to campus ahead of the first day of school on Aug. 24, and as expected, move-in has looked a little different at Brenau than it would in a typical year. “Normally we’re high-touch, hands-on, rubbing mom’s back, giving kids big hugs, but COVID has changed our approach,” said Amanda Lammers, vice president of student services, in a statement. “We’re still trying to be high-energy. There’s a lot of waving. We’re still giving out goodies, though we’re using gloves and hand sanitizer. I think peo ple feel good about what we’re doing.” All move-ins this year are by appointment only to prevent large groups of students from bunching up in dorm hallways, and a drive-thru check-in has been set up to cut down on face-to- face contact, school officials say. Students told The Times they were largely supportive of the precautions. ■ Please see BRENAU, 4A Inside ■ Law enforcement might issue citations over UNG Dahlonega students’ party, 4A ■ Smaller number of UNG students return to campus, 5A ■ Gainesville City Schools begin remote start to year, 4A Memorial honors fallen Hall deputies BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A marble memorial at the Hall County Sher iff’s Office’s headquarters bears the names of four men who died in the line of duty, the most recent being Deputy Nicolas Blane Dixon. The Sheriff’s Office announced the memo rial, which was provided by Memorial Park Funeral Home, was available Tuesday, Aug. 18 for the public to visit on Browns Bridge Road. The memorial lists the four names and their ■ Please see MEMORIAL, 8A DEATHS 6A Mary Alarcon Sheila Barrett, 60 Jimmie Barton, 83 Hoyt Bobo, 85 Stanley Boling, 65 Kevin Canada, 59 Ronnie Cantrell, 67 Carolyn Crow, 85 Horace Dove, 80 William Dunahoo, 88 Helen Greear, 99 Charles Godfrey, 35 Rebecca Goss, 80 Raymundo Guidos, 67 Betty Herrington, 90 Shad Hoffman Khambay Inhkeo, 44 James Ivie, Jr., 62 Harold Lang, 99 Jeanette Langley Andres Long, 42 Martha Martin, 83 Imogene McConnell, 89 James McIntyre, 81 Helen Mioduski, 101 Michael Murphy, 79 Brian Nichols, 60 Grace Perryman, 93 Emory Sellers, 73 Frankie Reed, 69 Martha Janet Rich Barbara Roberts, 83 Jeannine Sharkey, 89 William Short, 80 Nancy Simmons, 76 Jewell Skinner, 80 Conie Smith, 82 Pieter Swanepoel, 58 Glenda Taylor, 66 Beulah Thacker, 82 JamesThreatt, Jr., 81 Beverly Turner, 87 Carol Wallace, 81 Bobby Wright, 69 Sandra Zadamsky, 62 0 *40901 06835 8 We will make it through this. m and the strength of hope NORTHSIDE will shine brightly. 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