About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2020)
John Jarrard Foundation concert goes virtual; 4 hit country songwriters to perform live. ufe,sa Rt Tuesday, October 13,20201 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Hall picks up the pieces Photos by THOMAS HARTWELL I The Times Above: Hall County Emergency Management Agency Director Casey Ramsey, left, and Jason Teague, crew chief for the Hall stormwater department, inspect a portion of Persimmon Tree Road that washed out during heavy rains overnight on Oct. 10. Below: Persimmon Tree Road was still being repaired on Oct. 12. The rains, brought by the remnants of Hurricane Delta, destroyed the shoulder of the road and washed out a drainage pipe below. County crews repair damages resulting from Hurricane Delta rain, flooding THOMAS HARTWELL I The Times Voters stand in line to vote on the afternoon of Oct. 12, at a downtown Gainesville building, 100 Brenau Ave., owned by the city of Gainesville. It’s one of eight early voting locations in Hall County. Oct. 12 was the first day of early voting in the Nov. 3 elections. Early voting starts with busy day BY THOMAS HARTWELL thartwell@gainesvilletimes.com Early voting began Monday across Hall County for the Nov. 3 election, with 4,460 peo ple going to the polls, according to a county spokesperson. Voters who talked with The Times at early voting at 100 Brenau Ave. in downtown Gaines ville reported wait times around an hour, though those who reported longer wait times typically had to have their absentee ballots canceled before voting in person. Voters said they were also largely satisfied with the voting process. Latoya Castillo, poll manager at the down town Gainesville location, said at about 2:30 p.m. on Monday that there had been a steady stream of voters all day with occasional rushes of heavier traffic. She estimated most people were in and out in about 30 minutes. “We have been really busy today. I don’t know if it’s going to continue that way, but for right now, we have been trying to... move them as quick as possible,” Castillo said. ■ Please see VOTING, 3A Newtown club continues to push police, other reforms BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A local initiative for law enforcement offi cers to use body cameras started with a person sharing their concern with the Newtown Florist Club. The person told the Gainesville civil rights group that there were interactions between police and citizens where the body camera would turn off in the middle of the incidents. “In the courtroom, there is not enough evi dence of the encounter to support the person who is in court, because there is no body cam evidence, so the court takes the side of the offi cer all of the time or most of the time,” said the Rev. Rose Johnson, the florist club’s executive director. It’s one of many changes the group has proposed. ■ Please see CONVERSATIONS, 3A BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com AND THOMAS HARTWELL thartwell@gainesvilletimes.com Katie Irvin and her family woke Sun day, Oct. 11, to find Mud Creek Road in Alto living up to its name. The family received messages from other family members that morning ask ing if they were OK. Though the water has since receded, the heavy rains made the road impassable. “ It was very nerve-wracking to wake up and see all that and to not know if you’re going to have a driveway, if you’re going to be able to get out, because we don’t have another way to get out,” Irvin said. As they surveyed the damage, they saw part of the road missing, the pasture flooded and their fence destroyed. “It is very disheartening when you’ve worked so hard and you just kind of see it all just floating away,” she said. A large rain band associated with Hurri cane Delta brought the widespread heavy rain and some tornadoes across the state, with some areas of North Georgia seeing up to 6 inches of rain overnight, according to Sid King, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Peachtree City office. Wind speeds were not a major impact in Hall, King said. Winds reached about 20 mph during the peak of the storm overnight. Hall County Fire Services division chief Zach Brackett said the county expe rienced 3-4 inches of rain over several hours after midnight Saturday that led to flooding and roads washing out. Brackett said northeastern Hall County was hit particularly hard by the weather, which is where a majority of the flooding and washed-out roads are. Multiple roads in Hall County have been closed because of flooding and washout, according to county officials. The following remained closed as of Mon day evening: ■ Hensley Road at Latty Road ■ Forrester Road near Belton Bridge Road ■ Belton Bridge Road near Belton Bridge Park ■ B Clark Road ■ Webb Girth Road ■ Mud Creek Road at Mud Creek ■ Harrington Road ■ WoodlinRoad ■ Please see WEATHER, 4A Weekend rains wash debris into Lake Lanier BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Heavy rains the weekend of Oct. 10-11 have filled Lake Lanier with sediment, runoff and debris, which can make boating conditions danger ous and have adverse environmental effects, according to Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. According to the National Weather Service, Gainesville got about 4.78 inches of rain late Sat urday and early Sunday as the remnants of Hurricane Delta moved over the region. Dale Caldwell, headwaters direc tor for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, said the weekend storms brought more debris to the Thompson Bridge area than he has ever seen with pre vious severe weather. The area near Thompson Bridge on Ga. 60 is the meeting point of Wahoo Creek and Lit tle River, so that spot is often severely impacted by heavy rains. “With that type of intensity and volume (of rain), you also see severe erosion, so a lot of sediment and just pollutants you would see in most events as far as trash, anything on the landscape as far as bacteria or oils,” Caldwell said. Jennifer Flowers, executive direc tor of the Lake Lanier Association, said areas near the tributaries of Lake ■ Please see RUNOFF, 4A Inside Gainesville reports more than 2 million gallon spill at Flat Creek, 4A This e-edition sponsored by: YOU CAN COUNT ON 0Wt6>, m Hjgbt Choice HOMES jacksonemc.com
