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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
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