About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2020)
East Hall utilizes first-half lead to beat Chestatee in Region 8-4A football, srams,™ 5 ways to trick-or-treat safely this Halloween. LIFE, 6B Midweek Edition-OCTOBER 28-29,2020 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local What’s important? Top issue for Republicans Economy Issues Economy Supreme Health Immigration Criminal Education Federal Religious Equal COVID-19 Environment Second Abortion Court Care Justice Budget Freedom Rights Amendment Rights Times subscribers and readers were surveyed about how important these issues are to them when selecting a candidate for president, on a scale of not important to very important. A weighted average up to 5 is calculated based on those responses. A total of 712 responded. Times readers prioritize economy, health care in election Party affiliation Times subscribers and readers were surveyed about which party they most identify with. A total of 712 responded. | Other | | Libertarian | | None Democrat J] Republican 12.4% 26.8% 54.9% Inside ■ Presidential picks, 4A ■ What Democrats had to say, 4A ■ What Republicans had to say, 4A BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com About a week before the Nov. 3 election, Hall County voters are most closely watch ing the issues of the economy, the U.S. Supreme Court and health care, according to a survey that had been com pleted by 712 readers of The Times by Tuesday, Oct. 27. However, there was a sharp contrast in which issues were important to Republicans vs. Democrats. The survey, emailed to Times readers and subscrib ers, asked respondents about which political party most aligns with their views, which issues are most important to them, who they plan to vote for in the presidential race and how happy they were with their choice for presi dent. It is not a scientific poll but provides a picture of what is happening politically among a significant number of Times readers. About twice as many Republicans as Democrats responded to the survey, with 54.9% saying they were Republicans and 26.8% iden tifying as Democrats. The majority of respondents, 62.7 %, were between the ages of 60 and 79. And while the majority of respondents, at 56.6%, support President Donald Trump, 36.1% said they sup port former Vice President Joe Biden. When asked to rate their happiness with their choice for president, people gave an average number of 8, indicating they were rela tively confident in the deci sion. In the 2016 election, the Hall County vote was 72.7% for Trump and 22.7% for Hill ary Clinton. Readers were surveyed about the importance of sev eral issues in making their voting decisions — the econ omy, the U.S. Supreme Court, health care, immigration, education, criminal justice, the federal budget, reli gious freedom, equal rights, COVID-19, the environment, the Second Amendment and abortion rights. The top three issues for Republicans were economy, Supreme Court and religious freedom, whereas the top issues for Democrats were health care, equal rights and COVID-19. The top issue overall was the economy, with 72.6% of people rating it as “very important.” Close behind the economy was the U.S. Supreme Court, which 69.6% of people said was very impor tant — a topic that has made national headlines in recent weeks as Judge Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate Monday to become the ninth justice on the court. Health care ranked third, with 63.9% of people finding it very important, as the coun try enters its eighth month of the COVID-19 pandemic and some voters are concerned about the reversal of the Affordable Care Act. But the pandemic itself did not rank as high, with 50.4% of respon dents indicating that COVID- 19 was a very important issue as they made their voting decisions. Abortion rights ranked lowest of the respondents’ priorities, with 46% saying they found that issue very important. The Times followed up with some of these survey respondents, on both sides of the political aisle, to discuss the issues that matter to them and how they decided to vote. To see their responses, turn to page 4A. Buford couple charged with 5-year-old child’s death BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Buford couple is behind bars on mur der charges in the June death of their severely malnourished 5-year-old daugh ter, according to authorities. Investigators say the parents neglected their child. Jerrail Maurice Mick- ens, 31, and Porscha Danielle Mickens, 29, were arrested Tuesday, Oct. 27 at their home in Buford, and both are charged with felony mur der and first-degree child cruelty. Hall County Sheriffs Office spokesman Der- reck Booth said depu ties received reports on June 7 from Northeast Georgia Medical Center officials regarding Kylie Mickens’ condition. Kylie’s parents brought her to the hospital. Because of her low weight and condition, the girl was transported to Children’s Health care of Atlanta, Booth said. Kylie died the next day, and the Division of Family and Children Services worked the case with investigators, who conducted interviews and a search at the Mickens home. Sheriff’s Office investigators received autopsy results earlier this month showing her cause of death was “dehydration and malnutrition due to medical neglect, with the manner of death being homicide,” Booth said. Jerrail and Porscha Mickens were booked into the Hall County Jail, where they remained with no bond Tuesday. The case is still under investigation. Work to start in mid-2021 on city youth sports facility BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Construction is set to begin in mid-2021 on a multimillion-dollar youth sports com plex that should open its doors in Gaines ville about 18 months after that, according to Gainesville parks officials. Kate Mattison, director of Gainesville Parks and Recreation, said the 89-acre J. Melvin Cooper Youth Sports Complex at 2490 Old Cornelia Highway will bring needed athletic space to the city. The complex will be named after Mel vin Cooper, Gainesville’s longtime parks director, who spent 47 years with the city ■ Please see CDDPER, 5A DEATHS 6A Joyce Adams, 81 Edward Barrett, 85 Stacy Black, 53 Ramon Cano, 83 Janice Cleary, 67 Maria Cox, 87 James Davis, 71 Freida Ewing, 70 Viola Fahey, 72 Dorothy Fields, 84 Hazel Fowler, 68 Herbert Haberkam, 49 Terry Hendrix, 65 Monica Hiler, 91 Danny Ives, 67 Kenneth Labbe, 79 Gary Lilly, 70 Richard Miller, 80 Barbara Moore, 90 George Petro Sr., 64 Russell Richardson, M.D., 83 John Rucker Christopher Seaborn, 95 Patrick Stroup, 66 Gregory Turner, 33 Dauan Ward, 43 Richard WhitenerSr., 77 Henry Woodard, 96 0 *40901 06835 8 We will make it through this, and the strength of hope will shine brightly. EH NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ’-■I
