6A Weekend Edition-December 12-13, 2020 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
LOCAL
Lawmakers encourage COVID precautions
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
As the Northeast Georgia Health
System on Friday treated its high
est number of COVID-19 patients
since the pandemic began, local
and state government officials
encouraged precautions, espe
cially during the holiday season as
more people gather.
But governments have stopped
short of mandating shutdowns or
other such measures as, accord
ing to the Association County
Commissioners of Georgia, local
governments cannot enact a local
shutdown.
A spokesman for the Governor’s
Office also said Friday, Dec. 11,
that “local governments are not
able to issue any restrictions that
are more or less restrictive than
the order in place.”
Gov. Brian Kemp issued an
executive order near the start of
the pandemic declaring a state
of emergency in Georgia and has
been renewing that order monthly
since March. Another order, also
renewed several times throughout
the pandemic, requires sheltering
in place for higher-risk people,
such as those in long-term care
facilities or those with chronic
lung disease. Other requirements
include employee health screen
ings and increased sanitation at
several types of businesses.
Local governments are allowed
to mandate masks on their own
properties, except in the case of
polling locations, the order says.
No one can be denied access to a
polling place because they are not
wearing a mask, the document
says.
NGHS was treating 261 COVID-
19 patients at its facilities Friday,
Dec. 11, a new peak for the system.
Richard Higgins, chairman of
the Hall County Board of Commis
sioners, said county officials get
regular updates from health care
providers about the pandemic.
Until a vaccine is widely available,
he said, the best way to stop the
spread of the virus will be follow
ing public health guidelines that
have been urged throughout the
pandemic.
“We’ve been doing this for a
number of months now, and it’s
easy for people to get complacent
about wearing a mask or social dis
tancing,” Higgins said.
Local officials consulted with
law enforcement and realized they
could not enforce a mask man
date on private property and their
options were limited, Higgins said.
Several local governments,
along with the Greater Hall Cham
ber of Commerce and NGHS,
have formed the “hAll in” pro
gram, which encourages individu
als, organizations and businesses
to take a pledge and advertise
their commitments to taking
precautions.
The city of Gainesville is one of
many entities that has signed on to
the pledge.
“The city is obviously concerned
about the recent COVID-19 num
bers for both our state and com
munity, and the census numbers
at the hospital. Because of that, we
continue to stress our community’s
hALL IN Initiative,” Gainesville
City Manager Bryan Lackey said in
an email. “As for any other actions,
we do not want to get ahead of the
governor and any current or future
steps he may take statewide.”
Gainesville Mayor Danny Duna-
gan said a mask mandate did not
seem enforceable.
“The last thing I want to do is
start fighting our citizens on not
wearing a mask if they’re just not
going to wear one, period,” he
said. “I wish everyone, all the busi
nesses, would join the hAll in initia
tive... If everybody would do that, I
think we would be just fine.”
Dunagan said the city is not
currently looking at changing
the hours of its offices but could
reconsider if the city sees a spike
in COVID-19 cases.
Hall County spokeswoman Katie
Crumley said the county was moni
toring data from health officials
and would make decisions about
facility closures based on that data
or direction from the state.
State Sen. Butch Miller,
R-Gainesville, also encouraged
people to take precautions such
as wearing a mask, distancing and
practicing hygiene.
“To my knowledge at this point,
there is no discussion of a shut
down of any sort. The governor’s
executive order speaks for itself,”
Miller said.
He said individuals and busi
nesses are encouraged “to use
good judgment and to exercise
social and community responsibil
ity” in preventing the spread of the
virus.
Other state legislators who rep
resent Hall encouraged the same
precautions.
“We’re not even through with
the Thanksgiving surge, and then
we’re going to have Christmas on
top of that,” said State Rep. Lee
Hawkins, R-Gainesville.
Hawkins said he would prefer to
see people take precautions rather
than shut down businesses.
“We’ve let our guard down. I see
more people not wearing masks in
the large stores than I would say
three weeks ago,” Hawkins said.
“I think we need to go back and do
the things that were working and
that is wear your mask, wash your
hands, stay separated from other
people. Do not have large group
gatherings. All the things that
really got us out of it, go back to
that. We’ve just gotten lax on that.”
State Rep. Matt Dubnik,
R-Gainesville, said Hall’s delega
tion had been briefed by NGHS on
the situation on Thursday. He said
local hospitals have seen higher
surges and more capacity issues
than other hospitals in the state. A
decision about another shutdown
would come from Kemp, not state
legislators, Dubnik said.
State Rep. Timothy Barr, R-Law-
renceville, also said it would be the
governor’s decision.
“I hope that he errs on the side
of freedom and safety,” Barr said.
And State Rep. Emory Dunahoo,
R-Gillsville, said he hopes the fed
eral government does not require
Georgia to go by its mandates, but
people still need to think about
others.
“Government, they need to gov
ern, but they need to back off and
also help with common sense,”
Dunahoo said. “And sometimes,
our government does not have
common sense.”
The shutdown at the start of
the pandemic negatively affected
many people’s livelihoods, Duna
hoo said.
Times reporter Jeff Gill contributed
to this report.
Authorities seize 433 grams of meth,
2 stolen ATVs in North Ga. drug bust
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@
gainesvilletimes.com
Two people from Gainesville and
at least seven others were arrested
Wednesday, Dec. 9, in a multi-county
drug bust that garnered nearly a
pound of meth, heroin and other
drugs, three guns and two stolen
ATVs, according to authorities.
The Appalachian Regional Drug
Enforcement Office announced the
arrests had come after a yearlong
investigation that included the Hall
County Sheriff’s Office and Gaines
ville Police, as well as a handful of
law enforcement agencies across
the region.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
special agent in charge Trent Hill-
sman said authorities seized 433
grams of meth, 4 pounds of mari
juana, 89 grams of crack cocaine,
53 grams of powder cocaine and 90
grams of heroin.
Beyond the drugs, law enforce
ment took three firearms, more than
$19,000 in cash and two stolen ATVs,
Hillsman said. There were also other
assets seized, which Hillsman did not
disclose, with a value greater than
$20,000.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Der-
reck Booth said the Multi-Agency
Narcotics Squad and the SWAT
team assisted with the search war
rants, but he and Gainesville Police
did not provide any further infor
mation on their involvement in the
investigation.
Bernard Jermaine House, 43, of
Buford, who Hillsman described as
the primary suspect, was charged
with one count of conspiracy to dis
tribute heroin and five counts of dis
tribution of heroin.
Four searches were executed
Wednesday at addresses allegedly
“associated with House’s drug traf
ficking organization,” Hillsman said.
Christian Wright, 30, of Gaines
ville, was charged with traf
ficking heroin, cocaine and
methamphetamine.
Bobby Hoe Holloman, 47, of
Gainesville, was charged with pos
session of a firearm by a convicted
felon as well as possession of heroin
and cocaine.
Six others from Cleveland and
Homer were also charged with drug-
related offenses, and Hillsman said
several others “wanted for unre
lated crimes were also arrested dur
ing this investigation.”
He did not say what the estimated
street value of the drugs was.
Commissioners
table subdivision
in South Hall
BY MEGAN REED
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com
The application for a South Hall neighborhood of 226
townhomes was tabled by the Hall County Board of Commis
sioners Thursday, Dec. 10.
Winder-based Ridgeline Land Planning Inc. initially
planned 274 apartments and 124 townhomes for a 40-acre
property at 7285 Spout Springs Road.
Commissioner Kathy Cooper made a motion Thursday to
table the item to the Jan. 14 meeting to have more time to
review the revised site plan.
At a meeting Monday, Oct. 5, before the Hall County Plan
ning Commission, developers reduced the numbers to 240
apartments and up to 110 townhomes. The size was reduced
further, after the planning commission recommended
approval of the development with a maximum of 220 apart
ments and 85 townhomes.
Apartments were cut from final plans.
Reporter Nick Watson contributed to this report.
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