About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2020)
Midweek Edition - DECEMBER 30-31,2020 | $1.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local Vaccine rolls in, another record set 11,000 doses for health care workers as NGMC treats 322 patients BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com According to data from the Georgia Department of Public Health, more than 11,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine have been allocated already to Hall providers even as NGHS set another record Tuesday for patients with the disease. The main recipients, Northeast Geor gia Health System and the Hall County Health Department, were set to receive 6,500 doses and 4,700 doses, respec tively. The health systems was treating 322 patients Tuesday. NGHS spokesman Sean Couch said the Moderna doses arrived Dec. 23. Though the health system has received both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Couch said “employees don’t choose between the two at this point.” As of Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2,705 NGHS employees have been vaccinated. Citizen’s Pharmacy in Flowery Branch and MedLink Georgia in Gaines ville were also allocated 200 Moderna doses, according to the DPH data. Samir Shah, owner of Citizen’s Phar macy, said the supplies and doses arrived last week, and the pharmacy administered the first doses Monday, Dec. 28, to health care professionals. Shah said people seeking the vac cine are primarily health care workers in private practice and long-term care residents. Staff members at nursing homes and long-term care facilities started receiv ing vaccine doses this week. Some of these facilities are choosing to part ner with CVS Health and Walgreens to administer the vaccine. “We have pretty much almost every dose accounted for through next week,” Shah said. “We’ve just got people sched uled to either come here or we’re going there to give them.” Shah said he purchased a ■ Please see VACCINE, 4A NICK WATSON I The Times Gov. Brian Kemp speaks Monday, Dec. 28, outside of The Oaks at Limestone nursing home in Gainesville. ""'•-Al 2020 wasn’t all politics, pandemic — _. JuJ JSfkJ ft? P • 1 r c 1 F.*I I - tm. HB j ^. ■■i niifcfl' irrtl L". NATE MCCULLOUGH I The Times Pepper’s Market in Gainesville is torn down Friday, Nov. 20. Owner Rick Gailey says a restaurant will replace the iconic pink building. Here are the top 10 stories you may have missed Wait times vary as early voting set to end this week BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Early voting for the Jan. 5 runoff will end Thursday, Dec. 31, and more than 24,000 people have cast their bal lots since early voting began Dec. 14. As of Tuesday, Dec. 29,6,406 people had voted at North Hall Community Center, 10,337 people had voted at Spout Springs Library, 2,988 people had voted at East Hall Community Center and 7,681 people had voted at the downtown Gainesville location, according to Hall County Elections Coordinator Paige Thompson. Early voting will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 31 at four loca tions in the county: ■ East Hall Community Center, 3911P Davidson Road, Gainesville ■ North Hall Community Center, 4175 Nopone Road, Gainesville ■ Spout Springs Library, 6488 Spout Springs Road, Flowery Branch ■ 100 Brenau Ave., Gainesville On Tuesday, Dec. 30, wait times were 30 minutes at 100 Brenau Ave., ■ Please see VOTE, 11A Buford settles racial lawsuit that roiled city school system SHANNON CASAS scasas@gainesvilletimes.com This year’s top stories are, of course, the three P’s: pandemic, politics and protests. Not surprisingly, the stories that got the most clicks from readers on gainesvilletimes.com in 2020 were every angle on COVID-19 from the first cases in Hall County to the impact on businesses and schools to the record numbers in the hospital. Rather than rehash the year of tragedy and division, though, we’re bringing you the top 10 stories you may have missed in 2020 — and at least a few that might even make you smile. These stories were popular with readers and especially our subscribers. Owner: restaurant will replace infamous pink Pepper’s Market This iconic pink building that has been a thorn in the side of some city officials for years was demolished late this year. City leaders had repeatedly tabled a vote on using eminent domain to take the property before the building’s owner, Rick Gailey, moved forward with other plans. Gailey said a restaurant will go in its place. Gailey told us he did ■ Please see TOP, 4A SCOTT ROGERS I The Times The Gainesville branch of the Hall County Library System received a $5 million renovation, completed in September 2020. Tribune News Service A race discrimination lawsuit that sent Buford’s school system into tur moil and prompted the departure of its superintendent has been settled, accord ing to court records. The case gained notoriety across the U.S. and overseas because it included audio recordings of Hamby racist rants said to have been uttered by then-superinten dent Geye Hamby. The person iden tified as Hamby in the lawsuit used bigoted language and spoke openly ■ Please see HAMBY, 11A DEATHS 8A Byron Adamson, 75 Dorothy Allison, 86 Philip Allison, 74 Roy Belville, 71 Willise Bennett, 91 Kenneth Broome, 72 Betty Buoy, 87 Rosa Carlyle, 84 Carolyn Cleveland, 77 Haywood Clyde, 88 Sharon Cofield, 77 Wesley Cummings Jr., 86 Lawrence Davis, 66 Tamela Etheridge Dennis Fair, 67 Patricia Ferris, 84 Elizabeth Featherston, 85 Billy Gerrells, 62 Ladislao Gottreich, 65 Ostena Grizzle, 86 Clarence Gunn, 74 Martha Hemphill, 81 Henry Hess Jr., 73 Bishop Hicks, 74 Mary Howington, 73 Archie Hunt, 58 Renee Hogg, 57 Joan lannella, 79 Marsha James, 75 Clyde Johnson, Jr. Larry Jones, 76 Sandra Kennedy, 71 Gregory Loughmiller, 60 Elizabeth Maney, 79 Larry Martin, 66 Ruby Mauldin, 90 Stanislaw Mlotek, 81 Cristela Munoz Nancy Nash, 62 Larry Odom, 71 Mitzi O’Hara, 58 Dorothy Parson Gordon Patterson, 95 Diann Patton, 75 Mary Pirkle, 96 Robert Reece, 80 Carey Richardson, 52 Cynthia Richardson, 63 Julia Rouse Jose Gomez-Ruiz, 60 Hilda Samples, 58 Phillip Sartain, 62 Sylvia Shortt, 65 Jessie Sparks, 83 George Stout, 61 Joseph Strait, 59 Jean Stroud, 79 Ted Thurmond, 74 Fannie Tullis, 93 Melvin Tullis, 75 Belinda Turpin, 53 Tom Walker, 75 Johnny Walls, 66 Christopher Ward, 45 Charles Welborn, 73 Lee Williams, 81 Doris Willis, 89 Q GonzaloTeisier-Zavala, 63 40901 06835 8 We will make it through this, and the strength of hope will shine brightly. EH NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL
