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Gainesville man sentenced to 25
years for shooting at police officer
outside hotel, insider
Tuesday, July 6,2021 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Cable barriers to be extended
by 30 miles on Ga. 365. inside, 4a
Honestly Local
‘A heavy responsibility’
SHANNON CASAS I The Times
The Times building at 345 Green St. in Gainesville, was completed in 1970. Those who designed the building focused on using
natural materials and reflecting a feeling of permanence and modernism.
1970 building designed to provide staff a modern, natural space
BY BEN ANDERSON
baderson@gainesvilletimes.com
What stands today as a landmark on
Green Street is a far cry from the build
ing in which The Times began nearly 75
years ago.
On Jan. 26,1947, the paper published
its first edition in the basement of a build
ing that was formerly Ward’s Funeral
Home, located at the corner of Maple
Street and West Washington.
In 1970, The Times moved to what was
described then as a modern megalith
capable of cranking out tens of thousands
of newspapers in no time flat.
The building was dedicated on July
4,1970, and cost about a million dollars,
roughly $7 million in today’s money. The
basement housed a $250,000 offset press
that increased the production capacity
of The Times enormously — from 4,000
papers in a few hours to almost 14,000 in
less than one. The press was expanded in
later years as was the building.
The 1970 dedication ceremony was
held on the old parking deck at the rear
of the building. The next day, The Times
published a dedication edition recalling
its humble origins and remarking on the
significance of its new building.
Above all, the 30,000-square-foot struc
ture was visible proof that “The Times is
here to stay,” the front page reads.
“Starting with a nucleus of aging equip
ment leased from the Gainesville Eagle
and adding a rickety old second-hand
press, Charles Smithgall launched into
a new career of newspaper publishing,
which most of his friends considered
sheer folly,” the front page reads. “In
just over 23 years, The Times has pro
gressed from a used flatbed press in the
basement of a former mortuary to an
ultra-modern offset operation located in
a million-dollar facility on North Green
Street.”
There used to sit a six-bedroom house
on the property with towering white
columns and two sleeping porches,
flanked by a cabin in the back
yard, the chimney of which
still stands behind the
building. It was owned
by the Carter family and
had been around since 1900.
Times founder Charles Smith-
gall purchased the property in
the late 1960s to make room for
what would soon become the paper’s
new headquarters.
Former Georgia Tech classmates
Garland Reynolds and Jack Bailey were
brought on as the lead architects. Reyn
olds had been the Smithgalls’ newspaper
boy years ago, delivering them their copy
of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution —
though not always to Lessie Smithgall’s
satisfaction.
“One day I threw the paper behind
the bushes and she let me have it. ‘Don’t
you do that again,”’ Reynolds recalled in
an interview last week with The Times.
Lessie Smithgall died June 25 at age 110.
Years later, Reynolds found himself
charged with a much greater task.
“Designing a building for Green Street
is a heavy responsibility, and we decided
early in the work that we would go about
it in a way which would be sympathetic
to the neighboring structures,” Reynolds
wrote in the 1970 dedication edition.
SHANNON CASAS I The Times
A special edition published July 4, 1970,
marks the dedication of The Times
building at 345 Green St. in Gainesville.
It is the newspaper’s third home since its
founding in 1947.
About this series
As the pace of development
in Gainesville reaches a fever
pitch, The Times is examining
the history of some of the
buildings downtown and nearby
in this weekly series publishing
Tuesdays in The Times’ E-Paper
and Wednesdays in print.
■ Please see HISTORY, 4A
Murder
suspect
captured
Gainesville man caught
in Mexico, faces charges
in Gilmer County case
A Gainesville man was arrested in Mexico
on murder charges about two months after a
woman was found dead in Gilmer County.
A murder warrant from the Gilmer County
case was issued in April, and
Juan Ayala-Rodriguez, 35, was
arrested June 26 in Durango,
Mexico.
The Georgia Bureau of
Investigation and the U.S.
Marshals have coordinated
his transfer, as he is pending
extradition to Georgia to face
the murder charges.
The GBI said Ayala-Rodri-
guez is the eighth suspect
arrested concerning the death of Rossana Del
gado, 37, of Bethlehem, in April.
The Gilmer County Sheriff’ Office con
ducted a welfare check around 7 a.m. April 20
at a Cherry Log residence and found Delgado
dead. She had been reported missing in Barrow
County four days earlier. She was last seen April
16 in DeKalb County.
The GBI is still looking for three murder sus
pects in the case. Anyone with information is
asked to call the GBI tip line at 1-800-597-8477.
Nick Watson
Ayala-Rodriguez
2 burned in boat fire on Lanier
Two people were transported to Grady
Memorial Hospital after a boat fire Saturday on
the south end of Lake Lanier.
Two adults and two juveniles were on board
the boat in a cove near Big Creek Park, accord
ing to Hall County Fire Services Division Chief
Zach Brackett.
Brackett said the boat caught fire just before
5 p.m. July 3, and the occupants jumped off the
vessel. Speaking Saturday before 6 p.m., Brack
ett said the boat fire was extinguished.
Brackett said the two adults suffered burn
injuries and were transported to the Atlanta-
area hospital while the juveniles were taken to
their parents.
The cause of the fire is still under investiga
tion by the Hall County fire marshal’s office.
The Times requested an update July 5, and
neither the fire department nor the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources had identi
fication, condition or other additional informa
tion to provide.
Nick Watson
Teens in foster care face shortage of homes in Hall
BY CONNER EVANS
cevans@gainesvilletimes.com
Finding homes for children in
foster care can be hard, but find
ing homes for teenagers is often
the hardest.
Teens are more likely to sneak
cigarettes, send lewd text mes
sages or stay out late, but more
than anything, teenagers want
autonomy. All of that can be diffi
cult for prospective foster homes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic,
local juvenile courts moved to vir
tual hearings, so Hall County has
not had a backlog of cases like
other districts without the same
capabilities, said Rebecca David
son, Region 2 administrator for
the Department of Children and
Family Services caregiver recruit
ment and retention unit. During
the pandemic, numbers of those
in foster care decreased slightly
or remained stable in Region 2,
which includes Hall and 12 other
counties, and, Davidson said, this
is likely because kids were not in
school as often so they did not get
as many reports from schools.
There is still a shortage of foster
homes, particularly for teenagers,
who are seen as more difficult than
younger kids, she said.
“We call those our ‘golden nug
gets’ when those families come
along, (willing to take in teens),”
How to help
Hall is Home accepts
donations toward its
Christmas program
for teens and children
in foster care. Go to
hallishomeforkids.com to
learn more.
Davidson said.
Foster families willing to take in
teenagers are few, and so the teens
are more likely to be placed out
side their city or county of origin,
Davidson said. And Region 2, like
■ Please see FOSTER, 5A
CONNER EVANS I The Times
From left, John, Cassie and Hannah Adams share lunch July 1, at their
home in southeast Hall County, where the Adamses are fostering three
children for a total of six kids in the house.
I^ight Choice HOMES
jacksonemc.com
