Newspaper Page Text
H Gainesville man who shot flare gun
at police car must now wash them.
INSIDE, 4A
Thursday, July 8,2021 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Proposed South Hall
development would include
18‘tiny homes.’ inside, 4a
Honestly Local
Lanier
BY CONNER EVANS
cevans@gainesvilletimes.com
Developers of a proposed lake
side resort-style complex with a
mixture of apartments and town-
homes will have to iron out more
details before the Hall County
Planning Commission will give it
another look later this summer.
The 305-unit lakefront develop
ment proposal from FIDES Devel
opment would sit on a 16-acre lot
now used mostly for trailer parks
at 3450 North Waterworks Road
near Buford. It would feature two
resort development stalled
sections: The View at Waterside, a
four- to five-story residential build
ing housing 125 units with one to
three bedrooms; and Waterside
Point, 180 units spread among resi
dential buildings, townhomes and
cottages. It would include a total
of 59 townhomes between the two
sections.
Both sections would include
swimming pools, boat docks and
a clubhouse, as well as walking
trails, a dog park and other recre
ational areas.
The development would be
north of Lanier Islands Parkway/
Ga. 347 between Lanier Islands
resort and McEver Road.
“A bridge will provide vehicu
lar and pedestrian connection
between the two sections, and the
interior roads will be private, with
the exception of the cul-de-sac at
the entrance,” according to a Hall
County planning report on the
project.
Planning Commission Chair
Chris Braswell said at the commis
sion’s meeting Tuesday that the
proposal was unprecedented in
■ Please see RESORT, 4A
A 305-unit
‘resort-style’
development
is being
proposed in
South Hall
on Lake
Lanier
Artist rendering
‘Unemployment catastrophe’
Man charged
with raping
young girl
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Gainesville man is accused of raping and
molesting a child younger than 10 over the
course of nine months in 2016,
according to authorities.
Mario Alfonso Gonzales Jr.,
31, was arrested Friday, July
2, charged with two counts of
rape, six counts of child moles
tation and six counts of aggra
vated sodomy. Gonzales was
booked into the Hall County
Jail, where he remains with no
bond. It was not immediately
clear when law enforcement became aware
of the case.
Hall County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Ryan Daly
said the alleged sexual assaults happened
between January and September 2016 at Gon
zales’ former residence on Sailors Avenue.
“At this time, the victim and the mother of the
victim have since relocated to a new residence,
and this case is still pending further investiga
tion,” Daly wrote in an email.
Defense attorney Brett Willis declined
to comment.
Gonzales
SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Justin Wilson stands on the sidewalk outside his apartment building in downtown Gainesville Wednesday, July 7, and recalls his
attempts to get in contact with the Georgia Department of Labor for months.
Department of Labor still lags as applicants wait on benefits
BY CONNER EVANS
cevans@gainesvilletimes.com
While the number of unemployed has
trended much lower in recent months
locally, some are still reporting difficulty
dealing with the Georgia Department of
Labor, including long delays in receiving
payment, getting decisions on their appli
cations or a date for an appeal hearing.
Gainesville resident Justin Wilson,
who lost his job in January, waited
months before receiving a decision on
his application for unemployment insur
ance benefits. He applied in January,
then the department denied his applica
tion in early May because his employer
contested it. (Wilson and his former
employer dispute the reason why his
employment was terminated, and the
employer would not comment on the
dispute.)
Wilson appealed the decision and is
still waiting to get a date for his appeal
hearing.
“I’ve tried calling, been calling pretty
much every day since January,” Wilson
said. “It goes straight to an automated
voice message system. You leave mes
sages, and I’ve never received a phone
call back after leaving messages.”
He has only spoken on the phone with
a representative twice since January, he
said. He got a call three months after he
submitted his application, he said, and
the representative told him to fill out a
questionnaire emailed to him. But the 26
questions included in the email did not
give him the ability to explain himself, he
said, which he will not have an opportu
nity to do until he gets an appeal hearing.
All applicants who are denied unem
ployment insurance can appeal the
decision, but Wilson said he is worried
because a recent lawsuit filed by four
Georgians against the department states
that people have had to wait an average
of 217 days before being heard.
“In the midst of the largest unemploy
ment catastrophe in recent memory, the
Georgia Department of Labor (“GDOL”)
has repeatedly failed to follow the law
governing the payment of unemployment
benefits,” the lawsuit states. “Repeatedly
and systematically, the GDOL
Fulton County Superior Court has
violated those rights — failing to make
prompt determinations regarding unem
ployment benefits, failing to provide
prompt appeal hearings of those deter
minations, and failing to make payments
that are undeniably due. ”
While waiting, Wilson said he has had
to sell most of his possessions to pay his
rent, including music equipment and his
car, which limits where he could poten
tially work. He was contacted July 2 by a
department representative, who told him
he will receive notice in the mail for his
appeal hearing. But he said he does not
know how long this will take or when he
should expect to receive it.
Kersha Cartwright, a spokesperson for
the department, said receiving unem
ployment insurance is not a quick process
when the employer and employee do not
■ Please see UNEMPLOYMENT, 4A
Beach Bash
returns to Hall
BY KELSEY P0D0
kpodo@gainesvilletimes.com
Grab your flip-flops and sunscreen because
Beach Bash is coming back to Lake Lanier
Olympic Park.
The venue — located at 3105 Clarks Bridge
Road in Gainesville — invites families to enjoy
the warm sand, food trucks, live music and kid-
friendly games from 5-10 p.m. Friday, July 16.
Eric Larsen, the park’s special events man
ager, said around 100 tons of “sugar white” sand
will soon be dumped and spread around the
plaza, transforming it into a beach.
“We’re really excited that the Beach Bash is
back,” Larsen said. “ ... After the Beach Bash is
done, we’ll take all of that sand and put it on our
beach.”
The free event will offer an inflatable water-
slide and host games for kids. A hula hoop and
limbo contest will be held at 6 p.m.
■ Please see BASH, 4A
Beach Bash
What: Live music, food trucks, games and
other summer activities
When: 5-10 p.m. Friday, July 16
Where: Lake Lanier Olympic Park, 3105
Clarks Bridge Road, Gainesville
More info: lakelanierolympicvenue.org/
event/beach-bash
Bight Choice HOMES
jacksonemc.com
