Newspaper Page Text
4A Midweek Edition-December 28-29, 2022
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
LOCA^NATION
NGMC Braselton could add 300jobs in S565M expansion
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
A $565 million expansion of
Northeast Georgia Medical Center
Braselton in South Hall is projected
to create more than 300 new jobs,
according to the hospital.
“Roughly 75% of those would
be for physicians, nurses and other
clinical roles, with the remaining
25% for support staff,” spokes
woman Michelle Zimmerman said.
“We’re still early in this work, so
numbers may shift as we go.”
The hospital now has an equiva
lent of 760 full-time employees, she
said.
The project calls for adding
235,000 square feet of new clini
cal space, including two new
patient care floors and 150 more
acute-care beds that would bring
the hospital’s bed number to 284,
according to a Northeast Georgia
Health System press release in
November.
When finished, the patient tower
would be eight floors, including one
floor with “mechanical equipment
that will serve the new space above
it,” Anthony Williamson, president
of NGMC Braselton, has said.
Plans also call for increasing
the number of treatment rooms in
the emergency department from
23 to 46 and adding a second heli
pad, “which will mean faster, more
efficient access to life-saving heart,
stroke and surgical care,” accord
ing to NGHS.
In addition, the hospital would
add more than 200 new parking
spaces for patients and visitors, and
expand the pharmacy, laboratory,
kitchen and other support spaces.
Overall, “this expansion is not
only a reflection of the growth of
the Braselton area but also of our
original plan to continue to add
timely, comprehensive, much
needed health-related services for
the community,” Williamson has
said.
Fresh off state approval earlier
in November, the expansion was
scheduled to begin in late Novem
ber, with new patient care floors
completed in summer 2025. The
emergency department expansion
is expected to be complete in 2026.
A “certificate of need” applica
tion has also been filed with the
state to add more operating rooms
to expand available surgeries and
procedures, according to NGHS.
The certificate is a formal justifi
cation for the project.
Additional expansion also
includes the construction of an
endovascular operating room for
the performance of complex vas
cular and cardiac cases. Areas for
care before and after surgery will
also be expanded, NGHS says.
Co-leader of plot to kidnap
Mich, governor gets 16 years
BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI
AND COREY WILLIAMS
Associated Press/
Report for America
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.
— The co-leader of a plot
to kidnap Michigan Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer was sen
tenced Tuesday to 16 years
in prison for conspiring to
abduct the Democrat and
blow up a
bridge to
ease an
escape.
Adam
Fox’s sen
tence is
the lon
gest of
anyone
convicted
in the plot so far, though it’s
significantly shorter than
the life sentence that pros
ecutors sought.
Fox, 39, returned to fed
eral court four months after
he and Barry Croft Jr. were
convicted of conspiracy
charges at a second trial in
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
They were accused of
organizing a wild plot to
whip up anti-government
extremists just before the
2020 presidential election.
Their arrest, as well as the
capture of 12 others, was a
stunning coda to a tumultu
ous year of racial strife and
political turmoil in the U.S.
The government said
Croft offered bomb-making
skills and ideology while
Fox was the “driving force
urging their recruits to take
up arms, kidnap the gover
nor and kill those who stood
in their way.”
But Judge Robert J.
Jonker said that while Fox’s
sentence was needed as a
punishment and deterrent
to future similar acts, the
government’s request for
life in prison is “not nec
essary to achieve those
purposes.”
“It’s too much. Something
less than life gets the job
done in this case,” Jonker
said, later adding that 16
years behind bars “is still in
my mind a very long time. ”
Jonker said he also con
sidered the emotional bag
gage Whitmer has to carry
due to the plot.
“It undoubtedly affects
other people who are in
public office or are con
sidering public office,” he
said. “They have to count
the cost. That does need a
forceful sentence from the
court.”
In addition to the prison
sentence, Fox will have to
serve five years of super
vised release. He’ll also get
credit for more than two
years in custody since his
arrest.
“Responding to domestic
terrorism plots has been a
priority for the Department
of Justice since its found
ing and we’re going to con
tinue to spare no expense to
make sure we disrupt plots
like these,” U.S. Attorney
Andrew Birge told report
ers outside the courthouse
following the sentencing.
Fox wore orange prison
clothes with long slicked-
back hair and a full beard.
He showed little reaction
when the sentence was
read.
Daniel Harris, who was
acquitted by a jury earlier
this year for his involve
ment in the plot, sat next to
Fox’s mother in the gallery
and hugged her after the
sentencing was read. Fox
looked into the gallery mul
tiple times, often mouthing
words.
He shook his head and
repeatedly smirked while
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils
Kessler spoke. Kessler said
Fox’s smirking was a sign
that he showed no regret.
Fox and Croft were con
victed at a second trial in
August, months after a dif
ferent Grand Rapids jury
couldn’t reach a verdict but
acquitted Harris and one
other man. Croft, a trucker
from Bear, Delaware, will
be sentenced Wednesday.
In 2020, Fox and Croft
met with like-minded pro
vocateurs in Ohio, trained
with weapons in Michigan
and Wisconsin and took a
ride to “put eyes” on Whit-
mer’s vacation home with
night-vision goggles, accord
ing to evidence.
“People need to stop
with the misplaced anger
and place the anger where
it should go, and that’s
against our tyrannical ...
government,” Fox declared
that spring, boiling over
COVID-19 restrictions and
perceived threats to gun
ownership.
Whitmer wasn’t physi
cally harmed. The FBI,
which was secretly embed
ded in the group, broke
things up by fall.
“They had no real plan
for what to do with the gov
ernor if they actually seized
her. Paradoxically, this
made them more danger
ous, not less,” Kessler said
in a court filing ahead of the
hearing.
At the time, Fox was liv
ing in the basement of a
Grand Rapids-area vacuum
shop, the site of clandestine
meetings with members
of a paramilitary group
and an undercover FBI
agent. His lawyer, Christo
pher Gibbons, said he was
depressed, anxious and
smoking marijuana daily.
Gibbons had said a
life sentence would be
extreme.
“My client stands on
the record, maintains his
innocence and he looks for
ward to getting it all before
the panel at the Court of
Appeals,” Gibbons told
reporters after Tuesday’s
sentencing.
Jonker said there was
nothing that made him
think of Fox as a “natural
leader,” but said conspira
cies like the plot to kidnap
Whitmer take “a lot of
fuel” and that Fox “pro
vided it.”
“It’s important to recog
nize the likelihood of this
ever happening, thank
God, was low because
law enforcement was on
it early,” Jonker said. “I
think the chances of this
actually happening were
incredibly remote.”
In arguing Tuesday for a
life sentence, Kessler said,
“I think you could say that
none of this would have
happened if Mr. Fox was
not involved.”
“They wanted a second
civil war or revolution,”
Kessler said of the conspir
ators. “They wanted to ruin
everything for everybody.
This wasn’t about masks or
about vaccines. They were
talking about overthrow
ing the government before
the coronavirus pandemic.
They had enough guns and
armor for a small war.”
NGHS
■ Continued from 1A
on November 11 ... which
was also caused by a com
munication issue between
ADP and banks and credit
unions,” Couch said. "...
engaging a national, third-
party processing vendor is
typically considered best
practice for large organi
zations like NGHS.”
Couch went on to say
that NGHS has moved to
take action following the
incident, specifically to
ensure the error won’t be
repeated in the future.
In addition to under
going “an evaluation” to
determine whether NGHS
will continue to retain ADP
for payroll services, Couch
stated the hospital is also
in contact with upper lev
els of ADP’s leadership to
further discuss the issue.
“We escalated the issue
to ADP’s senior leader
ship team Friday, and
we’ve asked what assur
ances they can provide
that this will not happen
again,” he said. “NGHS
leadership plans to use
ADP’s response to evaluate
whether we will continue
to work with a third-party
processor or bring that
responsibility back to our
internal team.”
ANIMALS
■ Continued from 1A
Phreadgill said that while 30 people
have volunteered to foster dogs in response
to an Instagram post the organization put
up today, more foster families are needed
to get the dogs out of the cold. Phreadgill,
who said they don’t know how long it could
be before plumbing issues are resolved,
explained the difference between foster
ing and adopting animals.
“A foster is short-term,” she said. “This
is even more short-term than normal.
People can (foster animals) for a couple
of days, if they’re able to do that... but if
someone can do it for a couple of days, for
a week or longer — we’ll take any time we
can get. If people want to foster-to-adopt,
they can.”
Donations of dry food, gallons of water,
towels and monetary support are much-
needed right now, according to Phread
gill. She said bags of food were ruined and
the facility was left without water after the
lines busted.
Folks interested in providing aid to the
Humane Society of Northeast Georgia or
fostering an animal can email hsnegafe
hsnega.org.
Photo provided by HSNEGA
More than 100 dogs were displaced over
the long weekend after pipes burst at the
Humane Society of Northeast Georgia.
Those looking to donate can also visit
https: / / humanesocietyof northeastgeor-
gia.org/wishlist/ to see the organization’s
wishlist.
“We’re really grateful to everybody,”
Phreadgill said. “Just a huge thank you to
the community (for their support).”
Military police enforce driving
ban in snow-stricken Buffalo
N
JOSEPH COOKE I Associated Press
Mike Gippon plows snow in the driveway outside his home in
Buffalo, N.Y. on Monday, Dec. 26. Clean up is currently under
way after a blizzard hit four Western New York counties.
BY CAROLYN THOMPSON
AND JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. — State
and military police were
sent Tuesday to keep people
off Buffalo’s snow-choked
roads, and officials kept
counting fatalities three days
after western New York’s
deadliest storm in at least
two generations.
Even as suburban roads
and most major highways
in the area reopened, Erie
County Executive Mark
Poloncarz warned that
police would be stationed at
entrances to Buffalo and at
major intersections because
some drivers were flouting
a ban on driving within New
York’s second-most popu
lous city.
More than 30 people are
reported to have died in the
region, officials said, includ
ing seven storm-related
deaths announced Tuesday
by Buffalo Mayor Byron
Brown’s office. The toll sur
passes that of the historic
Blizzard of 1977, blamed for
killing as many as 29 people
in an area known for harsh
winter weather.
Greg Monett turned to
social media to beg for help
shoveling a 6-foot pile of
snow from the end of his Buf
falo driveway so he could get
dialysis treatment Tuesday.
“This has been a night
mare,” he said in an inter
view Monday. Power had
been out for a time at his
family’s home, he said, so rel
atives ran a gas stove to keep
warm, a practice he acknowl
edged was dangerous.
“We had to do what we
had to do,” said Monett, 43.
“We would have froze to
death in here.”
His loved ones called 911
when his blood sugar dipped
dangerously low and he
nearly passed out Sunday
night, but they were told it
would take hours to get to the
home, Monett said. He even
tually recovered on his own.
Officials have said at
news briefings that it was
impossible to respond to
emergency calls at the time.
Monett ultimately made
it to dialysis after climbing
through the snow and hav
ing neighbors help dig out
his buried vehicle, sister
Maria Monett said.
A Facebook group origi
nally created in 2014, when
Buffalo was buried under
deep snow, has become
a lifeline, seeking to help
thousands seeking food,
medicine, shelter and res
cue in the latest storm.
Currently managed by five
women, the group swelled
to at least 68,000 people as
of Tuesday.
The National Weather
Service predicted that as
much as 2 inches more
snow could fall Tuesday in
Erie County, which includes
Buffalo and its 275,000 resi
dents. County Emergency
Services Commissioner Dan
Neaverth Jr. said officials
also were somewhat con
cerned about possible flood
ing later in the week when
milder weather begins melt
ing the snow.
Patricia A. Gillot
Fluckiger
April 1, 1942 -
December 17, 2022
Patricia A. Gillot Fluckiger,
80, of LaFargeville NY
passed away peacefully in
the comfort of her home on
Saturday, December 17,
2022. She was born April
1, 1942 to the late Helen
A. and Ellsworth H. Gillot
in Brookville, PA. Patty
graduated from Brookville
High School with the
class of 1960, and upon
graduation she received
a teaching degree from
Mercyhurst College in
Erie, PA. Her first teaching
experience took her to
the Thousand Islands
in New York, where she
taught for several years.
She met and married
Joseph (Joe) Fluckiger,
who preceded her in death
July, 2022. They made
their home in LaFargeville,
NY. Together Patty and
Joe raised three surviving
children - Clark (Simone),
Peter, and Mary. There
are five grandchildren:
Jonathan, Justin, and
Samantha Fluckiger; Dan
Anderson; and Tayen Oni
Fish. In addition Patty is
survived by three great
grandchildren - Mason Alan
Adams, Jack Ray Holder,
and James Lee Holder.
Her only sibling, Edgar H.
Gillot (Linda), resides in
Gainesville, GA. Patty is
also survived by nieces,
Paula K. Nocera (Ron),
Amanda J. McDonald
(John), and nephew, Edgar
H. Gillot, Jr. (Brandy) as
well as several cousins.
She will also be missed
by one aunt, Elizabeth
Marhefka of Wickliffe, OH.
Sherry Dott
Waldrip
December 22, 2022
Ms. Sherry Dott Waldrip,
age 61, of Gainesville,
Georgia, passed away
Thursday, December 22,
2022, at Northeast Georgia
Medical Center. Sherry
was born July 15, 1961, in
Atlanta, Georgia and she
was the daughter of the
late Vertis Lamar Waldrip
and Betty Jean (Lawson)
Waldrip. Celebration of
Life will be held at a later
date and announced.
She is survived by her
brother, Steven Waldrip;
sister, Susan McDonald;
nieces and nephews,
Harrison, Taylor, Chip,
Chance, Cleve and Anna
and 4 great-nieces and
nephews. Memorial Park
North Riverside Chapel
989 Riverside Drive
Gainesville, Georgia is in
charge of arrangements.
For online condolences
www.memorialpark
funeralhomes.com
Death Notices
Barry Waters
December 14, 2022
Barry Waters, age 79, of
Dacula, GA passed away
on Wednesday, December
14. A Memorial Service will
be held at Hamilton Mill
United Methodist Church
On December 27, at 11
a.m. The family will receive
friends at 10 a.m. until the
service hour. Arrangements
By: Flanigan Funeral
Home and Crematory,
Buford, GA
Eva Jean Austin
December 23, 2022
Eva Jean Austin, age 75 of
Gainesville, passed away
on Friday, December 23.
Graveside services will be
held at 2:00 P.M. Thursday,
December 29, at Memorial
Park South Cemetery. The
family will receive friends
from 12:00 to 2:00 P.M.
Thursday, December 29,
at Memorial Park South
Funeral Home.
George Edward
“Ed” Weyant
December 22, 2022
George Edward “Ed”
Weyant, 94, of Dawsonville
died Thursday, December
22. Funeral service,
Tuesday December 27,
2 p.m. Bearden Funeral
Home, Dawsonville, GA.
Martha Jane Bruce
Mauldin
December 24, 2022
Evans Funeral Home of
Jefferson announces the
death of Mrs. Martha Jane
Bruce Mauldin, age 74 of
Jefferson who entered rest
Saturday, December 24.
Funeral services will be
held 1:00 P.M. Thursday,
December 29, from the
Chapel of Evans Funeral
Home.
Robin Anne
Edwards
December 21, 2022
Robin Anne Edwards, age
69 of Braselton, Georgia
passed away peacefully on
Wednesday, December 21.
Funeral Services will be
held Thursday, December
29th at 11:00 AM from the
Flanigan Funeral Home
and Crematory in Buford,
Georgia. Visitation with the
family will be Wednesday,
December 28th from 4:00
PM to 8:00 PM at Flanigan
Funeral Home.
£hc £tmcs
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