About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 2023)
NTSB: Plane lost engine before 1-985 landing BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com The engine of a Piper air plane lost all power before a student pilot and instruc tor landed on Interstate 985 at the split with Interstate 85, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. The report said the student pilot and instructor took off from Lawrenceville and were destined for Buford before 5 p.m. Jan. 24. After practicing maneuvers in the area, the flight instruc tor said she and the student pilot were returning to the air port, according to the report. The instructor asked the student to switch fuel tanks. “Shortly thereafter, the engine unexpectedly lost all power,” according to the report. “... Unable to reach an airport, the flight instructor performed a forced landing to a local interstate highway.” The plane’s right wing was deemed “substantially dam aged” by an Federal Aviation Administration inspector, and the nose landing gear col lapsed during the landing. The instructor and student exited the aircraft before Gwinnett County fire crews arrived on the scene. The landing closed down 985 northbound for more than an hour. The Gwinnett hazmat team offloaded 10 gallons of fuel from the plane before a wrecker service transported it away. A plane crashed on Interstate 985 on Jan. 24. The NTSB reported that the engine of the Piper lost all power before a student pilot and instructor landed. Photo courtesy Jessica Brandt ‘Security... always a top priority’ directory iOW £RFIOOR V [tBCj234's FIRST FLOOR i,. cron To* Assessor ■fi To* Commissioner £tCOND FLOOR >T‘' 0n ° nd Vi,j , “7" V rc „ •»i»Or* SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Hall County Marshall Sgt. Rich Ellis walks through the Hall County Government Center Tuesday, Feb. 7. Hall County completed a comprehensive safety and security assessment during the summer of 2022 and has hired an additional marshal and plans to purchase additional building security equipment to limit access to areas in which public access is not necessary. Government Center beefs up security after ‘bulletproof’ comment BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com The Hall County Government Center is beefing up security eight months after Tax Commissioner Darla Eden sent a let ter to the county administrator saying she was “deeply concerned” about the safety of the building’s employees. Her letter was prompted by an agitated taxpayer who “asked our clerk if the glass was bulletproof,” she wrote in June. An additional marshal was hired in December to guard the front lobby, and commissioners are expected to approve just over $76,000 on Thursday for extra security equipment, such as key card readers on a couple dozen doors “to limit access to areas in which public access is not necessary,” county spokeswoman Sarah Crowe said over email. “As of next week, we will have eight marshals that work for Hall County including one dedicated marshal on the first floor, in addition to two security guards,” Crowe said, adding that staff also participated in active threat train ing provided by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office in January. The equipment vendor, a Gainesville- based company called Electronic Sales, installed the current security system and will oversee the upgrades, according to the Feb. 6 work session agenda. “We’ve been trying to be proactive on building security even before those con cerns were raised, and it’s really just an ongoing effort,” Cpt. Barry Shaw of the Hall County Marshall Sgt. Rich Ellis works the front entrance Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at the Hall County Government Center as visitors go to about their business. Hall County Marshal’s Office said. “We’re just trying to be as proactive as we can to make the building as safe as it can be for anyone that’s coming to do business here or that works here. ” Following Eden’s letter in June, the county conducted a “comprehensive safety and security assessment,” Crowe said, though when The Times asked for a copy of the report she said it is exempt from release under Georgia’s open records law. “The report has some great content and good ideas to implement,” Eden told The Times last week, also saying she received a copy in November. “There are ideas in there such as additional security guards, securing access points, additional ■ Please see SECURITY, 3A Local prosecutor, attorney among people recommended to governor for State Court BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Hall County prosecutor and a Gainesville attorney are on the short list to potentially be the next Hall County State Court judge. The Judicial Nominating Commission had seven appli cants for the job vacated by retired Judge B.E. Roberts III. The commission released its short list Wednesday, Feb. 8, to Gov. Brian Kemp: Chief Assis tant District Attorney Kelley Robertson and attorney Tripp Wingate. Robertson became the chief assistant district attorney in August 2021. Wingate is a partner of Myers & Wingate, a law firm with an office on Green Street. Accord ing to his website, Wingate’s practice has focused on civil litigation concerning personal injury and insurance matters. The governor’s office will schedule interviews with the two candidates before Kemp makes his decision. Europe trip being probed by Ga. Senate Miller says it was for economic development’ Associated Press ATLANTA — The current leaders of the Georgia Senate say they will investigate spend ing on a European trip last year by former state Senate leaders. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former Sen ate President Pro Tern Butch Miller and 12 oth ers took a taxpayer-paid trip to Germany and England last year just before the terms of Dun can and Miller ended. Miller, of Gainesville, told The Times he’s hesitant to disclose further details about the visit for fear of escalating what he described as “a very confusing circumstance. ” “My experience in that sort of thing ... it’s ■ Please see TRIP, 3A SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Lt. governor candidate Butch Miller gives interviews Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at his campaign night headquarters at Carroll Daniel Construction in downtown Gainesville. Hall to vote on annexation request from city of Buford BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesville.com Hall County Commission will consider whether to block a move by the city of Buford to annex a proposed 50-acre development Thurs day, Feb. 9. If approved by commissioners, the resolu tion would thwart an attempt by Atlanta-based industrial real estate company Seefried Indus trial Properties to annex five contiguous parcels on Bennett Road in Buford. A Hall County justification summary for the item asserts the city “proposes to rezone the property to an industrial zoning district.” Con flicting with the property’s current residential zoning classification, state law authorizes the county to issue a dispute resolution process to challenge the annexation. “The applicant that’s come into the City of Buford is proposing two large warehouses on about 50 acres, and so it’s out of keeping with the area.. it’s a substantially different use and more intense use than what our land use plan ■ Please see VOTE, 3A
