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Talmo man charged with setting
his home on fire.
INSIDE, 3A
(the (Times
Tuesday, February 28, 2023 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
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Bills that could let Buckhead split
from Atlanta advance.
INSIDE, 4A
Honestly Local
Ga. high court ruling may affect Hall case
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A footnote in a Georgia
Supreme Court opinion may
affect a Hall County medical
malpractice case in which a jury
previously granted a $3 million
verdict against Northeast Geor
gia Medical Center, according to
court documents.
A Hall County Superior Court
jury granted a $3 million verdict
March 23, 2021, favoring the
family of Frances “Suzi” Mitch
ell, 42, of Jackson County. Mitch
ell’s two adult children were
listed as the plaintiffs against
Northeast Georgia Health Sys
tem, the medical center and Dr.
Andrew Green.
The original lawsuit claimed
Green pierced Mitchell’s small
intestine during a May 3, 2016,
surgery to remove an ovarian
mass. Mitchell died four days
later.
“An autopsy revealed that a
small perforation or hole in her
bowel had caused an abdomi
nal infection, resulting in her
death,” according to a sum
mary from the Georgia Court of
Appeals. “The medical exam
iner who conducted the autopsy
concluded that the perforation
occurred during the surgery
performed by Green.”
The Georgia Court of Appeals
vacated the judgment in March
2022, ruling that Mitchell’s
estranged husband was the
proper party to file the wrongful
death claim.
The Georgia Supreme Court
granted review to consider a
Thomas County wrongful death
medical malpractice case,
Hamon v. Connell. The wrong
ful death case was brought by
the deceased man’s daughter
instead of his wife, who had
been separated from the man
for some time.
The high court reviewed the
case to see if the trial court
made a mistake in allowing the
man’s daughter to pursue the
wrongful death case. The Geor
gia Court of Appeals previously
reversed the trial court’s deci
sion regarding Connell, which
was used to decide Mitchell’s
case.
The Wrongful Death Act in
Georgia states that a decedent’s
child or children can pursue
a claim if there is no surviving
spouse.
“However ... under certain
circumstances, Georgia courts
have applied equitable princi
ples to allow someone other than
the decedent’s surviving spouse
to pursue a wrongful death
claim to benefit a decedent’s
children,” the Georgia Supreme
Court justices wrote in their
unanimous opinion on Feb. 7.
In a footnote before the last
page of the opinion, the justices
wrote that they “overrule” the
Northeast Georgia Medical
Center ruling that relied on the
Georgia Court of Appeals prior
ruling in the Connell case
The attorney for Mitchell’s
family, Kenneth Lewis, filed a
motion Feb. 16 to reinstate the
March 2021 verdict citing the
Connell case.
Lewis also filed an amicus
brief for the Georgia Supreme
■ Please see RULING, 3A
‘This is a major project’
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
Signage warns motorists along Ga. 211 Monday, Feb. 27, near I-85 of construction for a road widening project.
Work underway off Ga. 211 in Braselton aimed at widening road
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Work has started on a stretch of
heavily congested Old Winder High-
way/Ga. 211 in Braselton.
The $25.5 million project calls for
widening the road from two to four
lanes between Pinot Noir Drive and
Interstate 85.
The project, expected to be com
pleted by Oct. 31, 2025, will include a
5 3/4-foot sidewalk on the east side of
a bridge on Ga. 211, as well as multi
lane roundabouts at 1-85 and Tour de
France, a road leading to Chateau Elan
resort.
“This is a major project, and the first
part of it has begun with the clearing
and grubbing (of trees and vegetation)
on the sides of the road,” said Eliza
beth Johnson, Georgia Department of
Transportation district spokeswoman.
Moving utilities, including lines and
poles, is expected to take 7-8 months,
depending on the weather, she said.
“The town has worked very hard in
partnership with the Georgia Depart
ment of Transportation to get this proj
ect to construction,” Braselton Town
Manager Jennifer Scott has said about
the project.
Ga. 211 in Braselton is a busy, fast-
developing road, intersecting in Hall
County with Friendship Road/Ga. 347,
which leads to Northeast Georgia Medi
cal Center Braselton, which is undergo
ing a $565 million expansion.
A huge, multi-use development, Bra
selton Village, is being graded off Ga.
211 near Pinot Noir Drive. The devel
opment will feature a 187,647-square-
foot shopping center, including a
Lowe’s home improvement store and
five outparcels, on 32 acres.
So, more traffic is likely to come to
the area.
Scott has said Braselton intends to
continue working with GDOT to widen
Ga. 211 from Pinot Noir to Friend
ship Road “in anticipation that we can
get that project to award as soon as
possible.”
Plans also call for Ga. 211 to be wid
ened in Hall from Friendship Road to
Winder Highway/Ga. 53. The project,
estimated to cost $92 million overall,
has been set for 2026-30, according to
the Gainesville-Hell Metropolitan Plan
ning Organization.
Development also is expected to
boom on the Hall side of Ga. 211.
Work has started on Reveille, a
planned 512-acre mixed-use develop
ment across from Union Church Road,
and an 8,000-square-foot retail spec
building off Ga. 211 and Union Church
was approved in February by Hall
County’s Board of Commissioners.
Pipe is stacked
along Ga. 211
across from
Chateau Elan
Monday, Feb. 27,
near i-85 where
a road widening
project has
begun.
Florida man
gets 30 years
for molesting
girls in Hall
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Florida man accused of molesting two
girls under the age of 10 was found guilty
Friday, Feb. 24, by a Hall County jury,
according to court documents.
Jonathan Marshall Wal
lace, 34, of New Port
Richey, Florida, was
indicted in January 2020 on
two counts of aggravated
child molestation, three
counts of child molestation
and one count of aggra
vated sexual battery. He
was convicted Friday after
noon on all six counts.
Superior Court Judge
Kathlene Gosselin sentenced Wallace to a
total sentence of life plus 20 years with the
first 30 years in prison. Wallace will receive
credit for time served since Oct. 15, 2021
plus another year of pre-trial detention, and
Gosselin allowed for the remainder of the
sentence to be served on probation.
Hall County Sheriff’s Office detectives
began investigating the case in September
2019, when family members of a 4-year-old
girl reported she was sexually abused at a
Hall County residence.
During that investigation, detectives
determined Wallace also molested a second
girl, who was 6 at the time, in 2013 at the
same residence, according to the Sheriff’s
Office.
Wallace and the girls knew each other.
The jury took the case about 9 a.m. Fri
day after hearing evidence since Tuesday,
Feb. 21 before Gosselin.
During the sentencing phase, Assistant
District Attorney Harold Buckler asked for
life in prison to reflect the amount of dam
age he’s done.
“When one molests a child, it will always
be a part of that child’s life. Even as the
two victims in this case recover, our hearts
■ Please see WALLACE, 3A
Wallace
Hall school board
OKs $11M for
big touchscreens
BY BEN ANDERSON
banderson@gainesvilletimes.com
The Hall County school board on Monday
approved $11.08 million in funding to replace
projectors in all schools with interactive touch
screen panels over the next three years.
“It is necessary,” Superintendent Will Scho
field told the board, explaining that the projec
tors have reached the end of their lifespans. He
said all classrooms will get a fresh coat of paint
as well.
The 86-inch panels will be purchased from
Clear Touch, a company that specializes in cre
ating interactive technology for schools and
universities.
Aaron Turpin, assistant superintendent of tech
nology, said the schools with the most faulty pro
jectors will get panels first.
Turpin explained the decision to purchase the
panels now, saying, “The price has come down to
the point where they’re a better return on invest
ment than projectors.”
■ Please see SCHOOL, 3A