The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, March 01, 2023, Image 3

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The times., March 01, 2023, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextLOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Midweek Edition-March 1-2, 2023 3A Jury finds man guilty in crash that killed teen BY NICK WATSON nwatson@ gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. A Gainesville man tried twice for a 2020 fatal wreck was found guilty Thursday, Feb. 23, on all charges, according to court documents. Shannon Beauford, 28, was convicted on all eight counts by the jury late Thursday from the Oct. 4, 2020, wreck on White Sulphur Road that killed Madison Gray, 17, of Gainesville. Beauford was accused of driving under the influence of methamphetamine Beauford and speeding when the Toyota Corolla struck a culvert and rotated. The jury returned guilty verdicts for first- degree vehicular homi cide, second-degree child cruelty, driving under the influence of drugs (less safe), reckless driv ing, driving on the wrong side of the roadway, failure to main tain lane and driving without a license. The jury deliberated for roughly two hours before coming back around 5:30 p.m. Senior Judge C. Andrew Fuller sentenced Beauford Thursday to 25 years in prison, with 15 years on the vehicular homicide charge and 10 years on the child cruelty count. Beauford was previously tried before Superior Court Judge Jason Deal, but the judge declared a mistrial in January after the jury deadlocked. “The jury in its verdict finally brought justice for Madison Gray and her family and removed a menace from our roads,” North eastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh said in a statement. “We appreciate their verdict and the appropriate sen tence imposed by Judge Fuller.” NGMC Gainesville reaches Level 1 status in trauma care BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville has been verified as a Level 1 trauma center, the Northeast Georgia Health System announced in a news release Friday, Feb. 24, making the hospital one of five state- designated Level 1 trauma centers in Georgia and the state’s fourth to be nationally verified. “We are thrilled to announce this excit ing news for our community and beyond,” Carol Burrell, president and CEO of North east Georgia Health System, said in a news release. “Since NGMC Gainesville’s Level II trauma center designation in 2013, our amaz ing trauma team has cared for nearly 20,000 trauma patients that would have had to travel outside our region for care.” According to the American College of Surgeons, verified Level I trauma centers must be capable of providing system leader ship and comprehensive trauma care for all injuries. “We have been operating like a Level I trauma center for a while, as we prepared to apply for this highest level of designa tion and verification,” said Matthew Vassy, trauma medical director for NGMC. “The big differences between a Level II and a Level I include a robust academic research component and having the range of surgical subspecialists to be able to care for the most complex of injuries.” Verified Level I centers also have an important role working with first responders and other agencies to develop a local trauma system and regional disaster planning. “Verified Level I trauma centers are con sidered the ‘gold standard’ across the nation,” said Jesse Gibson, trauma program director at NGMC. “We hope that people never need to use our trauma services, but they can rest assured that if they are brought to NGMC Gainesville they will receive the best care available.” Other Level 1 trauma centers in Georgia include Augusta University Medical Center, Atrium Health Navicent in Macon, Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savan nah, according to the Department of Public Health. To learn more about the trauma program at NGMC, visit nghs.com/trauma. SCOn ROGERS I The Times Wendy’s fast-food restaurant has opened off Martin Road in Oakwood. Wendy’s opens 2nd Oakwood store BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. Wendy’s restaurant has opened a new loca tion in Oakwood. The 2,767-square-foot restaurant featur ing a covered patio with overhead lights and seating is at 4207 Martin Road near Interstate 985’s Exit 14 in South Hall. The other Wen dy’s is at 3825 Mundy Mill Road. The fast-food hamburger restaurant is off a driveway that will connect other businesses between Falcon Parkway/Ga. 13 and Over book Drive, which leads to Advenir at Flow ery Branch apartments. The Wendy’s is part of a 15-acre commer cial site approved in 2019 by Oakwood City Council off Martin Road and Ga. 13. The site, across from Martin Technology Academy, can be used for a drive-in restau rant, banks, medical offices and car washes. Hotels would be excluded on the site. Also, individual site plans, such as the gas sta tion, would have to be approved by the City Council. Oakwood has approved site plans showing a 3,600-square-foot convenience store/gas station with an attached 1,600-square-foot drive-thru-only restaurant at the site — both yet to be named — and a Christian Brothers Automotive car repair center, which has locations in metro Atlanta. Man shoots at sister, points gun at mom, police say Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. A Flowery Branch man was charged with attempted murder after shooting at his sister, point ing a gun at his mom’s head, and demanding the keys to her car, according to authorities. Jamario Fryer, 34, also faces charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault, first-degree child cruelty, posses sion of a firearm during the commission of a crime and battery. His sister, mother and a child flagged down a passing motorist Thursday, Feb. 23, who drove them to the Flowery Branch Police Department. Flowery Branch Police Deputy Chief Todd Templeton said Fryer was in an argu ment around 6:30 p.m. Thursday with his mother and sister at their home in the 4700 block of Beacon Ridge Lane. Templeton said Fryer pointed a handgun at his sister and fired, but the shot missed. “Mr. Fryer then approached his mother, kicked her in the side while she was on the floor, then pointed the firearm at her head while demand ing the keys to her vehicle,” Temple ton wrote in a news release. Templeton said Fryer also pointed a gun at a boy, but both women and the child were able to get out of the home. He did not say the boy’s age or rela tionship to Fryer. It was not clear what the connection was between Fryer and the child. Flowery Branch Police responded to the Beacon Ridge Lane house and found Fryer in the car. “He had left the residence, and while offi cers were investigating, he arrived back at the residence,” Templeton said. Fryer was taken to the Hall County Jail. Templeton said Fryer’s attempted murder charge was related to his sister. Nick Watson Fryer Talmo man charged with arson that destroyed his home BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. A Talmo man poured gasoline on his home, leading to a Saturday, Feb. 25 fire that destroyed the resi dence, according to authorities. Timothy Sites, 34, was charged with first- degree arson and booked in to the Hall County Jail, where he remains with no bond. Firefighters responded around 5:30 a.m. Saturday to the 3700 block of Pratt Reece Road. Hall County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Derreck Booth said investigators believe Sites poured gasoline on the home and lit a fire in a burn barrel. Booth said the fire spread to the gasoline poured on the home. Booth said Sites lived in the home, but investigators have not estab lished a motive. No one was injured in the fire. Sites was taken into custody within the hour of firefighters arriving at the scene. Law enforcement was previously called Jan. 18 to the same home, which was deemed a mattress fire, Booth said. No charges were filed related to the January fire. Sites Lula City Council OKs water fee increase on future developments BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@ gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previ ous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. Developers will now pay a higher cost to connect to water and sewer services in Lula. Customers who once paid $850 in water fees will now pay $1,500 to con nect to city water lines. For wastewater, that rate went from $5000 to $7,500 inside and outside city limits for a 3 A-inch meter size. Rates increase based on meter size and gallon usage. The increased tap fees, approved by council members, will specifically apply to those looking to develop within the city. With a number of industrial develop ments and the Northeast Georgia Inland Port at its doorstep, city officials main tain the higher rates are necessary to improve water/sewer infrastructure and to account for continued growth Lula is expected to see in the coming years. The idea, City Manager Dennis Bergin explained to council Monday, is to “stay ahead of (the) cost of replacement.” “It doesn’t matter what we paid for yesterday, it matters what it will cost to replace it tomorrow,” he said. Bergin remains confident that higher rates, driven by a 2021 water/sewer rate study that “looked at the capital compo nents and investments as well as system development charges,” won’t turn away future developers. He described rates of other munici palities in the area as “comparable” to the ones passed Monday. Pointing to eventual upgrades Lula’s system will likely require, he stressed the need to boost that capital now, rather than after growth and a larger population reaches the city and such improvements become unaffordable. “In comparison to other communities, we’re probably the middle of the road,” Bergin said, “...this is a cost everybody’s experiencing — it’s all about capital, so it’s material. A lot of our system is grav ity-fed, versus pump stations. If you start throwing in pump stations for a location, that can be as much as $800,000. .the problem for a lot of communities is they may have a wastewater treatment plant that’s 40 years old, and when they have to upgrade it, it’s sticker shock.” In Gainesville, which serves a much larger number of water/sewer custom ers, the rates for developers is $2,850 for a 3 A-inch meter size to connect to water and $4,577 to connect to wastewater for that same meter size. Connection fees in the City of Baldwin, similar in population to Lula with a popu lation of 3,755, are $1,050 for water and $3,125 for sewer for 3 A-inch meter sizes. Bergin said the rate hikes only will apply to newcomers and not current cus tomers, and that the majority of these fees are paid by developers, who’ll shoul der the burden of infrastructure upkeep, instead of residents. “The existing rate payers — it won’t affect them,” he said. “It’s only the new customers, and they’re only going to be paying a portion of what the actual cost is.” Councilwoman Denise Shockley explained the logic behind her vote to approve the item, stating that the rate increase will cover infrastructure costs that otherwise would be levied on home- owners as additional taxes. “... We have to make sure we are cover ing our costs,” she said. “Unfortunately, when (infrastructure costs) increase for us, we have to pass that increase along.” Start earning today with BankOZK! <4.00%> 8 MONTH CD OR IRA CD** SPECIAL <4.50%> 13 MONTH CD OR IRA CD * SPECIAL Visit our Oakwood location or open an account online at ozk.com** <> BankOZK Greater awaits" ozk.com I Member FDIC ^Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective as of the publication date. Offer applies to new CDs only. $1,000 minimum deposit to open and is required to earn stated APY. Penalty for early withdrawal. IRA CD is subject to eligibility requirements. Offer not available to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. Fees could reduce earnings. Offer subject to change without notice. Offer good at locations in Oakwood, GA only. **IRA CD must be opened in person and cannot be opened online.