About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2023)
Thursday, March 16, 20231 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local 2 shot in road rage incident on Ga. 365 BY BEN ANDERSON banderson @gainesvilletimes.com A Lula man has been charged with shooting two people in a road rage inci dent Wednesday morning on Ga. 365, Gainesville police said. Steven Dallas Cooper, 26, faces charges of aggravated battery, criminal attempt to commit murder, criminal damage to property, reck less conduct and aggravated assault. Cooper is accused of shooting a man and a woman around 8:30 a.m. at an inter section of Ga. 365 next to the J. A. Walters YMCA in Gainesville. Police said Cooper had a two-year-old child in the car. He remains in the Hall County Jail. Police said Cooper fired multiple shots, hitting Micheal Charles Gabriel and Paula Blackwell, 65, who was “caught in the cross fire,” Lt. Kevin Holbrook said. Blackwell is in criti cal condition at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. After being shot, Gabriel traveled south onto Jesse Jewell Park way, stopped and called the police. He was transported to NGMC and later released with minor injuries. Two people were shot Wednesday morning in what police are describing as a road rage incident on Ga. 365 at YMCA Drive. SCOTT ROGERS The Times ‘Heart of the neighborhood’ SCOn ROGERS I The Times Vic Wilson leads a small service Monday, March 13, at Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville in remembrance of Icie Pilgrim. The group of New Holland men have banded together to secure a grave marker for the unofficial village matriarch of their childhood. New Holland womans grave marked 42 years after her death Slaying suspect describes finding man dead in bed BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Tabitha Wood slept beside her 82-year-old fiance for three days until she had to face reality. Leroy Kramer was dead. “Three days after I had been sleeping in there beside him, I came to my senses,” Wood said. “He’s gone. And I couldn’t accept it.” Wood capped off the sec ond day of testimony in her own murder trial involving Kramer’s death in April 2022. Kramer was found dead in June. The prosecution rested after 3 p.m. Tuesday following the testimony from the lead investigator, the forensic pathologist and the crime scene investigator. Wood’s relationship with Kramer started after a mutual acquaintance called Kramer from Wood’s phone. Wood eventually talked to Kramer when he repeatedly called her. The two met for breakfast at Burger King in town, where he explained that he needed help and was tired of living alone. In 2020, Wood moved into the Candler Road home and got engaged the following year. The relationship started off great, but Wood said that Kramer became aggressive. She claimed he would hit her with a belt, particularly when she would refuse to have sex with him. Wood said Kramer had a “great mind,” at odds with what Kramer’s stepdaughter discussed regarding Kramer’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Defense attorney Rob McNeill asked Wood if she loved him, to which she replied “very much. ” “I know how he treated me, but it was very Wood BY RACHEL ESTES restes@gainesvilletimes.com If angels roam the earth, the late Icie Pilgrim may have been chief among them. The unofficial matriarch of New Hol land in her day, Pilgrim, who died 67, is remembered as a kind-hearted, God fearing maternal figure to generations of the village’s children. Upon learning her grave at Alta Vista Cemetery had remained unmarked from the time she was laid to rest there in November 1981, a rag-tag group of boys — who’ve since grown into men in their 60s and 70s — rallied to pay homage to the woman whose life shaped much of their own. Bearing the inscription, “An angel among us,” a memorial plaque was recently installed at Pilgrim’s grave, with a dedication ceremony held Mon day, March 13. While her death was more than 40 years ago, Vic Wilson said it wasn’t until recently that his nephew, Darryl Wilson, was visiting some loved ones’ graves at Alta Vista and couldn’t locate Pilgrim’s. He went to the office and learned the grave had never been marked. “It just made me sad,” Darryl said. “I heard a little fire in his voice,” Vic recalled. “He said, ‘Vic, we’re going to get a grave marker for her.’ We went on a mission. We got together, made a few phone calls (and) everybody said, ‘We’re in, whatever it takes.’” Robert Pilgrim said he wasn’t sure why his aunt’s grave was never marked until now, and can only assume it was an issue of affordability at the time. While Icie would likely prefer the men “find something else worthwhile” to spend their money on, Vic, who grew up in the house next door, said the ges ture is simply “what we think is accept able and appropriate.” “She was instrumental in making us feel loved (and) appreciated,” he said. “She’s one person you’ll never forget. She was the heart of the neighborhood.” “She deserves that much,” Kenny Burnette echoed. “I think it’s part of our calling, but it’s also payback.” Pilgrim was robbed of a normal life by polio, which later developed into multiple sclerosis, resulting in the ampu tation of both of her legs. According to Robert’s best recollection, Icie “was OK until she was about 15 or 16 years old. Then the MS struck her. Through the years, it gradually got worse. The mid dle to latter part of her life was when she started losing her legs — circulation and all just went away.” Vic’s earliest memory of his neighbor is a young Icie, clad in a nurse’s uniform, emerging from a cab after her shift as a ■ Please see PILGRIM, 3A The late Icie Pilgrim of New Holland was buried in an unmarked grave at Alta Vista Cemetery in 1981. Nearly 42 years later, a group of men who grew up in her neighborhood have marked her grave with a memorial plaque. Photo provided by Vic Wilson ■ Please see WOOD, 4A BRIAN WELLMEIER I The Times Habitat for Humanity of Hall County’s new Executive Director Lila Weaver (left) meets with Construction Manager Kendrick Dye (middle) and Restore Manager Keith Remaley at the organization’s Restore location in Gainesville. Habitat for Humanity of Hall County finds new local leadership BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Habitat for Humanity of Hall County, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to building homes for families in need, has new leadership in Executive Director Lila Weaver. An experienced realtor and former director of operations and executive programs at Bre- nau University, Weaver stepped into the new position earlier this year. Now, about three months into the role, much of her time has been spent learning the inner workings of the organization and further devel oping community partnerships. With insight into the area’s housing market, Weaver stressed the need to build on those partnerships, strengthen efforts to alleviate the region’s ongoing affordable housing crisis, and to drive the continued promotion of Habitat’s brand and status in Hall County. “My passion and desire is to connect with all the other nonprofits.. having those conver sations and what we can do as a joint effort (and) how we can impact more,” said Weaver, describing her decision to join the organization ■ Please see HABITAT, 3A
