About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2023)
LOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Weekend Edition-March 17-18, 2023 3A SHOOTING ■ Continued from 1A next to the J. A. Walters YMCA in Gainesville. Police said Cooper had a two-year-old child in the car. He is being held without bond in Hall County Jail. Police said Cooper fired multiple shots, hit ting Michael Charles Gabriel, 50, and Paula Kay Blackwell, 65, who was “caught in the cross fire,” Lt. Kevin Holbrook said. She was shot in the kidney, according to arrest warrants. As of Thursday, Black- well was in critical condition at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. After being shot, Gabriel drove his Chev rolet Tahoe south onto Jesse Jewell Parkway, stopped and called the police. He was trans ported to NGMC and later released with minor injuries. “It was two times that he shot at me,” Gabriel told The Times. “He unloaded a round into my vehicle, and I took two hits, one to my shoul der and then to my lower back. I was very, very lucky.” LAWSUIT ■ Continued from 1A Before both sides argued before the Court of Appeals in October, the most recent rul ing was Judge Martha Christian granting sum mary judgment in April 2022 for the second time in favor of the county government. Court of Appeals Judge Benjamin A. Land wrote the majority opin ion March 13 joined by Judge Elizabeth Gobeil ruling that the summary judgment previously granted to the county government was correct. The crux of the case involves the frozen accrued benefits for employees under the defined benefit plan in July 1998. The county adopted a “defined contribution plan” and stopped making contri butions to the defined benefit plan. The employees argued that freezing the benefits was akin to a termina tion of their defined ben efit plan, meaning that they were owed notice and a hearing. The appeals court majority wrote that there were two fatal problems with the employees’ argument. The first was that the notice and hearing requirement was not part of the defined bene fit plan prior to the 1998 freeze, and the judges also ruled that it wasn’t a plan termination. “The (defined benefit plan) has been altered in that benefits have been frozen and no fur ther contributions are being made to it, but the accrued benefits are still being held and adminis tered for the affected employees,” according to the majority opinion. Presiding Judge Chris topher J. McFadden authored a dissenting opinion, writing that the county’s actions did constitute a termination of the plan and would require the notice and a hearing. “The notice and hear ing provision is triggered when the ‘employer,’ here the county, decides either to terminate its defined benefit plan or to withdraw from the trust created under that plan,” McFadden wrote. “The parties to this case dispute whether the county’s act of ‘freez ing’ the defined benefit plan was a ‘termination’ invoking those require ments. I would hold that it was.” McFadden agreed that there was not a full ter mination of the defined benefit plan. “As the majority notes, the plan continues to be administered,” McFad den wrote. “But the county’s acts of ceasing its contributions into the defined benefit plan and freezing the accrual of benefits under that plan effectively ended the ability of some par ticipants to obtain the full extent of benefits provided for under the plan. So it amounted to a partial termination of the plan.” Plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Kramer and co-counsel Ed Buck- ley sent a statement to The Times saying they “always expected this case to go to the Georgia Supreme Court.” “It’s a hard fought case for the pension rights of Hall County government employees who have been denied their rightful pensions promised them by Hall County,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys said. “The Georgia Court of Appeals 2-1 major ity decision has in our view misstated the law and the facts. Judge McFadden in his dissent stated he would rule for our plaintiffs because he found the employ ees’ pensions had been unlawfully terminated. His analysis contained common-sense and con cise factual and legal analysis. The Geor gia Supreme Court has seven judges that would hear and decide the case if they accept it for review. We will be applying for Georgia Supreme Court review. We like our odds and we’ll continue to fight for our clients.” Attorney Ben Mathis, part of the team of attor neys representing the county, deferred com ment on the ruling to the county government. “We respect the court’s decision and have no further com ment,” Hall County spokeswoman Sarah Crowe wrote in an email. Church seeks rule exception for building BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com A prefabricated metal building is all the Korean- American church says it can afford right now. The ques tion is whether that’s good enough for Hall County. “A metal building was our only option due to its cost, which is .. less expensive compared to other options available in the current con struction market,” Bethel Faith Baptist Church says in Hall County planning documents. As such, the church is seeking a variance, or exception, in non-residen- tial design standards Hall County has on its main roadways, such as Friend ship Road/Ga. 347. The 8,400-square-foot church is proposed on 9 acres at 3331 Hall County Planning Commission What: Proposed church off Friendship Road/Ga. 347 in I South Hall When: 5:15 p.m. Monday, March 20 Where: Hall County Government Center, 2875 Browns Bridge Road, Gainesville Friendship Road, between Spout Springs and Hog Mountain roads in South Hall. Eugene Kim, who is seek ing the variance on behalf of the church, says in a let ter to the county that the church would be 515 feet from Ga. 347’s center line and a mound facing Ga. 347 is 47 feet in height. Plus, there would be two build ings in front of the proposed church. “Most importantly, the topography at the site slopes sharply downward and is in a densely wooded and secluded area,” so there would be limited visibility of the proposed church, Kim said. “We are planning other structures to be completed soon, which will comprise an Asian-American com munity center. This center will then be able to hold community events, such as conferences, activities and public forums, to name a few. These will surely ben efit and be an asset to our local community.” Hall County planning staff is recommending denial of the request. Approval would “lead to inconsistent application of the nonresidential prop erty development standard ... along the primary thor oughfares in Hall County,” officials say in planning documents. Design standards say that “exposed concrete block, painted concrete block, metal, tilt/up and pre-cast concrete are prohibited materials for any exterior wall.” The issue is set to go before the Hall County Plan ning Commission on Mon day, March 20. The planning board can either table the matter or make a formal recommen dation of denial or approval to the Hall County Board of Commissioners, which is set to take final action at an April 25 public hearing. TRIAL ■ Continued from 1A the defendant,” according to the defense’s notice. On cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Harold Buckler walked Wood through her text mes sages sent in the weeks after Kramer died. Wood said she lied about Kramer being alive to a friend she owed money to “keep him away until I could get the money back to pay him.” In the weeks after Kramer died, Wood represented her self over text message as facing continual beatings and abuse from her 82-year- old fiance. Some of the messages mirror the story she told the jury in terms of the injuries she suffered the night of the fatal fight. Even though the texts were lies, Wood later testi fied she was trying to “get what was really going on with me out” regarding the alleged abuse from Kramer. One of the texts Buckler showed included the phrase putting a “can of whoop-ass on him” but that she did not care to because “I know I would hurt him.” Wood’s responses took a circuitous route. When asked if she caused Kram er’s fatal injuries, Wood repeated that she might have blacked out and was unsure. “How would you know if you blacked out?” Buck ler asked. “How would you know if you were defending yourself and not just beat ing an 82-year-old man to death?” Wood responded saying she knew what provoked the situation and that she was not going to take another beating. Her fear was the main reason she gave for not telling any of Kramer’s family inquiring about his whereabouts. “You said you wanted your story to be told,” Buck ler said. “This is a judging world,” Wood said. “Everybody judges everyone.” When asked about not tell ing the detectives the truth and saying it was a suicide, Wood said it was because local law enforcement is “crooked” and wouldn’t lis ten to her. On June 7, Wood sent a text message to a family member referencing how she was in the back of the police car and “ugly really committed suicide.” Wood said she did not refer to Kramer as “ugly” and that she uses the voice- to-text function “I was trying to say some thing ugly really, really had happened,” she testified. “I believe I was trying to say Leroy committed suicide.” She repeatedly told the jury she was either scared or in a bad mental state. The defense rested shortly after 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Superior Court Judge Lindsay Burton instructed the jury to return at 9 a.m. Friday for closing arguments. One juror did not show up for court at 10 a.m. Thurs day. Court officials called the juror multiple times to no avail. An alternate juror will take their place. A rendering shows the completed grist mill in downtown Braselton. The city is accepting bids through March to renovate the mill and build a 3,854-square- foot, two-story addition. Artist’s rendering MILL JOIN US FOR OUR PREMIER DISCOVER NORTH GEORGIA TRAVEL AND LEISURE GUIDE ■ Continued from 1A the addition with a connect ing lobby, conference rooms, kitchenette and more offices. The first floor of the exist ing building will be used for Braselton Visitors Bureau offices. The agency “will run all our tourism, but they’ll also have the mill open for tours, ” said Scott, who also serves as chairwoman of the Visitors Bureau Authority. The town now opens the mill several times a year to do tours, she said. “We have a whole mill group who has come in and studied the whole (build ing),” she said. “They know what the equipment does, and we have a tour guide who can take you through the whole thing.” The Event will feature great places to Visit, Dine, PLay & Stay! It’s a must have for families planning a day trip or weeklong holiday. Back in its day, the mill basically was used to turn grains into flour, which then could be sold in bags — a couple of which are on dis play inside the mill. Plans also call for the addi tion to house BraseltonTech, a public-private initiative to help start up technology companies. “The renderings (of the project) are very cool,” Scott said. “I can’t wait to see what it’s like when this (building) is actually habitable. There’s so much to do, but the whole structure is in perfect shape.” The project, budgeted at $2 million, may take a year to complete, she said. But the waiting will be worth it, Scott said. “It’ll be so much fun to see this building come back to life in a whole new way,” she said. 10AM-5PM ATTHENORTH GEORGIA PREMIUM OUTLETS Build company wellness! Support employee fitness! Presented by Northeast Georgia Health System 15th Annual Chamber Chase 5K & 2 Mile Wellness Walk $30 Registration Fee. Increases to $35 after March 19. Thursday, March 23 Riverside Preparatory Academy Riverside Drive in Gainesville 5l<Run 6:00 pm | 2 Mile Wellness Walk 6:io pm Awards Program 7:00 pm Register at the Greater Hall Chamber 230 E.E. Butler Parkway in Downtown Gainesville Register Online: RunSignllp.com/ChamberChase Tacg f5 y- y iraOfl Greater Hall loyotaConiprsssorjaini chambek of commekce RIL^RSICE NORTHSIDE UJ dental group HOSPITAL LCH LANIER ^ TOYD"J7 PREP J&L WAYNE FARMS \ Lanier Federal Credit Union Mansfield Fuels Simplified SPONSORSHIP AND BOOTH SPACE AVAILABLE ONTACT YOUR LOCAL SALES REP OR MARKETING@GAINESVILLETIMES.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION. Register: RunSignUp.com/ChamberChase 770-532-6206
