About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2023)
OUR REGION ®he Antics gainesvillelimes.com Weekend Edition-March 17-18, 2023 John Chambliss Managing Editor | 770-718-3407 | news@gainesvilletimes.com Habitat for Humanity taps new leadership 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. BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. Habitat for Humanity of Hall County, a local nonprofit organiza tion dedicated to building homes for families in need, has new lead ership in Executive Director Lila Weaver. An experienced realtor and former director of operations and executive programs at Brenau University, Weaver stepped into the new position ear lier 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 developing community partnerships. With insight into the area’s hous ing market, Weaver stressed the need to build on those partnerships, strengthen efforts to alleviate the region’s ongoing affordable hous ing crisis, and to drive the contin ued promotion of Habitat’s brand and status in Hall County. “My passion and desire is to con nect with all the other nonprofits ... having those conversations and what we can do as a joint effort (and) how we can impact more,” said Weaver, describing her deci sion to join the organization as a “calling.” “Just taking a look at the posi tion, and taking a look at myself and my career, I kind of ultimately determined it was a calling — it’s the time and place in my life,” she said. “I’ve always given back to the community. I’ve always had a ser vice heart, but at this point and this place, I felt like Habitat for Human ity of Hall County needed me and the direction that I can take it.” To cope with the continued rise in building costs, which has posed a significant challenge to Habi tat’s mission to build more homes, Weaver aims to ramp up fundrais ing efforts that dwindled during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also has plans to open a second location for Habitat’s Restore, which resells lightly-used household appliances, furniture and common home improvement products to raise money for their cause. “I feel like we are a hidden gem ... that’s really my mission is to really work on our brand,” she said. “I want a (Restore) that you drive by, and you’re like, ‘Wow, I forgot I’m looking for a sofa, and that’s exactly where I need to stop.” She also hopes to attract more volunteers, which allows Habitat to bypass labor costs. “It’s a challenge, but the beauty of our organization are the (volun teers),” she said. “A lot of the cost of construction is labor, so volun teers are a huge, huge part of that.” With a growing disparity between median income and home prices in Hall, Weaver described Habitat’s work as vital for lower and middle income people in the community. “The timing of the current hous ing situation is really what has me here,” she said. “We need to make a difference in Hall County. We are a thriving place to do business.. but who honestly can afford (housing) that works at a restaurant or the hospital? We need affordable hous ing... there’s so many great things about living (here), but the cost of housing is not one of them.” As developers continue to claim large portions of Hall County for industrial, commercial residential projects, a primary need for the organization is land. Weaver said that continues to be Habitat’s pri mary need. “We’re out there competing against developers,” she said. “Any buildable land goes a long way. ” Weaver said that monetary con tributions, volunteers and dona tions of lightly-used furniture also are welcome, adding that funds raised from sales at Habitat’s Restore — located at 2380 Murphy Blvd in Gainesville — is fundamen tal to supporting the organization’s mission to provide housing to those in need. Those interested in donating to Hall County’s Habitat for Humanity can visit the website here to learn more. ‘She’s one person you’ll never forget’ SCOTT 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 woman honored by men shaped by her kindness BY RACHEL ESTES restses@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previ ous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. If angels roam the earth, the late Icie Pilgrim may have been chief among them. The unofficial matriarch of New Holland in her day, Pilgrim, who died 67, is remem bered as a kind-hearted, God-fearing maternal figure to gen erations 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 Monday, 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 visit ing 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 gesture is simply “what we think is acceptable 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 Bur nette echoed. “I think it’s part of our call ing, but it’s also payback.” Pilgrim was robbed of a normal life by polio, which later developed into mul tiple sclerosis, resulting in the amputation 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 middle 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 doctor’s office receptionist. She walked with a cane at that time, “then a couple of years later it became a walker, and then, suddenly, she had resigned from that posi tion because she could no longer move her legs” and was confined to a wheelchair, Wilson said. Icie underwent three separate surger ies to remove both of her legs, starting with her feet and continuing just above the knees. Despite her maladies, Icie’s demeanor remained bright, her faith steadfast and unwavering. “She told us at an early age she knew she had a calling... to minister to people, to welcome and to love people,” Wilson said. “She was the epitome of what love is. If anybody had the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness — it was her.” “She was the happiest person you ever met in your life,” Darryl Wilson said. “I never saw a side of her that wasn’t smiling.” Burnette concurred: “She never let any thing get her down.” “The thing about Icie, I think she was a trooper,” said Ricky Davis. “I was thinking of a word that I could describe her as, and I came up with many things. She’s a dia mond. She’s a trooper. No matter what was going on in her life — and she had many things going on — she always had a smile and a twinkle in her eye that you won’t forget. She struggled every day, but we never knew it. I could see in her eyes that she wanted to be out there playing with us and doing the things that we were doing, but she did it from the porch. She lived it through us.” A member of New Holland Baptist Church, Icie also maintained an extensive phone ministry, regularly calling folks to check in and pray with them. “She had a ministry. She not only loved us kids, she loved everyone. You’d drive by her house and she’s just sitting out there, no longer able to work, always waving and smiling (at passersby),” Vic said. While she required help with some tasks, Icie lived alone and was largely independent, regularly sitting by the stove in her wheelchair to stir homemade fudge and divinity candy for the neighborhood kids. Some, like Burnette’s sister, learned to make the sweet treats from Icie’s lap. Though she had none of her own, chil dren seemed to be drawn to her, Burnette said. “Every kid went to Icie’s,” he said. “We were a pretty rough bunch growing up; she kind of put the kindness in our hearts, I think. I don’t know how many generations she actually touched.” “I know we didn’t appreciate it at the time, but later on, we understood: This was a safehouse,” Vic said. “She was a mother to us. I can’t say enough about that wom an’s place in my life.” Vic remembers occupying Icie’s porch swing with a few other neighborhood boys, who asked why she was so selfless and car ing toward others, to which she responded, simply: “It’s my calling.” “I remember us blurting out in unison, ‘Calling? What’s that?’ She explained her calling was the reason she was put on this earth. It didn’t blow me away then, but it blows me away now,” Vic said. “We knew where we were accepted, we knew where we were loved, we knew how safe we were (at her house). She was kind and sweet — kind of like Jesus. Kind and sweet and loved everybody.” According to Darryl, Icie Pilgrim was “the most uncompromised person” he’s yet to meet. “It’s infectious (when) you hang around somebody that’s positive,” Darryl said. “That’s why everybody was drawn to her, I’m sure — you fed off of it. She was definitely a glass half full, there’s no doubt about that.” Authorities: Man looked at child pom during raid 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 was accused of looking at images of child pornography as officers searched his home, accord ing to authorities. Alan Neil Thur, 75, was arrested Tuesday, March 14, at his home and charged with seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He was booked in to the Hall County Jail, where he remains with no bond. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office case started in late February with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators believe Thur uploaded at least one image on Nov. 7 to a search engine. He originally faced two counts of sexual exploitation, with one count for possession and the other for distribution. But Thur faces five more counts after the search Tuesday at his home. “As deputies carried out the search, Thur was viewing five images of child pornogra phy on his computer,” according to a Sher iffs Office news release. Man arrested in Kan. accused of raping local girl 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 man accused of sexually assaulting a Gainesville girl in 2020 was brought back to Hall County after fleeing to Kansas, according to authorities. Felix Barragan, 45, of Hall County, was arrested in Shawnee Mission, Kan sas, and taken into custody Barragan by the U.S. Marshals and the Johnson County, Kan sas Sheriff’s Office. He was booked in to the Hall County Jail Tuesday, March 14, where he remains with no bond. Barragan was charged with raping and molesting the girl between Feb. 1,2020 and Jan. 15 of this year. Hall County Sheriffs Office spokeswoman B. J. Williams said there were multiple assaults across that timespan but did not have a specific number. Williams said Barragan, who was previ ously acquainted with the child, also showed the girl pornography. One of the girl’s relatives reported the alleged assaults to the Sheriffs Office after the girl made an outcry. The investigators learned from the girl’s family that Barragan had fled to the Johnson County area of Kansas. Barragan was charged with three counts of rape, four counts each of sodomy and aggravated child molestation, 12 counts of sexual battery and two counts of electroni cally furnishing obscene material to a minor. Pilgrim Thur
