About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2023)
Centennial Arts Academy names its new INSIDE, 3A Tuesday, March 21, 20231 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Ga. 53 in South Hall set for resurfacing. INSIDE, 3A Honestly Local Local man pleads no contest in fraud case BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville man pleaded no contest in a $54 million insurance fraud case in California over workers’ compensation services for agricultural workers and other blue-collar jobs, accord ing to court officials. Beau Eric Wilson, 38, and Wesley Owens, 54, of Suwanee, entered their no contest pleas March 2 in Los Angeles Superior Court, meaning neither man is admitting guilt. Though sentencing is set for September, the proposed terms do not include prison time unless they violate the terms of the agreement. According to Los Angeles Superior Court documents, Owens created Bison Work force Solutions in March 2015 in Georgia and registered it as a California corporation in June 2015. Wilson worked as a professional employer organization broker. A broker helps employers in finding outsourcing options for their human resources needs. “The investigation found the company failed to pay approximately $29 million in premium as a result of its fraud and bilked its (profes sional employer organization) customers out of approxi mately $25.5 million in fees they thought were paying for workers’ compensation insur ance coverage,” according to the California Department of Insurance. The California insurance office said Owens would obtain workers’ compen sation insurance for Bison Workforce Solutions and then create fraudulent certificates of insurance. The insurance carriers were under the impression that the policy was for a white-collar firm, while the businesses were actually “agricultural workers, roof ers, limo drivers and a wide variety of other employees,” according to the insurance office. The Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner told The Times in 2019 that the certificates of insurance were altered to make it look like there was adequate coverage for the businesses. “The investigation also found Wilson, who was aware of the fraud, recruited cus tomers for Bison and received commissions for each cli ent that used the fraudulent services,” according to the California insurance office. “Bison became unable to ■ Please see INSURANCE, 4A Courtesy Georgia Department of Insurance Beau Eric Wilson, 34, of Gainesville, is arrested Thursday, June 13, 2019, at his Hall County home. Wilson is accused of being a part of a nationwide insurance fraud scheme ‘All kids deserve a place to play’ SCOn ROGERS I The Times Caroline Filchak, right, and daughter Hope, 2, visit a playground Monday, March 20, at Wauka Mountain Multiple Intelligences Academy with Kristen Little. Filchak is founder of Hope for Hall. Mom raises S390K to build inclusive playground for daughter in Hall s I Vc-o —. >JV-t Artist’s rendering Rendering of the inclusive playground that will replace one of the two playgrounds at Wauka Mountain Multiple Intelligences Academy. BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@ gainesvilletimes.com What does a mother do when she realizes that in a few years time her disabled daughter might be forced to sit on the sidelines while her able-bodied friends swing from the monkey bars and slither down the slide on the school playground? She builds her own. At least that’s what Caroline Filchak is doing for her 2-year- old daughter, Hope, and other kids like her. Six months after she was born, Hope was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Microphthalmia with Linear Skin Defects Syndrome. Fewer than 1,000 people in the U.S. have MLS Syndrome, and it is almost always fatal in boys. “Her syndrome has caused her to be deaf, blind and she has two heart defects and a brain defect,” Filchak said. On Monday, March 13, she handed a check for $390,000 to Matt Cox, the director of facilities and construction for Hall County Schools. It was the near-culmination of a vig orous fundraising campaign that began with the founding of her organization Hope for Hall earlier this year, which strives to “normalize disability through play, education, and technology.” “I had my first donor meet ing Jan. 25 of this year,” Fil chak said. “People are really coming out in a big way and supporting this.” The Hall school board announced Filchak’s hefty check at their public meeting and decided to chip in, unani mously approving a $150,000 contribution for an “inclusive” playground at Wauka Moun tain Multiple Intelligences Academy. “We have not invested in these initiatives in the past. However, what we have been consistent with is, when our community, when our parents raise money for an initiative... we have come alongside them and said we want to support this also,” Superintendent Will Schofield said. “Whenever we heard that, we were so excited,” Filchak said. “We had no idea that that was even on the table.” Filchak got the idea for an inclusive playground after receiving a particularly gloomy prognosis regarding her daughter’s condition. After ward, she did what she’s done for the past 20 years when she needed to relieve some stress. She hit the track at Wauka Mountain. “As I was running, I was thinking about what the doc tor said, telling me, ‘Your child may not walk and she may not communicate,’ and I was look ing at the playground and I was thinking, ‘Well, if my child can’t walk, how is she going to play on this playground with her typically develop ing brother, who is her best friend?” She began talking to other parents and discovered that she wasn’t alone. “I learned that we had chil dren who were sitting on the sidelines,” she said. “They had disabilities, they were being taken out to recess and there was nothing for them to do except sit in their wheelchair and watch their friends play.” Fast forward a couple months and Filchak has nearly reached the playground’s $776,000 price tag. Wauka Mountain has two playgrounds. The one to the left of the school’s entrance will be replaced, and while it currently meets the minimum requirements of accessibil ity set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act, Filchak said, it doesn’t exactly cater to children like Hope. “The question then becomes, what are these chil dren with disabilities going to be able to do once they get on the playground?” she said. Hall County Schools has more than 3,500 students with disabilities — more than 1-in- 10 students — though most are related to learning difficulties, according to district spokes man Stan Lewis. Filchak and her organiza tion have partnered with Play ground Creations and have been closely involved in the playground’s design, which, though decidedly modem, will feature something of a throw back to the playgrounds of yore. “Kids with cochlear implants and hearing aids, they’re taught not to go down a plastic slide because the static of the plastic can impact their hearing device,” she said. “So we have a metal roller slide.” The coolest part of the play ground, she said, is an educa tional maze with more than a dozen customizable panels, including the alphabets for Braille and American Sign Language, as well as pictures and biographies of Louis ■ Please see PLAYGROUND, 4A Fox Gradin no longer to lead art camp at Quinlan BY RACHEL ESTES restes@gainesvilletimes.com After 25 summers of bidding campers, “See you next year,” Gainesville artist Fox Gradin won’t be greeting emerging young artists as they arrive to the Quinlan Visual Arts Center’s summer art camp this year. “The news comes as a shock to me and I’m devastated,” the program’s longtime director wrote on Facebook Monday morning, citing the arts center’s transition to recruiting only accredited art educators for its K-12 program ming. Gradin holds a master’s degree in fine art but is not an accredited art educator. According to the Quinlan’s executive direc tor, Nairika Cornett, the change in policy introduces a new level of consistency to the art center’s K-12 programming, otherwise known as the Quinlan School of Art. “As we are moving into offering art therapy, as we’re offering courses and classes that require accredited teachers, parents are start ing to ask, ‘So is camp just for those children ■ Please see GRADIN, 3A SCOTT ROGERS I The Times A church is seeking a Hall County rule exception in trying to build on this site off Friendship Road/ Ga. 347 in South Hall. Proposed church gets partial OK on design exemption BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com A church seeking a prefabricated metal building for its sanctuary off Friendship Road/Ga. 347 in South Hall is initially getting a partial OK from the county. The Hall County Planning Commission voted Monday, March 20, to recommend approval of the church but with the key con dition that only the rear of the building could have metal siding. “That is a very high-profile road,” commis sion Chairman Chris Braswell said. “With the building 38 feet in height, it will be seen from Friendship Road. So, that gives us concern and pause.” Bethel Faith Baptist Church is seeking all- metal siding on the building as an exemption from non-residential design standards Hall County has on its main roadways, such as Ga. 347. Acceptable siding materials include brick and natural stone. The 8,400-square-foot church is proposed on 9 acres at 3331 Friendship Road, between Spout Springs and Hog Mountain roads in South Hall. “A metal building was our only option due to its cost, which is ... less expensive com pared to other options available in the cur rent construction market,” the church says in Hall County planning documents. Eugene Kim, who is seeking the variance on behalf of the church, says in a letter to ■ Please see CHURCH, 3A
