Newspaper Page Text
LOCAL
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Midweek Edition-April 5-6, 2023 3A
Man found dead in Lula remembered by community
BY BRIAN WELLMEIER
bwellmeier@
gainesvilletimes.com
A homeless man beloved
by many in the Lula commu
nity was found dead Friday,
March 24, at a residence on
Thornton Alley.
Investigators with the
Hall County Sheriffs Office
believe Ricky Lee Armour,
59, died from a drug
overdose.
Armour was known for
his kind, friendly and soft-
spoken nature after nearly a
year of living there.
“(We’re) sad to learn of the
passing of Ricky Lee Armour
this past week,” local Chris
tian group Love Your Neigh
bor Ministries said in a
Facebook post. “God allowed
us to minister to Ricky Lee on
several different occasions
through Love Your Neighbor
Ministries. Ricky was a quiet
man who kept mostly to him
self. He was always kind and
polite to us, and could be seen
often riding his bike around
town or working on his car.
... Please keep Ricky’s family
and those that cared about
him in your prayers. ”
Dave Wilson, owner of
Lula Mercantile, said he’d
developed a friendship with
Armour over the last year.
“(Armour) lived just down
Carter Alley from me,” Wil
son said. “He was always
walking back and forth
through here, and it was just
kind of good to know him
because he was my neigh
bor, you know.”
Sometimes Wilson drove
Armour to a nearby bank to
draw a disability check, and
as he grew to know Armour,
he learned Armour was a
guitarist who once played
in a band and performed at
a number of bars over the
years.
“He was like a kid at
heart,” Wilson said. “I used
to call him ‘Tricky Ricky.’
He was always smiling,
always cutting up. Probably
the nicest person I’ve met in
this town, just as good as he
could be.”
Wilson’s bond with
Armour was close — so
much that when Armour was
hospitalized for pneumonia
several months ago, Wilson
was the first person con
tacted by the hospital over
Facebook when Armour was
released.
“He got back here and we
got him set back up,” Wilson
said.
Wilson said he holds a
community cookout at his
downtown business, where
anyone can come for food
on the second Tuesday of the
month. Wilson said he hopes
to expand this in the com
ing years, and he credited
Armour for getting it off the
ground in its initial phases.
“It’s for anybody,” Wilson
said. “We try to play music
— we’re trying to present to
city council to maybe even
move it toward the stage to
grow into something larger.
That way, people get to meet
the disadvantaged in more of
a humanistic light.”
“(Armour) was kind of
one of the people who helped
it get off the ground — just
for feeding people,” Wilson
said.
Wilson said he was sad
dened to hear of Armour’s
death, and that his spirit will
be missed in the community.
Wilson went on to say that
he’s planning to hold some
kind of memorial service
in honor of Armour, though
he hasn’t yet determined a
specific date that could take
place.
Submitted photo
Ricky Lee Armour attends Loads of Love Laundry Ministry
in October.
Planning and Appeals to consider office building, lot annexation
Gainesville Planning and Appeals
Board
What: Proposed office building off Green Street
Circle; proposed annexation of lot for water/sewer
maintenance uses
When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 11
Where: Public Safety Complex, 701 Queen City
Parkway
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
A 2,000-square-foot
office building is proposed
off Green Street Circle
near Stan’s Biscuits and
Deli in Gainesville.
A tenant hasn’t been
identified for the property
at 1113 and 1117 Green
Street Circle, but office
uses “may include a medi
cal office/clinic, business
service establishment or a
general office,” according
to Gainesville planning
documents.
The half-acre site, also
not far from Thompson
Bridge Road/Ga. 60, will
share access with the
adjacent James Kennedy
State Farm insurance
office.
Bradley Dunckel is
seeking to rezone the
property from residential
to office and institutional.
The board will recom
mend denial or approval
to Gainesville City Coun
cil, which will take action
at a later date.
Site proposed
for Gainesville
water/sewer use
Gainesville is hoping
to add a couple of acres
to the city for water and
sewer maintenance uses.
The city plans to ask the
Gainesville Planning and
Appeals Board to annex
nearly 2 acres at 1200 and
1204 Marler St., which is
south of Industrial Boule
vard and near the older
Gainesville Mill housing
single-family and duplex
homes in unincorporated
Hall County.
Gainesville recently
bought the property for
$425,341 “to expand
maintenance operations
for water and sewer ser
vices,” according to city
planning documents.
The site, which now
contains two small
office structures and two
metal warehouse build
ings, is next to other city
operations.
“We will use this prop
erty for ... mainly fleet
maintenance,” said Linda
MacGregor, director of
the city’s Department
of Water Resources, on
Tuesday, April 4. “We do
not expect to construct
any new buildings. We will
make relatively minor
modifications to join this
property with our other
facilities.”
The city also is seeking
a heavy industrial zoning
for the property, match
ing its Hall County zoning.
The board will recom
mend denial or approval
to Gainesville City Coun
cil, which will take action
at a later date.
Lula man facing charge of attempted murder claiming self-defense
Editor’s note: This pub
lished in a previous E-Paper
edition and is being provided
here for print-only readers.
A Lula man facing an
attempted murder charge
from a March 15 road rage
shooting on Ga. 365 is claim
ing self defense, according to
his attorney.
Steven Dallas Cooper, 26,
also faces charges of aggra
vated assault, aggravated
battery, criminal damage
to property and reckless
conduct.
Gainesville Police said
Cooper fired multiple shots
and hit Michael Charles
Gabriel, 50, and Paula Kay
Blackwell, 65
Blackwell, who police said
was “caught in the cross
fire,” was taken to North
east Georgia Medical Center
after being shot.
Hospital officials said Fri
day, March 31, that Black-
well was still in critical
condition.
Cooper was set to have a
hearing Wednesday, March
29, but the hearing was
waived. The plan was for
Cooper’s attorney, Michael
Katz, to file a motion for
bond and then return the
case to Magistrate Court for
a preliminary hearing.
Katz said he intended to
file a motion for bond in the
coming days.
Talking to The Times after
the scheduled hearing, Katz
said Cooper’s contention was
that Gabriel had a gun.
Referencing a video
obtained by The Times from
Gabriel, Katz said it showed
Gabriel not running away
but coming at his client.
“We certainly consider it
a case of self defense,” Katz
said.
Start earning
today with
Bank OZK!
<4.40%>
7-MONTH CD OR IRA CD** SPECIAL
<5.00 o/o >
13-MONTH CD OR IRA CD * SPECIAL
Visit our Oakwood location or open an
account online at ozk.com**
<> Bank OZK
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 Public Funds, 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.
Katz said they are hoping
for Blackwell’s full recovery.
“It was not anywhere
near my client’s intention to
harm anybody that was not
involved in the situation,”
Katz said.
The Times sent questions
via email Friday to Katz
to further elaborate on the
self-defense issue, but no
response was received.
When asked if any of the
other drivers had a weapon,
Gainesville Police Lt. Kevin
Holbrook did not answer the
question directly.
Holbrook said the case
remains “open and active”
and that no additional
charges have been filed.
When reached by The
Times Friday, Gabriel said
he does keep a six-shot
revolver in the car. Gabriel
said he submitted to a gun
shot residue test and that he
had nothing to hide.
“No shots were fired by
me,” Gabriel said. “My gun
didn’t even come into play.”
Gabriel said the revolver
was in a small storage area
in the car dashboard, which
is where Gabriel said it
stayed.
Gabriel directed further
questions to his attorney
Brett Turner, who did not
return a call for comment
late Friday.
Nick Watson
Holy Week
Schedule
Palm Sunday
Sunday
April 2, 2023
10:00 AM
Good Friday
Maundy
Thursday
Thursday
April 6, 2023
7:00 PM
Foot & Hands washing
Holy Eucharist
Gethsemane watch at
altar of repose
after service
The
Great Vigil
