About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2023)
LOCA^STATE The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Midweek Edition-April 5-6, 2023 7A Man accused of selling fentanyl, meth to undercover DEA agent 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 selling more than 4 kilos of meth- amphetamine to an undercover DEA agent over four months, according to warrants. Ernesto Agraz Esparza, 41, faces six counts of drug trafficking. He was booked Monday, March 27, into the Hall County Jail, where he remains with no bond. According to war rants obtained by The Times, Agraz Esparza was accused of selling fentanyl and meth to an under cover DEA agent on multiple occasions between November and March. Citing the ongoing investigation, DEA Special Agent Crystal Harper declined to share details when con tacted by The Times. Esparza The warrants alleged Agraz Esparza sold more than a kilo of meth on four occasions. In March, the Gainesville man was accused of selling 100 pills of fentanyl, weighing 11.1 grams, to the under cover officer. Less than two weeks after that trans action, Agraz Esparza was accused of directing another person to sell 672 grams of meth. Agraz Esparza requested a public defender, but an attorney had not been assigned to him as of Friday, March 31. Seven local educators recognized at Masters in Teaching ceremony Photo provided by Brenau University Seven local educators were honored as Masters in Teaching at a Brenau University ceremony on March 29. Hall County rehab expected to open in 2025 BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@ gainesvilletimes.com Seven Northeast Georgia educators were recognized March 29 at the Masters in Teaching ceremony pre sented by Brenau Univer sity’s College of Education, the university announced in a news release Tuesday. The 15th annual Mas ters in Teaching ceremony returned in person after a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brenau spokes woman Alyson Shields said. Gregory Marshall, asso ciate professor of anatomy and genetics at Brenau, said he was humbled to receive the award. “My parents were teach ers, and they were impacted by students who came back and said that my parents had changed their lives,” Marshall said. “I saw first hand how meaningful teach ing is. Knowing that my students are out there doing amazing things, that’s really the mark I have left on the world.” The 2022-23 Teachers of the Year for the Hall County and Gainesville City school systems, Susan Howard and Joy Holeman, respectively, were among the award recipients. The ceremony also fea tured Georgia Teacher of the Year Michael Kobito as a guest speaker. “Teachers deserve to be recognized for the work they do,” Kobito said. “They change the world.” This year’s award win ners are: • Dee Gillespie — Uni versity of North Georgia • Joy Holeman — Fair Street International Academy • Susan Howard — Lanier School for Inquiry, Investi gation and Innovation • John Leverett — Lanier Technical College • Gregory Marshall — Brenau University • Nicole McGuire — Lakeview Academy • Jared Mummaw — Riverside Preparatory Academy BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. State approval has been given to a new long-term physical rehabilitation center at 2500 Limestone Parkway in Gainesville. Construction of the $62 million building is expected to begin later this year. Northeast Georgia Health System and Life- point Rehabilitation are teaming up to build the 40-room, 61,000-square- foot center, which is expected to open in 2025. The project involves tearing down the old J & J Foods, which had oper ated a grocery store at the site between 2005 and 2018. When it closed, the store was known as The Market on Limestone. Inpatient rehabilita tion services have been offered since 1989 at Northeast Georgia Medi cal Center Gainesville, which has a 24-bed unit. The new facility will feature a wing for brain injury and stroke patients, and a therapy suite includ ing a gym, private rooms and a cooking room. It also will have an Activities of Daily Living therapy apartment and rehabilita tion equipment, according to an NGHS press release on Monday, April 3. The facility will pro vide intensive nursing, physical, occupational and speech pathology services for adults recovering from conditions such as stroke, neurological disease, brain or spinal cord injury and other debilitating ill nesses or injuries. Lifepoint Rehabilitation will manage the day-to- day operations. “We’re so excited that this partnership will not only increase availabil ity of this kind of care in the region, but it will also improve the patient experience and expand the kinds of therapies we can offer — closing a gap in the care continuum, so patients can get the care they need close to home,” said Kevin Matson, vice president of oncology, orthopedic and rehabilita tion services for NGHS. “We are passionate about bringing our evi dence-based framework for providing high-quality rehabilitation care to more communities, and we look forward to work ing alongside Northeast Georgia Health System as we advance our mission of making communities healthier,” said David Stark, vice president of operations for Lifepoint Rehabilitation. Rendering provided by Northeast Georgia Health System State approval has been given to a new 61,000-square- foot inpatient physical rehabilitation center at 2500 Limestone Parkway in Gainesville. Firefighters extinguish small fire on roof of West Hall MS BY NICK WATSON nwatson@ gainesvilletimes.com Firefighters extinguished a small fire Saturday, April 1, on the roof of West Hall Middle School, according to authorities. Hall County firefight ers responded around 8:40 a.m. Saturday to the middle school, where they found flames and smoke coming from two HVAC units on the roof. Everyone was evacuated from the area. No injuries were reported, and the fire resulted in mini mal damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Hall County Fire Marshal’s Office. Hall County Schools spokesman Stan Lewis said the HVAC units were dam aged in an isolated storm. The school district is Photo provided by Hall County Fire Rescue Firefighters extinguished a small fire Saturday, April 1, on the roof of West Hall Middle School. assessing the damage, but school to be on site Monday, the plan currently is for April 10. RTH GEORGIA PREMIUM OUTLETS SPONSORSHIP AND BOOTH SPACE AVAILABLE NTACT YOUR LOCAL SALES REP OR MARKETING@GAINESVILLETIMES.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION. JOIN US FOR OUR PREMIER DISCOVER NORTH GEORGIA TRAVEL AND LEISURE GUIDE 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. Fifth arrest made in mass shooting at teen house party DOUGLASVILLE — A fifth suspect has been arrested in a March 4 mass shooting at a 16th birthday party in suburban Atlanta that killed two teens and wounded seven other people, authorities said Tuesday. Tahkel Marquise Beverly- Smart, a 21-year-old resi dent of Dallas, Georgia, was arrested Saturday in con nection with the shooting at a house in Douglasville, Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds announced. In addition to two counts of murder, Beverly-Smart is facing 40 counts of partici pating in gang activity, nine counts each of aggravated assault and aggravated bat tery, and 20 counts of being a party to a crime, jail records show. Beverly-Smart, like the four other suspects arrested so far, was denied bail. It was not clear whether any had lawyers who could speak on their behalf. Arrested earlier were Kingston Cottman, 17, Timo thy Coleman, 18, and twin brothers Chance and Chase McDowell, 17. They all face murder and gang charges, while Cottman and Coleman also face aggravated assault, aggravated battery and gun charges. The sheriff’s office didn’t detail Beverly-Smart’s alleged role in the killings or say who is believed to have fired guns. The two dead have been identified as 15-year-old Samuel Moon and 14-year- old Aj’anaye Hill. Pounds has said the shoot ing was meant to be “a gang hit” but those who were shot were not the intended tar gets. Others have said the shooting started after home- owners discovered some of the 100 or more teenagers attending the party were smoking marijuana and kicked them out. Associated Press Transportation Forum $20 Chamber Members • $25 Guests Includes Lunch • Reservations Required Gerri Collins, 770-532-6206x106 Email: gcollins@ghcc.com Reservations Online: CHCC.com/EVENTS Presented by ,, '"Rochester ,^ haNK One Bank for Life Tuesday, Apri In 1130 am -1:00 pm University of North Georgia Cainesvil le Campus I Performing Arts Center Greater Hall CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Featuring Russell McMurry Commissioner Georgia Department ofTransportation This important forum with CDOT representatives, City of Gainesville and Hall County officials, creates discussion with Chamber members, businesses and community leaders. Open to the Public | 770-532-6206
