Cherokee
Bluff picks
up baseball
win against
Chestatee in
preparation
for Region
8-4A
championship
series.
SPORTS, 1C
Midweek Edition - APRIL 12-13,2023 | $2.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
Honestly Local
Road project updates given at forum
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Heavy, widespread road
construction isn’t happen
ing in Hall County at the
moment, but that doesn’t
mean orange barrels are off
the radar, either.
Upcoming projects and
roads-related issues were
discussed by state and local
officials at the Greater Hall
Chamber of Commerce’s
annual transportation forum
at University of North Geor
gia’s Gainesville campus
Tuesday, April 11.
Here’s a few takeaways
from the event:
Dawsonville Highway
widening on track
Construction could begin
in early 2024 turning a heav
ily traveled section of Daw
sonville Highway/Ga. 53 in
Gainesville into a true six-
lane road.
The $5 million project calls
for widening Ga. 53 between
Ahaluna Drive and Shallow-
ford Road using existing turn
lanes that lead drivers into
the many businesses that dot
the corridor.
Only one part of the Ga. 53
stretch has a third lane that
currently serves as both a
through and turn lane — an
eastbound stretch between
the Olive Garden restaurant
and McEver Road.
When the project is fin
ished, drivers will be able
to drive straight through on
six lanes between Ahaluna
and Shallowford — nearly a
l-mile stretch — and make
right turns as needed.
Also, as part of the project,
the Georgia Department of
Transportation plans to build
a median that would block
Beechwood Boulevard driv
ers from making a left turn
onto Ga. 53. Beechwood
drivers wanting to turn left,
or head west on Ga. 53, will
have to turn right onto Ga. 53
and make a U-turn.
Ga. 365 interchange
in the works
Work could start in 2025 on
a limited-access interchange
at Lanier Tech Drive and
YMCA Drive.
The $15 million project
calls for removing a traf
fic light that’s now at the
busy intersection, building
a bridge across Ga. 365 and
providing access to Lanier
Tech Drive and YMCA Drive
by other means, such as
through roundabouts.
“This is a great project to
continue mobility through
the area, especially with the
■ Please see ROADS, 5A
‘It’s like Christmas out here’
Styrofoam pellets from Marriott construction site rain on square
SCOn ROGERS I The Times
Crews use vacuums and blowers to gather and remove Styrofoam debris in downtown Gainesville
Tuesday, April 11, due to construction from the nearby Marriott.
BY BRIAN WELLMEIER
bwellmeier@
gainesvilletimes.com
White pellets have show
ered downtown Gainesville for
the last two weeks, prompting
questions and complaints from
downtown employees.
What is it?
The flakes are bits of Sty
rofoam coming from the con
struction site at Courtyard by
Marriott on Green Street, said
Taylor Sharrette, president of
Ecker Construction, the com
pany finishing work at the
hotel.
He said on Monday after
noon that the company is work
ing to resolve the matter and
attributed the issue to the latest
phases of work on the project.
“(Workers) are rasping the
joints — similar to sanding —
the foam to get it smooth, so
that’s what that is,” he said.
“We actually just stopped
them from doing that, and
we’re going to come up with a
solution before we get started
back.”
Sharrette cited specific
measures his construction
crews have taken to mitigate
the problem, which he said is
a direct result of strong winds.
“The problem is that par
ticular area is so windy... when
the wind catches it, it can carry
the (Styrofoam) a little further
than just the base of the build
ing,” he said.
About 15 workers with Ecker
Construction spent several
hours vacuuming the area in
and around the downtown area
Monday evening and Tuesday
morning.
“We’re doing everything we
can. It is so windy it’s presented
a massive problem. We’ll get
everything cleaned up. We’ll
handle it,” Sharrette said.
Crews will continue to vac
uum around the construction
site each day for the next two
weeks, he said.
‘It’s disgusting’
Jessica Brannan, a tat
too artist at The Hive off the
downtown square, said she
first noticed the white pellets
sleeting from the sky when
she peered out the window two
weeks ago.
Brannan said she’s expe
rienced sinus irritation like
coughing and sneezing since
the debris started to fall.
“It’s a lot worse first thing
in the morning,” she said. "...
it’s like Christmas out here. We
had to pick Styrofoam out of
our cups. We’re breathing it in.
It’s in our food. It’s disgusting.”
Profuse winds over the last
two weeks have blown the
Styrofoam flakes into storm
water drains and Brannan’s
tattoo shop. Like the side
walks and benches downtown,
the small white pellets have
accumulated on the floor in
her work station. She said
this poses a potential risk for
contamination.
■ Please see FOAM, 3A
Hall seeks
fewer state
inmates at
local facility
BY BRIAN WELLMEIER
bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com
The number of state inmates housed at
Hall County’s Correctional Institution could
be reduced from 200 to 115 if commissioners
approve an intergovernmental agreement
with the Georgia Department of Corrections
Thursday.
Hall is one of 21 counties in Georgia
that contract with the state and hold state
inmates at a locally-run correctional facility.
Warden and Director of Hall County
Corrections and Maintenance Walt Davis
cited two main objectives behind the IGA:
the need for better local management of
inmates and to slash the number of “very
high-risk” individuals sent to Hall County
from the state prison system.
The mission of Hall County’s Correctional
Institution, according to Davis, is to send
inmates into the community on work details
under the supervision of a correctional
officer. With the reduction, he said, comes
greater opportunity for lower-risk individu
als in Hall County.
“We have to weigh security issues, and we
were getting inmates from the state system
that I didn’t think were a good security risk,”
Davis said. “We’re going to reduce our state
inmate population and supplement that with
county jail inmates — revocation cases from
accountability courts. It saves space in the
state prison system and it saves, ultimately,
space in the county jail. ”
“And they’re working on outside details,
so there’s that labor rate we get ... it’s a
restructuring of how we do business to bet
ter provide services to the citizens of Hall
County, essentially,” he said.
If the agreement is approved, Hall County
Correctional Institution would likely receive
around $600,000 less in subsidies from the
state, Davis said, though there are plans to
account for that lost revenue.
“Obviously, for reducing our state inmate
population there would be a reduction,” he
said. however, we’re going to offset that
by not only bringing over county jail inmates
we can house for half that cost, but we’re
also going to work those inmates. From a
revenue standpoint, it’s a wash.”
Commissioners will consider the item for
approval at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 13, at the
Hall County Government Center.
Police: Wanted man shot by officers after showing gun
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Gainesville man wanted in
a Stephens County home inva
sion case was shot multiple
times Monday, April 10, by dep
uties after showing a handgun,
according to authorities.
Hall County Sheriff’s Office
deputies were serving warrants
Monday on Jason William Grin-
dle, 34, at a home in the 2400
block of Brand Drive in north
west Hall County.
Grindle had warrants includ
ing home invasion, armed rob
bery, exploitation of an elder
person, and aggravated assault
from a Stephens County case.
He also had a
Hall County
Superior
Court arrest
warrant.
“As law
enforcement
approached
Grindle in
the back
yard of the
residence, the suspect pre
sented a handgun,” according
to the Sheriff’s Office. “At that
point, HCSO deputies fired on
Grindle.”
Grindle was conscious when
he was transported by ambu
lance from the scene. He was
booked in to the Hall County jail
Grindle
later that evening.
The Georgia Bureau of
Investigation is leading the
investigation.
The GBI said Tuesday, April
11, that the deputies and Grin
dle exchanged gunfire, but the
department’s spokeswoman
did not clarify how many shots
were fired and who shot first.
The Sheriff’s Office said all
of the deputies from the war
rants unit who responded to the
scene yesterday are on leave
today, but the agency did not
name names or clarify how
many.
No officers were injured.
No further information was
provided.
Pi
*
A Gainesville
man
wanted in
a Stephens
County home
invasion
case was
shot multiple
times at
a home
on Brand
Drive by
Hall County
deputies
after showing
a handgun,
according to
authorities.
SCOTT ROGERS
The Times
ONLINE
gainesvilletimes.com/newsletters: Sign up to
receive email newsletters from The Times
gainesvilletimes.com/apps: Download
The Times’ app for a user-friendly online
experience and app notifications for big
stories
INSIDE
Calendar
1B
Life
1B
Classified
3C
Opinion
6A
Comics
5B
Our Region
6B
Fun+Games 4B
Sports
1C
0 40901
06835
8
