About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2023)
Hall man accused of sharing child porn over Snapchat. INSIDE, 3A Thursday, April 13, 2023 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com White House wants rule to protect abortion patients’ records. INSIDE, 4A Honestly Local Hall expected to block Flowery Branch annexation BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@ gainesvilletimes.com The Hall County Com mission is expected to block an annexation by the city of Flowery Branch on 15 acres on Jim Crow Road Thursday, April 13. Property owner Shadow Stone Partners LLC has sought to annex 14.3 acres at 5704 Jim Crow Road for the purpose of rezon ing the property from Hall County agricultural-resi dential to Flowery Branch planned unit development. “The grounds for the objection are that the pro posed rezoning from the county’s agricultural-resi dential 3 classification to Flowery Branch’s planned unit development classifi cation would increase the allowed density from 1.0 units per acre to 3.43 units per acre,” County Attor ney Bill Linkous told com missioners at Monday’s work session. The proposed rezon ing, if permitted, would increase both infrastruc ture cost and the inten sity of allowed-use of the property, as well as “vio late (Hall) County’s future land use map,” according to Linkous. The latest annexa tion attempt by Flowery Branch was submitted prior to the recent deci sion by the city to enact a 90-day moratorium on annexation, rezoning and conditional use requests. The item will go before commissioners for consid eration at 6 p.m. Thurs day, April 13, at the Hall County Government Center. Flowery Branch city officials could not be reached for comment. A moo-ving experience Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Georgia Mobile Dairy Classroom’s Nicole Duvall and Maggie the cow meet with New Holland Core Knowledge Academy students Tuesday, April 11, during Ag Day at the school. Hall kids learn about the source of their food at Ag Day event The 13th annual Ag Day returned on Tuesday after a three-year hiatus due the coronavirus pandemic, this year at New Holland Leadership Academy, an elementary school in Gainesville — located, naturally enough, on Barn Street. Participating groups included the Hall County Cattlemen’s Association, Georgia Farm Bureau, Hall County Master Gardeners, Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network, Georgia Forestry Commission and Natural Resources Conservation Service. BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@ gainesvilletimes.com With an equal measure of confidence and enthusiasm, the man grabbed the large, plump hen by its legs, propped the bird upright and then gen tly clamped its wings with his free hand to stop their frantic flapping. “Let me tell you about this breeder,” he instructed the stu dents. “No. 1, it’s a very meaty bird.” He then glanced over at the well-done rotisserie chicken on the table nearby and observed: “Just judging at that one we got on the table, it would make two of those down there!” “Is this the bird Walmart’s going to buy?” he asked. “No,” the students answered tentatively. “This is not the bird Walmart’s going to buy,” he assured them. “What do we want out of this bird?” “Eggs!” the students said. “Golly, y’all must be sixth graders,” he said with feigned amazement. “Fifth graders? Too smart.” This might have been a pre cocious bunch, because many kids, studies show, don’t have a clue where their food comes from. “Overall, children’s knowl edge of food production processes appears to be sur prisingly limited,” according to a study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology that asked 176 children ages 4-7 to identify whether com mon foods were derived from plants or animals. Well over one-third of chil dren believed that bacon, hot dogs and hamburgers came from plants, and nearly half of them said French fries came from animals. “Even chicken nuggets, a food that has an animal in its name, were categorized as a plant-based food by more than a third of the children in our sample,” the researchers said. “There’s a very large num ber of children in Hall County that have no idea where their food comes from or what the clothes on their back are made from,” said Tabitha Brinson, a member of the Hall County Cattlemen’s Association and a representative of the Univer sity of Georgia’s local exten sion office for agriculture education. That’s why an event like “ Ag Day” — an educational fair in which elementary students learn about the food system — is more important than it might seem. “If the next generation is going to continue to feed, clothe and sustain the world, they need to know about agri culture and all that’s involved,” Brinson said. The 13th annual Ag Day returned on Tuesday after a three-year hiatus due the coronavirus pandemic, this year at New Holland Leader ship Academy, an elementary school in Gainesville — located, naturally enough, on Barn Street. Gathering in a field behind the school, about 300 students grades 3-5 rotated among a dozen stations throughout the day. “Students are able to touch animals at a petting zoo, learn about pollution and soil conser vation, try to rope a calf, learn about the process of milking a cow and look at large farming equipment,” Brinson said. There was even a “Mobile Dary Classroom,” where stu dents learned how to milk a live cow. As it pulled out of the parking lot around noon, the cow in the trailer let out two big “Moos!” “These kids see and read about these things in books, on YouTube and TikTok but with this event, they can actu ally see and sometimes touch it,” Brinson said. “Volunteers from various organizations and companies pull together to bring this education and hands- on experience to students that, otherwise, may never see a live cow or chicken in their life.” Participating groups included the Hall County Cat tlemen’s Association, Georgia Farm Bureau, Hall County Master Gardeners, Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network, Georgia Forestry Commission ■ Please see AG DAY, 3A Gainesville man sentenced after punching driver BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville man was sentenced to time served and $15,000 in restitution after punch ing a cab driver in a dispute over a $7 cab fare, according to authorities and court documents. Guillermo Carmelo-Alonzo, 24, pleaded guilty Thursday, April 6, to aggravated battery and theft of service. He was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jason Deal to 10 years with the first year in prison, though the custodial time was deemed served. The remain der of the sentence may be served on probation. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office said Carmelo- Alonzo hailed a taxi with his brother April 4, 2022 at Airport Drive to go to Centennial Drive Once they were at their destination, Carmelo- Alonzo refused to pay the $7 fare and punched the driver in the mouth, according to the Sher iff’s Office. According to the warrants, the punch knocked a cap off one tooth and broke another tooth off at the driver’s gum line. In addition to the sentence, Carmelo-Alonzo was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation pro gram run by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Prosecutors said at a previous hearing that the amount cited was for medical expenses. Defense attorney Jake Shapiro declined to comment. Guillermo’s brother, Juan Carmelo-Alonzo, was charged with misdemeanor party to a crime and theft of services. The warrants stated Juan did not try to stop his brother but “joined in on the assault.” The Times asked Northeastern Judicial Cir cuit District Attorney Lee Darragh what the sta tus was of Juan Carmelo-Alonzo’s charges, but no information was received as of press time. Alonzo JEFF GILL I The Times Hall County is planning to run a new sewer line in South Hall, with the line running along this part of Blackjack Road. Long-awaited South Hall sewer project to begin soon BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Work is poised to start on a long-awaited sewer project that could fuel even more development in already fast-growing South Hall. A groundbreaking ceremony is set for April 21 to kickstart the 5.2-mile project, which has been in the works since 2015 and is part of a 2020 sewer master plan. “This sewer line will be able to serve thou sands of residents along Friendship Road, result ing in better services for existing residents and continued growth in the area,” said Hall County Commissioner Kathy Cooper, who represents South Hall. The project will involve near two miles of uphill sewer line as well as a new lift station, ■ Please see SEWER 3A Groundbreaking ceremony What: $13.9 million South Hall sewer line project When: 10 a.m. April 21 Where: 4435 Ridge Road. Parking for the event will be directed.
