About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2023)
eh t ettnes Weekend Edition - APRIL 14-15,2023 | $2.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local Fourth-ranked Cherokee Bluff girls dominate Southeast Whitfield in first round of soccer postseason. SPORTS, 1C f Kk & Hi*® Ljli < NTSB releases details on gyrocopter crash Pilot met with mechanic weeks before incident; craft struck powerlines before deadly landing BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A 75-year-old gyrocopter pilot had met with a mechanic to check if his self-built aircraft was in good-working condition weeks before he fatally crashed in Gainesville, according to a report. The National Transportation Safety Board released a report earlier this week on the crash involving Larry Franklin Preiss, of Gainesville. The gyrocopter crashed around 1:50 p.m. March 25 in the 4700 block of Clarks Bridge Road. The report cites Preiss’ wife, who said her husband wanted to fly early due to the winds expected later that day. “She said that he had just recently decided to start flying again and put together the gyro plane himself but had met with a mechanic, ‘in the last couple of weeks to make sure the aircraft was in good working condition,’” according to the NTSB report. Preiss’ wife said her husband would depart from Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport in Gainesville, land in Cornelia and fly back. A witness told investigators about hearing a loud crash at their neighbor’s home, as the gyrocopter had landed in the cow pasture. Preiss’ aircraft was cruising at an altitude of 2,000 feet and made a series of turns around the Gainesville area. “The gyroplane collided with a powerline and came to rest about 100 yards from the powerline,” according to the report. “The powerline, which was located on private property, extended across the gyroplane’s presumed flight- path and was at a height of about 50 (feet) above the ground.” The main rotor mast was bro ken away from the fuselage, and a 20-foot piece of the powerline was entangled in the rotor head. ‘He definitely didn’t mean any harm’ SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Bethesda Fellowship Church Pastor John Graham, along with church members, recently helped calm Michael Lee Walker in the church parking lot after a brief scuffle with a Habersham County deputy. Walker was charged with obstruction, DUI and reckless driving and is being held in Habersham jail. Pastor recounts police chase ending in front of his church on Easter BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com It’s not clear why 45-year-old Michael Walker of Lula was so desperate to get inside the church on Easter. Whatever the reason, it landed him in jail. On Sunday, Walker was involved in a chase with a deputy from the Haber sham County Sheriff’s Office and later arrested at a Pentecostal church in Cor nelia. He has been charged with felony obstruction, driving under the influence, two counts of failure to signal a lane change, improper passing, driving on the wrong side of the road, reckless driv ing and fleeing and attempting to elude a law enforcement officer. As of Thursday afternoon, he remained in Haber sham County jail with a $11,010 bond. The Times was unable to reach Walker, and there was no infor mation on file at the Habersham Clerk of Court. An employee told The Times that it usually takes them about a week to upload information to the system. At 1 p.m. April 9, a deputy with the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office tried to stop Walker while driving on Ga. 365, according to an incident report. Walker was driving “well over” 80 mph, weaving in and out of traffic and nearly hit a car. The deputy flipped on his lights and siren and began pursuing. The chase lasted about two miles, said Habersham Sheriff’s Office spokesman Rob Moore. After catching up to Walker at Duncan Bridge Road, the deputy saw him “enter oncoming traffic to pass a stopped vehi cle, causing southbound traffic to slam on their brakes,” according to the inci dent report. Walker later pulled into the parking lot of Bethesda Fellowship, a Pentecos tal church where Walker is an infre quent attendee, though he is well known to some of its parishioners, especially to its lead pastor of 14 years, John Graham. “Our service had ended,” Graham ■ Please see CHASE, 4A Investigation triggered by mishandling of asbestos BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division opened an investigation into complaints against Southern Environmental Services Wednesday after accusations the demolition and reme diation company mishandled asbestos-ridden homes on Carter Alley in Lula. Lula’s City Council recently approved $109,000 to the company to demolish four homes on Carter Alley for additional parking space and future expansion of the downtown area. Asbestos, a carcinogenic mineral that can cause lung cancer and other respiratory dis eases when inhaled, had been identified in at ■ Please see ASBESTOS, 4A Office park may take place of old church BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvllletlmes.com A former South Hall church could be trans formed into an office park with walkways and water features. Maroun Aoun, of Hoschton, is proposing to turn prop erty at 4240 Winder High way, behind Ingles grocery store, into a seven-acre development. The park would include a 1,500-square-foot building and a 1,200-square- foot building. ■ Please see OFFICE, 4A Walker Hall County Planning Commission What: Proposed 7-acre office park off Winder Highway in South Hall When: 5:15 p.m. Monday, April 17 Where: Hall County Government Center, 2875 Browns Bridge Road, Gainesville ONLINE INSIDE gainesvilletimes.com/newsletters: Sign up to Business 8C Life 3B receive email newsletters from The Times Classified 6C Opinion 6A gainesvilletimes.com/apps: Download Comics 1D Our Region 1B The Times’ app for a user-friendly online experience and app notifications for big stories Fun+Games 3C Sports 1C 40901 06825 9 Northeast Georgia Physicians Group (NGPG) Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine offers complete orthopedic care, from common fractures and sprains to surgery and total joint replacements, NGPG’s experienced physicians and specialists give 100%, so you can too. 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