About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2023)
LOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Midweek Edition-April 19-20, 2023 7A Hall County blocks Buford annexation BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@ gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This pub lished in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. Hall County Board of Com missioners voted to block the annexation of a proposed 50-acre industrial/ware house park on Bennett Road into the city of Buford after Commissioner Kathy Cooper motioned to add the item to the agenda just before the start of their regular meeting. After a unanimous vote by commissioners to block all five parcels of the annexa tion Thursday, Cooper con firmed that county officials had “reviewed the project” and cited zoning discrepan cies as the basis for objection. “I think the main objection was industrial (zoning) inside those residential areas,” Coo per said. Buford’s Planning Com mission had approved the annexation request by See- fried Industrial Properties last Tuesday, with Chairman Robert Perkins indicating that Hall County wouldn’t oppose the annexation after talks between commission ers and the applicant. Officials with the city of Buford could not be reached for comment. Hall County had planned to block the Bennett Road annexation in early-Febru- ary, but the application was pulled before commissioners voted on the item The distribution facility proposed by Seefried Indus trial Properties, if approved for light industrial use, would’ve been constructed on property surrounded by residential zoning. The real estate company maintains the development would have “minimal impact on utilities and schools,” though the proposed site of the project is located less than a mile from Friendship Elementary School. A letter of intent by the company states the proper ty’s agricultural-residential zoning doesn’t provide “rea sonable economic use” of the land. Seefried Industrial Prop erties, which has pledged to provide improvements to the intersection at Friend ship and North Bogan roads as well as an additional drive on Bennett Road, states in a letter to city officials that the project would require three variances — one to allow up-tilt concrete construction, another to permit modular block retaining walls and a third for grading and replant ing in the residential zoning buffers. Authorities: Teen critical after being hit by SUV, thrown into mailbox Editor’s note: This pub lished in a previous E-Paper edition and is being pro vided here for print-only readers. A teenager is in critical condition after being hit by an SUV Sunday, April 17, and thrown into a mailbox on Harmony Church Road in Gainesville, according to authorities. Georgia State Patrol responded around 8:38 p.m. Sunday to Harmony Church Road west of Harmony Hall Drive. State patrol said a 16-year-old was walking with another young person with the flow of traffic along the right side of the road. The SUV was traveling eastbound on Harmony Church Road. Troopers said the SUV did not notice the teenager because of their dark clothing and the lack of light in the area. State patrol said the pedestrian was hit by the SUV’s right front. “The pedestrian was thrown into a mailbox and came to rest in a ditch on the right shoulder of the roadway,” according to state patrol. The SUV stayed at the scene, and the teenager was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in critical condition. No further information was released. Nick Watson Active-adult project likely to get tabled Thursday A proposed Flowery Branch annexation that’s drawn objections from Hall County is set to go before City Council Thursday, April 20. But it will likely be tabled because of the objection, city planner Rich Atkinson said Monday, April 17. Oakwood-based devel oper Cook Communities is seeking to annex 14 acres at 5704 Jim Crow Road for a 49-home active-adult community. This is the second time the proposal, which includes a rezoning request, has come up in Flowery Branch. The City Council voted in August 2022 to deny the proposal. The proposed rezoning, if permitted, would increase both infrastructure cost and the intensity of allowed- use of the property, as well as “violate (Hall) County’s future land use map,” Hall County Attorney Bill Link- ous told commissioners on April 13. Jeff Gill BRIAN WELLMEIER I The Times A simulation event of a robot performing heart surgery was held recently by Northeast Georgia Health System at The Venue in Flowery Branch. NGHS invites public to witness robotic heart surgery simulation BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. About 200 people recently saw firsthand how a robot performs heart surgery. Northeast Georgia Health System held live simulations at The Venue in Flowery Branch of the DaVinci Xi dem onstrating its capa bility for performing minimally-invasive heart surgery. Cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Sloane Guy, a former U.S. Army surgeon who played a major role in bringing this specific robotics pro gram to Hall County, said this latest technology allows patients to recover from heart surgery in rapid time. Recovery time for patients who undergo conventional methods for the procedure could take months to recover, whereas a patient of robotic heart surgery might be back on their feet in three days or less. Before Tuesday’s event, Guy described the intricacies of robotic operation as more complex than it appears. “The robotics system here existed before for other procedures ... what I did was start the robotic heart surgery program, using the robot to operate on the heart,” Guy said. “... there’s a lot of supplies and equipment you have to have. There’s choreography to the operation that needs to be learned — no different than a Broadway show.” The origin of the new technology dates back to a project by the Depart ment of Defense and NASA, accord ing to Guy, as the federal government sought to build a robotic system that could operate in outer space or on a battlefield. Today, the DaVinci Xi, which can operate on patients through pen-sized incisions, has found a more practical use here in Hall. “It turned out not to be that use ful for that, at least at the time it was developed,” Guy said. “Then laparo scopic surgery — which is non-robotic — came to fruition. Folks started real izing that the robotics system can add a lot of dexterity to the instruments that you can’t get with non-robotic instrumentation. ” Van Norris, who attended the event Tuesday, is living proof of the potential effectiveness of robotics technology in the medical field. He said he recently underwent robotic heart surgery and was released from the hospital that same day. “I’m glad I did it,” he said. “I feel good. It’s phenomenal... the technol ogy, it’s just unreal. ” Guy said he expects robotics in the field of cardiovascular health care to expand throughout the U.S. as the tech nology continues to evolve. Still, he said, greater awareness of the program in general is crucial for that expansion to occur. “It was easy to fall into a program that already had a high degree of excellence,” Guy said. “I think it will (expand) ... the concept that you can discharge someone — potentially the day after (surgery) — is virtually inconceivable in most institutions.” “If every patient in this region knew that this was a possibility, I think we would have people lined up out the door,” he said, “...that’s what’s frustrat ing to me is getting the word out. That’s why these (events) are important. (Patients) need to be aware of their options, and the sad reality of Ameri can health care today is they’re usually apprised of only the options that the doctor in front of them has available... not always, but many times.” Worker dies after being pinned under machinery 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 killed Thurs day, April 13 when heavy machinery rolled on top of him in Gainesville, according to authorities. David Bryant, 56, was working at a home about 11:40 a.m. Thursday in the area of Thompson Bridge Road and Woodlake Drive. Gainesville Fire Chief Brandon Ellis said a soil compactor, meant to be operated by a single person, “appears to have turned over.” Ellis said the man was pinned under the equipment and appears to have died before EMS arrived at the scene. City school board OKs foreign exchange students BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@ gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. The Gainesville City school board on Monday unanimously approved a policy allowing foreign exchange stu dents to enroll in the district. Students must live with an adult sponsor who is able to “deal with all school matters that may arise,” the policy says. Only students with spon sors who live outside the city will be required to pay tuition, which is $800 per year. Students must provide a birth cer tificate, all school transcripts and medical records. School board members will review the applications and decide on a case-by-case basis who to admit. The school board heard a first reading of the policy March 6. Superintendent Jeremy Williams said then that it had been about 20 years since they last allowed foreign exchange students. “We’ve had more requests and more requests,” he said in March. BOURBON ■ Continued from 1A As for Boot Barn Hall, the 18,000-square- foot space is designed to hold 1,400 gen eral admission guests, or 500 seated guests around 5-by-5-foot tables on the floor and VIP mezzanine wrapping around the hall that will allow guests to “gather in a more secluded space but also have that home service touch,” Hoeft said. “You’re having that private, intimate setting, but you’re still watching a grand band.” Some seating arrangements will be ADA accessible, she added. Doubling as an event space for corpo rate and private events, the music hall is designed to resemble an amphitheater, according to St. Germain, and boasts wood- paneled walls with black vaulted ceilings as well as a 27-foot LED screen at the back of the stage. The stage is built to host “giant bands, two bands at a time, three bands at a time, whatever it may be,” Hoeft noted, “but also private events (like) an awards dinner.” The main attraction, however, aside from the headliners that may grace the hall, may be the oak dance floor under construction at the base of the stage. The venue, according to Hoeft, “has all the bells and whistles” and is expected to be “a premiere experience.” Within the next two weeks, a large, “old school” marquee announcing upcoming shows and events is set to be installed on the side of the building facing Jesse Jewell Parkway. “Event wise, we’re hosting everything you can think of — fundraisers, galas, graduations, weddings, proms — but also rock concerts, regional concerts, awe some tribute bands but also those kick-butt ones from Nashville,” Hoeft said. “We lean toward country and rock just because of the nature of the building itself, but we won’t pigeonhole ourselves into one genre.” The Gainesville campus is one of 10 the company hopes to open over the next five years, according to Hoeft. In the queue now are prospective locations in Murfrees boro, Tennessee; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Fort Worth, Texas. According to St. Germain, the venue has created about 150 local jobs, several of which are open to applicants on Indeed. Hoeft said the company is excited about “just being a place people can gather in this area. The arts and entertainment culture here is vibrant and awesome, and we’re excited to be another staple of that and get the people dancing.” “We’re really, really proud to bring this to Gainesville,” she added. “I hope that Gainesville is excited, too.” For additional information and updates, visit bourbonbrothersga.com or follow Bourbon Brothers — Gainesville on Face- book and Instagram. SPONSORSHIP AND BOOTH SPACE AVAILABLE INTACT 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 weehlong holiday.
