The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, June 23, 2023, Image 1
Gainesville senior TE Sky Niblett looking to do his part to bring program state title in 2023. SPORTS, 1C £ Ml 4 Fentanyl OD victim’s mom, friend talk about addiction. OUR REGION, 8C mt (ttin fs Center Point’s volunteer mentor of year goes the extra mile. LIFE, 1B Weekend Edition - JUNE 23-24,2023 | $2.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local Man sentenced for attempted child molestation BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville man accused of trying to meet up with a girl he believed to be 14 for sex was sen tenced to seven years in prison, according to court documents. Jesus Gilberto Luna entered a guilty plea Monday, June 19, and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kathlene Gosselin to 20 years with the first seven years in prison. Luna was indicted on two counts of com- Luna P uter Pornog raphy and one count each of attempted aggra vated child molestation and attempted child molestation. The computer pornography alleged Luna used an instant mes saging service to seduce a girl he believed to be under the age of 16. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested Luna in February 2020 on Browns Bridge Road. Luna sent graphic sexual mes sages and a photo of his genitals to an undercover officer posing as a girl Luna believed to be under the age of 16. He then arranged to meet with her, according to the Sheriffs Office. According to the guilty plea form, Luna admitted to going to meet the girl and have “oral sex and intercourse.” Gosselin ordered that Luna have no contact with anyone under the age of 16 excluding bio logical children. He will also face the sex offender special conditions of probation. Defense attorney Amy Carter did not return multiple requests for comment. Luna FATAL FENTANYL, PART 3 ‘If I can do it, I know you can’ SCOn ROGERS I The Times Peer Counselor Jodie Wacaster talks about the fentanyl problem in Hall County Wednesday, May 23, at the offices of Georgia Council for Recovery in Gainesville. Peer recovery coaches, lawmakers discuss steps to battle fentanyl BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Approaching five years of sobriety, Jodie Wacaster is now working in the field that changed her life. Wacaster, a graduate of Hall County Treatment Court and a peer recovery coach, said the peer support helped her when she faced some of her hardest times. “I was struggling and I desperately wanted to stop, but I just really did not have the courage or the faith in myself to keep going,” she said. “It was another peer who continued to encourage me. She was like, ‘If I can do it, I know you can.’” Wacaster, Kenneth Pinion and Ashley Stevens — three people certified as peer recovery coaches for the Georgia Council for Recovery — sat down with The Times to discuss the recovery community, the struggles some face to enter into treat ment and what can be improved. The peer recovery coaches said fen tanyl has become a major community health issue. “This is just from what people have told me, but I think because heroin is so much harder to come by nowadays, a lot of people’s drug of use now is fentanyl,” Pinion said. When a person comes into the hospi tal with a history of substance use or has overdosed, Laurelwood, Northeast Geor gia Health System’s behavioral health facility, will make an assessment. If it is determined that the person may benefit from peer support, a peer will go in to see them. “We’re there to support them, basi cally,” Stevens said. “We are an addi tional layer of support. We don’t try to start them in any certain direction. We let them lead the way. We walk beside them.” It’s not uncommon for the recovery coaches to see people go into the hospital a handful of times. At different points in a ■ Please see FENTANYL, 4A Work may start soon on Kubota plant BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Work could begin soon on a new 700,000-square-foot Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp. plant, vice president Phil Sut ton said this week. A groundbreaking ceremony is planned ten tatively for August, even though grading could start earlier, he said. The $190 million plant at 3551 Kubota Way in Gateway Industrial Centre is scheduled to open in early 2025, Sutton said. It will be next to a 502,000-square-foot facil ity that opened in 2017 and across the road from a $90 million research and development facility that opened in 2022. Gateway Indus trial is off Ga. 365 and White Sulphur Road in ■ Please see KUBOTA, 4A Lula council votes to reject mayor’s public comment policy BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Lula City Council has voted to quash Mayor Joe Thomas’ public comment policy that had sought to silence criticism of his administration. The policy, unilaterally implemented by Thomas earlier this year, prohibited what citi zens could and couldn’t say by limiting public comments only to agenda items for no more than two minutes per person. The resolution, approved by unanimous vote, in effect restores residents’ ability to speak freely at council meetings. Council members Tony Cornett and Garnett Smith, two of the most vocal opponents of the policy, collaborated on the final draft of the resolution, which was read aloud after the start of Lula’s regular meeting Monday. “Time for citizen comments will be made available at the beginning and ending of each ■ Please see LULA, 4A ONLINE INSIDE gainesvilletimes.com/newsletters: Sign up to Advice 4C Fun+Games 4C receive email newsletters from The Times Business 3C Life 1B gainesvilletimes.com/apps: Download Calendar 2A Opinion 6A The Times’ app for a user-friendly online Classified 7C Our Region 8C experience and app notifications for big stories Comics 1D Sports 1C 40901 06825 9 SCHEDULE TODAY’S VIDEO VISIT ONLINE You can now visit with a trusted Northeast Georgia Physicians Group provider on your phone, tablet or computer right when you need them with On-demand Urgent Care Video Visits. 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