About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2023)
A review of the top five stories i if ^ from Hall in ' ' i 0 2023. REGION, 1C ypfrjfj Weekend Edition - DECEMBER 29-30,2023 I $2.00 I GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com Freezing temps but no snow forecast in Hall BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com A low pressure system moving in from the north will see temperatures drop across North Georgia this weekend and into the next week as the new year begins. This weekend is expected to bring mostly sunny condi tions with highs of around 45 degrees before tempera tures fall to lows of between 31-33. Skies should remain mostly clear through next week as temperatures rise only slightly to highs in the lower 50s and lows in the mid 30s, Monday through Friday is forecast to “stay right around those tempera tures,” according to Meteo rologist with the National Weather Service Sam Mar low, who said there's a 30% chance of scattered showers for New Year's Day Mon day. That wet weather should clear up before nightfall, he said. While there could be up to an inch of snowfall in the Blairsville area this week end, according to Marlow, Gainesville-Hall County is not expected to see snow flurries. “This is air that's being dragged down out of the north by a low pressure system,” he said. “For the Friday-Saturday period, the mountains to the north could see some wintry mix to snow See Forecast 15A ‘A big loss’ Outgoing Mitchell leaves legacy of fighting for the underserved BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Willie Mitchell is step ping down after 34 years on the Gainesville school board , leaving a leg acy of fighting for the underserved. Mitchell, who represents District 3, home to the historically Black South- side community, earned a reputation as a “quiet but forceful agent of change,” as former superintendent Merrianne Dyer put it, who fought for equality for all students, particularly those of lesser means. A Gainesville native and the youngest of three chil dren, Mitchell grew up on Norwood Street on the Southside of the city. His father died when he was just 18 months old, and his mother supported the fam ily by working as a maid for a local businessman. “We pretty much lived a poor life, but it wasn't unhappy,” Mitch ell recalled. “You really didn't realize how poor you (were) for the simple fact that everybody shared what they had. ... I guess I didn't know how poor I was until I messed around and started (watching) televi sion and started reading the book that I got when I was in elementary school,” he said, laughing. Mitchell was a student at the original Fair Street International Academy, which opened in 1937 as an all-Black community school before being torn down and built anew in 2013. In the spring, a small J-shaped street behind the historic elementary school will be named Wil lie Mitchell Drive in honor of Mitchell's decades of Scott Rogers The Times Retiring Gainesville City School Board member Willie Mitchell decided recently not to run for reelection after 34 years on the board. Mitchell represents District 3, and was a student at the original Fair Street, which opened in 1937 as an all-Black community school before graduating from E.E. Butler High School. service. Mitchell graduated from E.E. Butler High School in 1967, two years before the all-Black school — named after the first Black physi cian in Hall County — shut tered its doors following a Supreme Court ruling in the Alexander v. Holmes See Mitchell 13A Legislator talks plans for new city near Hall line BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com State Rep. Chuck Efstration pitched his plan for proposed cityhood of Mulberry at a Wednes day, Dec. 27, town hall at Hamilton Mill Lakev- iew Clubhouse where the Republican from Dacula took questions from more than 80 resi dents and unveiled details of his proposal. The newly proposed city, which would encom pass an area three miles south of Hall County's border, had been tentatively named Mill Creek until recent public feedback forced a name change. The name Mulberry, Efstration explained, has existing ties to landmarks in the area — such as Mulberry Lake and Little Mulberry Park. “I heard very quickly from folks at Seckinger See Mulberry 13A One holdout on right of way remaining for Sardis project BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Only one piece of property stands between Hall County and the end of right of way pur chases needed for the long-awaited Sardis Road Connector. Corinth Church at 3590 Thompson Bridge Road/Ga. 60 is the lone holdout in the project, which has been in the works for decades and may finally see dirt turned in 2024. “We are in talks with them,” County Engineer Frank Miller said. Corinth's lead pastor, Chris Swan, said in a recent text, “Nothing of substance to update at See Sardis 14A ONLINE INSIDE 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 Calendar 2A Life Classified 7C Opinion Comics 1D Region Fun+Games 4C Sports 1B 6A 8C 1C 40901 06825
