Record-cold caucuses expected
after many chilly Iowa campaign
events, inside, 4a
Sunday, January 14,20241 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com
Seventh grader from North Hall
wins district spelling bee.
INSIDE, 3A
Honestly Local
NTSB: Plane hit trees, exploded on impact in crash
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
Witnesses to a Dec. 21 fatal
plane crash saw the aircraft
flying low over Lake Lanier
before hitting trees and the
parking lot, leading to an
explosion, according to a
report released this week by
the National Transportation
Safety Board.
The report details the crash
that killed Howard Lee Joe,
60, of Dunwoody, who was
the only person onboard the
Beechcraft Bonanza single
engine plane.
Joe's family told authori
ties the plane was based at
DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in
Atlanta and “the purpose of
(the) flight was to perform
a local flight in the area,"
according to the report.
The plane departed the
Atlanta airport at 5:01 p.m.
heading north, but 11 minutes
later, the ground speed and
altitude of the plane started
to decrease, according to the
report.
At 5:14 p.m., the plane was
a tenth of a mile north of the
See Plane 14A
NTSB Investigation: ERA24FA072
A drone image
shows the path
of a plane over
Lake Lanier
before hitting
trees and crash
ing on Dec. 21,
2023.
Image provided by NTSB
Big chill on tap
Photos by Scott Rogers The Times
Pedestrians deal with rain showers Friday, Jan. 12, as they walk along Bradford Street in downtown in Gainesville.
in Hall; freezing expected next week
Canada geese gather along the Midland Greenway showered in rainfall.
More rain arrives
BY BRIAN WELLMEIER
bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com
Hall County saw rain and strong
winds as severe weather moved across
Georgia Friday.
Up to a half-inch of rain and wind
gusts exceeding 50 mph were expected
between 3 p.m.-6 p.m. before relenting
around 9 p.m. Friday night.
Freezing temperatures
Next week, temperatures across the
northeast Georgia region could plunge
to below-freezing starting Monday
night with lows in the 30s.
Hernandez said temperatures Tues
day will reach highs in the 30s before
a drop to around 14 degrees that night.
The record low in Gainesville for
next Tuesday, which will see the high
range from upper 30s to low 40s, was
set at 4 degrees in 1912.
With the wind chill, she said the air
outside will feel more like 3-5 degrees
Wednesday morning. Wednesday's
high will stay in the low-to-mid 30s.
Forecasts show only some relief for the
rest of the week, as a minor warming
trend pushes highs to the mid-40s and
lows in the 30s.
Chances of precipitation next week
for now are low, according to Hernan
dez, so the roads should remain dry
and safe for travel.
“We're still very much evaluating it,"
she said. “I wouldn't rule out a flurry
for the area, but we're not expecting
accumulation...again, things could
change.''
Starting the evening of Friday, Jan.
12, a warming center at 881 Dorsey
Street in Gainesville will open for
those without shelter during the cold.
Pastor Jerry Deyton said the warm
ing center operated by Good News at
Noon could open in the daytime hours
when temperatures are in the 30s next
week.
He said he aims to keep the center
open through winter as necessary. He
added that he's accepting donations for
coffee and small snacks like breakfast
bars for those at the shelter.
As temperatures fall Tuesday, pet
owners should bring all outdoor ani
mals indoors to protect them from the
extreme cold.
Last year, the Hall County area saw
record-breaking cold on Christmas Eve
after temperatures plunged to a low of
5 degrees and left about 1,000 Gaines
ville water customers with leaks or
pipe breaks.
To prevent water lines from bursting,
wrap outdoor pipes and spigots with
some form of insulation, leave indoor
faucets dripping and open cabinets
under sinks to keep pipes warm.
Newly installed
water tower has
familiar Atlanta
names and logos
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Familiar Atlanta names and logos
are on Flowery Branch's newest water
tower.
Emory Healthcare's logo features
prominently on the city's 152-foot tall,
250,000-gallon tower atop Main Street
at Gainesville Street, overlooking
downtown.
Atlanta Falcons and Flowery Branch's
blossom logos are also on the tower, as
well as the Falcon's “Rise Up" mantra
and the words “Presented by: Emory
Sports Performance And Research
Center.''
The Falcons and Flowery Branch
logos have long been on the city's Rob
erts Drive tower.
The newest participant is Emory
Healthcare, which opened the Emory
Orthopaedics & Spine Center at the
Atlanta Falcons complex at 4400 Falcon
Parkway, Flowery Branch, in February
2021.The Falcons have been in Hall
County since 2000.
The Emory facility provides Falcons'
players with immediate access to medi
cal treatment and procedures, such as
MRIs, but it also is open to the public.
“We were working with the Falcons
(on the new tank's logo), and Emory
entered the conversation,'' Flowery
Branch City Manager Tonya Parrish
said. “We have such a great working
relationship with both of them.''
Emory paid the city $25,000 for the
tank's paint job, which is expected to
last about 10 years, she added.
The total cost of the effort was
$134,000, Parrish said.
See Water Tower 14A
Jeff Gill The Times
Flowery Branch’s new water tower bears
the names and logos of Emory
Healthcare and Atlanta Falcons, as well
as the city’s familiar blossom logo.
2024 MLK Day Celebration to include parade and observance
BY BEN ANDERSON
banderson@gainesvilletimes.com
For more than 50 years, the
Newtown Florist Club has assem
bled a parade in honor of Martin
Luther King Jr. on his birthday.
The longstanding Gainesville
civil rights club will host its 54th
annual MLK Day Celebration at
noon Monday, Jan. 15.
About 200 people are expected
to assemble and march in honor
of the late civil rights leader who
was assassinated more than 55
years ago. The parade is expected
to last about an hour.
This year's route will begin at
Peach State Bank on E.E. Butler
Parkway and end at the newly
renovated E.E. Butler Center,
where an observance program
will commence at 1:30 p.m. Kyn-
dra Cohen, the center's adminis
trator and director of Hall County
Family Connection, will lead the
observance.
“We did that intentionally to
build upon the work that is cur
rently going on there (at the E.E.
Butler Center),'' said Newtown
Florist Club Director Rose John
son. “This is the place where
you can come for healthcare.
This is the place where you can
come for recreation. This is the
place where you can come for
resources to help make your fami
lies stronger.''
The theme of this year's cel
ebration is “Rebuild the Village,
Share the Work, Live the Dream.''
“For the last three or four years,
our theme has been focused on
rebuilding the village,'' Johnson
said. “There are communities
all throughout the city where
the investment in the lives of the
people — the children, the youth,
the young adults and families —
needs a whole lot more nourish
ment, needs to experience the
feeling of family togetherness
that we once shared in the com
munities where we grew up."
“There's a lot of work that
needs to be done," she said, “to
live out Dr. King's dream of what
the beloved community could be
like.''
