About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2024)
Ukraine reports shooting down two Russian aircrafts, in major blOW tO MOSCOW. INSIDE,3A (the mmts Tuesday, January 16,20241 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com H r x m jr* ft ^1' ; .ve ■ § v 1 £-« Iowa ns brave cold to begin election slate with caucuses. INSIDE, 4A Honestly Local Buckhead man charged in 6-vehicle crash on 1-985 BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com A Pennsylvania man was taken to the hospital after a six-car crash on Interstate 985 Saturday, Jan. 13. The crash occurred before 1 p.m. when a driver, 25-year-old Jacob Heine of Buckhead, struck the rear of a Honda Civic driven by 22-year- old Joshua Szabo of Quakertown, Pa., according to the Georgia State Patrol. The Civic sideswiped one car and struck the rear right comer of another vehicle. Turning coun terclockwise, it struck the rear of another vehicle, which struck the rear of a sixth vehicle. Troopers responded to the acci dent near Atlanta Highway at about 1 p.m. 1-985 was closed for about P/2 hours for the investigation and cleanup, according to GSP Heine was charged with follow ing too closely, GSP said. Szabo was released from the hospital Sunday, Jan. 14, accord ing to the Northeast Georgia Health System. Photos by Scott Rogers The Times Hundreds parade through Gainesville Monday, Jan. 15 for the Newtown Florist Club Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration. This is the 54th annual celebration hosted by the Gainesville civil rights club in honor of the late civil rights leader. The Rev. Matther Little leads a prayer before the parade sets off. , V BO 1 The Gainesville High band performs in the parking lot of Peach State Bank in Gainesville to kick off the celebration. Marching for the dream The Newtown Florist Club Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration was held yesterday. This is the 54th annual cel ebration hosted by the Gainesville civil rights club in honor of the late civil rights leader. Hundreds attened to march and show gratitude for the work that the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. did to further civil rights. Among the march, there were prayers held, marching bands and signs that promoted freedom, peace and rememberance of the work that Martin Luther King Jr. did. Hundreds parade along Athens Street, many holding signs and flags. Proposal for townhomes would force residents out BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com There weren't many “amens” Friday night at Rucker Memorial Baptist Church off Floyd Road in Gainesville. A townhome development that proposes to relocate residents from an aging mobile home park has stirred emotions in the community. “I know you guys develop affordable homes, and that's great. We push for that, but not at the expense of people who can't afford to move,” said Jonathan Rucker, chair man of the Newtown Florist Club's board of directors. Newtown Florist Club is a longtime Gaines ville civil rights organization. ‘‘What you're doing here is hurting our community,” Rucker said, addressing a group proposing the development on 5.5 acres at 2455 Floyd Road, just outside Gainesville city limits. ‘‘We would love to see that housing you're proposing done differently, in terms of find ing land elsewhere. If you continue to push this proposal, you will be fought tooth and nail, and it's not just by powerless people.” Property owner Greenleaf Investment Partners of Norcross is seeking to redevelop the site, which has connections for up to 22 mobile homes, into townhomes with two- and three-bedroom units ranging in size from 1,350 to 1,550 square feet. Monthly rents would run between $1,400 and $1,700, Greenleaf partner Josh Frie- densohn said at the Jan. 12 public meeting, which drew about 80 people. Greenleaf's rental properties on Floyd near Barnes Drive are ‘‘at the end of the road of its life cycle,” Friedensohn said. ‘‘It's an older property ... and the only path that we see is See Floyd 13A Scott Rogers The Times A Floyd Road Town Hall Meeting is held Friday, Jan. 12, at Rucker Memorial Baptist Church to discuss a proposed townhomes development on Floyd Road. 200-plus townhome development soon to be constructed in Lula BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com More than 200 townhomes will soon be built in Lula, and with its current zoning, the project will not require approval from council. City officials said the 61-acre Cedar Creek development will include a total of 244 town- house units built along Bel ton Bridge Road on property that was zoned residential for a mobile home park planned more than 30 years ago. That project never devel oped, and Lula-based A&R homes has since acquired the land to move forward with the townhomes. City officials have discussed future road improvements along Belton Bridge, which has been deemed ‘‘not suitable” for large volumes of traffic without ‘‘substantial improvements.” ‘‘The biggest traffic problem identified would be the inter section with (Ga.) 365,” city documents state, ‘‘...there is no real solution to this dilemma. A traffic light would help - how ever, the traffic count is appar ently not sufficient to warrant a traffic light.” Minor improvements, such as widened shoulders and turn lanes, could be necessary to account for increased traffic in the area. ‘‘The intersection with 365, without more (improvements), would become more congested, See Townhomes 13A Belton Bridge Road at Ga. 365. Brian Wellmeier The Times
