About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2024)
Girls Basketball Player of the Week: Cherokee Bluff’s Kaitlin Cook continues to contribute big down the stretch, sports, ib Midweek Edition - FEBRUARY 7-8,20241 $2.00 I GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com Nichols Diner closes after 20 years in S. Hall. life,7a Honestly Local Hall hires third party to find new fire chief BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Hall County could be just a few months away from hiring a new fire chief. A recruitment brochure emailed by County Adminis trator Zach Propes to 365 Hall County Fire Rescue employees in late-January states the “ideal candidate” for the fire chief posi tion should be a person of “high integrity and moral character who is a strategic thinker, collab orative leader, team player and leads by example.” Former fire chief Chris Arm strong and deputy chief Tim Woodward resigned after revela tions Woodward was involved in a relationship with a female sub ordinate and a subsequent “vote of no confidence” by fire rescue personnel shrouded their leader ship in doubt. Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Smith was then selected to serve on an interim basis in the wake of Armstrong's resignation. Propes told The Times Fri day, Feb. 2, that Hall County has paid Athens-based consult ing firm Mercer Group Associ ates $18,500 — plus additional expenses up to $4,800 — to aid in the search for that ideal pros pect to lead the department in the coming months. County commissioners in September approved $90,000 to consulting firm Emergency Ser vices Consulting International to conduct a study to assess the department's needs and develop a long term vision. Propes said a new chief will play a major role in implementing objectives pro duced by that study. Hall County will likely send out a survey to gather additional feedback from employees later this month, according to Propes. See Fire 13A ‘It felt like a dream’ Scott Rogers The Times Hall County Sheriff’s Office personnel meets with interested visitors Tuesday, Feb. 6, at the Lanier Technical College Ramsey Conference Center for the school’s annual career fair. Lanier Tech career fair helps students find jobs BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Dozens of companies and hundreds of students gathered Tuesday, Feb. 6, for the career fair in the Ramsey Conference Cen ter at Lanier Technical College. “It's bigger this year than it was last year,” said Lanier Tech President Tim McDonald. Last year, about 300 students attended the career fair. This year, about 400 were expected to attend. Lanier Tech graduate Brooklyne Dunlap was on the other side of the booth this year, having already secured a job at ZL, a Ger man automotive technology company with an office in Gainesville, after discovering the company at a previous career fair. “It felt like a dream, I'll be honest with you,” said Dunlap, who graduated last year with a degree in Mechatronics Technology. “I know that sounds very cliche. ... I was trying to find a job, an apprenticeship or internship, anything, and so coming here ... was very, I guess, relieving because I felt like I was going to have to wait for years to find a job.” About 60 companies were present, from construction to healthcare to law enforce ment to poultry processing. Rafael Naranjo, a Flowery Branch High graduate who is enrolled in Lanier Tech's construction management program, said the career fair gives students a good idea of their job prospects before they graduate. “This is pretty good because it opens up a lot of opportunities for ... students who don't have jobs,” he said. “They can start up while in college.” McDonald said Lanier Tech has a job placement rate of about 95%, and career fairs like these aim to push that figure even higher. “It gives our students an opportunity to see the great career choices they have, meet with the companies, have conversa tions, and just to see what the next step is,” he said. “I've spoken with a lot of the folks here today and they've said they've had a tremendous turnout with great leads.” Company representatives said Lanier Tech's career fairs have been helpful in finding new employees. “Oh, absolutely,” said Justin Dudkiew- wicz, assistant human resources manager at Avita Community Partners, a public agency that provides services to people with mental health disorders, developmen tal disabilities and addiction. “And it's good to get out there because people don't know exactly who all these organizations are, so you can educate them about who you are, what you do and the services you provide.” Araceli Perez, a hiring specialist for Koch Poods, a poultry processing company with a plant in Gainesville, said they need about 35 workers. “We're trying to get some people for the tender cutting for first and second shift,” she said, adding that the starting pay for a poultry cutter is $16. And Lanier Tech's career fair is still worthwhile for those who already have a job, said Debbie Pruitt, Lanier Tech's career services coordinator. “What I tell the students when I email them, I'm like, ‘Even if you're working, this is a great networking event, this is a great way to get your name out there,'” she said. Large storage development proposed off Ga. 365 BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com A large self-storage development could be coming to northeast Hall County, close to the Habersham County line. Ten build ings, including two three-story 78,400-square- foot buildings, are proposed on nine acres off Tribble Gap Road and Ga. 365, behind a Chevron gas station that's a couple miles from Habersham. “These two buildings will be equipped with See Storage 13A Public hearing What: Proposed 172,400-square- foot self-storage development When: 6 p.m. March 11 Where: Hall County Board of Commissioners meeting, Hall County Government Center, 2875 Browns Bridge Road Three more take plea deals from robbery on New Year s Eve BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Three more people charged in a New Year's Eve party robbery were sentenced to reduced charges after plea deals. Marquavious Tavares Moses, 20, and Steven Emmanuel Arellano, 18, pleaded guilty to reduced charges of robbery by force Tuesday, Leb. 6. Both were sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jason Deal to 20 years with the first five years in prison. Deal granted Arellano credit for time previously See Robbery 13A Arellano 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 7A Classified 1C Opinion 6A Comics 4B,1D Sports IB Fun+Games 3B 0 40901 06835 8 Capture Your Share of the Sun cooperative solar 1 I.H 1 HK Ml MHER<Hiry CORPORATION " jacksonemc.com/renewables
