About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2024)
i I r 'flBBEC Gainesville High hires baseball coach with national name recognition. SPORTS, 1C Midweek Edition - JULY 17-18, 2024 I $2.00 I GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local Hall Schools adopts new tax rate BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com The Hall County school board's five members voted unanimously Monday to lower the property tax rate after a packed and lively public hearing. The tax rate was lowered from 15.64 mills to 14.99 mills, the lowest rate in many years. That still translates to a nearly 3.5% increase in property taxes but is significantly lower than many people might have expected given earlier statements and advertisements from the district. After all, the district had advertised a flat tax rate in The Times newspaper, though Superintendent Will Schofield later said during a public meeting that the board would probably lower the rate “a little bit.” As for how much lower, a rate of 15.29 mills would have been a good guess, since that was the rate considered in early budget deliberations. But the board ultimately voted on a rate even lower than that. The tax rate is measured in mills. One mill is equal to $1 per $1,000 in assessed property value. In Hall County, homes are assessed at 40% of their value. That means a home valued at $400,000 would yield a tax bill of $2,502.40. Assessed home values increased by an average of 6.6% over last year, according to the Hall County Tax Assessor's Office. That’s a significant jump, but far less than the 24.5% increase last year or the 16.6% increase in 2022. ‘The board was thinking of doing that all along’ The vote followed a packed public hearing with about 50 See Hall Taxes 14A ‘A really big party’ Photos by Scott Rogers The Times Decoy holds a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, July 12, at their downtown Gainesville location. The res taurant/game hall offers duckpin bowling, mini golf and a state of the art golf simulator. New ‘eatertainment’ restaurant Decoy opens in Gainesville BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Gainesville, get ready to party. Upscale “eatertainment” restaurant Decoy has officially opened downtown at 123 Green St. in the historic Walton Jack- son Building. Dozens attended the ribbon cutting ceremony at noon Fri day for a chance to tour the new venue, which promises to bring Atlanta-style entertainment to the city. “We took a chance on Gaines ville, and we think Gainesville's ready,” said Decoy owner Rand Carswell. “When you walk in, you feel like you've walked into a place in Atlanta.” True to that vision, Decoy will stay open until midnight See Decoy 18A FULL 5\A r» ■ f ^1 4 ft t / 55.1 6222 233 ** nr Mt* i/u <>,. 20. f r«» I ti 11 ““ **■*' .1 THC brownies lawsuit settled BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A lawsuit accusing a Gainesville caterer of serving THC-laced brownies at a hol iday dinner has been settled, according to court documents and attorneys. The lawsuit filed Sept. 26 in Hall County alleged that Timothy Broxton prepared and served THC-poisoned brownies “that contained illegally high levels of THC.” The claims were for negli gence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of contract among other counts. Nine people were taken to the emergency room while three others reported symp toms at the scene after the See Brownies 13A Scott Rogers The Times Chef Tim Broxton works Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, inside his restaurant Easy B’s Cafe & Market which he opened at Limestone Place along Limestone Parkway. Broxton settled a lawsuit in July 2024, alleging that he prepared and served THC-poisoned brownies “that contained illegally high levels of THC.” Gainesville man sentenced to federal prison in fentanyl case BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville man was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after authorities accused him of selling fentanyl laced with xylazine, according to court documents. Torrance Tremaine Nicely, 36, pleaded guilty to posses sion with the intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl. He was sentenced July 2 by U.S. District Court Judge Richard W. Story. See Nicely 15A 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 Obits Classified 3C Opinion Comics 4B Region Fun+Games 3B Sports Life IB Weather 4A 6A 7A 1C 2A 0 40901 06835 8 Capture Your Share of the Sun cooperative solar I III T HK Ml MHER^HIP X k GRI*ORATB JN - jacksonemc.com/renewables
