Saturday will be ‘Great Day’ for hundreds

Early Saturday morning, about 850 people will gather at First United Methodist Church for meditation and communion. Then, wearing shirts emblazoned with "Great Day of Service," they will disperse across Hall County to perform community service projects that vary from painting a church to delivering chicken sandwiches. Saturday will be the second annual Great Day of Service, a community service event in which members of First United Methodist Church will ...

Gainesville one of nation’s fastest growing metro areas

Gainesville was the fourth fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S., according to Census Bureau estimates released Thursday.

School system knows growth all too well

Hall County's population growth numbers released Thursday were hardly surprising for those who bear the brunt of new arrivals.

Former director of Keep Hall Beautiful dies at 57

GAINESVILLE - A champion for keeping Hall County a clean community died Thursday afternoon following a months-long illness. Until recently, Marsha Fletcher, 57, served as the executive director for Keep Hall Beautiful, but her illness forced her to step down from the position she had held for more than a decade. As executive director, Fletcher served her community, volunteering in community cleanups, steering school education programs focused ...

Hall firefighters deal with five fires in nine hours

Fire truck and ambulance sirens were heard across Hall County throughout the day and into the night Thursday, as county firefighters responded to five fires and a chemical burn call in a span of nine hours. No one was injured in the fires.

Daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, filmmaker Rory Kennedy, visits Brenau to talk about work

GAINESVILLE - Rory Kennedy, youngest daughter of the late Attorney General and U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, spent Thursday in Gainesville at Brenau University, meeting with students and talking about her documentary work. The Women's Center at Brenau University and Office of the Provost co-sponsored the event, with other financial support coming from Gainesville lawyer Wyc Orr and his wife, Lyn, who funded the Aileen ...

Hall County expects new state court judgeship to pay for itself

For the first 112 years of its existence, Hall County State Court needed one judge to oversee misdemeanor criminal, traffic and civil matters.

Man charged with operating meth lab

A Gainesville man faces charges of operating a clandestine methamphetamine lab near his Barrett Road home, authorities said.

Gainesville's plan to favor local contractors may not fly

Gainesville City Council members' plans to prefer local contractors on city construction jobs may take a back seat to state law, the city attorney told the council Thursday morning.

Fox tests positive for rabies

The Georgia Public Health Lab in Decatur confirmed Wednesday that a fox spotted in the Flat Creek Road area of South Hall County tested positive for rabies.

Southside community wants sidewalks, park

They want answers. Residents from the Southside neighborhood have called a special meeting to present their community's concerns to local officials.

U.S. 129 lanes will shift on Monday

Traffic will shift Monday on U.S. 129 from Ga. 330 to New Kings Bridge Road. From New Kings Bridge Road to Potter House Road, traffic will be routed to the northbound lanes while work is completed in the southbound lanes.

Gainesville police chief honored by Elks

Gainesville Police Chief Frank Hooper received the Public Safety Officer of the Year Award for 2007-2008 on Saturday from Gainesville Lodge No. 1126 Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks.

Gainesville responds to lawsuit: City didn't discriminate against group homes

Attorneys for Gainesville are fighting allegations that the city has discriminated against the owners and residents of two substance abuse recovery programs in the city.

2 injured, 1 seriously, in Hall bus wreck

GAINESVILLE - A Hall County school system bus was involved in a wreck on Gillsville Highway at Holly Springs Road in East Hall at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. No students were on the bus at the time, and the driver of bus 2711 was not injured other than suffering some pain in her knee, said Gordon Higgins, school system spokesman. The driver and the passenger of the ...

Ga. lawmakers seek to block move by Fla., Ala. to limit access to lake

CUMMING - With Georgia's victories in the tri-state water wars aside, and even its legal bills from that entanglement now history, the Gainesville-based Lake Lanier Association now has its eyes on a water reauthorization bill moving through Congress.

Woman not hurt after crashing van into lake

A Cleveland woman was uninjured when her van crashed Wednesday morning into Lake Lanier.

Dawson officials ask for flooding aid

Hall County housing market snapshot: Less construction, fewer foreclosures

Residential and "affordable" housing in Hall County is in short supply because of a decline in construction and strong competition for good deals, Gainesville real estate executive Frank Norton Jr. said.

Dawsonville distillery seeks lawmakers’ help

Driver killed in wreck with dump truck

A wreck killed one just after 9 Wednesday morning on Tanners Mill Road in southeast Hall County.

Storms, showers in area may not be done

Look for a couple of wet days ahead heading into the weekend.

4 plead guilty, fined in N. Hall animal hoarding case

Four people pleaded guilty Wednesday in an animal hoarding case stemming from May that led to the impoundment of 69 animals.

Woman, son dead in Jefferson; father in custody

JEFFERSON - A mother and her 13-year-old son are dead and her 47-year-old husband, the child's father, is in jail on murder charges.

Residents get peek at potential passenger rail service between Atlanta and Charlotte

SUWANEE - Miles Williams is eager to find out whether Suwanee, the North Gwinnett city where generations of his family have lived, will once again be a bustling stop for passenger rail.

Probable cause hearing set for slaying suspect

A probable cause hearing is set for later this month after a Gainesville man made his first appearance Tuesday in Hall County Magistrate Court on murder charges.

Motion denied, trial date set in 2012 boating deaths

A Hall County Superior Court judge Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss the case against Paul Bennett, who is charged with eight counts of homicide by vessel in a Lake Lanier accident that killed two Buford boys.

Gainesville City Council faces more opposition to at-large voting at meeting

Gainesville has an ugly history of discrimination and the city's at-large voting system is violating the federal Voting Rights Act, a speaker said at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Hall County's tax digest drops

Hall County's 2013 final tax digest is down 1.51 percent from last year, according to final numbers from the Tax Commissioner's office, making the county's 2014 proposed budget short by $560,000.

Class Notes: Gainesville City Schools hosting meal program