Powerful ex-speaker to lie in honor at Capitol on Friday

ATLANTA - Flags flew at half staff over the Georgia Capitol on Tuesday in honor of the cantankerous yet compassionate former speaker of the House whose reign under the gold dome lasted nearly three decades. Tom Murphy died late Monday of complications from a stroke he suffered more than three years ago. He will lie in repose at the state Capitol on Friday, Gov. Sonny Perdue said Tuesday. Perdue said Murphy's family had initially wanted ...

Flowery Branch: Adult businesses to get new rules

Flowery Branch City Council will convene this morning to discuss a new adult business ordinance and update the existing unsafe structure and nuisance ordinance. The council will hear the second reading of a proposed adult business ordinance and will determine whether the new ordinance is sufficient to allow the old ordinance to be repealed and replaced. Flowery Branch Planning Director James Riker said the adult business ordinance is ...

North Hall steps closer to development

The Hall County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of a developer's rezoning request Monday that could allow 2,736 houses to be built in Lula. Property owners Ferdinand and Felix Mayr-Meinhof submitted a request to the planning commission to rezone a 1,507-acre tract of land in North Hall from agricultural residential and vacation cottage to planned residential and commercial development. Named after the creek flowing through the property, the ...

Gainesville: All four lanes of Ga. 53 open Wednesday

Weather permitting, the Georgia Department of Transportation on Wednesday plans to open all four lanes of Dawsonville Highway.

Don't fret; there's still time to mail some Christmas cheer

If you mailed your Christmas cards on Monday, you were not alone.

Ex-Gainesville Elementary teacher accused of fondling four students

A former Gainesville Elementary schoolteacher remains jailed without bond on charges of molesting four of his students in the classroom, Gainesville police said Monday.

Murphy will lie in honor at Capitol Friday

ATLANTA - Deceased Georgia House Speaker Tom Murphy will lie in honor at the state Capitol on Friday. Gov. Sonny Perdue said that Murphy's family had initially wanted only private services but was persuaded that the public would want to pay their respects.

Gainesville: Mother wins $50K in lottery

Wendy Roberson, of Gainesville, plans to buy a new house for her four children after winning thousands in the lottery earlier this month. Roberson, 33, won $50,000 playing the Georgia Lottery instant game Jumbo Bucks Classic.

Leads sought in Golden Pantry robbery

The Golden Pantry on Ga. 53 South at Tanners Mill Road was robbed shortly before 10 p.m. Monday.

Vigil planned to honor teen killed in Easter wreck

GAINESVILLE - Songs and spoken remembrances are planned as part of a candlelight vigil tonight for Charles Caston, a North Hall High School senior who died in an April 8 car wreck. The event is set for 7 p.m. in the gymnasium of the Georgia Mountains YMCA at 2455 Howard Road off Ga. 365. Caston worked for more than a year for the YMCA, but never saw ...

Donated vehicle to help fight fires

GAINESVILLE - In the past, Gainesville firefighters have had to hoof it to emergencies in the woods or on the shores of Lake Lanier. Only two months ago, a small brush fire continued to burn while firefighters walked a mile carrying shovels, rakes, hoses and extinguishers to a fire their trucks could not access. "That's a good little trek trying to drag all your equipment with you," ...

Demorest: College’s business school gets national accreditation

Piedmont College's Walker School of Business Administration has received national accreditation from the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs after a two-year review.

Gainesville schools seek charter status

GAINESVILLE - Gainesville city schools is one of several school districts statewide so far that is pursuing a status that would give them more freedom to reform without stiff state regulations.

Students give food for a cause

Courtney Cantrell, 4, loads canned food into the back of a truck on Monday afternoon. Cantrell and her classmates in Brittanie Holcombe's after-school class at Little House Academy in Murrayville collected the food to help the less fortunate at nearby Lanier Elementary School. Eventually, the idea spread from the after-school group of 15 kids, ages 5-12, to other classes at the day care facility. When school counselor Rochelle Edmonds came by to ...

Two cities plan ways to keep storm water clean

Flowery Branch and Oakwood are currently in the process of establishing a five-year storm water management plan to meet the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Act. Since 2003, numerous cities with a population of less than 100,000 have been required to take painstaking measures to ensure that commercial and residential operations do not contaminate water resources by way of natural or man-made storm water. "It's ...

The Times raises $2,158 for Relay for Life

The Times held a fundraising event Thursday in Gainesville where community members were welcomed to bring documents to shred, with all proceeds benefiting Relay for Life. The "Team Times" Relay for Life Committee collected $2,158 Thursday for the fight against cancer. In addition to people bringing documents to shred, hamburgers and hot dogs were on sale to benefit the cause.

Kids learn lake safety tips before summer ‘trauma season’ begins

Four children sat in a boat on their school's gym floor Thursday as Department of Natural Resources officers shook it and a crowd of their classmates loudly counted down.

4 Gainesville schools went on lockdown Thursday afternoon

Four Gainesville City schools were temporarily locked down Thursday afternoon.

2 Forsyth men charged in $1.6 million theft of 91-year-old

Recharged waters threat to low lying areas during upcoming hurricane season

The rain has been good, but the approaching hurricane season could put Georgia at risk for flooding and other trouble if it continues to rain, weather experts say.

Standoff suspect makes first appearance in court

A Gainesville man charged with terroristic threats, criminal damage to property and reckless conduct had his first appearance before a Hall County magistrate judge on Wednesday.

State to privatize its lodge parks by July 1

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is moving to privatize lodge parks in the state, as part of fulfilling a state mandate to become, among other things, more self-sufficient.

Red Rabbit to continue operating

The saga of the Red Rabbit fixed-route bus service ended Wednesday with the Hall County Board of Commissioners approving an agreement with Gainesville, but it didn't end quietly.

Army Rangers in training perform safety exercises on Lake Lanier

About 100 Rangers in training from Camp Frank D. Merrill in Dahlonega parachuted into Lake Lanier at War Hill Park in Dawsonville on Wednesday.

Residents speak out against city’s at-large voting system during council meeting

Two Gainesville residents spoke against the city's at-large voting system at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

City holds first transportation public meeting

Upon moving to Gainesville in February, Tricia Terrell soon discovered that in-town travel - at least by foot or bicycle - was more than a little tricky.

Lumpkin County Superintendent: Prayer encouraged as long as it doesn’t disrupt class

A week after a student-led prayer resulted in more than 50 Lumpkin County High School students skipping classes, the system's superintendent said no action will be taken other than working to educate teachers and students about the law pertaining to prayer in school.

Dawson County chief tax assessor facing drug charges

Dawson County's chief tax appraiser was arrested at his office Tuesday afternoon on misdemeanor drug charges.

Shred Away Cancer event set for today

The Times and Document Destruction Services Inc. are teaming up for a document shredding event today to benefit Relay for Life.

Ridgewood, Green Street intersection to close today

Ridgewood Avenue will be closed at its intersection with Green Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.