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Roads on the cyclists’ tour of Hall County will be closed 30 minutes prior to
their arrival in each particular area, and those roadblocks will "stay in place
until after the last rider goes past," said Gainesville police Lt. Keith Lingerfelt.
The road closures should begin at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, when the
cyclists are expected to enter the county on Ga. 52 in Gillsville.
The road closures will start there, following the cyclists as they turn left onto
Joe Chandler Road and continue to Old Cornelia Highway, passing through
Rabbittown toward Gainesville, said Hall County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Jeff
Strickland.
The race is expected to affect traffic on Interstate 985 for about half an hour
as bicycle traffic passes under the Exit 24 overpass on Old Cornelia
Highway, said Teri Pope, a Georgia Department of Transportation
spokeswoman.
Motorists will not be able to exit or enter the interstate on the north or south
side between about 2:30 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Pope said. However, the
time of the closing will depend on the time the race moves into the county,
she added.
Pope advises interstate motorists who normally use Exit 24 around this time
of day to use Exit 22 on Wednesday.
She explained that those who try to get off the interstate on Exit 24 during
the roadblock may be stuck on the ramp for up to 45 minutes while the race
passes through Old Cornelia Highway.
The race then will make a turn onto White Sulphur Road, and for that
portion of the race, White Sulphur will be blocked off to traffic between
Jesse Jewell Parkway and Pine Valley Road, said Lingerfelt.
When the race nears Pine Valley Road, that thoroughfare will be closed to
traffic until the cyclists near Clarks Bridge Road, and then Clarks Bridge is
expected to be shut down from its intersection with Pine Valley Road to U.
S. 129.
The race is expected to enter the Gainesville city limits at about 2:30 p.m.,
crossing Limestone Parkway and turning left onto Park Hill Drive at the
Cleveland Highway intersection, Lingerfelt said.
From there, road closures will roll to Park Hill Place, affecting two major
intersections in the city at Lakeview Drive and South Enota, Lingerfelt said.
Once the race reaches Park Hill Place, cyclists will make three laps in the
Longstreet Hills subdivision, traveling down Springdale Road, Park Street,
Park Street Place, Prior Street, Candler Street, Glenwood Drive, Memorial
Drive and "anything in between," Lingerfelt said.
Lingerfelt said officials expect cyclists to be circling the neighborhood for
about 20 minutes before the race finishes in front of the Martha Hope Cabin
on Green Street by about 3 p.m.
Until the time of the race is very near, officials will not know exactly what
time and for how long each Hall County road will close on Wednesday
afternoon, Lingerfelt said.
"It’s very difficult to tell everybody what’s going to happen," Lingerfelt said
of exact times for road closures during the race.
To make it simpler, Strickland advises that anyone who travels these roads
during the 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. time frame use an alternate route in order to
avoid delays.
As cyclists and their team cars pass through each section of the course,
intersections and roads will reopen, said Lingerfelt.
"We’ll make it as brief as possible," he promised
A doctor from the Hall County Health Department divulged a staggering
statistic to county officials Monday — the department is estimating a
$866,208 loss in revenue this year.
During the fourth round of county budget hearings, Dr. David Westfall,
District 2 public health director, said the health department is slated to
receive significantly less revenues from Medicaid payments since the state
adopted a managed health care form of Medicaid, similar to HMOs, in
2006.
To continue the current level of services provided for fiscal year 2009,
Westfall said the department needs $1,181,223 from county coffers, which
is nearly double what it received for this year’s budget.
He said if the county is unable to recoup the lost revenue in the upcoming
year’s budget, then the department may have to cut up to one-fifth of its
staff, which translates to fewer services and longer delays.
"We’d like to continue providing the same level of services, but, financially,
that may not be possible," Westfall said.
The maternal health clinic is one of the department’s largest programs, and
services nearly 600 obstetric patients each month. Westfall said women’s
health and family planning is another important clinic in the department that
could be hurt by budget cuts.
The family planning clinic serves nearly 4,000 patients per year by helping
women to avoid unwanted pregnancies, Westfall said. It also helps to lower
the county’s teen pregnancy rate.
The Gainesville school system could end the fiscal year with expenses
exceeding revenue, the district’s finance chief told the city Board of
Education on Monday night.
But when board member David Syfan pressed on how much the deficit
might be, Janet Allison declined to give an amount.
She said she has an idea, but "would prefer not to go out on a limb with
that."
The district has been working this year, including with consultants, to correct
"many bookkeeping errors with entries during the past year, meaning most
data is not correct," according to a Feb. 10 memo from Allison and
Superintendent Steven Ballowe.
The report notes challenges associated with the system’s conversion to new
accounting software, troubles regarding Allison’s predecessor and the
retirement of a key department member.
Former finance director Angela
Adams now works for the Buford school system and has declined to
comment on the matters concerning the Gainesville system.
Syfan told Allison that she has "been placed in a tough spot" and the board
isn’t "assigning blame" to her for the accounting woes.
"Unfortunately, you’re the person we have to ask for information," he said.
Next year’s budget, which begins July 1, looks to be tight, as well.
In a written report to the board, Allison projected that the system could
generate $59.2 million in revenue, including an estimated $1.56 million
midterm adjustment from the state next year.
Allison also projected $58.5 million in expenses, not including $964,000 for
a new Gainesville Middle School roof. Including the roof, expenses would
run $59.4 million — or $200,000 over revenues.
The school system is building a new Gainesville Middle School off Jesse
Jewell Parkway and plans to turn the current Gainesville Middle building into
a ninth-grade academy for Gainesville High School.
"We need a new roof. I think we all agree we need a new roof," Syfan said.
"But it’s really hard to even think about a million-dollar roof if we’ve got a
deficit."
Directing his comments to Allison, he added, "I’m not asking to be hard on
you, but I just need the information — we all need the information — in
trying to decide how to handle this."
Allison said, "And I understand that, I do, but I’m in a little bit of a quandary
as to going out on that limb because I don’t know which way those (payroll)
changes are going to affect what we’ve projected."
Ballowe said that school officials "may have to do some cutting before we
come back to you."
"You need to have a more definite figure," he said.
He said that school districts would like to set aside 5 percent of their budget
for surplus.
"We actually cut into our (surplus) over the last couple of years doing
physical plant improvements and things such as the new (Gainesville High)
band room, et cetera," Ballowe said.
"It’s time to build that (surplus) back."
School administrators use the surplus, commonly called a carryover, to
figure into the next year’s budget.
District officials plan to present a more detailed draft of the budget at the
board’s work session set for May 5. The meeting, which will take place in
the district’s main office at 508 Oak St., is set to begin at 5 p.m.
The board plans to adopt a tentative budget for next fiscal year on May 19
and a final budget on June 16.
Public hearings are set for 10 a.m. May 28 at New Holland Core
Knowledge Academy and 6 p.m. May 29 at Gainesville High School.
their arrival in each particular area, and those roadblocks will "stay in place
until after the last rider goes past," said Gainesville police Lt. Keith Lingerfelt.
The road closures should begin at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, when the
cyclists are expected to enter the county on Ga. 52 in Gillsville.
The road closures will start there, following the cyclists as they turn left onto
Joe Chandler Road and continue to Old Cornelia Highway, passing through
Rabbittown toward Gainesville, said Hall County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Jeff
Strickland.
The race is expected to affect traffic on Interstate 985 for about half an hour
as bicycle traffic passes under the Exit 24 overpass on Old Cornelia
Highway, said Teri Pope, a Georgia Department of Transportation
spokeswoman.
Motorists will not be able to exit or enter the interstate on the north or south
side between about 2:30 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Pope said. However, the
time of the closing will depend on the time the race moves into the county,
she added.
Pope advises interstate motorists who normally use Exit 24 around this time
of day to use Exit 22 on Wednesday.
She explained that those who try to get off the interstate on Exit 24 during
the roadblock may be stuck on the ramp for up to 45 minutes while the race
passes through Old Cornelia Highway.
The race then will make a turn onto White Sulphur Road, and for that
portion of the race, White Sulphur will be blocked off to traffic between
Jesse Jewell Parkway and Pine Valley Road, said Lingerfelt.
When the race nears Pine Valley Road, that thoroughfare will be closed to
traffic until the cyclists near Clarks Bridge Road, and then Clarks Bridge is
expected to be shut down from its intersection with Pine Valley Road to U.
S. 129.
The race is expected to enter the Gainesville city limits at about 2:30 p.m.,
crossing Limestone Parkway and turning left onto Park Hill Drive at the
Cleveland Highway intersection, Lingerfelt said.
From there, road closures will roll to Park Hill Place, affecting two major
intersections in the city at Lakeview Drive and South Enota, Lingerfelt said.
Once the race reaches Park Hill Place, cyclists will make three laps in the
Longstreet Hills subdivision, traveling down Springdale Road, Park Street,
Park Street Place, Prior Street, Candler Street, Glenwood Drive, Memorial
Drive and "anything in between," Lingerfelt said.
Lingerfelt said officials expect cyclists to be circling the neighborhood for
about 20 minutes before the race finishes in front of the Martha Hope Cabin
on Green Street by about 3 p.m.
Until the time of the race is very near, officials will not know exactly what
time and for how long each Hall County road will close on Wednesday
afternoon, Lingerfelt said.
"It’s very difficult to tell everybody what’s going to happen," Lingerfelt said
of exact times for road closures during the race.
To make it simpler, Strickland advises that anyone who travels these roads
during the 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. time frame use an alternate route in order to
avoid delays.
As cyclists and their team cars pass through each section of the course,
intersections and roads will reopen, said Lingerfelt.
"We’ll make it as brief as possible," he promised
A doctor from the Hall County Health Department divulged a staggering
statistic to county officials Monday — the department is estimating a
$866,208 loss in revenue this year.
During the fourth round of county budget hearings, Dr. David Westfall,
District 2 public health director, said the health department is slated to
receive significantly less revenues from Medicaid payments since the state
adopted a managed health care form of Medicaid, similar to HMOs, in
2006.
To continue the current level of services provided for fiscal year 2009,
Westfall said the department needs $1,181,223 from county coffers, which
is nearly double what it received for this year’s budget.
He said if the county is unable to recoup the lost revenue in the upcoming
year’s budget, then the department may have to cut up to one-fifth of its
staff, which translates to fewer services and longer delays.
"We’d like to continue providing the same level of services, but, financially,
that may not be possible," Westfall said.
The maternal health clinic is one of the department’s largest programs, and
services nearly 600 obstetric patients each month. Westfall said women’s
health and family planning is another important clinic in the department that
could be hurt by budget cuts.
The family planning clinic serves nearly 4,000 patients per year by helping
women to avoid unwanted pregnancies, Westfall said. It also helps to lower
the county’s teen pregnancy rate.
The Gainesville school system could end the fiscal year with expenses
exceeding revenue, the district’s finance chief told the city Board of
Education on Monday night.
But when board member David Syfan pressed on how much the deficit
might be, Janet Allison declined to give an amount.
She said she has an idea, but "would prefer not to go out on a limb with
that."
The district has been working this year, including with consultants, to correct
"many bookkeeping errors with entries during the past year, meaning most
data is not correct," according to a Feb. 10 memo from Allison and
Superintendent Steven Ballowe.
The report notes challenges associated with the system’s conversion to new
accounting software, troubles regarding Allison’s predecessor and the
retirement of a key department member.
Former finance director Angela
Adams now works for the Buford school system and has declined to
comment on the matters concerning the Gainesville system.
Syfan told Allison that she has "been placed in a tough spot" and the board
isn’t "assigning blame" to her for the accounting woes.
"Unfortunately, you’re the person we have to ask for information," he said.
Next year’s budget, which begins July 1, looks to be tight, as well.
In a written report to the board, Allison projected that the system could
generate $59.2 million in revenue, including an estimated $1.56 million
midterm adjustment from the state next year.
Allison also projected $58.5 million in expenses, not including $964,000 for
a new Gainesville Middle School roof. Including the roof, expenses would
run $59.4 million — or $200,000 over revenues.
The school system is building a new Gainesville Middle School off Jesse
Jewell Parkway and plans to turn the current Gainesville Middle building into
a ninth-grade academy for Gainesville High School.
"We need a new roof. I think we all agree we need a new roof," Syfan said.
"But it’s really hard to even think about a million-dollar roof if we’ve got a
deficit."
Directing his comments to Allison, he added, "I’m not asking to be hard on
you, but I just need the information — we all need the information — in
trying to decide how to handle this."
Allison said, "And I understand that, I do, but I’m in a little bit of a quandary
as to going out on that limb because I don’t know which way those (payroll)
changes are going to affect what we’ve projected."
Ballowe said that school officials "may have to do some cutting before we
come back to you."
"You need to have a more definite figure," he said.
He said that school districts would like to set aside 5 percent of their budget
for surplus.
"We actually cut into our (surplus) over the last couple of years doing
physical plant improvements and things such as the new (Gainesville High)
band room, et cetera," Ballowe said.
"It’s time to build that (surplus) back."
School administrators use the surplus, commonly called a carryover, to
figure into the next year’s budget.
District officials plan to present a more detailed draft of the budget at the
board’s work session set for May 5. The meeting, which will take place in
the district’s main office at 508 Oak St., is set to begin at 5 p.m.
The board plans to adopt a tentative budget for next fiscal year on May 19
and a final budget on June 16.
Public hearings are set for 10 a.m. May 28 at New Holland Core
Knowledge Academy and 6 p.m. May 29 at Gainesville High School.