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Our reporters are spread hither and yonder, listeners, as we do our best to keep up with the outbreak of COVID-19 in the state while working remotely. In this recorded-outdoors edition of the podcast, Shannon and Nick talk about what’s been going on in Georgia as of Friday, March 27. The Times has kept a running list of its coverage of the novel coronavirus at gainesvilletimes.com. The stories haven’t stopped coming for the past couple of weeks as the virus makes its way through the state. Our reporters have been working day and night in unusual circumstances and less than ideal conditions. Editors are trying to keep the cats herded while also managing kids at home.  A dog breaks loose on this episode of Inside The Times — will Shannon catch him before it’s too late?

For eight years, Hall County was losing almost $1 million a year processing other people’s sludge. How did this hole in the budget go unnoticed for so long? And why is human waste so expensive? We dug into these issues and more in a story for The Times, and we tell you the dirty truth in this latest episode of Inside The Times.

Is Gainesville Middle School safe? That’s the question we set out to answer earlier this year after a parent was arrested in late 2019 for showing up to the school to complain about her son being bullied. Police were called, and they allege the parent made threats against the school. The incident sparked a discussion in Gainesville about bullying at the school, and our education reporter, Kelsey Podo, started digging into the issue. After conversations with parents, teachers and administrators — and a dive into the data tracked about fights and bullying at the school — The Times discovered that in 2019 there were 167 recorded incidents of fighting at the school. Some teachers say that number is low, as they feel pressured to not record every incident.  But administrators say they’re working to take the pressure off at the school, which is about 500 students over capacity. And parents who spoke with The Times said they feel confident in sending their kids to Gainesville Middle. But administrators say they’re working to take the pressure off at the school, which is about 500 students over capacity. And parents who spoke with The Times said they feel confident in sending their kids to Gainesville Middle.

This is Celebrating Perseverance, a podcast series about the ins and outs, the highs and lows of cancer and what it looks like for the people battling it in Hall County. On this episode, how Elizabeth Love continues to fight metastatic cancer, while living life as normal as it can be.

This is Celebrating Perseverance, a podcast series about the ins and outs, the highs and lows of cancer and what it looks like for the people battling it in Hall County. I’m Layne Saliba, a reporter here at The Times and on this episode, what it’s like to be a doctor, surrounded by cancer every day but treating each and every case in its own, unique way.

From the Times in Gainesville, this is Celebrating Perseverance, a podcast series about the ins and outs, the highs and lows of cancer and what it looks like for the people battling it in Hall County.  I’m Layne Saliba, a reporter here at The Times and on this episode, how the Allgood family dealt with and is still dealing with their young daughter’s cancer diagnosis. So, when I say Pray 4 Breck, I’m pretty sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. You’ve seen it on Facebook or heard the story from someone you’re close to. But for the Allgood family, it’s not just some story. It’s their lives. Their oldest daughter Brecklynn was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer when she was just 2 years old and every moment since then has been a battle. She’s been through chemotherapy, radiation, hair loss, seizures and way more than any other little kid deserves. More than sixty thousand people have been following Brecklynn’s story online since the very beginning and please, stick with me, because this story has a good ending. But way back in the beginning, when this whirlwind first started, the Allgoods were faced with a choice. They could choose to take Brecklynn home and wait for the cancer to take its course or they could choose to start right there and fight this thing. They chose to fight. But this cancer, it was a fight Brecklynn’s mother, Courtney, and everyone else in their lives, never saw coming.

A man was reportedly waving a gun around near Gainesville’s Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Police arrived and shot him to death. We have a 911 call that makes it unclear whether the man was holding a gun when he was shot, as investigators initially reported. In this episode, Nate McCullough and Nick Watson talk with Shannon Casas about reporting from the scene Sept. 20. Then we delve into what we know and don’t know about the case and why we report what we do when we do. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

Another manager has bitten the dust over at Hall County following an HR investigation and a raft of complaints from subordinates. This time, it’s Andre Niles, the former head of the Hall County Marshal’s Office, resigned in August after a series of complaints about a hostile work environment in his office. In this episode, Shannon, Megan and Nick talk about how we got this story and get into the details of the investigation. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

A complicated, frustrating system of red tape is making life hard for foster children, foster families and the workers and volunteers who keep the system running. In this episode, Shannon and Nick talk about recent meetings between the head of Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services and stakeholders in Hall County. Shannon’s also a foster mother herself and talks about her experiences navigating the foster system in Georgia. If you want to find out how to get your church or group involved with helping Georgia foster children, visit Promise686. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

The Gainesville gang is back after a brief vacation to talk about a few things that didn’t happen. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t raid poultry plants in Gainesville this month. Meanwhile, a man didn’t walk into a local Walmart brandishing a gun this week. But, if you were hanging out around Gainesville social media this weekend, you’d be forgiven for thinking both of those things happened. In this episode, we talk about the uphill battle against online misinformation. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

It’s curtains for Luke P. on “The Bachelorette,” as the Gainesville guy closes out his contentious time on the reality TV show. But the saga continues with Luke P. as his family cries foul over what they say is bias against Luke because of his evangelical Christian beliefs. In this episode, Shannon, Layne and Nick talk about what it’s been like to have a Gainesville resident in the national spotlight, how we’ve kept contact with the family and the family’s complaints about the show’s treatment of Luke. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

Covering the shooting death of Deputy Blane Dixon was an all-hands-on-deck situation for the newsroom. In this episode, we talk listeners through how we used social media to get the word out about the crime, the funeral and how locals could help the Dixon family. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

Talking to a local news reporter is an act of kindness under the best of circumstances. People give up their time and take a risk, putting themselves in the spotlight, when they agree to take part in a story. In this episode, Times reporter Jeff Gill talks about the humbling experience of talking to the widow of Hall County Deputy Nicolas Blane Dixon. Stephanie Dixon took time away from mourning to spare a few words about her husband. Jeff and Nick talk about what it’s like to get in touch with a source under the worst circumstances and how to manage a delicate conversation. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

Hall County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Nicolas Blane Dixon was shot and killed after 11 p.m. Sunday, July 7, throwing local law enforcement into a scramble to find the suspects and sending the community reeling. Dixon was the first Hall County deputy to be shot and killed on the job in almost 100 years. He was pursuing suspects who fled from a stolen car he had attempted to stop on Sunday. The vehicle was connected to a series of burglaries over the previous several days. He’s survived by two young sons and his wife, Stephanie. Nick Watson, Nate McCullough and Nick Bowman talk about how The Times has been following this story since it broke, starting with a fussy baby at Bowman’s home. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

We’ve been following an unlikely story this month: A gay couple from Europe welcomed their surrogate-borne sons on Father’s Day in Gainesville. The couple, one of the men from Israel and the other from France, live in Belgium but found a surrogate from Toccoa. They chose to have the babies, two boys, at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center.  In this episode, Shannon, Jeff and Nick talk about how The Times heard about the story, what the community response has been and why it was news. The two baby boys are healthy and have left the hospital. You can read our follow-up coverage online. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

Downtown Gainesville got an unwelcome surprise this month, when business owners discovered that one of their own had a dark past. Endrick Torres-Ordonez, owner of Love is All You Knead, a sweet shop selling crepes, ice cream and doughnuts in Main Street Market, was convicted in 2013 of groping multiple underage girls while working as a camp counselor in New York state. He was charged with forgery for using a false name on his business license and with operating a business within 1,000 feet of a location where children gather — a crime for sex offenders. The revelations rattled other business owners in Main Street Market, who were unaware of Torres’ past until they received a tip over Facebook. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news.  You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

Gainesville has had a rough couple of weeks. Downtown Gainesville’s Parkside project is dead and the Northeast Georgia Health System’s Heart Center lost a dozen critical cardiologists. It was a busy start to June here at The Times, and the gang sits down to talk about how two big stories came together (and are still coming together). Downtown Gainesville is still likely to get some kind of development on the fourth side of the square, but developers backing out of a plan to bring luxury condos to the square — some of the only full-time residences that would be available in the core of the city — is a major setback for what many see as economic revitalization coming to downtown. Meanwhile, patients of the Northeast Georgia Health System got a shock this month when it was revealed 12 cardiologists, including the Heart Center director, were leaving for Northside Hospital. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news. You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

On Wednesday, Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and an entourage that included former Gov. Nathan Deal sat down with the editorial board of The Times, intent on defending Ralston’s record as an attorney and lawmaker. Ralston has been hit by controversy this year as an AJC investigation surfaced hundreds of instances in which Ralston has delayed cases for his clients using privileges granted to him as a leader in the Georgia House. Ralston argues his actions were above board, including delays requested so Ralston could attend campaign fundraisers, while critics argue he’s abused his power on behalf of clients, some of whom say they're paying the speaker five-figure sums. The investigation led The Times’ editorial board to call on Ralston to resign. Read our coverage and watch video of the discussion between Ralston and the editorial board. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news. You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

On Thursday, Times reporter Nick Watson witnessed his second execution while on the job for the paper. Watson, The Times’ criminal justice reporter, was present for the execution of Scotty Morrow in Jackson, Georgia. Morrow was sentenced to death for a double homicide committed in 1994 in Hall County. In this episode, Nate McCullough, Nick Watson and Nick Bowman talk about what it’s like for news reporters to witness the death sentence being carried out, why reporters are present and what Nick has experienced while on the job. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news. You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.

What started as a discussion about reporter Kelsey Richardson’s attempt at the Hall County Sheriff’s Office fitness test ended up with some unusual reminiscing this week. Kelsey talked with Shannon and Nick about her day walking, running, punching and cuffing her way through the fitness test, which is used as a tool to not only ensure recruits are up for the job but to make sure existing employees are staying fit. For deputies in Hall County, staying fit can mean the difference between life and death in more ways than one, as Gene Joy and John Thompson have discovered while on the job. The stakes were much, much lower for Kelsey, who still managed to lose her lunch after the test — but she’s still in good enough shape to be one of Hall County’s next deputies. If you want to help sustain community journalism like this in North Georgia, you can subscribe to honestly local news. You can sign up for our morning and afternoon news emails, Go, a weekly food and drink newsletter, and Branch Out, a weekly newsletter focused on South Hall.