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Gwinnett Daily Post FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015
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Vol. 45, No. 119
TV show on Kelly Nash vanishing airs Sunday By Joshua Sharpe
investigation is ongoing, “Gone in Georgia: A Disappeared Special” concludes with a statement from law A television show airenforcement saying, “Kelly ing Sunday night plans to Nash died as a result of a reveal details on the death of gunshot wound and subseBuford resident Kelly Nash, quent drowning. An autopsy while retelling the desperate report has yet to be released. search by police, volunteers, Investigations have not ruled friends and family before the out foul play.” 25-year-old was found dead. A fisherman discovered Making clear that the the Buford man’s body in
joshua.sharpe @gwinnettdailypost.com
Lake Lanier in Hall County in February, five weeks after he left the home he shared Kelly Nash with his girlfriend on Jimmy Dodd Road for the last time under mysterious circumstances. His
truck, cellphone, wallet and car keys reportedly remained at the home. Prior to the statement given to the producers of the show, airing at 9 p.m. on the Investigation Discovery channel, authorities have revealed few details about how Nash died. The statement the TV show made reportedly came from the Hall County Sheriff’s Office,
but a spokesman there said the agency couldn’t provide any comment on the case this week. When Nash’s body was found, Hall sheriff’s spokeswoman Deputy Nicole Bailes said foul play wasn’t suspected. Even with the new information, many questions remain in the case. The family is still longing for answers of exactly what happened with
the beloved son, brother and friend. “You still walk around numb,” Nash’s father, Alan, said, “but you realize you’ve got to put one foot in front of the other. That’s what we’re trying to do.” Things have been hard enough that Nash said he doesn’t intend to watch the
See NASH, Page 10A
Bradley Monk, 8, and his sister Cadence, 4, draw in the pollen on the hood of their dad’s truck after spending the afternoon at Alexander Park in Lawrenceville on Thursday. (Staff Photo: David Welker)
Area pollen counts hit extremes By Keith Farner keith.farner@gwinnettdailypost.com
Dustin Estes surveys the work being done to transform an old B.J.’s Warehouse on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Peachtree Corners into an indoor family entertainment complex he and his business partners plan to run. The business, named Slingshot Entertainment, is expected to open in mid-June. (Staff Photo: Curt Yeomans)
Rebirth
Entertainment business breathes life into former B.J.’s building
Allergy sufferers dealing with a seemingly endless film of pollen on their clothes, cars and pets could soon see relief. For the first time in more than a week, pollen counts on Friday could drop below the extreme range because of expected rain in the area. This past week, though, which peaked on Thursday, was a steady line of red boxes on the calendar on the Atlanta Allergy and
See POLLEN, Page 6A
By Curt Yeomans
curt.yeomans @gwinnettdailypost.com
It has been nearly fourand-a-half years since B.J.’s Warehouse closed in Peachtree Corners. During that time, drivers who passed by on Jimmy Carter Boulevard saw a big empty building. It was a symbol of the Great Recession and the draining effect it had on the economy. But while some might have seen blight when they looked at the building, a small group of businessmen saw potential. Dustin Estes, Cameron Gentry and Dustin Ward saw kids and adults bowling, running through obstacle courses, playing in an arcade and racing gokarts. They saw kids celebrating birthday parties while soon-tobe married women celebrated their last bits of freedom during bachelorette parties. They saw businessmen and -women meeting to do business. They saw people eating, drinking and being merry. “It will just be energetic, crowded and happy for sure,” Estes said. Estes, Gentry and Ward are redeveloping the old big box retail store to be a 130,000-square-foot indoor family entertainment complex called Slingshot Entertainment. Among its amenities will be ninja obstacle courses for adults and children, a 14-lane bowling
Bruce Garmon and his Dacula High School class ring are shown in this sideby-side shot Sonya Chilton Turner posted on her Facebook page. Turner’s mother, Betty Chilton, recently found the ring, which had been missing for 36 years, in her yard. (Special Photo)
This floor plan shows the layout for Slingshot Entertainment. The indoor family entertainment center is going in the old B.J.’s Warehouse on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Peachtree Corners. (Special Photo)
alley, a restaurant, a bar, a gokart track, meeting rooms, party rooms and an arcade. They plan to hold a grand opening for the community sometime around mid-June with programs for special needs children and activities to benefit community foundations expected to be part of the festivities. “Our goal in mind is to grow one of the largest indoor entertainment businesses in the country by offering a different type of experience for our customers,” Estes said. It is expected to employ about 150 people when it opens. That is twice the number of
people who were employed at B.J.’s when it closed in 2011, according to reports from that time. Crews are hard at work rebuilding the inside as they turn what was once a big empty space into a place where families can have fun. Estes, Gentry and Ward have experience operating trampoline parks outside of Georgia, but this will be their first foray into something on the scale of what they are doing in Peachtree Corners. “There’s nothing really like this out there, but we’re competing with your Dave and Bustertype places,” Estes said.
The business partners are making a $6.5 million investment to turn the former B.J.’s into a facility that meets their vision for family entertainment. The building had 120,000 square feet of space when they leased it. Since then, they’ve begun adding extra floor space. When finished, the building will have 130,000 square feet of floor space. One of the more interesting attractions will be the ninja obstacle courses. There will be one for adults and another one for children. See SLINGSHOT, Page 9A
Dacula High grad reunites with class ring Man lost item in 1979 By Curt Yeomans curt.yeomans@gwinnettdailypost.com
Bruce Garmon pulled a juvenile prank on a Dacula High School classmate 36 years ago. He spent the next three-and-ahalf decades paying for it. The story began one night in 1979 when Garmon decided to roll Sonya Chilton’s house in Dacula. Amid all of the toilet paper tossing, Garmon’s high school ring fell off of his finger. He came back
See RING, Page 9A
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