The opposition was jubilant when the Gainesville Hall County Planning Commission voted to recommend against Lafarge Aggregate Southeast's request to extend working hours at its rock quarry on Friendship and Blackjack Roads near Flowery Branch. The quarry has been limited to operating between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday between March and October, and 6:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. November through February, with no hours on Sunday at all, since its inception in 1989. "Because of the hours of operation on this particular quarry, we are unable to operate at night. We can't supply rock to our customers that are on site, which means our asphalt plants and concrete plants can't pour at night," says Lafarge attorney Victor Moldovan. Moldovan estimated that the company suffers an annual loss of $500,000 from lost contracts owing to the restrictions.

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