Awesome Dawson 2023

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DAWSON

Presented by

DIRECTOR

Eugene Jackson

ADVERTISING SALES

David Smithson, Meghan Hernandez

CREATIVE SERVICES

April Seymour, Chelsea Sunshine, Claudette Keeley

PHOTOGRAPHY

Erica Jones, Rio White, Various Contributors

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Erica Jones. Rio White

Dawson County News

Dawsonville, GA A Metro Market Media Inc. property www.dawsonnews.com

Manuscripts, artwork, photography, inquiries and submitted materials are welcome. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Metro Market Media Inc. Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Metro Market Media cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by its authors. Dawson County New reserves the right to refuse advertisements for any reason. Acceptance of advertising does not mean or imply the services or product is endorsed or recommended by Dawson County News.

DAWSON COUNTY GOVERNMENT DAWSON COUNTY, GEORGIA

Dawson County Government Center 25 Justice Way (706) 344-3500

County ordinances can be found at: https://library.municode.com/ga/dawson_county/ codes/code_of_ordinances

Animal Control: (706) 265-7387

Department of Family and Children Services: (706) 265-6598

Elections and Voter

Registration: (706) 344-3640

Extension Office: (706) 265-2442

Health Department: (706) 265-2611

Licenses and Permits: 706-344-3651

Tax Commissioner: (706) 344-3520

Transit: (706) 344-3603

Clerk of Courts: (706) 344-3510

Superior Court: 706-344-3513

Magistrate Court: (706) 344-3730

Probate Court: (706) 344-3580

Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, Law Enforcement Center 19 Tucker Avenue Dawsonville, GA 30534 (706) 344-3535 www.dawsoncountysheriff.org

Joey Leverette County Manager

706-344-3500 ext. 42236 jleverette@dawsoncountyga.gov

Troy Leist Fire Chief/EMA Director 706-344-3500 ext. 44504 tleist@dawsoncountyga.gov

Kristen Cloud County Clerk/Executive Assistant to County Manager 706-344-3500 ext. 42235 kcloud@dawsoncountyga.gov

Jeff Johnson Sheriff

706-344-3535 ext. 20051 jjohnson@dawsoncountysheriff.org

BOARD OF Commissioners

Dawson County has a five-member board with four district commissioners and a chairman who are all elected at-large. Commissioners serve four-year terms. The board appoints a county manager. The Dawson County Board of Commissioners meets on the first and third Thursday each month. The Commission’s work session begins at 4 p.m. and a voting session immediately follows. An executive session (as needed) follows the voting session. Work session agenda items generally move forward to the next meeting’s voting session for BOC consideration. Special called meetings are held when necessary. The public is invited to attend these meetings, which are held in the 2nd Floor Assembly Room of the Dawson County Government Center, 25 Justice Way, Dawsonville, Georgia.

CITY OF Dawsonville DAWSONVILLE,

GEORGIA

East,

City Council Post 1 caleb.phillips@dawsonville-ga.gov

City Council Post 2 william.illg@dawsonville-ga.gov

IMPORTANT Phone Numbers

Water and Sewer

City of Dawsonville (706) 265-3256

Etowah Water and Sewer (706) 216-8474

Natural Gas

Atlanta Gas Light Company https://www.atlantagaslight.com/

Electricity

Georgia Power (888) 660-5890

Sawnee EMC (770) 887-2363

Amicalola EMC (706) 253-5200

Propane Gas

Amicalola Propane (706) 344-1427

Ferrellgas (706) 864-6151

Mark Heard Fuel Co. (706) 265-2994

Mills Fuel Service (706) 265-3394

Folger Gas (706) 632-7606

Phone/TV/internet

Windstream (706) 867-3333

GETTING SETTLED INTO A NEW HOME CAN TAKE TONS OF WORK. THIS LIST OF NUMBERS SHOULD MAKE GETTING THE WATER RUNNING AND THE CABLE GOING EASIER, EVEN IF IT CAN’T UNPACK THOSE BOXES.

North Georgia Network (706) 754-5323

Trash pickup City of Dawsonville (706) 265-3256

Evans Garbage (706) 216-4232

Dawson County Transfer Center (706) 344-3645

Wallace 400 Waste Disposal (706) 216-1485

Court

Superior Court (706) 344-3513

Dawson County Schools’ Central Office

To contact a member of the leadership team, call (706) 265-3246 or email as listed below:

Nicole LeCave nlecave@dawson.k12.ga.us Superintendent

Dr. Janice Darnell jdarnell@dawson.k12.ga.us Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning

Hershel Bennett hbennett@dawson.k12.ga.us Assistant Superintendent of Operations

Roman Gaddis rgaddis@dawson.k12.ga.us Chief Technology & Information Officer

Beth Covington bcovington@dawson.k12.ga.us Director of Finance

Page Arnette parnette@dawson.k12.ga.us Director of Instructional Services for Elementary

Vikki Brannon vbrannon@dawson.k12.ga.us Director of Youth Health Services

Dr. Nathan Hand nathan.hand@dawson.k12.ga.us Director of Curriculum & Instructional Support, Secondary Schools

P.J.Huggins

pj.huggins@dawson.k12.ga.us Director of Transportation

Dr. Todd Langley

todd.langley@dawson.k12.ga.us Director of Exceptional Children

Denise Reynolds dreynolds@dawson.k12.ga.us Director of Federal Programs, Assessment, and Accountability

Scott Richardson scott.richardson@dawson.k12.ga.us Direction of School Nutrition

Everett Burt eburt@dawson.k12.ga.us Maintenance Coordinator

Jenna Carpenter

jenna.carpenter@dawson.k12.ga.us Director of Human Resources

Tiffany Davis tiffanydavis@dawson.k12.ga.us Public Relations Coordinator

Brian DeRose bderose@dawson.k12.ga.us Instructional Technology Coordinator

DAWSON COUNTY

Nicole LeCave Superintendent nlecave@dawson.k12.ga.us

Doris Cook District 1 dcook@dawson.k12.ga.us

Elaine Wilson District 2 ewilson@dawson.k12.ga.us

Chairperson Karen Armstrong District 3 karmstrong@dawson.k12.ga.us

DAWSON COUNTY PRINCIPALS Board of Education

Cindy Kinney Black’s Mill Elementary ckinney@dawson.k12.ga.us

Linda Bearden

Robinson Elementary lbearden@dawson.k12.ga.us

Teresa Conowal Kilough Elementary Principal tconowal@dawson.k12.ga.us

Paige Galt

Dawson County Middle paige.galt@dawson.k12.ga.us

Vice-Chairperson Nathan Ingram Member at Large nathan.ingram@dawson.k12.ga.us

Barry Slaton District 4 barry.slaton@dawson.k12.ga.us

Adam Maroney Riverview Elementary amaroney@dawson.k12.ga.us

Brody Hughes

Dawson County Junior High School bhughes@dawson.k12.ga.us

Dawson County High School

michael.negley@dawson.k12.ga.us

Michael Negley

Approved 12/7/2021

2023-2024 STUDENT CALENDAR

SPLOST & ESPLOST

SPLOST

SPLOST stands for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, a one percent sales tax that was adopted by the Dawson County Board of Commissioners as a resolution and approved by the citizens in a general election. It is a sixyear collection that began in July 2021. Funds are allocated to both the county and city of Dawsonville. The county receives 88 percent of collections and the city of Dawsonville receives 12 percent. Each entity is responsible for programming and managing its own SPLOST funds. SPLOST VII dollars will fund projects including the construction of a new emergency 911 center and public health building, money for facility renovations and upgrades, equipment purchases, road repair projects and park improvement projects.

A WORD FROM SHERIFF JOHNSON

Welcome to the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office. We hope that you will take an opportunity to learn more about our desire and dedication to better serve our citizens, our businesses, and our visitors. We are proud to partner with our community in an effort to more effectively combat crime. We believe that a collective and concerted approach will produce greater success. We take great pride in our service and truly seek to make our county a safer place to live, to work, to worship and to play.

ESPLOST

The Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) is a 1 percent sales tax that is utilized by Dawson County Schools to fund capital projects. Some of the projects that have been funded through the current ESPLOST include the Dawson County High School’s Performing Arts Center, JROTC facility and the College and Career Academy, as well as the recently opened Multipurpose Athletic Building and Roger D. Slaton AgriScience Center. Wireless networks, iPads, faculty laptops, smartboards, computer labs and Apple TVs across all campuses in Dawson County have been purchased and updated with ESPLOST funds.

Sheriff Jeff Johnson

LONGTIME DAWSON COUNTY RESIDENTS REMINISCE ON

THE county’s history of moonshining, racing

By Erica Jones and Rio White

Dawson County is a county with a rich history, two of the biggest pieces of which are Dawson’s roots in moonshining and stock car racing. In 2023, the Dawson County Historical Society held meetings to showcase the stories of two longtime Dawson residents who know all about those roots.

Years ago, moonshining was a big part of the economy in Dawsonville, with stills throughout the county and moonshiners running their wares down to the Atlanta area.

Dawson County native and moonshiner

Dwight Bearden, whose family has been a part of the community for generations, recounted stories of learning the craft of making moonshine from his father and of running moonshine down to the Atlanta area.

Bearden explained the different parts of a still and how each part was made, demonstrating on a still that used to be run a lot in the Dahlonega area. He also displayed and explained several pieces of equipment that his father used to use in moonshining, including his “filtering hat” that was used to filter the moonshine and his proof bottle that was used to test the proof of the moonshine.

He recounted how “the law” would try to hunt down moonshiners, cutting gashes in the stills so they wouldn’t be able to use them.

“Daddy got caught quite a bit back when he was young; I think he got caught twice in probably less than six months when he was 16 or 17 years old,” Bearden said. “They didn’t send him to the penitentiary because Grandpa was already in the penitentiary building time for making liquor and Daddy was the oldest boy and they knowed he was just trying to help feed the family.”

While moonshining might have a bad name in today’s society, he explained, in those days it was a necessary way to feed one’s family and many moonshiners were some of the nicest people around.

“There was a lot of churches was helped built by shine money; that’s about the only money there was… back then,” Bearden said.

Dawson County is also well known for its history in stock car racing. David Sosebee — the son of local racing legend Gober Sosebee

David Sosebee

Photo by Rio White

Submitted photo

Submitted photo

— described through words and images the influence of Dawson County on stock car racing from its beginnings to the present day.

The occasion was a special one not only for David Sosebee and Dawsonville, but also for all of stock car racing. 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of NASCAR and the 85th anniversary of Dawson County’s involvement in stock car racing.

According to Sosebee, it was all the way back even before World War II when two separate racing entities were growing — eventually colliding worlds.

Up here in Georgia, the moonshine runners had spent years competing amongst each other up and down Highway 9.

“When you run second in a race, you just run second,” Sosebee said. “When you run second in a moonshine run, you go to jail. With that being the way it was, [the runners] started this deal about betting on whose cars were better.”

By 1938, the moonshine men of North Georgia, along with many others from across the state, began stock car racing down at Lakewood Speedway, with people such as Gober Sosebee, Frank Christian, Lloyd Seay and Roy Hall featuring at the track over the next year.

Lakewood Speedway — originally built as a horse racing track at a fairground — was becoming a heavily-used race track for all sorts of vehicles, ranging from stock cars, midgets and motorcycles.

In fact, Dawsonville natives Seay, Hall and Sosebee took the top three spots at a race in 1939 — giving their humble hometown a clean sweep. Christian, from Dahlonega, helped get things started at Lakewood.

“[Frank Christian] sees a crowd down here [at Thompson Bottoms] in about 1938 and sees dollar signs,” Sosebee said. “He thinks about the horse track at the Fairgrounds in Atlanta. So he goes down and does a deal with the city and puts on the first organized stock car race in this area.”

Meanwhile, down in Florida, a man by the name of Bill France was trying to put together races at Daytona Beach.

France heard about the wild races up at Lakewood, so he traveled to Georgia and met up with another Dawsonville native — Raymond Parks, a moonshiner who was a successful car and team owner before and after the founding of NASCAR.

Soon, the Georgia boys were racing down at Daytona and the two worlds continued to be intertwined for years. In 1940, France himself won a racing championship driving for Parks.

After the war, Parks was part of the most momentous occasion in American stock car racing history. In 1947, he attended a large meeting held by France in the Streamline Hotel at Daytona Beach that formally brought together what would become NASCAR in 1948.

Parks, along with dozens of influential people in the racing scene from all over the South, became a part of history that day. He also had a longtime partnership

with mechanic Red Vogt, who was another influence on France and the founding of NASCAR.

Over the next two years, Parks was the car owner for Red Byron — who won the NASCAR Modified Class championship in 1948 and was the first champion of the Strictly Stock Series in 1949.

Sosebee continued to be a major driver in NASCAR, winning two Grand National races. His No. 50 Cherokee Garage car can frequently be seen at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

Years later, the Elliott family continued Dawsonville’s integral role in NASCAR, with the family-run operation serving as a reflection of the area’s depth of racing knowledge and talent.

For more information on local and state racing history, check out the GRHOF museum at 415 Hwy 53 E right here in Dawsonville.

Dwight Bearden

Photos by Erica Jones

PUBLIC PARKS Dawson County

Photos by Erica Jones

By Erica Jones, ejones@dawsonnews.com

1. Rock Creek Sports Complex

Located off of Highway 9, the Rock Creek Sports Complex includes dozens of activities for anyone to enjoy.

The complex features soccer fields, baseball/softball fields, tennis courts, outdoor basketball courts, a walking trail, weight room, gymnasium, covered pavilions and a community room.

Rock Creek also houses several amenities that were installed by the Rotary Club of Dawson County, including Rotary Island Splash Pad. The splash pad is free for public use and open from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

The park includes indoor and outdoor pickleball courts and an indoor basketball facility which features two separate courts with six goals each. There are also batting cages, a playground and a hitting wall where people can either practice by themselves or challenge a friend.

2. Main Street Park

Located just behind Dawsonville City Hall and the Dawsonville Food Lion, Main Street Park offers a wide range of fun outdoor activities to visitors of all ages.

The park opened in April of 2020, and since then the City of Dawsonville has continued to add new amenities and activities. The park includes ample parking for visitors, as well as bike racks and sidewalks.

The children’s playground offers a range of fun activities for children, as well as seating for the adults. A unique feature of the park is its wheelchair-accessible swing, which allows wheelchair-bound people a chance to participate in the fun.

In addition to the playground, Main Street Park includes over 1.1 miles of paved trails for runners and walkers, benches and 14 fitness stations located along the trail. Pollinator gardens and blue bird houses allow visitors a chance to connect with nature, and three covered pavilions, charcoal grills and coal boxes allow ample space for families to picnic.

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Some of the newer additions to the park include a skate park, nine-hole disc golf course, cornhole boards, a dog park and an electric vehicle charging station in partnership with Indigo Energy. The city’s new pickleball and basketball courts are currently under construction and the goal is for those to open sometime in the fall of 2023.

3. Veterans Memorial Park

Veterans Memorial Park has been a large part of Dawson County for years. Originally Dawson County Park, it was renamed Veterans Memorial Park in 2007.

The park includes a football field, walking trail, baseball/softball fields, multipurpose field, tennis courts, a gymnasium, tennis courts, an outdoor basketball court and outdoor covered pavilions.

Veterans Memorial Park is also home to Dawson County’s public pool. The pool is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day and includes lounge chairs, tables, chairs, umbrellas, restrooms and showers and a covered picnic area that is available on a first-come, firstserved basis. Entry to the pool is just $3 for a daily pass, or season passes can be purchased online or at the main office at Rock Creek Park.

The park also houses the Pauline Stevens Ivey Senior Center and the Margie Weaver Senior Center, which provide a number of activities and services to local senior citizens.

4. War Hill Park

Located adjacent to Lake Lanier, War Hill Park offers visitors a chance to enjoy time in the sun and out on the water.

The park features a small beach, 14 primitive campsites and a bath house with restrooms and showers, dayuse areas and four boat ramps. The day-use areas and boat ramps are open all year round, and the campsites are open from March 1 through Oct. 31.

Annual passes are available for boat ramp and dayuse areas and can be purchased online or at the main office at Rock Creek Park. Campsite reservations are available online only at www.dawsoncounty.org/parksrec.

Fishing is also allowed at War Hill Park. The part of the lake where anyone can cast their lines and fish for a day is located on the other side of the park.

War Hill Park also houses a “Little Lending Library”, installed by Dawson County Wee Books. The little library is located in the center of the park and is available for anyone in the community to borrow books from.