Dawson County News Progress 2019 by The Times

Health & Education

Progress 2019

2C | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Medical Plaza 400 marks 5 years in Dawson County Photo for the Dawson County News

Dr. Anderson is flanked by GA-PCOM students as he displays his Master Preceptor award. From left, Jim Radford, Saba Khalid, Dr. Larry Anderson, Tiffany Noblitt and Andrew Waltersdorf.

Dr. Larry Anderson named Master Preceptor at national meeting From staff reports

Family medicine physician Larry Anderson received the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) Master Preceptor Award in 2018. Anderson was recognized at the 2018 ACOFP Convention and Scientific Seminars in Austin, Texas. The award recognized Anderson for his dedication in precepting, or instructing, Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM) DO students in the practice of family medicine. Preceptors or clinical instructors help students apply classroom knowledge and concepts to real-world situations. With supervision and guidance, students develop the clinical judgment and skills to succeed in their chosen specialty. “It is gratifying to see Dr. Larry Anderson awarded the Master Preceptor recognition by the ACOFP,” said Murray Berkowitz, associate dean of clerkships and core site development at GA-PCOM. “He is a clinical associate professor and has been serving as a

preceptor for GA-PCOM students for over 11 years. He has been a leader in family medicine at the local, regional and national levels. By contributing to the health care of underserved communities, he serves as a role model for both physicians and medical students.” Anderson established his practice, Anderson Family Medicine, in Dawsonville 11 years ago. He is active in the community, serving as chair of the Dawson County Board of Health, co-founder and medical director of the Good Shepherd Clinic in Dawsonville and is an active member and past president of the Dawson County Rotary Club. In addition, he served as president of the national ACOFP, president of the Georgia chapter, and as president of the Georgia Osteopathic Medical Association. His practice is in the Northside Hospital medical center on Ga. 400 in Dawson County in suite 205. In addition to family practice, the center offers urgent care, imaging and specialty medical care.

Photo for the Dawson County News

Dawson County Schools was named one of 10 finalists for the Georgia School Boards Association’s inaugural Governance Team of the Year award. The board was recognized at the GSBA Governance Team of the Year banquet on Dec. 6.

Dawson schools receive honors from state schoolboard association By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

In June 2018 Dawson County Schools once again was recognized by the Georgia School Boards Association as an Exemplary School Board. The recognition program began in 1998 and was designed to showcase best practices in school governance and leadership. Dawson County Schools met and/or exceeded the criteria set forth by the GSBA to receive the recognition of an exemplary board, the highest tier in the program. Dawson County Schools was also recognized as a top 10 finalist in the state for the inaugural GSBA Governance Team of the Year Award.

The award was created in 2018 as a way to honor the top board of education and superintendent team that “best demonstrates its commitment to maximizing student achievement and enhancing trust and support for public education in their community,” according to the GSBA website. In December, Dawson County Schools was honored at the GSBA/GSAA winter conference in Atlanta and received an award for being named a finalist. Gwinnett County Schools took home the inaugural award, also beating out Bleckley County, C h i c k a m a u g a C i t y, Effingham County, Forsyth County, Jefferson City, Lumpkin County, Pierce County and Schley County.

Photos by Allie Dean Dawson County News

The Oct. 30 Dawson County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours celebrated Medical Plaza 400’s fifth year in the county.

Facility houses Northeast Georgia Physicians Group, urgent care facility By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

Medical Plaza 400 celebrated five years in Dawsonville in October with a Business After Hours event hosted by the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce. Medical Plaza 400 opened in April 2013 as a branch of Northeast Georgia Health System, a not-for-profit community health system that serves more than 18 counties in northeast Georgia with anchor hospital campuses in Gainesville, Braselton and Barrow County. The over 25,000 square foot, two-story Dawsonville medical center houses the Northeast Georgia Physicians Group and an urgent care facility that is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. “When we first started out here on the western perimeter of our service area, we were a little bit nervous but I have to say how welcoming and how wonderful this community is,” said Jo Brewer, director of lab services for Medical Plaza 400, during the event Oct. 30. “My hope (when) we celebrated our opening was that this beautiful facility would end up being a place of healing and a place of hope and I think you’ll all agree we have achieved that.” State Representative Kevin Tanner, who has lived in Dawson County all his life, said that one of the things the county lacked when he was g r ow i n g u p wa s a n urgent care facility, and that he and his family members would have to travel elsewhere for medical care after hours. “One of the things we talk about a lot in the general assembly, as we travel around the state, is healthcare and the fact that so many of our communities in rural Georgia are losing healthcare facilities. I'm thankful that we don't have that issue in our community,” Tanner said. Tanner said that since the facility opened five years ago, nearly 70,000 patients have visited the Urgent Care Center, almost 35,000 have visited the Imaging Center and thousands more have visited the physician offices and Health Link Lab. “There is no question of whether or not this is needed in our community, those are staggering numbers,” Tanner said. Tad Gomez, vice president of Professional and Support Services for NGHS, said that when

Diane Clark, X-ray technician at Medical Plaza 400, demonstrates how to use a CT scan machine.

State Representative Kevin Tanner talks about the impact Medical Plaza 400 has had on Dawson County during its five years in operation.

Jo Brewer, director of lab services for Medical Plaza 400, addresses a crowd gathered to celebrate the plaza’s fifth year of service in Dawsonville.

Medical Plaza 400 was first opened, Northeast Georgia Physicians Group offered services that included family medicine, neurology, general surgery consults, urology and sports medicine. Services have since expanded to include behavioral health, internal medicine and orthopedic surgery consults.

The Heart Center of Northeast Georgia Medical Center also has an office at the plaza and Imaging Services has added new technologies such as 3D mammography, which was added in June of 2018. Patients visiting Medical Plaza 400 have access to the 3D Automated Breast Ultrasounds, called ABUS,

which provide a more detailed view as a supplement to traditional 2D mammography. The technology reduces the chance of being called back for a followup mammogram by 40 percent. The ABUS is not any more invasive than a traditional mammogram and is covered by most insurance providers. Gomez said that NGHS also recently launched a new electronic medical records system called Epic, which is available to all providers at all locations within the system so that doctors and nurses can easily access a patient’s entire chart with medications, test results and medical h i s t o r y. I n a d d i t i o n patients can access their information through an app called MyChart. Gomez also addressed the medical system’s plans for Lumpkin County. NGHS purchased the Chestatee Regional Hospital property in Lumpkin in July. “We then sold the property to the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents, and we are now leasing that property back,” Gomez said. “We know that many people are anxious to know what health care in Lumpkin County will look like moving forward, and I can assure you that we are well in the middle of planning for exactly what that’s going to mean.” Gomez said that within the past month they had hosted 20 focus groups and interviews with community leaders and healthcare providers to gather their input on what services could be successful and sustainable in Lumpkin County. “We would like as much community input on this group of decis i o n s a s p o s s i b l e ,” Gomez said. “We hope to finalize our plans by the end of this year.”

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

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At Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS), our team cares for more than 1 million people across the region through three hospital campuses and a variety of other locations. At Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS), our team cares for more than 1 million people across the region through three hospital campuses and a variety of other locations. Locations convenient to Dawson County include: Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville Locations convenient Dawson County include: Services including heart &tovascular, cancer treatment, orthopedics, emergency care and more Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville Medical 400heart & vascular, cancer treatment, orthopedics, emergency care and more Services Plaza including Multiple physician offices representing a variety of specialties come together in one building for your convenience at 108 Prominence Court, Dawsonville, GA 30534 Medical Plaza 400 Multiple physician offices representing a variety of specialties come together in one building for your Northeast Georgia Group convenience at 108Physicians Prominence Court, Dawsonville, GA 30534 More than 350 providers represent 30 specialties at more than 65 locations including: Family Medicine, General Surgery, Neurology, OB/GYN, Orthopedics, Pediatrics and Urology Northeast Georgia Physicians Visit ngpg.org to find a providerGroup near you. More than 350 providers represent 30 specialties at more than 65 locations including: Family Medicine, General Surgery, Neurology, OB/GYN, Orthopedics, Pediatrics and Urology The Center of NGMC VisitHeart ngpg.org to find a provider near you. More than 30 providers at 15 locations Request an appointment at heartngmc.org. The Heart Center of NGMC More than 30 providers at 15 locations Imaging Request Center an appointment at heartngmc.org. Dedicated space is designed with a spa-like atmosphere to create a soothing environment for comprehensive women’s imaging services in Dawsonville Imaging Center Dedicated space is designed with a spa-like atmosphere to create a soothing environment for comprehensive Urgent Care women’s imaging services in Dawsonville Open 7 days a week for the treatment of minor injuries and illnesses Urgent Care Rehabilitation Open 7 days a Centers week for the treatment of minor injuries and illnesses Six locations for physical, speech and occupational therapy including Dawsonville Rehabilitation Centers Six locations for physical, speech and occupational therapy including Dawsonville

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

National tragedy leads to additional safety in Dawson County schools By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

A tragic school shooting in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, 2018, shook the nation and caused educators, law enforcement and politicians to consider new security measures to ensure the safety of students. In the wake of the shooting, Dawson County Schools reacted by rallying the community for a school safety workshop March 8 to discuss the current security measures and procedures as well as to brainstorm ways in which the school system could improve the safety of students. Over 150 people attended the workshop and broke off into groups to brainstorm ideas on safety measures to be implemented. A final list of recommendations based on the community’s feedback was presented to the board of education at the April 16 meeting. The board voted to allocate $400,000 from ESPLOST to fund a number of the upgrades. Based on the community’s feedback, Dawson County Schools approved the creation of a Safe Schools Coordinator, a position responsible for assisting with strategic direction of all system-wide school safety services, facilitating the development and monitoring of the system’s emergency preparedness plan, implementing programs and activities to reduce school violence, collaborating with the School Resource Officers and being a liaison between the sheriff’s office and school system, according to the job’s posted duties and responsibilities. Former law enforcement officer Tony Wooten filled the position and oversaw the school system’s safety measure upgrades. In June, several of the safety changes began across the county. The school system, in conjunction with the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and the board of commissioners, received additional school resource officers so that each of the seven campuses has one full time SRO in place. The sheriff’s office also provides off duty employees to help direct school traffic so that SROs can maintain their presence in the schools during the most critical times of the day. Both the cost of the SROs and off duty employees directing traffic are shared between the school system and the county. Another emergency lockdown method was added to each front office so the front office staff can initiate a school-wide lockdown. A “buzz in” system was also added to each school, making it so that the front office is only accessible after establishing communication with the staff and being cleared for entry. Another buzz is required to enter the main part of the building. The new system significantly slows visitor entry into the buildings. Reflective mirror tinting was installed on all the windows before the 2018 school year began to allow for more privacy inside

the school as visitors speak with the front office staff through the new buzz-in system. “We want to maintain the feel of local schools, local community schools. We’re just trying to provide the safest environment that w e c a n p r o v i d e ,” s a i d Superintendent Damon Gibbs. “Our kids should not feel any difference in their school day based on what we’ve done.” In May, Dawson County hosted the first meeting of the House Study Committee on School Security, a committee chaired by state Representative Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) established by House Resolution 1414 during the 2018 legislative session. The purpose of the first committee meeting was to discuss what the state can do to address the topic of school safety. “This is not an effort by the state to interfere with local governments and control of schools,” said Speaker of the House David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, during the May 14 meeting. “Rather this is simply a way to see if we can help local school districts ensure the safety of their staff and students.” The Georgia Department of Education Deputy Superintendent of External Affairs, Garry McGiboney, outlined the 41 Georgia laws pertaining to school safety, as well as the newest additions including mandatory school climate ratings and mental health awareness training for educators. In April, Gov. Nathan Deal unveiled the “See Something Send Something” app to give students, parents and community members another way to report safety threats to authorities. The app is similar to the 1Dawson “See Something Say Something” app unveiled by Dawson County Schools in March. In 2018 the state legislature also approved $16 million of the FY2019 budget to be divided among school districts for local boards of education to fund security measures. “It will be up to the local boards of education and superintendents to determine how to best use their allotment and that’s the way it should be,” Ralston said. Dawson County Schools received $47,940 from the state for safety upgrades. “Everyone is responsible for the safety and security of our children,” Gibbs said. “I believe when – as superintendent of schools – when anything happens in the school system it ultimately is my responsibility.” Gibbs argued that changes in the way funding is allocated could help school systems better protect their students, and said that 88 percent of the board’s budget goes directly to paying for employees, leaving little left over to be used for security measures. Dawson County currently sits on ESPLOST funds of $7 million per year that cannot be used to help fund more security officers and staff, Gibbs said. “I would argue that there’s no better time to talk about flexibility of funding,” Gibbs said. “We don’t want to use all those funds for people, but a little flexibility

Above: Dawson County Superintendent Damon Gibbs explains everyone is responsible for school security during the House Study Committee on School Security’s meeting in Dawsonville on May 14. Left: Front office staff are able to call up the live video feed from the new buzz-in system outside the main entrances of Dawson County campuses. Below: Robinson Elementary Principal Page Arnette talks about procedures in place at the elementary school to keep the students safe during a school safety workshop at Dawson County Junior High School on March 8. Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

‘Everyone is responsible for the safety and security of our children. I believe when – as superintendent of schools – when anything happens in the school system it ultimately is my responsibility.’ Damon Gibbs

Dawson County Superintendent and allowing the local community to vote on an ESPLOST referendum that could make that decision on how much flexibility school systems can have.” Gibbs added that the solution to school safety is not a one-size fits all, as demonstrated by differences in district size and operating structures. What works for Pickens may not work for Forsyth, so the study committee will have to look at security measures on a case-by-case basis. “School safety is complex. School safety is far reaching. School safety is not just one area,” McGiboney said. “The human element will always be the most important component in school safety – always has been, always will be.”

Those visiting any Dawson County school will now use the buzz-in system placed outside the main entrances. Visitors will press the intercom button to speak with the front office staff who will be able to see via the high definition camera above the intercom button.

Dawson County High, Junior High welcome new principals By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

In 2018, two Dawson County Schools said goodbye to their principals and welcomed their replacements with open arms. At the end of June, Dawson County Junior High School principal Jeff Clapper ended his three year tenure at the school, taking a position in Forsyth County to be closer to his family. During his time in Dawson County, Clapper was an integral part of the school system’s realignment as the former Dawson County Middle School transformed into the junior high under his leadership. In July, Connie Stovall took the reins at DCJHS with a fresh vision for the school and has worked to build a school climate

that provides opportunities for the eighth graders while preparing the ninth graders for their transition to high school. After switching c a r e e r s f r o m Stovall accounting to education, Stovall has taught elementary and middle grades, gifted classes, math, science, language arts and social studies. She’s been an assistant principal and principal and was the director of secondary education with Forsyth County Schools. But Stovall says she was most happy working side by side with teachers and students as principal. “This was about being happy. I was the happiest when I was a school princ i p a l ,” S t ova l l s a i d . “People who know me best know that this is what I want to do. This is

the work of my heart.” D a w s o n County High School also saw a change in leadership in 2018. After four years as principal, Richard Crumley announced his retirement. H e m ove d t o S o u t h Carolina and is the principal of Loris High School. During Crumley’s time as principal, the school won the Region AllSports trophy twice, the first two times in the school’s history. Tiger athletics won 16 region championships, had 18 region runner-ups and 39 teams qualified for state playoffs. “We have accomplished a number of things during the last four years,” Crumley said. “I would say the greatest accomplishment would be the increase

in the graduation rate. This is a testament to our teachers and staff.” The graduation rate moved to a high of 96.7 percent in 2017, an increase of 11.4 Hughes percent from when Crumley first started as principal. Crumley has been an educator for nearly three decades and has filled the shoes of teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal. Assistant Principal Brody Hughes was named Crumley’s replacement in May, a perfect fit for the high school. A D aw s o n C o u n t y n a t iv e , H u g h e s h a s worked in the Dawson County School System his entire career and has served as teacher and graduation coach. In early 2018 he was

finishing out his year as assistant principal of curriculum and instruction at DCHS before transitioning to principal before school began in August. “It’s been fun being back in Dawson County and working with some of the same teachers that taught me and watching them,” Hughes said. “It’s been a lot of fun being home and seeing young people you know on a personal level come through this school.” There are many things Hughes was excited for in his first year as principal. The first group from DCJHS entered high school since the realignment and the high school began offering U.S. History and English 1101 on campus, two college level courses from Lanier Technical

College. And when the new career academy opens in August 2019, Hughes hopes to see an expansion of college courses being offered at the high school. “I just want to see young people succeed. That’s really my love and passion in education is just to see young people succeed in whatever,” Hughes said. “It’s important that we don’t get too focused on the college kind of track. Not everybody’s going to do that.” Hughes wants to work to give students interested in pursuing technical school and industrial work all the tools they need to succeed. “We need to prepare our students for that, those that are interested in those kinds of things and really allow young people to find what they’re good at and pursue that,” Hughes said.

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 5C

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Career Academy breaks ground, opens for students August 2019 By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

Despite the onslaught of rain this month, construction hasn’t been hindered on the much anticipated College and Career Academy at Dawson County High School. The new facility is still set to open its doors to students in August 2019. Announced in early 2018, dirt officially began moving on the 35,000 square foot facility in September with city, county and school officials coming together for an official groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 10. “We’re creating high quality secondary and post-secondary options in this building and it’s going to serve generations of students in Dawson County so we’re very proud of that fact,” Superintendent Damon Gibbs said. The board of education, Robertson Loia Roof architecture engineers, Carroll Daniel Construction representatives, the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce, representatives from Dawson County High School and Lanier Technical College gathered at the site of the future career academy on the corner of Hwy. 53 and Perimeter Road to commemorate the start of the construction phase. The facility will house new state-of-the-art labs for the high school’s dual enrollment students and Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs. “We were looking at the possibility of revamping our current labs in our building and as we looked at the future of our district – five, 10, 15 years down the road – we had to determine if the space we had in the building for our regular academic courses would be enough,” Gibbs said. “Realistically (with)

Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

The board of education, along with representatives from Robertson Loia Roof, Carroll Daniel Construction and Dawson County High School prepare to break ground on the new College and Career Academy Sept. 10.

Photo for the Dawson County News

A 3D rendering of the new career academy designed by architectural firm Robertson Loia Roof shows what the completed $7 million facility will look like when it opens in August 2019.

the amount of money we would put into renovation we can build the building. Obviously it’s more because it’s a new building but we can renovate the existing space for additional academic classrooms for the future.” The building cost $7 million and is funded completely through ESPLOST. Dawson

County citizens voted in favor of the ESPLOST referendum four years ago and collections have made the new facility a reality. On the first floor will be labs for early childhood education, culinary arts, construction and engineering and technology as well as outdoor work areas,

classrooms and a seminar room. The second floor will house two multiuse business and computer science labs, a science lab, a health care science lab, classrooms and a broadcast and video production lab and studio. The only lab that will stay at its current location is the agri-

cultural lab due to its proximity to the greenhouse. “We’re trying to give appropriate space to the appropriate programs so that they can better serve our kids,” Gibbs said. T h e a r c h i t e c t u r a l fi r m Robertson Loia Roof in Alpharetta designed the building and Carroll Daniel Construction is handling the construction. The new career academy is just another way the Dawson County School System will better serve the career tech students and will help to eliminate the issue of transportation that has been a problem for many dual enrollment students. “It’s going to really transform the way we serve those students with 21st century lab space and really give those programs really just the recognition and the service that they deserve,” Gibbs said.

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Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Carroll Daniel Construction progresses on the College and Career Academy at Dawson County High School. Construction began in September 2018.

Class of 2018 boasts top 25 graduation rate in Ga. By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

The class of 2018 took charge last January to change Dawson County High School’s graduation l o c a t i o n t o t h e n ew Convocation Center at the U n ive r s i t y o f N o r t h Georgia. The state-of-the-art facility opened at the UNG Dahlonega campus in the spring of 2018 and boasted amenities the graduating seniors couldn’t pass up. Thanks to senior Carter Whaley, who spearheaded the class of 235 students, seniors in their caps and gowns along with their proud families and friends enjoyed a ceremony in an air conditioned room. T h e C o nvo c a t i o n Center holds 3,600 people and provides better accessibility for those with disabilities, allowing more people to celebrate the class’s achievements. For those who could not attend the ceremony, it was broadcast live so

that anyone could partake in the celebration. Nearly every seat in the Convocation Center was filled for the commencement ceremonies as seniors walked across the stage to receive their diplomas and begin the next phase of their lives. As far as numbers go, the class of 2018 ended strong. Thirty-two clubs, honor societies and extracurriculars were represented with cords, stoles and medals hanging around students’ necks. Seventy-nine students received scholarships to postsecondary institutions, outside of the HOPE and the Zell Miller Scholarships, amounting to $1.2 million. Twenty received the Zell Miller Scholarship, covering 100 percent of their post-secondary tuition, while around 122 r e c e iv e d t h e H O P E Scholarship, covering 88 percent of their tuition. Eighty-three were honor graduates. Two students had perfect atten-

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dance for their entire school careers, and one was named the Valedictorian for her academic achievements. In September, when the Georgia Department of Education released information on the four-year cohort graduation rates across the state, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see that Dawson County High School’s four-year graduation rate of 94.7 percent for the class of 2018 put the school as one of the top 25 in the state. The four-year cohort graduation rate is the percentage of students who entered the ninth grade in 2014-2015 and graduated four years later in May of 2018. Dawson County High Husband & Wife team, Tom School’s 94.7 percent graduation rate exceeds Kimmesand & Sara Galbraith, Owners Wife team, Tom Kimmes and the state rate of 81.6 per-Husband cent by 13.1 percent. Sara Galbraith, Owners Over the last six years, the school district’s grad-Finding the right caregiver for yourself or a loved one can be challenging, but uation rate has increasedit doesn’t have to be. from 79.85 percent in 2012 to 94.7 percent in 2018, according to the school district.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Mashburn recognized as national distinguished principal By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

I n M a y, R i v e r v i e w Elementary School Principal Julia Mashburn was surprised during a school assembly. In front of her friends, family, coworkers and the students of Riverview, she learned that she was named a Georgia 2018 National Distinguished Principal and was awarded a check for $2,500 through the sponsorship of national K-12 publisher Mentoring Minds. “Mrs. Mashburn’s commitment to excellence is reflected in programs designed to meet the academic and social needs of all children and the establishment of community ties with parents and local business organizations,” said Hal Beaver, executive director of the Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals. “She has put the progress and the well-being of every child at the forefront of school planning and operations and her students are on the road to a quality education because of her efforts.” In October, Mashburn traveled to Washington D.C. for the national awards conference with the rest of the nation’s honored principals. The Nationally Distinguished Principal award program was founded 34 years ago as a way to recognize elementary and middle school principals who set high standards for instruction, student achievement and character of the students, families and the staff of their learning community. Mashburn, who has served as the principal of Riverview since its inception, was one of three elementary school principals in the state to be recognized with the national title last year. She is one of only 82 principals in Georgia to have received the award since the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) began in 1984. “Talk about a Cinderella story. I mean if you feel like you could just be that person that goes from a pumpkin to a

Dawson County 38 years ago and her children began attending school, she wanted to get back into education. It began with substitute teaching at Dawson County Primary School then going back to college and landing a job teaching kindergarten there. Eventually, Mashburn’s path led her to Riverview Elementary, which opened its doors in 2009. With large populations of economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities, Mashburn was determined to create a culture that impacted student and community success in the new school. In 2016, Riverview received the Gold Award for the Georgia Governor’s Office of Student Achievement for “Greatest Gains,” and last year RvES was one of 13 schools to receive the GOSA Platinum Award for “Greatest Gains.” Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News These accomplishments have Riverview Elementary School’s principal Julia Mashburn is congratulated by students for earned RvES the status of being named GAESP 2018 National Distinguished Principal during an assembly May 11. Georgia Highest Performing said. “I grew up in metro Title 1 Reward School in the Atlanta. I played school all the top five percent of the state. Under Mashburn’s leadertime and I remember begging ship, the school has seen sucmy mom for cheap textbooks at the local discount store so I cesses with the SPARK program, which promotes positive could really be the teacher.” Because of influential educa- school culture, data teams that tors in her life who helped her empower teachers to improve excel in her studies, Mashburn t e a c h i n g a n d t h e PA L S was able to pursue a degree at a Mentoring Program, which pairs students with school staff community college. “My parents, they loved me to support encouragement and with all their heart and with all success for RvES students. The PALS mentoring prothey had and I cherish every thought of them, especially gram also earned RvES a now that they’re gone. But col- School Bell Award from the lege? Imagine that for a student G e o r g i a A s s o c i a t i o n o f whose family dream was to Elementary School Principals have the first high school grad- in December. Students with attendance difuate,” Mashburn said. Pictured left to right are Executive Director of Georgia She pursued her passion for ficulty and discipline referrals Association of Elementary School Principals Hal Beaver, education until her neighbor, a are paired with an adult in the Connie Brown of Mentoring Minds, Riverview Elementary retired educator, made her sec- school who serves as their menPrincipal Julia Mashburn and Superintendent Damon Gibbs. ond guess herself. Her neighbor tor in the hopes they will make was bitter and felt like her life a connection that will motivate coach, Dawson County is a In November, Mashburn as an educator had been a the students to come to school. place where it can happen,” recounted her experience in waste, Mashburn said. Not Since the program began, Mashburn said. “I’m so proud D.C. to the Dawson County wanting to end up like her school officials have seen an to represent Dawson County, Board of Education, where she neighbor, Mashburn changed increase in attendance and a and especially Riverview was formally recognized by majors, eventually dropped out decrease in discipline referrals Elementary, as Georgia’s 2018 local school officials. of college, got married and of children enrolled in the proNationally Distinguished “As a child I always dreamed raised a family. gram. The program serves 40 When Mashburn moved to students. of being a teacher,” Mashburn Principal.”

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

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Government & Business

Progress 2019

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Roadwork plans to continue into 2019 By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

Allie Dean Dawson County News

A Holiday Inn Express is slated to go in behind the Applebee’s on Ga. 400.

Restaurant, retail projects continued to go up in 2018 By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

Though the construction of new retail space may have slowed down a little in 2018, businesses have continued to trickle in to the empty storefronts and outparcels in the Kroger Marketplace and Publix shopping centers, as well as build standalone stores. Bojangles’ recently opened a second Dawson County business next to Captain D’s, and an Express Oil Change and Tire Engineers opened next to Dunkin’ Donuts. A new Wendy’s restaraunt is under construction next to Panda Express in the Kroger Marketplace shopping center, while an Extreme Car Wash is being built in the same center behind Verizon Wireless. A Yogli Mogli frozen yogurt shop is slated to move into a space near Marco’s Pizza. Stores that opened up in that shopping center in 2018 include Restoration Hardware Outlet, Home Goods, Burlington Coat Factory, Bealls Outlet, America’s Best, Dawson Nails and Beyond, Shopaholic Boutique and Torrid. Plans on the developer’s website show an Atlanta Bread restaurant and a Dollar Tree also coming to the center. United Community Bank owns a space next to the car wash, but has not announced plans to move or open a third Dawson location. According to the website there are 13 available spaces and 13 outparcels yet to be claimed in the marketplace shopping center. Across Ga. 400, the Publix shopping center, called Dawson Crossroads, saw several

new businesses open with more on the way. Poke Yaki opened in the center in 2018, along with N i t y a ’s Yo g a B o d y Works. Crave Hot Dogs and BBQ opened in January, and DaVinci’s Donuts is on the map to open this year. Three spaces and three outparcels are still available, according to the developer’s website. Additionally a 300-unit apartment complex behind the Publix also opened in the latter half of 2018. New construction will continue this year with an O live G arden and a Holiday Inn Express. Construction on the parcel of land where the Olive Garden will stand is currently underway. The restaurant is being built on approximately 9.4 acres next to the Dawson Marketplace shopping center, where Huck’s Apple Barn used to stand. A variance application submitted by the developers of the Olive Garden references a hotel planned for the site and refers to t h e d ev e l o p m e n t a s “Dawson Forest Square.” Planning and Development Director Jameson Kinley said in January that the county knew of nothing else going in on the property for sure. Also on the pipeline is a 70-80 room Holiday Inn Express, slated to go in behind the Applebee’s off Ga. 400 and Carlisle Road. Dawson County Chamber of Commerce President Christie Moore said in October that the hotel could open the fall of 2019. Moore also said a longawaited new tenant for the old Kroger location could potentially be revealed in 2019.

Roadwork continued to be a popular topic in 2018 with the completion of several intensive projects. A roundabout funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation at the intersection of Hwy. 183 and Hwy. 53 was completed in the first half of 2018 while a new bridge on Hwy. 9 over the Etowah River opened to both lanes of traffic in October. GDOT’s Local Maintenance and Improvement Grants, along with a 30 percent match by the county, provided for the repair and paving of nine county roads including A.T. Moore Road and Mt. Vernon Drive as well as the roads in the Biscayne Subdivision off Harmony Church Road. GDOT continued work on a roundabout at the intersection of Hwy. 52 and Hwy. 183, which has a scheduled completion date of 2020, and also converted the passing lane on Hwy. 53 between Hugh Stowers Road and Buddy Burt Road to a turn-only lane mid-year, spurred by the death of a high school student early in the year. In 2019, be on the lookout for many more roadwork projects funded by the county and GDOT. Late last year Public Works Director David McKee applied for another round of LMIG projects. Repairs proposed this year include the entire south side of Dawson Junction subdivision, including Conductor Drive, Dispatcher Drive, Boxcar Way East, Boxcar Way West, Caboose Lane, Flagman Street and Switchman Lane; the entire Amicalola Chase subdivision, which is located off Hwy. 136 and Crane Road; and a full-depth reclamation of Hightower Industrial Park, which is located on Hwy. 53 near the intersection with Lumpkin Campground Road and includes Easy Street and Hightower Parkway. The full-depth reclamation will be similar to what was done on Dawson Forest, Thompson and Kelly Bridge roads in the past few years, and will be done by a contract company, according to McKee. County staff will do the paving on all of the projects, however. “We are grateful to have a new paving machine from SPLOST funding that lets us have that cost savings by paving in-house,” he said. The north side of Dawson Junction subdivision will not be included in the project this year because those roads are not in as bad a shape as the other side, McKee said. McKee utilizes a pavement assessment system similar to one he said GDOT has been using for years. In 2018 McKee began performing the assessment on all paved roads in the county, utilizing a computer system to rank the roads on a scale of 0 to 100 with a goal of having all roads score at a 70 or above. This allows him to prioritize and budget for roads in most need of repair. McKee said he will continue to re-evaluate the pavement assessment in 2019. “Following that we will be able to make budget decisions, on whether to resurface, reclaim or repair roads and we’ve been very successful so far using that system,” he said. With 300 miles of roads in the

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Crews work on the curbing and landscape at the intersection of Hwy. 53 and Lumpkin Campground Road on Jan. 17.

Improvements to the congested intersection of Hwy. 53 and Lumpkin Campground Road began in 2018 and have carried over into the new year.

county and the cost of resurfacing one square mile of road amounting to $100,000, LMIG funding is just one way the county can stretch a dollar. McKee said county crews will also work to convert Helens Drive off Kelly Bridge Road from a dirt road to an asphalt road this year, and will also being working on another round of stormwater culvert replacements in the area of Sweetwater Juno and Bailey Waters roads. Also coming up in 2019, the county will be working on a bridge design for the bridge on Shoal Creek Road as well as working to redesign the intersection of Shoal Creek Road and Hwy. 136. The county is also working to resolve an unintended consequence of the Continuous Flow Intersection that GDOT installed at the intersection of Ga. 400 and Hwy. 53 a few years ago, as drivers often get stuck for several light cycles at the intersection of Lumpkin Campground Road and Hwy. 53 as they try to navigate around the Ga. 400 corridor. The county started working with GDOT in 2018 to improve that corridor with the addition of two new turn lanes. Work continued this month as county staff poured curbing. The county is responsible for paving the updated intersection and GDOT is to re-time the traffic signals. McKee said in early January that the county does have a long-range concept plan for Lumpkin Campground Road, and that the first step has been to address the intersections at Grizzle Road and Hwy. 53. Updates to the intersection at Grizzle Road were more time sensitive, McKee said, and were completed first.

McKee said the county understands that the roadway is underserved and is working with GDOT to develop an access development plan to address the congestion issues. The county is also working on a new bridge on Black’s Mill Road, which has been closed since July 2017. Contractors are preparing the site to install the new steel bridge, which will still be one lane but widened by five feet and able to withstand the weight of emergency services vehicles and school buses, which the old bridge could not. County crews will haul off any excess materials and will be responsible for resetting the road grades once the contractor is done. Planning for new roundabouts will also continue in 2019. GDOT has “fast-tracked” a double roundabout at Hwy. 9 and Dawson Forest, but construction has not yet begun. A roundabout at the other end of Dawson Forest at the intersection with Hwy. 53 and Thompson Creek Road has also been proposed by GDOT as a project, and McKee said he would be meeting with GDOT officials about the proposal in January. “A roundabout fits in best and is least impactful in that area,” he said. “But it's in early stages. Something to keep in mind is that Dawson County takes over maintenance after the roundabouts are completed.” Another big focus for GDOT in 2019 continues to be bridges. Work is forthcoming on the Cochran Creek bridge on Hwy. 183, where Keith Evans Road will be the main detour. GDOT is also looking at working on two bridges on Price Road near Toto Creek Park.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Eason elected Dawsonville mayor in 2018 By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

The city of Dawsonville greeted its newest mayor in March 2018 when Mike Eason beat former Mayor James Grogan in a special election. Eason celebrated with 50 of his closest friends and family at a victory party at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame after winning the mayor seat with 61.51 percent of the vote March 20. Eason, who was appointed acting mayor in December 2017, drew 195 votes while 120 were cast for Grogan. Out of 1,920 registered city voters, 317 cast votes in the special election. Eason, 68, was sworn in April 9 and will serve out the remainder of the term through Dec. 31. "I want to thank all the people that came out to vote, no matter how they voted, because that's important that people have a say so in Dawsonville as to how they want their government run," Eason said after the votes were tallied. “I want to thank everybody that supported me ... I was greeted in homes throughout the community, talked to people, was invited into houses, they wanted to know what I thought, what I wanted to do, what was going on in the city and what's happening." In a mayoral forum hosted by the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce in February, Eason said he wanted to see steps taken to make downtown Dawsonville a destination and not just a place people pass through. Eason said that the first step to developing down-

town and aiding business would be to get the trucks off the roads, namely through use of a Hwy. 53 bypass around the city. The city and county were in talks to negotiate a Transportation Local Option Sales Tax, and the city council intended to help fund a bypass with the proceeds. The county decided to put talks on the tax on hold for 2019. “You don’t want to have families walking down the sidewalk with 18 wheelers going by every two minutes,” Eason said. “We’ve got a lot of business here and the biggest problem we have is people can’t get to them. Until we can solve that problem and find them a place to park and walk up and down our streets, our businesses are not going to thrive.” During Eason’s first year in office, he oversaw the groundbreaking on Main Street Park, participated in the initiation of widely popular Food Truck Nights and purchased the final piece of land that will allow for construction of a farmer’s market next to city hall. City hall also underw e n t r e n ova t i o n s t o become more functional, several new staff members were added to improve efficiency as the city grows, and Eason has been emphatic about updating the city’s ordinances, some of which had not been updated for over a decade. Eason was formerly the City of Cumming police chief and Deputy State Inspector General. He worked as a special agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for over 30 years. He has lived in Gold

Photos by Allie Dean Dawson County News

Mayor-elect Mike Eason stands with his family March 20 at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

‘I want to thank all the people that came out to vote, no matter how they voted, because that’s important that people have a say so in Dawsonville as to how they want their government run. I want to thank everybody that supported me ... I was greeted in homes throughout the community, talked to people, was invited into houses, they wanted to know what I thought, what I wanted to do, what was going on in the city and what’s happening.’ Mike Eason

Dawsonville Mayor Creek since 2012. The mayor seat will be up for election again this

Chamber of commerce, development authority solidify new partnership By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

Development Authority of Dawson County Board Chairman Brian Trapnell presented his final update of the year to the Dawson County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 20, giving commissioners a breakdown of the progress the development authority has made in the past year, including a new partnership with the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce. When the staff of the development authority quit in September of 2017 because of the board of commissioners’ refusal to allocate the authority any funds for 2018, the authority entered into a shortterm contract for services with the chamber of commerce. In February 2018 the board of commissioners voted to allocate $135,000 to the authority so that it could continue to operate for the remainder of the year. In May of 2018 the authority and the chamber entered into a multi-year agreement and created a new economic development director position to work under the supervision of chamber President Christie Moore. Betsy McGriff was hired to fill the economic development director position in July while the chamber and authority worked to renovate the chamber building to accommodate both entities. The development authority moved into the chamber building in September, the latest step the authority has taken to become more efficient through better coordinating and planning of quality growth in the county. “In short, the multi-year partnership with the chamber of commerce is one where they serve as our representative for economic development,” Trapnell said. Trapnell also addressed goals that the authority has had that are nearly completed or that the authority wishes to complete within the next year. Trapnell said the authority would be signing documents to sell its old office space in Prominence Court on Dec. 31. The $115,000 in funds from the sale will be used for future economic development. “The broad intent is to make sure those are in pocket for any kind of development opportunities that come up down the road, not necessarily for operations purposes,” he said. The authority board also revised its bylaws, which became effective Jan. 1. One of the updates will enhance the ability of the authority board to delegate services to the chamber as needed, while

‘Retail jobs of course are very important ... but also planning ways to maybe generate whether it be office space, manufacturing opportunities, etc., partnering with a third party to help us locate space and sites to do that.’

fall along with council members Caleb Phillips and Jason Power.

Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason is congratulated after he was officially sworn into office at the April 9 city council meeting.

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Development Authority of Dawson County Board Chairman another update changes the meeting schedule from six meetings a year to four. Trapnell also presented the authority board’s communication plan, stating that the board is committed to transparency and making sure they are always effectively communicating with the board of commissioners. Trapnell said that by the end of 2019, the authority board plans to ensure that its strategic plan is aligned with community needs and expectations, as well as complete a site selection study and a study that evaluates funding options for economic development operations, as well as opportunities for efficiency between the development authority and the industrial building authority. The site selection study would identify community investment opportunities for generating primary jobs. “Retail jobs of course are very important ... but also planning ways to maybe generate whether it be office space, manufacturing opportunities, etc., partnering with a third party to help us locate space and sites to do that,” he said. Finding creative ways for the development authority to fund itself has been a priority of the authority for some time, and Trapnell said minimizing dependence on the board of commissioners is the goal. Trapnell also said there is a lot of overlap in what the development authority and industrial building authority do, so seeking efficiencies moving forward will be key. “This is a team sport, we all know that, and so we are very passionate about making sure that if there is something that we can be doing together, we are doing it together,” he said.

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4D | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Tim Satterfield joins county commission By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

The Dawson County Board of Commissioners recently welcomed a new face after Tim Satterfield was sworn in Dec. 27 as commissioner for District 3. Satterfield, a 41-year fire service veteran, retired from Dawson County Emergency Services in December 2017 after nearly 13 years of service with the county. Satterfield began his fire service career with Clayton County in 1976. He also worked for the city of McDonough and the city of Clearwater, Fla. before coming to work in Dawson County in May 2005. He said last February that he decided to run for the office because he feels like he still has something to give to the community. Satterfield said his public service career was spent protecting lives and property, and that he also worked with fire prevention and with kids in school to teach them about fire safety. He said he has also worked to create a clean environment during his time in Dawson County. “I want a safe environment but I want a clean environment too,” he said. “We helped a little bit with the planning and development department with the fire marshal's office, we’d go out and do some enforcement, helping them on some code issues, and we saw where people had done some illegal dumping. I think we can do a better job at it as far as helping clean the county.” He also said he wants to prioritize more collaboration with the city of Dawsonville, see more county roads improved for safety and see a training facility built for the sheriff’s office and emergency services personnel. Satterfield was the only person to qualify for election to the seat. The District 3 seat was formerly occupied by Jimmy Hamby, who held the position for eight years before announcing he would not be seeking a third term. Hamby is a lifelong Dawson County resident. He is married to Shirley and the two have a son, Chess, who is a teacher and coach at Dawson County High School. “I’ve enjoyed it, I really

Above: Tim Satterfield’s mother holds his father’s Bible as Satterfield is sworn in to serve his first term on the Dawson County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 27. Left: Jimmy Hamby, center, was recognized Dec. 13 for serving eight years as District 3 commissioner for the Dawson County Board of Commissioners. Photos by Allie Dean Dawson County News

have,” Hamby said Dec. 13. “Ups and downs but for the most part it's been good. Just continue doing what we’ve been doing. I’m going to turn it over to Tim and I’m going to

hold him accountable too. I appreciate the support.” “I have really enjoyed working with Jimmy and he is a standup guy, an honorable man, has so much common sense

and he has his excellent decision making skills and I’m going to miss him here but he’s not getting rid of me,” District 1 Commissioner Sharon Fausett said about Hamby.

‘I want a safe environment but I want a clean environment too. We helped a little bit with the planning and development department with the fire marshal’s office, we’d go out and do some enforcement, helping them on some code issues, and we saw where people had done some illegal dumping. I think we can do a better job at it as far as helping clean the county.’ Tim Satterfield

Dawson County District 3 commissioner

City, county meet for first joint session in 10 years ‘Getting into the NPIAS would give us the ability to draw down millions of dollars possibly to improve the airport, to make it a good quality general aviation airport.’

By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

In their first joint planning session in over a decade, the Dawson County Board of Commissioners and the Dawsonville City Council gathered at Amicalola Falls one Friday in October for a daylong retreat with the goal of strengthening communication between the two governing bodies. For some, it was the first time commissioners and city council members met face to face. Over the course of the day the two groups worked to gather a greater understanding of the vision and long term goals of the other, discussing past issues as well as what is working well now and what could be improved. Langford Holbrook from the C a r l Vi n s o n I n s t i t u t e o f Government at the University of Georgia facilitated the meeting between the two entities, and several big topics dominated the overarching discussion of how the city and county can best work together going forward. The biggest elephant in the room was addressed early on as Mayor Mike Eason updated the commissioners on the status of the city’s plans to purchase and operate the longest air strip in north Georgia, the Elliottfamily owned airport off Hwy. 183. Eason said the city’s involvement in the airport went back to 2006 or earlier and that there had been a lot of controversy about the airport since then because there was limited communication. Eason said that since December 2017, the city has been working with the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to get the air-

Mike Eason

Dawsonville mayor

Allie Dean Dawson County News

Representatives of the city of Dawsonville and the Dawson County Board of Commissioners conduct a discussion at a city and county joint planning meeting Oct. 5.

port into the NPIAS, or the National Based Aircraft Inventory Program. “Once you get into that, you are eligible for federal funds to improve and enhance your airport. Our goal since I have been here is to ensure that we don’t cost the citizens of the city of Dawsonville any money,” Eason said. “Getting into the NPIAS would give us the ability to draw down millions of dollars possibly to improve the airport, to make it a good quality general aviation airport.” The city does not intend to make the airport a commercial airport but a public airport, according to Eason. If the city does not acquire the airport, the

Elliotts will sell it and the buyer could turn it into a commercial airport. “If this doesn’t work there is a good chance it could become something that we in our community don’t want,” Eason said. The airport has been in existence since the early 1980s. The city is awaiting the FFA’s ruling about placing the airport on the NPIAS. Even if placed on the inventory program, it would be around October of 2019 before any funding would become available. Eason said that once the airport gets in the NPIAS, town hall meetings will be scheduled to give citizens a chance to learn about the project and

voice concerns. City council members and commissioners also placed emphasis on taking steps forward on a Hwy. 53 truck route to bypass the city of Dawsonville, which is on GDOT’s list of scheduled projects, albeit scheduled for 2028. According to Eason, limited parking, dangerous crosswalks and heavy truck traffic impede downtown growth and development. “We want the city to be a destination for people; we can’t do anything right now because Hwy. 53 and Hwy. 9 cut right through the center and the right of way for the state comes right up to the buildings, not the

parking lot, but the front of the buildings,” Eason said. “So we can’t do anything to improve the quality of the downtown area until we get the trucks out of town with a truck route.” Eason said that about one third of the potential routes are on city property, and that the Turner family owns another 40 percent of the land. One of the routes is no longer feasible due to the new Thunder Ridge subdivision on Hwy. 9, and all four have outlets on Turner land north of the Shoal Creek Bridge. With subdivisions and other structures continuing to go up in the city, obtaining right of way and establishing a route quickly is on the forefront of everyone’s mind. “I’ve been on the board kind of a long time, and this was a discussion we had probably my first or second year, this truck route around Dawson County,” District 4 Commissioner Julie Hughes Nix said. “I would love to see us really work toward coming together ... somehow somebody think of a way that we can push this truck route.” Eason said the projected cost for the bypass is $17 million, though GDOT is expected to also contribute.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Sheriff’s office makes progress with new SWAT team, bomb dog By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

The Dawson County Sheriff ’s Office had a busy year in 2018. Sheriff Jeff Johnson was the speaker at an October meeting of the Dawson County Republican Party and gave the attendees an overview of the accomplishments and new additions to the department over the year. Johnson said there were a few things he was concerned with when he took office, but the most important was to build upon the autonomy and independence of the sheriff’s office. One of the biggest pieces of that came in ree s t a b l i s h i n g D aw s o n C o u n t y ’ s S WAT team under the direction of Patrol Commander Matt Hester. Hester has an extensive background in SWAT operations and training according to Johnson, and after a year of training Hester was finally able to bring the team together mid-year. The county had not had a functioning SWAT presence in over 10 years. “For years Dawson County has been relatively small in the whole scheme of things when we’re talking about law enforcement operations,” Johnson said. “One thing we’ve had to do in the past, say if we had a need of a K-9 bomb dog, we’d have to call in a neighboring jurisdiction to come in. That was an inconvenience to our county that caused us to have to keep

Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

The Dawson County SWAT team secures a vehicle during a vehicle stop training demonstration at the Junior Law Enforcement Academy June 8.

businesses shut down longer, roadways, different things like that, while we’re securing an area, waiting on assistance to come to us.” In Johnson’s effort to make the sheriff’s office more independent, not having to wait for assistance from other agencies is key. “I think that’s important because at the end of the day when it's you in need of help...I want you to have that as quickly and as readily accessible as we can, I don’t want you to have to wait on us to get somebody else to come here,” he said. “From a law enforce-

ment safety perspective, it’s great now that we, instead of sending young recruit rookie officers into scenes that are potentially violent, now we have a team of trained, experienced people that we can send in to at least secure it,” Johnson said. Also new in 2018 was the addition of Arthur, a bomb detection dog, who joined the ranks in February. Arthur also serves the dual purpose of tracking like the drug detection dogs. The county’s three tracking and drug detection dogs allow deputies to be proactive in their approach to drug enforce-

Media organizations under new ownership Metro Market Media now owns The Times, Forsyth County News, Dawson County News From staff reports

Metro Market Media, a new company owned by Charles Hill Morris Jr., announced on April 17 that it had acquired The Times, Forsyth County News, Dawson County News and their affiliated websites and print publications. The three North Georgia properties previously were owned by Morris Multimedia Inc. and an affiliated company, Swartz-Morris Media Inc. The transaction extends to the third generation a legacy of newspaper and media company ownership by the Morris family. Charles H. Morris Sr. is CEO and president of Morris Multimedia Inc. Morris Jr. has been regional publisher of the three media properties for the past 12 years. Metro Market Media is headquartered in Gainesville. “With the purchase of the media companies in these three exceptional markets, we plan to position ourselves for longtime success in the communities we serve. Having them under a single ownership will allow us to be more efficient and customer oriented in everything we do, while continuing to provide quality journalism” Morris Jr. said. “We’ve got 120 really dedicated, exceptional employees who are committed to serving their communities with quality journalism and great marketing and advertising values. Our goal is to give them the resources they need to serve readers and customers, and a firm financial foundation on which to operate,” he said. In addition to his ownership of the new company, Morris Jr. will continue to serve in a leadership capacity with Morris Multimedia Inc., for which he oversees operations in Tennessee, California and the Caribbean, as well as the company’s billboard advertising business. “This is a family transaction that will allow us to have an affiliated relationship with MMI, while at the same time establishing ourselves as an independent company with these three properties, all

‘With the purchase of the media companies in these three excep- Morris Jr. tional markets, we plan to position ourselves for longtime success in the communities we serve. Having them under a single ownership will allow us to be more efficient and customer oriented in everything we do, while continuing to provide quality journalism.’ Charles Hill Morris Jr.,

Metro Market Media Owner of which have great potential,” Morris Jr. said. The Times and its affiliated products were acquired from Gannett by MMI in 2004. The Forsyth and Dawson companies were owned by the New York Times Company prior to being bought by MMI in 1994. “I’m very proud of my son for what he has accomplished in our company. He is a respected newspaper publisher who has served as president of the S o u t h e r n N ew s p a p e r P u b l i s h e r s Association, which represents newspapers in 15 southern states,” said Charles H. Morris Sr. The change of ownership was effective immediately.

ment, Johnson said. “If we get suspicious calls or packages or things like that, now it's just a phone call away we’ve got our own K-9 in route to that,” Johnson said. “We’ll have them out at sporting events, we’ll have them out at our courthouse, so we’re trying to take full advantage of this bomb dog.” Other advances include a decision by the Dawson County Board of Commissioners to provide funding that allows for a school resource officer in every school. The board voted April 5 to allocate two new resource officers.

“There’s not many counties around that can say they have a full time school resource officer in every public school but we can proudly say that now,” Johnson said. The board of commissioners also voted to allocate money for school traffic detail so that SROs are not taken out of the schools to conduct traffic in the mornings and afternoons. Just like the SRO positions, the county pays half while the board of education pays the other half. Another achievement is that all of the officers are now equipped with active shooter preparedness

gear. Johnson said officers typically wear vests that can withstand the caliber of the gun that they carry. “It’s a sad day that we live in when your law enforcement officers are being targeted as they are but it's all too common of an occurrence, so we felt it's necessary that we could better prepare our first responders so now they have the gear and the equipment to be able to take a rifle round and from an officer safety perspective that’s huge,” Johnson said. Something else Johnson emphasized was the department’s recent certification as a Georgia State Certified Law Enforcement Agency. There are 159 sheriff’s agencies in the county and only 22 are state certified. The DCSO was first endorsed as a Georgia S t a t e C e r t i fi e d L aw Enforcement Operation in 2008 and was the seventh sheriff’s office in the state to become state certified. Staffing however remains a consistent problem. The board of commissioners voted to allocate two new patrol positions after budget hearings, but retention issues will surely continue. Johnson said he has been battling a trend of officers leaving for counties and cities further south due to higher salaries and better benefits. “That’s one of our obstacles where we’re at right now,” Johnson said. "It hurts us as a community when we lose a fiveyear patrol officer ... because it's an investment for our county.”

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 7D

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

New pool house constructed at Veterans Memorial Park By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

The Dawson County Parks and Recreation Department unveiled a long-awaited new p o o l h o u s e a t Ve t e r a n s Memorial Park over the summer. The 1,650 square foot building, which opened to the public June 4, has replaced the pool house that stood at the front entranced of the park for over 40 years. The new building is 550 square feet bigger than the old, with a new “shack” for lifeguards so that they can take up money, come in out of the sun, get a snack and — thanks to probably the most exciting new feature of the building — sit in the air conditioning. The lifeguard shack is also now separate from the concessions stand, which occupies a large room of its own, and is stocked with snacks to last the swimming season. Restrooms for both men and women contain cubbies for storage as well as divided showers. A storage room holds equipment for aerobics classes and swim lessons, and an automatic sunscreen dispenser, one of many obtained for the county by A Divine Beauty Boutique and Spa through a grant, is mounted to the wall between the restrooms. Also new is an overhang that shelters the right side and back of the building, giving much needed permanent shade for concessions snackers and those who need a break from the sun. The pool was retiled, plastered and repainted five years ago, and has been completely redone two times since it was built in the early 70s. “This has been a vision of ours for a long time and we’re just really thankful,” said Lisa

Allie Dean Dawson County News

County employees and friends gather June 14 for a ribbon cutting at the Veterans Memorial Park pool house.

Henson, former parks and recreation director. “We’re getting great feedback on the building and all of the accommodations.”

The new building was constructed with SPLOST VI funds. Demolition of the old building and construction of the new

building cost $485,000. Pool season typically begins in late May running through early August, and then week-

ends only through September. There is a small daily fee or an option of season passes available.

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8D | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

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2E | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Photos for the Dawson County News

A digital rendering of the new senior center being planned at Veterans Memorial Park shows the new building connected to the existing senior center on the left with a covered breezeway.

County receives $750K grant for construction of senior center

Groundbreaking for new facility planned for 2019 at Veterans Memorial Park By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

Seniors in Dawson County are looking forward to 2019 after the county learned last year it would be the recipient of a grant allowing for a new senior center to be built. Senior Services Director Dawn Pruett applied for a Community Development Block Grant in the spring of 2018, and heard on Aug. 24 that the county will receive $750,000 to make the dream of erecting a new senior center next to the existing Margie Weaver Senior Center a reality. The Dawson County Board of Commissioners voted Nov. 1 to accept the grant funds, which are from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and are administered through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. The proposed 8,000 square foot center has tentatively been named the Ivey Senior Center. The county was given donations amounting to around $944,000 by Betty Ann Burnett on behalf of the Pauline Ivey Trust in 2017, which Pruett said sparked the vision of the new center. “I would like to thank our clients, staff, elected officials and the

community for the letters of support when applying for the grant,” Pruett said in August. “This, along with the donation from the Ivey family, played a major role I’m sure in receiving this award.” The project has a total budget of $2,180,000 and a groundbreaking is planned for 2019. The current concept plan shows the new single-level center being built to the right of the existing center. Both will be connected by a covered breezeway. The new construction will be designed to match the aesthetics of the other buildings at Veterans Memorial Park, including the new pool house that was built in 2018 and the renovations at the gymnasium. The addition will allow for the expansion of existing programs in the Margie Weaver center as well as allow for new services for senior clients. The exercise equipment and Silver Sneakers classes will be moved from the bottom floor of the Margie Weaver Senior Center to the top floor. Transit will also be moved upstairs to make it more accessible. “That way if the public wants to come in and visit with them they can do so,” Pruett said during a special called meeting Dec. 6.

Senior Services Director Dawn Pruett presents a rendering of the proposed Ivey Senior Center to the board of commissioners on Dec. 6.

Pruett said the expansion would also make room for Ninth District Opportunity move to the senior center to make it easier for clients to get assistance. That would also free up the old jail for other purposes, if the county commission so desired. The main room on the lower floor will be home to the art classes, giving them a much-needed expansion and access to sinks and better access to restrooms. The jewelry and crafts room will be moved to fill the space formerly occupied by the art classes, and the sewing room will be moved to the lower floor to occupy the for-

mer jewelry and craft room. No remodeling is planned for the current center at present. The new center will include a multi-purpose assembly room with a stage area and an adjoining commercial kitchen and pantry. “That will be for lunch, where if we want to hold something, a luncheon, a dinner, an event on the weekends or an event at night we can do that,” Pruett said. Also on the back side of the building will be a laundry and storage room, an office for Meals on Wheels, a restroom and more storage. In the back right corner there will be an Alzheimer’s

Respite Care room. “Family members can bring their mother or father or someone that they’re looking after to spend a couple of hours daily to give the caregivers a break, help with memory and get the Alzheimer’s patients out of the house,” Pruett said in April. “We get a lot of questions from citizens coming in wondering if we have Alzheimer’s respite care and we do not, so that was the big thing we wanted to focus on in this new building.” There will also be a movie room, game room, conference room, nurse’s office and other office space. Pruett said that they are on schedule to have all plans approved by the first of March, with bids to be released after that. A groundbreaking ceremony is anticipated by June. Overall, the new center will present a realm of new possibilities for the seniors in Dawson County who utilize the services provided on a daily basis. “I would like to thank our clients, staff, elected officials and the community for the letters of support when applying for the grant,” Pruett said in August. “This, along with the donation from the Ivey family, played a major role I’m sure in receiving this award.”

Main Street Park construction gets underway By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

Four years after the Downtown Development Authority signed a lease purchasing 18 acres behind t h e Fo o d L i o n a n d Dawsonville City Hall, dirt finally began moving on the Main Street Park project in June. The city council awarded the $1.4 million contract to TW Phillips Grading for phase one of the project, which includes grading, paving of the road that runs through the park, concrete work, installation of utility infrastructure, installation of walking trails and grassing the land. City Manager Bob Bolz said in January that progress on phase one had been hampered by the rainy weath- Bolz er the past few months, and that he did not have a solid estimate of when the work will be complete. As the dirt work has moved forward, so has other work on components that will be installed in phase two. Bolz said that the design and construction of a destination playground has been put out to bid, but cannot move forward until the grading is complete. Design of the restroom is finishing up and the work should be ready to bid in February, but construction on that

could be delayed as well. Phase one also includes a landscape and fencing plan which is ready to go out to bid, and Bolz said planning for the amphitheater has begun. The amphitheater could potentially hold up to 1,000 people. Phase two should include installation of street lighting along the new road as well as installation of the playground, restroom, fencing, benches and related amenities. Phase three would round out the park construction with the development, construction and installation of the amphitheater amenities as well as the installation of picnic shelters. The city will also have a dog park designed, bid out and constructed in phase three. After that, phase four would be dependent upon available money, and SPLOST proceeds are and will continue to be the primary funding source. “We’ll build as much as we can and then for everything else we’ll have to sit back and wait until there is another SPLOST or another source of funding,” Bolz said. Plans for phase four include installation of any exercise stations as well as a splash pad, if the city decides to install one. The Downtown Development Authority closed on a loan to buy the

‘We’ll build as much as we can and then for everything else we’ll have to sit back and wait until there is another SPLOST or another source of funding.’ Bob Bolz

City Manager

Photo courtesy City of Dawsonville

Above: Plans for Main Street Park show walking trails, playgrounds and an outdoor amphitheater. Left: Stairs on Allen Street lead down to the newly paved road running through Main Street Park. Below: Pictured from left are Public Works Operations Manager Trampas Hansard, council members Mike French, Stephen Tolson and Caleb Phillips, City Manager Bob Bolz, council member Jason Power and contractor T.W. Phillips. Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

18 acres for the park on July 25, 2014. The loan was for $550,000, with an agreement that the city pay a monthly installment of $3,729.78 to the DDA for five years. Once the loan is paid off, the city can purchase the lease agreement from the DDA for $10. At about $34,000 an acre, the purchase included a credit to the city for

$68,000 for road repairs surrounding the complex. The city has projected to spend $2 million of SPLOST VI revenue on the park. The city also received a $100,000 grant from the state’s Recreational Trail Grants program to build walking trails at the park. Bolz said that the city will try to get as much done on the park as possible with the $2.1 million.

Allie Dean Dawson County News

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 3E

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

A ribbon cutting ceremony took place to commemorate the purchasing of the Dawson County Humane Society’s land from Etowah Water and Sewer Authority at the 10th anniversary open house event June 10.

Dawson County Humane Society marks 10 years By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

Animal lovers came out in full support of the Dawson County Humane Society, putting their paws together and clapping as they celebrated a decade’s worth of milestones at the shelter’s 10th anniversary celebration in June 2018. The shelter underwent a number of renovations that were celebrated by the community at a special open house event June 10. An expanded cat living space, additional runs and kennels, expansions to the dog intake area and a metal roof over the puppy house’s outside play area were just a few of the shelter’s updates from the past couple years. In late spring, the humane society purchased the tract of land where the shelter sits from Etowah Wa t e r a n d S e w e r Authority. The Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust and the Nancy F. Noblin Foundation funded the purchase of the land via grant monies. In 2004, the humane society entered into an agreement with Etowah and the county commission to lease the land for $1 per year for 50 years, though it would be another four years before the shelter became a reality. “It took a lot of hard work to get the shelter built…and it’s taken a lot of hard work to keep it g o i n g ,” s a i d B o a r d President Carolyn Bowen. “All volunteer hours. It’s amazing the way that people have given their time and energy all for the love of animals.” At the Dawson County Humane Society Resale Shop in 2017, volunteers put in 7,892 hours and by June 2018, volunteers had put in 3,563 hours. It’s not just the volunteers at the Resale Shop that helps keep the shelter successful. Cofounder Dr. Brandon Mills recounted all the volunteers who came together in the 10 years prior to the shelter’s opening. From County Commission Chairman Don Roberts to Cofounder Warren Pennington to architect Peter Hill who designed the shelter for free, and to Petsmart, the Humane League of Lake Lanier and generous donors like George David and Nancy Noblin, a home for the homeless animals in Dawson County would

What’s happened in 10 years The Dawson County Humane Society has accomplished a lot in the last 10 years. Here is a look back at their biggest achievements through the years: 2002: The Dawson County Humane Society was formed. 2008: The humane society opened its doors in April and entered into a contract with Dawson County Animal Control to take in all stray animals from the county. 2012: The shelter was officially recognized as a No-Kill shelter in September. 2012: The humane society established an on-site surgical unit and opened the Puppy House for the youngest furlegged residents at the shelter. 2014: The offsite Humane Society Resale Shop & Boutique at Lumpkin Campground Road opened its doors. Proceeds from the donated items from the community completely go not have been possible, he said. “You hear me referred to as ‘Founder.’ I beg to differ,” Mills said as he addressed the audience. “I don’t believe that a founder can be pinned down. I prefer to believe that the real founders had four legs.” It was the homeless dogs and cats in Dawson County that inspired Mills to proceed on his endeavor to help animals by creating t h e D aw s o n C o u n t y Humane Society with Warren Pennington. “ T h e s e d o g s … t h ey spoke to me in a sense, imploring me to do somet h i n g ,” M i l l s s a i d . “Everyone that worked on this project had similar life experiences with animals that led them to have the same passion to help animals. Those animals that inspired these people are the founders. These inspired people came from different walks of life and had different abilities but we all shared the same motivation.” It has been a labor of love for the volunteers who worked tirelessly to provide a safe haven for Dawson County animals, and as of June 10, the shelter had placed more than 6,000 pets in homes.

toward the animals. 2016: The shelter underwent a number of renovations including the addition of a roof, new steel cages and a new floor in the Puppy House and the expansion of the outside dog intake area. The humane society also originated a no cost spay/ neuter program for Dawson County residents who are clients of DFCS and for active military families. 2018: The humane society played an instrumental part in the passing of the county antitethering ordinance in January 2018. The shelter expanded its cat living spaces, purchased a new adoption van and purchased the land from Etowah Water and Sewer Authority. Adoption efforts were also expanded in 2018 as the shelter now holds adoptions at PetSmart and Petco in D aw s o nv i l l e a n d PetSmart in Cumming every weekend. Board Director Terri Tragesser and Board Secretary Mickey Schroeter acknowledged that the shelter would not have hit the 10 year milestone without the sustaining philanthropy of the N a n c y F. N o b l i n Foundation, the Smock Charitable Trust and the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust who have each contributed over $100,000. Tragesser and Schroeter unveiled a plaque commemorating the three foundations that will be placed at the front of the shelter. “A history can be boring. It can be a burden with skeletons in the closet. Ours is a love story that begins with ‘It was a dark and stormy night.’ With all the personal tragedies that I’ve called inspirational to the people that helped do this but it continues into countless happy endings as pets are reunited with the love of humans,” Mills said. As for the next 10 years, the humane society already has a goal in mind. “The next 10 years we’re going to shoot for 8,000 (adoptions) so we’ll see what happens,” said Shelter Director Jason Hutcherson.

Molly McLendon pets cats in the new Cat Room at the humane society. The new cat room was the former board room, but the staff sacrificed their spacious meeting room to give the cats a bigger and better living space. The old cat room has been renovated to become the meeting and break room.

Community members came out to take tours of the recently renovated facility at the Dawson County Humane Society.

4E | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Quilt show one of many draws to arts center By Allie Dean

adean@dawsonnews.com

The Bowen Center for the Arts in Dawsonville is coming off a successful year of art shows, workshops, luncheons and fundraisers and is looking to make 2019 a year as memorable as the last. Now on display at the Bowen is a member exhibit, which was open to all medias as long as the artist is a member of the Bowen. The show will run through Feb. 22. Board members are excited about the upcoming Georgia Watercolor Society national exhibit, which will run March 9 through April 26 and bring viewers from all over the U.S. Several other art shows will follow throughout the year, including the always well-attended quilt show. Visitors from all over the southeast travel to the rock building by the busload to see the show each October. G i n ny G r e e n wo o d , executive director of the Bowen, said that show is the most well attended of any show each year, with upwards of 500 people visiting on average. Members of the Dawsonville Heart in Hand Quilt Guild work diligently on new quilts each year, and 75 of the detailed works of art from 27 of the guild’s members were on display for all to see through the month of October. Jackie Somerville was chair of the quilt show in 2018, and said work on the show starts six months in advance with publicity and reaching out to various magazines, quilt guilds and the Georgia Quilt Council. The only criteria for placing a quilt in the show is that the quilts have not been shown at the Bowen before. Some of the quilts take a year or longer to make, while others come together more quickly. From deciding on the idea or pattern to sourcing the fabric to cutting, sewing, pressing, quilting and binding, quilting can take a lot of time and money. “It's quite a hobby, and it's expensive,” Somerville said. “In grandma’s day they used their worn out clothing, grandpa’s pants or something, now we go buy it.”

Photos by Allie Dean Dawson County News

A woman takes in a black, white and red quilt made by Heart in Hand Quilt Guild President Sylvia LaFalce.

‘It’s quite a hobby, and it’s expensive. In grandma’s day they used their worn out clothing, grandpa’s pants or something, now we go buy it.’ Jackie Somerville

Quilt Show Chairwoman

Quilt Show Chair Jackie Somerville, left, and Heart in Hand Quilt Guild President Sylvia LaFalce, right, stand in front of quilts on exhibit in October.

Somerville said she joined the guild in 2008, having learned to quilt in 1998 after moving to Cape Cod from Omaha, Neb. when her husband retired from the military. “I had no job for the first time ever so I went and took at class at a quilting shop,” Somerville said. “My grandmother had tried to teach me when I was a little girl and she taught me to love the quilts, so I learned the modern methods, there are many new tools and gad-

gets to speed things up, and of course all kinds of amazing sewing machines. I learned and I've enjoyed it and I met so many lovely people.” Visitors to the show vote for their favorite and the one with the most votes at the end of the show wins the viewer’s choice award. The guild also raffles off a quilt each year with proceeds donated to the Bowen for use of the space for their meetings throughout the year. The winner of the quilt was notified Dec. 12, and recipient Jane

Wilson became the proud owner of a quilt that many members of the guild were able to contribute to. “We try to pick a quilt that can be broken down into blocks that people can work on, and this quilt did give us that opportunity,” Guild President Sylvia LaFalce said. The guild meets at 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at the Bowen, not necessarily to quilt, but to participate in programs and learn from speakers. The guild also takes part

Quilts hang from the ceiling during a reception at the Bowen Sept. 29.

in projects throughout the year, like the mystery quilt project that supplied many of the quilts in the show. The quilt show will be on display again this October. Also scheduled this year are several adult workshops, demonstrations and luncheons as well as summer workshops for kids.

To stay up to date on upcoming events at the Bowen, visit www.bowenarts.com. The Bowen is just north of the historic square in Dawsonville at 334 Hwy. 9 N. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. All exhibits are free and open to the public.

Civitan Club helps give playground a more inclusive feel Left: Members of Dawsonville Civitan Club, the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and the Dawson County Schools Exceptional Children program gathered at Veterans Memorial Park for a ceremonial ribbon cutting for the new inclusive playground Aug. 14. Below: Members of the Dawson County Community Based Instruction program test some of the new equipment. A “cozy cocoon” has been installed so children with autism and sensory processing disorders can have somewhere to go to calm down and self-regulate symptoms of sensory overload.

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

In August, members of the Dawsonville Civitan Club along with the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and D aw s o n C o u n t y S c h o o l s Exceptional Children program gathered at Veterans Memorial Park to unveil new inclusive playground equipment. “We’re just so excited that we were able to do this,” said former Civitan President Tiffany Muilenburg. “It means so much to us and to our community.” Through the fundraising efforts of the Civitan Club and the community, four pieces of inclusive playground equipment worth $15,000 was installed at the park across from the gymnasium. Included is a “cozy cocoon” where children with autism and sensory processing disorders can remove themselves from situations of sensory overload while still being accessible to their parents or caretakers, as well as swing seats that accommodate differently abled children. “One of the goals of not only our chamber but our community is to be as inclusive as possible so this is a great day to celebrate with everyone,” said Chamber President Christie Moore. “Just to be here and be able to see our friends enjoying this playground equipment is just a beautiful thing.” A sign was placed in the park in honor of longtime Civitan member Nancy Eason,

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason’s late wife. “I want to thank God for putting Nancy in my life. She’s meant so much to me and my family and to see that on the bottom of that sign over there, it’s a blessing to me,” Eason said. “I know how her heart was and I know what her faith was and I know what her desires were. Her desires were to help people, not just people with developmental disabilities, but everybody.” Nancy Eason had been involved with the Cumming Civitan chapter since 2005 and with the Dawsonville chapter since its inception in 2014. “I think all of us need to remember what Nancy mentioned to me...to be there for other people, to help people, to help people that need our help,

and even those that don’t need our help, reach out and touch somebody,” Eason said. Looking ahead in 2019, the Civitan Club has set its sights on

fundraising for rubber mats to be placed in the playground area which will provide better wheelchair access to the new equipment.

The club will also be continuing its support and hosting of the Miss Sparkles Pageant, the Spring Games and Ride for a Reason this spring.

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 5E

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Annual Leap for Literacy raised over $5K By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

Each February, participants in the annual Leap for Literacy prepare to cool down by jumping into Lake Lanier to raise money for childhood literacy. The event raises money for WEE Books, a local nonprofit organization that provides a free book each month to Dawson County children aged 0-5 who are enrolled in their program. The 2018 event was a perfect day to get wet, as the sun shone bright in a clear sky at War Hill Park Feb. 24. “We’ve had the most beautiful day we’ve ever had – weather wise and temperature wise – and we’re in good spirits,” s a i d M a r g e C a r e y, cofounder of WEE Books. The fundraiser raised over $5,000 according to WEE Books Treasurer Arlene McClure. Wi t h 8 8 8 D a w s o n County children enrolled in WEE Books’ free program as of December, it takes at least $25,000 a year to keep the program going, so every penny from the benefit really counts. “This is a great organization. Getting kids started early with reading is exactly what we need,” said Dawson County Commission Chairman Billy Thurmond. “Reading is the key to being successful. It’s a great cause and I’m glad to be a part of it.” The chairman made a promise two years ago that if he was elected, he would leap. The time finally came for him to deliver. “I’m living up to that commitment,” Thurmond said. “I’m excited that it’s 70 degrees for sure. It is a nice day to do it.” After being the first to leap off the dock, the crowd went wild and raised an additional $850 to see Thurmond do a second jump. Refusing to go a lone, Thurmo nd roped District 2

Commissioner Chris Gaines, who donated the sound system for the eve n t , i n t o j u m p i n g alongside him. Dawson County Emergency Services were also on standby making sure everyone stayed safe during the morning’s festivities. And they almost had to jump into action. Ken Goines, owner of KG Cleaning Service, dressed in a big fur Yeti suit and the crowd went wild. He ran down to the dock and jumped straight into the lake. “The (mask) I couldn’t take it off. I couldn’t see where I was going,” Goines said. The suit became heavy from being soaked in water and Goines struggled to get back to the dock. Gaines grabbed his arm and helped pull him out of the water. It’s something Goines said he won’t do again next year, but he’ll gladly jump off the dock … sans the suit. But jumping in the Yeti suit wasn’t his first choice. “I wanted to get a helicopter but they wouldn’t do it,” Goines joked. The day’s biggest sponsor, Northeast Georgia Medical Center, donated towels embroidered by a local volunteer, which were given to all participants who jumped into the lake. “They are our major donor making this event a financial success,” said WEE Books President Sue Poynter. “We especially thank Jo Brewer for always being there for the c h i l d r e n o f D aw s o n County.” Also donating to WEE B o o k s w a s K r o g e r, Publix and Starbucks, providing food and coffee Saturday morning. Sponsors created teams and participants paid to either tap their toes, walk down the ramp or leap off the dock. There were even awards given for the best of the three categories. The 2019 Leap for Literacy event is coming up in February.

Above: Commission Chairman Billy Thurmond and District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines jumped into the lake in a surprise leap Feb. 24. Thurmond, who had already completed a jump into Lake Lanier, jumped again and took Gaines with him after the crowd went wild and raised $850. Left: The annual Leap for Literacy saw members of the community leaping in to frigid waters to help raise money for WEE Books, a local nonprofit aimed to provide free books each month the Dawson County kids aged 0-5. Below: Robinson Elementary Principal Page Arnette reacts to the cold lake after her leap. Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Left: Ken Goines, owner of KG Cleaning Service, runs to the dock in his bear costume. Right: Team RIC Rack waded up to their knees in the chilly lake water to raise money for WEE Books at the annual Leap for Literacy.

Sign language organization reaches 80 members strong By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

In October, a group of unlikely friends came together. Young children to adults in their 80s met at Panera Bread in Dawsonville for the first meeting of ASL North Georgia, a new club where people can come together to learn American Sign Language and make friends in the deaf community. The club’s founder, Helen Holloway, was inspired to create a local group in the north Georgia mountains after enrolling in Michael Leitson’s ASL 1 course at the University of North Georgia. In order to practice her new language, she felt she needed to bring people together where they could communicate in sign language and forge new friendships along the way. “I had the opportunity to go to (Leitson’s) class once a week and to study but some people might not have the time or resources to be able to go but they might be interested in just learning for themselves or they might have a friend or family member they might want to communicate with,” Holloway said. When Holloway approached Leitson and her classmates about starting a sign language club in north Georgia, they were immediately on board. “I used to live in the apartments right behind Home Depot – Dawson Forest – and sometimes I felt isolated myself,” Leitson said. “I didn’t feel like there was anyone else who knew sign language.” ASL North Georgia bridged two communities: the hearing world and the deaf world, giving a voice to people in north Georgia.

While there are more sign language groups closer to Atlanta, Holloway and Leitson were surprised that the closest meet ups posted on deafcoffee. com, a prominent website used to post sign language meetups, were in Valdosta, Oglethorpe and Kennesaw, which still weren’t close enough to suit the needs of the north Georgia community. “There’s not a lot of meet ups like this where I live yet in the G a i n e s v i l l e a r e a ,” s a i d Gainesville native Wendy Goldman. “This is an opportunity for me to do everything: meet up, make friends, learn, get the experience and find a way to make a difference in their world.” Since October, the group has continued to meet on the first Saturday of every month at Panera Bread. The club, which started with 30 members has now grown to 80 strong – ranging from local Dawsonville residents to members from Gainesville, Cumming, Jasper and even four people from Greenville, S.C. “During December’s monthly get-together four people drove all the way from Greenville, South Carolina,” Holloway said. “They had seen our group listed on www.deafcoffee.com, and had driven all that way just to meet with us. I was so touched by that.” Holloway estimates that now about half of the members are deaf or hard of hearing. “I’m so humbled and honored to meet each and every one,” Holloway said. “I’ve learned so much more about the deaf community and made so many new friends.” The Facebook group for ASL North Georgia stays continu-

Above: Signers of all ages and skill level met at Panera Bread in Dawsonville Oct. 6 for the first American Sign Language North Georgia club meet up. Left: Wendy Goldman learns a new sign from Jimmy Reed during the first meet up of the ASL North Georgia club in Dawsonville Oct. 6. Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

ously busy with members scheduling smaller meetups

around north Georgia beyond the larger monthly meetups.

“I don’t see the group as being mine. It belongs to all who want to meet others, make new friends, learn sign language and more about the deaf community,” Holloway said. “We’ve had so much fun in 2018, and I hope that ASL North Georgia can be beneficial to others in 2019 and beyond."

6E | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

New charity puts kids in their own beds By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

When Skip and Veronica Sevier sat down to watch an episode of Mike Rowe’s internet show “Returning the Favor” in February 2018, their lives were changed forever. “We saw the show and we were both in tears by the time it was over, and I said ‘I’ve got to get ahold of those people,’” Skip Sevier said. Their hearts were touched by what they saw; a small nonprofit called Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) based out of Twin Falls, Idaho was building wooden bunkbeds and giving them to children in the community who didn’t have beds of their own. In June, Sevier traveled to Idaho for training to open a chapter of SHP in Dawsonville. The chapter application was approved as SHP, GA-Dawsonville and became the 99th chapter in the nation. Sevier saw a need for SHP in the Dawsonville and Dahlonega communities and wanted to do his part to help the community he has called his own since 2017. On Sept. 8, Sevier opened his home to nine fellow volunteers for the SHP Dawsonville chapter’s inaugural bed build with the goal of completing the components for 10 beds, or five bunks, by the end of the day. Since the first bed build, the chapter has exploded with community support and partnerships. By the end of December, the chapter had grown from four core volunteers to 12 core volunteers who help the daily volunteers during bed building events. A total of 91 beds have been built in Dawsonville and 51 have been delivered to childre n in Dawsonv ille an d Dahlonega. After the “Returning the Favor” episode featuring SHP aired, there was an explosion of interest from people like Sevier who wanted to help provide for their communities that has continued to spread like wildfire in 2018. At the end of 2017, there

Above: Volunteers participating in the inaugural Sept. 8 bed build were (back row, left to right) Kyle Richardson, Melinda Parmer, Shane Horvatter, Lynn Humphries, Rik Roberts, Dale Humphries, Joel Parmer, (front row) Kendall Robinson, Veronica Sevier and Skip Sevier. Left: Skip Sevier and Dale Humphries begin assembling the first bunk bed of the day’s team build. Below: After each bed is completed, they are branded with the Sleep in Heavenly Peace logo. Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

were nine chapters of the nonprofit that produced 784 beds, or 392 bunks. At the end of August 2018, there were 99 SHP chapters in 36 states and 1,734 beds, or 867 bunks, were built. At the end of December 2018, there were more than 131 chapters in over 40 states that have produced over 1,400 bunks (more than 2,800 individual beds) by the end of the year.

More than 14,000 volunteers have been involved from nearly every state. “Donations of materials and donations of money have allowed us to furnish our handsome beds with some of the most beautiful linens (many hand-made) you've ever seen! We're humbled and encouraged by our community's support,” Sevier said. “Churches, businesses, foundations and individ-

uals (and people we've never heard of) have reached out to help us get these kiddos off the floor, and we are so grateful.” Requesting a bed is a simple process that is done through the SHP website. The only requirement is having a child, or children, who do not have their own bed. For more information on Sleep in Heavenly Peace or to request a bed, visit shpbeds.org.

SHP timeline 6/16/2018: Skip Sevier attends SHP training at Twin Falls, ID and the chapter application is approved as SHP, GA-Dawsonville 9/8/2018: SHP, GA-Dawsonville hosts its “Inaugural Build,” with 10 volunteers building the components for five bunk beds in less than four hours 9/27/2018: The Dawsonville chapter delivers its first two beds in Dawsonville 10/28/2018: SHP participates in the Moonshine Festival, letting the community know what the nonprofit is all about 11/1/2018: Skip Sevier presents SHP to the Rotary Club of Dawson County 11/3/2018: SHP delivers seven beds in Dawsonville and Dahlonega 11/14/2018: The chapter meets with the Dawson Chamber Youth Leadership class 11/17/2018: BTD Manufacturing hosts 20-bed build in Dawsonville 11/27/2018: Gilmer High School’s construction classes complete 22-bed build within the school day 12/1/2018: Dawson County Schools hosts 20-bed build despite rainy weather 12/4/2018: SHP delivers six beds in Dawsonville and Dahlonega 12/5/2018: SHP delivers 10 beds in Dawsonville 12/6/2018: SHP delivers 12 beds in Dahlonega 12/22/2018: SHP delivers 12 beds just before Christmas Eve

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Progress 2019

2F | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Dawson County football team sets record with 10-win season

Photos by Bob Christian Dawson County News

Senior quarterback SeVaughn Clark leads the Tigers onto the field for their game versus the West Hall Spartans Sept. 7, 2018.

Sweet Sixteen finish caps off incredible 4-year run for senior class ‘We want to use football to enhance the community. Through athletic development to allow these young men to reach and perform at their highest level.’

By Bob Christian

bchristian@dawsonnews.com

The Dawson County High School football program continued in its reign of success under Head Coach Sid Maxwell in 2018, setting school records on the way to another Sweet Sixteen appearance and a 10-2 record. The Tigers entered the season in anticipation of who would fill the shoes of star quarterback and 2018 graduate Coey Watson. Those questions were answered in senior SeVaughn Clark, who moved from his running back position to take on the role. “It was a selfless decision on his part, and not necessarily one he had to make,” Maxwell said. “He knew that is what the team needed, and he did it.” Clark gave the Tigers exactly what they needed, passing just enough to keep opposing defenses on their heels as he led the Tigers deep into the state tournament. He threw for 936 yards and nine touchdowns over 12 games while adding another 857 yards and 15 touchdowns with his legs. His performance earned him recognition as co-athlete of the year in region 7-AAA. Senior Ahmad Kamara transferred in from the recently closed Dawson Christian Academy to take over the running back duties and immediately made an impact for the Tigers. Over the course of 12 games, Kamara ran for 1,418 on 144 carries and crossed the goal line 17 times during the season.

Sid Maxwell, Dawson County High head coach

Senior Ahmad Kamara breaks free on his way to the end zone on Aug. 17 at Habersham Central.

Kamara was also recognized with regional honors as he was named most valuable offensive player. With two regional standouts of their own in seniors Zac Baloga and Logan Barnes, the Dawson County defense put together an incredible season as they held opponents to an average of 12.5 points per game, pitching two shutouts during the season and holding the state’s leading rusher in check during the first round of the state playoffs. This year’s campaign came to a close in the second round of the tournament with a visit to Monroe Area High School on Nov. 16. With a combination of short passes and long runs, top rushing quarterback Chandler Byron led the Hurricanes in a dominating performance and handed the

Tigers their second loss of the season by a final score of 49-17. After the game, Maxwell addressed an obviously disappointed group of young men, reminding them of all they had achieved during the season and, for the seniors, during their time with Dawson County football. “You were 10-2 this season, and 35-13 over the last four years. There is nothing to be ashamed of in that, nothing at all,” Maxwell said. “It had to end sometime and that just happened to be tonight, but the memories of this season will live forever.” The 28 players that make up the 2018 season’s group of seniors will be remembered as one of the most impactful groups in the history of DCHS, and they indicate the impact of the bottom-up philosophy introduced by Maxwell

when he took over the team five years ago. Starting together as freshmen in 2015, the group captured the 7-AAA regional title in their first year, finished as regional runnersup three years in a row and have played in the state tournament in each of their four years with the Tigers. In their final year, the team won the most games in a single season in school history, along with setting and then resetting the singlegame scoring record which now stands at 64 points. “The truest measure of greatness is consistency. Repeat performance,” Maxwell said. “Without a bottom-up philosophy, you have zero chance of that.” Maxwell introduced his program when he introduced himself to the community in his first speech as head coach. The idea is a simple one but has taken time to implement across the board. The goal of the program is to bring all levels of Dawson County football into one streamlined chain to develop players to achieve their best both in the community and on the field. “We want to use football to enhance the community,” Maxwell said. “Through athletic

development to allow these young men to reach and perform at their highest level.” With an expanded coaching staff that now includes 29 coaches across DCHS, Dawson County Junior High School and Dawson County Middle School along with being directly involved in the programs sponsored by the Dawson County Parks and Recreation department, the goal is to bring a consistency to the program by putting every football player on the same page. “Eventually we want them all in the same uniforms,” Maxwell said. “Running the same plays, using the same language. Any program is going to have its ups and downs. Football doesn’t always bounce your way, but with a program in place, if all goes your way, it produces good results.” Looking ahead to the 2019 campaign, Maxwell acknowledged this year will be a big test of the bottom-up structure he has envisioned for Dawson County. “We have less seniors this year, so we will have to develop our sophomores more,” Maxwell said. “We will be laser focused from January to July to build the best team possible.”

Volleyball team finds success in program’s 3rd season By Bob Christian

bchrstian@dawsonnews.com

The Dawson County varsity volleyball team experienced a breakout season three years into the program when they finished fourth overall in the Class AAA and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the state tournament. “Our season ended a little sooner than we would have liked but, wow, what a season,” Head Coach Tanya Porter said. The team this year featured a core group of juniors as Chloe Bennett, Harmony Evans, Roxie Fricton and Marlie Townley entered their third year of play as a unit. Their combined experience was critical to the team’s success during the season. Dawson County entered the regional tournament Oct. 13 with a first-round bye after finishing the regular season with a 5-2 record in 7-AAA play. The Lady Tigers fought to a tough three-set victory over the East Hall Lady Vikings in the second round to secure their spot in the state tournament as the fourth seed from Class AAA. The first round of the

state tournament took place in Calhoun on Oct. 20 as the Lady Tigers faced the Murray County Lady Indians. The Lady Tigers secured their first state level victory with a score of 3-1 in the best of five. The Sweet Sixteen matchup with the Calhoun Yellowjackets was also in Calhoun, and the Lady Tigers were eliminated. “We’ve achieved a lot at a quick pace. I feel like our program has evolved quickly to get to the level that it is at,” Porter said. “I mean three years to a Sweet Sixteen team is quite a feat for us to have accomplished.” The accomplishments of the team were acknowledged on many levels as Fricton, Bennett and Townley were selected as members of the 7-AAA allarea team and Porter was recognized as the 7-AAA coach of the year. “I am very honored to receive that recognition, although I can't take sole credit for the award. I have an awesome set of assistant coaches that have helped me endlessly and a great group of girls that have really embraced the game and the challenge to keep improving

Bob Christian Dawson County News

The varsity volleyball team celebrate their victory over Murray County High School in the first round of the state volleyball tournament on Oct. 20.

each day,” Porter said. The growth of the program continued in 2018 with the introduction of a third team to the program known as the C team. “The purpose I felt like for the C team was to give some girls another opportunity, that showed ok during tryouts, but we needed to see where they grew,” Porter said. “For that I think it served its purpose well. I would like to have gotten them into more competitions, but we ended up hav-

ing only about four girls that did not play JV, that played exclusively C team.” Despite a rocky start, the C team is in a good position to continue to grow as part of the Dawson County program. Incoming Coach Brittany Sayler received her certification in September and increased opportunities under new Athletic Director Jason Gibson has created a level of excitement and anticipation heading into 2019. “With Coach Gibson …

he has offered us some opportunities to potentially pull some eighth graders up, and give them some high school experience,” Porter said. “Between that and the fact that we had a large number to begin with I think our C team will grow and it will also become a better platform for them to develop over the next few years.” According to Porter, eighth graders are not eligible to play on varsity and must fall into either the C

team or the JV program, which allows them to get up to game speed a year ahead of their peers. “When they do get into ninth grade they’re in a better position to play some varsity minutes,” Porter said. “It gives us some flexibility with some of those more talented players to get them into our program and a contributing part of our program earlier than later.” Looking to the next season, Porter expressed excitement about the team’s potential and the development of the program. “Assuming everybody comes back, we have playoff experience which is key, that will help us in the stretch next year,” Porter said. “It’s still going to be up to them to see how well they gel, they have to buy it.” Obviously, Porter said, a state championship is the ultimate goal. “The classification that we’re in that goal may be a little lofty, but if you stop desiring that or trying to achieve that you settle for mediocrity and I don’t want to do that,” Porter said. “That’s not part of who I am or part of the program that I run.”

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 3F

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Athletic Director Jason Gibson settles into new role at school By Bob Christian

bchristian@dawsonnews.com

Midway through his first year as athletic director for Dawson County High School, Jason Gibson says he is continuing to operate from the “watch and learn” perspective he established in early April when he accepted the position. “One of the things I wanted to take a step back and look at was looking at all of our coaches in place,” Gibson said. “I have been really impressed with the work ethic of all of our guys. I think our coaches work hard, they are concerned about our student athletes, and they do an outstanding job to put them in the best possible position to win games. I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen so far.” Gibson brought 23 years of coaching experience with him into the position having served as the head coach of the men’s basketball team at Emmanuel College, the head coach of the University of North Georgia cross country team and, most recently, the head coach of the girls’ basketball team at Jefferson High School. He compared that experience to where he sits now. “I miss coaching, but I think I knew that I was going to miss coaching. You don’t coach for 23 years and then just all of a sudden stop coaching and not miss it,” Gibson said. “I do miss that, but I have really enjoyed going into the administrative side of things.” Navigating the learning curve of that transition has been a challenge, but Gibson is chalking it up to experience. “I hope that this time next year I am sitting here more comfortable and confident,” he said. “I have had my leadership

Bob Christian Dawson County News

Athletic Director Jason Gibson stands with his family as his son, junior Jasper Gibson, is honored as a member of the 1,000 point club on Jan. 8.

degree for the last 11 years or so and always anticipated moving in this direction, and now that the opportunity is finally here, it’s been exciting and I have enjoyed it.” One of the more exciting aspects of the position has been his involvement in the development of the One Dawson program being implemented throughout the Dawson County school system. “I think One Dawson is the idea behind all of our schools, kind of being on the same page athletically, academically (and with) community support,” Gibson said.

“From an athletic stand point what we’re looking for from One Dawson is to be able to kind of incorporate the (sixth grade through 12th grade) idea with all of our sports. Having our head coaches basically reach down into the middle school levels and take a vested interest in those programs.” Gibson said that the high school head coaches should know who their future Tigers are when they are in the sixth and seventh grade. “They should have a relationship already starting to be built there. At least, I feel like that’s kind of how we would like to

see it done. We are all in this for the benefit of the student athlete,” he said. Gibson’s concerns about moving his family to a new county have been put to bed over time. “One of the things that we really liked about Dawson, from the outside looking in, was the idea that it was a single county school system, the idea the everybody was a Tiger, everybody was a Lady Tiger, that everybody was pulling in the same direction,” Gibson said. “We’ve been super excited and pleased with everything here in terms of us making a move as a family, the people here

have been fantastic, all of our coaches and support staff have really welcomed us here, we’ve enjoyed the last six months. We feel blessed to be here.” Looking forward to the upcoming sports seasons and the remainder of the school year, Gibson continued to emphasize the long term nature of his vision, both academically and athletically. “Everything just kind of takes time, not anything happens overnight, that’s how it goes with athletic programs and issues at school and all of that,” Gibson said. “We’re in the active stages of that all around.”

4F | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Chase Elliott claims 3 checkered flags in breakout NASCAR season National Motorsports Press Association presented Dawsonville native with Most Popular Driver award By Bob Christian

bchristian@dawsonnews.com

After 99 races, the siren at the Pool Room in downtown Dawsonville wailed across the county in celebration of Chase E l l i o t t ’s f i r s t NA S C A R Monster Energy Cup Series career victory as he took the checkered flag at Watkins Glen on Aug 5. Chase led the race for the final 32 laps, finishing with the most laps led, but he was pushed hard by last year’s winner Martin Truex Jr. Ultimately, with two turns remaining, Truex ran out of fuel and Elliott was able to pull away to win the race by a monstrous 7.560 seconds. The celebration didn’t end there. A large crowd gathered in the middle of the night at Elliott Field to welcome him home and enjoy a moment that was a long time in the making. Christie Moore, president of the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce, said the celebration was last minute but that she couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome him in Dawson County after the historic win. “We found out he was coming home tonight, and we wanted to make sure the community had the chance to welcome him home and celebrate his victory,” she said. Elliott joined the Sprint Car Series full time in 2016 when Hendricks Motorsports announced that he would drive the No. 24 car previously driven by Jeff Gordon. In his debut at the Daytona 500, Elliott became the youngest driver in Daytona to capture the pole. Although he did not post a win in the 2016, Elliott amassed 10 top-five finishes (including two second place runs) and won the 2016 Rookie of the Year Award. Elliott opened 2017 once more at the pole of the Daytona 500 and saw him follow that up with a win at the Can-Am Duel qualifier, putting him in the record books as only the third driver to accomplish the feat along with Dale Earnhardt (1996) and Davey Allison (1990). Once again, victory eluded him on the track, but he continued to build a fan base and his credentials with another 12 topfive finishes, five of which were second place finishes. At the beginning of the 2018 season, Hendricks Motorsports

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Chase Elliott had a breakout season in 2018 posting his first three career wins.

At the beginning of the 2018 season, Hendricks Motorsports announced Elliott would be taking the wheel of the No. 9 car previously driven by his dad Bill Elliott.

announced that Elliott would be taking the wheel of the No. 9 car famously used by his dad, Bill Elliott, to win 38 races and the 1988 Cup Series Championship. “Those folks at Hendricks are smarter than people give them credit for,” said Gordon Pirkle, president of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. “We had so many people that came in here during those years that said they used to be Gordon fans but now pull for Elliott because he

is in No. 24.” The victory at Watkins Glen marked the beginning of an incredible stretch of racing for Elliott as he went on to secure two more checkered flags and advance into the Round of 8 in NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup. On Oct. 7, a calculated risk by crew chief Alex Gustafson to remain on the track on badly worn tires combined with solid late race driving gave Elliott the opportunity to move into the lead for the final 11 laps of the

Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway. He crossed the finish under his second checkered flag of the season. With the victory Elliott was the first driver on the field to secure a spot in the Round of 8, and he closed within 45 points of the lead. Two weeks later Elliott posted his third win of the 2018 season by holding off a hard charging Kyle Busch in the final laps of the Hollywood

Casino 400 in Kansas City on Oct. 21 to put himself in a solid fifth place as the Series moved into its final races of the season. Swept up in a series of accidents and mechanical issues over the next few races, Elliott hovered just outside the bubble and was unable to put together one more winning run to advance into the Final Four and finished his season fifth overall in the standings. Elliott’s breakout year was recognized by the National Motorsports Press Association on Nov. 29 when they presented him with NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award. It is the first time that Elliott has won the award in NASCAR’s premiere series after having won the award back-to-back (2014 and 2015) when he drove in the Xfinity Series. “Just a huge thanks to all of you for voting for me for MPD, an honor to keep it in my family after all these years of Dale’s success with the award,” Elliott said. “But like I said, votes aside ... the fire y’all had for us at track this year was second to none. That means the most, thank you!”

Dawsonville icon Grady Turner retires after 30-year career By Amy French For the DCN

Dawson County High School had to say goodbye to its most beloved athletic director last year as Grady Turner retired from a 30-year teaching career. “I don’t think there has ever been anybody that has attended, coached, or played in more sports events than Grady Turner,” said Coach Chess Hamby. “He’s been a part since I can remember. He’s just always been there. It will be a big change without him around.” “He will not tell you this, but because of his dedication and loyalty, DCHS is in part what it is today,” said longtime friend and colleague Coach Steve Sweat. “He has poured his heart and soul into this school and its people.” The Dawsonville icon spent 15 years at the helm of the Tigers’ athletic endeavors as athletic director. For all who knew him and his love of DCHS and its students, the occasion was bittersweet. “Coach Turner is completing 30 years of service to the children of Dawson County,” said Dawson County Schools Superintendent Damon

Amy French Dawson County News

Former DCHS Athletic Director Grady Turner holds the Region 7-AAA All Sports trophy.

Gibbs. “It’s really hard to put recognition of that kind of commitment into words. He hasn’t passed through Dawson County, nor has he just worked in Dawson County. He has committed a lifetime to Dawson County and his legacy will live on for generations.” Turner finished his own high school career at DCHS with 23 varsity letters in everything from baseball (in which he still holds the school home

run record of 16) to debate and one-act play. There isn’t much that Turner didn’t participate in at Dawson County High School. At one point he taught drama for two years to help out while the drama teacher battled illness. He joked that he has had more meals from the kitchens of Dawson County Schools than from his own mother. He remembered the school being a much smaller place when he graduated in 1976, with 284 kids from

eighth through 12th grade. When Turner was ready for a new challenge after 12 years of basketball, then Principal Rick Brown told him he could spend less time and set his own schedule as athletic director. “He lied. Rick Brown lied,” Turner said. “He graciously hired me and I’ve been doing it ever since.” Turner didn’t regret a single moment of his time with the kids or fellow teachers and coaches of Dawsonville.

“I can’t think of a better job than to be around kids every day,” Turner said. “He’s been a good friend personally and professionally,” Hamby said in May. “I’m going to miss getting under his skin. I call him just to get under his skin. He will say ‘what do you want?’ I will say, “Nothing. Just getting under your skin.’ “I told him I’m going to miss seeing him around. He said, ‘What do you mean? I’m not dying.’” “If someone asked me to name my best friends, Grady would be at the top of the short list,” Sweat said. “Other than my real blood brothers, he is as close to family as you can get.” Try to pin him down on his greatest achievements or prouder moments as AD or as a coach or teacher and the stories always turn to the accomplishments of his students. “I have disciplined and gotten onto kids,” Turner said. “But I hope they would say that everything he did was to make the kids of Dawson County better. Everything I have done was for the kids’ sake.” “Grady is one that as long as I know he was in the building, I felt comfortable and secure. He has

helped people (faculty and students) in many, many ways,” Sweat said. To know Grady Turner is to know he cares for kids, but he’s probably done more than many people realize. While working on his undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia he hosted his own radio show and played defensive end for the Bulldogs. When his grades suffered as a freshman while keeping up the rigors of a college football career, he traded football to be a part of Bill Elliott’s original 1976 pit crew. He would stay with Elliott for seven years and even wind up in Kenny Rogers’ movie “Six Pack” changing a rear tire. Between traveling the NASCAR circuit and building homes in Atlanta, Turner’s early professional life was somewhat erratic and his soon-to-be bride wanted something more steady. That was about the time he was offered his first teaching position. He doesn’t express any regret over making that change. “Working here is not a job, it never has been. Working here in Dawson Schools has been a life goal, a life achievement. It’s my life,” he said.

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 5F

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Cross country squads continued to excel in 2018 By Bob Christian

bchristian@dawsonnews.com

In his sixth year with the program, Head Coach Charles Beusse has built a top-notch cross country program that has consistently placed in the top four in the region and top 10 in the state over the last five years. The year 2018 was no exception as both Dawson County High School varsity teams took second place in region 7-AAA and followed that with sixth place finishes at the state tournament. “The mark of a good program is to have a consistently good team,” Beusse said. “So, we always place more emphasis on the team than the individual. At the same time, every time a kid goes out there, they’ve got an individual job to do, but we want them to focus on is that by them doing their individual job they’ve got six other people on their team relying on them to execute to the best of their ability.” With a trio of seniors in Cody Wood, Nico Poston and Will Mulberry providing the leadership and experience for the boys’ varsity team, the season started strong with a second place finish at the 15th annual War Hill Invitational at Chestatee High School on Aug. 28. All three seniors consistently placed in the top five

Left: The Dawson County High School boys’ varsity team starts the race at Unicoi State Park on Oct. 25. Below: The Dawson County High School girls’ varsity team starts a race on Sept. 18. Photos for the Dawson County News

during the season to lead to team to a top five finish in every competition of the year, capturing a first place victory at the Riverside Military Classic on Sept. 18. Wood finished the season as a member of 7-AAA allregion first team and Mulberry took home honors as a member of the 7-AAA all-region second team. “They were all good, consistent varsity runners,” Beusse said. “Cody Wood, obviously, will be missed next year, and then Nico Poston, who had a little bit of a rough year, but then Will Mulberry too, he wasn’t our fastest by any means, but he was very consistent. So, he was tremendous with the guys’ team.” Beusse said that though the team isn’t losing a great number of athletes, the quality of the runners who

are leaving will be a big hit for the team. “When you’re looking at your varsity teams and you’re only scoring your top five girls and your top five guys,” Beusse said. “Well, shoot, if you have a year when three graduate, that’s huge.” Looking forward to the 2019 season, Beusse is excited about the potential

and rising talent present in the returning athletes and anticipates another good season. “Ben McGinnis coming back next year will be huge. I think he turned a corner at the end of last year; he’s got that momentum,” Beusse said. “I think he’s a leader of that team now, and I think that will help.” McGinnis, who will

return to the team a rising senior, had a breakout season in 2018 finishing in the top five in five of the season’s seven races, and posting a personal best time in the final race of the regular season. On the girls’ side of the track, the team was led by senior Frankie Muldoon, who continued to establish her personal dominance in

the sport of cross country running. Muldoon opened the season by setting a course record at the Chestatee Invitational while leading the team to a third place finish overall. She went on to finish first or second in every race of the season, setting and then resetting the DCHS girls’ 5K record, which now stands at 18:22:00, on her way to capturing her fourth consecutive individual regional title. “There are very few runners who have been able to win four straight individual region titles,” Beusse said. “I believe Frankie will be remembered for years to come as one of the best runners to come out of north Georgia.” The impact of losing Muldoon is definitely at the forefront of Beusse’s mind, but he recognized that the team is in a good position to grow and he fully expects a leader to emerge from the group of girls returning for next season. “The chapter on this season has closed, but the page to the next has already been opened,” Beusse said. “I see a tremendous amount of potential in our runners retuning next season and I believe that if they will continue to work hard, next year can be a very good year for us.”

Len Foote Hike Inn celebrate 20-year anniversary in Dawsonville By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

As guests trek through beautiful mountain trails, they welcome the sight of the Len Foote Hike Inn, which is a step back in time and a step into the future. Only accessible by a fivemile hike through Amicalola Falls State Park, the Hike Inn offers incredible views, a chance to unplug from life’s hustle and bustle, an inviting family experience and a basement full of worms. In the fall, the forwardthinking and environmentally friendly backcountry lodge celebrated its 20-year anniversary. The inn also won the 2018 Fulcrum Lifetime Achievement Award for its efforts in sustainability and conservation. Named after Georgia conservationist and biologist Leonard Foote, the Hike Inn honors his legacy and passion for environmental conservation by preserving the wildlife around the lodge and reducing waste materials to be environmentally friendly. In fact, the Hike Inn was one of the first two buildings in the pilot program for the Leaders in Energy Efficiency Design certification in 2003, the second building being the National Geographic Headquarters. “The state park built this way before LEED certification – all that kind of stuff – was a thing, but they built it with energy efficiency in mind and conservation in mind,” said Executive Director Eric Graves. “The state park was actually way ahead of their time. [They have] done a really phenomenal job designing not just the property itself and the conservation standpoint but the systems we operate

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

After a five-mile trek, guests are welcomed to the Len Foote Hike Inn, nestled high in the north Georgia mountains at Amicalola Falls State Park.

with. They were very ahead of the time on that.” Since 1998, the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club (GATC) has run the nonprofit organization which Graves describes more as an environmental group than a hotel group, though it is both. The self-contained inn is isolated from the rest of the world, only accessible by a service road for supplies and a hiking trail for the guests which created a question the GATC had to answer: How can the Hike Inn be self-sufficient with limited access to outside resources? And the answer came beaming down bright and clear: Solar energy. Thanks to a $60,000 grant from All Points North, Graves and his team in July 2017 installed an “Above the Grid” solar initiative, consisting of three large solar panels that provide 70 percent of the inn’s annual electric energy. With the new solar panels in place, some of the lodge’s electricity bills have gone from a high of $1,200 to as low as $300 this past year. While the Hike Inn has

had solar power since 1998 via a passive solar system atop the the bathhouse and photovoltaic panels installed by BP Amoco above the sunrise room in 2003, it had been 15 years since the inn had been able to expand its solar efficiency. “It’s amazing how much more efficient solar panels have gotten in 15-ish years or so,” said Graves, who said solar panels have gone from 30 watts to 340 watts since he’s been at the inn. The addition of the new solar panels meant that trees had to be cleared for their installation, but the wood isn’t going to waste. It’s been stockpiled to be used in the inn’s wood burning stoves to keep the lobby and sunrise rooms nice and toasty for guests in the cold winter months. But the conservation efforts guests love most are in the basement. “We try to get rid of as much food and paper waste as we can by composting it. We use red wiggler worms to compost food and paper,” Graves said as he lifted a tarp, unveiling hundreds of wiggly worms. “These little guys are eating half their

body weight a day in food. The worms are something that the guests love.” Guests come back just to retake the tour of the facility and make a point to visit the worms that are responsible for producing hundreds of pounds of organic fertilizer that is used on site. Also being used on site is the byproduct of the composting toilet system: “Humanure,” which is used to fertilize nearby trees, shrubs and flowerbeds. The six compost toilets available to guests in the bathhouse are waterless and odorless and use a ventilation system to release air up above the tree line. Underneath the bathhouse

are three composting systems that dehydrate human waste materials and encourage naturally occurring and healthy bacteria growth. Overall, the waterless system saves the inn over 350,000 gallons of drinkable water every year. While guests don’t necessarily come to the Hike Inn for a lesson in energy conservation, Graves hopes that he can provide some education and tips guests can take home and implement in their everyday lives. Though it’s not exactly feasible for guests to go home and install solar panels and a compost toilet system, Graves said being mindful of food waste is something everyone can do. “Most people think about conserving electricity, turning lights off and adjusting your thermostat. Most people think about fuel costs and not riding all the way into town for one thing… but most people don’t think a single thing about wasting food,” Graves said. After guests have taken a gander at the red wiggler worms eating leftovers, they think twice about wasting food when they sit down for a family style dinner in the dining room. The friendly kitchen staff talks about not being wasteful with food, even weighing leftover food on guests’

plates to see how much waste was produced during the meal – which they keep track of on a chart. “It’s just trying to get people to look at conserving food because it takes water, electricity, fuel to get food to your plate,” said Graves. “Most people don’t think about it that way…it’s so easy to get food that you don’t think about it.” Whether or not guests intend to learn some important money saving and environmentally friendly tips at their stay at the Hike Inn, Graves hopes they walk away with just a little bit of the lodge’s message. A gathering of current and retired Georgia State Park employees as well as volunteers, board members and staff came together in November to celebrate the success of the facility and look ahead to its future. “After two decades, the Hike Inn has lived up to our initial vision of protecting Georgia’s natural resources through education and recreation,” said Len Foote Hike Inn Board President Jeff Woody. “We aim to make ourselves more sustainable and to educate even more young people in the years ahead. And, of course, our guests will continue to enjoy the unparalleled service they have enjoyed all these years.”

Fox, Chandler, Homans Hicks & McKinnon, LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW

WE HELP YOU MAKE GOOD DECISIONS Our firm has served the Dawsonville area for more than 40 years. We provide experienced legal services with a track record of proven success.

The Len Foote Hike Inn offers a picturesque view of the north Georgia mountains.

272 Highway 9 South, Dawsonville 706-265-3090

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