Progress 2020 Dawson County News

Health & Education

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Progress 2020

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Gov. Kemp visits DCHS to discuss mental health

Dawson County Middle named Lighthouse School to Watch

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp traveled to Dawson County High School to participate in a round table discussion about mental health services and the Apex grant Feb. 11, 2019. Participants in the discussion included officials from Dawson County Schools central office as well as representation from counselors, nurses and teachers across the district.

Discussion helped lead to Apex grant expansion across the state

By Jessica Taylor

‘Earning a national designation like this gives them the recognition they deserve.’

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

On Feb. 11, 2019, Dawson County High School hosted newlyelected Gov. Brian Kemp and state officials for a roundtable discussion on mental health services that in part helped expand the Apex grant in Georgia.

The discussion centered on how Dawson County Schools has benefitted from the Apex grant program, something Kemp was keen on expanding in 2019.

Kemp was successful in allocating $8.4 million for the program, effectively doubling its reach, in the 2019 budget.

The Apex program began as a pilot program in 2015 with the goal of building infrastructure and increasing access to mental health services for school-aged youth throughout the state by providing mental health counselors inside local schools.

It is supported by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, or DBHDD, and was in place in approximately 400 schools in Georgia, mainly high schools, prior to the budget process began.

Kemp said during the discussion that he wanted to double the reach of the Apex program, which would allow 800 schools to benefit from a partnership between a local mental healthcare provider and the school district. He spent a week in February visiting with school systems that are recipients of the Apex grant, like Dawson County, to see how the grant is utilized and services students.

“When we were putting together our school safety plan…we learned that mental health is a big part of it,” Kemp said. “The more we learn about the Apex program it’s like ‘why do we need to reinvent the wheel?’ Sometimes, we have big ideas but we don’t ask the people implementing them. That’s why we are here today.”

Judy Fitzgerald, commissioner of the DBHDD, said during the Feb. 11 discussion that the original intent of Apex was not just about direct therapeutic intervention, but a b o u t bu i l d i n g p a r t n e r s h i p s between the community mental health provider and schools.

Dawson County Schools has a licensed counselor from Avita Community Partners serving students inside Dawson County High School and the junior high school who works with students by providing mental health services.

Dr. Janice Darnell, Director of Student Support for Dawson County Schools, said that having the additional mental health counseling available to students has already garnered substantial positive results in discipline data alone.

“A lot of students that have issues that they need to be addressed at the mental health level – sometimes there are barriers in place that prevent them from being able to have those services – and so being able to have someone here (on) our campus has really made a huge impact on being able to make sure that if they were already receiving services there was no lapse and if a child needed addi-

In mid-December 2019, the administrative staff at Dawson County Middle School gathered around the speaker to hear the exciting news that the school was named a Georgia Lighthouse School to Watch for 2020.

Out of more than 500 middle schools in the state, Dawson County Middle School joins only 18 other schools in Georgia that have reached the distinction.

“It was one of the best moments of my career.

Our staff is so passionate and dedicated, and they have worked tirelessly to build an amazing, childcentered culture here at DCMS,” DCMS Principal Dr. Randi Sagona said. “Having worked in eight middle schools in three states over the course of my career, I’ve known for years that the DCMS staff is among the best in the nation. Earning a national designation like this gives them the recognition they deserve. I’ve always known that we are one of the best middle schools in the country, now everyone else knows it as well.”

Georgia Lighthouse Schools to Watch is a program of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. Georgia was one of the first three states in the nation to qualify to be part of the program.

The Lighthouse Schools to Watch program seeks to identify high-performing middle grades schools across the state. Schools that are named Lighthouse Schools must meet four areas of criteria: academic excellence, developmental response, social equity and organizational structures and processes.

“Two years ago, when we first began the discussion about whether to apply to become a Georgia Lighthouse School to Wa t c h , w e r e a d through the specific requirements for each domain and we just kept saying ‘oh, we do that,’” Sagona said. It became clear to us pretty quickly that we might just have what it takes to earn this national designation.”

Dr. Randi Sagona According to the Principal, DCMS four domains of the program, Lighthouse Schools are high-performing schools with academic excellence and schools that are sensitive to the unique developmental challenges of early adolescence. They are socially equitable, democratic and fair, providing every student with high-quality resources, teachers, support and learning opportunities. High-performing schools also establish norms, structures and organizational arrangements to support and sustain a trajectory toward excellence.

For Sagona and the staff at DCMS, meeting and exceeding the criteria for each domain was easy.

Part of the school’s mission is to build a community of learners “one student at a time” and making sure that every student’s needs are met, Sagona said.

“We have multiple layers of support in place for students to address not only their academic needs, but their social (and) emotional needs as well,” Sagona continued. “We work with each student to help them develop an understanding of their strengths and growth areas and to set personal goals, and we constantly work on perseverance and helping our students understand that struggling and making errors is all part of the learning process.”

Sagona said the middle school has worked to make sure there are always multiple opportunities for students to receive individual help both during the school day and before or after school hours.

As a Lighthouse School to Watch, Dawson County Middle School will serve as a model and mentor for other schools in the state for the next three years.

Sagona said the DCMS staff is planning a schoolwide celebration at the school with Lighthouse representatives as well as school district representatives later this school year. The school will also be recognized nationally in Washington D.C. in June at the National Schools to Watch Conference.

Soon, the school will also receive a detailed report that includes its strengths and growth areas.

In order to maintain the designation, Sagona said the school will have to recertify every five years and prove that the school has been working purposefully on its growth areas.

“I just want our community to know that their children are in great hands here at DCMS. Our staff is the most caring group of professionals I have ever worked with, and they will do whatever it takes to help a child,” Sagona said. “We have had great support from our community, and we are so very thankful for that.”

Kemp participates in a round-table discussion about mental health services in the Dawson County Schools district at Dawson County High School Feb. 11, 2019.

Kemp poses with DCHS junior Kobe Rae while senior Mason Thomas snaps a photo to commemorate Kemp’s visit to Dawson County High School Feb. 11, 2019.

tional or new services we have that available to them,” Darnell said.

Dawson County Schools has especially taken student mental health seriously as it is centered in a region with a higher proportion of student suicides in recent years.

Between Dawson and Lumpkin counties, there have been 10 student suicides in the past five years, according to Superintendent Damon Gibbs.

“We have communities in crisis, a mental health crisis in my opinion,” Gibbs said. “We have some mental health dilemmas in our community and the work that Dr. Darnell’s done and the partnership with Avita and work that they’ve done and our counselors and our

teachers and the work that we’ve done is, I think, is helping that issue, but additional funding would allow those services to be expanded.”

After hearing testimonials from Dawson County Schools and from Meadow Creek High School officials in Gwinnett County, Kemp said he felt that the Apex program has been working really well and reaffirmed why he planned to expand the program.

“We’ve learned today too that these issues, a lot of them are starting in middle school and even some of them in elementary school, so I think that’s something we will continue to look at and see disperse whatever funding we have for this program,” Kemp said.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

NGMC Lumpkin opens, serving Lumpkin, Dawson

By Megan Reed

DCN Regional Staff

Lumpkin County now has its own hospital again after the Northeast Georgia Medical Center Lumpkin opened its doors in July 2019. It is located at the former site of Chestatee Regional Hospital in Dahlonega.

NGMC Lumpkin offers emergency and inpatient services, as well as imaging, lab and pharmacy report. The hospital, located at 227 Mountain Drive, opened on July 16.

The hospital is staffed by physicians who also serve other NGMC hospitals.

Dr. Donna Whitfield, the hospital’s chief of medical staff, returned to the building where she started her career in 1976, the same year Chestatee Regional opened. She was an on-the-job trainee in the emergency room, checking patients in and getting their vital signs.

Whitfield later worked as an emergency medical technician in Lumpkin and Dawson counties, bringing patients to Chestatee Regional. After that, she became a respiratory therapist and was Chestatee Regional’s director of cardiopulmonary services. Once she finished medical school, she became a physician and has been working with Northeast Georgia Physicians Group in Dahlonega.

Now, Whitfield leads the medical staff at NGMC Lumpkin in the community where her family has lived for more than five generations. She said Lumpkin has needed its own hospital—patients had been going to Gainesville during the year Chestatee Regional was closed.

“We can keep them here in their hometown so their families can be with t h e m ,” s h e s a i d .

“Otherwise, they have to ship to Gainesville, and it’s a hardship for a lot of families to go back and forth.”

Chestatee Regional closed in July 2018. The h o s p i t a l , w h i c h wa s owned by a Florida lawyer, had been accused of being a farm for high insurance reimbursements tied to drug testing services, some of which were never performed at the hospital.

Dawson County News file photos

Northeast Georgia Health System Lumpkin hosts a VIP Sneak Peek Program including speakers and tours of the facility in Dahlonega on Thursday, July 11, 2019.

After Chestatee Regional closed its doors, the Northeast Georgia Health System extended its Dahlonega urgent care hours and provided paramedics for a third ambulance in Lumpkin.

Chris Dockery, chairman of the Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners, said the area has needed a reliable hospital, and he was excited for NGMC Lumpkin to open.

“There were times when it seemed like it would never happen, but it finally did. I think it’s certainly worth the wait,” Dockery said. “Health care is a very important part to any community that wants to thrive, and that concept is nothing new. … We have to have health care that’s reputable and health care that’s trusted, and I believe that Northeast Georgia Health System fits that very model.”

Dahlonega Mayor Sam Norton said people in Lumpkin had been concerned over the lack of a local emergency room over the past year.

“Opening this facility is

a new and much-needed chapter in this community’s health care situation,” Norton said. “It’s been no secret that there’s been anguish and apprehension in the community over the absence of emergency health care. Even though there were some stop gap measures in place … that does not calm parents of little ones and children of older ones.”

Whitfield also said having a nearby emergency room would be a comfort to the community.

“The community is very excited to have this hospital reopened, just to have close medical care and an emergency room in case something happens, an accident at home. … Instead of having to drive to Gainesville, because that can be a 30, 40 minute drive,” she said.

Kay Hall is the nurse manager for the emergency department and the inpatient medical unit at NGMC Lumpkin. After spending 40 years at NGMC Gainesville, she is now leading about 30 nurses in Lumpkin and was looking forward to

A tour is led through Northeast Georgia Health System Lumpkin on Thursday, July 11, 2019 in Dahlonega ahead of opening.

working with the new team, which includes some former Chestatee Regional nurses.

“Some people, this was home to them. They’re excited to come back and provide care back to their community that they belong to,” Hall said.

“There were people that worked at Northeast Georgia Medical Center that lived in this community and never worked at Chestatee previously that came to me because this is their community. … These are your family members, your friends, the people you know. It could be you tomorrow that needs

the care.”

Hall, who lives in north Hall, said she had been involved in the design and planning process for NGMC Lumpkin and decided to transfer after learning more about the hospital on the hill.

“I fell in love with the location, fell in love with the community,” she said.

NGMC Lumpkin sits on C r ow n M o u n t a i n i n Dahlonega, overlooking the University of North Georgia campus. And UNG has future plans for the building. The university hopes to use it for its health science programs.

NGHS is currently leasing

the property from the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.

NGHS plans to stay in Lumpkin, though. The health system owns a 57-acre site off Ga. 400 near the intersection with Ga. 60 and will build a permanent hospital there.

That hospital is tentatively set to open in 2022.

NGMC Lumpkin joins NGHS’ other hospitals in Gainesville, Braselton and Winder. The health system is also investing $15 million in Habersham Medical Center in Demorest, with hopes of buying that hospital after five years.

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Northeast Georgia Physicians Group offers e-visit for flu From staff reports

As flu season dawned in late 2019, Northeast Georgia Physicians Group unveiled its new e-visits for treating common flu-like symptoms.

The treatment option allows patients suffering from the common indicators of the flu — fever, aches, chills, fatigue, cough, etc. — to receive a diagnosis and prescription for flu medication without needing to leave the comfort of their blanket fort and hot soup.

Patients can now sign up with MyChart and fill out a brief questionnaire. A healthcare provider will respond to the questionnaire within 24 hours with a treatment plan and any necessary medication.

“When people start coming down with flu, they don’t feel like going anywhere,” said Medical Plaza 400 Administrative Director Jo Brewer.

“They pretty much know they have the flu.”

“If they can do the e-visit,” Brewer added, “and answer a few questions, instead of dragging themselves and having the expense of going physically to the urgent care, they can likely call you in the Tamiflu. And getting the medication early is really important to having a shorter ailment.”

E-visits cost $40, and can be paid using a health savings account or credit card. Insurance will not be billed.

E-visits for the flu are growing in popularity now that the Centers for Disease Control no longer recommend the rapid flu tests as a primary tool for diagnosing influenza. This decision was made due to the increasing number of false positives.

“We’ve seen some positive flu,” said Brewer. “I don’t think it’s endemic yet, but it’s still out there.”

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Dawson County College and Career Academy opens

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

Dawson County High School officially unveiled its newest facility, the C o l l eg e a n d C a r e e r Academy, to the community Sept. 10, 2019 in a special ribbon cutting ceremony.

“This facility’s possible – t h e D aw s o n C o u n t y C o l l eg e a n d C a r e e r Academy is made possible – 100 percent by the community of Dawson County,” said Superintendent Damon Gibbs.

The $7 million facility located adjacent to Dawson County High School’s main building was funded completely through ESPLOST. It closed out the last capital project of ESPLOST V. “I’m an old vocational teacher so this is a dream facility for me, but I’ve got to tell you, we’re preparing every child in this school system for a vocation,” Gibbs said. “It’s our hope that we graduate students college and career ready.”

The 35,000-square-foot facility houses the high school’s career, technical and education pathways with labs and classroom space dedicated to business, marketing, engineering, health science, criminal justice, science, early childhood education and culinary arts.

Space for a construction lab and an audio and visual studio were also built into the facility for future growth.

Ground officially broke on the CCA Sept. 10, 2018 and the facility was completed by Carroll Daniel Construction in July 2019.

It opened for students in August for the 2019-20 school year.

“We broke ground a year ago and we have people asking ‘how is it possible to build a facility like that in less than 12 months,’ and (Carroll Daniel Construction) pulled it off, even with a really rainy time that we were in,” Gibbs said.

“We’re excited,” said A m y S m i t h , C TA E Director. “We’re very blessed. We’re feeling very blessed every day that we come in this building.”

Smith reported during the Sept. 10 board of education meeting, which was held in the CCA’s multipurpose meeting room, that 459 students were enrolled in courses at the new facility.

The CCA also offers an English, a history and a math dual enrollment course in which 61 students are currently enrolled.

“My goal is that when our students graduate from

Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Women’s Imaging Coordinator Kourtney Farrow, adjusts the 3D mammogram at the Imaging Center at Medical Plaza 400.

Medical Plaza 400 celebrates first year offering 3D mammograms

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Above: The Dawson County Board of Education, members of the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce, Dawson County High School, Carrol Daniel Construction and Robertson Loia Roof cut the ribbon of the Dawson County College and Career Academy Sept. 10, 2019.

Right: A mock crime scene is set up in the Criminal Justice lab in the College and Career Academy.

Dawson County, if they’re going postsecondary, that is great, but once they finish postsecondary we want them to come back to Dawson County and invest in their community,” Smith said.

Throughout the first semester of classes held inside the CCA, many teachers saw immediate positive impacts on the students.

Criminal Justice instructor Jeff Perry said his program has been a hit with students, especially now that his teaching space allows for not only ample classroom space but space for mock crime scenes and soon-to-be-virtual reality crime scene simulations.

“We also have where we can do forensic case studies where we will start from the very beginning until it concludes in an arrest. We go through all the steps and those are really neat,” Perry said. “Kids love those.”

Perry said the program and the hands-on learning experiences have helped students understand how many careers are available under the criminal justice umbrella.

“A lot of times when they take the class, a lot of them think ‘safety’ or ‘criminal justice’ - they think it’s just being a policeman or a lawyer, but there are so many different things that they can go and do,” Perry said.

The Culinary Arts program has also opened opportunities for students

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

with a new commercial size kitchen complete with stainless steel appliances and amenities in the CCA. It’s quite the step up from the program’s previous location, an old home economics classroom that helped set the foundation for the future of the program.

“When I first came in, it gave me a chance to build the program from a home ec environment just to get the kids excited about it, build a foundation so when we moved in to the facility we were ready to go,” said Culinary Arts instructor Terry Haymond.

Throughout the design process, Haymond said teacher input was important to the school system, and having come from a similar environment with a commercial kitchen set up, he knew exactly how he wanted this new learning space to be designed.

Windows were placed throughout the space so that Haymond can maintain an eye on his students from his office or classroom while they operate appliances inside the kitchen.

“I’m just glad that the kids get to experience, to see and touch and feel things, that allows them to be employable right now,” Haymond said.

Students see the same equipment that they would see in a commercial kitchen on a job site, and while Haymond said students

may not become proficient on every piece of equipment through his courses, they will become comfortable in the environment and be career ready.

“Culinary arts is a huge part of our community and they can be employable right away,” Haymond said.

“For them to feel comfortable going in to a restaurant and not being intimidated by seeing equipment that they don’t even know how to run yet, but the willingness to learn that skill is really what this is - to learn how to manage themselves and work as a team and to be ready to be employable.”

But the CCA is not just about helping students become ready for the next step. It’s also about fostering a learning environment that feels like home and allows students to flourish.

“I spend a lot of time here so for me personally, I like for it to feel like home, but the kids like it too,” said Early Childhood Education Teacher Lori Grant.

Her room is decorated in cozy farmhouse chic and tones of grey and cream, a comfortable couch, tall tables with whiteboard tops, a kitchenette and space to set up a mock elementary school classroom.

“They love this room,” Grant said. “They love being able to spread out more. In my other room we were kind of all on top of each other.”

Stovall announced as National Distinguished Principal for state

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

On April 19, 2019, Dawson County Junior High School Principal C o n n i e S t o va l l w a s selected as the 2019 National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. She represented Georgia’s middle level principals in Washington D.C. in October 2019.

According to Dr. Bob H e a b e r l i n , exe c u t ive director of the Georgia Association of Middle School Principals (GAMSP), Stovall was nominated and selected

by Georgia principals t h r o u g h a s t a t ew i d e search process conducted

by GAMSP. Stovall became principal of Dawson County Junior High School in

2018, having previously served as the Secondary Education Director of Forsyth County Schools.

“It was a dream to come back to a school before I retired and so I’m just grateful to be here,” Stovall said.

Under her leadership, DCJHS was selected for the Professional Association of Georgia E d u c a t o r ’s ( PA G E ) Principal and Teacher Leadership Network, a two-year initiative consisting of a principal and three teachers from the participating schools partnering to drive schoolwide change.

The teams work to transform their schools into engagement-focused organizations that nurture profound learning for students and staff.

“What every great principal will tell you is this:

The county’s only 3D mammogram machine celebrated its one year anniversary at Medical Plaza 400 in 2019.

Medical Plaza 400, Northeast Georgia Health System hospital presence in Dawson County, began offering 3D mammograms in 2018 and saw more than 80% of its imaging patients choose 3D mammograms over the traditional 2D screening in 2019.

“They love it,” said Kourtney Farrow, Women’s Imaging Coordinator. “Even though we’re compressing the same, we’re still doing the same amount of compression we did before, patients just seem to think it doesn’t hurt as bad. We’ve had nothing but positive feedback here.”

A mammogram is an x-ray of breast tissue that is used in screening and diagnosis of breast cancer. The new 3D mammogram machine is different from a traditional 2D mammogram because it allows for 3D images of breast tissue to be viewed 1mm at a time by radiologists, Farrow said.

“Cancers could be hiding in dense tissue and they’re able to see that on a slice that they wouldn’t be able to see on the 2D,” Farrow said. “Sometimes you can have tissue that overlap and it makes it look like there’s a cancer on the 2D so you get that callback whereas on the 3D they can see it’s not a cancer, it’s just overlapping tissue.”

Farrow said that studies have shown that 3D mammography can reduce callbacks, also called a second look, by up to 40% and can detect cancers up to 41% sooner than a traditional 2D mammogram.

According to Farrow, mammograms are the number one modality in detecting breast cancer and that the American College of Radiology recommends women have an annual mammogram after they turn 40.

“Having the annual mammogram is really important,” Farrow said. “As a mammographer you wouldn’t believe what we find from one year and not being there and two years how much something has grown into a cancer, whereas if you came annually you might could’ve caught it sooner before it had spread to lymph nodes.”

Most insurance companies – about 95% – cover 3D mammograms, and Farrow says there is no reason to not have one, especially when it’s covered by insurance.

But having a mammogram isn’t the only thing a woman can do to stay vigilant of her health. Women’s health is about looking at the big picture, Farrow said, which includes self-breast examinations that can be done at home, clinical breast exams carried out by your primary care physician and your annual mammogram.

“A lot of ladies don’t do their self-breast exams so the only time that they know they have a lump is if they go to their doctor and get a clinical breast exam,” Farrow said. “A lump sometimes can be an indication of cancer so that’s why (self-breast exams) are important, especially when you’re younger.”

The easiest way to do a self-breast exam is in the shower while you have soap on your hands so that they are a little slippery, Farrow said.

“Normally you would take two or three fingers and you would start kind of under your arm and you just work your fingers in a circular motion and you just cover your entire breast until you get to the nipple,” Farrow said. “You’re wanting to find things that are just not your normal.”

Abnormalities could be mobile or hard lumps that you have never noticed before. If you have found something out of the ordinary, contact your primary care physician or family doctor who can perform a clinical breast exam and fill out an order form for a mammogram.

For your annual exam, you can schedule an appointment by calling (706) 216-3238 or by scheduling online at www.nghs.com/mychart-info.

Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Dawson County Junior High School Principal Connie Stovall.

you’re only as good as your staff,” Stovall said during a brief reception on April 19 at the junior high school.

Stovall took a moment to express her appreciation for her teachers and staff for the hard work they put in each day.

“Thank you for what you do and for letting me

and allowing me to do the things that I do because it truly is a mission for all of us,” Stovall said. “It’s a calling and a mission. It’s not something that you just walk into and say ‘here I am, I can do it’ so I appreciate everything that you do every single day for our children.”

The 3D mammogram at the Imaging Center at Medical Plaza 400.

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 5C

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Look

Leaf for the

At Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS), our team cares for more than 1 million people across the region through four hospital campuses and a variety of other locations.

Locations convenient to Dawson County include: Hospitals Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Gainesville and Lumpkin – with services including Heart and Vascular, Cancer Treatment, Orthopedics, Emergency Care and more Medical Plaza 400 Multiple physician offices representing a variety of specialties come together in one building for your convenience in Dawsonville Northeast Georgia Physicians Group More than 350 providers represent 30 specialties at more than 65 locations, including: Dahlonega – Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and OB/GYN Dawsonville – Family Medicine, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN, Orthopedics and Pediatrics Visit www.ngpg.org to find a provider near you.

The Heart Center of NGMC More than 60 providers at more than a dozen locations, including Dawsonville and Dahlonega Request an appointment at www.heartngmc.org.

Imaging Centers Five locations for high-quality medical imaging, including Dawsonville Urgent Care Seven locations for treatment of minor injuries and illnesses, including Dawsonville and Dahlonega Rehabilitation Centers Six locations for physical, speech and occupational therapy, including Dawsonville and Dahlonega

Visit nghs.com to learn more.

6C | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Sports

Pickleball craze finds success in Dawson County

By Bob Christian

bchristian@dawsonnews.com

In 2019 pickleball became the fastest growing sport in the United States amongst all age groups, particularly popular amongst the 55 and older community. Played on a badminton sized court, with a paddle that is a cross between a tennis racket and ping-pong paddle, the game is an amazing combination of low-impact workout and high-speed action.

Dawson County proved no exception to the trend as the Parks and Recreation Department at Rock Creek Park announced the formation of a county level team under volunteer Head Coach Celia Otwell in March.

Otwell had signed up to coach more than two years prior, long before a pickleball program was considered by Dawson County, and started the program with the goal of fielding a district level pickleball team.

“By the time the word got out last year it was too late for us to participate,” Otwell said.

“I knew I wasn’t going to let us miss out on the chance to play this year. I started looking at people and where they lived, and I began asking if they wanted to play.”

Less than six months later, in August, Otwell achieved her goal when Dawson County announced that they were sending their first-ever team to the District 7 Regional Pickleball tournament Aug. 9-11 in White County.

“We are excited to be able to send all of the participants that were interested in going,” Programs and Facilities Coordinator Buffie Hamil said before the tournament. “Out of our 11 participants, we will have representation in all of the categories except the Women’s Singles. Our department and all involved are super excited to be sending participants this year and can’t wait to see where it takes this program!”

Featuring players with a range of experience, the 11-member team competed in the men’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and women’s doubles categories over the course of the three-day tournament with the goal of advancing to the state tournament in Rayburn Sep. 13-15.

Wearing matching uniforms and being cheered on by a large contingent of fans proudly displaying maroon and gold the team put on quite a show, capturing two District Championships and two second-place finishes across the four events in which the teams

Photo courtesy of Celia Otwell

District 7 Women’s Double pickleball Ali Fabbro and Andrea Bernal.

competed.

“We are super proud of our showing at our first-ever appearance. It was so much fun to see our Dawson County pickleball shirts throughout the crowd and on the courts,” Hamil said. “We are excited to be sending two groups to the state competition next month.”

Andrea Bernal and Ali Fabbro, advanced easily through the women’s doubles (age 30-39) bracket to bring home the first-ever District 7 pickleball Championship to Dawson County.

Men’s doubles champions (age 30-39) Kerry Vanderpool and Michael O’Keefe, both relatively newcomers to the sport, faced no competition in their grouping and were automatically advanced to the state tournament.

Fabbro picked up her second medal of the tournament with partner Natt Davis as they fought to a second place finish in the mixed doubles category.

The men’s doubles pairing of Jeff Olsen and Mitch Cohen rounded out the list of Dawson County winners with a silver medal of their own.

“It’s a fast game. Very fun,” Fabbro said. “I enjoy it.”

Of the 11 members of the team that competed in the District 7 tournament in late August, Dawson County sent eight players to the State Tournament to compete with teams representing 20 Parks and Recreation departments from across the state.

Originally scheduled to feature only first place winners from the District tournaments, a last-minute rules expansion allowed the inclusion of second place winners to participate.

Unfortunately, the last-minute change caused a work conflict for mixed doubles player Natt Davis and he was forced to withdraw from the bracket, along with partner Ali Fabbro, and Dawson County was only

going to be represented in three events instead of their scheduled four, until Manuel Youshimatz joined the tournament on day one.

Youshimatz also noticed there was a no-show in the men’s single 3.5 50-59, 60-69 bracket and, after securing the permission of both the tournament officials and other athletes, he was able to participate in the men’s single event.

Much to the chagrin of the other athletes, he promptly won the round robin event to become Dawson County’s first State Champion in the sport of pickleball.

In addition to the men’s singles matches, Dawson County was represented in the women’s doubles 4.0 30-39, 40-49 bracket by Fabbro and her partner Andrea Bernal who qualified with their gold medal finish at the District 7 tournament; the men’s doubles 3.0 40-49, 50-59 bracket by Michael O’Keefe and Kerry Vanderpool who also advanced via the District 7 tournament, and the men’s doubles 4.0 50-59, 60-69 bracket by Michael Cohen and Jeff Olsen who qualified through the rules expansion.

Fabbro and Bernal continued to display the team chemistry and communication that garnered them the first place trophy in August as they swept through their bracket on day one of the three-day tournament to bring home their second championship trophy and provide Dawson County with yet another state title.

Playing on day two, O’Keefe and Vanderpool, facing a bigger and more competitive field than in their previous outing made it to the final match, but fell just short of victory to claim the silver medal giving Dawson County 5 top-tier Pickle Ball players in the first year of the program.

“We are extremely proud of our entire pickleball team this year. Out of 11 players that went to District, we sent 7 to state – that is amazing,” Dawson County Recreation Program Manager Buffie Hamil said. “They all played with class and showed that Dawson County has a lot to be proud of! We look forward to seeing what the future holds for Dawson County Pickleball.”

For more information on how to become a part of Dawson County’s pickleball team contact Rock Creek Park at (706) 344-3646 or by emailing recreation@dawsoncounty.org.

Bob Christian Dawson County News

The 2019 Dawson County District 7 PIckleball team.

Photos by Bob Christian Dawson County News

Head Coach Sid Maxwell prepares to lead the team onto the field in the second round of the 2019 GHSA State Playoffs.

Maxwell system proves successful in 2019

By Bob Christian

Bchristian@dawsonnews.com

In what was widely billed as a rebuilding year, the Dawson County Tigers football team put together another remarkable season. Finishing 2019 third in region 7-AAA with an overall record of 8-4 and a regional record of 4-2 the Tigers made their fifth consecutive appearance in the GHSA state playoffs under Head Coach Sid Maxwell.

Maxwell took over the program in 2015 and immediately set into place the foundations of what has become known as ‘One Dawson,’ a system that extends the playbook and formation schemes to all levels of Dawson County football, from high school down through the seventh grade.

Essentially, a Tiger in the seventh grade is running the same plays as a Tiger on the varsity field with the goal of instilling the fundamentals of football, specifically Dawson County football, into an athlete from the very beginning.

2019 was the first season the program had the opportunity to generate an entirely new class of players.

After losing 26 seniors to graduation, including the offensive duo of Sevaughn Clark and Ahmad Kamara, who combined for 2,275 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns, along with every starting member of a defensive line that briefly ranked in the top five nationally against the rush and held opponents to an average of 13 points per game while posting two shut outs, Maxwell understood the challenges his team faced coming into 2019.

“Due to their youth and newness to this level it gives us a chance to teach them how to play as a team,” Maxwell said.

“We teach the system so that each time we execute we can get better - don’t do it until you get it right, do it until you can’t get it wrong.”

Led by a core group of seniors, anchored by the team’s co-MVP Riley Herndon, the 2019 Tigers quickly established themselves as a team to be reckoned with in a 27-13 victory over the Habersham Raiders in the season opener.

Dawson County’s strength of character and team depth was on full display in a nail-biting comeback against the Chestatee War Eagles when sophomore quarterback Zach Holtzclaw overcame a series of mistakes to lead his team to a 45-42 overtime win, capped off by a 23-yard field goal from team co-MVP Caleb Bonesteel.

Behind the leadership of seniors D.J. Mitchell and Brody Howell the Tigers recorded a 34-0 shut-out victory against the West Hall Spartans in the third game of the season. The defense, coached by newly installed defensive coordinator Bradley Fowler, also saw the rise of future talent with breakout performances from sophomore Kade Moledor and junior Brock Bearden.

The first loss of the season came against the Denmark Danes in game four and, from there the Tigers followed an up and down pattern for the remainder of the season, winning two before losing one, to round out the season with a third place finish in region 7-AAA. The first round of the playoffs saw the Tigers defeat a higher

Head Coach Sid Maxwell congratulates freshman Nic Baloga at the 2019 DCHS Football Awards Banquet.

ranked regional opponent for the first time in school history as Dawson County dominated the Westminster Wildcats 27-3 to earn an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen.

Throughout the season, week by week, new faces and names emerged as the standout player Junior Dakohta Sonnichsen put together an incredible season at wide receiver with 44 receptions for 891 yards and eight touchdowns; fellow junior Isaiah Grindle established himself as the future of the Tiger backfield with an average of 6.4 yards per carry and seven touchdowns on the season.

At every level, Dawson County continued to show the impact of the ‘One Dawson’ system as freshmen Cade Adams, Jaden Gibson and Nic Baloga all made an impact during 2019, while the sophomore class, Holtzclaw included, quietly put together a performance that was the backbone of the team’s success during the season.

“That’s the beauty of this system,” Fowler said. “It keeps young talent coming through.”

Entering the 2020 season, the Tigers will face a new set of challenges presented by the familiar bogeyman of graduation and a schedule that has been toughened by GHSA’s regional realignment and the team’s own success over the years.

“No one wants to play us,” Maxwell said. “I had to reach out to a lot of different schools, both above and below us in size to fill out the schedule which makes for a tough pre-season.”

Dawson County sees their first action next season with the spring game versus Pickens County in May 2020 before heading into the long summer break. August kicks-off the regular schedule with a scrimmage against North Forsyth followed by games against the 2A Rabun Tigers, the 4A Flowery Branch Falcons, the 7A South Forsyth Wa r E a g l e s a n d t h e 6 A Northview Titans.

The second half of the schedule will also look very different for the Tigers as they face three new schools in 2020 due to the GHSA realignment earlier this year. The team takes on newcomers White County, Gilmer County and West Hall in the first half of the region 7-AAA line up, followed by Cherokee Bluff, Lumpkin County and North Hall to wrap up the season.

Regardless of the challenges ahead in 2020, the last five years under the Sid Maxwell system of football has demonstrated that the Dawson County Tigers will be ready to face them and remain a perennial powerhouse at both the regional and state levels.

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 7C

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Basketball program thrives NASCAR’s 2020 schedule heavily under new head coach favors Elliott

By Bob Christian

bchristian@dawsonnews.com

A whirlwind of questions surrounded the Dawson County Tigers boys’ basketball program at the beginning of the 2019-20 season after first year Head Coach Eric Herrick took over the team following the retirement of Chad Pittman at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

With only a handful of games remaining in the season, it appears that the program is not only continuing Pittman’s success, but also growing beyond expectations, as the Tigers cruise through the season with a 19-2 overall record and remain undefeated in region 7-AAA at 8-0.

“I expect to be successful.,” Herrick said. “I hope that expectation is there. I put that expectation on myself. I expect to play in Final Fours and region championships.”

Last year’s historic season saw Dawson County post an overall record of 27-5, defeating the Greater Atlanta Christian School (GAC) Spartans to capture the 7-AAA regional title and finishing the season with an appearance in the Final Four of the GHSA State playoffs and a top50 state ranking.

Pittman says he took some time away from the program over spring break to really began to think about the demands of c o a c h i n g a n d h ow t h o s e demands had become more and more consuming over the years as travel teams and year-round basketball began to dominate the off-season of high school basketball.

“To do it right, the day and age we live in, it has ultimately become year-round,” Pittman said. “In the last 6-10 years it has really become that way, the big districts before that, but now even in the smaller communities it’s gotten to that point to, if only playing basketball October to February, you’re way behind.”

Upon his return from vacation,

By Bob Christian

bchristian@dawsonnews.com

Bob Christian Dawson County News

First year Head Coach Eric Herrick draws up a play for the Tigers during a time-out.

Pittman realized that his decision had been made and immediately sat down with Athletic Director Jason Gibson.

“I was a little taken aback by the decision, but I understood where he was coming from,” Gibson said. “You don’t have to worry about anything with your basketball program with (Pittman) in charge. He gives the kids every opportunity to win, runs a really good program.”

Gibson launched the hunt for Pittman’s replacement immediately after being notified and during the two-week application process he estimates the district received between 35-50 applications for the position.

E ve n t u a l l y H e r r i c k wa s selected to take over the position.

“It took some time to go through them all and get them sorted out,” Gibson said. “In the end, we wanted to make sure we made the right choice for Dawson County.”

Announced by the district on May 15, Herrick’s experience as coach spanned 15 years, with 11 state playoff appearances and three Final Four finishes since 2010.

Herrick’s first challenge in taking over the Tigers was to

recreate the high-powered offense, which was previously led by DCHS all-time leading scorer Luke Chism, who graduated from the team at the end of the 2018-19 season. Also lost to graduation were Ahmad Kamara, a bruising force underneath the net, and Trey Pruitt, an outside shooter with the ability to drive the lane.

“I think there’s enough talent in place to be extremely competitive in Dawson. We did lose one phenomenal basketball player, and a couple of other pieces,” Herrick said.

“But I think there is more than enough talent to reproduce what they did last year.”

Thus far in his first season with Dawson County, Herrick has proved correct as the Tigers are averaging 70 points per game and winning by an average margin of 21 points against their opponents.

“We’re in a place that we really want to be,” Herrick said. “We’re going to build not just a team but a group of kids who really care about each other, that are respectful and care about the community.

They’re going to be proud of the product we put on the floor.”

In 2019 Dawsonville native Chase Elliott wrapped up his fourth full season of racing in the NASCAR Cup Series by adding three more wins to his career.

Elliott’s win at Watkins Glen, the site of his first career victory, during the 2019 Go Bowling at the Glen on Aug. 4 gave him the first back-to-back championships of his career.

For the fourth year in a row, Elliott made the Cup Series playoffs in 2019, but an unfortunate string of mechanical troubles and accidents eliminated his No. 9 NAPA Chevy after the round of 8 and Elliott finished the season in tenth place overall with 2,275 points.

Compared to previous seasons, 2019 was very similar with a total of 11 top-5 finishes, 15 top-10 finishes and five stage wins. The biggest improvement came in the number of pole positions captured. Elliott captured three during the season, the most of any single season thus far.

All together Elliott’s statistics show a driver that has become more comfortable on every style of course offered on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. Always strong on road courses, Elliott improved his performance on short tracks, picking up a second place finish at Martinsville and Super Speedways, indicated by his checkered flag at Talladega.

These improvements indicate that Elliott is poised on the brink of a break-out season as he enters his fifth year of cup series racing.

Opening and closing the 2020 season at Daytona, the No. 9 team had the opportunity to start and finish the season in a strong position.

After Daytona, the circuit

will move west for contests at Las Vegas, California and Phoenix. All three are tracks that Elliott is familiar with, but his career results are fair to middling on the three courses.

The Series returns to the southeast in March with runs in Atlanta and Miami, that’s when things begin to get interesting for the Hendricks Motorsports driver. Racing close to home has always brought out the best in Elliott and between the two tracks he has captured five top-10 finishes in his career, with three in Atlanta.

The best chances for an early season victory will come in late March, during a stretch of races that include Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Ta l l a d e g a , Dover, Martinsville, Charlotte, Kansas and Michigan. In his career, Elliott has notched top-5 finishes at all of those locations at least once.

From there, the season winds through the remaining tracks in an order that does not present any major benefits until the second-to-last race of the season at Watkins Glen where Elliott has proven his mettle twice with back-toback wins.

Heading into the playoffs, Elliott once again finds himself looking at a favorable stretch as this year’s final ten races include seven tracks at which he has posted career top-5 finishes.

Obviously, the intricacies of NASCAR are much more than pen and paper statistics can ever predict, much less control, but on the face of it the scheduling changes of 2020 seem to lean heavily in favor of an incredible season for Elliott as he looks to bring home his first NASCAR Cup Series title.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Etowah Water and Sewer Numbers show tourism on the Authority discusses rise in Dawson Russell Creek Reservoir From staff reports

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

The Etowah Water and Sewer Authority held several informational meetings in the spring of 2019 to update the community on the design and construction of the Russell Creek Reservoir that is set to be built out by the first quarter of 2023.

The reservoir will span 137 acres off Etowah River and Seed Tick roads and will accommodate 126,000 people, the projected population of Dawson County in 50 years. It will cost about $40 million.

Etowah Water began the project in 2006 but did not get the necessary 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed until July 2017.

Since obtaining the permit, EWSA General Manager Brooke Anderson said the authority has brought on engineers for the design work at the April 11, 2019 meeting.

Golder Associates, a Canadian based global consulting, design and construction company, was selected to design and build the project.

Originally permitted to construct an intake pump station out in the Etowah River to pull water out of the river and pump through a 24-inch water line to fill up the Russell Creek Reservoir, Anderson said engineers were able to provide a better and “much more environmentally sensitive solution” that would allow for significant savings and less intrusion of the river.

The existing water treatment plant, located just south of Hwy. 53 on the Etowah River, already has an intake pump station that was built in 2009 that can be modified instead of a second water intake pump being constructed.

“Through some modifi-

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Etowah Water and Sewer Authority General Manager Brooke Anderson discusses the Russell Creek Reservoir project during a public informational meeting on April 11, 2019.

cation the engineers have determined we can modify that pump station and pump through a 30-inch water line along the Etowah River and fill the reservoir from the intake pump station that we currently have,” Anderson said.

The plan is to have a water line constructed behind a stream buffer which will allow Etowah Water to pump water out of the Etowah River to fill the reservoir and then use gravity flow to get the water back to the plant for treatment.

A principle spillway for the reservoir will also be constructed as part of the project, with gates at different depths to collect water at varying temperatures.

“In the summer time and even the winter, the lake can get hot on top and cold on the bottom or a lot of different things based on climate and temperature, but we still have to protect the aquatic species in Russell Creek and in the Etowah,” Anderson said.

“The gates at different depths will allow water to be drawn at different temperatures and mix that water so that the water that is released from the

reservoir into this creek will match the temperature of the river.”

The gates will also allow the authority to control the turbidity, or the amount of particles in the water, and the quality of water that is sent to the plant for treatment.

“When it’s raining you get a lot of silt or whatever runs into the lake, the top layer’s going to be dirty, but we can pull in water from the lower depth and vice versa if the water’s settled during different times of the year,” Anderson said.

Construction of 700-foot-long, 700-footwide and 110-foot-deep earthen dam is still scheduled to begin in early 2021, but the specialized construction of the water pipe on the left abutment of the dam will begin in early 2020 Anderson said.

A 12-foot tunnel on the left abutment will be excavated for placement of the 30-inch water line and a 72-inch storm water pipe.

“What that will allow is that this mass of dirt will not have any penetration through it at all. It will be a complete solid mass of d i r t a n d m a t e r i a l ,” Anderson said.

Once the tunnel is con-

Etowah Water and Sewer Authority General Manager Brooke Anderson explains how the authority plans to construct the new dam and reservoir on Russell Creek during an informational meeting on April 11, 2019.

structed, it will be used to divert water from the existing reservoir while the new dam is being constructed.

“We’ll be able to divert the existing creek flow through that tunnel and allow for a dry construct i o n o f t h i s d a m ,” Anderson said.

An auxiliary spillway that will be 300 feet wide and 1,000 feet long and a mix of grass, rock, gravel and dirt is also being constructed and Anderson said the authority envisions putting some picnic pavilions, a boat ramp and a boat dock in that area. Non-gas powered boats such as canoes, kayaks and boats with electric motors, would be allowed on the lake.

Fishing along the bank is also envisioned.

After the necessary structures have been built, it will take a year to fill the reservoir and Anderson expects the reservoir to be completed and filled by the summer of 2024.

“That will bring together a 20 year project,” Anderson said. “By the time we get to 2024, we’re two years shy of 20 years to make this project happen and that will be a jubilant day to say the least.”

Officials with the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce announced in 2019 that one of the county’s biggest industries, tourism, is booming.

According to Dawson County Chamber of Commerce President Christie Moore, tourism brought more than $52 million into Dawson County during the past year, resulting in about $1.5 million in local tax revenue.

This tax revenue, generated largely by people coming into the county, spending their money, and then leaving, goes directly to helping the homeowners and citizens in Dawson County with their tax bill. Tourism is estimated to save the average Dawson County household approximately $462 in taxes annually, officials say.

Tourism is also credited with supporting more than 500 jobs and a payroll of over $12 million in hospitality and other tourismrelated industries in the county.

“A lot of our tourism jobs are some of our higher paying jobs,” Moore said during a Dawson County Board of Commissioners meeting held in June. “The hospitality industry tends to have jobs all across the spectrum.”

This represents a massive return on investment.

According to Moore’s presentation to the board, for every $1 invested in tourism marketing and promotion, there was about $4.60 returned in Christie Moore local taxes.

President, That money goes “straight Dawson County to the Dawson County and Chamber of Commerce City of Dawsonville budget,” Moore said.

One of the newest marketing and promotion efforts in tourism is the creation of videos for major tourist attractions to be used in social media campaigns, which reach hundreds of thousands of potential customers.

The videos that have already been filmed include the Len Foote Hike Inn, Amicalola Falls State Park, Burt’s Pumpkin Farm, the Etowah Valley Sporting Clays and the Moonshine Festival.

Future videos are planned for Atlanta Motorsports Park, Lake Lanier, the North Georgia Premium Outlets, Fausett Farms Sunflowers, and Uncle Shuck’s Corn Maze.

The Chamber has partnered with the Craig Miller Production Company to make the high quality videos and will use them to promote tourism. The videos are also given free-of-charge to the participating destinations so they can use them in their own marketing campaigns.

“Craig Miller Production Company is one of the companies that works with the State of Georgia’s Tourism Office, and we fell in love with videos that he did for one of the conferences we attended,” Moore told Commissioners.

These videos are just one tool in the Chamber’s tourism arsenal.

The Chamber has also partnered with many local media and news companies to bring attention to the natural beauty abundant in Dawson County. Back in 2018, the Chamber facilitated a guided tour with Crash Clark of 11 Alive News, which ended up as an episode of “One Tank Treasures.” Clark toured many of the same places targeted by the new video campaigns.

They also hosted a group of international travel writers on a media familiarization tour.

On this tour, writers were shown the Moonshine Distillery, toured Georgia Racing Hall of Fame before doing lunch at the Dawsonville Pool Room. From there, they headed to Amicalola Falls, were they went on a guided tour, hopped on a zip line, and stayed overnight at the Amicalola Falls Lodge.

Efforts like these are what led to the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and Office of Tourism Development to win the Bill Hardman Sr. Tourism Partnership Champion Award at the Governor’s Tourism Conference last August, officials say.

“As the numbers show, the tourism industry plays a vital role in helping our local, regional, and state economy thrive,” said Moore. “At the Chamber, it is our privilege to promote Dawsonville and Dawson County as a top destination for visitors. We will continue to seek ways to promote our tourism partners and support this ever growing sector of our economy.”

‘A lot of our tourism jobs are some of our higher paying jobs.

The hospitality industry tends to have jobs all across the spectrum.’

City and County pass ordinances on vaping

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

If school safety was the biggest topic of discussion in 2018, then vaping was the biggest discussion of 2019.

After a Dawson County Junior High School student was transported to the hospital due to vaping an unknown substance in March, Dawson County Schools Superintendent Damon Gibbs issued a letter to the community regarding the dangers of electronic cigarette usage among students.

The letter was the start of a discussion and actions taken by the city council and the county commissioners as to

‘We want to try to do something to help control the problem before it gets totally out of hand. The purpose of this was to protect the kids.’

Mike Eason, Mayor of Dawsonville

what should be done about vaping.

On May 6, the city of Dawsonville adopted a new ordinance aimed at reducing the usage of vapes and tobacco products inside city limits.

“We want to try to do something to help control the problem before it gets totally out of hand,” Dawsonville Mayor, Mike Eason, said. “The purpose of this was to protect the kids.”

The ordinance restricts usage of both tobacco products and alternative smoking and vaping products within the city, prohibiting them in all city government buildings and on all city government properties. It also prohibits usage in or within 100 yards of any church and in or within 200 yards of any school building or college campus.

The county followed suit, passing its own vaping ordinance in October that went into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

After much discussion with vape shop owners, the county unanimously approved an ordinance which raised the legal age to purchase, possess or use vape products to 19 and placed similar restrictions on where vape products can be used.

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 3D

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Dawson County sees its first CBD store open its doors

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

On Sept. 20, 2019, Dawson County’s first brick and mortar store dedicated to selling CBD products opened on Ga. 400.

Your CBD Store, located next to Mattress Firm and Firehouse Subs, was met with curiosity and skepticism when it announced it was now open for business.

Store signs were stolen, presumably by individuals who weren’t fans of CBD products, shortly after the store opened.

News spread of the rash of thefts which prompted many first time shoppers to purchase CBD product in support of the new business.

While CBD has caused quite a stir in Dawson County the past few months, the store’s General Manager Jamie Buice explained the purpose of CBD and how it can be a health benefit for its users.

“CBD is simply one cannabinoid that it’s inside of the industrial hemp plant,” said Buice.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is one of more than 100 cannabinoids that occur in the hemp plant family.

It’s currently the cannabinoid with the most research and studies dedicated to analyzing its effects on users’ health.

Thanks to the Georgia Hemp Farming Act (HB 213), the production and sale of hemp and hemp products became legal in the state of Georgia in 2019, which Buice credits for opening the gates and spurring interest in CBD products.

Inside Your CBD Store, shelves are adorned with water solubles and tinctures in various flavors ranging from natural to grape to strawberry lime to pina colada.

There are candies infused with CBD as well as topical creams, bath bombs, lotions and lip balms.

“If you’re looking for something to interact with your body really fast, the fastest acting product we have is the water soluble which you mix in with a couple o u n c e s o f w a t e r,” B u i c e

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Your CBD Store Sales associate Canaan Mills and General Manager Jamie Buice.

explained.

The water soluble can be added to not just water but any beverage, Buice said. It lasts for up to four hours and is a great option to treat ailments that might come on suddenly. For more chronic ailments, tinctures - a few drops under your tongue - lasts six to eight hours. And for bruises or sore joints, a small amount of topical cream applied to the area will provide relief in minutes.

“We do have the full spectrum and the broad spectrum, and that’s when the confusion starts,” Buice said.

Your CBD Store offers two different formulas in its tinctures and water solubles. Broad spectrum products contain no detectable amount of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) whereas full spectrum products contain up to 0.3% THC, the legal limit of THC in hemp products in Georgia.

“It’s 0.3% which is not enough to get you high by no means but it is enough to help with CBD to effectively do its job a little better,” Buice said. “In some cases someone just simply can’t have it so that’s why we extract it with the broad spectrum so they have that option.”

THC is the compound found in

Eason reelected, Walden joins Dawson city council

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

On Nov. 5, 2019, Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason was reelected after claiming 69.87% of the votes.

This was Eason’s first full term in office, having taken the job from former mayor James Grogan.

“I was able to knock on a lot of doors, talk to a lot of people,” said Eason. “I think what I saw when I was talking to people was the welcoming nature that makes Dawsonville so great.”

Eason said he was welcomed into people’s homes, invited to dinner, and got to talk to people about the issues that they care about the most.

With the Nov. 5 election, the city council saw a change in leadership with newcomer John Walden taking post 3.

Incumbent Caleb Phillips ran unopposed for post 1.

Later in the month, Councilman post 3 Jason Power resigned from his position. His family has built a house outside of the city limits. His resignation was expected since he started the build in January.

“After much consideration and prayer, Julie and I have built a house and it’s going to be done sooner rather than later, it seems. I’ve submitted my resignation to (City Clerk Beverly Banister) and will be resigning (Nov. 19),” Power said.

“It has been my pleasure and honor to serve the City of Dawsonville for the past eight years,” Power said in a prepared statement. “The experience has afforded me the opportunity to work on behalf of the community with some of the best that there is.”

“We’re going to miss him tremendously,” Council Member Stephen Tolson said.

Board of Commissioners restructure monthly meetings

By Alexander Popp

apopp@dawsonnews.com

The SunMed water soluble is a form of CBD oil that is diffused in a few ounces of water. Its affects last for about four hours.

marijuana that causes the high sensation, and that’s where the misconceptions start with CBD products. Because the full spectrum products contain less than one percent of THC, Buice said it’s common for people stopping in his stores to be a little leary when they see products containing THC. See CBD | 4D

After decades of holding four meetings each month, the Dawson County Board of Commissioners decided to break from tradition in 2019, approving a new meeting schedule that would stagger and reduce the amount of regularly scheduled meetings held by the governing body each month.

Where previously the board held voting sessions on the first and third Thursdays of the month, and work sessions on the second and fourth Thursdays, now the board meets every other Thursday, with a work session at 4 p.m. followed by a voting session at 6 p.m.

During discussion on the proposed schedule, Dawson County Commission Chairman Billy Thurmond said that the measure would improve efficiency, save revenue, and allow citizens to receive more information during meetings. “(Citizens) may not mind leaving their house and driving all the way up here and spending 10 minutes with us and then hitting the road again to go back,” Thurmond said. “but looking out for them I’d like to give them as much information all at the same time as possible so that they have a full day’s worth of information.”

The proposal was adopted in late April and the first meeting held under the new schedule was held on May 2, 2019.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Dawson County News file photo

Your CBD Store celebrates its grand opening Sept. 20, 2019.

FROM 3D

CBD

“With only 0.3% there’s no psychoactive effect whatsoever,” Buice said.

“Occasionally you’ll get people that maybe think that’s the case or they definitely say that don’t want any of that in it whatsoever… but if they’re not comfortable with it, again, that’s why we have the broad spectrum product that does not have it in it.”

The benefit of CBD oil with a small amount of THC is that it helps bind the CBD cannabinoid with the receptors found in your body in what is known as the Endocannabinoid System.

“Our body’s naturally creating two cannabinoids,” Buice said. “We’re only adding CBD which is an outside cannabinoid into that mix to get it to homeostasis to where it’s going to kind of level off.”

The Endocannabinoid System produces CB1 and CB2, two neurotransmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors in your nervous system. By using CBD oil, it helps open those pathways and can lead to a number of health benefits because the system is involved in regulating functions like sleep, appetite, pain and immune system response.

“We simply are using a very similar, and in some instances you can say the same road or pathway that opioids use and some of the pharmaceutical drugs you use,” Buice said. “We’re using those

same roads and binding those same receptors to get a better result.”

Avid CBD users have touted the cannabinoid’s success in reducing inflammation such as arthritis, combatting nausea as well as affecting symptoms of anxiety and depression and neurological disorders.

“It’s helping people without the side effects of the opioids and the other things the pharmaceutical industry may give us,” Buice said. “It may help us with one thing but ends up tearing our bodies up in other aspects.”

There must be some merit to its medicinal properties as Your CBD Store has become the largest brick and mortar CBD retailer in the world, with over 500 locations in the United States, Mexico and Europe.

“It’s kind of a wild idea just to know that within 19-20 months we’ve grown to that extreme,” Buice said. “We’re proud to be helping people. People will come in and make comments maybe why we’re here and things like that, but honestly we’re here to be a cornerstone in the community and to help.”

Though the products carried by Your CBD Store are organically grown and tested consistently by a third party lab to ensure its quality, like all CBD products, they are not FDA approved nor are they meant to cure or diagnose diseases. CBD can interact with other medications so if you are interested in trying CBD products, please consult with your doctor before taking CBD.

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Above: Your CBD Store offers CBD infused candies including sour gummy worms and peach rings. Below: CBD is available in lip balms, moisturizers, lotions and skin creams.

dawsonnews.com | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | 5D

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Community

Progress on Main Street Park, Farmers Market underway

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

After months of constant rain, dirt finally began to move again at the site of the Main Street Park in downtown Dawsonville in the spring of 2019.

Due to soggy ground conditions, paving the roads, parking lots and walking trails within the park had been delayed since the fall of 2018, according to Bob Bolz, Dawsonville city manager.

In late March 2019, a few sunny days allowed the ground to dry enough for paving to begin.

“That was exciting. We’ve been waiting to see some paving forever because they moved in paving equipment probably in the fall and it just hadn’t quit raining,” Bolz said. “The problem with paving is the soil’s got to be dry. If it freezes and ruptures, your paving is gone.”

Pavement of the roads, parking lots and walking trails was part of the first phase of the much anticipated city park, and after weather conditions allowed for the concrete to be poured, installation of the playground, the creation of a dog park, landscaping and fencing continued in 2019.

By November 2019, the park’s play-

Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

The Main Street Park playground nears completion.

ground was completed.

The inclusive playground, designed

by Great Southern Recreation, was installed over the summer on the Allen Street side of the park. It includes a zip line, slides of all sizes, climbing ele-

ments, a music station, swings and wheelchair-accessible equipment.

It features five different types of swings. Beyond the standard swings and baby swings, the park has a double-seated swing for a parent and child

to swing together as well as swings that allow for children or adults be strapped in. While the park doesn’t include a swing that can strap in a wheelchair, Eason said the park does have swings for wheelchair users to access and enjoy.

The playground is for all ages - kindergarten to adult - so that children and adults with developmental disabilities can enjoy being a part of the community.

To make room for what Mayor Mike Eason calls a “destination playground,” excavators removed dirt which has been relocated to Memory Lane for the construction of a fenced-in dog park.

City officials anticipate the park’s completion in late spring 2020.

The city also made progress on the new Farmers Market located on Allen Street next to City Hall throughout 2019, with the construction of the new pavilion that will house local vendors with the Amicalola Regional Farmers Market during spring and summer months.

New signs identifying the new park and farmers market were also erected at the end of 2019 in preparation for the projects’ openings in 2020.

A look back at Dawson County’s biggest community events in 2019

Classic cars make their way down Hwy. 53 in Dawsonville as part of the Mountain Moonshine Festival’s annual parade on Oct. 26, 2019. The festival, a Dawsonville staple for 52 years, saw hundreds of people gather in downtown Dawsonville to partake in the weekend-long festivities from local eats and artisan vendors to a car show and live music. Proceeds from the festival went to K.A.R.E. for Kids, a local nonprofit that provides Christmas and other assistance to Dawson County children in need.

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Former Dawson County Humane Society president Carolyn Bowen leads the dog parade at the Pups in the Park festival on April 13, 2019. The Dawson County Humane Society hosted its annual festivities on April 13 giving animal lovers a chance to meet adoptable dogs and cats, kiss Buttercup the cow, get their pups blessed, compete in costume contests and bid on silent auction items. Proceeds from the day benefited the humane society and helped the no-kill shelter provide for its adoptable animals.

Rotarians serve Thanksgiving dishes for community members at the annual Community Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 25, 2019. The Rotary Club of Dawson County hosts the annual community dinner as a way to give back to the people of Dawson County. After the event gained immense popularity last year, with Rotarians serving more than 450 plates of traditional Thanksgiving trimmings, organizers prepared for a big crowd for the Nov. 25 event.

Trick-or-treaters grab free bubbles at the Family Connection table during the 2019 Trunk or Treat on Oct. 31 at Rock Creek Park. Due to inclement weather, the Trunk or Treat festivities were moved inside the gym at Rock Creek Park to ensure a warm and safe environment for hundreds of eager trick or treaters.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus wave to the crowd gathered around the historic courthouse in downtown Dawsonville during the city’s annual Christmas parade on Dec. 7, 2019. After the annual Christmas parade, city hall bustled with Christmas cheer as hundreds gathered around food trucks and fire pits to make roasted marshmallows. The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame was teeming with people perusing the annual Jingle Market sponsored by the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce.

6D | DAWSON COUNTY NEWS | dawsonnews.com

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Civitan celebrates 5 years in Dawsonville

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

Ground officially breaks on the new Pauline Stephens Ivey Senior Center July 18 at Veterans Memorial Park. Pictured from left are Dawson County Commission Chairman Billy Thurmond, Parks and Recreation Director Matt Payne, District 3 Commissioner Tim Satterfield, Pauline S. Ivey estate trustee Betty Ann Bagley, Senior Center Director Dawn Pruett, District 4 Commissioner Julie Hughes Nix, District 1 Commissioner Sharon Fausett and District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines.

Senior center expansion to open in late 2020

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

Ground officially broke on the much anticipated senior center expansion in July 2019. Construction on the facility is continuing into 2020.

Dawson County Commission Chairman Billy Thurmond said on Jan. 9 that he anticipates the Pauline Stephens Ivey Senior Center will be completed in the fall.

County officials and local residents gathered behind the Margie Weaver Senior Center on July 18, 2019 for a ceremonial groundbreaking that signified the beginning of construction for the Pauline Stephens Ivey Senior Center.

“This is a great day for Dawson County and its citizens where we’re beginning the construction on the Pauline Stephens Ivey Senior Center and the renovation of our Veterans Memorial Park,” Thurmond said at the groundbreaking. “That covers the gambit of our citizens from our senior citizens down to our very youngest, and we’re excited about this opportunity that we have and all those that have helped us.”

The new senior center has been in the works since the spring of 2017 when Betty Ann Bagley, trustee of the Pauline S. Ivey estate, called director of the senior center Dawn Pruett with a generous offer.

“She called me. I was in Kroger getting groceries or something for the center,” Pruett recalled. “We talked and we talked about family and we reminisced and then she told me she had some money to give us.”

Pruett said she never expected to receive close to $1 million for the construction of a new senior center and expansion of its programs.

“I thought she might give us $100,000. Well believe me, I’m Baptist.

I was in tears when this lady gave us $944,000,” Pruett said.

Ivey died at the age of 97 in 2014.

Bagley, who is Ivey’s second cousin, has worked to give 95% of Ivey’s estate back to the citizens of Dawson County.

“She was a great lady,” Pruett said.

“She loved Dawson County and as Betty Ann said ‘she loved her people, very, very much.’”

Current plans for the Pauline Stephens Ivey Senior Center show a new 4,800 square foot expansion to the right of the existing Margie Weaver Senior Center.

The single-level facility will be connected to the existing center with a covered breezeway.

“This Margie Weaver Center will always be the Margie Weaver Center.

This is what our plans are. We’re going to hold all of our exercise, activities here, our art and expand for all kinds of future things we can offer our seniors,” Pruett said. “Our new center will be for our day-to-day activities. We’ll serve Meals on Wheels there that’ll go out.

We’ll serve a daily meal. We’ll have a

Construction of the Pauline S. Ivey Senior Center continues on Jan. 10, 2020 at Veterans Memorial Park.

Dawson County Commission Chairman Billy Thurmond said he expects the senior center to be completed later this year.

fellowship room and it’ll just be our day-to-day activities.”

Plans for the new facility include a multipurpose room for lunch and special events, a game room with computers, a conference room, an Alzheimer’s respite care room, a movie room, a commercial kitchen and lots of storage space.

“We’re blessed having two facilities named after two truly great women,” Pruett said. “It’s so great to see what is happening in this park.”

Expanding the senior center isn’t the only exciting news for Veterans Memorial Park. The groundbreaking ceremony also signified the construction of a new family pavilion to replace the current pavilion near the senior center.

Parks and Recreation Director Matt Payne provided an update on the revitalization project underway at the park, which includes the new state-oft h e - a r t p av i l i o n a s w e l l a s a multipurpose field.

“Our Field 3 up here, that’s going to be moved down. We’re going to have a big, beautiful multi-purpose field that’s going to be right there. We’ll be able to do an enormous amount of different things there, and of course our big nugget in this is going to be our brand new pavilion. We are so excited about the pavilion,” Payne said.

Payne said the current pavilion has held a lot of great memories for those in Dawson County, but that while some might be sad to see it gone, it served a great purpose.

“We’re just so excited to be able to serve the citizens of Dawson County the way that they deserve to be served,” Payne said.

Thurmond said he’s looking forward to when “we actually walk in these new facilities and get that opportunity to put those to good use for everybody that lives here.”

“I’m excited. I’m proud to be a Dawson Countian. I hope you are as well. It’s a great community to live in,” Thurmond said. “I was blessed to be here my whole life and to get the opportunity to work with the citizens of this county for my whole life. I cherish that. I cherish that as one of the greatest things that I’ve ever had the opportunity to do.”

Community members gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in October 2019 to celebrate the Dawsonville Civitan Club’s fifth anniversary.

To celebrate its first five years in Dawsonville, the local civic club donated a new wheelchair-accessible picnic table Oct. 18, 2019, the first one of its kind in Dawson County.

“It’s the type that doesn’t have the legs in the way so the wheelchairs can actually pull up and sit at the table without having to go sideways,” Civitan President Dianne Hansard said.

The Dawson County Parks and Recreation Department moved about 36 feet of the fence surrounding the playground 12 feet back so that the wheelchair accessible picnic table is within the playground area It’s the fifth piece of equipment Civitan has donated to Veterans Memorial Park in the past year.

In August 2018, the club purchased $15,000 worth of inclusive playground equipment for the park which included swings and “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.

The Dawsonville Civitan Club is a chapter of Civitan International, a worldwide community service organization with a mission to serve individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.

Hansard said it’s been the club’s goal to make Veterans Memorial Park the flagship park in Dawson County for inclusivity for special needs children and adults.

According to Hansard, the response to the new playground from the community has been positive.

“Just from what I’ve heard and from hearing from the teachers at the schools, the kids are beginning to come out, the families are beginning to come out to use this equipment b e c a u s e t h ey k n ow i t ’s h e r e ,” Hansard said.

Reflecting on the last five years, Hansard estimates the club has raised

Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

The Dawsonville Civitan Club celebrates its five year anniversary on Oct. 18, 2019 at Veterans Memorial Park.

around $40,000 that has been completely put back into the community through the club’s projects.

Beyond the ongoing playground project at Veterans Memorial Park that will continue into 2020, the club sponsored Christmas stockings and gifts for the residents of North Georgia Assisted Living in December 2019, provided pizzas for the spring and fall Special Olympics, sent children to Camp Big Heart in Warner Robins, celebrated Pastors Appreciation Day and sponsored the annual Miss Sparkle pageant for the county’s exceptional girls.

“We’ve done so much good, I think, for our community and I think if we can get some more members this will be a club that can do so much for developmentally challenged children and adults,” said Civitan member and Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason.

Looking towards the future of the club in 2020, Hansard would like Civitan to strengthen its partnerships with North Georgia Assisted Living and Dawson County Schools through smaller ongoing projects and the establishment of a Junior Civitan C l u b a t D aw s o n C o u n t y H i g h School.

“We’re looking to grow and build and get more members,” Hansard said. “The more members we’ve got, the more money we can make, the more we can sell stuff, the more projects we can do and I think we do a lot considering it’s just the four of us.”

The Dawsonville Civitan Club celebrates its five year anniversary with the installment of a wheelchair accessible picnic table at Veterans Memorial Park on Oct. 18, 2019. Pictured from left are: Carissa Martin, Nina Martin, District 1 Commissioner Sharon Fausett, Ann Raines, Dianne Hansard, District 4 Commissioner Julie Hughes Nix and Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason.

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

WE HELP YOU MAKE GOOD DECISIONS The new pavilion and senior center now underway at Veterans Memorial Park features extensive stonework on the exteriors.

272 Highway 9 South, Dawsonville 706-265-3090

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Local boy’s Christmas wish generated over 700 pounds of food donations

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

While other boys and girls were asking Santa Claus for the latest toys, one little boy surprised his family and friends.

Perched on top of Santa’s lap, eight-year-old David Waldrip told Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick “I would love to help people in need.”

David decided that during the month of December 2019, he wanted to collect food items to donate to the Ric Rack food bank to help people in Dawson County have food for Christmas.

“This was totally independent of anything of us. He told Santa,” David’s mother Jennifer Watson, said. “David’s a really special kid.”

After learning of David’s special Christmas wish, Watson worked to spread the word in the family’s neighborhood, as well as with family and friends that wanted to help fulfill David’s wish.

“We put in an announcement out to our neighbors and we put a bin outside beside our mailbox, and every day we’d come and there’d be new donations,” Watson said.

The second grader at Black’s

Jessica Taylor Dawson County News

David Waldrip, 8, poses with Ric Rack Food Bank Manager Candy Nonnemacher with the food he has collected as part of his Christmas wish to help people in need.

Mill Elementary School also received support from his school’s administration to collect items from his peers.

By Friday, Dec. 13, it was time to load up the family minivan and donate what David had collected so far to Ric Rack, a local food bank that serves between 250 and 260 families, nearly 600 individuals, every month.

The minivan weighed down

with food felt like they were pulling “Santa’s sleigh,” David said.

Bag after bag and box after box, David and Watson brought in what seemed to be a never-ending supply of donations ranging from canned vegetables and meats to pastas to baby foods.

“I’m very proud of David,” Watson said. “David has always had a very kind heart and he’s exceptional. He thinks about others

more than himself so when he told me that that was his Christmas wish I was very proud of him.”

It’s the first time David has collected donations, but as he helped arrange items on the table he said he wants to do it again next year.

Candy Nonnemacher, manager of the food bank, happily began weighing the bags of food to see just how many pounds of food David collected in just a few short weeks.

“414 (pounds)! Wow!” David exclaimed. “Man, this is a lot for a boy that had this Christmas wish.”

“We’re always looking for donations. Lately our shelves have been running pretty low,” Nonnemacher said. “It’s going to be a big help to the people out there that need food.”

It was the largest donation Nonnemacher can recall coming from a single individual.

“It means a lot to us because our shelves are actually kind of bear again,” Nonnemacher said.

“Without these donations we really can’t serve like we would like to.”

David and his family collected donations until Dec. 20 with bins inside Chestatee and Black’s Mill Elementary.

When Dawson County News broke the story and provided information how the community could help David fulfill his Christmas wish, the donations continued rolling in.

On Christmas Eve, David was interviewed by Channel 2 in Atlanta where it was announced that his Christmas wish has amassed more than 700 pounds of donated food.

Of course, it doesn’t need to be Christmas to make a difference.

The food bank accepts donations and volunteers throughout the year, The food bank is also always looking for volunteers to help lend a hand, something David plans to do in his spare time.

“I’ll volunteer… I’d love to volunteer here, but I do want to be an art teacher,” David said.

“You can still be an art teacher and volunteer here,” Watson said, smiling.

The Ric Rack food bank is located at 829 Hwy. 9 N in Dawsonville and is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For more information on how and what to donate, call the food bank at (706) 265-1045.

What the Humane Society has in store for the future

By Jessica Taylor

jtaylor@dawsonnews.com

Longtime volunteer and animal lover Tim Smock took the reins of the Dawson County Humane Society in 2019 with big plans for the nonprofit in the new decade.

When he was asked to accept the position of president of the humane society from former president Carolyn Bowen, Smock said he knew it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Now, he’s looking towards the future of the shelter to set it up for continued success in the next decade.

Smock began volunteering with the humane society prior to the construction of the shelter, seeing it grow from six years of fundraising to opening the shelter doors in 2008. Since the shelter opened 11 years ago, it has adopted out more than 6,500 animals.

In large part, it’s due to the more than 30 volunteers at the Dawson County Humane Society Boutique and Resale Shop that has generated a revenue stream that goes directly back to the dogs and cats at the shelter.

“Their passion for that is contagious,” Smock said. “They love the interaction with the community and we have found that the community loves the interaction with the staff, and it’s reflected in the quality in the donations that we receive, the furniture, the clothing items, artwork, pictures, lamps. The community has really embraced the resale shop, and it really does operate as a billboard for our humane society.”

Smock said one of his visions for the future of the humane society is recruiting additional volunteers, particularly younger volunteers, to help fill the society’s needs at the resale shop and shelter.

The humane society is also in the very early stages of planning for an additional expansion, according to Smock. In 2018, the society purchased the land the shelter is built on that they previously leased from the Etowah Water and Sewer Authority.

“We have land here that we can build on and what we’re trying to decide is what will be the best use, the most economical use, where we can expand without having to spend a lot of money,” Smock said.

As Dawson County continues to see growth in the population, Smock and Shelter Director Jason Hutcherson, anticipate a needed expansion of the shelter’s intake area in order to meet the community’s needs.

Smock said that an expansion might include switching from a septic system and tying into the sewer line to cut down on internal costs, as well as expanding the animal intake areas to allow for a larger maximum capacity as well as creating a larger reception and public-friendly adoption area.

“We have to within the next couple of years get an expansion underway if we are in fact going to continue to provide the services that historically we’ve been able to provide here,” Smock said. “That will probably be our largest task at hand.”

According to Hutcherson, the shelter has full capacity around 200 animals and averages around 140 to 160 animals at any given time.

While talks of an expansion are in the extremely early planning stages, Smock and Hutcherson have other plans to help alleviate some of the space: a foster program.

Hutcherson said he is looking to get started with a small foster program, starting with about half a dozen dogs and half a dozen cats in order to work out the kinks and get the program running smoothly.

He envisions that an animal will be paired with a foster family that will be the

right fit for them which will help the shelter staff and volunteers learn more about the animals outside of the shelter walls.

“Ideally we would start with the longtimers,” said Hutcherson of the first animal participants in the foster program. “One, it would get them out of here which would be great for them and two, just to bring exposure. The foster families, they’re going to have friends, their Facebook pages.

Hopefully they’re posting pictures. It’ll open up a wider audience to help find that animal a forever home.”

The foster program would also benefit animals with special needs such as anxiety and high stress levels from being inside a shelter environment.

For short-term relief from the shelter walls, Hutcherson said the humane society has been offering a Doggy Day Out program for the past two years. The Doggy Day Out program allows for someone to take one of the adoptable dogs out for the day for additional socialization. Participants can walk the dogs, take them for car rides, grab a puppuccino from Starbucks or take them to the pet store to pick out toys and treats. The possibilities are endless, and the result is a happy dog gaining social skills and a break from a high-stress environment. Participants return the dog before the shelter closes, but in some cases, Hutcherson said they will allow participants to keep a dog overnight.

The shelter’s programs and structure is something that other agencies have noted, according to Smock.

Last month, the humane society received a visit from representatives of Best Friends Animal Society, a national organization leading the charge in creating a no-kill nation by 2025.

“When Best Friends came here for a tour about a month ago, they were just very impressed with the housekeeping, the layout, just how well everything flowed here, and they were very, very complimentary,” Smock said. “It’s the first time that they had been here, and they actually went as far as to say they would like to utilize Jason and the framework we have here to go out into the north Georgia and area and help other shelters become nokill.”

Smock and Hutcherson are proud to say that the Dawson County Humane Society has been a no-kill shelter since 2011.

For a shelter to receive no-kill status, they must have a 90% success rate or higher, meaning that no-kill shelters can still euthanize 10% of their animals in order to make room for new animals.

That’s not the case in Dawson County, with the shelter being 100% no-kill and not euthanizing animals to make room, Hutcherson said.

“We do our best to find room, to find homes, to adopt out, but to make sure there’s always room, if you will, in the inn,” Smock said.

Sometimes the best way to find room is by reducing the number of unwanted animals through education on the importance of spaying and neutering pets, which Smock said has been one of the humane society’s number one tasks in the community.

“We think we’ve done a pretty good job over the last 5 to 10 years of creating at awareness,” Smock said.

The humane society offers free spay and neuter for limited or no income families as well as for military members, which is funded through donations and grants when they are available.

Smock would also like to see increased adoptions of large dogs. It’s an issue faced nationwide as more and more people want

to adopt smaller dogs, according to Smock.

“We tend to see larger dogs in rural communities and the space, the costs, the food that they eat – it’s just a greater expense for a shelter when your population tends to be larger animals and it’s not going away,” Smock said. “These are great, great dogs to adopt. They’re great animals, but we’re seeing more and more surrenders of larger dogs.”

Every weekend the community has a chance to see some of these larger dogs up for adoption through the society’s offsite adoptions at the Petsmart in Cumming as well as alternating between adoption events at the Petco and Petsmart in Dawsonville.

Overall, Smock is encouraged by the

humane society’s strong foundation in the community and is excited for its future successes for the homeless animals in Dawson County.

His message to the community is “you’ve entrusted us for the last decade, trust us for the next.”

“It does take the community,” Smock said. “It takes the community to fall behind it and we’re blessed in this community to have animal lovers, people who are very passionate about the welfare.”

The Dawson County Humane Society is at 633 Martin Road in Dawsonville.

For more information call (706) 2659160 or visit www.dawsoncountyhumanesociety.org.

We are proud and honored to serve the Dawson County community.

It is the mission of the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office to protect the lives and property of our people through professional, progressive, and proactive service. We shall serve with compassion and respect while seeking solutions to improve quality of life, liberty, and safety for all.

We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing to serve you!

Visit us on Facebook @ Dawson County Sheriff’s Office Dawsonville, Ga www.dawsoncountysheriff.org Non-Emergency 706-344-3636 Tip Line- 706-265-4744 Sheriff Jeff Johnson

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020