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Rain can’t stop car show
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Focus on water safety
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WEDNESDAY I MAY 30, 2018
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Pai updates area on broadband
FCC chairman speaks on telecom in Dahlonega
By Nick Bowman
DCN Regional Staff
Progress is being made and more
is coming on rural broadband issues,
Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission, said
while attending a forum in
Dahlonega on Friday.
Pai and U.S. Rep. Doug Collins,
R-Gainesville, talked May 25 to a
packed room of telecommunications
industry leaders and local and state
elected officials at the University of
North Georgia’s new convocation
center in Dahlonega.
From updates to federal grant
funding for telecommunications pro
viders to regulations of internet ser
vice providers, Pai told the group of
more than 50 people that bipartisan
changes are being made to help bring
internet access to rural Georgians and
rural residents nationwide.
Pai also praised Collins’ Gigabit
Opportunity Act, which “would be a
gamechanger not just for rural areas,
like parts of this district, but also for
low-income urban areas. It’s
designed to make sure we target peo
ple who are unserved or underserved,
and we give them what I call digital
opportunity.”
Of all the issues facing the FCC,
Pai said, including robocalls and net
neutrality regulations, access to inter
net on the part of the 34 million
Americans who don’t have adequate
access is the most important.
Pai, Collins and other speakers dis
cussed internet access, the grand
infrastructure issue of our time, and
said expanding access into rural mar
kets would help bridge the gap in
academic and business opportunity
facing rural areas.
SeeFCC|6A
Nick Bowman Gainesville Times
Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, right, talks with U.S. Rep. Doug
Collins, R-Gainesville, after a rural broadband
forum held May 25 at the University of North
Georgia's Dahlonega campus.
Photos by Jessica Brown Dawson County News
Dawson County High School class of 2018 graduates toss their mortar boards high in the air following
commencement ceremonies May 24.
‘We’re made for a purpose’
Dawson High seniors move to next phase of life
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
Nearly every seat in the
3,600-seat University of
North Georgia
Convocation Center was
filled last Thursday by
family, friends, mentors
and former teachers of
the Dawson County High
School class of 2018 for
commencement ceremo
nies.
Cameras flashed and
the crowd called out as
225 students walked
across the stage to get
their diplomas on May
24, the final step in their
13-year long school
careers.
As far as numbers go,
the class of 2018 ended
strong.
Thirty-two clubs, honor
societies and extracurric-
ulars were represented
with cords, stoles and
medals hanging around
student’s necks. Seventy-
nine students received
scholarships to postsec
ondary institutions, out
side of the HOPE and the
Zell Miller Scholarships,
amounting to $1.2 mil
lion. Twenty will receive
the Zell Miller
Scholarship, covering 100
percent of their post-sec -
DCHS 2018 Valedictorian Marley Hamby gives her speech during com
mencement lastThursday.
ondary tuition, while
around 122 will receive
the HOPE Scholarship,
covering 88 percent of
their tuition. Eighty-three
were honor graduates.
Two students had perfect
attendance for their entire
school careers, and one
was named the
Valedictorian for her aca
demic achievements.
But all have one thing
in common: They have all
learned that their educa
tion is their key to free
dom.
Each speech, whether it
came from senior class
president Andrew Burns
or Superintendent Damon
Gibbs, reminded the class
that with a high school
diploma, their options on
where to go from here are
endless.
Salutatorian Jacob
Moore gave “the best
loser speech ever,” remi
niscing about his fondest
memories and encourag
ing his classmates to trust
in the Lord to find their
path in life.
“Ya’ll know Em not the
most affectionate or
touchy-feely type, but
I’ve got to say my time
here in Dawson County
has really left a mark on
my life, and that these
last four years have
changed me for the better,
including all of the peo
ple I’ve met and all the
things I’ve experienced,”
Moore said, before com
menting on all of the
things that made the class
of 2018 unique.
“From seeing an Ivy
League athlete riding to
See Class 16A
Parks and Rec
director resigns
Henson ends 25-year career
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
Dawson County Parks and Recreation Director Lisa
Henson turned in her resignation on Friday, signaling
an end to a more than 25-year career
with the county.
Henson has been the director for
11 years. Prior to that she worked as
athletic director and assistant parks
director, coming from the Dawson
County Sheriff’s Office.
She had a 15-year career in law
enforcement, working at the Forsyth
County Sheriff’s Office for 10 years
before moving to Dawson. She worked as patrol
supervisor and jail commander for five years, until
she was married, and decided that two people in law
enforcement wasn’t the best thing for raising a family.
“The opportunity came up to work (in parks and
rec) and I took it,” she said. “I’ve loved it here, we’re
like a family and that is the hardest part of this deci
sion.”
In her letter dated May 25, Henson stated she had
met with County Manager David Headley, County
Attorney Lynn Frey and Human Resources Director
Danielle Yarbrough on May 22 to discuss her pending
resignation.
See Henson 17A
Henson
Rotary Island
opens Saturday
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
Rotary Island at Rock Creek Park will open for its
fourth season on Saturday, when hundreds of local chil
dren will flock to the splash pad oasis to cool off under
the sprinklers.
Rotary Island is an interactive water park that fea
tures five above ground water features and six ground
level sprinklers. It is located adjacent to the park’s chil
dren’s playground and adjoins the pavilion.
Each year the park opens with a celebration hosted
by the Rotary Club of Dawson County that will include
free activities, free food and a talent show.
The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 2.
The talent show, new this year, will begin at noon. It is
free to register and is open to any talent.
Registration begins at 10 a.m. and prizes will be
given to first, second and third place winners.
The entire community is invited to come out and
enjoy free hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and snow
cones, as well as ride on a water slide, dunk local
celebrities in a water tank and meet some furry friends
at a petting zoo.
Admission to Rotary Island is always free.
Rotary Island opened in August of 2014 and was the
club’s biggest project since the club formed in 1992,
costing over $54,000.
Water is donated by the Etowah Water and Sewer
Authority.
Weather permitting, children and adults will be able
to play in the water feature during park hours until the
end of September.
9 0 9 9
Inside
Volume 3, Number 35
© 2018, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
3B
Classifieds
8B
Dear Abby
7B
Deaths
2A
Legals
8B
Opinion
9A
Sports
1B
Annual
celebrity
waiter
breakfast set
for June 1
4A Primary recap:
Cagle, Kemp
head into
runoff
