Newspaper Page Text
2A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, July 4,2018
Photos by Jessica Brown Dawson County News
Top, Robert Graham of Cartersville tells a young girl about his custom built
Surf Rod that his grandson designed six years ago at the Hot Wheels 50th
Anniversary Legends tour in Dawsonville June 30. Above, kids had the
chance to sit inside life-sized versions of their favorite Hot Wheels cars at
Walmart Saturday morning during the sixth stop of the Hot Wheels 50th
Anniversary Legends tour.
FROM 1A
Hot
the Atlanta leg of the tour.
Graham and his Surf
Rod will travel to SEMA
2018 in Las Vegas for his
chance to have his car
immortalized in the Hot
Wheels collection. SEMA
stands for the Specialty
Equipment Market
Association.
“I really enjoyed it but
it just goes to show you
that a little bit of mindset
and you know it’s like the
thing we always say ‘take
a kid to a car show.’ It’s
good for them because
I’m afraid we’re going to
be the last ones that do
this,” Graham said.
The Dawsonville leg of
the Hot Wheels Legends
Tour was refreshing to
see, according to Hot
Wheels designer Mark
Jones.
Jones has designed 173
Hot Wheels cars in his 19
years as a designer for the
brand. When he was
younger, he too collected
Hot Wheels, and was
happy to see that the Hot
Wheels tradition is still
going strong with young
children in 2018.
“The kids are equally
excited about the cars as
they are the toys. It’s so
fascinating and it’s power
ful,” said Hot Wheels
Director of Marketing
Ricardo Briceno.
At the end of the event,
Briceno confirmed the
Dawsonville leg was the
largest turnout for the Hot
Wheels Legends Tour.
Over 2,500 spectators
came to Walmart Saturday
morning to check out the
custom hotrods, play in
the kid’s zone and sit
inside the life-size ver
sions of their favorite Hot
Wheels cars, including the
most popular model the
Twin Mill.
Part of the large turnout
is due to the deep roots of
car culture in the commu
nity as Dawsonville prides
itself on its NASCAR his
tory. It was one of the rea
sons Hot Wheels chose
Dawsonville to represent
the Atlanta leg of the tour,
Briceno said.
The Hot Wheels
Legends Tour saw an
incredible blend between
car builders and kids,
which is something
Briceno is really proud of
as it represents how Hot
Wheels has made an
impression for genera
tions.
“It’s about multigenera-
tional. It’s about dads and
moms and their kids and
the boys and the daugh
ters and the grandparents
but it’s also about the car
guys,” said Briceno. “One
thing that’s really unique
is the diversity of cars that
we see here so it’s like
we’re able to create this
melting pot of that. That’s
kind of what made Hot
Wheels what it is for what
it’s been for the past 50
years.”
Car enthusiasts came
from all over the region to
be a part of the special
anniversary event, includ
ing the famous Cruisin’
Cone, 1980 Metro van
from Knoxville, Tenn.
“My husband saw it in
a field in 2013...and he
came home and said
‘you’re going to think I’m
crazy but there’s this van
and I can’t explain why
but I just feel like it needs
to become an ice cream
truck and I want to do
this,”’ said Cheryl
Burchett.
Along with her hus
band, P.J., they set off to
purchase the dilapidated
van and transformed it
into a classic retro ice
cream truck, complete
with red and white stripes
and a large cone on top.
It took 18 months of
hard work to get the
Cruisin’ Cone finished
and the Burchett’s custom
creation debuted at
SEMA in 2015.
“He grew up with Hot
Wheels and that’s where
he first got the idea that
you can invent something
new and custom and kind
of the joy of making your
own look from doing that,
from taking them apart
and putting them back
together,” Burchett said.
The Cruisin’ Cone is
currently touring the
country as well, and the
Burchetts plan to follow
the Hot Wheels tour at
some of its next stops.
“We are so excited
about just having this
opportunity. As a normal
person car builder work
ing out of their own
garage, I can’t think of
any other time you’d have
this opportunity,” Burchett
said. “When we heard
about this and its 15 plac
es and 15 people are
going to have that chance,
it’s just unbelievable. It’s
so fun and so generous of
them to provide people
with this opportunity.”
All across the packed
parking lot were smiling
faces as kids elatedly
pointed out their favorite
cars to their parents while
car builders discussed
their custom builds with
each other.
“This is awesome, my
kids are in love, they want
every car,” said
Dawsonville mom Mandy
Chattin. “I’m pretty sure
we’ll be inside the toy
section afterward, hunting
through cars.”
“It’s a wonderful show,”
said Shawn Kilgore, who
owns Country Boy garage
in Cumming.
Kilgore didn’t have to
travel far from his
Dawsonville home with
his 1970 custom Lord for
the show and was happy
to let kids sit inside his
custom ride.
“I think it just makes
their heart race, just like
when I was young, sitting
in my grandpa’s hot rods,”
Kilgore said.
OBITUARY
Pamella Burt
Schlesinger
Pamella Burt
Schlesinger, 62, of
Dawsonville, died June
24, 2018.
Born Oct. 5, 1955 in
Atlanta, she lived most of
her life in Dawson
County. She was former
ly employed as an
accountant at the home
office of Waffle House
after which she worked at
Walmart in Dawsonville.
Pamella and her husband
loved to travel and her
favorite places were the
beach on Tybee Island
and quiet times in a
mountain cabin. She
recently fulfilled a life
long dream of flying to
California, renting a car,
and driving the California
beach line. Pamella was
of the Baptist faith.
Her husband, John L.
Schlesinger, and father,
Charles Burt, Sr., preced
ed her in death.
Survivors include her
mother, Betty Ellenburg
Burt of Dawsonville; sis
ters and brothers-in-law,
Ellen and John McDaris
of Bogart, Cheryl and
Bob Kelley of Buford;
brother and sister-in-law,
Chuck and Suzette Burt
of Dawsonville; a number
of nieces, nephews; vari
ous other relatives also
survive.
Memorial services will
be held at 3 p.m. July 14
in the Bearden Luneral
Home Chapel with Dr.
Jimmy Orr officiating.
The family will receive
friends from 2 to 3 p.m.
July 14 at the funeral
home.
In lieu of flowers dona
tions may be made to the
American Kidney Lund at
www.kidneyfund.org.
Bearden Luneral Home
of Dawsonville was in
charge of the arrange
ments.
Dawson County News
July 4, 2018
FROM 1A
Allie Dean Dawson County News
The passing lane on Hwy. 53 east headed into
Dawsonville will be restriped this summer into a
two-way center turn lane, according to a recent
letter from the Georgia Department of
Transportation.
Operations office had
recently completed a
review of the passing lane
section and “identified sev
eral changes and upgrades.”
“These improvements
include restriping the pass
ing lane to a two-way cen
ter turn lane, restriping the
western terminus of the
passing lane (Buddy Burt
Road curve) to improve the
geometry and various
improvements to be imple
mented during the next
resurfacing project,” Cook
wrote.
Cook also wrote that
GDOT will be pursuing a
contract to complete the
restriping and that the work
will be completed by
August of this year.
The project to resurface
the part of Hwy. 53 that
includes the passing lane
area is currently in the dis
trict’s LY 2020 capital
maintenance plan, Cook
said.
“The other items includ
ed in the resurfacing proj
ect include the installation
of edge line rumble strips
(will alert drivers they are
close to leaving the road
way) and a safety edge (a
shoulder treatment that
lessens the impact of drift
ing off the pavement),” he
wrote.
Tanner is currently the
chairman of the state
House transportation com
mittee, and said that his
concern for the area height
ened after Grace Sheer was
killed in a single-vehicle
crash in Lebruary while
driving to school.
Tanner said there had
been multiple injuries in
that curve even back when
he was starting out his
career in law enforcement
in the 1990s. When Sheer
was killed, Tanner said he
spoke with Spencer
Wright, the chorus director
at the high school, of which
Sheer was a part.
“He call me and talked to
me about it, and my daugh
ter was in chamber singers
with Grace as well. He
pointed out that many of
our young people are trav
eling that road every day.
People speed through there
and it’s become a racetrack
as traffic has continued to
increase,” he said.
Tanner thanked GDOT
for their attention to his
request, despite the heat it
may get from some resi
dents who like having the
option of passing.
“It’s inconvenient to not
be able to pass there but I
think in the long ran it will
make it safer for everyone,”
Tanner said. “I commend
GDOT for making these
improvements.”
The improvements are
being praised by those who
live and work in the area
and witness wrecks in the
curve all the time.
District 2 County
Commissioner Chris
Gaines said he is glad that
GDOT is working to
address the dangers of the
roadway.
“I am passionate about
the safety of our roads in
Dawson County and this
area has proven to be a
stretch of road that is very
dangerous,” Gaines said. “I
commend Tanner for shar
ing that same passion and
to have already been work
ing with GDOT to address
this issue. We are fortunate
to have him as a leader here
in Dawson County.”
Dell Conner, who has
worked at his shop, which
faces the curve, for the past
22 years, said he thinks the
turning lane will signifi
cantly decrease the amount
of traffic incidents there.
“(The speed limit) is 55
miles an hour, nobody runs
55 miles an hour. If it says
55, we as human beings are
going to run about 10
over,” Conner said.
“Everybody in Dawson
County thinks that they’re
Bill Elliott and in the morn
ings people will race, and
they get through that curve
and when that lane runs out
they’re jockeying for posi
tion to see who can get
there. If they’ll make that a
turning lane that will elimi
nate that scenario right
there.”
Conner said he thinks
GDOT could go a step fur
ther and decrease the speed
from 55 to 45 after Etowah
Water and Sewer Authority
going east on Hwy. 53, at
least until cars get through
the curve.
“There might never be
another fatality there if they
did that,” Conner said. “I
really feel confident it will
help. I’m tired of these kids
getting killed. And now
they’ve got that hands free
thing too, maybe a combi
nation of all that put togeth
er will help save lives in
this curve.”
Conner said he believes
over a dozen people have
been killed in the curve
since 1940.
Employees at
Dawsonville Veterinary
Hospital, which sits on the
right side of Hwy. 53 going
into Dawsonville, said they
are looking forward to the
improvements, as they are
constantly nearly rear-end
ed when turning into the
hospital.
“I think that’s the best
thing they could possibly
ever have done, to make
that a center turn lane,” said
Maggie Pierce, who must
cross over the passing lane
each morning as she turns
left to get to the hospital.
Sandra Adams, another
employee, said that she
turns right into the hospital
and that she has had people
go around her on the right
when she is slowing down
to turn.
“That should make life
safer for a lot of people,”
Adams said about GDOT’s
plans.
Numbers from the
Dawson County Sheriff’s
office show 20 traffic inci
dents on that section of
road in the past five years,
including two fatalities. An
Oakwood man was killed
in the curve after his trac
tor-trailer collided with a
passenger vehicle in
December of 2014.
Sheriff Jeff Johnson said
that the conditions in the
curve are “ideal” for
increased crashes as traffic
volumes increase.
“Another real and legiti
mate issue involves vehi
cles attempting to turn left
from the passing lane,” he
said. “Should GDOT con
vert the passing lane into a
turning lane, it would also
serve to create safer condi
tions for those turning into
private drives and road
ways off of Hwy. 53.”
GDOT could not provide
specifics on how they
determined the road was in
need of improvements, but
District 1 Communications
Officer Katie Strickland
said Tuesday that GDOT is
continually evaluating
areas such as the one refer
enced in the letter to
Tanner.
“The department evaluat
ed several aspects of road
way including the elevation
and the crash frequency/
severity,” Strickland said.
She also said that she did
not have a specific timeline
for the improvements yet.
20 oz
Value Size
IHARDWAREl
mmm
■■fUH e Hornet Spray 1|
WH,LE REGS3.69
SUPPLIES caie W
uflLt
LAST $2.39 JUS
www.dawsonvillehardware.com
—
^DawsonCountyNews
A Metro Market Media Publication
Display advertising
For Wednesday: Retail
and Classified deadlines
are 3 p.m. Friday
Established in 2015 by the merger of Dawson Community News and Dawson News and Advertiser
30 Shoal Creek Road
Dawsonville, GA 30534
PHONE (706) 265-3384
FAX (706) 265-3276
USPS 018-876
PUBLISHER | Stephanie Woody
EDITOR | Allie Dean
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR | Jennifer Lyness
Updates online at DaWSOnNcWS 1
Classified liners
(help wanted, for sale, etc.)
For Wednesday: Deadline
is noon Monday
Advertising rates available upon
request.
To subscribe in Dawson County:
ONE YEAR | $45
TWO YEARS | $75
To subscribe elsewhere in Georgia:
ONE YEAR | $65
To subscribe outside of Georgia:
ONE YEAR | $65
Published Wednesdays by the Dawson County News Co., 30 Shoal
Creek Road, Dawsonville, GA 30534. Second-class postage paid at
Dawsonville, Ga., and additional offices. Postmaster: Send address
changes to Dawson County News, P.O. Box 1600, Dawsonville,
GA 30534.