About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2018)
2A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, August 1,2018 OBITUARIES Mary M. Maher Mary M. Maher, 73, of Dawsonville, died July 26, 2018. Born June 11, 1945 in New York, Mary had been a resident of Dawson County for over 30 years coming from Atlanta. She was raised in LaGrange, where she was a graduate of LaGrange High School and attended LaGrange College. After many years of being a homemaker, Mary went to work for the Dawson County School System where she was a beloved cashier in the lunchroom of Robinson Elementary and later Black’s Mill Elementary. A loving and devoted mother and grandmother, Mary was an active mem ber of Bethel United Methodist Church and their UMW group. Her husband, Mike Maher, and parents, Davis and Irene Melson, preced ed her in death. Survivors include her children, Allyson and Angela Shaffer of Tucker, Chris Maher of Dawsonville, Byron and Kelley Shaffer of Loganville, Jeff and Deana Maher of Cumming, Angie and Bryan Chester of Dawsonville, Matt “Sam” Maher and Slade Sohmer of New York; grandchil dren, Kelsey Maher, Jamie Shaffer, Savannah and Matt Fox, Carrie Maher, Rachel Shaffer, Anna Maher, Emily Shaffer; various other relatives also survive. The family is planning memorial services to be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to Bethel United Methodist Church UMW, 100 Lumpkin Campground Road South, Dawsonville, Ga. 30534. Bearden Funeral Home of Dawsonville was in charge of the arrangements. Dawson County News August 1, 2018 WayneThomas Wayne Thomas, 82, of Dawsonville, died July 27, 2018. Mr. Thomas was born December 17, 1935 and raised in Robertsdale, Ala. He was the son of a Baptist minister and of Baptist faith. Previously of Lilbum, he had been a resi dent of Dawson County for over 10 years. A graduate of Auburn University, Wayne was an avid Auburn Tigers football fan and retired after 35 years of service as a civil engineer for the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. A kind and gentle man, he was a loving and devoted hus band, father and grandfa ther who always had a smile. His parents, Ralph and Rosa Lee Thomas, and a brother, Donald Thomas, preceded him in death. Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Helen Thomas of Dawsonville; daughters and sons-in-law, Sue and George Thomason of Alabama, Debbie Barnaby of Dawsonville, Lisa Powell of Dawsonville, Tricia and Mark Barber of Cumming; sister, Joyce Calloway of Alabama, sisters-in-law, Pearl White of Florida, Jo Ellen and Gerald Bowie of West Point, Ga.; six grand children; five great-grand children; various other rela tives also survive. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Aug. 11 in the Bearden Funeral Home Chapel. Rev. Mike Owens will officiate. The family will receive friends from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Aug. 11 at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to brightfocus.org (macular degeneration research). Bearden Funeral Home of Dawsonville was in charge of the arragements. Dawson County News August 1, 2018 Commission to hold open budget hearings Budget Hearing Schedule Monday, August 6 Monday, August 13 9:00 AM Superior & Drug Court 9:45 AM Tax Commissioner 9:00 AM 9:45 AM Tax Assessor District Attorney 10:30 AM Development Authority 10:30 AM Park & Rec 11:00 AM Human Resources / Risk Mgmt 11:30 AM County Attorney 11:30 AM Finance Tuesday, August 7 Tuesday, August 14 9:00 AM Public Defender 9:00 AM Juvenile Court 9:45 AM Elections 9:30 AM Chamber of Commerce 10:30 AM Extension 10:00 AM Keep Dawson County Beautiful 11:00 AM Probate 10:30 AM Arts Council 11:30 AM Public Works / Transfer Station 11:00 AM Library 11:30 AM Health Department Wednesday, August 8 Wednesday, August 15 9:00 AM Magistrate 9:00 AM Senior Center / Transit 9:45 AM Family Connection 9:45 AM Planning / Marshal 10:30 AM Good Shepherd Clinic 10:30 AM Fire / EMS/ EMA 11:00 AM Sheriff Thursday, August 9 Thursday, August 16 9:00 AM Coroner 9:00 AM Fleet 9:45 AM Facilities 9:30 AM NOA 10:30 AM IT 10:00 AM DFACS 11:00 AM Clerk of Court / Board of Equalization 10:30 AM Humane Society 11:30 AM County Manager / General 11:00 AM CASA Government 11:30 AM Board of Commissioners By Allie Dean adean@dawsonnews.com The Dawson County Board of Commissioners will be holding a series of hearings over the next two weeks to discuss the 2019 budget. This is the second year that the board has opted for open-door meetings after Chairman Billy Thurmond decided to begin holding meetings with the rest of the commissioners as well as opening up the process to the public. Previously, the chairman of the commission along with the finance department and county manager would create the budget after meeting with the various department heads individually. The budget would then be presented to the rest of the commissioners for approval. The department heads will now come before the commission in an open meeting to present their requests for the upcoming fiscal year. Thurmond said the reason for the change was to have a more transparent process for allocating funds to various departments. The hearings will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Aug. 6-9 and Aug. 13-16 in the assembly room on the second floor of the Dawson County Government Center. FROM 1A Impact “The impact fee ulti mately charged will repre sent a shifting of the burden to fund these capital proj ects from the tax base as a whole to the new growth and development actually demanding the services being added through these projects,” Ross’ impact fee methodology report reads. “The goal is the essence and basis of impact fees: everyone pays their fair share of the capital improvements needed to serve them on an equal basis.” Under the proposed schedule, the maximum fee for a new single family home in 2018 would be $3,372.16; the maximum fee for a new general use office building would be $1.39 per square foot; and the maximum fee for a new shopping center would be $1.64 per square foot. According to the meth odology report, impact fees are limited to capital items having a life expectancy of at least 10 years, such as land, buildings and other facilities and major rolling stock, such as fire trucks. Impact fees cannot be used for maintenance, sup plies, personnel salaries, or other operational costs, or for short term capital items such as computers, furni ture or automobiles, the report states. Projects that the fees will be used to fund include seven new fire stations, a new branch library, an additional 200 acres of park space and improve ments to heavily-trafficked county roads including Lumpkin Campground Road. The board voted back in March to send the complet ed Capital Improvements Element, containing a sum mary of potential maxi mum impact fees, to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for approval. The CIE has come back to the county with a bless ing from the department of community affairs, and the board voted July 19 to approve the updated ver sion. The board will hold hear ings at 6 p.m. Aug. 2 and Aug. 16 for citizens to weigh in on the proposed fees. The board could vote Aug. 16 to decide to start collecting fees again and set a date for collection to begin. Separately, Streetman said the comprehensive plan should be completed soon. The comprehensive plan is used by elected officials as a guideline for future growth and development, including capital projects allocations and the future land use map. The comprehensive plan must be updated every five years and is a requirement to maintain Certified Local Government Status in Georgia, which makes the county eligible for state grants and programs. The county is in the process of finalizing the update with the aid of the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, or GMRC. www.dawsonvillehardware.com Notice of two Public Hearings to consider adopting Impact Fees. Notice is hereby given that the Dawson County Board of Commissioners shall hold two public hearings to consider adopting Impact Fees. Both public hearings shall be held at the Dawson County Government Center, 25 Justice Way, Assembly Room 2302, Dawsonville, GA, on Thursday, August 2, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. and Thursday August 16, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. before the Dawson County Board of Commissioners. These two public hearings are to allow the public to provide comment and input on the Board of Commissioners’ consideration to adopt Impact Fees. NOT EVERYONE IN HEALTHCARE WEARS SCRUBS 2018 REGIONAL EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT Join us for a special one-day event focused on the future of healthcare, career opportunities and educational pathways. This program is for students, education and community leaders, and industry professionals. Keynote presenter: Frank Berry, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health. September 6,2018 8:00 a.m.-3:45 p.m. UNG CONVOCATION CENTER, DAHLONEGA CAMPUS $25 registration $10 students For program details and registration go.ung.edu/reed-summit Presenting Partner Northeast Georgia Health System UNG UNIVERSITY »/ Norti i Georgia" ^ Daws o n C o u nty N e ws A Metro Market Media Publication Established in 2015 by the merger of Dawson Community News and Dawson News and Advertiser PUBLISHER | Stephanie Woody GENERAL MANAGER | Brenda Bohn EDITOR | Allie Dean ADVERTISING DIRECTOR | Jennifer Lyness Updates online at DaWSOnNeWS 1 30 Shoal Creek Road Dawsonville, GA 30534 PHONE (706) 265-3384 FAX (706) 265-3276 USPS 018-876 Display advertising For Wednesday: Retail and Classified deadlines are 3 p.m. Friday Classified liners (help wanted, for sale, etc.) For Wednesday: Deadline is noon Monday Advertising rates available upon request. 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