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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
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Published Wednesdays by the Dawson County News Co., 30 Shoal
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