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6A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, August 1,2018
Kroger shoppers help ‘stuff the bus’
Photos by Jessica Brown Dawson County News
Left, Krista Valetutto donates school supplies to
Dawson County Family Connection's annual 'Stuff
the Bus' fundraiser at Kroger July 28. Above,
Dawson County school bus was parked outside
Kroger. Donated school supplies go directly to kids
within Dawson County schools to help alleviate the
financial burden on parents at the beginning of the
school year.
By Jessica Brown
jbrown@dawsonnews.com
A bright yellow school
bus sat parked in front of
Kroger on Saturday,
greeting curious shoppers
as they emerged for their
weekend grocery hauls.
For the second year in
a row, Kroger has been
the perfect spot for the
‘Stuff the Bus’ campaign,
according to Dawson
County Family
Connection Coordinator
Nancy Stites.
Family Connection has
been collecting school
supplies for children in
Dawson County in need
for over a decade, each
year building upon the
next, but the ‘Stuff the
Bus’ campaign has been
particularly successful at
the new Kroger location.
“It certainly seems
more festive this year,”
Stites said as she pointed
to decorative balloons
donated by Kroger.
Music was playing and
the sun was shining July
28 as separate charitable
causes barbecuing and
selling Coca-Cola prod
ucts helped bring more
people to the bus to make
donations.
Shoppers stopped by to
take a look at the bus and
returned, after checking
off their grocery lists
inside Kroger, with bags
of school supplies.
Those who opted out of
donating supplies con
tributed monetary dona
tions, which help Family
Connection purchase
extra school supplies for
those in need.
“I think we’ve proba
bly got more donations
both monetary and school
supplies this year,” Stites
said.
Family Connection
Administrator Rebecca
Bliss confirmed Monday
afternoon that this year,
indeed, doubled the
amount of donations
from last year.
Monetary donations
doubled from $436 in
2017 to $825 in 2018,
and Bliss stated the sup
ply donation doubled as
well.
“All in all, we filled the
bus about a third of the
way - a Honda sedan 100
percent of the way - an
increase from last year,”
Bliss said.
New this year was a
partnership with Zaxby’s,
who were present during
the fundraiser, offering
those who donated a
chance to spin a prize
wheel where they could
earn anything from a
chicken keychain to free
food items from the res
taurant.
Associated Credit
Union had been accept
ing donations in their
lobby for weeks and
dropped off their bin full
of supplies Saturday, and
State Representative
Kevin Tanner stopped by
to donate as well.
The supplies from the
fundraiser will be taken
over to the school where
they will be assembled
by school social workers
into backpacks and dis
tributed to students in
need of supplies.
As kids continue com
ing into schools through
out the year, the supply-
filled backpacks will con
tinue to be distributed.
Donations can still be
made to Family
Connection at their office
at 96 Academy Ave., and
checks can be payable to
Dawson County Family
Connection and mailed to
P.O. Box 872,
Dawsonville, Ga. 30534.
Stay safe heading back to school
By Sheriff Jeff Johnson
Special to the DCN
A new school year sig
nifies that autumn is just
around the corner and
football season is on the
horizon, but most impor
tantly - the returning of
our students. There is
nothing much more
eventful than the begin
ning of a new school year.
As we anticipate chal
lenges and prepare for
another year, it is impor
tant that we take time to
address some potential
public safety concerns.
For us to be successful in
keeping our children safe,
we must all exercise
responsibility. This is
demonstrated through our
care, our caution and our
vigilance. It goes without
saying, but everyone is
vested with helping to
keep our community’s
children safe, not just
those with children in our
schools.
With our student num
bers increasing approxi
mately 5 percent, we
readily expect greater
traffic congestion. In
addition, we expect great
er participation in parent
pick-up and drop-off. We
encourage our communi
ty to be patient, leave
early and allow additional
time for your commute.
Tardiness, distractions
and impatience are often
the recipe for accidents.
We plead with you -
please be vigilant and
watchful. Although the
schools make every effort
to prevent kids from dart
ing across lanes of travel,
the possibility always
exists.
As construction on the
Hwy. 9 South Bridge
replacement continues,
we urge our daily com
muters to allow for
increased delays or seek
alternate routes.
Selective traffic
enforcement will be con
ducted with a focus on
speeding violations, dis
tracted driving violations,
etc. Additionally, deputies
will sporadically follow
school buses to monitor
for illegal passing and
other offenses.
With the increase in
city residents, we are wit
nessing more and more
children walking to and
from school. It is incum
bent upon each and every
motorist to always be on
the lookout and to exer
cise great caution when
driving. It only takes a
moment for a child to
step into traffic.
We strongly encourage
parents and caregivers to
be there for your children.
School bus stops and
community drop-off loca
tions may present prime
locations for predators to
lurk. Please keep your
children guarded. Any
suspicious people, vehi
cles or behavior should be
immediately reported to
911.
We urge our communi
ty to visit our website
www.dawsoncountysher-
iff.org and click on the
link to familiarize your
selves with Dawson
County registered offend
ers.
We are especially proud
Thurmond earns county
commissioner certification
From staff reports
Dawson County Board of
Commissioners Chairman
Billy Thurmond recently
completed all courses
required to earn his certifi
cate of recognition as a
Certified County
Commissioner from the
University of Georgia Carl
Vinson Institute of
Government, in partnership
with the Association
County Commissioners of
Georgia (ACCG).
Thurmond, who took
office in January 2017, suc
cessfully completed nine
training sessions covering
66 hours of required cours
es.
Courses included County
Government 101, County
Government Finance,
County Government Law,
Economic Development,
Ethics, Human Resources,
to have a School
Resource Officer (SRO)
serving in every Dawson
County School campus
this year. We are blessed
to have some well-experi
enced, well-seasoned
deputies serving in these
positions. As their titles
imply, they are a resource
for our children. We
encourage our students,
and our parents alike, to
get to know your assigned
officer.
As we continue to pre
pare and plan internally
for the new school year,
we stand ready and com
mitted to respond to the
needs of our students.
However we know that it
takes much more to
ensure the safety of our
children. It takes every
one watching, listening
and acting responsibly, to
ensure that our communi
ty’s children enjoy a safe
and productive year.
Poore Boys Wholesale Tire
TOYO TIRES
GRADUATE TO A HIGHER DEGREE OF PERFORMANCE
Leadership Institute,
Property Appraisal and
Taxation and Public Health
and Safety.
“I will use the knowledge
that I have gained from the
classes I took to obtain this
certification to better serve
the citizens of Dawson
County,” Thurmond said.
The institute, in partner
ship with ACCG, offers
courses through the
Lifelong Learning
Academy for county com
missioners to develop and
enhance their leadership
and governing skills.
Academy courses are
offered at least once every
other year during training
programs. These programs
are held in conjunction with
regularly scheduled ACCG
meetings or as stand-alone
sessions. In order to receive
credit, a person must attend
the entire course.
The Dawson County Board of
in the Commissioners Meeting
Dawsonville, Georgia during a
O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-32, the
with the history of the tax diges
CURREN'
Commissioners will
Room in the Dawso
regularly scheduled
Dawson County Bos
t and levy for the pa
‘2018 TAX [
NOTICE
ie setting the millage
n County Courthous
meeting on August
ird of Commissioner
st five (5) years, (ad
DIGEST AND
rate for 2018 for D
e/Administration Bui
16, 2018 that begins
s hereby publishes t
publish 07/25/18, Ot
5 YEAR HIS
awson County's purp
ding located at 25 J
at 6:00 p.m. and pu
he current year's tax
5/01/18 & 08/08/18)
TORY OF LE
oses during a meeti
ustice Way,
rsuant to the require
digest and levy, alo
.VY
ng
ments of
ig
INCORPORATED
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Real & Personal
72,497,801
79,404,687
83,214,836
91,187,440
102,426,129
122,042,206
Motor Vehicles
207,450
169,780
2,938
66,180
54,600
49,200
Mobile Homes
2,410
1,340
1,340
Timber -100%
Heavy Duty Equipment
Gross Digest
72,707,661
79,575,807
83,219,114
91,253,620
102,480,729
122,091,406
Less M& 0 Exemptions
8,859,483
9,629,715
10,462,211
12,671,621
13,990,679
17,519,295
Net M & 0 Digest
63,848,178
69,946,092
72,756,903
78,581,999
88,490,050
104,572,111
State Forest Land Assistance
Grant Value
Adjusted Net M&O Digest
63,848,178
69,946,092
72,756,903
78,581,999
88,490,050
104,572,111
Gross M&O Millage
13.618
13.194
13.009
12.896
14.425
14.599
Less Rollbacks
5.480
5.056
4.871
4.758
6.287
6.461
Net M&O Millage
8.138
8.138
8.138
8.138
8.138
8.138
Net Taxes Levied
$519,596
$569,221
$592,096
$639,500
$720,132
$851,008
UNINCORPORATED
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2017
Real & Personal
1,056,707,249
1,155,744,349
1,250,703,031
1,315,990,411
1,394,032,646
1,572,997,915
Motor Vehicles
72,598,180
61,251,430
46,193,350
35,695,240
28,320,790
22,736,970
Mobile Homes
940,069
892,818
889,289
955,649
952,109
1,493,910
Timber -100%
385,486
146,332
5,272
88,593
96,561
190,449
Heavy Duty Equipment
0
0
0
0
0
Gross Digest
1,130,630,984
1,218,034,929
1,297,790,942
1,352,729,893
1,423,402,106
1,597,419,244
Less M& 0 Exemptions
169,116,969
176,050,212
186,124,433
193,872,574
201,405,457
222,450,006
Net M & 0 Digest
$961,514,015
$1,041,984,717
$1,111,666,509
$1,158,857,319
$1,221,996,649
$1,374,969,238
State Forest Land Assistance
Grant Value
1,156,348
1,262,801
1,285,254
1,302,253
1,316,604
895,860
Adjusted Net M&O Digest
962,670,363
1,043,247,518
1,112,951,763
1,160,159,572
1,223,313,253
1,375,865,098
Gross M&O Millage
13.618
13.194
13.009
12.896
14.425
14.599
Less Rollbacks
5.480
5.056
4.871
4.758
6.287
6.461
Net M&O Millage
8.138
8.138
8.138
8.138
8.138
8.138
Net Taxes Levied
$7,834,211
$8,489,948
$9,057,201
$9,441,379
$9,955,323
$11,196,790
TOTAL COUNTY
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2017
Total County Value
1,026,518,541
1,113,193,610
1,185,708,666
1,238,741,571
1,311,803,303
1,480,437,209
Total County Taxes Levied
$8,353,808
$9,059,170
$9,649,297
$10,080,879
$10,675,455
$12,047,798
Net Taxes $ Increase
-$533,372
$705,362
$590,128
$431,582
$594,576
$1,372,343
Net Taxes % Increase
-6.00%
8.44%
6.51%
4.47%
5.90%
12.86%
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