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Sheriff’s office restarts
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Softball team drops
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SPORTS, 1B
DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I AUGUST 8, 2018 DaWSOflNeWS ^com DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $1.00
County budget hearings underway
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
Public hearings for the county’s
2019 budget are underway this
week as department heads and
elected officials are presenting
their requests for operating costs
to the Dawson County Board of
Commissioners.
The hearings will continue
through Thursday of this week as
well as Monday through
Thursday next week.
The requests will be considered
as the BOC chairman and finance
department create the recom
mended budget, which will be
presented to the rest of the com
mission in September for adop
tion in early October.
Big requests so far have includ-
ed $200,000 from the
Development Authority of
Dawson County for its yearly
costs, as well as new cameras for
the tax commissioner’s office and
new personnel in the public
works department.
During hearings on Monday,
development authority Chairman
Brian Trapnell presented his bud
get request.
The commission previously
voted not to allocate the authority
any money for 2017 or 2018 after
a disputed decision by the author
ity to issue a tax exemption to
Kroger in December 2015 for the
new marketplace location.
After then-Executive Director
Charlie Auvermann resigned due
to lack of funds, the Dawson
County Chamber of Commerce
stepped in to help and the board
of commissioners allocated
$135,000 to the authority in
February so that it could continue
to operate within a new partner
ship with the chamber throughout
the remainder of 2018.
Trapnell asked for the authori
ty’s usual $150,000 for opera
tions for 2019, which the authori
ty was allocated in 2015 and
2016, as well as an additional
$25,000 for legal fees and anoth
er $25,000 for consultant servic
es.
“We’ve been very intentional in
our relationship building with
everyone on the county commis
sion making sure that we’re keep
ing everyone looped in to the pro
cess, to communicating as effec
tively and transparently as possi
ble,” Trapnell said.
Also presenting on Monday
was Tax Commissioner Nicole
Stewart. Stewart asked for
$22,618 less for her general fond
budget than what she was allocat
ed in 2018, but requested a capi
tal improvement in the form of
cameras in the tax assessor’s
office for security and as a safe
guard against potential thievery.
She has asked for cameras
See Budget|12A
Pool Room siren finally sounds
Photos by Ben Hendren For the Dawson County News
Dawsonville hometown hero Chase Elliott steps off a plane on Elliott Field just hours after winning his first NASCAR
Cup.
Elliott brings home first NASCAR Cup win
Dawson County Chamber of Commerce President Christie Haynes gets a photo
taken with NASCAR Cup winner Chase Elliott in Dawsonville Sunday night.
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
If not for light spilling out
from the solitary hangar on
Elliott Field, the crowd
would have been standing in
almost total darkness, and
that would have suited them
just fine as they were there
to welcome home new local
hero, NASCAR driver Chase
Elliott.
In his 99th Cup Series
race, Elliott drove under the
checkered flag to secure his
first career Monster Energy
NASCAR Cup Series victo
ry on Sunday at Go Bowling
at the Glen in Watkins Glen,
N.Y.
Elliott, 22, was greeted
back home as he stepped off
a plane in Dawsonville later
that night.
“It was really last minute,”
said Christie Moore, presi
dent of the Dawson County
Chamber of Commerce. “We
found out he was coming
home tonight, and we want
ed to make sure the commu
nity had the chance to wel
come him home and cele
brate his victory.”
Over 100 people got the
message, spread by Moore
on Facebook, as the crowd
swelled to its peak around
10 p.m. Sunday. A local col
lection of families and
friends, everybody was
eager to be a part of yet
another piece of
Dawsonville’s legendary rac
ing history.
“We found out only an
hour ago, and immediately
woke up the kids and headed
this way,” said county resi
dent Harris Georgia. “We
wanted to make sure he
knew we were happy for
him.”
Around 10:30 p.m., a
piercing whistle, the kind
used to call home dogs and
children from the deep
woods, instantly silenced the
crowd, who were instructed
to move off the runway “so
as not to get hit by the
plane.”
A moment later, an almost
giddy voice cried “They’re
here!” and the crowd lit up
with cell phones and camer
as at the ready.
See Chase|11A
Bennett’s
impact seen
as lasting
Longtime Dawson
BOE member dies
By Jessica Brown
jbrown@dawsonnews.com
On July 30, Dawson County lost one of
its most valued members of the communi
ty, Cecil Bennett, who passed away sur
rounded by his family.
Bennett was a longtime board of educa
tion member, serving the children of
Dawson County for 25
years. He served on the
board from March of
1973 until 1987 when he
left to serve as a county
commissioner.
He returned to the
board of education in
2004 and received a
retirement sendoff in
December 2014 when he
was recognized for his 25 years of service
by the Georgia School Board Association.
“He was a hero in the fight to offer
greater educational experiences to the chil
dren of Dawson County,” said
Superintendent Damon Gibbs. “He was a
student advocate and never wavered in his
commitment to make decisions that had a
positive impact on children. I am heartbro
ken about the loss of such a fine man.”
See Bennett 13A
Bennett
Dawsonville votes
for no property tax
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
The Dawsonville city council voted
Monday night not to impose a property
tax on citizens, keeping in tradition with
decades of not levying a millage rate.
The city continues to rely on its share of
LOST and SPLOST proceeds as well as
fees for services in order to operate.
Finance Administrator Hayden
Wiggins presented the council with the
millage rate the city would charge if it
felt the need to collect property taxes.
“We’re fortunate enough that we have
our LOST proceeds so that we don’t have
to levy a city tax,” Wiggins said. “But if
we didn’t have the LOST proceeds it
would result in a millage rate of 8.96
mils.”
Wiggins presented an example that if a
resident had a house that was worth
$250,000, they would take the taxable
value of 40 percent, which would be
$100,000, and multiply it by the 8.96
mils. That would result in a tax bill of
$896.
“I’m recommending to roll the millage
See Tax13A
9 0 9 9
Inside
Volume 3, Number 45
© 2018, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
3B
Classifieds
8B
Dear Abby
7B
Deaths
2A
Legals
9B
Opinion
9A
Sports
1B
Racing Hall
of Fame
induction
Saturday
7A Siblings
describe terror
of deck collapse
