About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2018)
Sheriff’s office restarts SWAT program LOCAL, 4A Softball team drops season opener 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
