Newspaper Page Text
8A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, September 19,2018
FROM 1A
Learning
The breakdown of the
budget sparked a discus
sion about the current use
of ESPLOST and the lack
of flexibility, something
Gibbs has said is a hin
drance for small districts
like Dawson County.
“The money that we
earn in the single one
penny ESPLOST we can’t
spend on salaries and ben
efits. That’s a huge prob
lem for us,” Gibbs said.
“We’ve been working with
our legislature for the last
couple years asking for
some flexibility in our
funding.”
Representative Kevin
Tanner (R-Dawsonville)
brought legislation before
the house last year that
would allow for more flex
ibility in ESPLOST funds,
but it was killed on the
floor.
Though Dawson County
schools have seen a 6 per
cent increase in student
enrollment, the first sub
stantial growth in 10 years,
the current facilities are
still far from maximum
capacity.
“We’re just fortunate
that the school system built
ahead of the curve in 2008
when the growth absolute
ly stopped. The school sys
tem is ready for growth,”
Gibbs said.
Allocating a portion of
the ESPLOST revenue
could help offset the main
tenance costs not currently
covered under ESPLOST
regulations.
Director of Facilities and
Maintenance Scott Morgan
provided information on
several projects his depart
ment has completed
through the use of
ESPLOST funds.
The activity fields at the
elementary schools saw
upgrades with new equip
ment. A new entrance to
Hightower Academy was
created, giving the cam
pus its own entrance. The
new JROTC building, new
tennis courts, the guard
shack and the Performing
Arts Center along with
new lighting for the stadi
um, softball and baseball
fields and the installation
of field turf at Tigers
Stadium at Dawson
County High School were
built with ESPLOST
funds. A car rider line at
Robinson Elementary was
constructed to help the
flow of traffic. RES also
received a new roof this
summer.
System-wide upgrades
include upgraded flooring,
window tinting and securi
ty measures such as the
new buzz-in system,
upgrades to the media cen
ters (now called student
learning commons) and a
new keying system that
ensures new keys cannot
be created for the campus
es by anyone other than
school officials.
Gibbs said that he would
like to be able to use a por
tion of current ESPLOST
funds to help offset main
tenance and operation
costs such as purchasing
fuel for the 60 bus fleet.
Jim Rich, director of
transportation, broke down
some of the costs associat
ed with maintaining 60
buses.
Due to the size of the
county and number of
roads inaccessible to
buses, bus drivers currently
traverse 617,000 miles per
year, eating up 82,000 gal
lons of fuel. That amounts
to $200,000 in fuel costs.
Should legislation pass
to change the current con
straints of ESPLOST allo
cation, portions of trans
portation and maintenance
costs could be covered, but
that may never happen.
It is an issue that
Dawson County will con
tinue to advocate for at the
capitol, Gibbs said.
“There’s a good chance
that it will never happen.
We’re optimistic,” said
Gibbs. “We’re not going to
stop having the conversa
tion because we think it
should be a local decision.”
FROM 1A
Turk
“David’s direct style, dry
wit and professionalism
made him unique,”
Homans said. “We will
miss him.”
According to Gurr, Turk,
a native of Gray, graduated
from Mercer Law School
and was an assistant dis
trict attorney under then-
District Attorney Andrew
Fuller.
He then went to work for
a statewide drug prosecu
tion unit.
In 1992, Turk was
appointed by Gov. Zell
Miller to serve as the first
district attorney for the
Enotah Judicial Circuit,
which encompasses White,
Lumpkin, Towns and
Union Counties. He served
in that position until 1994,
Gurr said.
Turked worked as a pri
vate practice attorney in
Northeast Georgia
throughout the 1990s and
early 2000s with the law
office now known as
Kimmey and Murphy.
He worked with Lansing
Kimmey and Craig
Murphy until he was
appointed as the first full
time juvenile court judge
for the Enotah Circuit, a
position he held for six
years.
“I thoroughly enjoyed
practicing law alongside
him, I tried a few cases
with him and learned quite
a lot,” Murphy said
Tuesday. “On behalf of our
firm we are deeply sad
dened by the loss, he was a
great lawyer and a great
friend.”
Turk returned to private
practice in 2010, before
going to work as an assis
tant public defender in
Dawson County in 2016.
He served in that role until
his death.
According to his obitu
ary, Turk earned his under
graduate degree at Young
Harris and was valedictori
an of Jones County High
School. He was active in
Rotary and the Masons,
and was a dog lover and
supported the Humane
Society.
Bom Cicero David Turk
III, he is survived by his
wife Evi, daughters Julie
and Chrissy, mother Ruby,
two siblings and three
grandchildren.
Funeral services were
held at 2 p.m. Sept. 18 at
Clinton United Methodist
Church in Gray. A memo
rial in northeast Georgia is
planned for a later date.
FROM 1A
Officer
When he entered the res
idence, Smith said he
heard a male and female
yelling and saw Kormos
standing over a woman
who was kneeling on the
floor. The woman was
Kormos’ estranged wife,
Erica Christine Vibert, 24.
According to the report,
Kormos told the deputy
that he and his wife had
been arguing about their
marriage. At some point
Kormos had gotten a fire
arm out and had thoughts
of ending his life.
The report states that the
firearm had gone off into a
bed during a struggle
between Kormos and
Vibert. Vibert told the dep
uty that “at no point did
she think that Kormos
would have meant to hurt
her.”
Vibert stated that right
after the two had separated,
Kormos had begun taking
medication for depression.
Kormos was transported
to Northeast Georgia medi
cal Center for mental eval
uation due to him talking
about suicide. The deputy
noted that when he arrived,
Kormos smelled strongly
of alcohol and his speech
was slurred.
He bonded out of jail
Sept. 11 on a $5,200 bond.
Kormos was served a
termination notice by the
Dawson County Sheriff’s
Office on Sept. 11, but
Sheriff Jeff Johnson said
Kormos has appealed his
termination and that he
anticipates a hearing to be
held this week.
Kormos was hired by the
DCSO in March 2017. In
his annual review, Cpl.
Brandon Shaw stated that
Kormos was “an outstand
ing aspect to the Dawson
County Sheriff’s Office.”
Kormos is the second
DCSO detention officer to
be arrested this month.
Luciano Betancourt
resigned Aug. 14 in the
middle of a sheriff’s office
investigation into an
alleged inappropriate rela
tionship with a female
inmate. Betancourt was
arrested Sept. 4 on the
charge of violation of oath
of public office.
daikiisi
A Pro Who Knows Indoor Comfort!
Your local Daikin brand dealer has all the tools needed to
find the best high-efficiency, energy-saving Daikin brand
ductless heating and cooling system for you.
-^KNEPPER
HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING
706-867-0535
121 Lumpkin Co. Pkwy. • Dahlonega, GA • knepperair.com
Our continuing commitment to quality products may mean a change in specifications without notice.
©2014 daikin north America llc • Houston, Texas ■ USA - www.daikincomfort.com
CALL NOW & SAVE UP TO 84%
ON YOUR NEXT PRESCRIPTION
Drug Name Qty (pills) Price* Drug Name
Qty (pills) Price*
Viagra lOOmg
16 $47.99 Retin-ACreamO.05%
50 g
$79.99
Viagra50mg
16 $44.99 Vivelle-Dot50mcg
24 patches $124.99
Cialis5mg
90 $149.99 VoltarenEmulgel1%
300 g
$84.99
Cialis20mg
20 $134.99 ArmourThyroid 60 mg
100
$69.99
Levitra 20mg
30 $129.99 Dexilant60mg
90
$339.99
Stendra 200mg
16 $259.99 OnglyzaSmg
84
$309.99
Spiriva18mcg
90 $189.99 EffexorXR150mg
100
$39.99
Advair250tncg/50mcg 180ds $204.99 Boniva150mg
3
$69.99
VagifemlOmcg
24 $114.99 Tricor145mg
90
$139.99
Premarin 0.625mg
84 $94.99 Pradaxa150mg
180
$474.99
Combivent18mcg/103mcg 600ds $139.99 Synthroid 100mcg
90
$59.99
Symbicott160mcg/4.5mcg 360ds $214.99 QVAR80mcg
400 ds $134.99
Entocort3mg
100 $129.99 Finacea Gel15%
90
$134.99
JanuvialOOmg
81 $259.99 Uloric40mg
90
$174.99
Aggrenox 200mg/25mg
200 $139.99 BreoEllipta100mcg/25mcg 908s
$399.99
Ability 5mg
81 $139.99 JubliaM
24 ml
$489.99
Colcry$0.6mg
100 $109.99 Tradjenta 5mg
90
$349.99
Vytorin 10mg/40mg
90
$154.99
Xifaxan 550mg
100
$169.99
Asacol 800mg
300
$249.99
VesicarelOmg
100
$164.99
RanexaERSOOmg
200
$189.99
Myrbetriq 50mg
90
$364.99
Actigall 300mg
300
$224.99
Bystolic5mg
84
$114.99
EliquisSmg
168
$604.99
$79.99 NasonexSOmcg 420ds $94.99
/ Over 1500 Medications available
/ Price Match Guarantee
/ Call for Free Price Quote
/ Prescriptions Required
/ CIPA Certified
Toll Free Phone
1-800-267-2688
Spiriva Respimat2.5mcg 180ds $234.99
NamendalOmg
84
$29.99
Premique0.3mg/1.5mg 84
$104.99
Estring7.5mcg/24hr
1
$119.99
Restasis 0.05 %
90 ds
$224.99
Combigan 0.2%/0.5%
15 ml
$139.99
Azilectlmg
100
$324.99
Janumet50mg/1000mg
168
$329.99
Lumigan0.01%
9 ml
$79.99
FloventHFAIIOmcg
360 ds
$159.99
Jardiance25 mg
90
$415.99
Toll Free Fax
1-800-563-3822
All pricing in U.S dollars and subjectto change without notice.’! accept
Amen, Electronic Checking, Personal Check or International Money Order."
'Prices shown are for the equivalent generic drug if available.*
k TotalCareMart.com
\w Savings made easy
1 -800-267-2688
www.TotalCareMart.com
: ORDER PROCESSING CENTER, PO BOX 121STN L,
, MANITOBA, R3H 0Z4, CANADA CODE CP59
