Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, November 14,2018
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
Property bills under
appeal are still due
From staff reports
Dawson County residents
who received property tax bills
that are in a status of appeal are
still required to pay their annu
al property tax by the upcom
ing Dec. 1 deadline.
Dawson County Tax
Commissioner Nicole Stewart
wants property owners to be
aware that although they may
have received a bill that is in
the status of appeal, the billed
portion is still due by Dec. 1.
The billed portion is 85 percent
of the total bill due, unless 100
percent billed was chosen dur
ing the appeal application pro
cess.
The tax assessor’s office has
up to one full year to settle all
appeals and until that time the
billed portion that went out
with regular property tax bills
is still due. Any unpaid appeal-
status bills will accrue penal
ties if the Dec. 1 deadline is
missed.
Over the last year, every
property in Dawson County
was reassessed and as a result
many residents saw an increase
in their annual property tax bill.
For those who chose to
appeal the assessed value, the
appeals process is still ongoing.
Once the appeal process is
finalized, residents will either
have a refund issued or will be
sent a second bill for the
remaining amount due.
In the interim, all current
appeal status bills are due.
2018 Property Tax Statement
Dawson County
Georgia
Nicola Sbeuicmt
TAX COMMISSIONER
25 Justice Way, Suite 1222
Dawsonville, Georgia 30534
Office: 706-344-3520 I Fax: 706-344-3522
DETACH TOP PORTION'
DAWSON COUNTY, GEORGIA
2018 TAX BILL
25 Justice Way, Suite 1222
Dawsonville, Georgia 30534
BILL NUMBER BARCODE
I KEEP FOR YOUR RECORDS AND RETURN BOTTOM PORTION WITH PAYMENT.
mTTV'i
mmmmm
LEGAL DESCRIPTION
MAP ID#
TAX BILL#
LL 17LL 355LD 13-S
12345-123A
2018-1234
TOTAL DUE DECEMBER 1,2018
Make payable to "Dawson County Tax Commissioner" and
include this coupon. Do not staple, tape or attach payment.
$ 655.97
PLEASE WRITE THE BELOW
MAP ID SON YOUR CHECK
12345-123A
If receipt is desired, please include a self-addressed stamped
envelope or print at www.DawsonCountyTax.com
JOHN.DOE
123 ANYWHERE STREET
CUMMING, GA 30028
If delinquent taxes are due, please call 706-344-3520 for
current amount as interest continues to accrue.
jpted online at:
Please see reverse side for Email and Address Change information
Dawson
County Tax
Commissioner
Nicole Stewart
is reminding
citizens that if
they received
a bill, like the
one shown
marked
"APPEAL," the
appealed
portion is still
due by the
Dec. 1
deadline.
Mountain Education Charter High School celebrates 2 years
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
The Dawsonville cam
pus of the expansive
Mountain Education
Charter High School cele
brated its second anniver-
sary at the end of
October.
A completely separate
school system from
Dawson County Schools,
MECHS hosts its own
unique educational expe
rience four days a week
from 4-9 p.m. inside the
Hightower Academy
building off Hwy. 9 N.
In the past two years,
MECHS has seen an
explosion of participa
tion, beginning with only
11 students in 2016 and
peaking at more than 80
students before the 2018
spring graduation.
“We are essentially one
high school, but we are
16 different sites scat
tered all over north
Georgia,” said site man
ager Shannon Gable.
The high school, which
opened its doors 25 years
ago, has overseen 3,600
graduates and has a cur
rent enrollment of more
than 2,000 students
across north Georgia
who sought out the non-
traditional school for its
small class sizes, dual
enrollment opportunities
and its self-paced
instruction.
“Some work full-time.
Some already have fami
lies. Some have family
obligations during the
day that prevents them
from attending tradition
al school, so there’s dif
ferent types of barriers
that keep them from
going to school during
the day and that’s why
they come here with us,”
said Gable.
Unlike traditional
school, Mountain Ed
operates four days a
week from 4-9 p.m. and
allows for flexible atten
dance and self-paced
learning as students work
on three modules at one
time.
“I love it,” said fresh
man Katlyn Wimpui.
“They care more. They
really care.”
Wimpui was struggling
in the traditional school
setting and a friend rec
ommended she attend
Mountain Ed in order to
get the one-on-one atten
tion from her teachers she
felt she needed to stay on
track to graduate.
“If you need help the
teacher literally gets a
chair and puts it beside
you and they help you,”
said Wimpui. “If you’re
struggling at all, then
Mountain Ed is where
you need to go.”
Currently, the
Dawsonville MECHS site
has approximately 70
actively enrolled students
after sending off 20 grad
uates in May 2018.
“I think it’s a really
positive alternative for
students, mine in particu
lar, who did not fit into
the traditional school set
ting,” said Deborah
Huggard. “She wasn’t
happy there. It’s more
flexible. It gives the stu
dents more independence,
more of a feeling of
power over their own
education and their
future.”
Huggard, whose daugh
ter attends Mountain Ed,
is also in charge of tech
nology at the Dawsonville
site and has seen first
hand as both a parent and
a faculty member how the
school has impacted its
students.
“I think the kids really
feel like everyone that
works at Mountain Ed is
on their side, is there for
them. And it’s sometimes
an opposite feeling at day
school, not by anybody’s
fault, but it’s easy to get
caught up in the numbers
at day school,” said
Huggard. “It’s so much
smaller and so much
more personal and there
is so much focus on the
whole child’s needs.
Really I think teachers
feel it and students feel
that too.”
“We always make a
point — Mr. Gable and I
— being out front and
greeting them by name
when they come in,” said
site manager Anita Cox
who loves to greet all of
the Mountain Ed students
and make them feel wel
come.
Huggard, who is in the
school every Monday
through Thursday, said
she has seen how students
excel academically and
socially due to the per
sonal interactions with
the site’s teachers and
faculty.
“A lot of these kids
need that connection and
that’s why they thrive
here,” said Huggard.
She has also seen how
her daughter has taken
command of her own
education.
At only 16 years old,
she has five college
courses under her belt
and is on track to gradu
ate with her associate’s
degree when she receives
her high school diploma,
Huggard said.
Mountain Ed offers
dual enrollment opportu
nities with the University
of North Georgia and
Lanier Tech, as well as
work based learning cred
it for students who work
full or part-time jobs dur
ing the day.
Dinner is also provided
at 7 p.m. each night by
local restaurants in the
community who have
partnered with the school.
Local business leaders
and organizations have
also played an important
role as they have volun
teered their time to serve
as guest speakers at the
school and have offered
up their places of busi
ness as field trip sites.
“We just appreciate the
support we’ve had from
the community since
we’ve opened,” Gable said.
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