About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2018)
8A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, November 21,2018 Buck Jones Memorial Toy Run collects donations for charity —■*" ~ Al» Photos DCN regional staff Bikers made their way from downtown Cumming to Dahlonega for a good cause on Sunday. The 27th annual Buck Jones Memorial Toy Run began at the Cumming Fairgrounds and made its way to Dawsonville City Hall before ending at a final stop in Dahlonega. At each stop riders donat ed a toy for that city's charity of choice. Charities in each county were: Meals by Grace in Forsyth, K.A.R.E. for Kids in Dawson and Lumpkin County Division of Family and Children Services and Community Helping Place in Dahlonega. The was event started in 1991 by Buck Jones, a former Cumming police chief who also worked for Dawson County Sheriff's Office. After Jones passed away in 2010, the toy run was named in his memory. Along with donating toys, a 50/50 raffle was held, with half of the money raised going to the organi zations and half going to the winner. Dawson Events Listings in Dawson Events are free and available to nonprofit organizations sponsoring free or low-cost events for the public. Groups may sub mit notices by fax at (706) 265-3276 or via email at editor@dawsonnews.com. Breakfast with Santa, a one-stop-shop for Christmas family fun, will be held from 8 to 11 a.m. Dec. 1 at Rock Creek Park. Kids can visit with Santa and have photos taken, eat breakfast and enjoy fun activities and vendors. Admission is free and free activities in clude coloring, goody bags, candy/toys/prizes and an inflatable bounce house. Available for purchase will be breakfast, photos with Santa, live Christmas Trees from Bradleys Christmas Trees, wreaths, horse-drawn carriage rides, Paparazzi Jewelry and Taekwondo registration. Cash only. Proceeds from Breakfast with Santa benefit K.A.R.E. for Kids. Those wishing to set up a vendor booth, give away promotional items or provide a free childrens activity need to contact Buffie Hamil at (706) 344-3646 or email bhamil@dawosn- county.org before Nov. 20. The 6th annual Christmas Parade, Tree Lighting and Jingle Market in downtown Dawsonville is scheduled for Dec. 1. The Jingle Market will be at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame and feature local vendors selling homemade gifts and crafts. The parade begins at 5 p.m„ beginning and ending at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, and the tree lighting will follow at dusk. Food trucks, pictures with Santa, cookie decorating, danc ing, singing and more will begin after the parade. The family-friendly event is hosted by the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce, Dawsonville City Hall and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. For more information contact the chamber at (706) 265-6278. The Dawson County Tax Commissioners Office is hosting a fundraiser for Relay for Life from 8 to 10 a.m. Feb. 16 at Applebees. Tickets are $7 and include pancakes, sausage and a drink to be served by the “su perhero” staff of the tax commissioners office. Tickets are available at the tax commissioners office, located on the first floor of the Dawson County Government Center at 25 Justice Way in Dawsonville. FROM 1A Rotary Thanksgiving dinner to make sure everything ran smoothly and that all that stopped by would have a wonderful time. “It’s just exciting. It’s great to give back. That’s what Rotary is. It’s to give back to Dawson County,” Stewart said. The dinner was held from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at Veterans Memorial Park and saw more than 100 plates of traditional Thanksgiving fixings served up in less than an hour. “So far it has exceeded our expectations and it looks like we’re going to do easily double what we did last year,” Wells said. “We’ve already got almost 100 people and it’s 5:30.” By the time 5:30 p.m. rolled around, 90 plates had been served and the gymnasium was filling up with tables full of Dawson County residents of all ages. “There’s so many peo ple here I’ve talked to. They really are not hav ing Thanksgiving. This is their Thanksgiving and everybody’s a family,” said Rotarian Sharon Hall as she made her way around the gym. The line continued to grow and wrap around the Members of the Interact Club, the junior Rotary club at the Dawson County high and junior high schools, hand out beverages at Monday night's Thanksgiving dinner. Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News Rotary Club of Dawson County members volunteered their time Monday night to serve upThanksgiving dinner free for everyone in the community. It is a way the Rotary Club gives back to Dawson County. spacious gym as more peo ple trickled in to get a jump on their Thanksgiving cravings this week. Moore and Stewart went shopping at Costco and purchased more than 100 pounds of turkey, ham and other traditional holiday favorites and planned for 250 attendees. “We did pad it probably for about 300 because me and Christie were scared,” Stewart said. “We thought padding it by 50 was generous.” Last year was the first time that the Rotary Club had sponsored the Thanksgiving dinner and saw slightly more than 100 people stop by the entire evening. This year, the co-chairs wanted to work hard to organize and publicize an even bigger event. “We’re all so excited about the turnout. This has never happened,” Moore said. By 6 p.m., Rotarians were setting up additional tables and chairs to make sure everyone had a seat and were running quick errands to the store to pick up the quickly depleting supply of sweet tea. At the end of the night, more than 390 plates of ^DAI KIN COMFORT FOR LIFE 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. ^iKNEPPER 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 food were served. “By some miracle we had enough food,” said Moore. “We didn’t have much left over, but we had enough food for everyone.” For the Rotary Club, preparing a Thanksgiving meal for the community is a way to give back to Dawson County and give the community a chance to come together as a family. “I think it’s a common misconception that a Thanksgiving dinner’s only for people that don’t have the money, but for us it’s for the entire Dawson County,” Moore said. The focus for this year’s Thanksgiving meal was to make sure the community knew it was an event for everyone. “Moving it to Monday night and making it a community event, that made all the difference,” Moore said about the great turnout. “I’m so proud and so excited to see the community come together and to see every one from all walks of life.” It was a community effort as Rotarians and members of the Interact Clubs in Dawson County schools volunteered their time to cook and serve homemade meals Monday night. The women of ABBA House cooked the turkeys, hams and stuffing. And monetary dona tions from United Community Bank, Associated Credit Union, Medical Plaza 400, Etowah Water and Sewer Authority and Amicalola EMC helped fund the event and made it a suc cess. The Rotary Club is already making lists and figuring out what they want to do for next year’s community Thanksgiving dinner to make sure it keeps growing each year. TT 2 / / / / / / Voting Schedule For the General Election Runoff of December 4. 2018 Voter Registration Deadline: October 9th (new and changes) Advance Voting: Nov 26-Nov 30, 2018 Mon-Fri 8am-5pm At Board of Elections office- 96 Academy Ave All Polls will be open Election Day from 7:00am-7:00pm 1) WEST precinct- at Fire Station #6 on Hubbard Rd. 2) CENTRAL precinct- at Board of Elections office, 96 Academy Ave 3) EAST precinct- at Fire Station #2 on Liberty Drive (next to Tractor Supply) If in question about your voting location, and/or to view a sample ballot you may visit “My Voter Page” at http://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp or call the Elections and Registration office at 706-344-3640 (No voting on Monday prior to all elections) jbt Jr jht Jr