About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2019)
Lost badge returned to police department after almost 100 years LOCAL, 4A Maggie Schandera signs to play softball for Georgia Highlands SPORTS, IB DawsonCountyNews WEDNESDAY I JANUARY 30, 2019 DaWSOflNeWS ^COITI DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA $1.00 City officials consider raises Council wants to increase pay for councilmen, mayor one year after reducing mayors compensation By Allie Dean adean@dawsonnews.com The Dawsonville city council voted last week to tentatively approve amendments to the city charter that include a pay raise for the council and mayor. The council voted 3-1 Jan. 22 with council member Mark French in opposition of increas ing the council members’ pay from $500 a month to $600 and the mayor’s pay from $600 to $1,000 a month. The amendment also includes an increase for each city council meet ing as well as other pre approved meetings other than the first regu lar city council meeting of the month from $100 French to $150. The raises would not go into effect until after the next elec tion cycle, meaning it will affect those who are seated on the council starting Jan. 1,2020. French stated he was against the increase in compensation from the first reading and said during a Jan. 7 council meeting that he would not support increasing the compensation of the mayor and council members as outlined in the proposed amendments because he did not think that the council’s duties had increased to account for it. “I would like to state my con tinued opposition to any increase for the mayor or any member of the council,” French said during the Jan. 22 meeting. No one else commented about the increases during the meeting. The mayor was compensated $2,000 a month until December 2017, when the council voted to reduce the compensation by $1,400. The change was made during the next to last meeting of the year when former city council members Angie Smith and Mike Sosebee remained on the council. They were replaced Jan. 1, 2018 by French and Stephen Tolson. Smith said before the vote that the 2017 Municipal Wage and Salary Survey conducted by the Georgia Department of See Pay 18A Helping people feel included Plan for growth, development approved by BOC By Allie Dean adean@dawsonnews.com Dawson County is moving closer to being in compliance with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs after unanimously passing an amended compre hensive plan and future land use map last week. The comprehensive plan is used by elect ed officials as a guideline for future growth and development. The plan must be updat ed every five years and is a requirement to maintain Certified Local Government Status in Georgia, which makes the county eligible for state grants and programs. The board of commissioners failed to adopt an updated plan in 2018, putting the county out of compliance with the DCA. At a public hearing for the plan on Jan. 10, members of the Long Range Planning Committee commented that the process of updating the plan had been rushed toward the end of the year, and that they were Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News Katelyn and Josie Nix and Blakely and Lucy Bell perform a dance routine to "I'm A Lady" on the Performing Arts Center stage at the annual ConnectAbilityTalent Show Jan. 25. See Plan 17A Best of Dawson ends Sunday Stars shine at 9th annual By Jessica Taylor jtaylor@dawsonnews.com For a shining moment Friday night, everyone was a star. The ninth annual ConnectAbility Talent Show returned to the Performing Arts Center in Dawsonville and gave peo ple of all ages and all abili ties a chance to shine bright and show the community their talents Jan. 25. “Our talent show is one of our biggest events of the year and it’s just a time where we look for ward to highlighting the talents of everybody,” ConnectAbility founder Jacqueline Daniel said. ConnectAbility is a nonprofit organization based in Dahlonega that works with kids and adults with disabilities and their families to help them feel included, val ued and empowered in their communities. The annual show is one of ConnectAbility’s big gest events of the year with hundreds of people coming to cheer on local talent. This year’s show once again featured X Factor finalist Rion Paige as co host with Dahlonega’s Tommy Pirone. See Talent 18A ConnectAbility talent show Skilled ventriloquist Fiona McElliott takes the stage to tell jokes at the ConnectAbility Talent Show Jan. 25. Voting for the 2019 Best of Dawson Readers’ Choice Awards is coming to an end on Super Bowl Sunday. The last moments are the most crucial and your vote can make the difference for many close categories. Don’t miss your chance to cast your votes for who you believe are the best of Dawson County. Bragging rights, glory and honor await all those who snag the coveted first place position in their categories in the Dawson County News’ Best of Dawson contest. Thousands of votes have been cast, and we want to hear from you. Now is your chance to make your voice heard, letting the community know the best businesses, organizations, professionals and food Dawson County has to offer. The ballot can be accessed at www.daw- sonnews.com and under the Best of Dawson tab, or at http://www.bestofdawson.com. Winners will be announced in a special edition magazine that will insert into the Dawson County News March 27. From staff reports o 9 0 9 9 Inside Volume 4, Number 19 © 2018, Dawson County News Dawsonville, Georgia Church Events 3B Classifieds 8B Dear Abby 7B Deaths 2A Legals 8B Opinion 9A Sports 1B No injuries reported in back-to-back home fires 6A High school senior brings joy to animal shelter 48 CANCER CENTERS ACROSS GEORGIA Taking on cancer requires an elite clinical team. 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