About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2019)
Wednesday, February 13,2019 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 7A School system central office undergoing restructuring By Jessica Taylor jtaylor@dawsonnews.com Dawson County Schools District Superintendent Dr. Damon Gibbs announced last week that he plans to restruc ture the central office services after current Chief Human Resource Officer Lisa Perry and Chief Operations Officer Rick Brown retire this year. Gibbs said a restructure allows the district to plan for future growth and consider the present and future needs of the school community. The reorganization includes changes to leadership roles and responsibilities effective for the 2019-2020 school year, which include the implementation of an assistant superintendent for human resources and opera tions and an assistant superin tendent of teaching and learn ing. At the Feb. 5 board of educa tion work session, Nicole LeCave was approved to assume the role of assistant superintendent of teaching and learning. LeCave has 21 years of expe rience in education and has served as a member of the dis trict leadership team for the past four years. She has acted as the executive director of teaching and learning for the past two years. Before her transition to the dis trict office, LeCave was a teacher and assistant principal of curricu lum for Dawson County Schools. Her background includes an undergraduate degree in middle- grade education, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruc tional supervision and a certifica tion in educational leadership from the University of North Georgia earned by completing Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement’s (GLISI) Rising Stars Future Leaders Performance-Based Program. She is an active member of the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL) and Georgia Association of Curriculum and Instructional Supervisors (GACIS), having served as a past district treasur er, co-director and director of the organization. LeCave is married to USMC Major Sean LeCave, and they have five children. Hershel Bennett was also approved by the board to assume the role of assistant superintendent of human resources and operations during the work session. Bennett has over 25 years of educational experience, having served as a teacher and admin istrator at all levels from ele mentary to high school. He has acted as the director of excep tional students for Dawson County Schools for the past seven years. “I am both thrilled and hum bled to move into the assistant superintendent position. The Dawson County School system truly puts students’ needs first and all stakeholders have buy in for our children’s success,” Bennett said. “I will miss some of the day to day interactions within the Exceptional Children’s Department but I know they will continue to grow and accomplish wonder ful things.” As Director of Exceptional Students, Bennett has imple mented new initiatives includ ing the Community Based Instruction (CBI) Program, the Miss Sparkle Pageant and the Spring Games. Bennett is an active member of Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL) and Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education (GCASE). He is from east Tennessee and received both his under graduate and master’s degrees in education from the University of Tennessee. He later earned his educational specialist degree in leadership and administration from Lincoln Memorial University. Bennett is married to Gabrielle and has three chil dren. “I hope to continue the sup port our students and staff have received from Ms. Perry and Mr. Brown,” Bennett said. “It will be impossible to replace them but I hope to continue the outstanding job they have done for all of Dawson County Schools stakeholders.” The district plans to spend the next few months complet ing the reorganization. Both LeCave and Bennett will work closely with Brown and Perry to ensure a smooth transition into the next school year. “With the retirements of two of our top district leaders, we are very fortunate to have team members ready to assume expanded leadership roles in our organization,” Gibbs said. Bicycle Ride Across Georgia marks 40 years with 350-mile route FEATURED LISTINGS 3601 Tradewinds Drive, Cumming $189,899 LAKE LANIER LIVING FOR UNDER $200K!I! TURNKEY PROPERTY! Great lower level condo with 2 Bedrooms & 2 Bathrooms. 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Must see to appreciate the upgrades in this custom built home. Call Neena 678-617-1013 or Heather 678-232-6172. 570 Black Knob Church Rd, Ranger $150,000 Enjoy this view as you drink your morning coffee. Built as a weekend getaway with amazing Mountain View with lots of rustic touches. Beautiful tongue & grove ceilings. Doggie door in master bedroom onto back deck. Fenced dog pen. Over 3.5 acres Diaphragm system to drain water (if used as weekend getaway) Only 3 miles to Dollar General and about 10 miles to Jasper. Call Neena 678-617-1013. Photos courtesy of Tony Butler Tony Butler hoists his bicycle over his head in front of the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia finish line after completing the U.S. Bicycle Route 21 in September 2018. BY Layne Saliba DCN Regional Staff Tony Butler crashed on the first day of his bike ride from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Atlanta as part of Bicycle Ride Across Georgia’s U.S. Bicycle Route 21 event in September last year. But he was having too much fun to stop. He com pleted the ride and will now be riding in Big BRAG, the organization’s ride across the state. “I got me some road rash and messed up my thumb a little bit, but I was having too good a time to quit so I just kept on going,” said Butler, a Gainesville native who just moved to Hiawassee. “I thought about doing Big BRAG, last year, but I knew I wasn’t ready for that, so I set my goal a lit tle bit lower and went for the (U.S. Bicycle Route 21) to see how I would do and that went real well, so I had to get training for the big one.” BRAG, which is cele brating its 40th year in 2019, has stopped in Gainesville once about every 10 years, with the last time in 2006. This year’s ride, June 1-8, will start in Ellijay with stops in Gainesville, Covington, Milledgeville, Swainsboro and Hinesville on its way to the coast where it will end in Darien, about 50 miles south of Savannah. The trip is about 350 miles. Riders average about 55 miles each day with a day off to rest in the middle. If 55 continuous miles are too much, there are rest stops about every 15 miles. “We kind of like to move around in the state since there’s a number of riders who do it every year, and most folks who’ve done it have done it in the past, so we like to vary it up and go through new areas of the state,” said Franklin Johnson, executive director of BRAG. “We always like to end somewhere scenic, never feel alone ... and you had some people that were going slow, and then you’d have a group of peo ple pass you that looked like they were going 100 mph. It’s a variation of everything, and I didn’t feel out of place or that I wasn’t as good as some other people.” NEENA PAYNE 678-617-10131 neenapayne@att.net EVA PENDLEY REALTY 678-807-82961 evapendleyrealty@gmail.com r — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — n I Mention this ad for a FREE 1 YEAR HOMEOWNER'S WARRANTY I I when working with Neena as your Buyer's Agent. I I I I Potential home sellers, mention this ad to QUALIFY FOR A | I DISCOUNT when using Neena as your listing agent. I Photos courtesy of BRAG Riders take part in a Bicycle Ride Across Georgia event. Big BRAG celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. where folks can spend some time with their fami ly at the end of the ride.” The trip through Gainesville wil be like a homecoming for Butler, and it’s one of the things that solidified his decision to take part in this year’s ride. “I still have a lot of fami ly in Gainesville,” Butler said. “Instead of sleeping in a tent that night, I can probably stay with some family.” At each stop on the course, participants sleep overnight — some in tents, others in hotels or with family in the area — after spending some time out in the community. Johnson said that’s one of the big draws of BRAG. Participants get to see dif ferent parts of the state, especially the small towns “that might normally be passed over.” Those small towns have a lot to offer, and when 1,200 bikers come through, “they get to shine.” When the ride comes through Gainesville, par ticipants can camp out at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park, where there will be concessions and a concert. They’re also encouraged to get out into the city. BRAG will provide shuttles from the park to the Gainesville square. “It gives riders a unique perspective, just to experi ence the state of Georgia at a much slower pace, on two wheels sitting on the seat of your bike, rather than sitting in your car,” Johnson said. That’s exactly the experi ence Butler said he had on his ride from Chattanooga to Atlanta. He said it’s hard sometimes to remember it’s a ride, not a race, especially since he’s naturally compet itive, but when he was pass ing the scenery, he was quickly reminded to simply take it all in. “If you treat it like a race, you’re not probably going to enjoy it as much,” Butler said. “Because you miss the scenery. I stopped here and there to take pic tures. I tried to enjoy it, I wasn’t on a schedule. I just wanted to get done in time to rest, get some food and get up the next day to do it again.” Apart from the scenery, Butler said he enjoyed get ting to know some of the other riders. Although it’s an individual event, there’s never a moment when rid ers are by themselves. There’s always someone around. And anyone can do it. He said he saw people in their 20s and others in their 70s, which is another rea son he’s excited to take part in Big BRAG this year and years to come. “You can either see somebody up the road or somebody’s riding beside you,” Butler said. “You Big BRAG What: Bicycle ride from Ellijay to Darien When: June 1-8 Where: Starts in Ellijay and ends in Darien with stops in Gainesville, Covington, Milledgeville, Swainsboro and Hinesville along the way More info: www. brag.org
