Newspaper Page Text
Hone your coloring skills with our
Dawson County Heroes insert
INSIDE
DAWSON COUNTY)
HEROES
Dawson County boys take down
Winchester, advance to Elite Eight
SPORTS, 1B
DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I FEBRUARY 27, 2019 DaWSOflNeWS ^COITI DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA $1.00
Crystal Falls rezoning opposed
County planning commission recommends denial of new golf community master plan
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
A rezoning request that
would allow for smaller lot
sizes in the Crystal Falls Lake
& Golf community will go
before the Dawson County
Board of Commissioners
March 19 with a recommenda
tion of denial from the county
planning commission.
The planning commission
voted 5-0 to recommend denial
in the presence of over 100
incensed property owners who
live around the lake community
in the southwest corner of the
county, despite a recommenda
tion from the county planning
staff that the rezoning be
passed.
Jim King, representing the
owners of the property, present
ed the proposed rezoning of
1,038.46 acres from RSR, or
Residential Sub Rural, to RPC,
or Residential Planned
Community.
With the current zoning, the
property owners could build
1,038 homes with one home
per acre. The proposed plans
are to have an ultimate buildout
of 1,012 homes at the same
density, just smaller lot sizes.
In 2002, the property owners
submitted a master plan to the
county that specified plans for
422 lots on septic tanks, with
the rest of the property desig
nated for future development.
They then developed the golf
course and part of the commu
nity in 2005, but since 2005,
the owners have only sold five
homes, according to King. He
said the owners are losing
See Rezoning 16A
Leaping for Literacy
Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News
The Char's Family Day Care Team dressed as "The Colorful Crayons" react to the chilly lake water during their
participation in the 2019 Leap for Literacy fundraiser Feb. 23. More photos, page 10A.
Charity event draws largest turnout ever despite weather
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
Despite the less than favorable weather Saturday morning, more than
80 participants gathered at War Hill Park prepared to jump into Lake
Lanier to support Dawson County WEE Books.
Though several days of rain raised water levels above full pool at
Lake Lanier, it couldn't stop community members from participating in
the 2019 Leap for Literacy Feb. 23.
While the dock was submerged and debris cluttered the water, orga
nizers were able to work tirelessly to clean off the boat ramps so that
the event could go on and raise money for WEE Books.
"I thought it was such fun," WEE Books President Nancy McNeil
said. "It's nice to have the support of the community and supporting
the program to buy more books. It just makes a huge difference."
Dawson County WEE Books is a nonprofit organization that sends a
free book each month to Dawson County children aged 0-5 that are
enrolled in the program.
The annual Leap for Literacy helps raise funds to send age appropri
ate books to almost 900 kids in the community.
In 2018, WEE Books mailed out 9,941 books to 1,028 children.
The nonprofit was founded in 2008 to address the growing problem
relating to children entering Kindergarten without basic literacy skills
and school readiness.
"We are committed to starting children on the path to learning suc
cess in order to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy," 2019
WEE Books Chair Andrea McKenzie said. "We want every child to
have the opportunity to succeed in school and in adult life and give our
community an educated, productive and competitive work force."
Charlene Jones of Char's Family Day Care
twirled around on the boat ramp at War
Hill Park during the Leap for Literacy event.
Commissioner
Nix publicly
reprimanded
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
Dawson County District 4 Commissioner
Julie Hughes Nix was publicly reprimand
ed by the rest of the board last week when
the board voted 3-1 to approve a resolution
of censure against her for repeatedly dis
closing confidential information to a coun
ty employee via email.
District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines
made a motion to approve the resolution
during the Feb. 21 meeting, and District 3
Commissioner Tim Satterfield moved to
second the motion.
Nix abstained from the vote and District
1 Commissioner Sharon Fausett voted
See Nix 16A
Jessica Taylor Dawson County News
Zendaya, a feral kitten rescued by the
Feral Cat Program of Georgia, waits to
be adopted during the PetSmart
Adoption Weekend at PetSmart in
Dawsonville Feb. 23
Feral Cat Program
helping reduce number
of unsocialized cats
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
A speckled kitten named Zendaya sat in
her cage, playfully swatting at her name
tag and greeting passersby with a friendly
meow at PetSmart in Dawsonville Saturday
morning as she waited to be adopted.
Her two siblings had already found their
families and Zendaya patiently waited her
turn during the PetSmart National
Adoption Weekend Feb. 23.
See Feral 18A
0
9 0 9 9
Inside
Volume 4, Number 23
© 2019, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
3B
Classifieds
9B
Dear Abby
7B
Deaths
2A
Legals
10B
Opinion
11A
Sports
1B
4A Yenerall
sworn in as
Magistrate
Court judge
6A Bowen Center to
L host watercolor
exhibition
starting March 9
THE MOST
POWERFUL
CANCER
FIGHTING
NETWORK
IN GEORGIA
Taking on cancer requires an elite clinical team. That's
why Northside Hospital Cancer Institute has the most
board-certified medical oncologists in Georgia. We diagnose
and treat more new cancer cases than any other hospital
in the state—providing care at 48 cancer centers. Backed by
expertise and experience, we're built to beat cancer.
Learn more at builttobeatcancer.com
MH
NORTHSIDE
HOSPITAL
CANCER INSTITUTE
■■BUILT
to BEAT
CANCER
