Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current, March 13, 2019, Image 1

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    Dahlonega nonprofit back in
business after Feb. 26 blaze
LOCAL, 4A
Dawson County jumps
into the pickle ball craze
SPORTS, 1B
DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I MARCH 13,2019 DaWSOflNeWS ^com DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $1.00
House OKs bill to improve rural transit
House Bill 511 is sponsored by Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
An amended version of a bill
that will attempt to expand
transit options for rural
Georgians was passed by the
Georgia House of
Representatives last week.
Sponsored by Rep. Kevin
Tanner, R-Dawsonville, House
Bill 511 would seek to stream
line the state agencies that
oversee transit options, allocate
sales tax from rideshares to
transit projects and create pilot
programs to help rural
Georgians gain access to trans
portation options.
Tanner was appointed chair
man of the newly created
House Commission on Transit
Governance in Funding in
2017, and the commission met
10 times over a year and a half,
working to identify ways to
remove transportation barriers
in the state.
Last year Gov. Nathan Deal
signed a bill into law that
focused on
expanding tran
sit in metro
Atlanta, a bill
also sponsored
by Tanner.
Tanner pre
sented HB 511 March 7 on the
House floor, where it passed
159-11.
“In Georgia, transit is man
aged by six state agencies, 27
planning organizations and
over 95 local agencies,” Tanner
said. “The complex structure
creates administrative ineffi
ciency and unnecessary red
tape. Some parts of Georgia,
primarily in rural Georgia, with
high poverty rates do not have
access to any type of public
See Transit 17A
Tanner
Baseball team raises $1 IK for vets
City to discuss
Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News
U.S. Army Sgt.T.J. Anderson slides into home plate March 10 during a whiffle ball game with the 9U baseball
players at the Win for the Warriors baseball tournament at Veterans Memorial Park.
Inaugural Win for the Warriors tourney postponed to April or May
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
On Sunday morning, the soaked
baseball fields at Rock Creek Park
threw a monkey wrench into the inau
gural Win for the Warriors baseball
tournament, but that didn’t stop the
North Georgia Ambush 9U team from
raising more than $11,000 to support
the For The Warriors Foundation.
The coaches and volunteers arrived
at Rock Creek Park at 7 a.m. March 10
and quickly realized the fields would
be too wet to play any games.
Ultimately the tournament was post
poned for a later date in April or May.
Organizers worked to relocate the
festivities inside the gym at Veterans
Memorial Park so they could continue
with the ceremony to honor military
service veterans.
“It’s been a day of contacting every
one and trying to figure out what we
can do best just to make this work,”
See Warriors 15A
U.S. Air Force Medically Retired Security Police Jim Beillfuss III steps up
to the plate during a game of indoor whiffle ball. Beillfuss is a gold
medal wheelchair athlete and is actively involved in the Veterans
Adaptive Sports Program which promotes rehabilitation of disabled mili
tary service veterans through sports.
Howser Mill
development
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
A rezoning and variance request for a
172-unit development proposed near the
comer of Howser Mill Road and Hwy. 53
will go before the Dawsonville City
Council March 18 for a public hearing.
The planning commission picked up the
requests again Monday night after tabling
the applications Feb. 11, and voted 3-1 to
recommend denial of both applications,
with planning commission member Ken
Goines opposed to the motion.
Jim King with Ensite Civil Consulting
filed the requests on behalf of the property
owner, asking for a rezoning of the 38.58-
acre tract of land at 592 Hwy. 53 West
from R-3, or single family residential with
a density of three units per acre, to RPC, or
Residential Planned Community.
The maximum density allowed in an
See Development 17A
Dawson Schools hires
principal, director of
exceptional children
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County
School system welcomed
two new employees last
week, as announced by
two press releases March
8.
Dr. Todd Langley was
approved as the new direc
tor of exceptional children
while Adam Maroney will
be taking over as principal
of Riverview Elementary
School, following current
principal Julia Mashbum’s
retirement.
Superintendent Damon
Gibbs announced last month
the school system’s central
office will undergo restruc
turing for the 2019-20 school year with the
upcoming retirements of Chief Human
Resource Officer Lisa Perry and Chief
See Hires 18A
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9 0 9 9
Inside
Volume 4, Number 25
© 2019, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
3B
Classifieds
7B
Dear Abby
6B
Deaths
2A
Legals
8B
Opinion
9A
Sports
1B
3A Bowen Center
for the Arts to
get new deck
6A Students get a
L taste of life’s
consequences
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