About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2019)
Cancer survivors, caregiver honored at annual Relay for Life LOCAL, 7A Chad Pittman to step down as boys basketball coach SPORTS, IB ^DawsonCountyNews WEDNESDAY I MAY 1,2019 Dawson News ► com dawsonville, GEORGIA $1.00 Kemp signs rural broadband bill SB 2, two other bills expected to expand internet to other parts of Georgia By Joshua Demarest jdemarest@dawsonnews.com Gov. Brian Kemp signed six bills into law Friday during a signing event in the library of the University of North Georgia. The main focus of the event was on SB 2, a bill that allows regional Electric Membership Cooperatives to provide inter net services. State Sen. Steve Gooch, who was the driving force behind SB 2 and two other bills that help expand broadband internet into rural Georgia, spoke about the importance of fiber optic cables, a technology with the potential to vastly increase internet speeds. “Everything in your house is becoming electronic, but none of that’s going to work without some way to carry that mes sage,” explained Gooch. “This (fiber optic cable) is as important in the next 100 years, and in my opinion, will do more for our economy and the county than Kemp the speed Interstate system did when Eisenhower built it.” The bill passed with overwhelming biparti san support, and is seen as being a critical first step in getting the parts of rural Georgia that do not have access to high- internet on par with the rest of the country. EMCs, which already pro vide electricity to millions of rural Georgians, are now allowed to legally sell internet service, which would put them in direct competition with cable providers such as Windstream. Critics of the bill have pointed See Broadband 18A Elliott wins Talladega in mad dash Hometown NASCAR driver visits with local fans By Bob Christian bchristian@dawsonnews.com Chase Elliott snatched his first checkered flag of the season on April 28 as he leapt from his Little Caesar’s clad No. 9 Chevy to take the banner from the race announcer and cele brated his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Geico 500 victory with the jubi lant crowd at the Talladega Super Speedway in Talladega, Ala. Of course, racing fans and even non-racing fans in Dawsonville have always had the inside scoop on Elliott’s NASCAR wins as the siren atop the Pool Room sounds across town to signal every victory by the hometown favorite. Every Sunday afternoon during racing season, fans gather at the downtown eat ery to watch the race, chat ter about the latest news from NASCAR and enjoy one of the best burgers in town and this past Sunday was no exception, as fans continued to come into the restaurant after the race to celebrate their hometown favorites first victory. That was the case with local racing fan Keith Ray and his wife Rebecca who, after watching the race at home, headed immediately to the Pool Room to be with other fans. After exchang ing fist-bumps and high- fives with the nearby tables Ray explained the signifi cance of the Talladega win and backed it with a bold prediction. “This win is a big boost, See Elliott 14A Above: NASCAR legend Chase Elliott celebrates his victory atTalladega with a visit to the Dawsonville Pool Room April 30. Left: NASCAR fan Amor McGaughy gets her pciture taken with Elliott. Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News Stovall named 2019 National Distinguished Principal for Ga. By Jessica Taylor jtaylor@dawsonnews.com Dawson County Junior High School Principal Connie Stovall was selected last week as the 2019 National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. She will represent Georgia’s middle level principals during a two-day conference event in Washington D.C. this fall. According to Dr. Bob Heaberlin, executive direc tor of the Georgia Association of Middle School Principals (GAMSP), Stovall was nominated and selected by Georgia princi pals through a statewide search process conducted by GAMSP. Stovall became principal of Dawson County Junior High School in 2018, having See Stovall 18A Stovall Burn ban for some counties begins today From staff reports The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) open burning ban will be in effect for 54 Georgia counties, including in Dawson County, beginning today. The open burning ban has been in place during the summer ozone season since 2005. The ban prohibits citizens and businesses from burning yard and land-clearing debris from May 1 through Sept. 30. This is in addition to the rule that prohibits the burn ing of household garbage, which is never allowed anywhere in Georgia. Ground-level ozone is most commonly produced in the heat of the summer and can cause lung inflammation as well as other health problems. Open burning also creates particle pollution, which consists of extremely small particles that can increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. May through September is a time of year See Burn 14A 0 9 0 9 9 Inside Volume 4, Number 32 © 2019, Dawson County News Dawsonville, Georgia Church Events 3B Classifieds 7B Dear Abby 6B Deaths 2A Legals 8A Opinion 9A Sports 1B 3A Company founder recognized for historic preservation 6A Dawson County Library hosts Earth Day event COMMUNITY WOMEN'S CANCER PROGRAM More women trust Northside Hospital Cancer Institute for their cancer care than any other program in the state. As Georgia's leader for women's cancer care, we're proud to have the #1 community breast and gynecologic cancer programs in the entire nation. Learn more at builttobeatcancer.com m NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL CANCER INSTITUTE
