Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current, June 12, 2019, Image 1
Schools’ chief operating officer reflects on career amid retirement LOCAL, 5A Freshmen to compete for national fishing crown SPORTS, 1B DawsonCountyNews WEDNESDAY I june 12,2019 Dawson News ► com dawsonville, GEORGIA $1.00 GDOT presents Perimeter Road plans New construction project would allow commuters travelling on SR 53 to bypass downtown By Joshua Demarest jdemarest@dawsonnews.com Last week, representatives of the Georgia Department of Transportation hosted a Public Information Open House at Dawson County High School to lay out their preliminary plans for the extension of Perimeter Road from Highway 9 South to Highway 53 West. According to a handout given to citizens at the event, “the project proposes to construct a new roadway to allow traffic travelling along SR 53 to bypass downtown Dawsonville.” Creating such a bypass has been the subject of much debate since the late-90s, as many people have discussed the truck traffic through downtown as being dangerous or limiting development. According to a press release from the City of Dawsonville, “The proposed project would enable the City to achieve a more appealing, walkable, and safe downtown area by elimi nating commercial truck traffic. Additionally, it would improve the vital east-west commercial traffic route as trucks would no longer have to traverse the bot tleneck created by the current route through downtown and around the historic courthouse.” Three preliminary designs were presented at the meeting. All three alternatives are shown in detail on page 2A. They all include at least one traffic circle added to Hwy. 9 South and one on Hwy. 53 West, and cross at least one environmentally sensitive area. See Road 12A Local celebrities serve breakfast, community at annual event Photos by Joshua Demarest Dawson County News State Representative KevinTanner serves water and coffee to diners during the 11th Annual Family Connection Celebrity Waiter Breakfast. Sheriff’s office investigates single car wreck By Joshua Demarest jdemarest@dawsonnews.com In the early morning of May 19, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office received a call from their counterparts in Lumpkin County about a single car wreck with no injuries that had occurred on Nimblewill Gap Road. The Lumpkin County authorities had not been able to locate the wreck and made a request for the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office to continue the search on their side of the county line. Dawson County Sheriff Deputy Jacob Ward was dispatched to the call, but Sgt. Larry Busher responded, volunteering to go to the scene since Ward was assigned to the eastern part of the county rather than the northern part, where the wreck occurred. “Dawson,” said Busher, addressing his dispatcher, “He’s going to be an Eastside unit. Once I break free from (his current call), I’ll make my way up there.” Because of the lack of cell phone recep tion in the area, neither Lumpkin County nor Dawson County were able to contact the subject in the car, Christopher Green, but had instead been talking with a local ham radio operator named Raul, who had been contacted by another ham radio oper ator, Bill Skinner about the incident. Skinner had been camping in the area and come across the wreck. The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office was Proceeds go to Family Connections work combating child abuse, neglect By Joshua Demarest jdemarest@dawsonnews.com The Longhorn Steakhouse parking lot was packed on Friday morning as residents from all over Dawson County turned up for the 11th annual Family Connection Celebrity Waiter Breakfast. Fonghorn staff had been in the kitchen since 5:30 a.m. to prepare the eggs, sau sage, bacon and other breakfast staples for the event. The yearly breakfast raises money for Dawson County Family Connection’s work combating child abuse and neglect. “We really just want to raise awareness,” said Family Connection Coordinator Nancy Stites. “We’re a nonprofit focusing on family and children and we thought a See Breakfast 13A See Wreck 15A Escaped Dawson County inmate recaptured June 5 By Alex Popp DCN Regional Staff Officials say a Dawson County inmate who escaped from a work detail in late May has been recaptured in Forsyth County by authorities. According to Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Doug Rainwater, Jeremy Fee Pruitt-Akins, 29 and a female suspect, Fea Marie Propst, 27, were taken into custody June 5 after they were found walking along Burruss Mill Road in northeast Forsyth. See Inmate 18A 0 9 0 9 9 Inside Volume 4, Number 38 © 2019, Dawson County News Dawsonville, Georgia Church Events 3B Classifieds 7B Dear Abby 6B Deaths 3A Legals 8B Opinion 9A Sports 1B 4A Board of Commissioners discuss effects of Dawson tourism 6A Suzy Bogguss to perform June 22 in Hall County NOW CANCER CENTERS ACROSS GEORGIA By providing access to more cancer treatment centers, we're bringing expert care to more Georgians. That care is made possible by having the most board-certified medical oncologists of any community hospital network in the state—and it's helped establish us as top 2 in the nation among community cancer programs. Learn more at builttobeatcancer.com m NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL CANCER INSTITUTE BEATCANCER ■feUILTTO