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DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I JUNE 26, 2019 DaWSOflNeWS ^com DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $1.00
Changes postpone Etowah Village again
4-0 Board of Commission vote tables rezoning proposal until July 18 session
By Joshua Demarest
jdemarest@dawsonnews.com
The chamber was buzzing in
the lead up to the June 20
Board of Commissioners meet
ing. Several attendees showed
up with snacks and were busy
joking about being in for anoth
er three-hour meeting, referenc
ing the two previous Etowah
Village votes, which both went
well into the night.
But the discussion on the
rezoning lasted only 15 minutes
before a 4-0 vote tabled the
proposal until the July 18 vot
ing session.
The rezoning proposal
included a major change to the
project; all of the development
on the west side of the Etowah
River had been removed, as had
the entrance on Hwy 53. These
two items were where a lot of
the contention over the
project originated.
Because of the scope of these
changes, the commissioners
will be holding another public
hearing to hear concerns from
the citizens during the meeting.
Because the law requires all
public hearings be advertised
for at least 15 days, the zoning
couldn’t be scheduled for the
next BOC meeting, scheduled
for July 2.
For the remainder of the proj
ect, zoning isn’t actually a huge
issue. The vast majority of the
development on the east side of
the river already aligns with
current zoning and could be
developed without the approval
of the Board of Commissioners.
The requested rezoning —
bring the entire site under the
umbrella of ‘mixed use’ — is
more about convenience for the
developers and project over
sight for the commissioners.
With a mixed use zoning, the
developers get a little more
flexibility in where things are
placed in the planned commu
nity, as well as a little more
density.
The commissioners will get
an opportunity to have more
say in approving the project.
Citizens who want more
information on the project are
invited to the 6 p.m. voting ses
sion July 18.
Overcoming life obstacles
Photo for the Dawson County News
Kyle Cruce mans the zipline at CampTwin Lakes. Cruce, whose family lives in Dawsonville, decided to return to
his favorite summer camp to work as a program staffer to help provide outdoor fun for kids with disabilities
and life challenges.
Pediatric cancer survivor gives back at camp for kids with disabilities
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
For many kids, summer camp is a
time to come together for fun and
friendship.
But not all camps are created equal
ly for children and teens with illness
es, disabilities and life challenges.
For Kyle Cruce, finding a summer
camp as a kid was a bit challenging.
When he was four years old, Cruce
was diagnosed with Acute
Fymphocytic Feukemia and endured
18 months of chemotherapy. Six
months after being deemed cancer
free, he relapsed. After another year of
chemotherapy and radiation, he beat
cancer for the second time.
When he was seven, Cruce discov
ered Camp Sunshine, a weeklong
camp for kids in the state of Georgia
who have or had cancer. It is one of
the camps conducted by Camp Twin
Fakes, a year-round, fully-accessible
and intentionally designed camp pro
gram for kids and teens with life
obstacles.
Cruce spent 12 years attending
Camp Sunshine, getting to know the
Camp Twin Fakes staff and building
relationships that inspired him to
return as a staff member as an adult.
“I have wanted to be a member of
the Camp Twin Fakes Staff for as long
as I can remember,” said Cruce. “I can
truthfully say that the Camp Twin
Fakes staff has made a huge impact on
my life.”
For the past two years, Cruce, now
22 and living in Dawsonville, has
served on the Camp Twin Fakes staff
at its Rutledge location. He facilitates
many of the adventurous outdoor
activities including the zip line,
swings, high ropes course and a
climbing tower.
“They love (the camp),” Cruce said.
“It’s just awesome to see these kids
that maybe have some kind of disabili
ty ... and they just do these feats like
it’s nothing. It’s really cool to watch.”
Camp Twin Fakes runs 10 camps in
the summer specifically designed for
children with congenital heart defects,
pediatric cancer, diabetes, asthma, epi
lepsy and other medical challenges
they face.
This year, Camp Twin Fakes, across
its three locations, will see 3,600
campers fill the cabins by the end of
the summer.
“These kids are awesome, just
everything they’ve been through,”
See Camp 13A
Sheriff issues
BOLO after
armed robbery
By Joshua Demarest
jdemarest@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office has
issued a “Be On Fook Out” alert for two
white men after an armed robbery at the
Dollar General at 6533 Highway 9 South
in Dawsonville.
According to the BOFO, a white male
entered the Dollar General around 9:40
p.m. Sunday, June 23. He walked up and
down the aisles before exiting the store.
Around 9:43 p.m., a second white male
entered the store wearing “a black hat with
gold lettering (possibly some type of military
emblem), black half-rimmed glasses, gray
T-shirt, (and) blue jeans,” per the report.
This second male purchased a drink and,
while the cashier had the register open to pro
cess the transaction, the suspect displayed a
black handgun and demanded money.
The cashier gave the man money and he
exited the store.
If anyone has any details, no matter how
insignificant, that might be related to this case,
call the sheriff’s office at (706) 344-3636.
How to be safe
around fireworks
on July 4 holiday
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
The Fourth of July is right around the
corner which means celebrating the
nation’s independence with family, friends
and fun - which often includes fireworks.
Dawson County Emergency Services
Director and Fire Chief Danny Thompson
encourages the community to be safe and
responsible this July 4.
“It’s about safety. It’s about enjoying the
Fourth, celebrating our Independence Day
and doing it with family and loved one and
friends,” Thompson said. “It’s about the
enjoyment and not having to have an emer
gency event.”
Fireworks, although fun for the holiday,
See Fireworks 18A
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9 0 9 9
Inside
Volume 4, Number 40
© 2019, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
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