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Wednesday, July 3,2019
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
Striving to keep the message of July 4 alive
As July 4 approaches, I always
find myself listening to the
Hamilton Broadway musical
soundtrack. One particular
moment never fails to make me
shed some tears.
On the eve of the Battle of
Yorktown, George Washington
tells Alexander Hamilton that “his
tory has its eyes on you.”
I think about that lyric often. I
think back to our forefathers and I
wonder, “did they know what they
were doing would alter history?”
Did they know their rebellion
would lead to independence? Did
they know what doors they would
open?
What’s even more impressive is
when I look back at our
Revolutionary War heroes, I realize
how young they truly were.
Some of the heroic names we
remember from our history books
were younger than I am now when
JESSICA TAYLOR
Features Writer
they took up their arms to defend
this land.
Marquis de Lafayette was 18
when he traveled from France to
fight with the colonists against the
British. James Monroe, the fifth
president of the United States,
dropped out of college at age 18 in
1776 to join the Continental Army.
Aaron Burr was 20. Alexander
Hamilton and John Laurens were
21.
Nathan Hale was a 21-year-old
school teacher who volunteered for
a dangerous spy mission. He was
captured by the British and hanged
Sept. 22,1776. He is remembered
for saying “I only regret that I have
but one life to lose for my country.”
And for the unsung heroes
whose names were never learned
in our U.S. JJistory classes:
Maj. Thomas Young was only
12 when war broke out. He joined
the militia when he was 16.
Deborah Sampson was 15 at the
start of the war. She disguised her
self as a man so she could enlist.
For two years she fought with
Patriot forces, leading dangerous
expeditions, digging trenches and
capturing 15 Loyalists. Once her
identity was discovered by a doc
tor, she was honorably discharged.
Sybil Ludington, also 15, rode
her horse for 40 miles to warn the
Patriots of a British attack.
Bom a slave, James Armistead,
worked as a spy under Marquis de
Lafayette as a teenager. JJis intel
from General Cornwallis and
Benedict Arnold led to the victory
at the Battle ofYorktown.
Another slave, Peter Salem, was
16 when he was freed to serve in a
local militia in Massachusetts. He
then enlisted in the Continental
Army under George Washington.
He was even named a hero in the
Battle of Bunker Hill.
Even our seventh president,
Andrew Jackson, who was only
nine years old when the war began,
played a role in the Revolution.
Though he was only 13-years-old
when he served as a patriot courier,
he was captured by British soldiers
and was hit across the face because
he refused to shine his captors’
shoes.
It’s remarkable to me that these
young heroes were so willing to
fight and lay down their lives for
an ideal that all men are created
equal. Though we have war heroes
of all ages and backgrounds, the
American Revolution shows many
of our heroes were teenagers, were
schoolteachers, were farmers, were
everyday people. Many of them
weren’t trained soldiers. They
fought because they believed in
something with every fiber of their
being, pushing down their fears
and persevering onwards to victo
ry-
I wish I could go back in time to
tell them their unyielding courage
in the face of certain death and
their passion to create a better
world for their families and the
families not yet bom was not in
vain. I wish I could tell them thank
you, but the only way I know how
to give my thanks is to follow in
their footsteps - standing up for
what I feel is right, exercising the
privileges their sacrifices have
afforded me and not letting their
importance be forgotten.
Photo for the Dawson County News
Representatives from AT&T present the University of North Georgia with a
$25,000 grant to help first generation non-English native speaking students
receive academic enrichment support that will help them to succeed in high
school and beyond.
AT&T awards $25K for
Steps to College initiative
From staff reports
AT&T is helping the University of
North Georgia (UNG) make a difference
in the lives of more than 115 area high
school students for whom English is not
their primary language.
Through a $25,000 grant, the compa
ny will help ensure that first generation
non-English native speaking students
receive academic enrichment support
that will help them to succeed in high
school and beyond.
Now entering its 20th year, Steps to
College (S2C) is a summer for-credit
program designed to meet the unique
needs of bilingual or multilingual area
high school students who are also
English learners.
“Every child has the potential to suc
ceed and is a vital part of Georgia’s
future,” said state Sen. Steve Gooch
(R-Dahlonega). “I am so proud of UNG
and the administrators, teachers and vol
unteers who are doing so much to
ensure that these students are not left
behind but are prepared to pursue and
accomplish their dreams.”
“For all students, and especially for
students who aspire to significant aca
demic achievement, English proficiency
is a significant milestone,” said Jeff
Tarnowski, Vice President for University
Advancement at UNG. “The S2C pro
gram was developed to both help stu
dents stay on track for high school grad
uation, but to also introduce these stu
dents to the university educational envi
ronments and to support them in consid
ering options available to them. We
appreciate the support of the community
and of leaders like Senator Gooch in
making a lasting difference for these
students and their families.”
Participating school systems, which
provide transportation for students,
include Gainesville City school system
and the Hall, Forsyth, Habersham,
Stephens and Banks county school sys
tems. Classes are held on the UNG
Gainesville Campus as well as the
Cumming Campus and, according to the
'For all students, and
especially for students
who aspire to significant
academic achievement,
English proficiency is a
significant milestone.'
Jeff Tarnowski
UNG Vice President for University
Advancement
needs of prospective students, include
courses such as American Government,
science, math, language arts and ESOL.
The program, which includes classroom
instruction, bus transportation and
lunch, is free to the students.
“AT&T is dedicated to helping peo
ple make connections - with each other,
with information and entertainment, and
with opportunities for the future,” said
Paul Chambers, AT&T Georgia regional
director of external affairs. “We are
excited about the difference the Steps 2
College program makes in the lives of
its students and honored to support the
great work being done by all involved.”
As part of AT&T’s support, the sum
mer students are visiting AT&T work
locations in their respective towns for
additional career advice and perspective.
The University of North Georgia
(UNG) is one of the largest public uni
versities in the state with almost 20,000
students across its five campuses —
Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega,
Gainesville and Oconee County. UNG is
one of six senior military colleges in the
United States and is designated as a
University System of Georgia leadership
institution and as The Military College
of Georgia. It offers more than 100 pro
grams of study including certificates,
associate, bachelor’s and master’s
degrees, as well as professional doctoral
programs.
FOOD TRUCK FRIDAY!!
FRIDAY, July 12th
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Downtown at Bill Elliott St. & Tucker Ave.
Food Truck Vendors • InSlatables • Balloon animals • Face Painting
Body of Atlanta drowning victim
recovered Monday afternoon
xnamex Dawson County News
The body of Corey Lamar Brown Corey Lamar
Brown was found July 1 at VannsTavern Park.
By Nick Watson
DCN Regional Staff
An Atlanta man’s body
was found in 26 feet of
water Monday, July 1,
near the spot he disap
peared three days earlier
on Lake Lanier, according
to authorities.
Georgia Department of
Natural Resources game
wardens found the body of
Corey Lamar Brown, 28,
around 4:44 p.m. Monday
near Vann’s Tavern Park.
“Game wardens located
him using sector scan sonar
and then recovered him
with the remote-operated
vehicle,” DNR spokesman
Mark McKinnon said.
Brown was on a rented
double-decker pontoon
boat Friday, June 28, with
a group of people jumping
from the top and sliding
down a slide, according to
DNR Sgt. Lee Brown.
“They had rented a
pontoon boat and they
were out on the lake for
the day swimming,” Sgt.
Brown said. “From what I
understand, he was going
after someone else and he
started struggling and
then went down.”
McKinnon said game
wardens were called to
the scene around 6:15
p.m. Friday. Two individ
uals were rescued, but
Brown never resurfaced.
Sgt. Brown said he
believes Brown knew how
to swim and wasn’t sure if
alcohol was a factor in the
reported drowning.
Sonar and dive teams
searched the area until
about 1 a.m. Saturday and
began again around 7 a.m.
On Saturday afternoon, a
DNR helicopter helped in
the search, but as boat traf
fic picked up, the dive team
and sonar searches were
called off.
The Hall County
Sheriff’s Office and Hall
County Fire Services dive
teams assisted in the search.
Reporters Layne Saliba
and Jeff Gill contributed to
this story.
Below are 10 fireworks safety tips you should know.
• Never use fireworks while impaired by drugs or alcohol
• Never allow young children to handle fireworks
• Older children should use them only under close adult
supervision
• Anyone using fireworks or standing nearby should wear
protective eye wear
• Never light them indoors
• Only use them away from people, houses and flammable
material
• Only light one device at a time and maintain a safe distance
after lighting
• Never ignite devices in a container
• Do not try to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks
• Soak unused fireworks in water for a few hours before
discarding
• Keep a bucket of water nearby to fully extinguish fireworks
that don’t go off or in case of fire
The best way to protect your family is to not
use any fireworks at home.
Instead, attend public fireworks displays and
leave the lighting to the professionals.
Sheriff Jeff Johnson
Visit us on Facebook
3> Dawson County Sheriff’s Office
Dawsonville, Ga
www.dawsoncountysheriff.org
Non-Emergency 706-344-3636
Tip Line- 706-265-4744
