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DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I AUGUST 18, 2021 DaWSOflNeWS ^com DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $1.00
Emergency rooms near full capacity
Dawson Emergency Services warns of potential changes
By Jacob Smith
jsmith@dawsonnews.com
Throughout the past few days, local
hospitals started notifying Dawson
County Emergency Services that their
emergency rooms are nearing full
capacity.
“There’s a trickle-down effect that
happens for us now,” Fire Chief and
EMA Director Danny Thompson said.
“Once we contact a hospital they would
let us know if they are in diversion, or a
full emergency room.
“We then ask the patient under our
transportation and care if they are will
ing to go to a different hospital. If not,
there will be extended wait times at their
preferred location or even a chance of
still having to change hospitals if the
patient requires admittance.”
Thompson clarified that even under
diversion, Dawson ES will still drive a
patient to their hospital of choice, but
that those different roadblocks might be
present once arriving, which would
result in longer transport times.
As of last week, Northside Forsyth is
at 83.8 percent capacity and Northeast
Georgia Medical Center Lumpkin is at
51.5 percent capacity, according to
www.data.rgj .com.
Dawson ES posted on their Facebook
account to spread the word about the
potential changes to their daily services.
The rise in hospital capacity is due in
part to spiking COVID-19 cases
throughout the metro-Atlanta area.
According to the Department of Public
Health website, COVID-19 cases in
Dawson County have continued to go up
from the beginning to the end of July
2021, with 10 confirmed cases between
July 17 and July 23 and 36 confirmed
cases between July 24 and July 30.
According to the website, Dawson
County has seen a total of 2,833 con
firmed COVID-19 cases to date.
“The Delta is a variant of the COVID-
19, it’s not a new different COVID,” Dr.
Larry Anderson, chairman for the
Dawson County Health Board and phy
sician at Anderson Family Medicine
said. “It has to do with the proteins that
are on the virus; it mutates a little bit.”
C A great success 5
Outdoor Expo highlights local outdoor businesses
By Jacob Smith
jsmith@dawsonnews.com
The Metro Market Media
Outdoor Expo was held at
Iron Mountain Park in
Dahlonega on Saturday, Aug.
14.
Over 200 people came and
learned more about 11 local
companies promoting health
and wellness for the North
Georgia area.
“We thank our sponsor
John Megel Chevrolet, and
partners Ruby’s Recipes and
JB JAMs for making the
2021 Outdoor Expo a suc
cess,” Metro Market Media
Director of Revenue Leah
Nelson said. “Attendees reg
istered to win a golf cart
from Lanier Carts and one
lucky winner received the
call today. We look forward
to more vendors and activi
ties in our 2022 event.”
Appalachian Armory was
one of the businesses at
Saturday’s event. Vietnam
Veterans of America Chapter
1030 head Ret. Col. Steve A.
Masak said he has been
attending the event for years
and has always found great
results.
“Everyone was so pleasant
and nice,” Masak said.
“Money goes to a good cause
and you are so supportive of
veterans. The community as
a whole has been very great
to us. Within the first month,
we already got back the
money we paid for our raffle
items.”
JoAnn Sutter with Damsel
in Defense said she saw a
great amount of business
while at the event and was
going around to several
expos in the Southeast to
spread awareness about her
self-defense products.
“I came out here today for
the opportunity to share my
personal protection products
See Expo 18A
Jacob Smith Dawson County News
The Outdoor Expo at Iron Mountain Park in Dahlonega hosted over 200 people on
Saturday, Aug. 14.
AgriScience
center honors
Slaton’s mark
on schools
By Erica Schmidt
eschmidt@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County School System has
officially announced that the new
AgriScience Center, scheduled to open
next fall at Dawson County High School,
will be named the Dawson County Schools
Roger D. Slaton AgriScience Center, in
honor of late board member Roger Slaton.
According to Superintendent Damon
Gibbs, the decision to name the new build
ing after Slaton is a fitting way for the
school system to honor him and the mark
he left on the county and its schools
through his extensive service with the
Board of Education.
“Mr. Slaton served the children of
Dawson County as a board member for 36
years,” Gibbs said. “Mr. Slaton was
See Slaton 16A
Haunted Ghost
Walk coming
to Dawsonville
By Jacob Smith
jsmith@dawsonnews.com
Know anybody who loves ghosts?
Haunted tales? The dark? Make sure to
send them straight to the inaugural
Dawsonville Haunted Ghost Walk Tour this
Halloween.
The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, along
with the City of Dawsonville and the
Dawson County Historical Society, plan to
host four nights leading up to Oct. 31 of a
haunted tour through downtown
Dawsonville.
Customers will start at the Hall of Fame
and travel through spots on the square like
the Dawsonville City Cemetery, the Town
Jail, Old Courthouse and the Dawsonville
Pool Room. Each spot will have a unique,
creepy ghost story waiting.
See Ghost 12A
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9 0 9 9 4
Inside
Volume 7, Number 30
© 2021, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
2A
Classifieds
7B
Dear Abby
6B
Deaths
2A
Legals
7B
Opinion
5A
Sports
1B
3A Students start
back on track
thanks to
supply drive
7A Chief Financial
Officer Ulrich
retiring from
Dawson
County Schools
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