Wednesday, March 2,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
Developers discuss potential city fireworks show
Photo courtesy Unsplash
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
A fireworks show may be
coming back to Dawsonville for
the Fourth of July.
Fire personnel and members
of the Downtown Development
Authority discussed the possi
bility at a special called meeting
of the DDA last week.
Dawson County Emergency
Services Division Chief and Fire
Marshal Jeff Bailey presented
the DDA members with infor
mation regarding fireworks safe
ty codes and the steps that
would have to be done in order
to successfully put on a city fire
works show.
“I try not to ever say never —
the fire marshal’s office, the
emergency services, we’re not in
the business of denying and say
ing ‘no you can’t’,” Bailey said
to the board. “Ours is more the
educating the rules and the
guidelines under which you
could do things.”
In past years, the city has held
community fireworks shows,
most recently partnering with
Atlanta Motorsports Park to put
on a community fireworks show
at the track, but hasn’t been able
to do so in the past few years.
Bailey said that, under state
and local ordinances, profes
sional pyrotechnic displays are
required to be shot off at a dis
tance of 70 feet away from all
spectators and occupied build
ings for every inch in diameter
that the mortars are. Because of
this, the larger fireworks are
required to be launched from a
greater distance away from peo
ple and homes.
“The authority having juris
diction, which is essentially
Chief Thompson and myself,
has the ability to decrease these
distances based on conditions
that we are aware of,” Bailey
added. “If we can provide a fire
watch ... we can make them a
littie closer distances.”
DDA Chair Keith Stone
brought up the idea of setting
off the fireworks display from
the high school parking lot, so
that citizens can watch the show
from Main Street Park.
“My idea that I have been fos
tering is to bring the food trucks
in, advertise it, have some stuff
going on, face painting, kind of
like were do at Christmas... and
then at dusk have the fireworks
and have the fireworks far
enough away to where we have
full usage of the facilities here,”
Stone said.
Bailey said that while using
the high school parking lot for
this purpose could be a feasible
solution, it would first require a
fireworks company to survey
the area and present findings on
how plausible the location
would be. In previous years, the
city has contracted with
Zambelli Fireworks to put on
shows.
“No matter how you look at
doing it anywhere inside the
city limits you’re gonna have to
address,” Bailey said. “There
are some homes built around
the high school, things like that
— it has been done before; the
only thing that would preclude
it now in any encroaching resi
dential growth.”
According to Bailey, the pro
cess to get a permit to hold such
a show would involve the city
first finding a fireworks compa
ny to hire to put on the show,
after which the company would
map out the area and propose
the best place to use to shoot
the fireworks off.
“You have to have a licensed
company, you have to get a per
mit from the probate court, and
all the paperwork is essentially
done by the fireworks contrac
tor,” Bailey said. “The operator
that puts on the show is going to
provide drawings and sketches,
dimensions, measurements and
so on.”
After surveying the area, the
fireworks company would then
submit its findings for review in
order to obtain a permit.
“They’re gonna take a look at
Google Earth, they’re gonna
look at the maps, they’re gonna
mark the points of if you shoot
here what’s the closest occupied
structure or residence,” Bailey
said. “They have to give us a
drawing showing here’s where
we’re going to do it on the
property, how many feet it’s
going to be to spectators and
how many to buildings —
they’re gonna do all of this
research and submit that to us
and that’s what’s in the applica
tion for the permit.”
City Manager Bob Bolz
added that in the past the city
has shot fireworks off from Fire
Station 1 and from the high
school and that in order to use
the high school parking lot as
Stone had proposed the city
would have to reach an inter
governmental agreement with
the Dawson County Board of
Education.
“I would suggest we reach
out to Zambelli and get them to
come out and look at the site
and make some suggestions,
and then if they think it’s feasi
ble and they like what they see
we can approach the Board of
Education,” Bolz said.
Woman accused
of stealing more
than $87K from
Dawson couple
by Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
A Gainesville woman has been charged with
stealing more than $87,000 from a Dawsonville
couple while she worked for their business as an
office clerk.
Joycelynne Cerqueria Defreitas,
25,was arrested Feb. 18 by the
Dawson County Sheriff’s Office on
82 counts, including 27 counts of
exploiting, threatening or intimidat
ing a disabled or elderly person; 27
counts of identity fraud; and 21
counts of forgery in the third
degree.
Defreitas remains in the Dawson County
Detention Center on $275,200 bond.
Warrants from the Sheriff’s Office detail how
Defreitas allegedly stole from couple Jack and Faye
Thompson over the course of 23 different dates in
2021 and 2022 while employed as an office clerk
for their business, which leases properties.
In total, the amounts add up to $87,542.02 stolen
over a six-month period with most of the amounts
ranging from $1,000 to $3,000, according to the
warrants.
Defreitas would take some of the couple’s blank
business checks, forge checks then deposit them for
her own use, according to the warrants.
She stole more than her usual amount on Dec. 28,
2021, and Jan. 27, 2022, according to warrants,.
On. Dec. 28, she allegedly took $19,282.35 from
the couple as well as forged and deposited a check
for $2,000. Then, on Jan. 27, she took $25,488.66
from the couple and also forged and deposited
another $2,000 check, according to warrants.
Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson reiterated
that the suspect has been accused of “fraudulently
forging checks to herself’ while she was employed
by the victims.
“Obviously, the crime has been compounded by
the fact that the [victims are] older and more vulner
able,” Johnson said.
Defreitas
FROM 1A
Scams
recipient’s arrest by local
law enforcement.
Scammers may also tar
get people while claiming
to be tech support or a
family friend or member.
“Someone might ask
you to pay for something
by putting money on a gift
card, like a Google Play or
iTunes card, and then giv
ing them the numbers on
the back of the card. If
they ask you to do this,
they’re trying to scam
you,” stated the DCSO
release, which included
information from the
Federal Trade
Commission.
That kind of payment
request is a red flag.
No government entity,
be it the FBI, GBI, U.S.
Marshals or local law
enforcement will call a
business and request
money.
“These scammers are
requesting large amounts
of money, ranging from
$1,000 to $20,000 to be
provided to them via gift
card,” Johnson said in a
recent press release.
“If you get one of these
phone calls or your com
puter is taken over, contact
Faw Enforcement imme
diately and do not pur
chase any gift cards to be
provided to the scammer.”
He also explained that
Ga. DPH cautions parents of
powdered infant formula recall
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
The Georgia Department
of Public Health is urging
parents and caregivers of
infants to check their pow
dered infant formula before
they use it, due to a recall
of select lots of Similac,
Alimentum and EleCare
formulas.
According to a press
release by the DPH, the
recall includes select lots of
Similac, Alimentum and
EleCare formulas, which
are manufactured by
Abbott Nutrition in its
facility in Sturgis,
Michigan and sold
throughout the U.S.
The recalled formulas
can be identified by the 7-
to 9-digit code and expira
tion date on the bottom of
the package, the release
said. Do not use the brands
if they meet all three of the
following conditions:
• The first two digits
of the code are 22
through 37
• The code on the
container contains
K8, SHorZ2
• The expiration date
is 4-1-2022 (APR
2022) or later
“Parents can also check
Similac’s recall website or
call 800-986-8540 and fol
low the instructions provid
ed to find out if a formula
they use is included in the
recall,” the release said.
“The recall does not
include liquid formula
“removing money from a
business, without permis
sion, to purchase gift
cards in a scam could
potentially result in crimi
nal charges but will cer
tainly result in the money
having to be returned to
the business.”
If people do fall victim
to scams like this, they are
encouraged not to destroy
the gift card or cards. That
card number is the only
way the card can be
tracked by law enforce
ment.
More information about
these kinds of scams has
been provided to the pub
lic by the Federal Trade
Commission on its web
site, www.consumer.ftc.
gov.
products or any metabolic
deficiency nutrition formu
las.”
To check your formula’s
lot number on the Similac
recall website, go to www.
similacrecall.com/us/en/
home.html.
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and the
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention are
investigating the matter
after four babies became
sick with bacterial infec
tions after consuming the
products, the release said.
Three of the complaints
concerned Cronobacter
sakazakii infections, and
one was a Salmonella
infection, both of which
can be foodbome.
Georgia WIC partici
pants can return or
exchange recalled formula
at the place they purchased
it, or contact their WIC
clinic to exchange for
replacement vouchers, the
release said. Parents and
caregivers of infants should
contact their child’s health
care provider for recom
mendations on changing
feeding practices if their
regular formula is not
available.
Addition recall informa
tion can be found on the
FDA website at www.fda.
gov/news-events/press-
announcements/fda-wams-
consumers-not-use-certain-
powdered-infant-formula-
produced-abbott-nutritions-
facility.
nr
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Qualifying Schedule for
General Primary Election
May 24, 2022
Political Party~Non-Partisan~lndependent
March 7-10 2022 ~ 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
March 11, 2022 ~ 9:00 am to noon
at the
Board of Elections & Registration office
96 Academy Avenue - 706-344-3640
Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 21 -2-131 qualifying fees for county
offices for the year 2022 elections shall be as follows:
Office Qualifying Fees
Board of Commissioners - District 1 $ 288.00
Board of Commissioners - District 3 $ 288.00
Board of Education - At large $ 288.00
Board of Education - District 3 $ 288.00
Qualifying information can be found at:
https://www.dawsoncounty.org/elections/page/candidates
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