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4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, April 6,2022
Blue Duck Cider brings new drink offerings to Dawson County
Erica Jones Dawson County News
Jim Matzek has recently opened Blue Duck Cider, a new local Georgia-based
farm winery, in Dawsonville.
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
Blue Duck Cider, a
new local Georgia-based
farm winery specializing
in hard craft cider, has
officially launched in
Dawsonville.
Blue Duck Cider
owner Jim Matzek said
that he has always loved
working outside and
working with his hands.
“Having spent a couple
of years living on my
cousin’s farm in Ohio
shaped my views on liv
ing,” Matzek said. “I was
always happiest when
driving a tractor or walk
ing the orchard next
door. I’ve even produced
my own maple syrup. It
was rewarding and I
wanted to get back to
that feeling. Life pulled
me down a different path
for years, but here we are
finally making cider.”
During a trip to
Normandy in France
about 12 years ago,
Matzek had the chance to
meet renowned cider
maker, Eric Bordelet,
who allowed Matzek to
tour his orchards, facili
ties and sample the
ciders. According to
Matzek, this was when
he knew he wanted to
turn his passion and his
extensive background in
wine production into
making cider. He began
making cider and enter
ing competitions, and
after winning several
medals he created Blue
Duck Cider.
Matzek said that, while
he lives in the Johns
Creek area, he was
drawn to Dawsonville for
his business because of
the community and the
growth that the county is
seeing.
“With all the growth in
North Georgia and the
modernization of county
ordinances, we thought it
would be a great time to
open a farm winery spe
cializing in making craft
hard cider,” Matzek said.
“We will employ all our
wine production and
alcohol industry experi
ence to bring the area
limited release craft
cider, and for the long
term, we’ve planted a
mini cider orchard that
will provide us stock for
our planned orchard.”
For its initial opening,
Blue Duck Cider will
offer several cider
options: an orchard blend
of hard cider apples,
peach and strawberry fla
vors. For those not inter
ested in cider, there are
also several options of
beer, wine and seltzers
available.
Customers can also
enjoy charcuterie boards,
and as the business gets
established in the com
munity Matzek said that
he has several additions
he hopes to be able to
begin offering.
“I have glasses coming
in the next week or two
so I should have bottled
to-go options for all
three ciders,” Matzek
said. “We’ll eventually
have mead, and we’ll
probably have our own
honey sometime this
year.”
Currently, customers
can drink the cider in a
two ounce taster, as well
as eight ounce and 10
ounce glasses. The farm
winery offers an on-site
tasting room with com
fortable seating and a
fun, vintage-feeling
atmosphere, as well as a
space for customers to
enjoy playing corn hole.
On May 7, Matzek
plans to host a grand
opening and fundraiser at
Blue Duck Cider. The
fundraiser will run from
3 to 8 p.m., and will raise
money to support World
Kitchen Ukraine, a non
profit aimed at support
ing families in need in
Ukraine with food to eat.
He added that in the
future he plans to partner
with local nonprofits,
like the Dawson County
Humane Society, to help
give back to the commu
nity.
Matzek said that he is
excited to have finally
opened and looks for
ward to expanding as his
business gains a footing
in the community.
“It was a long process,
it took us almost a year,
so I’m excited to finally
have it open,” Matzek
said. “I kind of slowed it
down with Covid so I’ve
dealt with all the logisti
cal stuff that everybody
else has dealt with, so
finally it’s good to be
open.”
Blue Duck Cider is
located at 30 Industrial
Park Drive Suite 114,
and the farm winery is
currently open on
Saturdays from 3 to 8
p.m. Matzek added that,
as the business grows, he
hopes to expand the
hours to encompass more
days of the week.
For more information
about Blue Duck Cider
including updates on
future options the busi
ness adds, go to the Blue
Duck Cider Facebook
page at https://www.
facebook.com/Blue-
Duck-Cider-
102163989071767.
Dawson County High School FFA to hold spring plant sale
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
On April 15, students from
the Dawson County High
School Future Farmers of
America (FFA) program will
hold a spring plant and vege
table sale, allowing commu
nity members to purchase
plants and support the orga
nization at the same time.
According to information
provided by FFA Advisor
Keith Pankey, there will be a
large variety of plants avail
able for purchase, including:
Bedding plants:
Coleus, Sunpatiens,
Impatiens, Marigolds,
red and green Sweet
Potato Vines,
Geraniums, Salvia
(sage), red and green
Wax Leaf Begonias,
New Guinea
Impatiens, Dragon
Wing Begonias and
Lantana.
Succulents: Peperomia,
Aloe and Purple
People Eater.
Woody stem plants:
Thuja Giants, Green
Giants, Butterfly
Bushes and Forsythia.
• Hanging baskets:
Weave Petunia, Boston
Ferns, Impatiens, New
Guinea Impatiens,
Christmas Cactus and
Wandering Jews.
• Vegetables: Rutger,
German Giant,
Beefsteak and
Cherokee Purple toma
toes; Hot Banana, Bell
and Jalapeno peppers.
The plant sale will be from
3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on April 15
at Dawson County High
School, and sales will not be
made before 3 p.m.
Photo courtesy Unsplash
FROM 1A
Resort
were separate from the
structure with the tray
ceiling and in good con
dition. He also said the
ceiling wasn’t structural.
Then in January, he had
Kobor remove the braces,
cover the hot tub and
empty its water. They
then planned to remove
the pine boards to take
some weight off of the
ceiling. Not long into the
removal, they realized
that greenboard had been
used under the pine.
Wasserman described
the material as “drywall
for bathrooms” and added
that they were aghast
after seeing that three
decades of moisture had
made it “like talcum pow
der.”
They saw the older can
lights and had Kobor
leave them there and tack
them up with nails to pro
vide a temporary hold.
The lights were screwed
onto joists.
“The light fixtures go
from a [GFCI] breaker to
a junction box,”
Wasserman said. “We
were just going to go
from the junction box and
put a conduit around with
six more LED lights from
Home Depot.”
They also put up a
vapor barrier with the
intent of placing a more
aesthetically pleasing
piece of sheet metal. The
thought was that they’d
fix the lights on that
Saturday. However,
Building Inspector Keith
Wilson and new County
Marshal Matthew Haley
showed up that Thursday,
Feb. 17.
“How long was it like
this for.. .in this state with
the vapor barrier?”,
Cunningham said.
Wasserman estimated
that the ceiling was like
this for a couple weeks
with club members still
using the hot tub space.
The resort owner said the
lights might have looked
weird or bad, but not dan
gerous.
2022 inspection
At the time of their
visit, Wilson had been a
building official for about
a year and employed with
the county for five years
after two-plus decades as
a low-voltage electrician.
Haley started in
January, having spent 14
years working as a police
officer and investigator.
Wilson noted that he
first heard about potential
hot tub area problems in
July 2021, when he went
to investigate a complaint
about empty light sock
ets. Wasserman sent him
pictures next week with
the light fixture in place.
Haley testified that he’d
first been alerted about
possible construction
issues via an anonymous
letter in January, but until
he could get more infor
mation, he closed the
complaint.
After getting more
details about exposed
wiring, he then contacted
Wilson and asked about
the exact location of the
hot tub area.
They drove to the resort
together and went to the
hot tub Wilson suspected
was the impetus for the
complaint. Tie back was
put in place of the ceiling,
and electrical wires were
not in conduit and
spliced, and the can lights
were hanging on wire
ducts above the hot tub.
The romex wiring for
the lights wasn’t graded
for a wet, corrosive envi
ronment like the hot tub
room.
Wilson considered the
circuit “beyond repair”
and said it would have to
be replaced. Anytime a
circuit is replaced, plans
have to be submitted with
that.
“Not only was it a life-
safety issue, but in order
to fix that life safety
issue, a permit was going
to be pulled to remedy the
situation,” Wilson said.
He added that last July,
the ceiling was lower than
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
A public meeting will be held on Thursday, April 21,2022
at 1:00 p.m. at the Dawsonville City Hall, 415 Highway 53 East,
Suite 100, Dawsonville, Georgia 30534. The City of Dawsonville
proposes to construct a new 0.8 MGD mechanical water pollution
control plant, pump stations, force main and gravity sewer. The
purpose of the meeting is to discuss the proposed project and the
City’s intent to apply for a loan and / or grant from the United States
Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service Program.
This public meeting is part of the requirements of USDA Rural
Development application process.
in February 2022, and
there wasn’t a way for
him to know without
plans how much or what
parts of the structure was
removed and if there was
damage to the above
flooring system. That was
the second reason for the
stop-work order in addi
tion to life-safety con
cerns, Wilson said.
Haley and board mem
ber Meade shared con
cerns that if left unattend
ed, there would have been
no way to prevent some
body from hitting the
light setup with, say, a
pool crook or standing on
a ladder shown in one of
the pictures.
“We didn’t want mem
bers swimming in a hot
tub with light fixtures that
at any time could fall,”
Haley said.
Wilson called
Wasserman, who was out
of town at the time of the
visit, and said that the
work above the hot tub
was being shut down and
required plans to be
approved by the fire mar
shal.
A check up showed that
Paradise Valley was abid
ing by the stop-work
order.
Both Wilson, Kobor
and an architect friend of
Wasserman’s, Todd
Washowich, made the
point that permits don’t
have to be issued for
minor electrical things
like fixing outlets, replac
ing lights or repairing a
single breaker. Another
exception would be con
necting approved portable
electrical equipment to
permanently installed
receptacles, according to
the building code.
Kobor was asked if the
work was being per
formed by a general con
tractor, and he said he is
not working under one.
There was no licensed
electrician working on the
lights, but Kobor main
tained no electrical fea
tures were changed.
Though not the case
with the current project,
he’s done past permitted
work through a licensed
general contractor, such
as with the projects from
Paradise Valley’s previous
stop-work orders.
When voting at the end
of the appeals board meet
ing, Meade expressed con
cerns about the several
months the temporary
braces were up, corroding
wires and the ungrounded
light fixtures, saying each
junction box has to be
bonded with groundwire.
Based on pictures show
ing a lack of groundwire,
he said that if a qualified
individual has been work
ing on the lights or over
seeing that work, then
they haven’t been making
the proper decisions.
“I want qualified engi
neers to design this,”
Meade said. “It should not
be up to me or any inspec
tor to make decisions."
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
The City of Dawsonville hereby gives notice that a public meeting will be held on
Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. at Dawsonville City Hall, 415 Highway 53
East, Suite 100, Dawsonville, Georgia 30534.
The purpose of the public meeting is to:
1. Inform the public of the need for improvements to the City’s wastewater
system;
2. To comply with section 391-3-6-02 of Georgias Water Quality Control
Rules and Regulations (and amendments there to);
3. To encourage public involvement in the development of a plan to improve
the sewerage system;
4. To discuss the Environmental Information Document for the proposed
improvements.
During the public meeting the City will attempt to identify public preferences for
alternative methods of improving the City’s wastewater treatment capacity. These
alternatives will be evaluated and included in the City’s Environmental Informa
tion Document.
Public participation is considered essential to the selection and development of
the final plan to be adopted prior to its approval by the State of Georgia, Depart
ment of Natural Resources.
This document is available for public inspection at the at the City of Dawsonville
offices located at 415 Highway 53 East, Suite 100, Dawsonville, Georgia 30534 or
at the office of Turnipseed Engineers, 2255 Cumberland Parkway, Building 400,
Atlanta, Georgia, 30339. The City will receive comments through April 21, 2022.
For additional information contact the City of Dawsonville at 706-265-3256.
