Wednesday, May 11,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
Lumpkin 4-H to host annual 4-H rabies clinic
By staff reports
Lumpkin County 4-H and VCA
Chestatee Animal Hospital will be host
ing their annual rabies clinic on Saturday,
May 14th, in the lower parking lot of
Lumpkin County Middle School from 1
p.m. to 3 p.m.
According to a release by the
Lumpkin County Extension Office,
rabies is a viral infection that is spread
through the saliva of infected animals. It
is able to infect most mammals and
affects the central nervous system of a
host, causing symptoms such as convul
sions and paralysis. Rabies is almost
always fatal in infected animals.
Because it is easily spread through sali
va, the virus is commonly spread from
wild animals to household pets by means
of a bite. However, bites are not the only
means of transmission. Rabies has also
been known to spread by other animal
contact, such as scratches. Common car
riers of the virus in the wild are raccoons,
skunks, foxes, coyotes, and bats.
The best way to protect household pets
from the rabies virus is to have them vac
cinated annually. Georgia law requires all
home cats and dogs to be vaccinated each
year. The 4-H Rabies Clinic offers rabies
vaccinations at low prices. Rabies shots
for dogs or cats will cost $10.
As in past years, the clinic will employ
their “drive by” method for vaccinations.
This year, the office is asking participants
to go online beforehand and fill out a dig
ital registration form, which can be found
at extension.uga.edu/county-offices/
lumpkin.html.
The registration link can also be found
here: https ://f orm .j otform.
com/202764734644056. Payment can be
made with exact cash or checks made out
to Lumpkin County Extension/4-H.
Pets must be leashed or in a crate or
carrier when visiting to avoid confronta
tions with other pets.
The upcoming clinic is the only local
Rabies Clinic whose entire proceeds help
fund camp scholarships and activities for
the Lumpkin County 4-H Club. The 4-H
program helps local youth to become
well-rounded individuals through partici
pation in camps, judging teams, projects,
state government internships, and many
other character-building events. The
office is encouraging anyone with pets to
come out and help support a great cause
while helping to protect their pets at the
same time.
For more information, contact the
Lumpkin County Extension Office at
706-864-2275.
Leaders participate in The Essentials'
community development program
County changes course
on Elliott Road project
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
After receiving a mixed response from
area residents, County Manager David
Headley told the Dawson County Board
of Commissioners that efforts to improve
Elliott Road will likely have to proceed
apart from recently-drafted project plans.
Headley shared the staff recommenda
tion to overlay the road where possible
on the eastern or non-residential side,
adding a two to four-foot shoulder and
pull offs to help improve sight distance.
He said the latter would be based more
on field determination than a complete
redesign, which would incur additional
cost.
He shared that these steps would help
“cut down on continuous maintenance
with pothole repairs and shoulder grades.”
The roadway, which is close to Lake
Lanier in southeastern Dawson County,
was the first topic on the commissioners’
May 5 work session agenda.
Elliott Road is about a mile long,
beginning at its intersection with Couch
Road and terminating at its hairpin curve,
which turns into Sunset Drive.
Thirty-five parcels border Elliott Road,
and Sunset Drive and Ruby Lane provide
access to an additional 30 residential
properties, Headley said.
The road’s asphalt width can vary from
12-23 feet, with the right of way ranging
from 12-40 feet. For years, residents have
voiced concern about overall safety, par
ticularly as it relates to sight distance,
alignment and pavement widths.
Throughout the fall, plans for a pro
posed realignment and widening took
place, with the county paying Davis
Engineering & Surveying $23,000 from
SPLOST VI funds to design the project.
In March, the county hosted a public
meeting at Fire Station 2 to give residents
information about the project, relevant
plats, legal details and donation waiver
forms.
As of Thursday night, the Public Works
Department had only received one dona
tion waiver form and one verbal response
from a resident saying they would not sell
or donate.
BOC Chairman Billy Thurmond
acknowledged the county’s work with the
issue and said he and the county commis
sioners have met with multiple residents
who weren’t pleased with the idea of “any
type of donation.”
After Thurmond gave a nod to the rec
ommended ideas, Headley clarified that
road improvement costs would depend on
field examination, given that the right of
way varies along the road, narrowing near
the residential side.
That said, he estimated that these
efforts would represent a roughly
$170,000 project versus an almost-$2
million one that would be a complete
road reclamation project. He later added
that more exact budget figures could be
made available toward the end of the year.
“There’s really kind of a split decision
as to which way they want to go on it,”
Headley said. “There’s just not a whole
lot of interest in getting anything done
[along] there.”
District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines
suggested engaging with the property
owner near the hairpin curve about shav
ing it back about 20 feet to increase the
sight distance. Headley agreed, saying the
county could look at the right of way
there and work with the owner to get
additional needed area via a construction
easement rather than taking over or buy
ing additional right of way.
“People don’t want to give up their
land, that’s the biggest thing,” District 3
Commissioner Tim Satterfield said.
“They don’t want to give up their right of
way to make it wider. They want it safer,
but then... we don’t have the right of way
to make it safer.”
Headley said the county attempted to
narrow down the right of way as much as
possible to 40 feet to keep it consistent,
but that was a non-starter for residents.
Gaines clarified that right of way
doesn’t necessarily mean “pavement
coming right up to your door.” District 1
Commissioner Sharon Fausett pointed out
that the proposed pavement proximity
was “pretty bad” for the one person who
verbally dissented, though, saying that
she “wouldn’t have liked it either.”
In related news, the board went into
executive session and subsequently recon
vened to vote on land-related litigation.
Gaines made a motion for the county to
approve a settlement agreement between
Dawson Forest Holdings and Dawson
County for the forthcoming GrandView at
Lanier project.
The board voted 4-0 for the settle
ment’s approval. Now, the proposed proj
ect will have a public hearing at the
BOC’s June 2 meeting.
This development first came into public
discourse in the beginning of 2018.
In February 2018, a lawyer for Dawson
Forest Holdings sued the then-county
commissioners individually and in their
government capacities, alleging that their
refusal to change the R-A zoning classifi
cation infringed the developer’s property
rights.
This type of zoning issue has been
alluded to at more recent public meetings
over the past several months.
As last presented, Grandview at Lanier
will be located behind the Tractor Supply
off of Ga. 53. The development is expect
ed to have townhouses, detached senior
homes and a shopping center.
DCN will report updated details on the
development closer to the June 2 BOC
meeting and once the settlement docu
ments are available.
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
Recently, two Dawson County leaders
joined several other North Georgia com
munity leaders in the Georgia Academy
for Economic Development’s “The
Essentials” community development pro
gram.
According to a press release by the
Georgia Academy for Economic
Development, “The Essentials” program
was open to community and economic
development professionals, elected offi
cials, public servants, business leaders,
educators and engaged citizens from
across Georgia.
“The Essentials provided attendees an
opportunity to gain a unique understand
ing of the complexities of economic and
community development on the local,
regional and state levels,” the release said.
Among the most recent participants in
the course were Dawsonville City
Council member Will Illg and Gary
Coates from the Development Authority
of Dawson County. The two were joined
by 30 other participants representing
counties all across North Georgia.
The Georgia Academy for Economic
Development was created in 1993 and
helps to build a vibrant economy through
assembling a cross-section of experts,
research-based curriculum and resources,
the release said. The academy’s board of
directors represent public and private
economic development organizations and
agencies across Georgia.
Photo courtesy of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development
Recently, Dawsonville City Council member Will Illg and Gary Coates from
the Development Authority of Dawson County joined 30 other local lead
ers from across Georgia in the Georgia Academy for Economic
Development's 'The Essentials' program.
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Dental
minor extractions.
“They’re able to provide
pretty much any minor
dental service that our stu
dents might need,” Darnell
said.
The dental care provid
ed is at no cost to the
school system or to the
parents, and all that the
parents have to do is sign
their child up for the pro
gram and give their con
sent for their child to be
examined.
According to Darnell,
past semesters have each
seen around 100 children
come to receive the free
dental care, and this
semester was no different.
“We were able to serve
90 students in the fall and
94 students in the spring,
so that’s a pretty good
turnout,” Darnell said.
“We hope that as word
continues to spread and as
we continue to promote
this program that we’ll be
able to have more students
participate.”
Following Darnell’s pre
sentation to the board,
Superintendent Damon
Gibbs commended those
who helped bring the pro
gram to the county, saying
what a great program
Help a Child Smile is.
“We talk all the time
about kids not being able
to learn because they’re
hungry, but they sure can’t
learn if they have a tooth
ache,” Gibbs said. “This is
a great program for our
kids, and I really believe
it’s gonna grow year after
year.”
EARLY DEADLINES FOR
MEMORIAL DAY
Because of the upcoming holidays Dawson County News
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will be CLOSED
Monday, May 30,2022
in observance of Memorial Day.
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