About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 2022)
Wednesday, May 25,2022 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B Gold Dome Update: 2023 budget signed in Blue Ridge By: Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) Last week, in a ceremony held in Blue Ridge, Gov. Brian Kemp formally signed House Bill 911 into law, representing the state’s budget for the upcoming 2023 fiscal year. The FY23 budget is set by a revenue estimate of just over $30 billion, representing an increase of nearly 11 percent over the original 2022 Fiscal Year Budget. A few years ago, many would not have expected us to be in the position to pass a budget like this. Throughout the worst days of the pandemic, the legislature was forced to make deep cuts in order to keep essen tial government services and operations functioning. We were met with dire warnings about the future of our state and our ability to remain financially stable was questioned. However, thanks to the steady hand of Gov. Brian Kemp and his team, along with conservative budgeting practices in the General Assembly, we passed what may equate to the best budget this state has ever approved. In fact, this budget permanently restores approxi mately $669 million in cuts made during the height of the pandem ic and provides historic invest ments in many key sectors. This budget, like many others we have passed, places a special emphasis on education, health care and public safety. However, the FY23 budget has a few unique provisions that all Georgians deserve to receive. As noted, Georgia is in an enviable economic position, having been among the first states to open back up for business following the COVID-19 pandemic. We trusted our workforce to find innovative and safe ways where they can continue to provide ser vices their communities depend on, while protecting the liveli hood of themselves and their employees. As a result, Georgia experienced an economic boon and is currently experiencing an astounding 3.1% unemployment rate at a time when other states are still struggling to make ends meet. To show our appreciation for the reliance of Georgia’s workforce, this budget calls for returning over $1 billion back to where it belongs - the pockets of the taxpayer. This will take the form of tax refunds between $250 and $500, depending on fil ing status for all Georgia taxpay ers. In addition, several weeks ago, Gov. Kemp called for a sus pension of the gas tax to provide even more financial relief to Georgia’s families. Education is the area which typically receives the most fund ing in Georgia’s budget and this year was no exception. In fact, this budget contains the most state funds ever appropriated to K-12 education. Aside from fully funding the Quality Basic Education Formula, it fully restores austerity cuts made to education during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing over $388 million to K-12 education. This budget also fulfills the Governor’s promise by granting educators an additional pay raise of $2,000, bringing their total raise over the past few years to $5,000. Additionally, the budget expands high-demand career pro grams at Georgia’s Technical Colleges, bringing additional opportunities to Georgia’s stu dents and industry partners. In the realm of healthcare, this budget also invests historic sums to protect life at all stages. Specifically, $28 million has been allocated to extend Medicaid coverage for new mothers from six months after birth to twelve months after birth. These extra months of care are critical, as the first year of development can have such a long standing impact on a child’s future. Additionally, care for Georgia’s foster youth was also a priority in this budget, through increasing the annual clothing allowance by $275 per child and by establishing two community action teams to address children who are at risk of entering the foster care system, as well as over $6 million to address invest ing in alternatives to the practice of “hoteling” children with com plex needs. Public safety is of critical importance in Georgia’s cities and rural areas alike, and this budget provides for a holistic view of how our public safety dollars can best be spent. The FY23 budget provides funds for an additional Georgia State Trooper school of 75 cadets to further expand one of Georgia’s most elite crime fighting units. In addition, the Human Trafficking Unit, operating under the Office of the Attorney General, was expanded, with a new gang pros ecution Unit also funded to tack le the growing threat of criminal gangs on Georgia’s streets. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has also reported a back log in cases, largely attributed to the pandemic, and this budget recognizes the importance of solving these cases efficiently by allocated over $10 million to expand the medical Examiner’s office at the GBI. HB 911 also better equips the GBI with the resources they need to investigate any irregularities that may arise in Georgia’s election. This was a key priority for the legislature, as our democracy demands secure elections and those who attempt any form of fraud deserve to be investigated. The provisions under this bud get will go into effect when the new fiscal year begins on July 1, 2022. While this just presents a brought overview of the state’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the entire language of the legislation is available online on the General Assembly’s website. If you have any specific ques tions about any line items in the budget, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office. Sen. Steve Gooch serves as Majority Whip of the Senate Majority Caucus. He represents the 51st Senate District which includes Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Union and White coun ties and portions of Forsyth and Pickens counties. He may be reached at 404.656.9221 or via email at steve.gooch@senate.ga. gov Doodle vs. the squirrels Sometimes it feels like I live in the middle of a Disney movie, with all the sweet animals that walk up in my yard and feel right at home. A family of deer visits daily, and are practically tame. There’s a fluffle of bunnies we see every spring. A murder of crows who will call for us to feed them. And squirrels. Lots and lots of squirrels. Bold, brazen, assertive squirrels, too. We’ve even grown to the point of being able to recognize certain squirrels and have named one cheeky little rodent Baby. Doodle is not very pleased with our inclu sion of the squirrels and rightfully so. She has had some not-so friendly encoun ters with them in the past. Maybe they witnessed what Doodle did to a baby bunny when she was just a wee pup and they feared they would meet the same grisly fate. Or maybe she tried to catch one once. Whatever it was, there was tension between my little pittie-mix and the front yard habitants. Since Doodle is not a barker and prefers to just look at something real hard, she could often be found staring at the squirrels in the yard through the screened portion of the porch. Head down, eyes locked, and the fur raised on her back, she would be frozen in her spot as she watched her prey. As ferocious as she is in her own puppy mind, she never expected the squirrel to do the unthinkable. Rather than being scared by her intimidation tactics, it charged towards the porch. Being the terrifying watchdog that she is, Doodle screamed and ran back inside, look ing for Ava to protect her. The German shepherd had to get off the bed and go outside to defend Doodle from the squirrel and its army which had emerged from the trees. With a satisfied bark, Ava went back inside and hopped back on the bed, and Doodle looked quite smug, knowing she had some one to scare off her arch enemy. The squirrels seemed to have the memory of an elephant as one beaned Doodle on the head with an acom one evening as we sat by the fire pit. At first, I thought it was just one falling from the tree that hit her. But then another came down. Doodle yelped. Then one hit me. “Ouch!” I yelled. I heard the squirrels chatter above my head. “Hey!” I yelled. “I give you peanuts! You SUDIE CROUCH Columnist shouldn’t hit me!” Doodle was not happy about their retalia tion, but retreated, planning her revenge for another day. She was having another stare-down contest with one a few days later when it took an unexpected turn. Not only did it charge towards the porch, but it ran up a nearby tree and then jumped towards the rail. Doodle backpedaled like Scooby Doo and ran inside. She didn’t even bother to get Ava this time, evidently thinking the squirrel may be bold enough to attack her packmate. It worried me though. Baby came up on the porch rail all the time, and I hated to think that because she feels so familiar with us, and even Ava. who never had a mean bone in her extra-large body, that she would feel safe with Doodle. “I’m scared she’s going to get Baby,” I told Lamar one morning. He frowned. “It’s possible. You remember the possum?” I shuddered. He had spared me from seeing it, but that had hurt our feelings. Doodle was normally so sweet and cuddly like a toddler; the thought she had such a strong prey drive was alarming. “She seems so passive the rest of the time,” “It’s the terrier part of the pitbull in her,” Lamar said. “They were bred to hunt vermin and go after things like that. The rest of the time, she’s in her own little Boo-Ann world, and gets scared if anyone raises their voice. But if it’s something she thinks is a rat, she’s like the Terminator.” As I worked one morning, I heard what sounded like something knocking on the win dow. I was a bit alarmed, as I was home alone and didn’t know who would get that close to the house to tap on a window; I also was wor ried they could see me sitting there in all my pajamified glory working. I slowly looked around and saw at the kitchen window, the chubby little squirrel we’ve come to love, Baby pressed up against the glass. “My stars,” I murmured to myself. She’s hungry. I got up and grabbed the peanuts, and as I opened the door to the front porch, she hopped down and ran ahead of me, pausing every few steps to make sure I was going to give her the nuts. “You are a brave little squirrel,” I told her as she shimmied down to the grass below. “If Doodle had run out here just now, you may have met Jesus.” As I tossed her the nuts, I noticed a dozen other squirrels making their way to grass in front of the porch, eager for me to throw them some nuts. Seeing how Doodle would be greatly out numbered and knowing she had spent a solid 10 minutes pouncing on her own shadow ear lier, maybe Baby was safe after all. Sudie Crouch is an award winning humor col umnist and author of "The Dahlman Files: A Tony Dahlman Paranormal Mystery. Tinks Heart: She Said.. .He Said Part Two (This is the second of a two-part series.) In all my borne days, I have never seen any one who eats like John Tinker. Occasionally, he has breakfast. Sometimes, he has lunch. But, ALWAYS, he starts eating toward the end of the afternoon and does not stop until he brush es his teeth for bedtime. Never, does he eat a bite after brushing his teeth. I understand because he spends a solid 15 minutes flossing and brushing. It’s one of the annoying factors of our marriage. His metabolism is so rapidly fast that, in half an hour after a huge meal and des sert, he will say, “I’m hungry.” When we settle down at night to watch a film noir on Turner Classic Movies, he will get up from his chair and cross in front of the TV, for three to four round trips to the kitchen. He returns, clutching cookies, pea nuts, and, often, with a screeching loud bag of pretzels. He eats like an eight- year-old latchkey child whose mother allows him to sus tain on junk food. I was a chubby-cheeked child and teenager until, finally, I resolved to lose the long-lasting baby fat. The majority of my days, since I was 16, have been spent either on a diet or, silently, counting calories. Too, I have exercised more days in my life than I haven’t. It is a prison in which I am serving a life sen tence. Given my druthers, Ed live on Cheetos and ginger ale. And, I’d never climb another hill or drudge along on an elliptical for a determined half hour. Ed, also, eat until I was close to sick the way I was when I was 12 and ate three big bowls of Mama’s hearty homemade potato soup with two chunks of cornbread. Lying, miserably, in bed that night, I promised myself and God that I would never eat that much again. I haven’t. So, aside from crunching bags and television interruptions, I am mad that Tink can eat like an adolescent linebacker and never gain an ounce of fat. He never leaves the comfy chair in his office except for an occasion quick dash to the bath room or, more likely, a trip to the kitchen where he studies the refrigerator like a chess player about to make a key move. A couple of times a day, I’ll stop by his office and instruct, “Move your legs so you don’t get a blood clot.” Several years ago, a cardiovascular surgeon friend of ours warn that we should “brake pedal” our feet during our frequent five-hour plane trips between home and Los Angeles. I don’t believe he thought that the technique would have to be implemented at home where we are free to roam around the house or walk the acres of the Rondarosa. “One of these days....” I keep saying to Tink, who has learned quickly the mountain way of “payin’ no never mind.” I thought “one of these days” had finally arrived. Both of Tink’s brothers had suffered some heart issues and when the healthiest one, who exercises vigorously and eats healthy, needed surgical intervention, Tink said, “Maybe I should be checked.” He made the appointments. On R0NDARICH Columnist the night before the results of the litany of tests were to be explained, he was restless. Worried. Even scared. “Oh baby, what if?” I felt compassion and tried to comfort him. “Then, we will thank the Lord that we caught it before it caught you.” With hung head and furrowed brow, he went off to the doctor’s office for the big news. Forty five minutes later, he called. “Aha!” His voice rang with glee. “Em in perfect health. All my arteries are clean!” “Dang.” A stream of annoy ance ran over me. I will not lie. “Are you serious??” He howled with laughter. “This really gets you, doesn’t it?” “Em glad that you are okay,” I replied calmly. “Jesus is being awfully sweet to you.” I paused. “Because one of these days...” This is Ronda's side of the story. Tink told his side in last week's col umn. Kade Moledor receives a hand- off dur ing the spring game. Rio White Dawson County News wk fM FROM 1B Football According to the team’s MaxPreps page, seven of the ten games have been scheduled. While rival North Hall will be moving up to Class 4A next season, the Tigers and Trojans are scheduled to face off on Friday, Sept. 2. Also, Pickens County will be mov ing into Dawson’s region. With last year’s roster containing many seniors, next season will allow a bulk group of juniors and sophomores to solidify roles on the team. FROM 1B Golf we were playing in the high 70s. Two days of 90-plus weather was difficult to adjust to.” That score of 662 was only two strokes behind last sea son’s third-place finish at the State Championship, showing the strength of this year’s qualifiers and the difficulty of the previous year’s golf course. However, the individual scores were an improvement, as Hughes shot 16 strokes bet ter than he did at last year’s state championship. “Alex was incredible both days. He was so consistent,” Anglin said. “Alex has always been extremely strong with his putter and that was on full display at State. He is an awe some kid that showed every one why he is one of the best golfers in AAA.” The next-best scorer for the Tigers was Christian Roper, who shot rounds of 81 and 83 to finish at 164. Jeremy Ray, one of the most improved players on the team this sea son, shot rounds of 88 and 89 to finish at 177. Seth Jackson rounded the four scores counted toward the team’s final aggregate with a 178 after rounds of 91 and 87. Also playing were Will McNatt and Logan Casey who shot 183 and 195, respectively. While Hughes, Roper and Jackson will be graduating this year, returning players include Ray, McNatt and Casey.
