About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 2022)
Wednesday, June 29,2022 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B My friends weren’t kidding about Nashville changing It’s not that we don’t visit Nashville regularly. We do. Usually, though, we are in a suburb like Franklin or Brentwood and not smack downtown as we were on a recent trip. We were there to attend a fundraiser hosted by former racer Darrell Waltrip and his wife, Stevie, at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Oh, my. “Nashville is really chang ing,” my friends would often say. “It’s not the same town you used to know.” They weren’t kidding. I’ve lived there. I’ve worked there. I’ve dreamed there. I’ve made thousands of memories there. I used to know her quite well. When first I met her, Nashville was a booming Southern town that had been built on the insurance industry, education (there are 20 colleges and universities there), and country music. Her downtown area set quietly and sweetly along the rippling yet powerful Cumberland River — the same waters once crossed by Davy Crockett and, later, by Yankee troops chasing the Confederates. The architectural grace of majestic, light-colored stone buildings, raised in the 1930s and ‘40s, such as the train station and post office, snuggle against the gothic red brick of the Ryman Auditorium which, in turn, winks sleepily at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. Though many of those build ings are still there, her down town streets resemble - mighty shudder - a country cousin to Los Angeles. The town, which rode to fame on the pompadour hairstyle heads of country music stars like Porter Wagoner and Conway Twitty, now dress es in modern fashions similar to 1960s’ London. Think of the Beatles in black suit jackets and slim, peg-legged slacks with polished loafers and you have a clear picture of the young men who hurry along, down Broadway. Where have all the cowboy hats and boots gone? While Tink conduct ed business, via video calls, in our hotel room in the glass tower of an extremely modern hotel which looked out on the city’s skyline - with that awful “Batman” building which brought a tarnish when BellSouth built it in the 1990s - I took a meandering walk down Demonbreun. Amazed, I stared up at the tops of fancy, high- rise buildings. When I caught my reflection in a mirrored window, I recog nized someone - the little girl from Rural Route One, on her first wonder-inspiring visit to New York City. That young woman was wide-eyed and open mouthed, not believing what she saw. That young girl has long retreated. But the wiser woman, who replaced her, was equally awestruck. It wasn’t the cozy, hugging kind of town I remembered. I looked down Demonbreun and recalled a time when Grand Ole Opry star, Laron Young, owned much of the real estate on that street. The simple old buildings of Laron’s empire have been replaced with new- fashioned ones. Simplicity is gone. Extravagance reigns. Though it does not look like the place that first stole my heart when I was seven, and which I loved furiously for many years, Nashville, under her layers of glitz and lipstick, is like a bottle blonde who can not hide her roots. Speakers, placed along the streets and in hotel lobbies, played the songs which chris tened Nashville as Music City, U.S.A. The music does not sound modern or sleek. It has the twangy notes of Haggard, Cash, Tammy, and Loretta. That cowboy-boot-wearing, guitar-toting, poetic generation that kissed America with its brilliant simplicity and penned words understood by the com mon man. Lor one hour, I sat in our hotel lobby, trying to glimpse a pair of cowboy boots, but to no avail. In the midst of the gloss and slickness, the harmonies of the Oak Ridge Boys shined brighter than the polished brass and was prettier than the mod em art. I smiled. Nashville is like me. She wears fancy dresses and dan gling earrings but, at heart, she remembers exactly who she is - a country girl raised up proudly in a Southern landscape of hard work privileged to offer dream chasing. Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of Let Me Tell You Something. Visit www.rondarich. com to sign up for her free weekly newsletter. RONDA RICH Columnist Lots of burgers to grill Lor many Americans, it wouldn’t be the Lourth of July without two things: burgers and fireworks. Why not switch things up and make a different kind of burger this year? Here are some non- traditional burgers that are sure to satisfy everybody’s burger needs. Chicken Guacamole Burgers • Vi cup red onion, finely minced • 14 cup cilantro, chopped • Vi jalapeno, seeded and finely minced • 1 avocado • 2 teaspoons lime juice • Vi teaspoon lime zest • 1 egg, lightly beaten • 1 'A pound ground chick en • Vi teaspoon salt • Vi teaspoon pepper • 4 hamburger buns • Lettuce • Tomatoes In a bowl, combine red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. Add avocado, lime juice and lime zest, mashing avocado until it still has some texture. Add beaten egg, ground chick en, salt and pepper. Combine just until mixed—don’t over mix. Lorm into four patties. If your grill has a grid dle, you can totally grill these over medi um-high heat for 5 minutes per side. Alternatively, you can cook patties with a few tablespoons olive oil in a skillet for 4-5 minutes per side, over medium-high heat. Serve on buns with lettuce and tomatoes. Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Ketchup • 1 egg, lightly beaten • 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed and drained well • 1/3 cup bread crumbs • 14 cup red onion, finely minced • 14 cup cilantro, chopped • 3 tablespoons mayon naise • 1 teaspoon cumin • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 14 teaspoon pepper • Chipotle Ketchup (recipe follows) In a bowl, mash together black beans and eggs, leaving some texture. Add bread crumbs, red onion, cilantro, mayonnaise, cumin, salt and pepper. Lorm into four patties. Heat a few tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Add black bean patties and cook for 4-5 minutes per side. Serve on buns with let tuce, onion, tomatoes and Chipotle ketchup. i3 ADLEN ROBINSON Columnist Do you get frustrated when a recipe calls for a chipotle pep per with adobo sauce because then you have the rest of the can and don’t know what to do with it? I have the solution for you! When you buy that little can of chipotles in adobo sauce, puree the whole can in the food processor, or use an immersion blender (or in a mini-blender). Now, store the mixture in a lit tle jar in the freezer. Next time you need just a tablespoon or two, just thaw the mixture out, and refreeze the rest. Chipotle Ketchup • !/2 cup ketchup • 2 tablespoons chipotle mixture or 1 minced chi potle pepper and 1 table spoon adobo sauce • 1 teaspoon lime juice • 1 teaspoon honey • 14 teaspoon chili powder Combine all ingredients. Greek Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce • I 14 pounds ground lamb • 1 1/2 tablespoons mint leaves, minced • 1 teaspoon salt • 1/2 teaspoon pepper • 14 cup grated red onion • 1 tablespoon fresh orega no leaves, minced (or 2 teaspoons dried oregano) • % teaspoon ground cori ander • 1/2 teaspoon ground cin namon • 4 pita bread halves or 4 hamburger buns • Lettuce • Tomato slices • Leta cheese • Onion slices • Tzatziki Sauce (recipe follows) In a bowl, combine ground lamb, mint, salt, pepper, grated onion, oregano leaves, corian der, and cinnamon. Lorm into 4 patties. If you have a griddle on your grill, you can grill these about 6-8 minutes per side for well done, or 4-5 minutes for medium rare. Alternatively, you can heat a few tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet and cook 6-8 min utes per side for well done or 4-5 minutes for medium rare. Serve on pita halves, or buns, with lettuce, tomato slices, feta, onion slices and tzatziki sauce. Tzatziki Sauce • 1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt • !/2 cup grated English cucumber • 1 clove garlic, minced • 2 tablespoons olive oil • 1 14 tablespoons fresh dill, minced • 1 teaspoon lemon zest • 1 tablespoon lemon juice • Pinch of salt and pepper • 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced Combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Sometimes nothing satisfies like a good old fashioned all- American burger with special sauce. This is one of the juiciest ones you will ever have. All-American Cheeseburger • 1 14 pounds ground beef • 1 stick of cold butter, grated • 1 teaspoon salt • 14 teaspoon pepper • 4 hamburger buns • 4 slices American cheese • Lettuce • Tomato slices • Onion slices • Pickle chips • Special Sauce (recipe follows) In a bowl, combine ground beef, grated butter, salt and pepper. Lorm into four patties. Grill over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes per side. Alternatively heat a few table spoons olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Cook 4-5 minutes per side. Serve on buns with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and Special Sauce. Special Sauce • Vi cup ketchup • 1/3 cup mayonnaise • 2 tablespoons sweet pickle or dill pickle rel ish (or a combination) • Pinch of salt and pepper Combine ingredients. Photo courtesy of Forsyth County News Divers from Lake Lanier Recovery Divers pull a 30-foot-long sheet of metal from underneath a Forsyth County resident's dock. According to the home- owner, the sheets of metal flew off their dock during a bad storm last year. FROM 1B Dock wind and waves on Lake Lanier. “We watched some lawn chairs, an umbrella and an umbrella base fly off our dock, over the rail ing and into the water,” she said. When they got home, Zafft said her husband was able to fish out the lawn chairs, but the umbrella remained sub merged. Because she was not able to see the umbrella or know if it was pointed upwards, she called Pickering to for help. “We’d already had our dock cleared for the start of the season,” Zafft said. “But we wanted to find it so we could [stay safe], “Not knowing what’s under there, it can be dan gerous,” she said. “You can’t see the bottom; it’s not like a pool where you can see what’s in there; fishing line, tree stumps, branches, all sorts of debris.” One of the most interest ing and possibly most dan gerous items Pickering said he’s found under a dock was a tractor from the 1950s. A few years back, he said he cleared a dock for a homeowner that was plan ning on selling their home. When he dove beneath the dock, he found a partially- buried tractor that “had to have been there since they flooded [Lake Lanier].” “That just goes to show how dangerous it can be,” Pickering said. “You can’t see even [10 feet down], it’s like five to six [feet] maximum.” Pickering described the most common dock haz ards as furniture and trees, but he has seen things like boats, refrigerators, ropes, boat motors and old docks that have been purposeful ly sunk. One of the most danger ous hazards, though, is unseen: fishing lures and lines. “If you jump in and get caught on a fishing lure, your immediate reaction is to swim for the surface,” Pickering said. “And that fishing lure is attached to a line, and that’s pulling you in the opposite direction. You’re not going to cut [the line] with your teeth, and you’re going to panic. And when people panic, that’s when they unfortu nately they [could] drown.” He said the mud at the bottom of the lake can also be “very unforgiv ing,” and he and his team take time to inspect the terrain below each dock to give a detailed report to the homeowner. Sometimes they find boulders, he said. Other times, the mud is too thick to reach through, or the ground is silty and sandy. “We will inform the owners of what we find down there and what they should be aware of,” Pickering said. “Then we advise them accordingly.” Pickering said he refers to his group’s dock clear ing service as “the cheap est insurance policy you can buy.” “You just don’t know what’s down there, and it’s your children and your family’s safety,” Zafft said. “I mean, you’ll put a seat- belt on, but you won’t clear your dock. To me, it’s just as important; it’s safety.” While Zafft said she is appreciative of Lake Lanier Recovery Divers’ item recovery service, she was most grateful for their dock clearing capabilities. “Even though it’s not failsafe, it gives us some peace of mind to know we’re trying to do the right thing for our kids and our family,” Zafft said. “You just really don’t know what’s down there, and you can’t replace the safe ty aspect. It’s so impor tant.” This story was originally published in the Forsyth County News, a sister publi cation of the Dawson County News. FROM 1B Disc number, par number and dis tance from the tee pad to the basket. The city also hopes to secure sponsors for each hole, so each sign will include a space at the bottom for the sponsor’s name. The course is listed on UDisc, an app used by disc golfers, so anyone playing can use the app to locate each basket and follow the layout of the course, Banister said. The course is completely free, and for those wanting to try out the sport without purchasing a set of discs, the Dawson County Public Library has discs avail able to borrow with a Dawson County Library card. A starter set of discs can run as low as $20 on Amazon, Banister added, so it’s not a huge invest ment to get out and try the sport. Both Banister and Bolz said that since the installation of the baskets the course has been filled with disc golfers enjoying the “Shiners 9”, and they are confident that the traffic through the course will continue to be strong and to benefit the city. “It brings a whole other ele ment of people who might not have normally come to the park; then it brings them into our city so maybe they’re eating here or spending their money at Lood Lion or the gun store or one of the antique stores or something like that,” Banister said. “I’m glad it’s taking off and people are enjoying it; we love it.” Lor more information about the “Shiners 9” and to view the course on UDisc, go to https:// udisc.com/courses/shiners- 9-dgc-main-street-park-4vwE.
