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Wednesday, October 26,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
DCHS FFA students place in local competitions
By staff reports
Recently, students from
the Dawson County High
School Future Farmers of
America (FFA) group com
peted in land evaluation and
cattle showing, with each
group of students excelling
in their events.
On Sept. 22, students from
the DCHS FFA group com
peted in the North Region
Area 1 FFA Land Evaluation
contest, placing second and
advancing to the state com
petition. This week on Oct.
11, they competed in the
state event in Perry, Georgia
and placed 12th in the state.
The land evaluation con
test team consisted of Grade
Turner, Chase Cofield,
Bryce Beach and Carson
Branson, all of whom
worked hard to help their
team excel, according to
FFA Advisor Keith Pankey.
“The students worked hard
at the area event to get the
chance at state,” Pankey
said. “The DCHS FFA is off
and running this year.”
Also recently, two FFA
members received prizes for
showing their beef cattle at
the Chattooga County Fair.
Emily Cox, the daughter of
Bo and Laura Cox and a
ninth grader at DCHS, and
Chase Cofield, son of Chad
and Deedra Cofield and an
11th grader at DCHS, both
brought home a belt buckle
for winning champion show
manship in their grade lev
els.
“(I’m) very proud of both
of these individuals and their
hard work,” Pankey said.
CHATTOOGA
W COUNTY *
Wl. AGRICULTURAL/^
Photos courtesy of Keith Pankey
Above, DCHS FFA students Grade Turner, Chase
Cofield, Bryce Beach and Carson Branson recently
competed in the state Land Evaluation contest,
placing 12th. Left,DCHS FFA students Emily Cox
and Chase Cofield recently brought home belt
buckles for winning champion showmanship in
their grade levels at the Chattooga County Fair.
Erica Jones Dawson County News
Johnny and Kathy Burt hold the resolution from the State of
Georgia declaring Oct. 18, 2022 as Burt's Pumpkin Farm Day
in the state.
FROM 1A
Burt's
“You don’t get 50 years of
business without doing a really
good job of taking care of cus
tomers and taking care of the
community,” Wade said. “The
entire family to me is a great
symbol of what makes Dawson
County great, and that’s hard
work and sticking together
through thick and thin. They are
a family of faith and that’s at the
center of everything that they do
— that’s at the center of what I
believe our district is about:
faith, family and working hard.”
State Senator Steve Gooch
also spoke during the event,
congratulating the Burt family
on their accomplishment and
thanking them for the part they
play in the state’s agriculture.
“We appreciate the Burts for
being here all these years; thank
you for your steadfast ability to
stay on this farm and raise your
family and I hope your grand-
kids will do the same thing,”
Gooch said. “What a beautiful
place for tourists to come up;
this place is packed every day of
the week and on weekends.
What an amazing opportunity
for this community; it’s because
of all your hard work and your
family sticking together and
making it happen.”
Burt’s Pumpkin Farm was
started back in 1972 by local
couple Johnny and Kathy Burt,
who began by selling pumpkins
from their front yard as a hobby
and a way to make a little extra
money. Since then, their farm
has grown from selling about
300 pumpkins a year to now
selling about 150,000 a year.
District 1 Commissioner
Sharon Fausett, who has lived
near the Burt family and seen
the farm grow since the very
beginning, said that to her the
family and the farm are both sta
ples of what make Dawson
County what it is.
“We all know this place is
magic — we’ve got a lot of jew
els in Georgia; this is a jewel
and your family is a jewel,”
Fausett said during the event.
“They’re the hardest working
people I’ve ever seen in my life;
I was here too when it all started
and look where it is now... it is
fabulous.”
Dawsonville City Council
member Will Illg, Dawson
County Commission Chairman
Billy Thurmond, Dawson
County Clerk of Courts Justin
Power, Dawson County
Chamber of Commerce
President and CEO Mandy
Power and Dawson County
Sheriff Jeff Johnson also shared
their thoughts during the event,
thanking the Burt family for all
they do for Dawson County and
for all their family means to so
many people.
“I love this farm; it’s like a
little slice of heaven in
Dawson,” Illg said. “We love
you guys and we’re excited to
celebrate you today.”
“If there’s one thing I know,
they wouldn’t be a farm without
a family,” Johnson added. “I love
the Burt family; they’re just like
family to me.”
Wade added that, both on a
personal level and as a part of the
Dawson County community, he’s
grateful for the Burt family and
their commitment to make the
county a better place.
“When there’s something that
needs done in the community,
they’re just a phone call away —
if you need a prayer or you need
a pumpkin they are there for you,
and to me that’s why this 50
years is happening,” Wade said.
After the reading of the reso
lution, Johnny and Kathy Burt
accepted it from Wade and
thanked those in attendance for
their support throughout the
years.
“I want to thank all of y’all —
y’all are Dawson County, we’re
Dawson County and we love
every one of you,” Johnny Burt
said.
To read more about the histo
ry of Burt’s farm, go to https://
www.dawsonnews.com/life/arts-
entertainment/faith-family-and-
pumpkin-fields-burts-farm-
opens-for-50th-season/.
To learn more about the farm
including hours, directions and
more, go to https://www.shop-
burtsfarm.com/.
FROM 1A
Perimeter
installation of sanitary
lines and sewer manholes
up to Perimeter Road
right-of-way, the applicant
donating funds of $1000
per unit for future inter
section improvements at
Perimeter Road and
Highway 9 South and of
$500 per unit for future
intersection improvements
at Perimeter Road and
Highway 53 East, and the
installation of a dedicated
left turn lane on Perimeter
Road and the develop
ment’s first driveway.
“I make a motion to
approve with the condi
tion that the developer
agrees to meet the guide
lines set out by the plan
ning department, with the
exception of the easement
onto Highway 53,”
French said. “I think that
right-in right-out only
entrance and exit would
be very well placed
there.”
Council members John
Walden and Will Illg both
voted against the
requests, citing reasons
similar to those of the
planning commission
members at their Sept. 12
meeting.
“First off, I’d like to
thank the public who
reached out to me via
email, phone call and so
forth,” Walden said. “I
looked at this every
which way I could and I
don’t feel it meets the
comprehensive plan over
all... I have concerns
with the traffic conges
tion and with the public
safety and so forth, so I
have to be a no on this
one.”
Illg thanked both
Chapman and Homans
for their time answering
questions about the appli-
cation but also voted
against the requests.
“I appreciate Jim and
Joey, you guys meeting
with us — I got a lot of
information from you
guys and I appreciate the
meeting that we got to
have,” Illg said. “For
me... it kind of feels like
to me putting a square
peg in a round hole.”
The council members
were split in their vote,
with French and council
member Caleb Phillips
voting in favor and
Walden and Illg voting
against. Mayor Mike
Eason acted as the tie
breaker, voting in favor of
the requests to approve
both the annexation and
the rezoning in a 3-2 vote.
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