Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, November 30,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
Yoga group members collect donations for food pantry
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
One local exercise group’s
regular altruistic efforts have
now resulted in a heartwarm
ing bounty.
Members of Dawson
County’s Yoga in the Park
loaded an SUV full with
boxes of non-perishable holi
day food on Nov. 17, all
intended for The Place of
Dawson at RIC-Rack.
For each of the twice-week
ly meetings, group members
over the past two to three
years have brought individual
donations to the sessions that
were later taken to the food
pantry, said coordinator
Lynne Campbell.
“Every season, if somebody
wants to donate an item — it
can just be one item — [then]
they can bring something. It’s
not mandatory,” Campbell
said. “There’s no cost for it at
all.”
The group has grown since
its 2020 outdoor debut at
Dawsonville’s Main Street
Park. Last year, they collected
sheet sets to donate to No
One Alone, an area shelter for
women and children experi
encing domestic violence in
Dawson and Lumpkin coun
ties, Campbell added.
This year, one Yoga in the
Park member saw a food
bank list intended for
Christmas celebrations and
adapted the items on it for
Thanksgiving. Then, people
brought different parts of the
list to Thursday’s session to
make up the generous load
that Campbell took to RIC-
Rack last Thursday.
“It’s always been my feel
ing that any group that I’ve
ever belonged to needs to
have a civic responsibility,”
Campbell said. “We know
there are individuals that are
in need. So we do what we
can to help in different ways.”
Amy Palmer, outreach
coordinator for The Place of
Dawson, voiced her gratitude
for the yoga group’s support
and investment in her organi
zation’s food pantry clients.
“With their continued part
nership, it really empowers
clients,” Palmer said. “We
just really try to come beside
our clients to build confi
dence, and we couldn’t do
that without the support of
our community partners like
the Yoga in the Park group
and their donations.”
Julia Hansen Dawson County News
Members of the Yoga in the Park group donated an SUV full of
nonperishable items to The Place of Dawson at RIC-Rack's food
pantry on Nov. 17.
Places to get Santa Claus photos in Dawson County this year
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
With Christmas quickly
approaching, it’s that time of
year again to visit Santa and
take photos. Here are several
places in Dawson County
where you can see him this
year.
Dawson County Breakfast
with Santa
When is it: Dec. 3 from 8 to
11 a.m.
Where is it: Rock Creek
Park; 445 Martin Road,
Dawsonville
Other details to know:
Come out for free activities,
goodie bags, crafts and more!
Photos, breakfast and wares
from local vendors will all be
available for purchase.
For more information:
www.dawsoncountyga.gov/
parksrec/page/breakfast-santa
John Megel Chevrolet
photos with Santa
When is it: Dec. 3 from 11
a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where is it: 1392 Highway
400 S, Dawsonville
Other details to know:
Come out to enjoy some milk
and cookies and take a photo
with Santa.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
For more information:
www.facebook.com/
megelchevy/
photos
/a. 137516876108/1015870591
0841109/
“Paws with Clause” pet
photo event at C&W
Hardware
When is it: Dec. 3 from 11
a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where is it: 16
Moonshiners Way,
Dawsonville
Other details to know:
Santa is coming to the hard
ware store! Bring your kids
(fur & all) for pictures. Free
lunch will be cooked on the
Big Green Egg!
For more information:
www.facebook.com/
events/663571188627197/
Crye-Leike Realtors pho
tos with Santa
When is it: Dec. 10 from
noon to 2 p.m.
Where is it: 391 Quill
Lane, Suite 150, Dawsonville
Other details to know:
Photos with Santa are free.
Dawsonville Gun photos
with Santa
When is it: Dec. 10 from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where is it: 5711 Highway
53, Dawsonville
Other details to know: All
photos will be taken by a pro
fessional and uploaded to a
complimentary USB drive at
no cost to your family.
North Georgia Premium
Outlets
When is it: Nov. 25 through
Dec. 24
Where is it: 800 GA 400,
Dawsonville
Other details to know: You
can book your time to meet
Santa ahead of time online.
The outlet mall will also be
hosting “Caring Santa” photos
for special needs children on
Dec. 4 and pet photos with
Santa on Dec. 11 from 6 to 8
p.m.
For more information:
www.premiumoutlets.com/
outlet/north-georgia/stores/
santa-photo-experience/
stream/time-to-book-santa-
photos-6209428
FROM 1A
Attack
14 after receiving a report
of a road rage incident that
had escalated into a physi
cal altercation, Sheriff Jeff
Johnson said in a Sept. 15
email to DCN.
The officers were told
that the incident had start
ed on Ga. 400, with one
vehicle attempting to
brake-check the other
before both drivers pulled
into the Walmart parking
lot, Johnson wrote.
One driver, identified as
Gallichotte, exited his
vehicle and allegedly
began to damage the other
man’s car by striking it
with his hands, fists and a
metal rod.
Gallichotte allegedly
shattered the victim’s
vehicle’s front windshield,
dented its windshield
frame and aggressively
pushed on the driver’s side
door, according to
DCSO’s assault warrants.
“The other driver exited
his vehicle when
Gallichotte began striking
him with the metal rod,”
Johnson said.
Gallichotte is accused of
hitting the victim “approx
imately three times” on
the arms and back area
with the rod, according to
the aggravated assault
warrant.
The driver was able to
restrain Gallichotte and
force him to the ground
until authorities arrived,
Johnson stated.
Gallichotte was arrested
this past Friday when dep
uties were able to serve
the warrants, Johnson con
firmed in a Nov. 22 email.
Gallichotte was then
taken to the Dawson
County Detention Center.
DCSO has charged him
with one felony count
each of aggravated assault
and simple assault and one
misdemeanor count for
second-degree criminal
damage to property.
FROM 1A
Moratorium
the people that are eating up our service
delivery,” Thurmond said on Nov. 3.
“They’re dealing with interest rates,
too, killing them,” Satterfield added at
that time. “They can’t lock in because
we can’t tell them anything.”
Before November, the board had also
extended the moratorium on Aug. 4.
Board members initially voted to adopt
the measure on July 7, with the intent
being to have it in place while an updat
ed county impact fee study was under
way.
Dawson County’s impact fees were
last updated in 2018. In August, a con
sultant was retained to conduct the
study.
At the Nov. 17 meeting, Planning and
Development Director Sharon Farrell
shared that she and her staff hope to
meet with the consultant right after
Thanksgiving. There are also multiple
proposed changes to nuisance ordinanc
es that will hopefully be before the
Dawson County Planning Commission
in December for a public hearing,
Farrell added.
Also in the works is a sunset clause
proposed by Dawson County’s Long
Range Planning Committee. Essentially,
if a developer was to buy land and noth
ing happened with the property for a set
period of time, it would revert to its pre
vious classification and need to go
through the public hearing process again
in order to be rezoned.
During the BOC’s Oct. 20 work ses
sion, county attorney Angela Davis
explained that because vested property
rights have to be considered, notice
would have to be provided to a land-
owner to pursue a zoning reversal. That
way, the owner could have the chance to
explain their situation and current inten
tion with the land, either informally or
as part of a public hearing.
Initially, the long range committee
suggested applying this to residential
planned community (RPC) zoning.
However, on Oct. 20, the commission
ers also expressed interest in possibly
applying the clause to applications for
larger-scale housing and commercial
developments.
“I think it’s definitely something that
we need to look into...and just get it to
where we’re not having to look at every
rezoning in two years and just get it nar
rowed down to do what we want it to do
without putting a whole bunch of work
on staff,” said BOC Vice Chair and
District 4 Chairman Emory Dooley.
In related news, Dawson County has
won the appeal related to its 2021 prop
erty tax digest, according to a statement
from the county’s law firm, Jarrard &
Davis.
This decision follows a meeting
between the county’s Board of Tax
Assessors and the State’s Department of
Audits and Accounts regarding the
appeal.
Previously, the Department of Audits
asserted through a study that the county
had undervalued its properties from a
tax assessment perspective.
“The state determined that the coun
ty’s overall average assessment ratio
was 37.69%,” the law firm’s statement
said. “Per Department of Revenue regu
lation, if the overall average assessment
ratio is less than 36%, the state must
assess the county additional state tax.
As a result of Dawson County’s appeal,
the county will not be assessed addition
al tax.”
He has been released pervised jail release bond. story when more informa-
from custody on an unsu- DCN will update this tion is available.
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