About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2022)
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. OCSB COASTAL STATES BANK Don’t miss this special offer. For a limited time only! 6 Month CD % APY* 3.25 9 Month CD 3.75 % APY* 12 Month CD 4.00 % APY* Apply online, call or stop by your local branch today. *APY- Annual Percentage Yield. Rates accurate as of 11/14/2022. Minimum balance to open and obtain APY is $1,000. 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