About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 2022)
Wednesday, December 14,2022 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A © 2023 Atlanta Gas Light. All rights reserved. Do not reuse text or graphics without written permission. AGL-21366 Warnock wins Senate runoff election against Walker Brynn Anderson Associated Press Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock speaks during an election day canvass launch onTuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, in Norcross, Ga. Sen. Warnock ran against Republican candidate Herschel Walker in a runoff election. By Julia Hansen jhansen@dawsonnews.com Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won re-election to the U.S. Senate after beating Republican and former football star Herschel Walker in Georgia’s Dec. 6 runoff. Warnock has gotten a projected 51.4% of the vote, while Walker has thus far gotten 48.6%, according to updated state wide results as of 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12. The Democratic incum bent’s victory gives his political party a 51-49 edge in the Senate. More than 3.5 million Georgians cast ballots in the race, with a projected 1.8 million-plus voting for Warnock and over 1.7 mil lion voting for Walker. Warnock was first elect ed to the U.S. Senate dur ing a January 2021 runoff. This 2022 runoff will mark his election to his first full six-year term. In Dawson County, an unofficial Board of Elections and Registration summary report shows Walker received a project ed 82.88% of the local vote over Warnock’s 17.12%. Of the 12,250 total projected votes, that’s an estimated 10,153 cast for Walker compared to 2,097 cast for Warnock. Locally, 4,577 people voted for their candidate of choice in person on Election Day, while 7,122 others cast ballots early in person. Five hundred and fifty- one people voted via absentee ballots. There are 15 provisional ballots, BOER Director Glenda Ferguson said on Dec. 7. Dawson County’s turn out for early and absentee voting combined in the runoff dipped to 34.43% from the 44.2% seen in November. There were also other factors like the shorter timeline to request an absentee ballot and only one week, not includ ing Saturday, to vote early in person. However, almost twice as many Dawson County people voted each day of the senatorial runoff as compared to daily averages during the November election’s advance voting. Shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, Warnock addressed supporters, say ing voting was “faith put into action” and mention ing his mother, who attended his victory speech. “She grew up in the 1950s in Waycross, Ga., picking somebody else’s cotton and somebody else’s tobacco,” Warnock said. “But tonight she helped pick her youngest son to be a United States senator.” During his concession speech, Walker thanked his supporters and acknowledged the voting numbers “didn’t add up” to a Republican win. “One of the things I want to tell all of you is you never stop dreaming. I don’t want any of you to stop dreaming. I don’t want any of you to stop believing in America,” Walker said. “I want you to believe in America and continue to believe in the Constitution and our elect ed officials most of all.” Georgia Musicale Group hosts concert at Bowen Center Julia Hansen Dawson County News Dawsonville pianist Julie Woodall smiles as she plays Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona's upbeat piece "Malaguena." By Julia Hansen jhansen@dawsonnews.com As members of one statewide music group performed for a recent concert in Dawsonville, audience members had the chance to learn about the performers and their songs, all while reveling in holiday cheer. Georgia Musicale Group, a statewide non profit organization, host ed a concert at the city’s Bowen Center for the Arts the evening of Dec. 6. The nonprofit, which was incorporated in 2016, provides members from the beginner to the professional levels with a way to perform music and learn among peers. Over 100 pianists, instru mentalists and vocalists from several U.S. states and nine countries now belong to the musicians’ group. Founder Utako Tanigawa explained that she helped start the group after working in technol ogy-related jobs for over three decades and over coming a serious illness. After she recovered, Tanigawa said that she wanted to return to play ing piano, which she had taken up as a child. “I found some of the people who’ve retired or are close to retiring, they want to go back to music too,” Tanigawa said. “Many of the members played music as a child, but then they pursued a different career path.” The nonprofit partici pants’ passion for music has taken them to perfor mances not only around Georgia, but also to online video concerts with each other during the height of the COVID- 19 pandemic, Tanigawa added. This past Tuesday’s music ranged from hymns and instrumental studies to opera and of course, Christmastime favorites. Georgia Musicale member Annette Russo sang a heartwarming ren dition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane wrote for the 1943 film “Meet Me in St. Louis” featuring well-known actress Judy Garland. “The song first appeared in a scene in which the family is dis traught by the father’s plans to move to New York City for a job pro motion, leaving behind their beloved home and family in Missouri just before the 1904 World Fair begins,” Russo said. In a scene just before Christmas Eve, Garland’s character, Esther, sings the song to cheer up her younger sis ter, Too tie. As Russo sang about troubles soon to be “out of sight” and faithful friends who “will be near to us once more,” the ser enade served as one more reminder of what and who matters most during the holiday season. DawsonCountyNews Dawson News ■com DEADLINES FOR CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR’S DAY • Retail/Classifieds/Obits for 12/28 paper - 3pm on 12/22 • Legals deadline/Drop-offs - Noon on 12/21 • Retail/Classifieds/ Obits for 1/4 paper - 3pm on 12/29 • Legals deadline/Drop-offs - Noon on 12/28 Offices be CLOSED Monday, December 26 & Monday, January 2 in observance of the holidays. Important safety information from Atlanta Gas Light Every day, underground pipelines safely transport natural gas to homes and businesses throughout the country. Atlanta Gas Light operates, secures and maintains the pipelines in our service territories. Call before you dig Before digging on your property, state law requires you call 811 to have your utility lines professionally marked - for free! You must wait the required amount of time before you begin your project. Pipeline markers indicate the general area of the pipeline, but not its exact location or depth. A pipeline may not always be marked in all areas, so it is important to always "Call Before You Dig." If a pipeline right of way is adjacent to your property, you have a responsibility to ensure no new installations of landscaping or physical structures are placed in the right of way, which interferes with our ability to keep the pipeline safe through routine monitoring and maintenance. Information about transmission pipelines operating in your community can be accessed online at https://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov, courtesy of the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS). Water heater safety The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urges all users to lower their water heaters to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Carbon monoxide Incomplete combustion of any fuel produces carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is poisonous and has no odor, taste or color. Carbon monoxide detectors are helpful, but they are no substitute for using equipment safely. This includes having your appliances inspected once a year by a certified contractor. Appliance safety According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency: 71 It is important that you have your furnace inspected by a qualified specialist. 7 Be sure all furnace controls and emergency shut-offs are in proper working condition. 7 Keep trash and other combustible materials away from your air, heating and water heating systems. Pipeline integrity management is a process for assessing and mitigating pipeline risks to reduce both the likelihood and consequences of incidents. We have a comprehensive plan that fully addresses these processes, especially for locations deemed high-consequence areas. To learn more, visit atlantagaslight.com/ integritymanagementplan If you smell gas, act fast! Even though natural gas pipeline incidents are uncommon, you can help prevent emergencies by knowing the signs of a potential problem. LOOK for blowing dirt, discolored vegetation or continued bubbling of standing water. LISTEN for a h issing or roaring noise near a natural gas appliance or line. SMELL the distinctive, rotten-egg odor associated with natural gas. Natural gas is colorless and odorless, so we add a chemical odorant called mercaptan for easy detection. This odorant has a distinctive "rotten-egg" type odor. You should act any time you detect even a small amount of this odor in the air. If you suspect a natural gas leak, do the following: DO NOT try to identify the source or to stop the leak yourself. LEAVE the area immediately and move a safe distance away from the potential leak, while avoiding any action that may cause sparks. AVOID using any sources of ignition, such as cellphones, cigarettes, matches, flashlights, electronic devices, motorized vehicles, light switches or landlines, as natural gas can ignite from a spark or open flame, possibly causing a fire or explosion. Natural gas is nontoxic, lighter than air and displaces oxygen. In severe cases, if not used properly, it can also lead to asphyxiation. CALL Atlanta Gas Light at 877.427.4321 or 911 once you are out of the area of the suspected leak and in a safe place. Stay away until Atlanta Gas Light or emergency personnel indicate it is safe to return. Note: Be aware that"odorant fade," while uncommon, can occur. Odorant fade occurs when a physical or chemical process causes the level of odorant in the gas to be reduced. This can happen in both existing gas pipe and new installations. Be aware that some individuals mav not be able to detect the smell of the natural gas odorant because they have a diminished sense of smell because the scent is being masked by other odors in the area or because the odorant has diminished so that it is not detectable. For more information, visit atlantagaslight.com/safety or call 800.427.5463, Atlanta Gas Light Online Survey: Please take a moment to complete an online survey about natural gas safety and you at surveymonkey.eom/r/P67VMXZ to help us make sure we are keeping our communities safe.
