4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, December 14,2022
Ribbon-cutting held for Bricks and Boards Plus
Bricks and
Boards Plus
owners,
staff, visitors
and Dawson
County
Chamber of
Commerce
members
cut a ribbon
for the gam
ing business
on Dec. 7
Erica Jones
Dawson County
News
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
On Wednesday Dec. 7,
the Dawson County
Chamber of Commerce
held a ribbon cutting for
Bricks and Boards Plus, a
local store offering all
types of Legos and board
games that are guaran
teed to bring hours of fun
to children and adults
alike.
Bricks and Boards Plus
is located in the North
Georgia Premium Outlet
Mall and has been open
for about six months.
According to owner Jon
Donovan, opening the
store came out of his
wife’s and his own per
sonal love of gaming.
“This is our brain
child; we’ve been gamers
since I’ve known her,”
Jon Donovan said. “I’ve
been selling Legos since
I was 10 probably so this
is kind of a passion of
mine; it all came togeth
er.”
Together with their
sons Zach and Kyle and
other family friends, the
couple carefully chooses
each of the items they
offer in their store.
“All the inventory you
see is all stuff that we
love and play ourselves,
so everything was curat
ed by friends and family
here,” Susan Donovan
said. “For us, this is real
ly special; it’s a fun pas
sion of the family.”
The space that the store
is in became available,
and their friend Bob
Runnicles happened to be
retiring from his position
down in Florida, so he
came up to fill the role of
store manager. The store
officially opened about
six months ago, and since
then the Donovans said
that they have grown
their list of regular cus
tomers.
“We’ve been here for
six months and I feel like
we’re creating an impact
on the community; we
have a lot of regulars,”
Jon Donovan said.
In addition to offering
a wide range of Legos
and games, Bricks and
Boards Plus also includes
a special room designed
to allow community
members of all ages to
enjoy coming in and
playing games together.
“We wanted a space
where kids and adults
could come and not be on
their phone all the time
and be face-to-face,” Jon
Donovan said. “We want
ed to create a ‘third
space’ where people
could come, so they’ve
got work, school, here.”
Before cutting the rib
bon for the business,
Dawson County Chamber
of Commerce President
and CEO Mandy Power
and Board Chair Shannon
Voss each welcomed the
Donovans to the chamber
and expressed their
excitement to have
Bricks and Boards Plus
in the community.
“I am more than
impressed; this is so nice
and refreshing to just
take a step away from
electronics and to have
something that you’re
interacting with someone
right in front of you,”
Voss said.
“We could not be more
thrilled to finally get out
here and see Bricks and
Boards,” Power said.
“We’ve heard so many
rumblings in the commu
nity about it, so it’s so
awesome to have some
thing like this in our
community.”
Bricks and Boards Plus
is located at 802 Georgia
400 South Suite 120 and
is open Monday through
Wednesday from noon to
7 p.m., Thursday through
Saturday from noon to 9
p.m. and Sundays from
noon to 6 p.m. For more
information about the
business, go to www.
bricks andboardsplus.
com.
Students from DCHS FFA
compete in regional events
Photo courtesy of Keith Pankey
Several students from the DCHS FFA program
recently competed in regional events held at
Denmark High School.
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
On Nov. 29, several stu
dents from the Dawson
County High School
Future Farmers of America
(FFA) program competed
in the North Region Area 1
Vet Science and Lawn
Mower Operations career
development events.
The regional events were
held at Denmark High
School, and according to
Dawson County High
School’s FFA Advisor
Keith Pankey, students
from Dawson competed in
both events.
DCHS ninth grader
Emily Cox competed in
Lawn Mower Operations
and Safety and placed 17th
in the event, which consists
of a driving skill and a writ
ten exam and problem
solving.
Four DCHS students,
Mackenzie Pruett,
EmmaGrace Pankey,
Shandee Stowers and
Cheyenne Simmons, also
competed in the vet science
event and placed sixth out
of 31 total teams. During
this event, the team partici
pated in veterinary equip
ment identification, a writ
ten exam and two practi-
cums that incorporated vet
erinary related hands-on
skills.
PUBLIC NOTICE
2023 Meetings of the City of Dawsonville
The City of Dawsonville City Council, DDA, Planning Commission and
HPC shall conduct regular meetings on the dates and time below:
2023 City Council Regular Meetings at 5:00 pm
JAN 12 FEB 6 MAR 6 MAY 1 JUN 5
AUG 7 OCT 2 NOV 6 DEC 4
2023 City Council Regular Meetings and Work Sessions at 5:00 pm
FEB 20 MAR 20 APR 17 MAY 15 JUN 19
JUL17 AUG 21 SEP 18 OCT 16 DEC 18
2023 Planning Commission Meetings at 5:30 pm
JAN 9 FEB 13 MAR 13 APR 10 MAY 8 JUN 12
JULIO AUG 14 SEP 11 OCT9 NOV 13 DEC 11
2023 Historic Preservation Commission Meetings at 5:30 pm
FEB 27 APR 24 JUN 26 AUG 28 OCT 23 DEC 5
2023 Downtown Development Authority Meetings at 5:30 pm
JAN 23 MAR 27 MAY 22 JUL24 SEP 25 NOV 27
All meetings according to the dates set forth above will be upstairs in the G.L.
"Pete" Gilleland Council Chambers at City Hall located at 415 HWY 53 E,
Dawsonville, GA. The public is invited to attend all of these meetings.
FROM 1A
Election
Gilmer County has quali
fied. Pritchard works as a
conservative radio talk
show host and is CEO of
media company
FetchYourNews.
He currently faces accu
sations of voter fraud by
the State Elections Board
for which he has not been
charged.
Banker Johnny Chastain,
who also serves on the
Fannin County
Development Authority, is
running for the District 7
seat.
U.S. Navy veteran and
Gilmer County airport
manager Justin Heitman
has qualified, as has
Gilmer County filmmaker
Richie Stone.
Advance absentee and
in-person voting begins on
Dec. 12. In-person advance
voting will take place at
Dawsonville’s central pre
cinct from Dec. 12 to 30
from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and
Saturday, Dec. 17 from 9
a.m.-5 p.m.
Dawson County’s Board
of Elections and
Registration serves as the
central precinct and is
located at 96 Academy
Avenue in Dawsonville.
The elections office will
be closed for the holidays
from Dec. 23-26 and on
Jan. 2.
On Election Day,
Dawson County western
precinct voters will have to
cast their ballots at Fire
Station No. 6, located at
2142 Hubbard Road.
A runoff, if needed, will
be held Jan. 31, according
to a Georgia Secretary of
State’s office press release.
If you are unsure wheth
er you live in Dawson’s
western precinct, you can
check the Secretary’s of
State’s “My Voting Page”
at https://mvp.s0s.ga.g0v/s/
or call the local elections
office at (706) 344-3640.
FROM 1A
Health
Forsyth County Health
Department: 428 Canton
Highway, Cumming,
30040; 770-781-6900
Hall County Health
Department: 1290 Athens
St., Gainesville, 30507;
770-531-5600
FROM 1A
Crash
Another witness travel
ing east on Ga. 53 ahead
of the second car reported
that his vehicle was
almost side-swiped by the
first car prior to the fatal
accident.
Lumpkin County Health
Department: 60
Mechanicsville Road,
Dahlonega, 30533; 706-
867-2727
White County Health
Department: 1331 Helen
Highway, Cleveland,
30528; 706-865-2191
For health department
hours of operation and
availability of services, go
to phdistrict2.org and
click on “locations”.
Emergency personnel
from Forsyth County
responded first with mutu
al aid to the scene on Ga.
53, Fire Chief Troy Leist
confirmed to DCN.
EMS crews from
Dawson County arrived at
4:16 p.m., according to
the GSP report, and the
surviving driver and pas
senger were both taken to
an area hospital.
DAWSON COUNTY, GEORGIA
SCHEDULE OF PROJECTS CONSTRUCTED WITH SPECIAL PURPOSE LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX
Year Ended December 31, 2021
ORIGINAL CURRENT EXPENDITURES
PROJECT ESTIMATED COSTS ESTIMATED COSTS PRIOR YEARS CURRENT YEAR
SPLOST #6 - Commenced July 1,2015
LEVEL 2 COUNTY PROJECTS
Roads, Streets, and Bridges
$
21,200,000 $
21,202,837
s
12,219,348 $
3,559,603
Public Works Facilities & Equipment
2,500,000
4,062,993
4,062,993
420,867
Recycling Facility
100,000
100,000
Fire Station/Community Center
1,750,000
1,750,000
1,482,014
113,184
Recreational Facilities
4,067,000
4,067,000
3,501,212
218,566
Public Safety Vehicles & Equipment - Sheriff
3,883,000
3,883,000
2,609,745
602,923
Public Safety Vehicles & Equipment -
Fire/Emergency Services
2,500,000
3,234,720
3,234,720
71,894
Informational Technology Equipment
350,000
1,769,789
1,769,789
177,008
Subtotal All County Projects
36,350.000
40,070,339
28,879.821
5,164,045
MUNICIPAL PROJECTS
CITY OF DAWSONVILLE (1)
9.650.000
9,650,000
7,495.644
821,462
Subtotal All City Projects
9,[>50.000
9,650,000
4,084,628
821,462
Total SPLOST #6 Projects
$
46.000,000 $
49,720,339
$
32,964,449 $
5,985,507
SPLOST #7 - Commenced July 1,2021
LEVEL 2 COUNTY PROJECTS
Public Safety Projects - Emergency Operations
Center and E-911 Radio System
$
8,500,000 $
8,500,000
$
- $
18,400
OTHER COUNTY PROJECTS
IT Infrastructure
1,500,000
1,500,000
-
669,910
Courthouse and Administration Building
500,000
500,000
-
Public Safety Vehicles & Equipment -
-
Fire/Emergency Services
8,550,000
8,550,000
-
Public Safety Vehicles & Equipment - Sheriff
3,400,000
3,400,000
-
Public Works Facilities & Equipment
18,900,000
18,900,000
-
County Administration
2,100,000
2,100,000
-
Recreational Facilities
5,870,000
5,870,000
-
Public Health Building
2,500,000
2,500,000
-
Development Authority
2,000,000
2,000,000
-
Subtotal All County Projects
45.320.000
45,320,000
e
688,310
MUNICIPAL PROJECTS
CITY OF DAWSONVILLE (1)
6,180,000
6,180,000
■T
-
Subtotal All City Projects
6,180.000
6,180,000
Total SPLOST #7 Projects
51,500,000
51,500,000
688,310
(1) The County remits the tax collected to the City who
is responsible for reporting on the expenditures in accordance with OCGA 48-8-121
(2) SPLOST #4 closed in 2021 and SPLOST #5 closed ill 2020
