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8A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, December 21,2022
Council recognizes employees at Dec. meeting
By staff reports
During the Dec. 5 meeting of
the Dawsonville City Council,
the mayor and council members
recognized several city employ
ees for their hard work to the
city with service and employee
of the month awards.
The council recognized both
its October and November
employees of the month, who
are chosen for the honor by
their fellow employees at the
city.
Building Inspector/Code
Enforcement Officer Clay Moss
was recognized as the October
2022 Employee of the Month,
and Accounts Payable/Events
Coordinator Sara Beacham was
recognized as the November
2022 Employee of the Month.
Both employees were presented
with plaques honoring their
accomplishments.
As well as recognizing the
employees of the month, the
council also recognized several
employees with service awards
for their years of work with the
city.
In addition to being recog
nized as the November 2022
Employee of the Month, Sara
Beacham was recognized for
her 14 years of service to the
city. City Manager Bob Bolz
was recognized for six years of
service, public works staff
member John Tatum was recog
nized for one year of service
and Planning and Zoning
Admin Assistant Stacy Harris
was recognized for five years of
service.
All of the employees recog
nized were presented with ser
vice awards honoring their
achievements.
During the Dec.
5 meeting of
the Dawsonville
City Council,
the mayor and
council members
recognized
public works staff
member John
Tatum for his one
year of service to
the city.
Photos courtesy of the
City of Dawsonville
During the Dec. 5 meeting of the
Dawsonville City Council, the mayor and
council members recognized Accounts
Payable/Events Coordinator Sara Beacham
as the November employee of the month
and for her 14 years of service to the city.
During the Dec. 5 meeting of the Dawsonville
City Council, the mayor and council members
recognized Planning and Zoning Admin
Assistant Stacy Harris for her five years of ser
vice to the city.
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During the Dec. 5 meeting of the Dawsonville
City Council, the mayor and council mem
bers recognized City Manager Bob Bolz for
his six years of service to the city.
During the Dec. 5 meeting of the Dawsonville
City Council, the mayor and council members
recognized Building Inspector/Code
Enforcement Officer Clay Moss as the October
employee of the month.
Renewed fed funding will help courts tackle backlog
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
Dawson County will soon
receive $280,000 in federal
funding to boost courthouse
operations amidst a case back
log made worse by the COVID-
19 pandemic.
On Dec. 15, the Dawson
County Board of
Commissioners approved an
agreement for the funds with
neighboring Hall County, which
is also a part of the
Northeastern Judicial Circuit.
The judicial circuit was
recently awarded $2 million in
state-dispersed American
Rescue Plan Act funds for 2023.
This is the second year the
circuit has received ARPA
funds after getting about $1.7
million in 2022, Court
Administrator Jason Stephenson
said during an October Hall
County commissioners meeting
covered by Times reporter
Brian Wellmeier.
The money allocated to
Dawson County will pay for
temporary positions that will
help handle the backlog and
exist “as long as funds are avail
able,” Stephenson said in an
email to DCN.
As part of the efforts to boost
court operations, commission
ers approved a related measure
to add five part-time and two
full-time positions to the coun
ty’s staff and add $280,000 to
the FY2023 budget.
With tens of thousands of
people walking through the
Dawson County Government
Center’s doors each year, ARPA
funds of $76, 231 will finance a
full-time DCSO courthouse
deputy and up to $15, 627 in
equipment to support that posi
tion.
As well, $78, 741 will be used
to pay for a full-time Treatment
Services program counselor, and
up to $24,000 will be used for
five part-time bailiffs.
Other planned court-related
costs include up to $30,000 for
additional jurors, a maximum of
$35,000 for court reporter tran
scripts, up to $24,201 for inter
preters and a maximum of
$12,800 for more judicial assis
tance, or judges to help preside
over Dawson County court pro
ceedings.
Dawson County will be reim
bursed for these expenses using
ARPA funds throughout the
year.
“These ARPA funds have
been enormously helpful in
tackling those challenges this
year,” Stephenson said to Hall
County commissioners. “The
courts never shut down, but we
were not able to conduct jury
trials because the Georgia
Supreme Court had suspended
jury trials. For the criminal jus
tice system in particular, that
just meant the charges brought
against defendants were never
resolved.”
As of Oct. 1, Dawson County
Superior Court will have 1,360
criminal, civil and domestic
cases going into 2023.That
caseload almost doubles when
adding in 1,336 pre-indictment
cases, Stephenson added.
Note: Dawson County News
is a sister publication of the
Gainesville Times.
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AFTER
50
YEARS
HONORING
Retiring after serving Dawson Co. For over 50+
years at her business Cooler’s Cuts and Supply.
Her friends and family wish her well and a
happy retirement.
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JOYCE CLARK