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6A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, January 4,2023
City, school system work to recover from winter storm
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DCN file photo
The restrooms at Dawsonville's Main Street Park are closed
following water pipe damage due to recent frigid winter
temperatures.
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
Area residents are not the
only ones dealing with a frozen
or watery mess from the ongo
ing chilly temperatures.
Dawson County Schools’
Professional Development
Center (PDC), Family Services
Center (FSC) and the athletic
fieldhouse at Dawson County
Junior High School are all
closed after incurring damage
from the frigid weather, said
Superintendent Nicole LeCave
on Dec. 28.
“All [three] facilities have
water damage to the ceiling,
walls and floors due to burst
sprinklers or pipes,” LeCave
said. “Repairs will begin imme
diately.”
Due to the PDC’s burst pipe,
Dawson County Family
Connection will move its
January community meeting to
Zoom, Coordinator Rebecca
Bliss stated in a Dec. 27 email.
“The timeline for completion
is unknown, but we anticipate it
taking a few months,” LeCave
said of the school system facili
ties. “However, it could be
sooner, depending on the avail
ability of supplies and materi
als. The district will work dili
gently to reopen all three facili
ties as quickly as possible.”
LeCave elaborated that as of
Dec. 28, no schools have been
impacted, with the exception of
an outside cooling tower at
Blacks Mill Elementary
School. That tower is scheduled
to be repaired on Jan. 2.
“The district is working this
week to ensure all buses are
running and working to ensure
a smooth opening when our
students return,” LeCave added.
“We look forward to welcom
ing our students back on Jan. 4,
2023.”
Local nonprofit The Place of
Dawson County shares its main
office with the family services
center in a building located at
5 17 Allen S treet in
Dawsonville.
While the pipe burst in the
FSC part of the building, The
Place did get some water dam
age, said outreach coordinator
Amy Palmer.
While their offices there are
closed for the time being,
Palmer said The Place of
Dawson is still able to help cli
ents out over the phone at (770)
288-0088 or at the nonprofit’s
facility with RIC-Rack at 829
Ga. 9 North.
Palmer also thanked Dawson
County officials for their efforts
with the warming shelter at
Rock Creek Park and collecting
donations for those in need.
The shelter held about 15 peo
ple throughout the weekend
and there were no issues at the
site, said Fire Chief Troy Leist.
“I love that people poured
donations into the community
and to people that need it,”
Palmer said. “I love how the
community loves their neigh
bors.”
The restrooms at
Dawsonville’s Main Street Park
remain closed after the city
announced two days ago via a
Facebook post that the pipes for
both sides had frozen.
Piping on the men’s side has
been fixed, and now officials
are working on getting sheet-
rock for the ceiling, City
Manager Bob Bolz said on
Dec. 27.
There is no timeline as to
when all of the repairs will be
completed, he added.
This weekend’s chilly weath
er may have contributed to
more than just water damage.
DCN has received reports of
a Christmas evening wreck on
the historic Dawson County
courthouse’s Shoal Creek Road
side damaging that portion of
the building’s railings.
The Dawson County
Sheriff’s Office did investigate
the accident, said Sheriff Jeff
Johnson.
DCN has filed an open
records request for DCSO’s
accident report. As of online
publication, the report is not yet
available.
Lanier Tech names 2023 student, instructor of the year
By Erica Jones
ej ones @ dawsonnews.com
Lanier Technical College has
announced its Georgia
Occupational Award of
Leadership (GOAL) student of
the year and its Rick Perkins
instructor of the year.
According to a press release
by the college, both awards are
announced annually and are
given based on leadership, aca
demic excellence, belief in
technical education and passion
for entering the workforce or
for workforce development.
Lanier Tech’s 2023 GOAL
student of the year is Janet
Chapman, who is enrolled in
the college’s cosmetology pro
gram. GOAL is a statewide
program for all 22 of the
schools in the Technical
College System of Georgia
(TCSG) and honors excellence
Photos courtesy Lanier Technical College
Janet Chapman, Lanier
Tech's 2023 GOAL student of
the year.
in academics and leadership
among their cohort. Chapman
was nominated by the cosme
tology program’s director and
John Leverett, Lanier Tech's
2023 Rick Perkins instructor
of the year.
instructor, Jayna Durden, for
her exceptional leadership,
decorum and dedication to her
future career in cosmetology.
“I am very thankful for the
experience, and it has already
changed my life,” Chapman
said in the release. “I look for
ward to representing Lanier
Technical College at the
upcoming regional competi
tions.”
Lanier Tech’s 2023 Rick
Perkins instructor of the year is
John Leverett, who is the pro
gram director and instructor for
the school’s Motorsports
Vehicle Technology program.
Like GOAL, the Rick Perkins
instructor of the year award is a
statewide program for all 22 of
TCSG’s schools and aims to
showcase outstanding instruc
tors in the college system.
Leverett was nominated by one
of his students who, according
to the release, said that “He is
an exceptional instructor that
shows care, empathy and
enthusiasm. He is also a top-
notch leader of the program”.
“The opportunity to be recog
nized by my peers and students
for teaching motorsports has
been very rewarding,” Leverett
said in the release. “I’ve had a
personal connection to this pro
gram since its inception, and it
feels surreal to have seen this
program grow into what it is
today. I’m grateful to all who
made this possible, and I hope
to continue to educate the next
generation of race car techni
cians.”
Both Chapman and Leverett
will go on to compete against
other regional technical colleg
es before regional competi
tion-winning students and
instructors compete for the
title of TCSG’s Overall GOAL
students of the year and Rick
Perkins instructor of the year.
The final competition will be
held in Atlanta in April of
2023.
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