About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2023)
McComiskey joins Dawson County’s Board of Elections and Registrations, inside, sa Tigers soccer teams aiming to expand on 2022 progress. SPORTS, 3B DawsonCountyNews WEDNESDAY I JANUARY 25, 2023 DaWSOflNeWS >COnri DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $1.00 Dawson Chick-fil-A closes for renovations By Julia Hansen jhansen@dawsonnews.com Following a steady influx of customers in recent years, Dawson County’s sole Chick-fil-A has tem porarily closed for interior renovations as of Jan. 23. The Dawsonville restau rant will remain closed for the next several weeks dur ing the remodel, and employees will be reallo cated to the store’s partner location in Dahlonega, said Director of Human Resources and Training Desi Cavener. Operator Tony Kellar owns both the Dahlonega and Dawsonville Chick- fil-A stores. These updates mark the first of two planned renova- tion phases for the Dawsonville location. “The goal [here] is to create some team-member capacity and help them work a little more efficient ly... and make it a little more comfortable for them while they’re working,” Cavener said. “With the capacity of the building and what we have, Chick-fil-A [corporate] is gracious and they see our capacity con straints,” she added. During the first phase, part of Chick-fil-A’s dining area will be expanded into the glass atrium area. Plans also show an expanded interior space for handling drive-thru orders and a relocated walk-in cooler, according to schematics obtained from Dawson County Planning and Development department. Cavener said plans are also in the works for the second phase of the remod el, which entails a major update to the restaurant’s parking lot, including its drive-thru lanes. During the restaurant’s busy times, traffic going in and out of the Dawsonville Chick-fil-A parking lot can become particularly con gested, backing up into the See Chick-fil-A 14A Julia Hansen Dawson County News Chick-fil-A of Dawsonville will remain temporari ly closed for an interior remodel over the next several weeks. ‘It’s magic’ Julia Hansen Dawson County News Dawson-area artist Maggie Pierce paints northeastern Alabama's Indian Falls during her Jan. 6 interview with DCN. Dawson-area artist paints beloved pets, waterways By Julia Hansen jhansen@dawsonnews.com When local artist Maggie Pierce isn’t working as a front office assistant at Dawsonville Veterinary Hospital, she’s painting vivid images with soft pas tel sticks. For Pierce, creating charming landscapes scenes and cherished furry friends brings her peace, relaxation and, sometimes, a yearning for more. Pierce displayed a vignette she was working on of Indian Falls, located in Alabama’s DeSoto State Park near the border with Georgia. “I found it by mistake,” she said about the waterfall. “I heard the water running. Inside See examples of Pierce's artwork, 5B Water is like energy to me. It pulls me toward every thing. I get so energized by it [that] I just can’t help it.” Her journey Pierce earned her bache lor’s degree in fine arts and master’s in art education at the University of South Florida in Tampa. During her undergraduate days, Pierce actually enjoyed forging pottery and earned the nickname “the glaze princess” from her peers because she could “make that [desired] color the first time,” she said. She first picked up stick pastels, which are softer than their oil counterparts, during an art class on oils and pastels. Picking out a color for an object without having to mix hues to make that color appealed to Pierce, and she soon pre ferred painting with the sticks over painting with oils. However, Pierce’s artistic journey took a bit of a detour. Upon graduating with her master’s degree, she discovered that art courses were being taken out of many K-12 schools at that time. So, Pierce began working an array of jobs, then mov ing up to the Dawsonville - Dahlonega area 23 years ago. About 10 years after her move, she started hiking more, venturing to spots including Dawson County’s Amicalola Falls. During a stop at a regional outdoor supplies store, Pierce bought a guide on water falls that would prove to be influential in her future endeavors. Motivated by her find, she said she planned trips to area waterfalls using a map for navigation, the old-fash ioned way. Pierce’s interest in nature landscapes ended up being cross-continental. In 2010, she signed up for a three- week art class and trip to Scotland hosted by renowned pastels artist Maggie Price. See Artist 14A DCHS student places second in regional FFA competition By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com Dawson County High School student Bryce Beach won second place in an electri cal wiring contest during a regional Future Farmers of America (FFA) competition last week. According to DCHS FFA Advisor Keith Pankey, Beach is the youngest son of Chris and Vickie Beach of Dawsonville and is a member of the high school’s FFA chapter. As a part of FFA, he represented his high school during the North Region Area 1 FFA Agricultural EMC Electrical Wiring contest on Tuesday, Jan. 17. See FFA 14A Dawson High to get another school officer By Julia Hansen jhansen@dawsonnews.com Several months after a fervent discus sion on student safety, Dawson County’s Board of Commissioners revisited placing more law enforcement officers at local public schools. During their first public meeting of the year on Jan. 19, the board heard a formal proposal from Sheriff Jeff Johnson to add a second officer at Dawson County High School. This presentation followed DCSO’s announcement earlier in the week about Sgt. Randy Mullis’s promotion to oversee the agency’s school resource officers or SROs. The second DCHS position would be a full-time one housed in the high schools’ college and career academy, near the high school’s forthcoming AgriScience center. See Officer 14A 0 9 0 9 9 4 Inside Volume 9, Number 4 © 2023, Dawson County News Dawsonville, Georgia Church Events 2B Classifieds 8B Dear Abby 7B Deaths 2A Legals 9B Opinion 9A Sports 1B 1C See whats been going on in your community in Progress. 7A Gun raffle to L help raise money for fire department. We Are a Digital Impression Practice. Proud Owners of an iTero Element " Scanner. element •>[£• invisalign "We all try and go above and beyond and give that five start treatment, so it's rewarding to know that what we do matters." Q)amonville (^Distinctive ^Dentistry B. MANZUR, D.M.D. 754 HWY. 53 WEST, DAWSONVILLE, GA 706-265-2505
