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DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I FEBRUARY 8, 2023 DaWSOflNeWS ^COITI DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA $1.00
Johnny Chastain wins Ga. District 7 seat
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
After previously com
ing in second place in a
special election last
month, Republican
Johnny Chastain has
declared victory in the
runoff race for Georgia’s
House District 7 seat.
Chastain beat out fel
low Republican candidate
and Fannin County
Development Authority
member Sheree Ralston
for the seat by less than
500 votes in a Jan. 31
runoff, according to certi
fied results from the
Georgia Secretary of
State’s office.
Chastain has
gotten 52.77% or
4,565 of 8,650
votes, while
Sheree Ralston
earned 47.23% or
4,085 votes, 480
less than her
opponent.
During statewide redis
tricting efforts in 2021,
Ga. District 7 was
redrawn to include north
western Dawson and all
of Fannin and Gilmer
counties.
The Georgia Secretary
of State’s office called for
a special election after
representative-elect David
Ralston, the
incumbent and
former state house
speaker, died in
November.
An initial spe
cial election fea
turing five candi
dates was held on
Jan. 3, 2023.
Because neither Ralston
or Chastain won more
than 50 percent of the
vote at that time, a runoff
was scheduled for Jan.
31.
While Ralston won
Dawson and Gilmer
counties, people voted
most in Fannin County,
where both candidates are
based.
In that county, Chastain
beat Ralston 60.26% to
39.74% or by 948 votes,
the results showed.
However, Ralston
earned 51.35% or 114 of
the overall 222 votes in
Dawson County, only part
of which belongs to Ga.
District 7.
In an early morning
Facebook post on Feb. 1,
Chastain shared that he
was “humbled beyond
words” and thanked area
voters, noting that “we
knew that whoever the
voters chose to take over
the [District 7] seat would
have huge shoes to fill.”
Chastain contrasted his
campaign from his oppo-
nent’s, describing
Ralston’s campaign as
bolstered by two Georgia
governors, various legis
lators and millions in
funding.
“I might not have had
unlimited money, but I
had so many friends,
community leaders, busi
ness leaders, family, and
volunteers helping to
shoulder this extraordi
nary lift that what seemed
impossible became possi
ble,” Chastain said. “But
we know that with God,
all things are possible.”
Going forward, he
encouraged constituents
to reach out with their
concerns and feedback.
“My door is always
open. I promise to be
accountable, accessible,
and transparent. And if
I’m not, boot me out. I
won’t let you down,”
Chastain said.
Chastain was sworn in
during a Feb. 6 morning
ceremony at the Georgia
House of Representatives
Chamber in Atlanta.
Similar to other
Georgia House represen
tatives, Chastain’s term
will conclude at the end
of 2024.
Chastain
‘Plenty of room to browse’
Bid approved
for Ga. 53
roundabout
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
Several months and multiple meetings
later, the Board of Commissioners’ dia
logue on a planned roundabout near Ga.
400 culminated in a pivotal decision for the
project.
During their Feb. 2 voting session, the
board unanimously approved a $1,547 mil
lion bid for the construction of a round
about at Ga. 53 and Dawson Forest and
Thompson Creek Park roads.
Construction vendor Vertical Earth, the
lowest bidder, was awarded the contract.
As part of the motion, the board
approved the use of $1,061,817 in Local
Maintenance Improvement Grant funds
from the Georgia Department of
Transportation for the project and
$154,708 in contingency funds, if needed,
See Roundabout|6A
Erica Jones Dawson County News
Appalachian Armory & Off Road owner Keith Hudson, left, stands with his son Zachary Hudson, right,
behind the counter in the armory's new location in downtown Dawsonville.
Appalachian Armory &c Off Road open in new, larger location
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
Appalachian Armory & Off Road, a
staple of the downtown Dawsonville
community, is officially opened and
expanded in its new, larger storefront
next to where it was previously located.
Back in July, store owners Keith and
Lynda Hudson purchased their new
building, which is located at 46
Highway 9 North, directly next to their
old location. Since then, they and their
staff have been hard at work moving
into the new space and really making it
their own, and the business officially
reopened right after Christmas.
According to Lynda Hudson, moving
to the new location has nearly tripled
the space the armory has, allowing
them to add new products and expand
their inventory.
“We’ve expanded on our hunting
rifles selection; before we just didn’t
have room so now we have room to
add to those,” Lynda Hudson said. “We
built on our inventory and we’re look
ing at taking on a few new lines, and I
think the next endeavor is looking at
increasing the off road selection.”
The added space has also allowed for
the Hudsons’ son, Zachary, to have
more room to utilize his gunsmithing
skills and to be able to serve more cus
tomers that way.
Another perk of the new building,
Lynda Hudson said, is being able to
spread the inventory out, making it
more organized and easier to look
through.
“Giving us all this extra room really
helped us work on the layout to make it
more welcoming,” she said. “We have a
much larger selection, it’s much more
spacious and I just feel like it has a
more welcoming feel when you come
in the door because it’s not crowded
and you’re not on top of each other.
Before, sometimes if somebody was at
a case they’d have to move around to
another one and come back when that
one was open, so now there’s just plen
ty of room to browse.”
Keith Hudson added that they didn’t
realize the full extent of how much the
See Armory 16A
Wade appointed
as floor leader in
Georgia House
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
Dawson County native and Georgia State
House Representative Will
Wade, R-Dawsonville, has
been appointed by Gov.
Brian Kemp as one of the
Georgia House of
Representatives Lloor
Leaders for the 2023-24
General Assembly, and he
said that this session he
wants to focus his efforts on
improving school safety and
enhancing the state’s human and child traf
ficking laws.
See Wade 16A
Wade
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Inside
Volume 9, Number 6
© 2023, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
2B
Classifieds
6B
Dear Abby
5B
Deaths
2A
Legals
6B
Opinion
7A
Sports
1B
4A UNG account
ing to offer free
tax prep this
month.
5A Burns named
Teacher of
the Year at
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