About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 2023)
Track: Anna LeCave’s school record highlights busy week for Tigers. SPORTS, 1B Dawson High students gifted fun of prom thanks to event run by The Place, inside, sa DawsonCountyNews WEDNESDAY I MARCH 29, 2023 DaWSOflNeWS ^com DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA $2.00 Dawson judge named Forsyth asst, county manager By Kelly Whitmire DCN regional staff A South Forsyth High School graduate will serve as the new assistant county manager for Forsyth County. In a news release Friday, March 24, Forsyth County offi cials announced Tony Tarnacki has been appointed as assistant county manager. Tarnacki is replacing Brandon Kenney, who had served in the role since 2021 before taking a job with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities in March. Tarnacki has served as a magis trate judge for Dawson County Magistrate Court since 2009, K j adjunct criminal I 1 ! justice professor of North Tarnacki Georgia since 2013. Georgia law requires that the Northeastern Judicial Circuit’s Superior Court judges appoint a replacement to complete his term of office, stated a press release dated March 23 from Chief Judge Kathlene Gosselin. Applications for the appointed position will be considered until April 3 at 5 p.m. Letters of inter est and resumes can be sent to Sandy Harkins at sharkins@hall- county.org. “OCGA 15-10-22 sets the min imum qualifications for a Magistrate. The fact that Chief Magistrate Tarnacki was an expe rienced lawyer proved very help ful to the citizens of Dawson County,” Gosselin stated. “Thus, we would prefer qualified appli cants to be members in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia.” The next election for Dawson County’s chief magistrate judge- ship will align with the primary and general election schedule for 2024. Tarnacki earned a Juris Doctorate degree from John Marshall Law School, a bache lor’s degree in business adminis tration and management from the University of North Georgia. He has also served as a juvenile court investigator in the Dawson County District Attorney’s Office. “Tony’s experience in manage ment, local government and near ly 15 years spent as Chief Magistrate Judge in north Georgia made him an ideal candi date to help further lead Forsyth County’s vision for the future,” County Manager David McKee said in the release. “We look for ward to working with him in this role, and we welcome Tony and his family to Forsyth County.” In the role, Tarnacki will over see Forsyth County’s planning and community development, parks and recreation, code enforcement and animal services, senior services and public trans portation departments. A second county manager will be responsible for other depart ments, and an announcement for that role “will be made soon” according to the release. The assistant county manager positions were previously held by McKee and Kenney, who were also finalists for the county man ager position after Kevin Tanner, the county’s previous manager, was selected as commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and developmental Disabilities. DCN reporter Julia Hansen contributed information specific to the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, which includes Dawson and Hall counties, for this article. DCN is a sister publication ofFCN. ‘Leap for Literacy’ Photos by Erica Jones Dawson County News Representatives of Blacks Mill Elementary School participate in the 2023 Leap for Literacy event on March 25. Community members By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com On Saturday March 25, War Hill Park in Dawson County was full of dozens of people from across the county all rally ing for a common purpose: to jump into Lake Lanier and raise money in support of childhood literacy. The annual “Leap for Literacy” event is a fundraiser for Dawson County Wee Books, a nonprofit dedicated to improv ing literacy in the county. Children enrolled in the Wee Books program receive a free, age-appropriate book each month from birth to age five. According to Wee Books Chair and President Karmen Pharris, the nonprofit has been in operation since 2007 and has served about 4,700 children in Dawson County by sending out over 127,000 books to children in the community dur ing that time. The nonprofit is funded through donations and fundraisers like the Leap for Literacy. make a splash to encourage childhood reac Representatives of Kilough Elementary School participate in the 2023 Leap for Literacy event on March 25. This year’s event raised a total of $4094 for Dawson County Wee Books, Pharris said. “The turnout was great and I think everybody had a really great time,” Pharris said. “And there were some real ly great costumes — people really got into it this year.” During the Leap for Literacy event, See Leap 14A Steakhouse signs get OK from planners By Julia Hansen jhansen@dawsonnews.com An incoming Australian-themed restau rant has now cleared the next hurdle in the process to establish a location in Dawson County. The Dawson County Planning Commission voted unanimously 4-0 to grant Outback Steakhouse’s request for a signage variance on March 21. With the vote, Outback can now look forward to a planned opening date in December 2023, said Joint Venture Partner Ken Chamberlain. Chamberlain helps own and operate Outbacks across the north metro Atlanta area. Outback’s variance approval follows DCN’s February reporting about the res taurant’s forthcoming Dawson County location at 3862 Dawson Forest Road East. See Outback 13A City begins discussions on impact fees By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com During the March 20 meeting of the Dawsonville City Council, the mayor and council members heard a presentation about impact fees and the potential for implementing them in the future. Impact fees are fees imposed on project developers to allow the developer to pay for all or a portion of the costs of providing public services, such as water and sewer services, to a new development. Currently, the City of Dawsonville does not impose impact fees on developers. At the Sept. 19, 2022 meeting of the See Fees13A 0 90994 04002 Inside Volume 9, Number 12 © 2023, Dawson County News Dawsonville, Georgia Events 2B Classifieds 6B Dear Abby 5B Deaths 2A Legals 6B Opinion 7A Sports 1B 4A DCHS students represent county in state FBLA competition. 4A SR 183 road closure pushed back to begin on April 3. We Are a Digital Impression Practice. Proud Owners of an iTero Element Scanner. element -jjj- invisolign "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." ; VS-v'F ■ 7b\ (Ddivsonville (Distinctive (Dentistry B. MANZUR, D.M.D. 754 HWY. 53 WEST, DAWSONVILLE, GA 706-265-2505
