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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.
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