Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, May 31,2023
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
Discover North Ga. businesses,
events with new expo, magazine
Scott Rogers DCN regional staff
Kayla Gray and Michael Miller serve wine to visitors Gary Berrisford and
Wendy McGann at Cavender Creek Vineyards and Winery in Dahlonega.
By Rachel Estes
DCN Regional Staff
Those seeking new
North Georgia adventures
can uncover the region’s
top destinations to visit,
dine, play and stay at the
first-ever Discover North
Georgia Expo at North
Georgia Premium Outlets
in Dawsonville.
Hosted by Metro Market
Media — parent company
of The Times, Dawson
County News and Forsyth
County News — with pre
senting sponsor Burke
Realty, the outdoor event is
set to connect residents and
visitors with 50-plus ven
dors and exhibitors from a
range of industries, includ
ing food and beverage, arts
and crafts, home and gar
den, health and wellness
and clothing.
Vendors and exhibitors
will be set up in the mall’s
front parking lot facing Ga.
400 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
June 10.
Featuring live entertain
ment, raffles and give
aways throughout the day,
the free event also coin
cides with the release of
Metro Market Media’s lat
est edition of “Discover
North Georgia,” an annual
field guide to the region’s
burgeoning food and bever
age scene, lakeside recre
ation, hiking trails, shop
ping, museums and more.
“We are thrilled to bring
the Discover North
Georgia Expo to the com
munity,” said Megan
Smarz, Metro Market
Media manager of event
and regional publication
sales. “Our goal is to cre
ate an engaging and inter
active platform for local
businesses to connect with
the public and showcase
their products and servic
es. We want visitors to dis
cover the unique offerings
of North Georgia and sup
port the growth of our
local economy.”
For more information,
contact Smarz at 770-535-
6371 or msmarz@gaines-
villtimes.com.
This article was original
ly published in the
Gainesville Times, a sister
publication of DCN.
Check out what
Dawson Library
has going on
this summer
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
This summer, the Dawson County Fibrary has a
wide range of reading programs for all ages. Here’s
what you need to know to participate.
Summer Reading Program
The Dawson County Fibrary’s summer reading
program runs from June 1 through July 31 and gives
readers of all ages a chance to win prizes by reading
books or listening to audiobooks.
Readers can sign up at chestateelibrary.beanstack.
com to register for the library’s annual reading chal
lenge and to log their reading progress throughout
the summer.
Children and teens can earn one ticket for every
two hours of reading, including reading books, mag
azines and graphic novels or listening to audio
books. Adults can earn one ticket for every two
books or audiobooks they complete. Anyone can
also earn bonus tickets by writing book reviews or
completing activities.
The tickets earned can be put toward an array of
prize options.
Other summer programs
The library also has several fun summer programs
scheduled throughout June and July for children and
for teens.
Dawsonville man pleads on charges
related to holding family hostage
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
A Dawsonville man has pleaded
guilty to multiple charges after being
accused of allegedly holding a
woman and her three children hos
tage in a home for several hours with
a firearm, according to a document
filed May 12 in Dawson County
Superior Court.
Billy Dale Crisp, 45, of
Dawsonville entered a negotiated
plea to charges of family violence-
related aggravated assault and bat
tery, false imprisonment, first and
third-degree cruelty
to children, obstruc
tion, terroristic
threats and driving
without a license.
Crisp was sen
tenced to 20 years
of probation, with
the first 10 years to
be served in prison
and the rest to be served on proba
tion. He will receive credit for time
served since his 2022 arrest by the
Dawson County Sheriff’s Office.
DCSO arrested Crisp on July 20,
2022. Crisp was accused in his
Crisp
indictment of brandishing a firearm
that same morning and pointing it at
each of the victims during that time.
Crisp was also accused during the
domestic dispute of threatening to
kill the children’s mother if the old
est child attempted to contact 9-1-1
and hitting the woman with a stool
near her right elbow, his indictment
stated.
The prosecution decided not to
prosecute Crisp for having a firearm
during the commission of a crime
since he pleaded to the greater charg
es, according to another May 12 fil
ing.
FROM 1A
Buildings
Center includes class
rooms, a large show
arena, stalls for raising,
washing and holding live
stock, a gravel lot for
trailer parking and out
door pasture space, in
addition to a solar panel
array to help offset elec
tricity costs at the center.
There will also be a
60-by- 100-foot pole barn
with an outdoor run,
which will be able to
house up to 24 cattle,
added behind the facility
soon.
DCHS agriculture
teacher and FFA advisor
Keith Pankey explained
that having the new build
ing will make a huge dif
ference for his students.
“We’ll be doing beef,
dairy and market hogs;
we’ll have 13 pigs this
first show season, about
six or seven dairy cows
and about 13 beef cows,”
Pankey said, “and stu
dents have the option to
house them here or at
their home.”
The center is named
after late board of educa
tion member and pillar of
the community Roger
Slaton, who was known
by many for his passion
for education and for
agricultural science class
es like those that will take
place in the new center.
During the ceremony,
Slaton’s son Barry
expressed his excitement
to see the center open,
commenting that his
father would have loved it
too.
“He was a supporter and
encourager and he liked to
lift people up; he would
have been proud to have
this because he was such a
big supporter of Mr.
Pankey and the FFA pro
gram,” Slaton said. “We’re
very honored to be here
and thankful that the
school is doing this to
maintain his legacy; we’re
proud of that.”
The 3,000-square-foot
show arena central to the
new building is also
named in honor of some
one who was instrumental
in education and in the
agricultural science field
in the Dawson County
school system, Floyd
Harben. Named after the
past Dawson County
superintendent and edu
cator, the Floyd H.
Harben Show Arena will
carry on his legacy just
like the center will carry
on Slaton’s.
“Floyd would be very
proud of this facility; he
really would,” Harben’s
wife Jan said during the
ceremony.
The show arena will
allow DCHS to host
events, fairs and competi
tions, something else that
the school was unable to
do previously.
“We’re going to be able
to start hosting shows and
events here and we want
to do special shows too,”
Pankey said.
Pankey added that he
also hopes to be able to
add a chicken coop to
raise eggs for low-income
students and potentially a
community garden at
some point down the
road.
“We are very excited
about the opportunities
that this facility is going
to offer to our students,
but also to our communi
ty,” Superintendent
Nicole FeCave said.
Multipurpose
Athletic Building
The new multipurpose
athletic building includes
a basketball court, locker
rooms, hospitality spaces
and a state-of-the-art
weight room for students
to use for weight training
and fitness classes.
“There’s times when we
have four or five different
teams competing for space
in one gym, so the fact
that we’re going to have
auxiliary space where we
can have practices, host
competitions, different
things for our students
athletes — it’s going to be
great for our kids,” DCHS
Principal Michael Negley
said. “Not having to man
age late practices and
early practices for multi
ple teams at one time but
to allow them to spread
out will be great.”
The court inside the
facility will be able to
allow now only basketball
practices, but also the
potential to house practic
es for volleyball, competi
tion cheer, wrestling and
other sports at the high
school.
One of the biggest
attractions in the new
facility is the state-of-the-
art weight room, which
will offer a very large
array of ways for student
athletes to train.
“We build athletes;
we’ve been doing it for
years, and we’re really
excited to have every
opportunity to train multi
ple people,” DCHS head
football coach Sid
Maxwell said. “You get
better by doing, and we
have everything that we
wish to do.”
“We’re so excited about
everything that this facility
is going to offer for our
students and community,”
FeCave said.
Children’s programs are for ages three through 12
and include:
Arthur Atsma, magician: June 7 at 11 a.m.
and 2 p.m.
Jennifer Daniels, musician: June 14 at 11 a.m.
and 2 p.m.
GA Mountain Falconry: June 21 at 11 a.m.
and 2 p.m.
Smithgall Woods Snakes Alive: June 28 at 11
a.m. and 2 p.m.
Mr. Damon’s Shadow Puppets: July 12 at 11
a.m.
Ron Anglin, juggler: July 19 at 11 a.m.
Teen programs are for rising sixth through 12th
graders and include:
Peace, Fove, Rock and Roll: June 6 at 2 p.m.
Playing for Pizza, free pizza and games: June
13 at 2 p.m.
Pearce Creative, paint your own pottery: June
20 at 2 p.m.
Peace Poles, painting a peach pole for the
community garden: June 27 at 2 p.m.
Mr. Damon’s Shadow Puppets for teens: July
12 at 2 p.m.
Ron for teens, learn to juggle: July 19 at 2
p.m.
The Dawson County Public Fibrary is located at
342 Allen Street in Dawsonville and is open from 9
a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and
from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. For
more information about the library and any of its
programs, go to https://chestateelibrary.org/dawson-
county-library-branch/.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
a Rubys-recipes.com
706-216-7166
462 Memory Lane, Ste 170,
Dawsonville, GA 30534
WE ARE NOW OPEN DAILY
FROM 11AM-5PM
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Etowah Water & Sewer Authority
Dawsonville GA
LEAD MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN
Description: Assist Maintenance Superintendent with all department
operations. At direction of Maintenance Superintendent directs, oversees,
and schedules the work of employees in the installation, operation,
maintenance, repair and replacement of the water and wastewater
treatment systems and facilities, booster pump stations, lift stations,
water storage tanks, and maintenance of all properties. Performs
preventative, predictive, and routine maintenance on equipment.
Troubleshoots issues, repairs failures of facilities equipment and ensures
maximum equipment efficiency and effectiveness. Responsible for 24-
hour emergency maintenance (on-call) on rotating schedule.
Education and Experience: Associate Degree from an accredited technical
college or Bachelor's Degree from an accredited university in electrical,
mechanical, or motor control systems. Five years'experience at increased
responsibility levels in operations and maintenance of water and
wastewater treatment, distribution and collection, SCADA, mechanical
and electrical systems. Any equivalent combination of education and
experience, which provides the minimum level of qualifications, stated
above and Valid Class C Driver's License with a satisfactory MVR. Starting
pay is $26.49. Competitive benefits are offered and a Condensed Work
Schedule. Applications may be filled out on our website at www.
etowahwaterga.gov found under the Human Resource Department
and they are accepted at Etowah Water & Sewer Authority c/o Human
Resource Department, 1162 Hwy 53E, Dawsonville GA 30534. Open until
filled. Etowah Water is a DFW and an EOE.
