About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2024)
4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, January 17,2024 Four local business leaders to join chamber board By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com Four local business leaders have been appointed as the newest members of the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors for 2024. According to a press release by the chamber, this year’s new appointees are Cody Chembars, Eric Graves, Sheri Hardee and Randall Jackson. Chembars is the owner of Anchor Real Estate Advisors, which he founded in 2019. He is a former teacher turned realtor, and began his real estate career in 2015. He cur- Chembars Graves rently holds over 40 real estate licenses with his firm. He has been married to his wife Christiana for 12 years and has five children. Graves is the executive director of the Len Foote Hike Inn. He has been with the Hike Inn for 20 years, and under his leadership the inn recently celebrated its 25th Hardee Jackson anniversary and had a record setting year in 2023. Graves volunteers with the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club and at his church, Local Church Dawson. He is married to his wife Lisa and has two daugh ters, Kristen and Addie. Hardee is the dean and a professor in the University of North Georgia’s College of Education, where she has been working since 2009. She has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses and has published multiple book chapters and articles in jour nals. She also serves as the president-elect for the Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and as the chair of the Regents Advisory Committee for Education Preparation with the University System of Georgia. Jackson is the general man ager for the North Georgia Premium Outlets and Calhoun Outlet Marketplace, a role which he has held since 2021. He has worked at Simon Property Group for over 15 years in various mall manage ment and marketing roles in Georgia, Tennessee and Minnesota. “We are thrilled to have such great business leaders join the Board of Directors,"’ Dawson County Chamber President and CEO Mandy Power said in the release. “Cody, Eric, Sheri and Randall have a great skill set and expertise that will only help make our board stronger. This will in turn result in the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce helping our local business community to thrive.” Snow Island at Margaritaville open for tubing, skating, more By Jim Massara DCN Regional Staff If you like your weather cold but wish it came with a side of flurries, Margaritaville on Lake Lanier has just the thing for you: a snow-covered island open through February to the public, featuring one of North America’s longest snow rides. Margaritaville’s License to Chill Snow Island, which opened in early November, provides 20 acres of the “ideal surface” for snow tubing, according to a release from Lake Lanier park management. It also features the Blizzard Mountain snow ride — 575 feet long, eight stories high and considered to be one of the longest in the country. “Guests can enjoy a day of snow play, thrilling tube slides, ice skating, carnival rides and more, then return to the lodge for a restful night’s sleep,” said Matthew Bowling, vice president of Islands Management Company. If you want to pretend you’re snowbound and stay the night, Lanier Islands offers three accommoda tion packages that include everything but a mad dash to the grocery store to buy milk, eggs and bread. A Winter Family Fun Package includes breakfast at Sidney’s restaurant and passes to Snow Island, while the I Love You Snow Much Package is more geared to couples and fea tures chocolate-covered strawberries and cham pagne for two. A third package titled Ultimate Gaming is aimed at people who play and includes a $100 card to be used at the Game Changer entertain ment center. All three pack ages include overnight accommodations and more. The price of admission is $54.99 for an all-access day pass, and $79.99 for a season pass. For information, visit www.LanierIslands.com or call 770-945-8787. This article was original ly published in the Gainesville Times, a sister publication of DCN. Photo submitted to DCN Margaritaville’s License to Chill Snow Island, which opened in early January, provides an ideal surface for snow tubing. FROM 1A Gibson The two children, who were in her car during the incident, were uninjured. Firefighters and their family members were at the fire station when the shooting occurred. Gibson was subsequently arrested and later indicted on malice murder, two counts of fel ony murder, aggravated battery, eight counts of aggravated assault, two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, ter roristic acts, robbery by force and possession of a firearm or knife during commission of a crime. Gibson has been detained at the Dawson County Detention Center since his arrest and is the inmate who has been at the jail the longest. Tuesday’s hearing was the first date for Gibson’s case since the new year. Bearden asked the prosecution and defense to have proposed drafts for most of the remaining orders in by Jan. 30. Bearden is looking to schedule a final motions day in Gibson’s case before the spring and sum mer, when Gibson’s lawyers are expected to be tied up in court proceedings for two other older capital cases. Before jury selection and a trial in Gibson’s case, there would also have to be a pre-trial review hearing. If that can hap pen within the desired time- frame, the judge anticipated up to three weeks for jury selection in August 2024, followed by a break over the Labor Day week end and a two-to-three-week trial starting in September. One of the defense attorneys, Christian Lamar, didn’t think that they could “prepare to effec tively represent” Gibson on that timeline, but Assistant District Attorney Conley Greer said pushing back jury selection to mid-September would push the proceedings into conflict with three different trial weeks for other circuit judges. Bearden added that they would also have to be mindful of other judges scheduling double trial weeks, which he called “a com mon practice” in the judicial cir cuit. FROM 1A McKibben Each count was for a separate video or image possessed by McKibben, which included victims ranging from 2-3 years of age to 10-12 years of age. McKibben, who was originally arrested in January 2023, was the former head agent of the now-closed Jonathon McKibben State Farm office in Dawson County. The business opened in 2022, according to Dawson County News. On Aug. 16, 2022, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office received a tip about McKibben from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to a Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office incident report. This article was originally published in the Forsyth County News, a sister publication of DCN. House Speaker calls for more changes to state election laws By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service Georgia voters can expect further “tweaks” to state elections laws this year, House Speaker Jon Bums said Wednesday. House Republican lead ers will push to eliminate QR codes from the paper ballots voting machines spit out to voters after they cast their ballots and con sider strengthening the powers of the State Election Board, potentially at the expense of the secre tary of state, said Burns, R-Newington. The General Assembly passed legislation in 2019 providing for a paper back up to electronic ballots, a move aimed at giving Georgians more confi dence their votes are being recorded accurately. But some voters have com plained that the QR codes are confusing and impose a barrier on transparency. “We need to give voters confidence ... to feel like there’s transparency when they vote,” Bums said. The other potential change to election laws Burns talked about Wednesday would shift investigations of voter complaints of election fraud from the secretary of state’s office to the State Election Board. Bums said such a move would help make the board more inde pendent. The most sweeping changes in Georgia elec tion laws occurred in 2021, following 2020 elections that saw Democrats cap ture both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats and Democrat Joe Biden narrowly carry the Peach State on his way to the White House. Senate Bill 202 that year required voters seeking to cast absentee ballots to show a photo ID, a provi sion that already applied to in-person voting. The 2021 measure also limits the number of absentee ballot drop boxes and prohibits non-poll workers from handing out food and drinks within 150 feet of voters standing in line. On other issues Wednesday, Bums said he remains committed to Georgia Pathways, the lim ited Medicaid expansion championed by Gov. Brian Kemp that took effect last summer. Enrollment has gotten off to a slow start, but Burns said the gover nor has added resources aimed at getting more eli gible Georgians signed up. “It’s moving in the right direction,” the speaker said. Legislative Democrats, meanwhile, are continuing to push for full-blown Medicaid expansion, which they argue would cover more Georgians at less cost. Bums said he is looking to House members to weigh in on Republican- backed private school vouchers, legislation that failed on the House floor last year. Democrats and some Republicans objected to taking money away from public schools to help pay for private school tuition. “I think it’s a good issue,” Burns said. “It’s giving Georgia families access to educational opportunities that might not be in their communi ties.” Bums also said he’s con fident the state Senate will support a mental-health bill aimed at increasing the size of the mental-health workforce in Georgia and making it easier for people who cycle between the streets, emergency rooms and jails to get the help they need. House Bill 520, a fol low-up to major mental- health reform legislation lawmakers passed two years ago, died in the Senate at the end of last year’s session. File photo House Speaker Jon Burns seeks to change Georgia election laws this year. Dawson County Humane Society a no kill shelter Doggie Spotlight Rocky (1 year, 35 lbs) is the sweetest boy that just wants attention. Rocky is very food motivated and as you can see sits very pretty for a treat. Rocky loves meeting new people and always looks forward to a new meet and greet! Love and affection is what Rocky wants most in life and he can’t wait to meet the family that will give him that forever! Schedule a meet and greet with Rocky by calling (706)265-9160 or emailing info@dawsoncountyhumanesociaty.org For more information contact the 706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Rd, Dawsonville Dawson County Humane Society Adjacent to the Rock creek sports complex Visit our RESALE SHOP & BOUTIQUE All proceeds benefits Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd. the Humane Societ y Bradley M. Maple CPA, PC 706-216-2362 2390 Thompson Rd • Ste 100 Dawsonville Dawsonville ANH Collision f <W ) Veterinary Specialists Hospital 706-216-0992 706-265-8381 103 Industrial Park Road, Dawsonville 706-265-9160 Rocky Allen
