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
