Wednesday, January 17,2024
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
No One Alone fundraiser set for Feb. 3
By Julia Hansen
juliahansen@dawsonnews.com
Area residents will soon have the
chance to support local victims of
family violence in Dawson and
Lumpkin counties through an inspir
ing annual event.
Local nonprofit No One Alone will
host its 23rd annual “Winter’s Walk”
gala benefit Feb. 3 at Forrest Hills
Resort in Dahlonega to raise money
for its various programs and shelter
costs, according to its executive direc
tor, Cara Ledford.
People can have fun while donating
to a good cause through purchasing
tickets and attending the gala, spon
soring the benefit and taking part in
the event’s silent auction.
Law enforcement veteran and con
sultant Mike Mertz will be the event’s
guest speaker, Ledford added.
More event details are available at
www.noonealone.org/benefit.
No One Alone is actively seeking
donors to help the nonprofit fund a
new shelter, Ledford told DCN.
“We have purchased land and have
a completed set of architectural plans
and will break ground in February,”
Ledford said. “We have a goal to
raise $750,000, [and] we currently
have close to half of the funds raised.”
The nonprofit is looking for donors
who would like to sponsor things
including but not limited to the cost
of a shelter room, landscaping and/or
grading, what Ledford also called
“really any part of the [new] shelter.”
“We really want to be in this new
building by the first of 2025,” the
executive director added.
DCN file photo
No One Alone serves people in Dawson and Lumpkin counties. The nonprofit’s shelter
is located in the Dahlonega area.
Safety is key when using heating sources
By Julia Hansen
juliahansen@
dawsonnews.com
With temperatures pre
dicted to drop below
freezing throughout this
week, it’s important to
make sure heating sourc
es don’t become safety
hazards.
Half of home heating
fires are reported between
the months of December,
January and February,
stated a statistic from the
National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA).
With the help of
Dawson County Fire and
Emergency Services,
DCN has compiled this
list of tips for area resi
dents using different
types of heating sources.
General heating rules
• Test smoke alarms at
least once a month.
• Keep a heater or other
heating source at least
three feet or one meter
away from anything that
could bum. This includes
people.
• Keep heating sources
out of the way from foot
traffic and room exits.
• Turn off and unplug
heaters when you leave a
room or go to bed.
• Have a qualified pro
fessional install stationary
space, water or central
heating equipment.
Electric heaters
Many people may opt
for a portable electric
space heater to keep their
homes warm nowadays.
While this can be a safe
way to heat one’s house,
two in five deaths in space
heater fires involve porta
ble electric space heaters,
according to the National
Fire Protection
Association.
The NFPA offered the
following tips to guide
people in getting and safe
ly using electric space
heaters:
Choosing the right
heater for you
• Buy a heater with the
seal of a qualified testing
laboratory. You can buy an
oil or water-filled radiator
heater or one that’s fan-
forced, ceramic or infra
red.
• Choose a heater with a
thermostat and overheat
protection.
Where to place
the heater
• Put the heater on a
solid, flat surface.
• Make sure the heater
has an auto-shutoff to turn
itself off if it tips over.
• Plug the heater direct
ly into a wall outlet. Do
not use an extension cord,
as that poses a fire risk.
• Use the right kind of
fuel for fuel-burning space
heaters as specified by the
manufacturer.
Fireplaces, chimneys
and stoves
• Check that your fire
place has a sturdy screen to
stop embers from flying
into the room.
• Make sure ashes are
cool before putting them in
a metal container, and keep
that container outside at
least three feet away from
your home.
• Have heating equip
ment and chimneys
cleaned and inspected on a
yearly basis.
• Do not use your oven
to heat your home.
• Follow a manufactur
er’s instructions when
installing wood-burning
stoves or have a profes
sional do it. Fuel-burning
equipment should be vent
ed to the outside to avoid
carbon monoxide or CO
poisoning.
• Before lighting a fire,
check that it’s safe to do
so. Look for any signs of
creosote.
• Avoid burning unsea
soned wood. Fires burning
this type of wood can use
up a lot of energy at first to
get rid of the water in the
logs that the resulting
smoke ends up cooler than
if seasoned wood is used.
• Do not burn paper in
your fireplace or wood
stove.
KITCHEN INSPECTIONS
'^BURGERS et FRITES
Photo courtesy Unsplash/Elodie Agodor
Staff reports
Dawson County’s most
recent kitchen inspections
included local spots and
chain restaurants.
Following inspections,
restaurants are given a
letter grade that coincides
with a percentile: ‘A’ (90-
100), “B” (80-89), “C” (70-
79), “U” or unsatisfactory
(69 and below).
Kitchen rules are avail
able at https://dph.geor-
gia.gov/environmental-
health-inspections. Health
scores are listed below as
of press deadline.
To register a complaint
against a food service
establishment, contact
the Dawson County
Environmental Health
Department at 706-265-
2930.
Jan. 11
Chestatee Golf Club
Location: 777 Dogwood
Way, Dawsonville
Score: 97; Grade: A
Jersey Mike’s Subs
Location: 145 Forest
Blvd. Ste. 425,
Dawsonville
Score: 94; Grade: A
Jan. 10
Burger King no. 9957
Location: 21 Medical
Center Dr., Dawsonville
Score: 97; Grade: A
Jan. 9
Dawsonville Pool Room
Location: 9 Bill Elliott St.,
Dawsonville
Score: 97; Grade: A
Jan. 8
North Georgia Senior
Living
Location: 181 Memory
Ln., Dawsonville
Score: 100; Grade: A
Bojangles no. 2021
Location: 749 Ga. 53 W.,
Dawsonville
Score: 94; Grade: A
Jan. 5
J & S Kitchen
Location: 326 S. 400
Center Ln., Dawsonville
Score: 90; Grade: A
Kajun Seafood of
Dawsonville Vinh Inc.
Location: 30 Industrial
Park Rd. Ste. 140,
Dawsonville
Score: 91; Grade: A
Jan. 4
Five Guys Burgers
& Fries
Location: 143 Power
Center Dr. Ste. 150,
Dawsonville
Score: 100; Grade: A
Takoz Express
Location: 30 Industrial
Park Rd. Ste. 140,
Dawsonville
Score: 87; Grade: B
The restaurant received
a grade of A- for the fol
lowing reasons: Proper
cooling time and temper
ature. Beef was stored in
containers in a reach-in
cooler with temperatures
of 55-58F.
Dec. 20
Quality Inn
Location: 127 Beartooth
Pkwy., Dawsonville
Score: 100; Grade: A
Sakura Hibachi & Sushi
Location: 12 Dawson
Market Wa7 Dawsonville
Score: 97; Grade: A
Photo by Unsplash/Hayden Scott
Howto deal
with creosote
Creosote is a residue
that is highly combustible
or flammable. Enough
buildup and high internal
flue temperatures could
lead to a chimney fire.
Creosote can be black
or brown, crusty and
flaky, tar-like, drippy and
sticky and/or shiny and
hardened.
Creosote can be caused
by restricting a chimney
or wood stove’s air sup
ply, closing a device’s
glass doors, not opening
the damper wide enough
or by closing down a
wood stove’s damper or
air inlets too soon or too
much.
For more tips, go to the
National Fire Protection
Association’s home fire
safety webpage at https://
www.nfpa.org/Education-
and-Research/Home-Fire-
Safety or the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency’s chimney safety
webpage at www.usfa.
fema.gov/prevention/out-
reach.
Visit us for a
FREE COOKIE
Experience our warm, gooey,
award-winning MILK CHOCOLATE
CHIP COOKIE when you visit us in store
Dawsonville Crumbl
12 Dawson Market Way Unit 200,
Dawsonville, GA 30534
One chocolate chip cookie per coupon.
Expires 2/10/24
