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Dawson County News
Female ‘grease monkey’ bakes biscuits
that she says would knock a mule down
By Jeanne Morris
Special to the Forsyth County News
Dawsonville’s Hattie Green carries
the distinction of being the only wom
an in town to own and operate a full
service gas station. Being a woman
grease monkey has its moments, Hat
tie said.
“People look at my hands and ask
me what kind of work I do. But when I
tell them, they look like they don’t be
lieve me,” she said.
Although Hattie’s hands would nev
er make a Jergen’s lotion commer
cial, they’re mighty handy with a
wrench.
Bom in Union County, Hattie and
her family moved to Dawsonville
when she was 11 years old.
“I love Dawsonville. I wouldn’t
want to live anywhere else. This is the
place 1 like to be. I just wouldn’t be
happy anywhere else. It’s kinda like
an old chair in the house. When you
get comfortable with it, that’s where
you want to stay,” she said
Hattie said she grew up on her par
ent’s Mack and May Green’s farm
where she enjoyed working outside
Proposal introduced to lower
elderly property tax burden
By Jeanne Morris
Special to the Forsyth County News
Should Dawson County citizens who
are 65 or older be exempted for the
first SIOO,OOO in property taxes?
This issue became a focal point be
tween state representatives and
members of the Dawson County
Grand Jury earlier this month. Dur
ing the special meeting, State repre
sentatives Jerry Jackson, Bobby
Lawson, Wycc Orr and Jim Guriy, an
official from the state Dept, of Educa
tion met with a committee of three
members of the local Grand Jury to
decide whether or not the issue should
go before the legislature, said Max
Looper.
Looper, a former representative
and himself a local senior citizen, in
troduced the idea that older citizens
should be granted a higher exemption
11 years ago.
The bill was introduced into the
Legislature and resulted in a $5,000
exemption for seniors. More recently
that amount was raised to SIO,OOO. if
passed, the present proposal would
mean that local taxpayers who are
over 65 or are disabled would not have
to pay property taxes on the first
SIOO,OOO of appraised property value.
“It’s the working people that sould
have to pay the tax, not us,” Looper
said. “There ought to be a cutting off
point for old people who have to live
off social security and get no income
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Hattie Green
the house.
“I was an outdoor person. I was a
daughter to my Mom and a “son” to
my Dad. I’m not much of a homemak
er,” she said. “I wouldn’t even know
where to start. You can knock a mule
“It’s the working people
that sould have to pay the
tax, not us,” Looper said.
coming a retirement community as
more seniors flocked to the county to
be sheltered by the exemption.
Lloyd Harben, Dawson school su
perintendent expressed mixed
feelings.
“I’d do anything for our elderly citi
zens. I’m for it (the exemption) 200
percent,” he said. “Someone who’s
retired should be able to rest. They’ve
worked all their lives now to have
what they’ve worked for taken away
is not fair.”
Harben said those 65 and older pres
ently make up 15 percent of Dawson’s
population.
Unfortunately, school taxes take
the biggest bite. Harben said costs are
up and it’s expensive to operate a
school.
“School is a big business right now.
Dawsonville is a bedroom community
with no industry to build a tax base on.
All we have are the property owners
to pay the tax,” he said.
If the proposal makes it to the Leg
islature, the next step would be to
come before the voters of Dawson
County in the 1990 general election. If
passed, the exemption would become
effective in 1991, Looper said.
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down with one of my biscuits.”
Hattie said she decided to leave the
biscuit making to her Mom after her
son Chris 14 declared that even he
could make a better biscuit.
Hattie’s love of the outdoors meant
she spent the day working in the fields
and helping Dad fix tractors while her
sister Charldine tended to the
housework.
“Soon as I was big enough to hand
him a wrench, I was out helping Dad
replacing spark plugs, batteries and
tires. When I was 17, I was helping
him rebuild tractors. Dad always told
us girls, If you’re gonna drive, you
better learn to fix things on the car,”
she said.
Hattie became owner of a service
station after her brother Bud Green
recruited her for his station and later
turned it over to her.
“Bud put me to changing tires and
go-fering. I’d change oil. But Bud said
it didn’t look good for a woman to
change oil. I was used to it,” she said.
Now Hattie does everything from
pumping gas to servicing cars.
“I’m not like most women, I like
grease on my hands,” she said.
from their old farms. You can’t force
residents who’ve lived here ail their
lives to have to sell land just to pay
taxes.”
Looper said he personally didn’t
know of any real hardships to local
seniors or of any who have had to sell
land to get money to pay property tax
es. But he did say one man was forced
to sell a pickup truck and and elderly
woman who lived on a 40-acre farm
experienced some difficulty paying a
tax bill that was under S2OO. Looper
said he personally pays some SSOO in
school taxes on a home and three plus
acres valued at $96,000.
Officials fear, that if passed, the
higher exemption will result in more
problems for all residents that would
far outweigh any benefits the seniors
would recieve.
Sole Commissioner Joe Lane Cox
said since Dawson County has no
heavy industry to ease the tax burden,
an even heavier tax load would fall on
younger working couples with chil
dren to raise and mortgages to pay if
the older population is exempted.
“Somebody has to pay the bill. It
just wouldn’t be fair to put the whole
load on the ones who can least afford
it. People who are still trying to pay
for their homes and the expenses of
raising a family, most of them are
having a hard enough time,” he said.
Cox said the exemption could also
result in the possibility of Dawson be-
lift.
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Julian Gravitt Jack Stiner
Gravitt/Stiner elected
to bank advisory board
M. Julian Gravitt and John J. (Jack) Stiner have been elected to the
advisory board for The First National Bank of Atlanta’s Forsyth Coun
ty Division.
In making the announcement, George D. Henderson, County Execu
tive for the Forsyth County Bank, said Stiner and Gravitt are wel
comed to the board as community and business leaders.
Gravitt is executive vice president and general manager of the Saw
nee Electric Mmebership Co-op. He also serves as alternate director of
Oglethorpe Corporation and the Georgia Electie Membership Co-op.
He is also active in the Kiwanis Club and the Citizens for a Community
Center. Gravitt and his wife Polly live in Cumming.
Stiner is owner of Cumming Hardware and is former co-owner of the
Manley-Stiner Organ Company in Atlanta. He is active in the Cum
ming/Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce and is past president of
Georgia Arms Collectors. Stiner and his wife Betty live in Forsyth
County.
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS-WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1989-
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What do
YOU
Think?
What would you not mind pay
ing higher taxes for?
All alcoholic beverages and all
tobaccos.
Hugh Kelley
Close the loopholes for the rich
and there is no need for higher
taxes.
Lydia Fischer
Better teachers in school, leash
law and animal control.
Daniel Baxley Sr.
What are you most thankful
for?
God and family, and health.
Kathryn Ledbetter
My family and friends and most
of all the man God gave me to
love us, my husband.
Shirley Lynch
Tri-County Plazo-Cumming
887-9991
Bride's Listing
You are invited to make your gilt selection tor
these couples at Parsons.
1989
Wendy Shadburn to
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Jenni Bolton to
Mark Waller Dec. 16
Amy Warbington to
David Howard Dec. 16
Penny Cash to
Trey Butler Dec. 31
1990
Stacey Scoggins to
Marty Loundermilk Jan. 27
889*2014
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