Newspaper Page Text
Season
begins
at water
attraction
By Jessica Jordan
FCN regional staff
Lake Lanier Islands flung
open its gates this weekend to
welcome about 800 visitors to
its water park that will now
close one day each week this
summer to conserve water.
For the first time, the water
park will be closed each
Monday this season in an effort
to conserve more water, park
manager Jonathan Ross said.
The park also began its near
ly four-month season this year
as the Chattahoochee Rapids
Beach and WaterPark rather than
Lake Lanier Islands Beach and
WaterPark.
Ross said the new name
came at the suggestion of Lake
Lanier Islands owner Virgil
Williams.
He also said the park’s 10
water slides and multiple pool
areas,, including the state’s
largest wave pool that holds
750,000 gallons of water, recy¬
cles water back into the swini
ming pools.
"Water in the wave pool ...
goes through a filtration system
and is then recycled," Ross said.
"For the most part, it’s 99 per¬
cent self-sufficient, so we’re not
wasting water on this.”
Ross said the park will be
open six days a week beginning
Thursday until Aug. 10. The
water park will close for the fall
after Labor Day.
Chattahoochee Rapids Beach
and WaterPark will feature some
new bells and whistles this sum¬
mer, with a new tiki bar on the
beach and a new amusement
park with a Ferris wheel and
other rides.
Despite low water levels at
Lake Lanier, Ross said he’s opti¬
mistic about park attendance for
the summer. He said the water
park typically sees about
100,(XX) visitors each year.
Ross said the 700 visitors
who came on Saturday for open¬
ing day, along with the less than
100 park-goers on Sunday, is a
relatively low turnout for open¬
ing weekend, but is no real indi¬
cation of what lies ahead.
"It’s early. It’s still May,”
Ross said. "Once we start crack¬
ing into June, we’ll be busier.
June and July are by far our
busiest months.”
He said the low lake levels
might have deterred folks from
making the trek to the park, but
once they hear it’s still fully
operational for the summer sea¬
son, he hopes they will flock to
the park for fun in the sun.
"I think people think we
aren’t open because of the lake
levels and think that might
somehow affect us," Ross said.
"But we’re still up and running."
Ross said whether the park’s
swimming area in the lake will
open for the summer is yet to be
determined due to a craggy 14
foot drop at that part of the beach.
He said the beaches are a
whole lot larger this year, but the
majority of the half-mile of
white sandy beach at the park is
still picture perfect.
Kathy Schultz attended the
park Sunday afternoon with her
two children and their three
friends. She said she’s brought
her family to the water park lor
11 years now, and this summer
will be no different,
She said the smaller crowd at
the water park Sunday translated
to smaller lines for her teenagers.
“We rode that water slide
like six times in a row,” she said.
The kids said, ‘I know
nobody’s here or anything, but
this is kind of nice.'"
Schultz said she’s grown to
enjoy the park more over the
years as the kids get older,
allowing her to supervise them
less and read more. She said gas
prices probably won’t leave her
stranded in Dawsonville on hot
summer days — Schultz said
the water park provides an
invaluable service by wearing
out her children after a few
hours.
"People come here year after
A Relay
night to
remember
Photos/Emily Saunders
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From left, Brandon Oiler, Sam Phillips, Cathy Helmeth
and Cory Helmeth get ready to hand out roses for a
friend as they cheer for cancer survivors walking the
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EARLY DEADLINES FOR
MEMORIAL DAY
Because of the upcoming Memorial Day
holiday , the ‘News’ will alter its
‘advertising’ and legals deadline as follows:
RETAIL & CLASSIFIED DISPLAY
Publication of Sun. 5/25/08:
Deadline will be Wed. 5/21/08 at noon
Publication of Wed. 5/28/08:
Deadline will be Thur. 5/22/08 at Noon
Publication of Thurs. 5/29/08:
Deadline will be Frl. 5/23/08 at noon
Publication of Forsyth Shopper 6/1/08
Deadline will be Fri. 5/23/08 at Noon
CLASSIFIED LINE ADS
Publication of Sun. 5/25/08:
Deadline will be Fri. 5/23/08 at noon
Publication of Wed. 5/28/08:
Deadline will be Fri. 5/23/08 at 3:00
LEGALS
Publication of Wed. 5/28/08:
Deadline will be Thur. 5/22/08 at 5 pm
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