Luke Martin Named Player of the Week
Tiger's Corner October 3, 2016
Luke Martin was named Dawson County High School Player of the Week for his effort in the Tigers 45-28 win over North Hall Friday. Martin, who is listed as a RB/LB, recorded an amazing 25 tackles in that game and one touchdown reception. On the season Martin is Dawson County’s leading tackler, averaging 20.3 tackles per game. He also has a team-leading 12 tackles for a loss.
Tigers Open Region 7-AAA Play at North Hall
Sports, Team FYN Sports September 28, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Coach Sid Maxwell’s Tigers (2-1) open Region 7-AAA play Friday when they travel to Gainesville to take on the North Hall Trojans (4-1, 1-1).
The Trojans have a solid ground game that features senior running back Kyle Bacus who rushed for 533 yards and scored six touchdowns in the first 3 games. North Hall is not so much of a threat passing. They averaged only 27.3 yards per game in the first three games.
Dawson County features a more balanced offense. 2015 Region 7-AAA Player of the Year Coey Watson can beat opponents with his arm or his legs. Starting running back Taylor Cronan is nursing a shoulder injury and his availability for Friday’s game is uncertain. However, if he can’t play, the running game should not suffer. Payton Myers ran for more than 100 yards and scored two touchdowns in Friday’s 46-0 rout of White County last week.
North Hall and Dawson County have played one common opponent this year, White County. While the Trojans lost a 24-23 overtime thriller in Cleveland, The Tigers romped to a 46-0 victory in Tiger Stadium.
In their first three games, the Tigers offense has averaged 35.3 points per game while the defense has surrendered just 10.3 points per game.
Lightning Cancels Tigers Season Opener
Dawson County High School, Sports, Team FYN Sports August 27, 2016
Rain, Lightning Cancel Tigers Season Opener
DAWSONVILLE, Ga — A torrential rainstorm and two hours of non-stop lightning brought a disappointing end to Dawson County High School’s season opener at Tiger Stadium last night.
Junior quarterback Coey Watson ran for one touchdown and passed for another to stake the Tigers to a 14-9 lead over Central Forsyth. But none of that will be official now because with just 2:54 to go in the first half, lightning sent the players back to the lockerroom. Then a monsoon hit, sending fans running for shelter. Two hours later, lightning continued to lightning continued to light up the sky and the game was officially canceled.
According to GHSA rules, the game was never played and will not be rescheduled. Officially, they are 0-0 with the season opener scheduled to be played Friday at Chattooga High School.
It was a good one while it lasted, however. The 3A Tigers were not the least bit intimidated by stepping out of their class to play the 7A Bulldogs. After a scoreless first quarter, Forsyth Central scored first when Watson was flagged for intentional grounding inside his own end zone.
Down 2-0, Watson took the Tigers on a six-play, 58-yard scoring march on their next possession. On the fifth play of the drive, the exciting dual threat quarterback scrambled 26 yards to the Bulldogs 2-yard line. A pass attempt for the two-point conversion was intercepted but Dawson Count had its first lead of the season 6-2.
The lead was short-lived, however. Two plays later Sabrian Howard, a bruising 5-11, 200-pound running back bulled his way up the middle and — running over and around would-be Tiger defenders — rumbled 85 yards to put Forsyth Central back on top 9-6.
Coach Sid Maxwell’s Tigers gave their fans a hint of what they could expect from the offense this season as they cranked up a 12-play, 80 yard scoring drive on their next possession to regain the lead. Along the way, Watson completed 5 or 6 passes. Senior wide receiver Austin Young out leaped a Bulldog defender to haul in a 19-yard scoring strike and sophomore Ryan Glass added the two-point conversion for a 14-9 lead with 4:32 left in the first half.
Two minutes later, with the Bulldogs facing a fourth down at their own 22-yard line, lightning began to flash and the game was halted. By 10:30 p.m., the game was officially called off.
Dawson Co. Students Return to Classrooms This Week
News July 31, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Dawson County students will return to the classroom on Friday.
But first, there is Open House for parents and students at all school levels. Open House at the elementary schools will begin Tuesday at 3 p.m. Open House at Dawson County Middle School will be Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. and junior high and high school Open House will run from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday.
Each new school year brings changes and this year is no exception. For example, Dawson County Middle School, formerly Riverview Middle School, will be the only middle school. School officials say more than 500 sixth-and seventh-grade students are expected to attend.
Eighth graders will now attend the new Dawson County Junior High, formerly Dawson County Middle School.
Hours of operation will change slightly this year also. Elementary and middle school classes will begin at 7:50 a.m. and end at 2:45 p.m. Dawson County Junior High School will begin at 7:45 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. while high school students will start at 7:40 a.m. and be dismissed at 2:30 p.m.
There will also be a new 1,000-seat, $13 million Performing Arts Center at Dawson County High School to house art, drama, chorus and band. Financing will come from the 2015 voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.
Wiley Qualifies to Run for County Commision as Independent
News July 26, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Dawson County Elections Supervisor Glenda Ferguson confirmed Tuesday that Robert Wiley, a retired U.S. Army major and combat veteran, has qualified to run for the District 2 Board of Commissioners seat as an independent in November.
Wiley needed to obtain the signatures of 5 percent of Dawson County’s registered voters (about 661) on a nomination petition. Ferguson said her office certified the signatures of 665.
Wiley’s opponent is Republican Chris Gaines who defeated Tim Davis in the May General Primary election.
Wiley, a junior ROTC instructor at Dawson County High School, said he is a Republican but missed the deadline to qualify for the General Primary after just completing his Masters Degree in Public Administration.
Sheriff, Tax Commissioner Candidates Square Off
News, Politics July 14, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — A standing-room-only crowd got one last chance to evaluate the candidates for Dawson County Sheriff and Tax Commissioner Tuesday in the Meeting Room of Fire Station No.2 on Dawsonville Highway.
Tax Commissioner candidates Nicole Stewart and Andi Henson-Juliette provided a tepid, respectful opening act for a slightly more combative performance by Sheriff candidates Tony Wooten and Jeff Johnson.
Henson-Juliette stressed her experience in handling multi-million dollar budgets while Stewart placed the emphasis on her customer service experience and community involvement.
Henson-Juliette is a former analyst for a Department of Defense contractor and the FBI and has managed budgets in excess of $50 million. She is a graduate of Dawson County High School and North Georgia College and State University.
“A lack of experience in the Tax Commissioner’s Office could be detrimental to taxpayers since 75 percent of the county’s budget comes from sales tax,” she said. “I’m the only candidate with experience managing budgets like that.”
Stewart said she has solid management experience. “I have effectively managed 8-10 people and have helped teach many small businesses how to manage a budget.”
She is a former banker with experience in the loan department. She is also an honors graduate of Dawson County High School and North Georgia College and State University who recently earned her Masters degree at Brenau University. Active in many community affairs, she was named Dawson County’s Outstanding Citizen in 2015.
The sheriff candidates did find some areas of agreement, for example no-knock warrants. Both agreed they were sometimes necessary for the safety of officers. They also agreed the county needs a strict policy to restrict high-speed chases.
But the tension began when Johnson implied that Wooten had made promises to deputies who publicly endorsed him in a half-page ad that ran in the local newspaper this week.
“I can say a lot of promises had to be made,” Johnson said. “They’re doing all they can to get their man elected.”
Candidates were given an opportunity to rebut their opponent’s comments and both men took full advantage.
Wooten bristled at Johnson’s remark, “They haven’t been promised a thing.”
When Johnson pointed out that he had more years of experience than Wooten, Wooten responded with “All the candidates in the race had experience. It’s not the number of years experience that makes you a leader. I’ve led five of the six divisions in the sheriff’s office.”
Early voting in both races will continue through Friday, July 22. Election day will be July 26.
Final Candidate Forum Scheduled Tuesday
News, Politics July 9, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — The Dawson County Tea Party and Foothills Republican Women will host the final candidate forum Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Fire Station No. 2 next to Tractor Supply on Hwy. 53 in Dawsonville. This will be the last forum before the Election Day which is scheduled for July 26.
Guests are invited to prepare questions to ask the candidates and submit them as they enter.
The candidates for sheriff are Captain Tony Wooten, an 18-year veteran of the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and Major Jeff Johnson, a 23-year law enforcement veteran.
Wooten has commanded all but one department in the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and currently supervises the community policing program and school resource officers while serving as the Public Information Officer.
Johnson is currently the head of the Dawson County detention center and has experience in patrols, courts, investigation, specialized assignments internal affairs and community programs.
Wooten won the four-candidate May primary with 1,527 votes while Johnson finished second with 1,157.
The other runoff race is between Andi Hinson Juliette and Nicole Stewart to decide who will become the county’s next tax commissioner.
Juliette is a former analyst for a Department of Defense contractor and the FBI and has managed budgets in excess of $50 million. She is a graduate of Dawson County High School and North Georgia College and State University.
Stewart is a former banker with experience in the loan department. She is also an honors graduate of Dawson County High School and North Georgia College and State University who is currently working on her Masters degree at Brenau University in Gainesville. Active in many community affairs, she was named Dawson County’s Outstanding Citizen in 2015.
Dawson School Board Approves FY ’17 Budget
News June 15, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — The Dawson County Board of Education approved the FY 2016-’17 budget of $44,199,544 Monday.The millage rate is expected to be set at a rollback rate of 15.776 mils at the July meeting. It was set at 16.496 a year ago.
Executive Director of Financial Services Jamie Ulrich presented the new budget to the Board. The budget is balanced with projected revenue of $35,107,938 plus a fund balance carryover of $9 ,091,606 for a total of $44,199,544.
Local source revenue, primarily from the ad valorem tax, is expected to be $19,324,879. State source revenue, primarily from QBE state earnings, is projected at $21,778,207
The largest expenditure in the new budget is $23,087,670 for instruction, up about 2.5 percent from last year. Maintenance and operation costs went up about 6.5 percent from $3,368,206 to $3,586.320.
In addition to adopting of a new spending plan, the Board recognized Riverview Middle School for receiving the Governors Office of Student Achievement’s 2015 Bronze Greatest Gains Award, given to schools that exhibit growth in student achievement by earning a three-year average CCRPI Progress score in at least the 93rd percentile in the state
Several Dawson County High School athletic teams were recognized for excellence in baseball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls golf and boys and girls track.
Brody Hughes made a presentation to the Board regarding Hightower Academy (HTA) and how future improvements will better meet the needs of our non-traditional students.
The Board also heard from Tracy Stanford from Mountain Education Charter High School. Stanford discussed MEC’s desire to offer options for area students who are not currently being served by DCHS or HTA. MEC is a state-chartered, SACS accredited public high school that offers programs for dropout recovery and dropout prevention. It operates year round, Monday through Thursday from 4:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. and offers rolling enrollment and flexible attendance.
The Board unanimously approved:
The adoption of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s GO Math for Dawson County Schools K-5 elementary math resource/textbook instructional materials;
Overnight travel for Dawson Co. High School volleyball team Camp/Lock-in to improve their volley ball skills;
FY ’17 Additional Budgets for Debt Service, Capital Projects, Title I, Title IIA, Title VIB, Federal Preschool, Bright Start, GNETS, JROTC, and School Food Service;
The May financial report;
The May eSPLOST report that showed collections of $561,908.16, exceeding projections by $11,908 and surpassing last year’s receipts for the same month of $527,114;
A resolution to declare piece of parcel #086 006 as surplus and unnecessary between 7/1/16 thru 6/30/18 so that the Superintendent can enter into an agreement with Southeastern Site Development for its use during the DOT bridge replacement on Hwy. 9;
Per Diem for Board members.
Chris Gaines Quest for County Commission Seat Not Over Yet
News, Politics June 10, 2016
DAWSON COUNTY, Ga. — Chris Gaines expressed disappointment Thursday that in order to reach his goal of becoming Dawson County’s District 2 Commissioner he may have to win one more election.
It was less than three weeks ago that Gaines, won a hotly-contested race over Tim Davis in the Republican Primary. Since no Democrat had qualified, it appeared Gaines would be headed to the swearing in ceremony in January. Then he discovered that Robert Wiley, a retired Army major, combat veteran and junior ROTC instructor at Dawson County High School, is attempting to meet the requirements to run as an independent in November.
To qualify, Wiley will have to obtain the signatures of 5 percent of Dawson County’s registered voters (about 661) on a nomination petition by July 1. He says he currently has more than 400.
“Obviously I’m disappointed,” Gaines said. “He has followed the rules, but he claims to be a Republican so he should have qualified to run in the Republican Primary election.”
Gaines said he reached out to Wiley and the two had lunch a week ago.
“I didn’t know him and I wanted to find out why he was running and why he didn’t run in the primary. He said he just missed the deadline and the elections office told him the only way he could run was to qualify as an independent.”
Gaines previously served on the Dawsonville City Council. “I’m dedicated to running for this seat,” he said. “I have a proven track record and I’m confident we will pull it out with my long history of leadership in the county. It will just take more time, effort and capital now.”
Dawson Students Display Artwork at Government Center
News April 24, 2016
DAWSONVILLE — Students from all across Dawson County are proudly displaying more than 200 pieces of artwork at the Dawson County Government Center, 25 Justice Way in Dawsonville through this Friday.
The exhibit is the long-time dream of Tracey Burnette, an art teacher at Black’s Mill Elementary School in Dawsonville and includes works from students at Dawson County High School, Dawson County Middle, Riverview Middle, Black’s Mill Elementary, Kilough Elementary, Riverview Elementary and Robinson Elementary
“This has been a vision of mine for this to happen here in Dawson County for several years,” Burnette said. “Our neighboring Forsyth County has done this for several years.”
Burnette said, “Joy Clark, an art teacher at Kilough Elementary and I are currently the longest tenured art teachers in Dawson County with 14 years under our belts. We both felt that it was time to bring everyone together to do a joint show. We started meeting last year planning for this event to take place and getting everyone on board.”
Participation certificates and t-shirts we given to all the participants. The t-shirts were donated by Around Back at Rocky’s Place art gallery.
Jennifer Brinson’s Dawson County High School art students were in charge of the t-shirt, poster and set design and public relations for the show.
Dawson slides Past Spencer, 22-12 in 2nd Rd. Playoffs
Sports, Team FYN Sports November 22, 2015
Dawsonville,GA.
The first place Dawson County Tigers hosted the Spencer Green Waves last Friday in the second round of the GHSA State Playoffs. Maxpreps had the Tigers as a 22 point favorite, but Spencer came to play. The Tigers defense was key in their 22-12 win.
Offensively, Dawson struggled at times, but also shined under sophomore QB Coey Watson. Watson has had a great year throwing for 1556 yards, 12 TD and a 81.5% QB rating. He has also rushed for 346 yards on 112 carries and 8 touchdowns, one for 100+ yards. Not bad for his first year on varsity. The Tigers are making history under Coach Sid Maxwell. This is the first winning season since 2012 (6-5) and only the second since 2005 (7-3). This is also the first time the Tigers have won a Region Championship. The Tigers only region loss this year was to Fannin, but they bounced back and used the loss to propel them to this historical season.
Senior Hunter Mitchell and Watson have a combined total of 1116 yards of the teams 1701 yards, 7 – 100+ yards runs and 17 touchdowns of the teams 21. They have been the workhorses of the Tigers, but without an offensive line none of that would happen.
Defensively the Tigers have also been juggernauts on the field. Combining for 100 solo tackles out of the 149 total tackles, averaging 14.9 per game and 11 sacks for a loss of 62 yards.
The Dawson County Tigers (9-3) host the Blessed Trinity Titans (11-0-1) this Friday at Tigers Stadium. The Titans are coming off a win over Jefferson, 38-12. They are lead by senior RB/CB Milton Shelton who has amassed 1504 rushing yards on 180 carries, avg. 136.7 per game and 23 TDs. The team averages 131.8 passing YPG, 229.1 rushing YPG, and have used five different QBs this season. Senior Conor Davis (QBR-116.7) being the main goto guy having thrown for 1314 passing yards on 124 attempts.
I had the pleasure of talking with Coach Maxwell prior to last Fridays game. (Checkout entire Interview here).
Checkout Spencer vs Dawson Tigers Game Highlights Video Here