Lumpkin County Man Charged with Forgery
Community, Police & Government October 11, 2022Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced today that Ernest Warren, 48, of Dahlonega, has been charged with two counts of forgery.
In October 2020, our Criminal Investigations Division received a report of suspected fraud from a representative of IAT Insurance, claiming that Mr. Warren submitted by email two forged surety bonds to ER Snell, Inc. so that he could secure contracts for two road work projects.
“Upon investigation, special agents determined that the surety bonds submitted to ER Snell, Inc. were falsified,” said Commissioner King. “An interview with the company’s general counsel and upper management further confirmed that Mr. Warren was a contractor who did traffic signal work for their company, and they indeed received the two forged surety bonds.”
Warrants were taken out against Mr. Warren for two counts of Forgery on September 29th, 2022.
Lumpkin County High School 15th in Georgia in Total SAT Scores
Board of Education, Press Release October 5, 2022LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- 2022 SAT scores were published nationwide last week, and Lumpkin County High School ranked 15th in the state of Georgia (out of 182 school districts) for total SAT scores, 10th place for reading and writing, and 22nd place for math.
With a total mean SAT score of 1092 for the Class of 2022, Lumpkin County is an impressive 38 points above the Georgia average and 64 points above the national average. In our regional educational service agency, Pioneer RESA, Lumpkin County’s Class of 2022 outperformed the other 13 school districts in total SAT scores and in evidence-based reading and writing while placing second place behind Rabun County in math.
“The past two and a half school years have been the most difficult in my career as an educational leader. For our teachers in Lumpkin County, I know that sentiment holds true for each and every one of them as well. While many of the schools in our state and our nation have seen a sharp decline in their student achievement due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lumpkin County continues to see the opposite. Our students are resilient! Our students are performing at these unprecedented levels of success because of the exemplary work of our teachers in the classroom, our support staff at every level, and our Board of Education and our leaders who never lowered the bar. Congratulations to the Class of 2022, to Principal Billy Kirk and his staff at LCHS for their hard work, and to every educator at every level who continues to prepare all of our students for a productive and successful life” commented Superintendent Dr. Rob Brown.
Board of Commissioner Approve Budget and Millage Rate
Business, Community August 23, 2022LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- The Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the budget and millage rate at a special call meeting on Aug. 23.
The Commissioners met with Finance Director Abby Branan and County Manager Alan Ours on July 16 to review the budget and make changes where they could. To view that meeting visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/07/16/budget-meeting-for-fy23-budget/.
The budget and millage were also placed on the county website for citizens to review. That information can be found at https://www.lumpkincounty.gov/635/2023-Budget.
The county has held the three required meetings to give the community time to comment on the proposed budget or millage rate. The millage rate that was approved was incorporated areas 11.280, unincorporated areas 09.389, school district 14.710, reservoir area 00.206, and the planning district 00.452.
This will be a tax increase of 17.95% since the county could not take the full rollback rate of 9.563. The net digest from this millage rate is $249,178,984.
The budget that was adopted is balanced. The expected revenues and expenditures will be $26,477,334. This is a $2,134,769 increase over last fiscal year’s budget.
To review the full breakdown of both the millage rate and the budget please visit http://lumpkincountyga.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1661&Inline=True.
Lumpkin County’s Water & Sewerage Authority Water Quality Reports Available
Community, News July 8, 2022Georgia Forestry continues controlled burns
Press Release March 8, 2022Controlled burn could cause smoke in Lumpkin County
Press Release March 3, 2022LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. – Educating residents on the controlled burn occurring, Lumpkin County Government shared on social media its possible effects:
Georgia Forestry is doing a prescribed burn today in Dawson Forest. It will be around 400 acres, so there is a probability of smoke drifting our way from the west side of the county. While the smoke may be noticeable, Smokeybear.com says “Fire has always been part of the environment, and . . . plays a vital role in maintaining certain ecosystems. Prescribed fires, also known as prescribed burns or controlled burns, refer to the controlled application of fire by a team of fire experts under specified weather conditions that helps restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire.”
Rider Mill Road open but section remaining unpaved
Press Release February 25, 2022Culvert replacement will require road closure
Press Release February 23, 2022Sheriff’s office increases reward in armed robbery case
Police & Government, Press Release February 16, 2022Accident reports result in person rescued from vehicle
Press Release February 3, 2022Following reports of an accident, Sheriff Stacy Jarrard addressed the public:
We have had many calls this morning about an accident that occurred near Torrington Drive and Morrison Moore Parkway West. A vehicle landed in the creek and emergency personnel were able to remove the person from the car and remove the car from the river. We are unsure of injuries at this time but the person was rescued from inside the vehicle.
Georgia Power hosting public meeting about transmission line
Press Release February 2, 2022Georgia Power will be hosting a public meeting to inform and educate citizens as to the need for, purpose of, and the location of a 115kV transmission line in Lumpkin County. The Georgia Power open house meeting will be held on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Venue at Farris, 1450 Lumpkin County Parkway, Dahlonega. You may attend at any time during the meeting hours. If you are unable to attend in person, or uncomfortable doing so, you may call 470-426-5372 during the meeting hours with any questions or comments.
For the Lumpkin County Government’s original post, visit https://www.facebook.com/lumpkin.county.government.
Storm drainpipe replacement will require road closure
Press Release January 28, 2022Sheriff’s office requests public to report vehicle sightings
Press Release January 28, 2022Be on the lookout for this vehicle. If you see it please contact the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (706) 864-3633.