6A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, November 21,2018
FROM 1A
Principal
they had and I cherish every
thought of them, especially now
that they’re gone. But college?
Imagine that for a student whose
family dream was to have the
first high school graduate,”
Mashbum said.
She pursued her passion for
education until her neighbor, a
retired educator, made her sec
ond guess herself.
Her neighbor was bitter and felt
like her life as an educator had
been a waste, Mashbum said.
Not wanting to end up like her
neighbor, Mashburn changed
majors, eventually dropped out
of college, got married and
raised a family.
When Mashburn moved to
Dawson County 38 years ago
and her children began attending
school, she wanted to get back
into education.
It began with substitute teach
ing at Dawson County Primary
School then going back to col
lege and landing a job teaching
kindergarten there.
Under her leadership,
Riverview has fostered a culture
for its large populations of eco
nomically disadvantaged stu-
Jessica Taylor Dawson County News
Riverview Elementary School Principal Julia Mashburn is con
gratulated for being named a National Distinguished Principal
by Chief Operations Officer Rick Brown at the Nov. 13 Dawson
County Board of Education meeting.
dents and students with disabili
ties that impacts student and
community success.
The school has also developed
the SPARK program, which pro
motes positive school culture,
data teams that empower teach
ers to improve teaching and the
PALS Mentoring Program,
which pairs students with school
staff to support encouragement
and success for RvES students.
In 2016, Riverview received
the Gold Award from the
Georgia Governor’s Office of
Student Achievement for
“Greatest Gains,” and last year
RvES was one of 13 schools to
receive the GOSA Platinum
Award for “Greatest Gains.”
These accomplishments have
earned RvES the status of
Georgia Highest Performing
Title 1 Reward School in the
top 5 percent of the state.
“It was you in this county
that saw something in me that I
didn’t know I had, or I had not
yet realized. I’m so blessed and
thankful for the growth and
leadership opportunities that
this school system has afford
ed me these 28 years and I
know I would not be here
today without it,” Mashburn
said. “I share this award with
all of you. Because of you I
didn’t end up like my neigh
bor. I’ll always advocate for
being in this profession. It
matters to our children. It mat
ters to our, now especially to
me, my grandchildren - all of
our grandchildren. It matters to
your children, to our parents. It
matters to our communities.”
The Nationally Distinguished
Principal award program was
founded 34 years ago as a way
to recognize elementary and
middle school principals who
set high standards for instruc
tion, student achievement and
character of the students, fami
lies and the staff of their learn
ing community.
Honorees are chosen by
nominations from their state
peers. A final selection is made
by the NAESP state affdiates.
Jessica Taylor Dawson County News
A chemical spill originating at Gold Creek Foods
in Dawsonville has been named one of the worst
offenses to Georgia's water by the Georgia Water
Coalition.The spill ran into Flat Creek, turning the
water bright orange and killing thousands of fish
and other animals over 3.7 miles before reaching
Shoal Creek.
FROM 1A
Dirty
punctured a 55-gallon
drum of ferric chloride, a
chemical commonly used
to treat water at the plant.
Between 40 and 45 gal
lons flowed downhill into
a retention pond and into
Flat Creek, which is a
tributary to Shoal Creek
and the Etowah River.
The spill was not
reported until two days
later when city of
Dawsonville employees
discovered that the water
had turned bright orange
from the acid and that
there were hundreds of
dead fish and other wild
life.
According to the GWC,
investigators with the
Georgia Department of
Natural Resources esti
mate that 8,262 fish were
killed, including 1,990
Cherokee darters, one of
three fish species in the
Etowah River that are
federally protected and
can only be found in the
Etowah and creeks that
feed it.
The state
Environmental Protection
Division fined Gold
Creek Foods $15,000 for
failing to notify the DNR
and for placing a drum
full of ferric chloride in
an area that did not have
secondary containment.
As part of the EPD’s
order, the facility was
also required to clean up
contaminated soil on the
property, while the state
foot the bill of the fish
kill survey and spill
investigation.
The report also states
that through the
Endangered Species Act,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has the authority
to require Gold Creek
Foods fund restoration
projects to benefit the
Cherokee darters.
Though this is the first
time the processing plant
has been fined by the
EPD directly, the city of
Dawsonville water
department has been
fined numerous times by
the state since the plant
opened in 2004.
In 2010, an environ
mental specialist with the
EPD stated that Gold
Creek Foods was a likely
cause of excessive waste-
water discharge in the city
sewer system, leading to
the city being fined.
Then-Mayor Joe Lane
Cox stated that the
city passed the fines to
Gold Creek Foods,
though neither the city or
the EPD can produce
records showing that the
fines were paid by Gold
Creek Foods.
The plant also came
under fire in August 2013
after contaminated storm
water runoff caused
Robinson Elementary
School to close its out
door classroom and
garden.
The GWC report states
that the recent spill and
the devastation caused
“highlights weak state
oversight of industrial
sites” and that Gold
Creek Foods not only
lacked structures to con
tain spills and prevent
them from flowing into
the creek, but has repeat
edly violated clean water
benchmarks.
Joe Cook, advocacy
and communication coor
dinator for the Coosa
River Basin Initiative,
which is a partner of the
GWC, said last week that
the spill could have been
prevented with a proper
inspection.
“Industrial facilities are
supposed to have safe
guards in place to prevent
chemicals from leaving
their sites,” he said.
“Gold Creek Foods didn’t
have those safeguards in
place, but Georgia’s
Environmental Protection
Division stormwater pol
lution prevention staff
had not inspected the site
in at least five years. A
proper inspection likely
would have caught the
inadequacies and safe
guards could have been
put in place.”
Documents obtained
from the EPD show that
Gold Creek Foods tested
its stormwater runoff four
times in 2017 and
exceeded benchmarks in
five out of the 12 tests.
Cook said that accord
ing to the industrial
stormwater permit, when
benchmarks are exceed
ed, the company’s
Stormwater Pollution
Prevention Plan is sup
posed to be reviewed to
determine what modifica
tions are necessary to pre
vent future violations.
“Despite these viola
tions, Gold Creek Foods
says in its 2017 Annual
Report to the EPD that
[testing] ‘will be reduced
to annual sampling during
the year 2018,’” Cook
said in March. “This
should have triggered
additional monitoring;
instead they’re telling the
EPD they’re going to
reduce [it].”
Bo Weber, legal repre
sentative for Gold Creek
Foods, said Nov. 14 that
to date, Gold Creek
Foods has paid approxi
mately $100,000 in
expenses related to clean
up and prevention mea
sures and said he believes
they will spend another
$100,000 to complete the
implementation of those
measures.
Documents from the
EPD show that Gold
Creek Foods has also
paid the $15,000 in fines.
“Gold Creek Foods
continually strives to
improve its operations
and processes,” Weber
said in an email. “It has
already taken a number of
corrective actions begin
ning on the evening of the
accidental spill, and con
tinues to implement addi
tional corrective actions
approved by the Georgia
Department of Natural
Resources Environmental
Protection Division.”
Weber said that cleanup
efforts were engaged
immediately after the
spill and that employees
applied sodium bicarbon
ate and lime on the gravel
area where the spill
occurred as well as
pumped the collected
stormwater and ferric
chloride from the on-site
detention pond into the
facility’s wastewater pre
treatment system.
According to Weber,
cleanup measures after
the incident included the
construction of a gravel
berm between the spill
location and the stormwa
ter inlet; removal of
impacted soil and gravel;
flushing of the stormwa
ter pipe between the inlet
and detention pond and
removal of stormwater
and sediment in the
detention pond; vacuum
ing of the pools of stand
ing water in Flat Creek up
to Jack Heard Road; soil
pH testing to ensure con
tamination was success
fully removed; and the
spreading of lime in all
excavated areas to neu
tralize any residual con
tamination.
Weber also said that the
University of Georgia
River Basin Center was
engaged to perform a fish
recolonization study for
the impacted 3.7 mile
length of Flat Creek and
that Gold Creek Foods
reevaluated its stormwa
ter system to ensure it can
“effectively convey, retain
and pass storm water
from significant rainfall
event” and revised its
Stormwater Pollution and
Prevention Plan to imple
ment additional structural
controls.
He also said the facility
continues to train its
employees on spill con
trols and response
protocol.
Kevin Chambers, a
spokesperson for the
EDP, said last week that
Gold Creek Foods is
still in the process of
completing two items
included in a consent
order that was issued in
June and included the
fine.
Those two items
include revising the
Stormwater Pollution
and Prevention Plan and
addressing the need for
a secondary contain
ment method as well as
making sure the on-site
ferric chloride tank is
located in the contain
ment area, among other
pollution prevention
measures.
“Gold Creek has sub
mitted information but it
hasn’t been approved,”
Chambers said in an
email.
In the Nov. 13 report,
the GWC calls for
Georgia leaders to pro
vide more funding for
the EPD to improve its
industrial stormwater
inspection program,
stating that while there
are around 2,800 facili
ties in Georgia like Gold
Creek Foods that fall
under its purview, the
EPD sets out to review
only 124 annually.
Cook said that the
EPD has only two and a
half employees who are
responsible for inspect
ing those sites.
“From state leaders
deceiving citizens and
shortchanging environ
mental programs in the
state budget to powerful
corporations using their
influence to change
state policy at the
expense of ordinary citi
zens, this report is as
much about dirty poli
tics as it is dirty water,”
said Jesse Demonbreun-
Chapman, executive
director and riverkeeper
with the Coosa River
Basin Initiative.
The full GWC report
can be viewed online
here: https://www.gawa-
ter.org/resources/dirty-
dozen.
FROM 1A
Friday
As always, the
Dawson County
Sheriff’s Office advises
everyone doing late
night and early morning
shopping to be vigilant
and observant when
exiting and returning to
their vehicles, and to
never hesitate to contact
911 if needed.
“Be sure not to leave
packages in plain sight.
There is not much more
inviting to a thief than
an unoccupied vehicle
loaded with merchan
dise,” said Dawson
County Sheriff Jeff
Johnson. “Protect your
personal belongings,
such as your purse and
wallet. Never leave
these unattended, but
rather keep them close
to your body.”
In addition to the on-
duty patrol deputies,
additional deputies will
be performing security
roles in several of the
shopping centers along
the GA 400 Corridor.
Black Friday seems to
come earlier and earlier
every year, with big
chain retailers opening
their doors to eager holi
day shoppers as early as
6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
This year, Walmart’s
Black Friday deals
begin in-store at 6 p.m.
on Thanksgiving as they
did in 2017, but the
retail giant has also
planned to host in-store
Thanksgiving parties
beginning at 4 p.m. to
bring in more shoppers.
Free coffee and holi
day cookies will be
available at the in-store
parties.
North Georgia
Premium Outlets will
also be opening its
doors at 6 p.m. Nov. 22.
The outlets will stay
open until 2 a.m. then
will reopen at 6 a.m. for
Black Friday.
The mall will remain
open until 10 p.m.
Friday.
Individual outlets
have set their store
hours, so if there are
particular stores you
want to stop by, it’s best
to check the outlets
website or call the
stores directly to double
check their holiday
hours.
The holiday hours at
the mall will carry into
the weekend, with the
mall being open 8 a.m.-
10 p.m. Nov. 24 and 10
a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 25.
If Black Friday shop
ping isn’t your thing
and you’d rather find
locally crafted gifts for
your loved ones, the
annual Jingle Market in
downtown Dawsonville
will be back Dec. 1.
From 3 to 8 p.m., stop
by the Georgia Racing
Hall of Fame to find
home decor, arts, crafts,
gifts and much more.
And if staying nice
and cozy in your house
and shopping on your
computer is more your
style, Amazon’s Black
Friday deals are going
on until Nov. 23. If you
can hold out a few more
days, Cyber Monday
will be offering even
more online deals.
Fresh Cut Fraser Firs
Cut your own Cypress or Pine, &
fresh cut Fraser Firs! Handmade wreaths!
276 Woodland Lane, Dahlonega
(4 miles North of the traffic light at Walmart)
Hours: Tues-Fri: 3pm - Dark Sat: 10am - Dark
Sun: 1pm - Dark Closed Monday
CASH OR CHECK ONLY
706-864-8222
TT
Kathy is the Winner!!!
Teddy Bear Raffle for Veterans
