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^DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I SEPTEMBER 11,2019 DaWSOflNeWS ^COITI DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA $1.00
Defining
hunger
What does food
insecurity look like
in Dawson County?
Joshua Demarest
jdemarest@dawsonnews.com
Chemical spill on Hwy. 53
Photos courtesy of Dawson County Fire/EMS
A mini-pumper transport vehicle carrying 6,000 pounds of a petroleum-based ammonium nitrate, a substance
used in rock quarries, was involved in a four-vehicle accident on Hwy. 53 E near Dawson Forest Road and Blue
Ridge Overlook on Sept. 10. No serious injuries were reported from the incident.
Truck carrying hazardous material involved in multi-vehicle wreck
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
Authorities reported that five gallons of ammonium nitrate spilled onto
Hwy. 53 E.
Motorists saw significant delays on
Tuesday as Hwy. 53 E remained closed
at Dawson Forest Road and Blue
Ridge Overlook from the early morn
ing to late afternoon as authorities
cleaned up a spill of hazardous materi
als from a four-vehicle accident.
Dawson County Emergency
Services Director and Fire Chief
Danny Thompson said at 5:13 a.m.
Fire Station No. 2 units were dis
patched to a multivehicle accident on
Hwy. 53, about an eighth of a mile east
of Dawson Forest Road.
Fire and emergency personnel
arrived on scene at 5:20 a.m. and
observed three passenger vehicles and
one 6,000 pound mini-pumper trans
port vehicle on its side laying on Hwy.
53, Thompson said during a press con
ference Sept. 10.
At 5:23 a.m., crews on the scene
determined they were dealing with a
petroleum-based ammonium nitrate
product, known as Hydromite Advance
120, and called for a remediation
hazmat company, Hepco, to assist with
the incident.
The petroleum-based ammonium
nitrate is a product commonly used in
mining and rock quarries and has a
consistency similar to Vaseline,
Thompson said.
Upon initial reports and social media
speculation that alluded to a spill of
dynamite on the road, Thompson said
the substance is not dynamite, nor is it
an explosive in and of itself.
“This product is actually used in lieu
of dynamite and has been for about the
last 15 to 20 years because it’s very
safe in transportation,” Thompson said.
“The product in and of itself on the
ground will not catch fire so you’ve
got to have some type of third party
ignition source to make that happen.”
For it to become explosive, ammoni
um nitrate typically requires a one
pound cast booster blasting cap.
Companies will drill a hole, pack it
with ammonium nitrate and apply the
one pound cast booster to detonate it,
Thompson said.
Thompson reported that five gallons
of the ammonium nitrate spilled onto
the roadway, and the remainder of the
product has been contained. It is esti
mated that the vehicle was carrying
6,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate
that was being transported to a location
When Feana Norrell gave birth to her
beautiful son Colton, she had no idea
what was in store for the family.
When Colton was two months old, he
was diagnosed with a massive brain
tumor. The year after the diagnosis was a
mother’s worst nightmare — multiple
hospital stays, operations, and cancer
treatments. Feana and her husband
Christopher spent 127 days at Scottish
Rite with Colton.
The first operation removed 1.4 pounds
of the two-pound tumor, but a second
operation was still needed to remove the
rest. Colton was just over a year old.
But that wasn’t the end of the story.
Shortly thereafter, he began having sei
zures. Sometimes up to 200 per day.
Another operation resulted in a pacemak
er being connected to the vagus nerve in
Colton’s brain. The pacemaker does a
good job of controlling the smaller sei
zures, but sometimes Feana and any other
caregivers have to use a magnet to com
bat the larger attacks.
Today, Colton is doing as well as can
be expected. He is growing and learning
at a healthy rate. Feana spends 8 hours a
week prepping food for Colton — he can
only eat pureed foods, but is allowed to
have any type of food in that form. His
favorite food? Beans.
Feana had to quit her job and rely on
both sets of Colton’s grandparents for
help taking care of him. They can strug
gle to make ends meet and rely on local
non-profit RIC-Rack and their partners,
the Georgia Mountain Food Bank, for
food that she may not be able to provide
on her own.
This is what hunger looks like in
Dawson County. It takes many forms and
wears many faces. It’s important to
remember that hunger is an issue that can
be affecting someone you know without
you being aware of it.
When the issue of hunger gets dis
cussed, it is easy to forget that it is an
issue that starts at home. Here in Georgia,
it is estimated that one in five Georgians
are food insecure. Food insecurity affects
about 2,710 people in Dawson County.
The United States Department of
Agriculture defines food insecurity in two
levels. The first, low food security, is
defined as “reports of reduced quality,
variety, or desirability of diet. Fittle or no
indication of reduced food intake.”
The second is very low food security,
which is defined as “reports of multiple
indications of disrupted eating patterns
and reduced food intake.”
The USDA goes on to say that “the
defining characteristic of very low food
security is that, at times during the year,
the food intake of household members is
reduced and their normal eating patterns
See Hunger 18A
See Wreck 16A
0
9 0 9 9
Inside
Volume 4, Number 51
© 2019, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
3B
Classifieds
8B
Dear Abby
7B
Deaths
2A
Legals
9B
Opinion
11A
Sports
1B
4A How a local
nonprofit
brings vets
and kids
together
3A Resources for
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