Qualifying For District 4 County Commissioner Is In Two Weeks

By REBECCA HAZEN
News Editor

Qualifying dates and information regarding the upcoming election was shared with citizens during the Dade County weekly update on Thursday, Sept. 9.

Qualifying dates for the District 4 County Commissioner position is Sept. 27-28, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sept. 29, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The qualifying fee is $120. For questions please contact the Dade County Board of Elections at (706) 657-8170.

Advanced voting hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 12-16, 18-23 and 25-29. These dates include two Saturdays. There is no voting on Monday, Nov. 1.

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 2, all polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. All city voters will vote at the Dade County Administrative Building. All county voters must vote in their designated precinct.
County voters will vote on the District 4 Commissioner position. City voters will vote on the Police and Parks and Recreation Commissioner.

Dade County Public Information Officer Carey Anderson also noted that this is the time of year where both Republican and Democratic parties send out mailers to ask people to register to vote.

“If you feel uncomfortable with anything you receive regarding election information, please call the election office. They will be more than happy to talk to you about it,” Anderson said.

If you want to cancel someone’s registration, for example if the person is deceased, there is a voter registration cancellation/removal form, which can be found on the Secretary of State’s website. A link to that website can be found on Dade County’s website, dadecounty-ga.gov/

There are many upcoming events in the county. Save the date for the Job Ready hiring event on Sept. 25, the Dade Elementary School Fall Festival on Oct. 23, the Optimist Bowling Fundraiser on Oct. 24, and the Alliance for Dade Jolly Holiday Expo and All I want for Christmas Parade and Light Up Trenton event on Dec. 4. The New Salem Mountain Arts and Crafts Festival scheduled for Oct. 9–10 has been cancelled.

There are several employment opportunities in the county.

The Dade County Public Works Department is hiring three full-time employees. For more information visit dadecounty-ga.gov.

“We did say that you needed to have a Class A or Class B License. Now, we are going to retract that. If you want to come on board and you meet other qualifications, we will help you get the licensing that you require,” Anderson said.

Dade County is also hiring for the Parks and Recreation Department, as well as a human resources director and bookkeeper. That application will be available online at dadecounty-ga.gov.

The Dade County Library is hiring a part-time youth education coordinator. To download an application visit chrl.org/employment-opportunities. Also, the UGA Extension is hiring a 4-H Educator. Stay tuned for the job application to appear on UGA’s website.

Anderson also noted that the South Dade Fire and Rescue barbecue fundraiser last Saturday sold out, and thanked everyone who came out and supported the organization.

Upcoming road projects including Hales Gap Road leveling and paving, scheduled to start in October. Striping will happen on multiple roads, including Old State Road, Bible Gulf Road, Tatum Gulf Road, Yankee Road, Griffin Road, Mt. Olive Road, Vulcan Road, Michaels Road, District Line Road, and Gass Drive.

“We did receive a grant to help with that. It will be well over a quarter of a million dollar project,” Anderson said.

If anyone has information about the fire at the historic train depot in Trenton, contact Detective Jerry Parrish at (404) 783-7036, or Officer Denny Reyes at (706) 657-4167 x116. There is an up to $10,000 reward.

For a list of what is open and what is closed in Dade County, visit dadecounty-ga.gov.

The Sheriff’s Office lobby is closed until further notice. The Dade County Senior Center is closed until further notice but transportation is still available. The Tax commissioner’s office is open during regular business hours, as is the outside walk-up window. Masks are required for everyone who enters the Courts Facility, regardless of vaccination status. All other departments are operating normally at this time.

Dade County has seen 135 cases in the past two weeks, for a total of 1,642 COVID-19 cases. The number of cases can be found at https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report.

The number of Dade County COVID-19 deaths currently listed on that website is 14, but Anderson noted that number is inaccurate.

“We know there are more than 14 deaths, they are just not catching up to us for some reason. We have inquired with the state. To our best guess we have 16 to 17 deaths in Dade County,” Anderson said.

The COVID-19 vaccine is available at the Dade County Health Department. To make an appointment, call (706) 657-4213.

The drive-thru Vaccination Station at the Colonnade in Ringgold is open Thursday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. There is also free drive-through COVID-19 testing at The Colonnade, available on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Register online by calling (919) 351-6256.

Other places to get tested (but charge a fee) are Primary Healthcare, Lawson Medical, Price Pharmacy and AFC in Lookout Valley.

According to daltonga.gov, the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment is being offered by the City of Dalton on a drive-in basis in the upper right-hand gravel parking lot of the Dalton Convention Center. There will be no admittance inside of the building to anyone who is receiving treatment or who is COVID positive or believed to be COVID positive. Check daltonga.gov to sign up for appointments.

The weekly update is broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube on Thursdays at 3 p.m.