Community and Southern Bank plans to close its downtown Dawsonville branch at the end of April. Bank officials announced last week the branch on Main Street will be combined with one at 4300 Dawson Forest Road, by Ga. 400. Read More

Despite what the Mayan calendar and a Hollywood blockbuster projected, 2012 is not the end of the world but the "dawn" of a new one. At least that was the economic forecast given by Norton Agency President Frank Norton at the Georgia Mountains Center on Jan. 19. Read More

As a business incentive, the Etowah Water and Sewer Authority is prepared to offer new commercial developments a year's worth of free water and sewer service. "We are trying to encourage development inside the county," said Brooke Anderson, general manager of the authority. "We are doing something that to my knowledge has never been offered before." Read More

The county commission approved a rezoning last week that will bring a discount retail store to southwestern Dawson. As soon as permits are in place, construction is set to begin on a Dollar General off Hwy. 9 in the Silver City area, near the Forsyth County line. Read More

The Dawson County Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations for its 20th annual awards banquet and gala to be held March 2. The ceremony pays tribute to individuals who have made great contributions to the community in volunteerism, leadership and entrepreneurship. Read More

Dawson Community News welcomed a new reporter to its editorial staff earlier this month. Chelsea Thomas is covering city government, education and water issues, as well as community events, activities and happenings. Read More

Economic forecasts in recent years have seemed to be an endless stream of bad news. Local real estate guru and economic trend detector Frank Norton aims to reverse that trend - though not without some notes of caution. Read More

In a society that is constantly becoming more reliant on technology, Sawnee EMC is joining the movement with a new street light outage reporting application for smartphones. The electric cooperative had already launched an online application and will soon release its smartphone application, said Sawnee EMC Vice President of Member Services Blake House. Read More

A furniture designer is the new general manager at Badcock Home Furniture and More in Dawsonville. Fritz Verbarg, 50, of Dawsonville, accepted the position late last year after working for the company nearly 13 months. Read More

Moviegoers took a walk on the wild side last week at the cinema in Dawsonville. Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, a nonprofit zoo and rescue in Dahlonega, brought several exotic animals to the theater Dec. 23 to celebrate the opening of "We Bought a Zoo," starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. Read More

To celebrate the opening of acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe's movie "We Bought a Zoo," Chestatee Wildlife Preserve will be at the Dawsonville 400 Stadium Cinemas 10 from 2 to 7 p.m. on Friday. Molly Potts, cinema general manager, said having zoo animals at the movies on opening day seemed like a perfect fit. Read More

North Georgia is one step closer to the high-speed Internet that Vice President Joe Biden promised would come with federal recovery funds. Parts of eight counties whose access to high-speed service has previously been blocked by the mountains will have it in early 2012, said Bruce Abraham, the president and Chief Executive Officer of North Georgia Network. Read More

A prominent fixture in local banking is retiring next week after nearly 43 years on the job. Senior Vice President Jimmy Bruce's last day at United Community Bank in downtown Dawsonville is Dec. 31. Read More