A lot can happen in a year. And it usually does, but 2024 seemed to be a particularly impactful 12 months for Dahlonega, didn’t it?
If you think about it, this time last year the hospital was on Crown Mountain, bulldozers were still moving dirt at the end of Pinetree Way, a certain controversial RV park project was idling and Election Day was many months away.
Now, on the first day of the New Year, we’re looking back at the headlines that made 2024 the year it was. These are the kind of developments that we can see having a real effect on life in Dahlonega and Lumpkin County, not just this year, but next year and beyond.
So, in no particular order, here’s The Nugget’s official Top 10 of 2024.
1 New hospital hits home in Lumpkin
It all starts here. And that’s by design. The beginning of a new era in local healthcare (and local expansion) officially kicked off in April when the long-awaited Northeast Georgia Medical Center Lumpkin opened its doors for the first time. The new 66,000-square-foot facility replaced the old medical facility on the hill in town. And it’s served as a kind of catalyst for growth that you’re sure to read about in future editions of The Nugget.
2 New RV park debate rolls on throughout year
No proposed development garnered more front-page headlines in 2024 than DiVine Village. It began in the January 10 edition with news of a pending EPD hearing (approved). And it concluded in the December 11 edition as a standing-room-only appeal hearing lasted literally five hours (denied). Despite the continued controversy, the luxury RV resort is still in the works. And that means plenty of front page stories are likely to be as well.
3 City votes down massive Pinetree housing project
Sometimes the biggest news is the news that isn’t made. In the case of Mountain Top Real Estate’s proposed mixed-use housing development, this would be it. If approved, you would have likely seen many Mountain Top headlines in The Nugget as the major project would have transformed the stretch behind Pinetree Way by adding 228 townhomes. But it wasn’t, as officials denied the project while citing concerns surrounding traffic and over-crowding. That means Mountain Top’s last mention in The Nugget was in the January 10 edition. (And, of course, in this Top Ten list.)
4 Pinetree Rec Center makes a summer splash
For years it was a vacant, weedy site at the end of Pinetree Way, home to kudzu and critters and, well, not much else. Fast forward to May 25, the official opening day of the Pinetree Recreation Center. You’ll be excused for thinking that you’d teleported to an entirely new part of town as an eager crowd of kids and adults splashed in an eight-lane pool, raced down water slides and circled the new lazy river. There are also basketball courts and plenty of pickle ball at the new facility, with no kudzu in site.
5 Post Office delivery problems persist for locals
Palmetto was a dirty word in 2024. And for many, it still is. The persistent postal problems began in the summer when mail throughout the region began to be routed through the new regional distribution center south of Atlanta. Meanwhile The Nugget offered to extend subscriptions free of charge to readers to cover any lost weeks until the issue was solved. Hopefully your June editions have arrived by now.
6 Filming projects bring their focus to Dahlonega area
Is Dahlonega ready for its close up? Hopefully so. Because local efforts to attract the film industry to town paid off last year, as for a few weeks in the fall, two major projects were filming at the same time, including a Tyler Perry project at Montaluce and the mystery thriller His & Hers that will air on Netflix. Will the local impact of these productions make next year’s Top Ten? Stay tuned.
7 Locals help out after hurricane hits the state
On the eve of September 27, many local residents went to bed bracing for the worst as a menacing Hurricane Helene beared down on the region. Then, morning arrived and, thankfully, the local damage didn’t. But while it was a close call for us, it was a devastating hit for our friends to the northeast. Many locals took it as a call to action. And the back-to-back headlines of “Lumpkin narrowly dodges hurricane” on October 2 and then “Community helps after hurricane” on October 9 perfectly sum up a story that is still transpiring to this day.
8 Publix opens to the grocery shopping public
When is a Publix more than a Publix? When it’s the establishment that ends Lumpkin County’s grocery store drought that had stretched on for years. That officially ended on October 30. The new store will also bring more businesses with it as the 65,000 square foot Dahlonega Village will soon be home to a Jersey Mike’s Subs, Great Clips, a UPS Store, Lifestyle Nail Bar, Hacienda Bar & Grill and more.
9 Leaders grapple with homestead tax vote
The question on the ballot was simple and unassuming. But the impact on governmental budgets will be anything but. And exactly how our local municipalities will deal with the new homestead tax exemption remains to be seen. So far it appears the Board of Education will opt out (see the Dec. 12 top story “School board rebuffs tax exemption”) while the City and County will roll with it. Does this mean a new penny-on-the-dollar tax is on the way to offset that exemption? Well, that’s a story for 2025.
10 Voter turnout in 2024 topples records
Speaking of elections, we had a major one in 2024. You probably didn’t need to read our November 14 headline “Trump tops competition in Lumpkin, state and nation” to know the results of the national election. The turnout was massive and early voting was record breaking. And while we might not all agree on the candidates on the ballot, we can likely agree that this election will have a major impact for years to come.
There you have it—our Top 10 of 2024. So how’d we do? Did we miss something? Should some of those headlines have stayed on the editing room floor? Let us know and email your own Top 10 list to Publisher John Bynum at jbynum@thedahloneganugget.com. We’ll be sure to run it as a Letter to the Editor. Because it’s time to look ahead to 2025. Happy New Year from everyone at The Nugget!