Thursday, April 25, 2013

Home Depot Heroes

The tornado literally came out of nowhere. The weather guru's didn't even see it. No warnings or sirens sounded before the EF-1 tornado hit Lumpkin earlier this month.
Storm damage photo from Gainesville Times.

Thankfully, no one was injured but two homes were completely destroyed and another 12 homes damaged as the tornado swept across four miles in the southern parts of our county.

Within minutes after the tornado hit, a band of Lumpkin heroes - rescue crews, firemen and sheriff's deputies - appeared on the scene helping cut down trees, move debris, and save precious belongings.

Now for the rest of the story. Among those helping the tornado victims were a band of Dahlonega's Home Depot volunteers. The HD team worked for hours at the home of 82-year-old Katie Medlin. Starting at 7 a.m.,  fourteen Dahlonega Home Depot'ers cut down trees, chopped up limbs, and cleaned up Ms. Medlin damaged yard. But men and women from Home Depot didn't stop there. They worked their magic in the yards of other tornado damaged homes.

When Dahlonega Home Depot manager Fred Brown heard about the storm damage, he personally toured the area and realized that the homeowners needed help. He enlisted volunteers from his own store and then reached out to the Cumming, Dawsonville and Gainesville Home Depots, too.

"'We believe in helping others, whether it's putting customers first in our store or when there's a need in the community,' Brown said'" in an interview with the Dahlonega Nugget.  

It's in extraordinary times - when a tornado strikes or a bomb blasts - that true heroes appear. Here in Lumpkin, some of our heroes wear orange aprons.




Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Dahlonega and Beyond Is Back!

Dahlonega and Beyond is back after a few weeks hiatus. Why, the blog vacation you ask? Was it, as one reader asked, because of the negative comments (and yes even the death threat) from the pro-pit bull people?

Have no fear. A couple of dog malcontents aren't going to deter this blogger.

Brothers (big and small) meet for the first time.
One major reason for the lack of Dahlonega and Beyond commentary was a 7 lb. brand new baby boy. As parents of the new-mom, D&B had the honor of taking care of new baby's 19 month old big brother and helping the new parents adjust to life with two little boys.

Who could think of blogging when you could read "Go Dog Go," build block towers and play chase around the living room?

Now it's back to the real world and reporting on life in Dahlonega and Beyond.