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Lady Tiger’s softball
team celebrates
Senior Night.
SPORTS, 1B
Annual quilt show is
now on display.
INSIDE, 8A
DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I OCTOBER 2, 2019 DaWSOflNeWS ^com DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $1.00
4 arrested in Lumpkin Co. murder
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
Four arrests have been made in a mur
der investigation spanning multiple
counties.
On Monday shortly after midnight,
Isaac Huff and Dylan Reid were arrest
ed by the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation in Dawson County in con
nection to the murder of 21-year-old
Hannah Bender.
They are currently being held in the
Dawson County Detention Center along
with Jerry Harper and Elizabeth
Donaldson, two other persons of inter
ests in the case.
“The warrants haven’t been obtained
yet. It is my understanding that the GBI
will be taking the charges,”
Dawson County Sheriff Jeff
Johnson said.
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy
Jarrard confirmed on Sept. 27
that Harper was apprehended by
Dawson County deputies Friday
afternoon.
According to Jarrard, 78-year-
old Harper was arrested in
Dawson County after a motorist
spotted a white Ford Explorer
matching the description of the
BOLO issued by the GBI.
Dawson County deputies con
ducted a traffic stop and took
Harper into custody.
The GBI stated on Sept. 26 that
the agency had taken warrants
Harper
Huff
out for Harper for “con
cealment of a dead
body” and “tampering
with evidence” in
Forsyth County. The
charges stem from the
investigation of Bender’s
death.
Investigators from
Dawson County and
Lumpkin County sheriff’s
offices and the Georgia
Bureau of Investigations
conducted interview with
Harper as a person of
interest in the murder of
Hannah Bender.
Dawson County
authorities could not be
reached for comment on how
Harper was located.
Bender was reported missing
in Lumpkin County by her
mother on Sept. 19 and shortly
after bloody clothing was
found in nearby Dawson
County.
During a press conference in
Dahlonega on Sept. 25, Jarrard
confirmed remains believed to
be Bender’s were recovered
from a shallow grave in north
Forsyth County.
A full identification will be
made by a Georgia Bureau of
Investigation autopsy.
It is believed that Bender was
See Arrest 14A
‘So much bigger than last year’
Second Annual Fishing with
Military Heroes is huge success
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
For the second year in a row
the North Georgia Crappie
Anglers (NGCA) and Veterans
3 Guns teamed up on Saturday
to host the Fishing with
Military Heroes fishing tour
nament on Lake Lanier.
The Sept. 28 event was open
to veterans of all conflicts and
services and the NGCA pro
vided everything needed to
fish from boats to rods and
reels.
After last year’s successful
debut, event organizer Josh
Thornton saw the opportunity
to grow the event and reached
out to a variety of community
groups in an effort to allow as
many people as possible to
participate in this year’s tour
nament.
“We didn’t want to turn any
body away,” Thornton said.
“We had 109 veterans partici
pating, with about 20 on a
waiting list, and 35 boat cap
tains to take them out
on the lake.”
NGCA president Woody
Malone was impressed with
the turn-out as he supervised
the fish weigh-in at Bolding
Mill Park where the veterans
gathered for a BBQ lunch
catered by Jim N’ Nicks BBQ.
“Just look around this
place,” Malone said as he ges
tured towards the pavilions
filled with people. “This is so
much bigger than last year
and, hopefully, next year it
will be even bigger.”
Veterans 3 Guns, a
Dawsonville based non-profit
dedicated to preventing veter
an suicide, has been a primary
sponsor for the event for both
years and representative Paul
Van Oudheusden attributed the
success of this year’s tourna
ment to a very simple reason.
“Vets talk to vets,”
Oudheusden said. “We had
such good success last year, so
this year I believe there was a
lot of encouragement between
them to come out this year.”
See Fishing 15A
Bob Christian Dawson County News
North Georgia Crappie Anglers president Woody
Malone and outreach specialist Sarah Burnett of
the Wounded Warrior Project address the crowd
on Sept. 28 at the annual Fishing with Military
Heroes fishing tournament.
City candidates
speak at forum
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County Chamber of
Commerce hosted a forum for the upcom
ing Dawsonville city election on Monday
night where both mayoral and council
candidates were given opportunities to
discuss issues they would address in the
next term.
Incumbent Mike Eason is seeking
reelection for mayor against political new
comer Durant Wright. Incumbent council
member Caleb Phillips is running unop
posed in Post 1, and John Walden is run
ning unopposed for city council Post 3.
During the Sept. 30 forum, candidates
were given three minutes for opening
statements, two minutes to answer each of
the six questions posed by the moderators
and two minutes for closing statements.
Eason moved to Dawsonville in 2012,
having previously lived in Forsyth County
since 1975. He worked in the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation for more than 30
years and afterwards served as the Police
Chief in Cumming for four years.
“During the 40 years in public adminis
tration and business I learned a lot about
government, a lot about managing people, a
lot about managing budgets and operations,
and I feel like I’ve brought a lot of that suc
cess to the city of Dawsonville,” Eason said.
See Forum 13A
How you can help welcome a hero home this week
Photo for the Dawson County News
SSG Adam Stahlbusch.
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
A family is asking that busi
nesses and individuals help wel
come a local military member
home this week.
SSG Adam Stahlbusch is
returning home from a nine
month tour in Afghanistan in a
few days. He was bom and raised
in Dawsonville and graduated
from Dawson County High
School.
His sister, Rebekah, and moth
er, Deborah Damiano, asked the
members of the Facebook group
“Focus on Dawson” if any of
them would post a sign welcom
ing SSG Stahlbusch home and it
spread like wildfire.
Chick-fil-A, the Dawson
County Chamber of Commerce,
McEver Signs, Starbucks and
many other small businesses have
already begun putting up signs in
Dawson County.
SSG Stahlbusch is set to return
home sometime between Oct.
5-11, but an exact date and time
has not been released by the mili
tary, Damiano said.
Those wishing to participate in
the homecoming are asked to
have their signs on display begin
ning Oct. 4 until the end of the
week, Damiano said.
Handmade signs welcoming
SSG Stahlbusch home are perfect.
McEver Signs is making 18x24
inch signs that will be available
for $13. Those wishing to pur
chase a sign are encouraged to
call ahead to order.
Damiano said the plan is to create
a route on Hwy. 53, Dawson Forest
Road and Ga. 400 to show SSG
Stahlbusch the signs on display.
“We are grateful for each busi
ness and individual who cele
brates our military. The heart of
our county toward our military is
unsurpassable,” Damiano said. “I
would like to start this project for
every military man or woman
who comes home.”
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Inside
Volume 4, Number 54
© 2019, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
3B
Classifieds
7B
Dear Abby
5B
Deaths
2A
Legals
8B
Opinion
9A
Sports
1B
5A Cousin shares
memories of
Hannah
Bender
Annual ride for
a reason raises
money for
Civitan projects
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