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DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I January 12,2022 DawSOflNewS >COnri dawsonville, GEORGIA $1.00
Roberts released after being granted bond
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
The defendant accused
of killing 19-year-old
Kaleb Duckworth was
recently released from the
Dawson County
Detention Center.
On Dec. 23, Daniel Lee
Roberts, 20, of
Dawsonville, got out of
jail on a $100,000 bail,
according to documents
filed with the court on
Dec. 30. With fees, the
total bond amount was
$110,200.
During a Dec.
14 hearing,
Roberts was
granted bond for
his 2021 pending
criminal case, and
bond for his earli
er case was rein
stated, contingent
on several condi
tions.
According to the new
bond documents, Roberts
may not violate laws
while out on pretrial
release (PTR). He will
have to wear a GPS ankle
monitor and have
monthly reviews
with a judge as set
by the PTR pro
gram to ensure
compliance with
all bond condi
tions.
Roberts alleged-
1 y caused
Duckworth’s death
because of a fight at the
Dawson County
Applebee’s on July 25,
2021. The indictment for
that case alleges that
Roberts punched the
younger teen with a
closed fist, causing seri
ous brain damage.
After the fight,
Duckworth was taken to a
hospital with severe brain
trauma and died on July
27.
Roberts has since been
charged with aggravated
assault, aggravated bat
tery and two counts of
felony murder. Bond for
the 2021 case was initial
ly denied.
Older incident
When the incident with
Kaleb Duckworth hap
pened, Roberts was actu
ally out on a $20,200
bond for another case
from 2019.
Documents for that
older case alleged that
after getting in a verbal
disagreement with one
victim, he hit them while
leaving a Dawson-area
parking lot on Oct. 23,
2019.
After being arrested
that same night, Roberts
was charged with two
counts of aggravated
assault, possession of a
firearm during commis
sion of a crime and carry
ing a concealed weapon
and reckless driving.
Following his July
2021 arrest, bond for the
older case was subse
quently revoked on Aug.
31. Court documents
from that time cited that
he violated conditions of
the 2019 bond by
See Roberts 12A
Roberts
‘It’s just so much nicer’
Erica Jones Dawson County News
Joan Miller and Chris Cunningham, two of the managers of the Dawson County Humane Society Resale Shop
and Boutique, stand behind the shop's brand-new checkout counter after the shop's reopening in January of
2022.
Humane Society Resale Shop reopens with updates, renovations
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
This week, the Dawson County
Humane Society Resale Shop and
Boutique officially reopened from
being closed for the holidays, unveil
ing new improvements to the building
and continuing its mission of support
ing the Humane Society’s no-kill shel
ter.
The biggest updates to the shop,
according to two of the managers, are
a brand-new checkout counter and
freshly painted walls in the lobbies and
hallways.
“Our other counter that we had was
what was here when we got the build
ing, so it was really high,” manager
Joan Miller said. “It was so high that
when people came in in wheelchairs
they had issues trying to reach over, or
even just being a shorter person would
make it hard to reach over the top.”
The new counter also has more room
than the old one, allowing better space
for merchandise and for the volunteers
to ring up purchases.
“We’ve expanded so much in seven
years, so sometimes it’s so busy it’s
nice to have a couple people up here
and have room to wrap something if
it’s breakable,” manager Millie Bayne
said. “It’s just so much nicer.”
Since the shop has been in its loca
tion for seven years, it was overdue for
a new coat of paint in the lobbies and
hallways, which Bayne said they also
accomplished while the shop was
closed.
“We painted the three big lobbies
and the hallways,” Bayne said. “It was
a job because everything had to be
moved out and everything had to come
down off the walls, but it looks great
now.”
A lot of the work put into making
the upgrades happen successfully was
done by the shop’s managers and their
families, so it was a true group effort
and a labor of love, Miller said.
“We have volunteers that will come
in — like my husband is one and a lot
of the husbands are awesome at help
ing — and instead of having to spend
money on hanging things or some
thing, they’ll do it so that we don’t
have to pay people,” Miller said.
“Because our philosophy is the more
we can get done or the more we can
do, the more money we can give to the
shelter.”
Church helps
send aid to
Kentucky
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
After an EF-4 tornado decimated west
ern Kentucky in December, Harmony
Baptist Church pastor Tony Holtzclaw
personally watched as people braved dan
gerous winter weather last week to obtain
basic necessities.
“It’s snowing, it’s cold and these people
have no home...I can’t begin to tell you
how this has broken my heart. Please,
please, please be in prayer for these fami
lies,” Holtzclaw said during a Facebook
live update from The River Church in
Nortonville, Kentucky.
Over the past three weeks, Harmony
Baptist has collected construction items
to help Kentucky residents rebuild their
homes, many of which are missing roofs
or walls after the tornado. The Dawson
See Kentucky 12A
Schools start new
year with COYID
safety protocols
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
On Tuesday Jan. 4, schools in the
Dawson County School System wel
comed students back to class for the
spring semester with enhanced safety pro
tocols to help prevent the spread of
COVID-19.
According to the list of protocols
released by the school system and effec
tive as of Jan. 4, the school system will
continue contact tracing and notify par
ents if their students have been directly
exposed, or within six feet of an ill stu
dent for 15 minutes or longer.
Nonessential visitors will not be per
mitted inside the schools until further
notice, including outside groups but not
See Humane 14A
See School 12A
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Inside
Volume 8, Number 2
© 2021, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
2B
Classifieds
7B
Dear Abby
6B
Deaths
2A
Legals
8B
Opinion
7A
Sports
1B
3A A year after
Capitol assault
2 area men
face charges
6A Dawsonville
couple leaves
behind legacy
of care
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