About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2022)
4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, January 12,2022 Dawson man faces charges of family violence, animal cruelty By Julia Fechter jfechter@dawsonnews.com One man remains in custody after he was booked into jail last week on charges relating to domestic violence. Cody Edward Hutchison, 29, of Dawsonville was arrested on Dec. 29 by the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office. His charges include one count each of battery related to family violence, cruelty to children in the third degree, cru elty to animals, criminal damage to prop erty in the second degree and obstruction of an offi cer. The criminal damage to property charge is a felo ny. DCSO arrested Hutchison at about 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 29. Warrants alleged that Hutchison slapped the victim multiple times, giving her a swollen jaw and eyes. A child saw Hutchison slap the victim. The felony warrant alleged that Hutchison smashed a snake terrari um containing the vic tim’s pet boa constrictor onto the floor. He also allegedly smashed a 35-inch television against the wall, kicked a 45-inch TV and smashed a dining room chair on the floor before throwing it through the living room window. Damages were estimated to exceed $500. When a deputy told him he would be arrested for family violence, Hutchison alleg edly tried to run on foot, which landed him with the obstruction charge. A little over four months ago, Hutchison pleaded guilty to a similar sequence of crimes that transpired between June 28 and July 4, 2020. According to warrants, he slapped and grabbed the victim before smash ing two rear windows and the windshield of her car and breaking off the car’s key in the ignition. He also swung a machete toward her before locking her in a barn for six hours and refusing to let her leave, alleged the warrants. He was arrested for those offenses five months after they occurred, in December 2020. Then in June 2021, before that case conclud ed, DCSO arrested Hutchison for trespassing on land while intending to access a storage unit that was not his own. On August 23, he pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, criminal trespass, battery and sim ple battery relating to family violence. For the June 2021 offenses, he admitted to obstruction of an officer and loitering or prowling. For the December 2020 case, Hutchison was sen tenced to nine months in confinement with credit for six of those months. For the lesser June 2020 offenses, he got 30 days with time served. Though his bond amount is listed as $16,700, Hutchison is still behind bars at the Dawson County Detention Center. Hutchison MZinsu&im iWiittflfHiii Photo courtesy of Northside Hospital Forsyth Dawsonville parents Jeremy and Krysten Hodges with their new baby, Denver James Hodges, one of the first babies born at Northside Hospital Forsyth in 2022. Meet Denver James Hodges, one of the first babies of2022 By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com In the early morning hours of Jan. 1, a Dawsonville couple welcomed a new member of their family: baby Denver, one of the first babies bom at Northside Forsyth Hospital in the new year. Jeremy and Krysten Hodges had their newest family member, Denver James Hodges, at 2:45 a.m. on New Year’s Day. According to information from the hospital, baby Denver weighed six pounds and 15 ounces. According to Krysten Hodges, having one of the first babies of the new year was a very unexpected blessing to their family. “It’s been surreal; we weren’t expect ing it,” Hodges said. “We get to start this new year on a brand-new adven ture.” Hodges added that baby Denver is doing very well, as are his parents. “He’s great; just as good as ever,” Hodges said. DPH releases updated COVID-19 cases, vaccination numbers for Dawson County By staff reports This week, the District Public Health (DPH) released updated COVID- 19 case and vaccination numbers for the counties in District 2, including Dawson County. According to the release, as of the end of December Dawson County has seen 4,586 total positive cases, with 359 total hospitaliza tions and 78 total deaths. The 14-day case rate, or the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, is 1,033. The release also reported vaccination information for Dawson County. According to the release, there have been 24,376 total vaccines administered in the county. This means that 11,078 people, or 45 percent of Dawson County residents, have received one dose, with 10,260 people, or 42 percent or residents, who have been fully vaccinated. The DPH continues to caution the community to do everything possible to prevent further spread of the vims, including wash ing hands, wearing a mask and considering vaccina tion. If you are exhibiting symptoms of the vims, the DPH says to get tested and quarantine away from other people. “Testing is still in high demand,” the release said. “District 2 is working with testing vendors to open more sites.” For more information, including where to get test ing or where to get a vac cine, go to the DPH website at www.phdistrict2.org. Photos by Erica Jones Dawson County News Above, right:The Humane Society Resale Shop and Boutique offers gently used, upscale merchandise including clothing, furniture, pet supplies, home decor, household items and more. FROM 1A Humane The resale shop is classed as an “upscale resale boutique”, meaning that most of the merchan dise offered is gently used, upscale merchan dise including clothing, furniture, pet supplies, home decor, household items and more. The shop is organized into differ ent, well-managed rooms showcasing each category of wares. “We work so hard to make this place not what you think of as a thrift store,” Miller said. “When the shop was set up it was set up as an upscale thrift store, so that’s what we try to fol low.” In addition to donations from community mem bers, the shop also sells donated items from stores like Petco and Petsmart, so some of the items for sale are new items. Miller said that, many times when customers come into the shop, they’re surprised by how well-organized and upscale all of the mer chandise is. “People come in and you have to remind them it’s all donated, cause a lot of people are surprised by some of the beautiful things we have donated,” Miller said. Bayne added that the shop couldn’t be as well set-up as it is without those donations that they get from the community. “We’re so blessed with people donating,” Bayne said. “People bring unbe lievable stuff in to donate.” Since reopening on Jan. 5, both Bayne and Miller said that they’ve heard a lot of compliments on the shop’s updates from their customers. “We’ve had so many compliments from people who have come in,” Bayne said. “Just so many comments about how nice it looks, which is really nice.” All of the proceeds from the shop, minus operating costs, goes directly to the Dawson County Humane Society to help support its no-kill shelter. “Everything we do sup ports the shelter,” Miller said. “Things that they would never be able to do for the animals, the shop makes it available for them.” Through the shop’s monetary help, the Humane Society has been able to purchase the shel ter space rather than leas ing it, purchase new beds for the animals, and much more. One of the shop’s rooms includes photos of some of the animals cur rently up for adoption at the shelter, which Miller said is a good visual of the shop’s mission as well as a way for customers to learn about adopting from the shelter. “These are pets at the shelter, so that people can sit here and look and see what animals there are,” Miller said. “Our whole goal is just to get those poor animals adopted.” Both the volunteers and the donors work together towards this goal, Miller added. “We have people come in all the time with dona tions and they say ‘we love our animals and we don’t want them to be forgotten, so if we can help them in the shelter we’re all for it’,” Miller said. With the resale shop officially reopened for the new year, Miller said that they are always in need of donations to the shop and of volunteers to help run it. “Volunteers are a big thing; we are always looking for more volun teers because we need them,” Miller said. “If we had more volunteers, we could be open another day or something, but life is so much better with more volunteers.” Bayne, who started vol unteering several years ago, said that she first found the shop when she heard about what a great place it is to volunteer. “We moved into the area and this was rated as the best place to volun teer,” Bayne said. “So I animals and that they’re a great place to volunteer it was great.” Fikewise, Miller started volunteering about six years ago when she moved into the area and was looking for a way to meet people. She said that she loves the work envi ronment and has made several great friends dur ing her time volunteering at the shop. “It’s a fun place to work; we never know what’s coming in so it changes all the time,” Miller said. “I came in here and started volun teering to get me out of the house, and since then I’ve met friends, every body has fun and it’s just awesome.” is pet-friendly, so as an added bonus she and the other volunteers will often get to visit with some of their customers’ furry friends when they bring them into the shop. The Dawson County Humane Society Resale Shop and Boutique is located at 54 Fumpkin Campground Road S, Suites 100 and 120. The shop’s current hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information about the shop, including how to donate or volun teer, call 706-525-5030 or go to the shop’s Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/humaneso- cietyresaleshop/. Dawson County Humane Society a no kill shelter Doggy Spotlight 706-265-9160 Meet this one of a kind brown patched girl, Klover! She came to us from animal control about a year ago. She has been adopted before but, it seems she has some separation anxiety and becomes attached to the female of the house. She is sweet with kids HOWEVER, when she gets excited she jumps a lot. She is about three years old, weighs 50 pounds, and could definitely use some training. She knows commands like “Sit”. She just gets the zoomies. We highly recommends a home with older kids since little ones can be noisy and that increases her anxiety level. It takes her a bit to get adjusted to a routine and people. She is a sweet cuddle bug os a dog, but would benefit in a family with older kids to hang with, a family with time and patience or someong who is by themselves and does things like hiking. She does good with most dogs, we always encourage a meet and greet with all dogs. She would need a lot of running space. She can jump a smaller fence, but she will run straight inside your home. She is not potty trained and will have some accidents at first. She needs a patient home that understands that it will take time and practice to get into the swing of things. She gets super nervous being in a kennel at home. Klover For more information contact the 706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Rd, Dawsonville Dawson County Humane Society Adjacent to the Rock Creek Sports Complex Visit our RESALE SHOP & BOUTIQUE Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd. All proceeds benefits the Humane Society Bradley M. Maple CPA, PC 706-216-2362 2390 Thompson Rd • Ste 100 Dawsonville Dawsonville Veterinary Hospital 706-265-8381 ANH Collision Specialists 706-216-0992 103 Industrial Park Road, Dawsonville
