Newspaper Page Text
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
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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