About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2022)
Wednesday, January 12,2022 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A 911 calls in Dawson County rose by 13 percent in 2021 Erica Jones Dawson County News Dawson County Board of Commissioners Chairman Billy Thurmond and an aspiring young firefighter watch as community members take in the new ladder truck at Dawson County Fire Station 2. By Julia Fechter jfechter@dawsonnews.com Be it planned emergency services upgrades or a 13-percent uptick in local calls to 911, growth has marked the work of Dawson County’s first responders over the past year. Recently-released statis tics from Dawson County Fire and Emergency Services show that person nel from both sectors responded to a total of 4,640 calls in 2021. EMS took the largest proportion at 3,506 calls, with 3,190 of those calls being for medical emergen cies. Motor vehicle acci dents accounted for 295 EMS calls. Other calls encompassed 570 calls, while 447 responses were for service calls. Firefighters respond ed to 117 calls for fires last year. Put another way, Dawson County Fire Chief Danny Thompson said that fires increased by 28 percent, while medical calls increased by 17 percent. The bulk of responses are for medical calls, he said. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, first responders have helped establish testing and vac cine sites across the county, something Thompson said hadn’t really been done in past years. “We’ve planned for it; we’ve trained for it...but we never actually have had to execute it until now,” he said. Thompson also discussed the population growth that becomes evident when one drives along arterial roads like Ga. 400, Ga. 53 or Ga. 136. “Anytime you have growth, you have more vehicle traffic on your road system and more vehicle accidents. And that growth isn’t just here in Dawsonville,” he said. “A lot of those are connecting roads from other counties that are also experiencing growth, so you have what I call pass-through traffic.” Thompson also chroni cled the fire department’s accomplishments in 2021, such as the new Fire Station 8 on Sweetwater-Juno Road, the new ladder fire truck for Station 2 or turn out gear and air packs. He called Station 8’s establishment in March 2021 “huge for that area and citizens,” given that the area was previously under covered. He described the loca tion’s first call as a structure fire during its inaugural day. Because the firefighters were closer in proximity to the blaze, their response time was notably reduced. Thompson added that the ladder truck helps given the apartment growth along the Ga. 400 corridor. He com pared large-box grocery stores to high-rise apart ments that are 10-15 stories tall. “Those large commercial buildings like that present a lot of challenges for your fire departments...now we have the tools to be more successful,” he said. He also anticipates the construction and completion of the E-911 and emergency operations centers that were approved under passage of SPLOST VII. Those two projects and the radio com munications upgrade repre sent $8.5 million in high-pri ority expenses. “I know there are areas of this county that we can just not transmit,” Thompson said. “When those units get in those dead zones, you can’t call them on cell phone or radio, so it’s somewhat of a safety issue.” “When I look at things of that nature, I say, ‘Let’s make it sustainable for 20-25 years from now,”’ he said. “And then when we build fire stations, [we do] the same thing.” With the number of can didates they’ve had over the past month or so, Chief Thompson hopes that all 12 vacancies in the fire depart ment will be filled within the next month. Along with water access, lack of firefighters on scene can affect the department’s insurance services rating, which is also important for business and homeowners. Fortunately, Thompson said that he thinks they’ll see the new faces sooner rather than later because of the commitment from the Board of Commissioners. “The commissioners have invested in public safety...and they’ve made the salaries competitive,” he said. “That’s key because the market is so hot for law enforcement and your fire and EMS personnel.” Man charged with violating his pretrial release By Julia Fechter jfechter@dawsonnews.com After being granted pretrial release for anoth er case, one local man now faces several criminal charges for allegedly committing acts of domestic vio lence. Dustin Allen Dockery, Dawsonville was arrested by the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 28 and charged with four misde meanor counts of battery relating to family vio lence. He was also charged with two felony counts of cruelty to chil dren in the second degree and one felony count of criminal damage to property in the second degree. Because of these latest alleged offenses, Dockery was also charged with a failure to comply pretrial and received no bond for violating release con ditions. In a pending 2020 case, he was accused of commit ting aggravated stalking against the same person against whom he allegedly committed the more recent offenses. The incident related to last week’s arrest occurred on Oct. 3, alleged multiple DCSO warrants. Dockery punched the victim in the face with a closed fist, put his hands around her neck and bit on her left arm and right knee, according to four war rants. These events alleg edly occurred in front of two young children, who became upset and asked the man to stop. Dockery yjawsomille ^Distinctive (Dentistry Vmm Cm^ jW wthi 35 (JmM BEST DENTIST Best General Dentist SCAN ME Best Cosmetic Dentist SCAN ME Welcome to Dawsonville Distinctive Dentistry We are here to build long-lasting relationships with our patients. We have served the Dawsonville, GA and surrounding North Georgia communities for more than 35 years. Dr. Manzur provides state-of- the-art dentistry in a relaxed and comfortable environment. We recognize that all our patients are unique We are pleased to welcome you and your family, and we look forward to working with you. www.dawsonvilledistinctivedentistry.com CLEANING & EXAMS • TOOTH COLORED FILLINGS SAME DAY CROWNS • ROOT CANAL TREATMENT IMPLANT DENTISTRY • INVISALIGN • TEETH WHITENING 754 HWY. 53 WEST, DAWSONVILLE, GA 706-265-2505 Incidents at urgent care clinic now being investigated By Julia Fechter jfechter@dawsonnews.com Following allegations online Jan. 4 that multiple people misbehaved while waiting at a COVID-19 testing site at the end of December, the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office ini tiated an investigation later that Tuesday. The alleged incidents happened on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28 at Northside Family Medicine and Urgent Care, said DCSO in an email to DCN. Neither of the incidents were initial ly reported to law enforce ment. During the Dec. 27 inci dent, an unidentified male subject went into the facili ty to get a COVID-19 test, but because he did not have an appointment, he was turned away, DCSO wrote. The subject then became angry and proceeded to leave the urgent care, alleg edly pushing the door extremely hard to open it and knocking it off its hinge. There was no glass breakage, and it was repaired the same day. Staff at the urgent care reported the incident to onsite securi ty. The next day, another unidentified male came into the urgent care using a golf club as a cane. After being turned away, he became angry and allegedly made a derogatory comment to the staff. The male also alleged ly pointed the club at an employee and told them that “he should hit her in the head with the club.” The male then left the facility, and no damage was caused. 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