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Wednesday, May 11,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B
DCHS seniors enjoy outdoor fun after yearbook revealed
The theme of this year's DCHS yearbook is 'WE
are...', including silhouettes based on DCHS stu
dents.
Photos by Rio White Dawson County News
Luke Mulberry makes a leaping catch during a friendly game of ultimate fris-
bee between some of the seniors.
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
On Wednesday, May 4,
the outgoing DCHS
seniors were treated to a
day of outdoor festivities
after attending an assem
bly where this school
year’s yearbook cover
was revealed.
Yearbook adviser Pam
Amendola and members
of the yearbook class —
a yearlong journalism
class that counts as an
English credit —put
together an assembly that
included a slideshow
with a wide variety of
memories for the seniors
to look back on.
“After a difficult 2020-
21 school year, the [year
book] team was ready to
move away from the his
torical moments that
defined the content of our
previous book ‘Along for
the Ride’ with a
refreshed outlook,”
Amendola said. “As a
group, they wanted to
make sure all students
would enjoy seeing them
selves in the yearbook.”
While many of the
photos were from this
school year, some slides
had photos from elemen
tary and middle school,
adding an extra bit of
nostalgia to the event.
The slideshow revealed
the long-lasting friend
ships many of the stu
dents had built over the
years as well as the fun
they had at high school
events, such as Friday
night football games.
Introducing the event
was yearbook co-editor
Ethan Duncan, who
helped set the stage by
describing the meaning
behind this year’s year
book theme.
The theme was titled
‘WE are...’, with the
capitalized first word rep
resenting all students and
the ellipses reflecting
future students, accord
ing to Amendola. The
logo of that theme
included silhouettes
based on the faces of
actual DCHS students.
After the assembly, stu
dents made their way to
the Ford Phillips Center
to pick up their year
books, peruse through
them and share memories
with friends.
Following that, the
seniors went down to the
football field where they
could enjoy inflatable
games, ice cream and a
teacher dunk tank as part
of a Spring Celebration.
While the seniors were
the first to go down and
enjoy the festivities, all
students were eventually
welcome to join in on the
fun.
Some students went all
out on the events, while
others relaxed and took
in the sunny day to read
through the yearbook.
Judicial officials
honor victims
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
Officials with the Northeastern Judicial Circuit
recently hosted multiple events in honor of
National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, which
spanned from April 25-29, 2022.
The 2022 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week
theme is “Rights, access, equity, for all victims.”
The week is designed to celebrate the ways in
which communities seek justice on behalf of those
affected by crime.
District Attorney Lee Darragh welcomed the
Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to Hall
County on April 27. With the coordination of vic
tim advocates from the DA’s office, board member
David Herring and board staff met with victims
and their families from both Dawson and Hall
Counties to hear their input on cases in which
parole consideration is approaching.
“The protection of the rights of victims has in
the last few decades been the most important focus
of the criminal justice system,” Darragh said.
“Being able to bring the parole process to a local
level to assist in facilitating face-to-face meetings
for crime victims is significant in recognizing the
impact violent crime continues to have on victims
and their families.”
This is the first Victims Visitors Day hosted by
the Board since the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the previous day, April 26, DA office staff
presented Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson
with a wreath to commemorate National Crime
Victims’ Rights Week.
“While a wreath is a small recognition of vic
tims, it is significant to recognize victims of crime
after centuries of focus on defendants,” Darragh
said.
If you or someone you know has been the victim
of crime and is seeking resources, please visit the
Dawson County Victim Services Resources page at
www.dawsoncounty.org/VSR.
'While a wreath is a small
recognition of victims, it
is significant to recognize
victims of crime after
centuries of focus on
defendants.'
Lee Darragh
District Attorney
FROM 1B
Region
Rio White Dawson County News
Brandon Cramer was one of two Tigers to be named on the 7-AAA All-
Region FirstTeam. He led the team with 36 RBI this season.
Cramer was a strong
power bat all season, lead
ing the team with 36 runs
batted in and hitting four
home runs. He hit for a
.293 average with 29 hits
and 25 runs.
Mulberry proved to be
vital on offense as well,
finishing second on the
team with a .327 average,
34 hits, four home runs
and 33 RBI. His commu
nication skills and famil
iarity with pitchers helped
him become the team’s
regular catcher.
The three players
named on the honorable
mention list were Andrew
Burt, Trey Harvey and
Colton Rucker.
Burt had a solid year at
the plate with 20 hits,
seven doubles and 24
runs. His vocal leadership
was also an important pil
lar for the team.
Harvey was one of the
rising stars on the team
this season, proving to
become an ace on the
mound. He led the team
with a 3.81 earned run
average and finished the
season with a 5-3 record
with 44 strikeouts.
Rucker quietly built
himself a strong offensive
season, finishing with 26
hits, 32 runs and a .299
average.
In addition to Harvey
and Rucker, other impor
tant players will be return
ing next season to help the
team go for a second
straight state playoff
appearance.
Two players to watch
for an All-Region spot
next year are Davis Glass
and Joshua Priest. Glass
finished this season with a
.305 average and 25 RBI.
He was also important
defensively, ending with
120 putouts and a .955
fielding percentage
between pitching and
playing first base.
Priest also helped the
team on the mound mostly
as a reliever this season,
but will have a chance to
join a strong rotation next
season. He made a team-
high 13 pitching appear
ances and was a stabiliz
ing force from the bullpen.
FROM 1B
Signing
She helped the Lady Tigers
secure a state playoff spot and had
an important leadership role as the
only senior on the team. She was
also an All-Region honorable men
tion last season.
Siuta will be joining a Lions team
that posted a 32-2 record last season
and reached the third round of the
NAIA Tournament.
“I’m very proud that she saw this
through and is getting this opportu
nity to play in college,” head coach
Eric Herrick said. “She’s a great
player but an even better person and
leader. She’s going to go into a col
lege program and make a huge
impact.”
From the football team, quarter
back Zach Holtzclaw signed with
Cumberland University in Lebanon,
Tennessee.
Holtzclaw represented Tiger
Nation well in his time as quarter
back, setting school records for
career passing yards and passing
touchdowns. In addition to his indi
vidual accomplishments, he helped
lead the team and hold it to a state
playoff standard.
He will be looking to lead the
Phoenix to success in the Mid-
South Conference of the NAIA.
“I am blessed to be Zach
Holtzclaw’s coach,” head coach Sid
Maxwell said. “He’ll be the first
one to be humble and tell you that
his success is based on his team
mates... which says a lot about who
he is as a person. He’s a great lead
er who took charge of our football
team for three years.”
From the cross country and track
and field teams, Ethan Smith signed
with Berry College in Rome.
Smith currently holds the school
record in the 800-meter race and
was the anchor leg in the school
record-breaking 4x400-meter relay
team. This season, he was also the
Region 7-AAA runner-up in the
400 and 800-meter events.
During the regular season, Smith
won 12 individual events across 7
meets.
“He has been the epitome of a
teammate and a leader,” head coach
Arron Haynes said. “Em a better
coach for having been around him.
He will go on to great things in col
lege, but the bigger thing is he will
become a better man.”
FROM 1B
Elliott
11 races of the season
had no interest in let
ting his initial position
prevent him from hav
ing a positive day on
the track.
Elliott worked his
way into the top 20 just
60 laps into the 293-lap
race, gradually gaining
spots until reaching
15th position at the end
of Stage One.
One of the turning
points of Elliott’s day
came during a pit stop
sequence around lap
140.
He was in the first
half of drivers to pit
and came out of it
quickly, allowing him
to rapidly move up
once the other half
shuffled into pit road.
By the time the
whole field got back
onto the track, Elliott
was up to 11th and
only moved up from
there.
A caution involving
Kyle Busch gave Elliott
the chance to solidify
his top-10 position and
he would then earn
himself points by plac
ing in eighth at the con
clusion of Stage Two.
The move that
brought Elliott closest
to the lead pack was on
lap 221, when he took
the inside line to push
past Christopher Bell
and Daniel Suarez to
move into fifth.
While Elliott’s posi
tion would vary slightly
for the remainder of the
race, the late bump and
run by eventual winner
Joey Logano on
William Byron put
Elliott back into fifth at
the checkered flag.
By finishing in the
top five, Elliott further
extended his stay atop
the points standings
with 453. Tied for sec
ond place are Byron
and Ryan Blaney with
388.
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«* R-- i
Photo courtesy of NBC Sports
Despite crashing his car at practice and starting Sunday's race in 34th with a back
up car, Chase Elliott finished fifth at the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
