Wednesday, June 1,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 5A
Primary 2022 results announced in multiple races
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
Georgia’s 2022 general election pri
mary has come to an end, with polls
closed around the state and results being
announced in multiple competitive
races.
Before Tuesday, 3,351 Dawson
County residents voted early in the 2022
primary election, with 258 absentee bal
lots, said Board of Elections and
Registration Director Glenda Ferguson.
For comparison, 3,387 voter cards
total were cast in the 2018 primary elec
tion, with a turnout of 19.59 percent.
In Dawson County, 7,208 voters cast
ballots in the primary election, out of
21,770 total registered voters in the
county.
The projected voter participation rate
was 33.11 percent, a 13.52-percent
increase in active voters as compared to
the 2018 primary.
Will Wade, the incumbent Republican
candidate for Georgia House District 9,
said he was “very impressed” by voter
turnout so far when DCN talked to him
mid-afternoon Tuesday at Dawson
County’s Central Precinct.
“People are wanting to come and have
their voices heard,” Wade said, describ
ing the range of primary races. “People
are enthused, and I also think the nation
al situation with inflation has got people
that are really upset that the Biden
administration is not doing anything to
stop it and they’ve done things to make
it worse.”
He added that the current economic
circumstances have galvanized a lot of
voters who aren’t necessarily diehard
Republicans or Democrats but people
driven to cast ballots in light of “what
hurts their families and their wallets.”
This primary served as a marker to
gauge who voters believed would fur
ther policies to promote economic pros
perity in light of continuing growth in
northeastern Georgia and concerns
about a recession and elections integrity.
The county election board certified
the county’s voting results Friday after
noon.
Dawson County Board of
Commissioners District 1
• Seth Stowers (R): 100%
Dawson County Board of
Commissioners District 3
• Alexa Bruce (R): 67.82%
• Deanna Dickinson (R): 32.18%
Dawson County Board of
Education at large
• Nathan Ingram (R): 100%
Dawson County Board of
Education District 3
• Karen Armstrong (R): 100%
U.S. House District 6
• Rich McCormick (R): 42.91%;
43.15% district-wide
• Jake Evans (R): 29.85%; 23.03%
district-wide
• Bob Christian (D): 65.21%;
55.55% district-wide
• Wayne C. White (D): 34.79%;
45.55% district-wide
Georgia House District 7
• David Ralston (R): 100%
Georgia House District 9
• Will Wade (R): 81.67%; 81.54%
district-wide
• Tyler Tolin (R): 18.33%; 18.46%
district-wide
Georgia Senate District 51
• Steve Gooch (R): 100%
Secretary of State
• Brad Raffensperger (R, incum
bent): 47.87%; 52.35% statewide
• Jody Hice (R): 33.53%; 33.36%
statewide
• Bee Nguyen (D): 66.6%; 44.32%
statewide
• Dee Dawkins-Haigler (D):
11.9%; 18.66% statewide
Governor
• Brian Kemp (R): 72%; 73.71%
statewide
• David Perdue (R): 22.81%;
21.78% statewide
• Stacey Abrams (D): 100%
U.S. Senator
• Raphael Warnock (D, incum
bent): 95.64%; 96.04% statewide
• Tamara Johnson-Shealey (D):
4.36%; 3.96% statewide
• Herschel Junior Walker (R): 69%;
68.19% statewide
• Gary Black (R): 15.21%; 13.36%
statewide
Deputy, candle maker join to raise funds for K-9 foundation
ByAshlyn Yule
DCN Regional Staff
When Dep. 1st Class
Steven Challinger reached
out to Jessica Feete, the
owner of Dawson County-
based Chattahoochee
Candles, about a K-9-
inspired candle, he
thought it would “take
several months” to imple
ment.
But, within 24 hours,
Feete sent him photos of a
possible product and the
two entered a partnership
that would encourage
other K-9 handlers in
Georgia to get involved in
the project.
Challinger, who works
with the Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office, is the
handler of Dep. K-9 Flash,
a 2-year-old bloodhound.
Challinger said he
approached Feete with the
idea to do a K-9 Flash-
inspired candle to help
raise awareness for the
Georgia Police K9
Foundation, a nonprofit
organization that protects
and serves “active and
retired law enforcement
K-9s throughout Georgia
by providing equipment,
training and care.”
He has been on the
board of the organization
since January, and he said
that he tries to find unique
ways to raise awareness
for the group.
According to Challinger
and Feete, the Georgia
Police K9 Foundation pro
vides necessary equip
ment for working K-9s
such as heat sensors for
cars and ballistic vests, as
well as providing support
and care for retired K-9s.
Feete said proceeds
from each K-9 candle pur
chase will be donated to
the Georgia Police K9
Foundation.
“I’m absolutely passion
ate about this now,” Feete
said. “But I didn’t know
anything about [the
Georgia Police K9
Foundation] before
[Challinger] came to me,
so learning about it is very
interesting.”
“And talking to
[Challinger] on top of
that, you can see how pas
sionate he is about it, too,
and how proud he is of the
work he does with his
dog,” she said.
Challinger and Dep.
K-9 Flash have been
working together for a
year, and he said they do
“110% of everything
together.”
“Working with K-9
Flash is great because it’s
like going to work with
your best friend,”
Challinger said. “We do
everything together.
Absolutely everything. I
even put his name on
reports because he’s an
officer, too.”
“And being a K-9 offi
cer is awesome,” he said.
“I get to come to work
each day and just play
with a dog. It’s the best
Photo submitted to DCN
Proceeds from each K-9 candle purchase will be donated to the Georgia
Police K9 Foundation.
Photo courtesy Chattahoochee Candles
Chattahoochee Candles is a Dawson County-
located business owned by Jessica Leete.
Photo by Amy Jo Photography
Dep. 1st Class Steven Challinger has been work
ing with K-9 Flash for a year doing scent work and
tracking for the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
job ever.”
As Challinger began
working with Dep. K-9
Flash, he realized how
much the community
cares about animals, espe
cially K-9s.
“I just love seeing the
support,” Challinger said.
“It’s really not for me or
anything, it’s more for
[Flash], but the same peo
ple that follow him [on
Instagram] are the same
ones that, if he needed
something, they’ll take
care of it. It’s just a big
support system for any of
these K-9s.”
“It really does break the
stigma of what people
think patrol dogs or what
people think K-9s are,” he
said. “They’re just big,
goofy dogs at the end of
the day.”
Two such “big, goofy
dogs” are currently fea
tured on Feete’s site,
FCSO’s Flash and K-9
Smokey from the
Statesboro Police
Department.
Within the first day of
sales, Feete said that the
K-9 Flash candles were
very popular.
“We definitely started
off with a bang,” Feete
said. “The first day, I think
we had 10-15 orders just
for those candles, which
was so great.”
Feete said that she
hopes to show off a new
K-9 each month and that
she is looking forward to
future partnerships with
other police departments
and sheriff’s offices
around Georgia.
Challinger concurred,
stating that he’s looking
forward to seeing Feete’s
line of K-9 candles grow.
“I love how Jessica just
really hit the ground run
ning with this project,”
Challinger said. “She still
wants to donate and be a
part of this foundation and
everything that we have to
give to the communities.
I’m very pleased to know
her, and I couldn’t have
done it without her at all.”
Both Challinger and
Feete explained that the
Georgia Police K9
Foundation will be having
an event in June called
‘An Evening for the K9s
2022.’
Feete said that it was
“like a red carpet for the
K-9s” where supporters
can enjoy food and drinks,
participate in raffles and a
silent auction and, of
course, meet K9s from
around the state.
The event will be held
in Statesboro on June 4,
and Challinger said that
he, K-9 Flash, and Flash’s
“best bud” K-9 Smokey
will be in attendance.
Feete’s candles can be
found at www.chatta-
hoocheecandles.com, or
on Instagram @
chattahoochee_candles.
K-9 Flash can be found
on Instagram @fcsok-
9flash.
For more information
about the Georgia Police
K9 Foundation, visit
www.gapolicek9founda-
tion.org.
