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4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, June 15,2022
Diver recovers 32 rings from Lanier
Photo courtesy of Brianna Ruark
Richard Pickering shows off his No. 30 recovered
ring, an engagement ring belonging to Brianna
Ruark that he found at Lake Lanier Olympic Park
in Gainesville onTuesday, May 17.
Dawson Chamber
holds ribbon-cutting
for local State Farm
Agent Trey Thomas
By Ashlyn Yule
DCN Regional Staff
As Brianna Ruark and
her husband finished a
wonderful family day on
the lake, she handed him
their 11-month-old baby
from off the boat. When he
reached for their daughter,
he unintentionally pulled
Ruark’s engagement ring
and wedding band off her
finger.
As the couple watched
the rings descend into the
murky depths of Lake
Lanier, Ruark mourned the
loss of the jewelry.
She said her husband,
after securing their daugh
ter, jumped into the water
to search for the jewelry,
but it was “just way too
deep where we were.”
“I didn’t have high hopes
of ever seeing [wedding
set] again,” Ruark said. “I
was devastated.”
On Tuesday, May 17,
Richard Pickering of Lake
Lanier Recovery Divers
suited up and hopped in the
water at Lake Lanier
Olympic Park in
Gainesville, close to where
she lost her rings
“[The night before], my
husband and I were won
dering how we could [find
the rings] back,” Ruark
said. “We [wondered if] we
[should] rent scuba gear
and go down there, but we
don’t know how to dive.”
Thankfully, Pickering
does know how to dive,
and he has been finding
rings for six years, ending
2021 with a total of 29
recovered rings under his
belt.
FROM 1A
Academy
and active shooter scenar
ios.
Phillip Cofield, a
school resource officer
who helped organize the
event along with Cpl.
Randy Mullis, said many
of the cadets have
enjoyed the more compet
itive activities, with sev
eral of them aspiring to
be JLEA’s “Top Gun” or
“Top Driver” this year.
Those awards as well
as the top all-around
cadet and the top in aca
demics will be announced
during an academy cere
mony at the end of the
week.
“We’re having a blast,”
said Cofield, “and we’re
learning a lot.”
They also attended ses
sions on topics like crime
scene investigation.
Georgia Bureau of
Investigation special
agents Elaina Coffee and
Taylor Lawrence told the
children how they collect
Between putting on his
gear and chatting strategies
with another diver on his
team, Ronin Molina-Salas,
Ruark said Pickering found
her ring in less than 30
minutes.
“He was up and down in
like 20 or 30 minutes,”
Ruark said. “It was quick,
and I was so shocked he
found my ring that fast.”
Pickering ascended with
ring No. 30 on his pinky —
Ruark’s engagement ring.
She said that while her
rings were important to her,
the engagement ring was
particularly special because
the diamond in the middle
had been passed down
through her family.
When her mother got
married, she said her
grandmother took the dia
mond from the original
engagement ring and fitted
it into hers. When Ruark
got married, her mother
passed the diamond to her,
just as her own mother had
done years prior.
Ruark said when her
a variety of evidence,
using tools from shoe
print casts to tamper
proof tape to multiple
types of imaging devices.
Sometimes, figuring
out who committed a
crime is a matter of evi
dence left at a scene, and
other times, it’s a matter
of victimology, the agents
said.
Other times, finger
prints, which are unique
to every individual per
son, can be very helpful.
“When you leave your
fingerprints on a scene,
you’re leaving your iden
tity on there, and we can
normally get an identifi
cation within 24 hours,”
Lawrence said. “So it’s
that fast...DNA takes
almost two years to come
back. So fingerprints are
super important and our
first go-to if we don’t
know who it (a suspect)
is.”
Throughout the week,
DCSO deputies also took
cadets on a tour of the
Dawson County
Government Center. Sgt.
Eric Johnson told them
11-month-old daughter
gets married, her engage
ment ring will sport the
same diamond.
“There was big senti
mental value [in the
engagement ring],” Ruark
said. “And I thought I’d lost
it.”
According to Pickering,
the water at the Lake
Lanier Olympic Park was
“just covered in trash,” so
he and his team couldn’t
recover Ruark’s wedding
band on the same day. He
did find the wedding band
within the week, bringing
his total to 31 rings found
in Lanier.
“It was a tough one,”
Pickering said. “The water
was really murky; there
was no visibility at all.”
Since he began counting
the rings he has recovered
six years ago, Pickering
said he’s never found two
in one dive.
“Rings are by far the
most difficult, the most
challenging but the most
rewarding thing I dive for,”
that he and the other court
deputies have to be there
“every minute” the court
house is open.
Their duties include
staffing the front security
area, being at public meet
ings, transporting inmates
and delivering civil papers
and arrest warrants.
Almost 80,000 people
enter the courthouse each
year, so monitoring the
x-ray machine and metal
detectors is very impor
tant, he said.
DCSO Lt. Jake
Crawford showed cadets
the different tools and
techniques that SWAT
(Special Weapons and
Tactics) members have at
their disposal. Several
local SWAT members
donned sturdy vests and
helmets capable of stop
ping rifle rounds, while
others demonstrated bal
listics shields or zip-tie
handcuffs.
Crawford explained that
they have options to
deploy less and more
lethal munitions, depend
ing on variables like if
someone’s charging with a
Pickering said. “I put in
extra, extra effort to find
these things.”
Pickering said he takes
extra care to look for rings,
sometimes busting out the
metal detector or a gold
dredger he bought from
California.
As of Tuesday, May 17,
Pickering had accom
plished a goal of fishing out
30 rings from Lake Lanier.
By Saturday, May 28, he
added two more to the
count. He found Ruark’s
wedding band and another
man’s ring over Memorial
Day weekend.
“It makes me feel good
when I’m able to do that
for people,” Pickering said.
“It brings such joy back
into their lives. I mean,
[Ruark] was crushed when
it happened.”
Pickering said he hopes
in the future “that people
don’t lose their rings to
begin with,” encouraging
folks visiting the lake to
“leave the diamonds at
home.”
“But in terms of goals,
35 would be a next mile
stone [and] 40 would be a
big one,” Pickering said.
“50 would be a miracle.”
With an average of about
five recovered rings a year,
Pickering said it might be
possible for him to reach
35 by the end of 2022.
“I’ll keep looking for
them,” he said. “And, most
likely, I’ll always find
them.”
This article was original
ly published in the Forsyth
County News, a sister pub
lication of the Dawson
County News.
weapon, protective cover,
etc.
“Our goal is to try to
resolve situations peace
fully... [and] sometimes
that peace is through a
show of force,” he said.
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
Recently, the
Dawson County
Chamber of
Commerce held an
official ribbon cutting
for State Farm
Insurance Agent Trey
Thomas.
In a short ceremony
preceding the ribbon
cutting, Mandy Power,
president and CEO of
the chamber, wel
comed Thomas and
his business to down
town Dawsonville and
to the community.
“We love coming to
celebrate businesses;
Trey has just jumped
right in there with his
State Farm business
here,” Power said.
“Being downtown is
such a great place for
you to be; I feel like
this building was
made for State Farm.
We’re so excited to
have such a great
community partner.”
Thomas addressed
the community mem
bers and business
leaders in attendance
at the ribbon cutting,
thanking them for
coming out to help
celebrate his business.
“I’ve been with
State Farm for 7 years
but have worked
toward opening an
office here in down
town Dawsonville for
pretty much that
whole time,” Thomas
said. “We’re super
excited to help the
community; State
Farm is all about
helping people man
age the risk of every
day life, recover from
the unexpected and
realize their dreams;
and having a job
where I get to own my
own business and
have the backing of a
great company — I
can’t think of a better
plan.”
Before cutting the
ribbon, Thomas pre
sented donations to
three local groups and
individuals, including
a local student who
works at the
Dawsonville Pool
Room, local nonprofit
K.A.R.E. for Kids and
a representative of
Fishing with Everyday
Heroes.
“I’m so thankful for
everything that you’ve
already done in our
community and I love
to see the member-to-
member engagement,”
Power said to Thomas
following the donation
presentations. “That’s
really what the cham
ber is all about is
bringing community
members together and
making the community
which we live in a bet
ter place to be.”
State Farm
Insurance Agent Trey
Thomas’ office is
located at 3 Highway 9
South, off of the
Dawsonville square.
For more information
about him, his staff
and business, go to
https ://www.my agent-
trey, com/.
aa
mi
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FROM 1A
Houses
CN Investment
Partners’s land tract is also
within a half mile of the
recently-approved RS-3
development next to
Blacks Mill Elementary
School.
RPC zoning would,
according to the developer,
allow their company to
concentrate development
in a small part of the site
and preserve a substantial
amount of open space.
The developer would
also have to fund extension
of water and sanitary sewer
services through the prop
erty, according to an
included letter from the
Etowah Water and Sewer
Authority.
Likewise, the project
would reach DRI thresh-
olds-in other words, more
transportation studies and
review would be required
by the Georgia Mountains
Regional Commission, a
partnering authority in area
planning and economic
development.
“The neighborhood will
provide a much-needed
solution for younger fami-
FROM 1A
Award
to the release, these four
categories dictate that
the budget must serve as
a policy document, a
financial plan, an opera
tions guide and a com
munications device. To
receive the award, bud
get documents have to
be rated “proficient” in
all four of these catego
ries, and in the 14 man
datory criteria within
those four categories.
When the county was
granted the
Distinguished Budget
Presentation Award, the
Dawson County Finance
Department was present
ed with a certificate of
recognition for budget
presentation.
Over 1,700 partici
pants are in the Budget
Awards Program. A full
list of the most recent
Budget Award recipi
ents, along with their
corresponding budget
documents, is posted
quarterly on the GFOA’s
website.
lies without placing an
extreme burden upon our
infrastructure,” the letter
concluded.
Dawsonville True Value®
16 Moonshiners Way • Dawsonville, GA • 706-525-5140
facebook. com/cwhardware
Donation Shower
So sweet, so cuddly, so cute and fun. It is the season, the time has
come! Lots to do and things we need to take care of the kittens, all
sorts of breeds.
Donation Shower Registry
(New or open)
Dry Kitten Food
Wet Kitten Food
Kitten Milk Replacer
(liquid)
Dawson County Humane Society
a no kill shelter
706-265-9160
Thank you for all of your kind donations! These
items will be used to care for all the mothers and
kittens that arrive at our shelter. View our wish list
at: www.dawsoncountyhumanesociety.org
Looking for kitten fosters, please call us for details.
Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tues-Fri: 11am - 4:30pm
Sat: 12pm - 4:30pm
Sun: 1pm - 4:30pm
You may drop your gifts off at:
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.
Dawsonville
Veterinary
Hospital
706-265-8381
ANH Collision
Specialists
706-216-0992
103 Industrial Park Road,
Dawsonville
All proceeds benefits
the Humane Society
Bradley M. Maple
CPA, PC
706-216-2362
2390 Thompson Rd • Ste 100
Dawsonville
