Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, July 6,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
Virginia man agrees to pay $15,000 after
allegedly stealing from Dawson woman
DCN file photo
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
A man from another
state has agreed to reim
burse an elderly Dawson
County woman after he
was arrested and accused
of allegedly stealing over
$60,000 from her in 2018
and 2019.
Samal Kumar
Dimdung, 41, of
Herndon, Virginia, signed
an agreement with the
prosecution stating that
he would pay the victim
back $15,000, according
to a dead docket agree
ment filed June 24 in
Dawson County Superior
Court.
A dead docket agree
ment means a case is
postponed indefinitely but
can be reinstated at any
time by the court, accord
ing to the Georgia Court
of Appeals.
The agreement’s terms
state that Dimdung will
reimburse the victim the
$15,000 in a manner des
ignated by the victim. If
the victim should become
incapacitated or die, then
Dimdung would have to
pay the money to the law
ful representative of her
estate. He is also not to
violate any laws or have
new arrests for the next
12 months.
Previously, the Dawson
County Sheriff’s Office
booked Dimdung in
January 2022 following
his initial arrest in
Virginia and subsequent
release on a signature
bond to travel to Georgia
to address his charges.
Dimdung was initially
charged with one felony
count of exploiting,
threatening or intimidat
ing a disabled or elderly
person and indicted in
March 2021 on another
exploitation charge and
two felony counts of theft
by deception.
After a motion for bond
was filed in January,
Dimdung was granted a
$15,000 bail, for a total
bond amount of $16,700.
Between August, Aug.
13, 2018 and Feb. 11,
2019, DCSO warrants
and his indictment allege
that Dimdung contacted
the victim and convinced
her that her bank account
had been hacked, then
offering himself as an
employee who could fix
the problem.
Twice, Dimdung alleg
edly asked the victim to
wire him an amount
totaling over $60,000 to
another account for safe
keeping, whereupon he
then transferred the
funds into his Bank of
America account as a
business investment.
Provided that the vic
tim receives the $15,000
in full and the other con
ditions are also fulfilled,
Dimdung’s case will be
transferred back to the
active docket, and a nolle
prosequi, a document
stating the state’s desire
not to prosecute, will be
entered.
If Dimdung was to vio
late this agreement, then
his case would be trans
ferred back to the active
docket and put on the first
available trial calendar.
County talks plans for E911 and emergency ops center
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
The forthcoming E-911 and
Emergency Operations
Communications (EOC) build
ing was one of two high-priority
SPLOST projects discussed dur
ing the Dawson County Board
of Commissioners’ June 16
work session.
County manager David
Headley told the commissioners
about current design details and
land considerations for the
future EOC/E911 building.
Voters approved Dawson
County’s special purpose local
option sales tax, SPLOST VII,
on March 16, 2021. The mea
sure included a planned $5.5
million for the EOC and E911
center, which has been collected
to date, Headley said.
Considering the $3 million
radio system upgrade project,
that makes for a total of $8.5
million between the two
SPLOST projects.
The EOC/E911 center and
radio system projects will come
before the board again for future
votes to release requests for
price (RFPs).
Dawson County Emergency
Services and Sheriff’s Office
staff have visited a few sites that
mirror the needs of the county,
Headley said.
He spoke in more detail about
the county’s old facilities and
fleet maintenance site, a four-
plus acre portion of land along
Ga. 53. That site, which the
county already owns, is also
being considered as a location
for the forthcoming health
department.
A limited subsurface investi
gation was done on the property
that found the county would be
at a moderate risk of developing
the site, Headley said. Due to its
past use as a fleet and road
department site, some related
contaminant or unsuitable soils
could be there.
Headley showed rough design
plans for both the EOC and
E911 portions of the building.
Tentative EOC floor plans
included offices for EMA lead
ership, a receptionist and other
personnel; a conference room
and large classroom space; bunk
rooms; and a kitchen/breakroom
and bathrooms. The EOC class
room could be used as a training
area and as an operations room
during times of disaster.
The proposed E911 floor plan
entailed director and assistant
director offices; large open
space and conference room;
storage and server rooms; and a
kitchen, bathrooms and lockers.
Looking at the draft plans,
BOC Chairman Billy Thurmond
wanted to ensure the county
incorporates dual purposes into
designs so there’s not double the
rooms or space needed and
money can be saved.
“Just because we said five-
and-a-half million dollars, I
wouldn’t have a whole bad
heartburn if we had a few dol
lars of that left to go to the radio
project,” said Thurmond, “and I
don’t think anybody on the
board would either.”
The chairman elaborated that
the intent should be to build a
building that’s sufficient for
multiple years without going
“way out above and beyond” in
terms of project scope and cost.
“Personally, I’d like for the
board to see that design up front
to get some preliminary cost
estimate so let’s not be looking
at a 15,000-square-foot building
we can’t afford.”
Headley later clarified that the
center could potentially be two
stories and that staff would be
looking at the forthcoming plans
in more detail before putting a
scope of work together to pre
pare for the RFP.
Photos courtesy of Dawson County School System
Construction of the multipurpose athletic building is well underway at
Dawson County High School and expected to be completed in the first three
months of 2023.
FROM 1A
School
Currently, Bennett said
that the steel framing is
nearing completion, the
walls are underway and
electrical and plumbing
installation is about 15
and 40 percent complete.
“They have poured the
second floor, the ceiling
of the first floor and the
floor of the second floor,
so that’s good to go,”
Bennett said. “It’s mov
ing really really quick it
seems like; it’s very effi
cient. We’ve had weather
that’s cooperated and
we’re making tremendous
progress on that facility.”
Once completed, the
multipurpose athletic
building will provide a
plethora of opportunities
to the students that the
school wasn’t able to pro
vide before.
“It gives our teams
opportunities not to prac
tice so late at night, to
have additional meeting
spaces or practice loca
tions if you’re an outdoor
sport — so if baseball
needs to throw and it’s
windy and rainy and
everything else they have
a place they can go in and
throw,” Bennett said. “It
also gives some sports
like cheerleading and
wrestling a place to have
practices rather than shar
ing one gym at the same
time. And the weight
room will help all our
athletes and our students
who aren’t necessarily
athletes but are taking a
weight training class as
well.”
The project is currently
on track to be completed
sometime in the first
three months of 2023.
Roger D. Slaton
Agriscience Center
The Roger D. Slaton
Agriscience Center,
named in honor of late
Dawson County Board of
Education member Roger
Slaton, is also well under
way, Bennett said.
“It will start moving a
little bit faster even
though it started a little
later because it’s being
brought in in pieces and
put together,” Bennett
said.
Currently, the asphalt
and paving is completed
and the metal framing is
up, and crews are work
ing on the concrete block
walls, he said. Electrical
and plumbing work is
about 25 percent complet
ed.
Once it is finished, the
agriscience center will
greatly expand the oppor
tunities for the agricultur
al classes taught at the
high school. It will house
classrooms and a show
barn, and the center will
also include a pasture
area to provide a dedicat
ed area for the animals to
spend time outside.
“The AgScience center
will open up a lot more
opportunities for classes,
we’ll be able to host show
events, house more ani
mals and have a greater
teaching environment for
our agriculture classes,”
Bennett said. “With the
State of Georgia approv
ing agriculture science to
be taught through ele
mentary school now, we
expect this program to
continue to grow.”
Like the multipurpose
athletic building, the agri
science center is also cur
rently on track to be com
pleted sometime between
January and March of
2023.
Both projects being on
track, Bennett said, is
owed in part to the proac
tivity of the school sys
tem and the builders to
get materials and supplies
in ahead of time.
“The good thing is we
are on top of things —
even though across the
United States and the
world are sometimes lag
ging behind, we are get
ting everything we need
on time in order to be
proactive and move on to
the next step of the proj
ect,” Bennett said.
Standard building
improvements
In addition to the two
major building projects,
the system is also work
ing on a third project:
school building mainte
nance in preparation for
the students to return to
school this fall.
“We have our standard
school building mainte
nance, so working on
floors, new paint, getting
classrooms ready, new
technology being
installed in classrooms,
new radios being
installed, lots of things
like that — and we’re
doing well with that,”
Bennett said.
New floors, moving
away from the old floors
that needed to be waxed,
are being installed in
classrooms, and painting
is underway as well.
During the “dead period”
for athletics around the
Fourth of July week, the
wooden basketball floors
will be refinished and
sealed so they can cure
and dry for basketball and
volleyball workouts and
practices.
“A lot of the standard
stuff is going well and I
would like to give a lot of
credit to Everett Burt and
all the guys that work for
him; he has a crew of
seven guys and he’s han
dling the facilities,”
Bennett said. “And Vickie
Pafford is our administra
tive assistant at this
department; they’ve done
a great job making sure
everything is scheduled
and on time and getting
done.”
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.
v
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
