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2A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, July 27,2022
Dawson man who died
from car crash injuries
was veteran, husband
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
More details have been
released after a local man
died from injuries sus
tained during a car crash
in southern Dawson
County earlier this month.
Douglas Gifford, 57, of
Dawsonville, died follow
ing a July 9 wreck during
which he was the passen
ger of his own vehicle,
according to preliminary
findings from an ongoing
Georgia State Patrol
investigation.
Troopers from GSP’s
Post 37 responded on
July 9 at 6:36 p.m. to a
single-vehicle crash along
War Hill Park Road,
south of its intersection
with Tom McGinnis
Road.
Preliminary results
state that a female driver
was driving Gifford’s
SUV west on War Hill
Park Road when she
failed to maintain her
lane while maneuvering a
curve.
In her comments to
GSP, the driver said she
swerved to miss a stump
before the vehicle ran off
the road and overturned
and added that that was
all she remembered.
The vehicle then trav
eled off of the roadway to
the right and went up an
embankment, striking a
tree, according to the
crash report.
The SUV overturned to
the left, causing both the
driver and Gifford to be
ejected, before it came to
a final uncontrolled rest
in the middle of the road
way on its roof facing
north, the report stated.
Both the driver and
Gifford were taken to a
local hospital. Gifford
succumbed to his injuries
two days later. A funeral
service was held for him
on July 20.
According to his obitu
ary from Dahlonega
Funeral Home, Gifford
was a “proud [U.S.] Air
Force Veteran” who was
currently working at John
Megel Chevrolet in
Dawson County.
He leaves behind his
wife, daughter, mother,
siblings and extended
family members.
Gifford “loved family
and country” and
“enjoyed tinkering with
things around the house
and spending time at the
gun range,” the obituary
stated.
Gifford earned numer
ous awards from John
Megel and the air force,
including the following
accolades: Bronze Star
Medal With Valor; Air
Force Achievement
Medal; Outstanding Unit
Award with three oak leaf
clusters; Combat
Readiness Medal with
two oak leaf clusters; Air
Force Good Conduct
Medal with two oak leaf
clusters; National
Defense Service Medal;
Small Arms Expert; and
various other awards and
ribbons.
GSP’s Specialized
Collision Reconstruction
Team B (SCRTB) is
assisting with the investi
gation into the crash.
DCN will provide updat
ed information when it
becomes available.
Dawson County News file photo
Federal court upholds Ga.
‘heartbeat’ abortion law
By Rebecca Grapevine
Capitol Beat News Service
The U.S. 11th Circuit
Court of Appeals upheld
Georgia’s “heartbeat”
abortion law Wednesday,
finding the ban on abor
tions after detection of a
fetal heartbeat at around
six weeks is legal.
The victory for Gov.
Brian Kemp and other
pro-life Georgians was
made possible by last
month’s U.S. Supreme
Court decision that over
ruled Roe v. Wade and
found that there is no con
stitutional right to abor
tion.
Georgia’s General
Assembly passed legisla
tion in 2019 banning most
abortions in Georgia after
a fetal heartbeat could be
detected - usually around
six weeks of pregnancy.
Now that the appellate
court has upheld the law,
it takes effect immediate
ly, according to the
American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU), one of the
groups that challenged the
law.
The ACLU called the
court’s move to reinstate
the law immediately
“highly unorthodox,” say
ing normally the court
would wait 28 days to
issue a mandate.
“The court took this
action on its own, without
any request from the
state, and outside of the
normal court procedures,”
the group stated. “This
means the state’s six-
week ban takes effect
today, pushing abortion
out of reach for
Georgians before many
even know they’re preg
nant.”
The ACLU, SisterSong,
Planned Parenthood, and
other reproductive care
providers initially suc
cessfully sued to block
the law from taking effect
in U.S. District Court in
2020. The state then
appealed that decision to
the 11th Circuit Court of
Appeals.
Late last week, both
sides in the Georgia case
filed new briefs laying
out their arguments in
light of the Supreme
Court ruling.
Wednesday’s decision
confirms that the Georgia
law will stand and reiter
ates the Supreme Court’s
position that there is no
constitutional right to an
abortion.
Abortion rights advo
cates criticized the ruling.
“Across the state, pro
viders are now being
forced to turn away
patients who thought they
would be able to access
abortion, immediately
changing the course of
their lives and futures.
This is horrific,” the
ACLU — joined by other
plaintiffs in the case —
said in a statement
Wednesday. “We’ll con
tinue doing everything in
our power to fight for
abortion access in
Georgia in the face of
these harmful attacks on
people’s ability to control
if and when to have a
child.”
Kemp praised the deci
sion for finally allowing
Georgia’s heartbeat law
to take effect.
“As mothers navigate
pregnancy, birth, parent
hood, or alternative
options to parenthood —
like adoption — Georgia’s
public, private, and non
profit sectors stand ready
to provide the resources
they need to be safe,
healthy, and informed,”
the governor said.
“It is the constitutional
duty of the Georgia
Attorney General to
defend the laws of our
state,” Attorney General
Chris Carr added. “Today,
our arguments have pre
vailed, meaning the
Eleventh Circuit has
allowed Georgia’s LILE
Act to take effect imme
diately.”
State Sen. Jen Jordan,
the Democrat challenging
Carr on the November
ballot, said the battle over
abortion rights isn’t over.
“The U.S. Supreme
Court said this fight
belongs in the states, so
we must challenge this
law in the state courts,
and we must elect state
leaders who will protect
access to reproductive
health care,” she said.
“That’s why I’m running
for Georgia Attorney
General.”
This story is available
through a news partner
ship with Capitol Beat
News Service, a project of
the Georgia Press
Educational Foundation.
Obituaries
Brian Alldred
July 20, 2022
Brian "Rat" Alldred, 52, of
Dahlonega, GA passed away
on Wednesday. July 20, 2022.
He was born in Marietta, GA
to late James Joseph Alldred,
Jr. and Ellen Hope Roach
Alldred. Brian was a fine fish
erman, enjoyed farming,
enjoyed the outdoors and
sports. He was a huge Atlanta
Braves fan and loved his fami
ly dearly.
Brian is survived by his broth
er & sister-in-law, Jamie &
Cas Alldred of Dahlonega;
brother, Christopher Alldred
of Dawsonville; nieces,
Savannah Alldred and
Autumn Alldred both of
Dahlonega; aunts, Jenny
Alldred of Corbin, KY and
Lee Byrd of Orlando, FL;
cousins and other extended
family.
A private family service will
be held at a later date.
Condolences may be left
online at www.beardenfuner-
alhome.com
Bearden Funeral Home,
Dawsonville. GA 30534
Death Notices
Betty Jane Grogan
July 18, 2022
Betty Jane Grogan, 84, of
Cumming, GA passed away
on Monday, July 18. Funeral
Services will be held on
Saturday, July 23, 2022, at
11:00 a.m. at the Bearden
Funeral Home Chapel,
Dawsonville.
King Crossword
ACROSS
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4 Help a crook
8 Feudal slave
12 - bind
13 Put on
14 Tow
15 Up to
16 Taj Mahal city
17 Canadian gas
brand
18 Gorgonzola,
for one
21 Hairy Addams
cousin
22 Bit of advice
23 Forgeries
26 Clear the
deck?
27 Melancholy
30 Incursion
31 Ruin the
veneer
32 Robust
33 Thanksgiving
veggie
34 Prom rental
35 Washer phase
36 Droop
37 Abysmal
38 Brunch entree
45 Heap
46 Roll call reply
47 Literary col
lection
48 On the briny
49 Hurler
Hershiser
50 Book-spine
abbr.
51 "-the Knife"
52 Tiny amounts
53 Request
DOWN
1 Tubular pasta
2 "What's - for
me?"
3 Fancy party
4 Expects
5 Sired
6 Deserve
7 Deere product
8 Bo Peep's
charges
9 Lighten
10 Senator
Feingold
11 Drifting ice
19 Fibbed
20 Trendy
23 Saute
24 Bond rating
25 Kipling lad
26 Upper limit
27 Pouch
28 100 percent
29 Scottish river
31 Hood's photo
32 Jekyll's bad
side
34 - chi
35 Caravan
mammals
36 Sly one
37 Yawning,
maybe
38 Pesky email
39 Tower city
40 Sir Guinness
41 Wife of Zeus
42 Volcanic flow
43 Eve's grand
son
44 Chat
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^ Daws o n C o u nty N e ws
A Metro Market Media Publication
Established in 2015 by the merger of Dawson Community News and Dawson News and Advertiser
30 Shoal Creek Road i PUBLISHER | Stephanie Woody
Dawsonville, GA 30534
PHONE (706) 265-3384 EDITOR | Erica Jones
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