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DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I OCTOBER 5, 2022 DaWSOflNeWS ^COITI DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA $1.00
Dawson names new fire, emergency services director
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
For the last half of his
career in California, longtime
firefighter Troy Leist always
envisioned moving to the
South upon retirement.
As Leist now starts his job
as Dawson County’s new fire
and emergency services direc
tor, he’s glad to have made
that happen.
His installment at the begin
ning of this week follows Fire
Chief Danny Thompson’s
departure from the department
at the end of August.
Leist was born and raised in
California. He explained that
his love for outdoor activities
like fishing and his desire for
something different led him to
look for jobs in the Southeast.
Just over a year ago, as
Leist was nearing retirement
with the Seaside Fire
Department in the Monterey
Bay area of California, his
son was going through the
firefighter academy.
Unbeknownst to Leist, his
son later applied for a fire
fighter position in Dawson
County, scoring an interview
and eventually the job. His
son relocating to the area gave
Leist yet another reason to
come to Dawson County.
Prior to taking on the direc
tor position here, Leist
worked for 30 years as a fire
fighter, advancing from the
role of a reserve firefighter to
a division chief.
And he’s no stranger to
disasters.
“California is one big disas
ter,” Leist said. “I’ve been to
riots, fires, floods, torna
does.. .you name it, I’ve pretty
much done it.”
Just as he’s worked to be
intentional in his emergency
response endeavors, Leist said
he also wants to continue his
focus on being community
oriented.
“I love being a part of the
community and helping,
whether it’s the schools, after-
See Director 17A
Julia Fechter Dawson County News
Troy Leist began his job as Dawson County's new fire and EMS
chief on Sept. 26.
‘Very humbled and very honored’
Caray selected as DCHS, district teacher of the year
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
At the end of September,
Dawson County High School
teacher Ashley Caray was in
the middle of a lesson with
the students in her classroom
when she turned around to
see the superintendent and
assistant superintendent,
board of education members,
high school principal and oth
ers standing in the back of the
room. With a big smile on her
face, Superintendent Nicole
LeCave announced to Caray
and her students that she had
been selected as the district’s
official teacher of the year.
Caray, who had already
been named as the high
school’s teacher of the year,
said that she was shocked and
overwhelmed to learn that she
had also earned the tide of the
district’s teacher of the year
too.
“I was there with my kids
and turned around and there
were just all these people,”
Caray said. “When they went
to announce it I was very sur
prised, very humbled and
very honored that my col
leagues picked me.”
Caray is the Community
Based Instruction (CBI),
Community Based Vocational
Instruction (CBVI) and
Transition Instructor for the
high school. She said that, as
a teacher in the special educa
tion program, being named
the district teacher of the year
is a win not just personally
but for the whole program.
“It takes a village,” Caray
said. “It’s the awesome com
munity, it’s the administra
tion, it’s my team here, the
general ed teachers that open
See Caray 14A
Photos courtesy of Ashley Caray
Ashley Caray, right, has been named the Dawson County High School and district
teacher of the year.
Bearden named
Georgia’s 2022
Coroner of Year
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
Dawson County Coroner Ted Bearden
won the 2022 Coroner of the Year Award this
past weekend from the Georgia Coroners
Association, an honor that he says is a testa
ment of not just his own work but of the
work and support of his friends, family and
staff.
Bearden received the award during the
association’s annual conference last week
end. In order to win the honor, a coroner has
to first be nominated for the award and then
selected by a committee that makes the final
judgment on who receives it.
According to Bearden, who won the same
See Coroner 14A
Dawson man part
of huge drug bust
in White County
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
A Dawson County man is one of two peo
ple behind bars following
large drug seizures by the
Appalachian Regional Drug
Enforcement Office this past
weekend, according to a
Sept. 29 press release from
the multi-agency unit.
Thomas Earl Gamsey, 49,
of Dawsonville, and Joshua
McLaughlin, 34, of Canton
were arrested on Sept. 25 in
connection to an investiga
tion conducted by the White
and Lumpkin County sher
iff’s offices, Riverdale Police
Department, Atlanta-
Carolinas High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Area
McLaughlin
See Bust 16A
0
9 0 9 9 4
Inside
Volume 4, Number 35
© 2021, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
3B
Classifieds
7B
Dear Abby
6B
Deaths
2A
Legals
7B
Opinion
5A
Sports
1B
3A ‘American
Pickers’
returning to
Ga. in search
of antiques
Medical spa
celebrates
18 years in
Dawson
County
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