Newspaper Page Text
6A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, December 7,2022
DCHS puts on production of‘Little Mermaid Jr’
Photos by Erica Jones Dawson County News
Theatre students perform scenes from "The Little Mermaid Jr." during the school's December produc
tion.
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
This past weekend, stu
dents in the Dawson
County High School
Theatre department put on
a production of “The
Little Mermaid Jr.” at the
high school’s Performing
Arts Center.
The production was
based off of the beloved
1989 Disney movie,
which tells the story of a
mermaid Ariel who falls
in love with a human.
Cadence Giovimazzi,
who is a junior at DCHS
and played Ariel in the
musical, said that this was
her first time playing such
a big role in a production.
“This is the first time
I’ve ever had a role so big
and it’s definitely a big
change but I’m so grateful
for it because of all the
experience I’m getting,”
Giovimazzi said. “I just
enjoy what I’m doing so
much and it’s really
rewarding to see it all
come together. I’m so glad
that I get to star with these
amazing people; it’s all
like one really big friend
group.”
DCHS senior Madde
Castleberry played Ariel’s
best friend, Flounder, in
the play and echoed
Giovimazzi’s excitement to
act alongside fellow mem
bers of the high school’s
drama department.
“This is my second time
that I’ve had a lead role; I
haven’t had one since sev
enth grade so it’s been a
long time; this is like a
whole new ball game
because there’s a lot more
lines and I’m on stage a
lot more,” Castleberry
said. “Especially with it
being my senior year, I
wouldn’t want to do a
show with anyone else but
these people. We worked
so hard, and it’s good to
finally get to show people
what we’ve done.”
For tenth grader
Haydon Brooks, who
played Sebastian in the
production, this was his
first time in a lead role.
“This is my first lead
role; I’ve been doing the
ater since sixth grade so
this is really big for me,
this is really exciting,”
Brooks said. “It’s just a
really fun experience.”
This production was
unique in that many of the
students were also
involved in every aspect of
preparing, directing and
choreographing for the
show, according to direc
tor Maggie Ellis.
“I’m thrilled to direct
the first Disney show I’ve
ever done,” Ellis said.
“I’m super proud of what
the kids have done; they
have choreographed, they
have directed, they have
helped teach music —
they have really taken this
and it’s been awesome.”
DCHS senior Jace
Trammell is one of the
students who jumped into
the production with both
feet, she said, and he took
on the role of assistant
director. According to
Trammell, who has acted
in many other productions
before and played King
Triton in The Little
Mermaid Jr., getting to try
his hand at directing was a
great experience.
“It was very different
adjusting from the actor to
co-director lifestyle, but it
was really awesome to see
it all come together in the
end,” Trammell said. “Our
cast was very cooperative
and very driven when it
came to doing our scenes,
so that just made it worlds
easier to do our job. It was
great to finally see the
other side of show busi
ness besides just being an
actor, because I had no
idea what went into it — it
feels great to finally have
that under my belt too.”
Similar to Trammell
taking on the role of assis
tant director, DCHS
seniors Ava Morrison and
Sophia Thiltgen were able
to try their hands at cho
reographing a show for
the first time with this pro
duction.
“This is both of our first
time choreographing; it
was a lot of listening to
the music over and over
again and thinking about
what might work with the
music,” Morrison, who
also performed in the pro
duction as part of the
ensemble, said. “It is
incredible to see it all
finally come together; it is
really fun and I would
enjoy choreographing
other shows.”
“We’ve learned to
respect teachers; learning
to work with my own
peers but as a teacher was
definitely something I got
to learn from,” Thiltgen,
who played the role of
Attina in the production,
said. “Our cast was very
cooperative, so they all
worked with us.”
The students involved in
the production had been
hard at work on The Little
Mermaid Jr. since August,
and Morrison said that, for
the students in the high
school’s drama depart
ment, having the support
of the community allows
them to continue honing
their craft and to be able
to bring even better shows
to Dawson County in the
future.
“We mainly make
money for our program
off of the proceeds that we
get for people coming to
see it, so that helps us get
better set pieces or better
costuming for the show,
for new shows and for
rights to a bigger and bet
ter show for the next
year,” Morrison said.
“Sometimes it can be
rough, but at the end of
the day all of us love this
program and love coming
together to put on the
shows that we do,”
Trammell added.
State agency seeks hearing in voter fraud case
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
The State Election
Board’s voter fraud case
against a would-be Georgia
District 7 House candidate
could soon move forward
just as he has qualified for
office.
Brian Keith Pritchard, a
Cherry Log resident and
the owner of media compa
ny FetchYourNews, is one
of two candidates who
have announced their intent
to run in a Jan. 3, 2023,
special election to fill the
late representative David
Ralston’s seat.
The other candidate is
Ralston’s widow, Sheree
Ralston. She announced
her intent to ran via a press
release last Monday.
The state house district
covers part of Dawson and
all of Fannin and Gilmer
counties. Both Pritchard
and Ralston qualified for
the District 7 seat on Dec.
5.
“I will not be intimidat
ed. I will not be bullied,”
said Pritchard in a Dec. 2
phone call to DCN. “No
one’s going to keep me out
of this race.”
“I want to represent the
district,” Pritchard said dur
ing a Dec. 5 press confer
ence. “I want to support my
law enforcement and get
Atlanta crime out of the
North Georgia mountains.”
He said that he’s been
issued a document restor
ing all of his civil and polit
ical rights and explained
that the late Rep. Ralston
helped him obtain it.
During the press confer
ence, Pritchard added the
reason there will be a hear
ing in the near future is that
he refused to sign a docu
ment from the state’s
Office of the Attorney
General not admitting guilt
but requiring a $4,000 pay
ment.
“I am on the ballot,”
Pritchard said. “I am quali
fied to be on the ballot.”
The election board’s
accusations of voter fraud
against Pritchard stem from
alleged instances first
reported six years ago,
according to transcripts
from the State Election
Board’s meeting on Feb.
10, 2021.
In May 2016, the state
elections board received
reports that Pritchard regis
tered and voted in Gilmer
County “for several years
while serving a felony pro
bation sentence,” the tran
scripts stated.
Pritchard had been
recorded as a Gilmer
County resident since Jan.
29, 2008, when he regis
tered to vote. In May 1996
he pleaded guilty in
Pennsylvania to two counts
of forgery after writing and
one count of theft by fail
ing to make required dispo
sition funds, all felonies.
For his sentence,
Pritchard was ordered to
pay $33,629 in restitution
fees and court costs and
served probation that was
extended on April 4, 2004,
until Sept. 27, 2011.
“Pritchard violated
O.C.G.A. § 21 -2-216(b)
when he registered to vote
on or about January 29,
2008, while still under sen
tence for a felony convic
tion in Pennsylvania which
disqualified him from reg
istering to vote as all felo
nies are considered crimes
of moral turpitude under
Georgia law,” stated a
Georgia Office of the
Attorney General Dec. 1
filing with the Office of
State Administrative
Hearings.
Pritchard allegedly voted
in nine elections-four in
2008 and five in 2010-
while he was under felony
probation.
Pritchard is accused of
voting fraudulently in the
following elections,
according to the Office of
the Attorney General’s fil
ing:
• July 15, 2008
General Primary
Election
• Aug. 5, 2008
General Primary
Election Run-off
• Nov. 4, 2008
General Election
• Dec. 2, 2008
General Election
Run-off
• May 11, 2010
Special Election
• June 8, 2010 Special
Election
• July 20, 2010
General Primary
Election
• Aug. 10, 2010
General Primary
Election Run-off
• Nov. 2, 2010
General Election
Pritchard believed his
plea was no contest and
wasn’t aware of his felony
probation sentence when
voting, according to com
ments a state elections
investigator shared from
Pritchard’s attorney during
the election board’s
February 2021 meeting.
Due to the retention
schedule when the election
complaint was received,
documents from 2008 and
2010 were no longer avail
able, the investigator told
the board.
The investigator said he
did not know why the issue
wasn’t caught at the county
level.
“The only thing I can
think of is because it was
an out-of-state conviction
and that it may not have
been on their list of felons,”
the investigator said.
Pritchard’s attorney later
added that his client
received a pardon for his
Pennsylvania offenses on
Nov. 8, 2017. The attorney
suggested that the statute of
limitations ran out years
ago on the allegations and
that as a former prosecutor,
he didn’t believe there was
evidence at that point “that
Mr. Pritchard violated any
statute.”
At the end of that hear
ing, the board voted to bind
the case over to the
Attorney General’s Office
and Gilmer County’s
District Attorney’s Office.
Gilmer County is a part of
the Appalachian Judicial
Circuit, which also
includes Fannin and
Pickens counties.
DCN is awaiting clarifi-
cation from the
Appalachian Judicial
Circuit District Attorney B.
Alison Sosebee about
whether or not her office
has an active case against
Pritchard.
“We are requesting that a
hearing be scheduled by
the Office of State
Administrative Hearings,
and we look forward to
presenting the case against
Brian Pritchard,” attorney
general’s office communi
cations director Kara
Richardson wrote in a Dec.
1 email.
In the scheduling docu
ment filed Dec. 1, the State
Elections Board requested
that a case hearing be
scheduled in Fannin
County the week of Jan. 9
“due to the potential
unavailability of counsel
and witnesses of which the
State Election Board’s
counsel is currently aware.”
DCN will update this
story when more informa
tion becomes available.
Dawson County Humane Society
a no kill shelter
706-265-9160
Kitty Spotlight
Trooper is happy and healthy, but potential adopters will need to
be aware that he has been diagnosed as FIV positive. This means
that he has a compromised immune system and is needing owners
that understand the importance of keeping him indoors and
providing him with regular vet check ins. Because of his diagnosis,
we recommend Trooper goes to a single cat home or to a home
with other FIV positive cats present. Trooper is extremely friendly
and would get along with just about anybody.
Trooper is about three and a half years old and weighs 8 pounds.
Trooper
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.
All proceeds benefits
the Humane Society
Bradley M. Maple
CPA, PC
706-216-2362
2390 Thompson Rd • Ste 100
Dawsonville
ANH Collision
Specialists
706-216-0992
103 Industrial Park Road,
Dawsonville
Dawsonville
Veterinary
Hospital
706-265-8381