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4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, January 4,2023
FROM 1A
Recap
Local medical spa Serenity Medical
Health and Beauty Spa celebrated 18 years
in business in June. Dawsonville Hardware
celebrated 75 years in business and is still
going strong as the oldest family-owned
business in the county. Burt’s Pumpkin
Farm celebrated its 50th year in business
with its 2022 season and was recognized
statewide for the achievement with a reso
lution officially declaring Oct. 18, 2022 as
Burt’s Pumpkin Farm Day across the state
of Georgia.
DCN file photo
Northeastern Judicial Circuit Court
Administrator Jason Stephenson
speaks to the Board of
Commissioners about the rising case
load in Dawson County Superior
Court during an Aug. 24 budget hear
ing.
Growing backlog ensnares
pending court cases
Throughout 2022, a backlog of criminal
and other cases had the biggest impact on
Dawson County’s court system, which is
part of the Northeastern Judicial Circuit.
Circuit officials applied for multiple
rounds of federal funding to try to address
a backlog caused in part by factors like the
COVID-19 pandemic and population
growth.
With the backlog, pause on jury trials
and other factors, proceedings have been
delayed in multiple high-profile criminal
cases.
Of those particular cases, more motion
hearings were scheduled for Daniel Lee
Roberts, the man charged with Kaleb
Duckworth’s 2021 killing. The defendant
started off 2022 released on bond, a rever
sal of previous decisions to not grant him
it.
His lawyers submitted a change of
venue motion just days before their client
was arrested and accused of assaulting and
threatening a friend of Duckworth in May.
Senior judge David Emerson was subse
quently appointed to handle the proceed
ings.
At a July hearing, Roberts’ bonds were
revoked in his pending 2019 and 2021
cases and denied for the 2022 one. After
another pretrial hearing in October, the
defendant is set to come before a judge
again Jan. 12.
After a weeklong trial for defendant
Austin Stryker in fall 2021, proceedings
are still ongoing for multiple defendants
accused in events surrounding Hannah
Bender’s 2019 killing.
Following his 20-year prison sentence in
Dawson County, co-defendant Jerry
Harper was accused, pleaded and was sen
tenced to another 20 years in Forsyth
County for his role in concealing Bender’s
death.
Then in July, Stryker’s wife, Elizabeth
Donaldson, entered a negotiated plea of
guilty for her alleged role in the cover-up
of Bender’s killing. She received a sen
tence of one year in custody, two on house
arrest and 10 on probation. Upon success
fully serving the sentence or upon early
release by the court, Donaldson would not
have a formal judgment of guilty and
would be exonerated of guilt for her charg
es.
Stryker, along with co-defendants Bailey
Williams and Isaac Huff, was accused this
June in a 2019 Lumpkin County armed
robbery case that had previously been
linked to the Dawson one’s motive.
Williams’ separate Lumpkin County
trial for tampering charges was continued,
and Stryker will have a motion for a new
trial on Jan. 10.
More proceedings are also expected in
2023 for juvenile defendant Hope Lindsey
and capital defendant Jeremy Gibson.
Dawson County-based Paradise Valley
Resort Club’s appeal of the 2022 decision
in their court case against county fire offi
FROM 1A
Feed
had in the past four or five years; people
support the event from bringing food to
giving me their time on the special day to
monetary donations,” Seay said. “It’s a
blessing we were able to feed as many
people as we did. There’s a lot of moving
parts, a lot of people to thank and I’m
just so humbled and blessed for the out
pouring of love for this event.”
In addition to the food, Seay and his
volunteers also received donations of
stuffed animals and other toys, so they
were able to give the toys to local chil
dren at the same time that they received
their meals. And nothing went to waste
after the event was over, he added.
“We took all the [leftover] stuff to
Atlanta and donated it to one of the
recovery centers down there and they
Julia Hansen Dawson County News
Land prep work is ongoing for the forthcoming Kilough Point development.
Erica Jones Dawson County News
Dawson County High School teacher Richard Hayes stands in his classroom
at the College and Career Academy. Hayes is teaching the school's new
audio/visual technology and film pathway at the CCA.
cials is still pending at the state level.
Moratorium looms large over
growth discussions
While the focus in past years may have
been only on what new developments are
being built, much of 2022 was about what
wasn’t being built in Dawson County.
In particular, the Board of
Commissioners enacted an initial morato
rium on certain residential rezoning appli
cations in July and extended the measure
twice to last through Leb. 17, 2023.
That didn’t stop projects that were
already in the pipeline from going through
the planning and zoning process, though.
Multiple public and community meet
ings were held to decide the fate of devel
oper Pox Creek’s newest iteration of their
proposed mix-use project off of Lumpkin
Campground Road and Ga. 400. Though
its rezoning application was ultimately
withdrawn, the project served as a touch
stone for political candidates like BOC
District 3 contender Deanna Dickinson to
share wider concerns about the direction of
development in Dawson County.
Community members also turned out to
public hearings for proposed projects off of
Ga. 9 and Perimeter Road. While a deci
sion on one Perimeter Road rezoning
request was indefinitely tabled,
Dawsonville’s City Council approved
another request in a split vote during their
Oct. 17 meeting. Land preparation also
began for forthcoming developments on
the eastern side of Ga. 400, near Kilough
Church and Dawson Porest roads and Ga.
53.
Many people concerned about ongoing
development pointed to issues with the
county’s infrastructure and what the
growth would mean for their quality of
life. This summer and fall, public concerns
grew over county personnel changes, par
ticularly within Lire and Emergency
Services. Although DCPES has filled in
vacancies for multiple leadership roles like
its director and division chief positions,
openings still remain for heads in other
county departments like Public Works.
The Board of Commissioners continued
conversations on employee compensation
during 2022’s meetings, rubber stamping
more funds for workers who tested posi
tive for COVID-19. County commission
ers also approved funds and policies for
cost-of-living and merit and longevity
increases.
With the start of a new year, county offi
cials are gearing up for next steps in the
radio and E911/emergency operations cen
ter projects made possible by the county’s
seventh special local option sales tax.
Other anticipated projects include fixes
to the county’s transfer station on Burt
Creek Road and the county’s health
department building in downtown
Dawsonville.
Also on the horizon are NGMC’s forth
coming hospital campus just inside
Lumpkin County and a future 120-acre
park in Dawson’s District 1, thanks to a
generous land donation from Anne Styles.
Dawson School System
celebrates wins, growth
and new personnel
2022 was a full year for the Dawson
County School System, with lots of wins,
growth and personnel changes for individ
ual schools in the district and for the
school system as a whole.
The school system reported a graduation
rate of 93.1 for the 2021-22 school year, a
rate that is higher than the state average of
84.1 percent. Over the last 10 years, the
Dawson County school district has
increased its graduation rate by 13.6 per
centage points, from 79.5 percent in 2012
to 93.1 in 2022. Over the past five years,
the district has maintained a five-year aver
age of 95 percent.
In the wake of several national tragedies,
DCN sat down with Safe Schools
Coordinator Tony Wooten to learn about
the system’s approach to school safety. The
system is continually improving and add
ing to its safety measures and preparing for
any type of emergency, from natural disas
ters to fires to active shooter scenarios.
Dawson County High School had sever
al exciting new additions with the start of
the 2022-23 school year, including a new
audio/visual technology and film pathway
for students in the
school’s Career,
Technical and
Agricultural Education
(CTAE) program and
kicking off the CTAE’s
inaugural economic
development and work
force program in August.
The biggest personnel
change in the school sys
tem was the announce
ment of Damon Gibbs’
retirement from the role
of superintendent and the
appointment of Nicole
LeCave as the new super
intendent. Gibbs was
honored during his final
Board of Education meet
ing in May of 2022, and
LeCave stepped up to fill
the role following his
retirement.
The school system cel
ebrated several other per
sonnel changes with the
announcements of Paige
Galt as the new principal
of Dawson County
Middle School, Linda
Bearden as Robinson
Elementary School’s new
principal, PJ Huggins as
the system’s new trans
portation director and
new roles for Page
Arnette, Denise
Reynolds, Janice Darnell
and Roman Gaddis.
In university news,
University of North
Georgia (UNG) President
Bonita Jacobs announced
last August that she plans
to retire in June of 2023
after her 11 years as the university’s presi
dent, and a presidential search committee
is set to begin its nationwide search to find
a replacement for her. UNG also held a
ribbon cutting ceremony in September to
celebrate the official opening of its brand
new Cottrell Center for Business,
Technology & Innovation at the school’s
Dahlonega campus.
Elections turnout reflects
wider voter concerns
After Georgians’ participation in the
2020 election cycle, all eyes stayed on the
state’s voters for this year’s election turn
out. Statewide voter participation, includ
ing in Dawson County, broke early voting
records for the primary and general elec
tions and June and December runoffs.
Locally, most Board of Education and
Board of Commissioners seats remained
uncontested, except for Dawson County’s
race for BOC District 3, one of the coun
ty’s growing areas.
Republican candidates Alexa Bruce and
Deanna Dickinson competed against each
other, largely emphasizing their visions for
future growth in the county. Although
commissioner-elect Bruce definitively won
her seat on the board, conversations around
growth in District 3 and other areas along
the Ga. 400 corridor are far from over.
Next year, the BOC will also look and
sound different, with county commission
ers Sharon Lausett and Tim Satterfield hav
ing bid the board farewell in their official
capacities in December.
Seth Stowers and Bruce will start their
four-year terms for Districts 1 and 3
respectively.
At the state level, incumbent Georgia
representative and Dawsonville native Will
Wade won reelection to a second term in
the state house. Gov. Brian Kemp was also
reelected, beating Democratic candidate
Stacey Abrams for a second time.
Georgia, particularly the northern part of
the state, had competitive races up and
down the ballot, with competitive elections
for the U.S. Senate and U.S. District 6
seats. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael
Warnock beat Republican candidate
Herschel Walker for the seat following a
contentious campaign and runoff.
After a packed primary and ensuing run
off, Republican contender Dr. Rich
McCormick defeated opponent Bob
Christian in November’s general election
to represent Georgia’s U.S. District 6 in the
House of Representatives. Lollowing state
wide redistricting efforts last year, Dawson
County was moved out of Georgia’s 9th
Congressional District and into District 6,
which now includes all of Lorsyth and
parts of Cherokee, Cobb, Lulton and
Gwinnett counties.
Georgians also mourned the loss of mul
tiple important political figures in recent
months. Lormer Georgia Lirst Lady Sandra
Deal, an advocate for childhood literacy
and education, died in August.
Then in November, Ga. District 7 State
Rep. and former state house speaker David
Ralston died. After his passing, his widow
Sheree Ralston announced her candidacy
to run in a Jan. 3, 2023 special election to
fill her late husband’s seat.
Lour more contenders quickly joined the
race for District 7, which now includes the
northwestern part of Dawson County.
Since publication deadlines are before the
special election ends, results will first be
announced on DCN’s website and shared
on social media.
LeCave
Huggins
were very appreciative of it,” Seay said.
“And then we donated the rest of those
stuffed animals to the Dawson County
Sheriff’s Office.”
Seay said that, when all was said and
done, he counts this year’s event as one
to remember for a long time.
“This was a very special eighth annual
Dawson Leed the Hungry,” Seay said.
“Times are tough right now and people
are struggling; there’s a lot of unknowns
with pricing of gas and fuel. It was a
blessing to have all the donations and we
had so many people doing so many
things to help; it’s just a blessing every
year to be able to do it.”
He said that, when anyone asks him
what he got for Christmas this year, his
answer is that the greatest blessing is
being able to join together with so many
other people to make sure that their
friends and neighbors are provided for on
the holiday.
“It is a lot of work but it has a lot of
love put into it and I wouldn’t change it
— making sure people get taken care of
on Christmas is my Christmas present,”
Seay said. “There was a lot of other
counties that were represented there and
came to spend a special time like Jesus’
birthday to come help me out up here. It
takes a village; we have a wonderful
community here and all of North Georgia
is wonderful.”
He added that, while he spearheads the
plans and spends months organizing the
event each year, he wants to make sure
that the credit goes to each and every vol
unteer and business who helped to make
it possible.
“I cannot do this without the wonderful
community and volunteers of Dawson
County and the surrounding counties,”
Seay said. “It’s not about me; it’s never
been about me; it’s always about paying
it forward and doing God’s work and I’m
blessed to be able to do it and to be
around so many lovable people.”
Photo courtesy of Scotty Seay
This year on Christmas Day, volun
teers served and delivered over
1,500 meals during the eighth annu
al "Dawson Feed the Hungry" event.
