Newspaper Page Text
Racing world mourns
death of sprint car driver
Justin Owen, sports, 3b
Take it to the Track’
will give teens
chance to race.
INSIDE, 4A
DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I APRIL 12, 2023 DaWSOflNeWS >COnri DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $2.00
Missing man found alive after eight days
Motorcyclist found by other bikers who heard him calling for help
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
A Forsyth County man was
found alive in Union County April
2 after he had been missing for
eight days, Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office Public
Information Officer Stacie Miller
confirmed.
FCSO previously issued a Be on
the Lookout, or BOLO, alert for
Harold “Kirk” Wintersteen on
Saturday, March 25.
“He was found off [of] Cooper
Creek Road by some bikers who
heard him calling. He has a bro
ken leg and is recovering in the
hospital. Praise God and blessings
to everyone who prayed and
searched for him!,” stated an April
2 post from Kristen Gailey
Stevens, a friend who started a
Facebook group to help find him.
The area where Wintersteen was
found was north of Two Wheels of
Suches, a business that provides
lodging and hosts events for
motorcyclists.
“When we couldn’t find him in
any of the areas we thought would
be likely, we decided to get more
involvement,” Stevens said. “That
is when I made the Facebook page
and shared it on all of the local
motorcycle club Facebook pages.”
Wintersteen was last seen on
March 25 between 3 p.m. and 5
p.m. during an event at the lodg
ing site. He was reportedly leaving
the event and returning to his
home in Forsyth County on his
black Suzuki motorcycle.
Stevens said that another friend
of hers, Les Dobbins, was at Two
Wheels of Suches on Sunday.
Dobbins saw a group of bikers and
told them about Wintersteen,
handing them a flier.
The bikers asked whether there
was a Facebook page about the
search for Wintersteen, and after
See Missing 14A
Motorcyclist
and Forsyth
County resi
dent Harold
"Kirk"
Wintersteen
was found
alive in the
Suches area
on April 2,
2023 after
he had been
missing for
eight days.
Photo submitted
to DCN
‘We’re glad we were able to do it’
Photos by Erica Jones Dawson County News
A K.A.R.E. for Kids representative gives filled Easter eggs to local children through their car windows during
the organization's April 8 drive-through Easter event.
K.A.R.E. for Kids spreads Easter cheer despite rain and cold
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
Despite pouring rain and
bitter cold on Saturday
April 8, representatives
from local nonprofit
K.A.R.E. for Kids bundled
up and convened at the
Dawsonville Farmers
Market Pavilion with one
goal in mind: to spread
Easter cheer to as many
children and parents as
possible by distributing
40,000 filled Easter eggs
through a drive-through
Easter event.
While the organization
usually holds its annual
community egg hunt out
side in one of the local
public parks, the forecast
for this year’s Easter week
end made it apparent that
the event would be rained
out. So, rather than simply
canceling the event,
K.A.R.E. for Kids leader
ship came up with the
alternative of making it a
drive-through.
According to K.A.R.E.
for Kids Executive
Director Tiffany Buchan,
she and other organization
leadership were happy
with the decision to change
plans for the event instead
of canceling it.
“There have been way
more cars than what we
See Easter 16A
Representatives from K.A.R.E. for Kids stand in front of
their tent during the organization's April 8 drive-through
Easter event.
New Hwy. 369
bridge over
Ga. 400 opens
By Kelly Whitmire
DCN regional staff
After years of construction, the first driv
ers have crossed the newest bridge over
Ga. 400.
At about 9:47 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4,
the new Hwy. 369 bridge opened to east-
west drivers, as crews closed northbound
traffic on Ga. 400 at Exit 17 and began
work to remove the signalized intersection
at the new Exit 18.
“Along with the traffic shift, the signaled
intersection at SR 369 and 400 will be
removed,” Forsyth County government
officials said in a recent news release.
“This shift will result in several related
traffic pattern changes.”
See Bridge 14A
‘Teen Maze’
aims to teach
ninth graders
about choices
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
On Friday March 31, a crowd of teenag
ers stood on the grass outside of Dawson
County Junior High School, watching local
emergency responders work to extract a
person from the back seat of a car. Off to
the side, a Dawson County Sheriff’s Office
deputy interviewed the teen, about the
same age as her audience of onlookers,
who had climbed out of the second car that
sat with its hood smashed against the other
car’s.
As the emergency responders cut the
doors off of the totaled car, the air filled
See Maze 13A
0
90994 04002
Inside
Volume 9, Number 15
© 2023, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Events
2B
Classifieds
6B
Dear Abby
5B
Deaths
2A
Legals
6B
Opinion
7A
Sports
1B
6A Dawson,
Lumpkin
among nations
fastest-growing
counties.
6A Buy spring
' plants, support
local high
school students
Q)amonville
B. MANZUR, D.M.D.
754 HWY. 53 WEST, DAWSONVILLE, GA
706-265-2505
"We all try and go above
and beyond and give that
five start treatment, so it's
rewarding to know that
what we do matters."
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