Dawson native talks
about county’s history
of moonshining.
INSIDE, 6A
Triplets reflect at the
end of their high school
sports careers.
SPORTS, IB
DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I MAY 3, 2023
Dawson News ► com dawsonville, GEORGIA $2.00
Machete-wielding man is sentenced
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
A Dawsonville man
has pleaded guilty to
multiple charges after he
was accused in
September of wielding a
machete, stealing a
motorcycle at a local
Waffle House and lead
ing law enforcement offi
cers on a chase.
During an April 24
hearing, Zackery Ryen
Miller, 23, pleaded guilty
to charges of armed rob
bery, aggravated assault,
possessing a knife during
a felony,
posses
sion of
metham-
phet-
amine
and mis
demean
or fleeing
or elud
ing an officer, according
to a filing in Dawson
County Superior Court.
Miller was sentenced to
40 years, with the first 13
years in prison and the
remainder on probation,
with two of those years
in residential rehab for
substance abuse treat
ment. He will also have
to pay restitution to the
victim, Northeastern
Judicial Circuit District
Attorney Lee Darragh
said in a statement to
DCN.
Dawson County depu
ties responded just
before 10 p.m. on Sept.
12, 2022, to a report of
an armed robbery in the
parking lot of the Waffle
House on N 400 Center
Lane.
Miller hit a man in the
head with a machete then
stole a motorcycle.
Despite the attack, the
man was later deemed to
be okay, Sheriff Jeff
Johnson said in a previ
ous email.
As deputies responded
to the incident, they spot
ted a motorcycle leaving
the area of the Waffle
House. They tried to stop
the motorcycle as the
chase entered Hall
County on Price Road,
but the motorcycle did
not stop and the suspect
eventually lost control,
crashing in the area of the
Lighthouse Community
Church on Price Road.
While securing the
scene, deputies found
drugs on and around
Miller. The drugs includ
ed crushed pills believed
to be alprazolam and
three separate baggies of
suspected methamphet-
amine “also containing
suspected fentanyl,”
Johnson said.
Miller sustained inju
ries in the crash and was
transported to Northeast
Georgia Medical Center
before going to the
Dawson County
Detention Center, where
he was held without bond.
The district attorney
explained that his office
received “victim input
and approval of the rec
ommended sentence.”
“The sentence imposed
was fair for the case,
when in the end,” said
Darragh, “Miller took
responsibility for his
behavior through the
entry of a guilty plea.”
Gainesville Times
reporter Nick Watson
contributed background
information to this arti
cle. The Times is a sister
publication of the
Dawson County News.
Miller
License to thrill
Photos by Julia Hansen Dawson County News
Eighth grader Logan Connor prepares for a ride-along with Dep. Matthew Blackstock as part of the lead-follow
activity during DCSO's April 29Take it to theTrack event at Dawson County's Atlanta Motorsports Park.
Teens get a safe place to burn rubber at Take it to the Track
Hundreds of spectators from Dawson and surround
ing counties came to participate in and watch the dif
ferent activities atTake it to theTrack.
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
The smell of burnt rubber
and sound of revving
engines filled the air.
Dozens of spectators lined
the balcony and parking lot.
Area teenagers gleefully
raced alongside profession
al drivers and deputies dur
ing the Dawson County
Sheriff’s Office’s and non
profit Drivestrong’s first
AMP’d Up: Take it to the
Track event this past
Saturday at Atlanta
Motorsports Park.
The Saturday evening
gathering gave teens a safe
outlet to test their racing-
related skills in a controlled
environment instead of
practicing street racing,
“stunting” and other dan
gerous behaviors on public
roads.
DCSO partnered with
DriveStrong because of the
organization’s ability to
teach local youth real safe
driving skills, both on and
off the track, according to
an earlier press release.
DriveStrong provides
defensive driver training
and advanced development
opportunities for teens,
teaching skills that go well
beyond the typical driver’s
ed curriculum.
Activities at the AMP’d
Up night included a burnout
and drift area, lead-follow
laps with deputies following
the drivers along AMP’s car
track and an array of educa
tional booths.
“I heard from some par
ents here that were just so
appreciative to have a place
for their kids and teenagers
See Track 14A
Sole finalist
for county
manager is
announced
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
A Macon resident has been chosen as
Dawson County’s sole finalist for its coun
ty manager.
Joey Leverette was named as the finalist
for the leadership position, stated a county
public notice.
The Board of Commissioners will decide
on Leverette’s appointment at its May 18
voting session meeting, which immediately
follows the board’s 4 p.m. work session.
The voting meeting will be held in the
second floor assembly room of the
Dawson County Government Center, locat
ed at 25 Justice Way in Dawsonville.
See Manager|4A
BOE approves
buyback of tech
devices in district
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
During the April 20 called board meeting
of the Dawson County Board of Education,
board members voted to approve a technol
ogy buyback partner that will allow the
school system to safely and efficiently per
form a refresh of the district’s devices.
According to Superintendent Nicole
LeCave, at the end of this school year the
system will be doing a refresh of the devic
es across the district. The last refresh was
done three years ago.
As with past refreshes, the district will
sell the current devices to an electronics
buyback vendor, and school system admin
istrators reviewed three potential vendors
to compare which option would be the
See Buyback 13A
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9 0 9 9 4
® Events
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XX XljXvLv Dear Abby
Deaths
Volume 9, Number 18 j i
© 2023, Dawson County News °
Dawsonville, Georgia Opinion
Sports
2B
6B
5B
2A
6B
7A
1B
4A Bowen Center
for the Arts
holds spring
festival
8A Local judge
appointed as
Dawsons new
chief magistrate
BEST OF DAWSON
FOR COSMETICDENTISTRY
Celebrating 50 Years
ercf/u/
B. Manzur, D.M.D
754 Hwy 53 West
Dawsonville, GA
706-265-2505
