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Full pool is 1,071 feet
Murder trial begins
over 2016 stabbing
By Alexander Popp
apopp@forsythnews.com
The trial for a Forsyth County
woman accused of multiple murder
charges for the alleged stabbing of a
35-year-old man in early 2017, began
last week in the Superior Criminal
Court of Forsyth County.
On Monday, a jury was selected and
attorneys for the state and defense
began their arguments in State of
Georgia vs. Tonya Jane Tidwell.
Tidwell, 34, has been accused of
stabbing David Eric Guice with a knife
on Dec. 29, 2016, and striking him
with an unknown object, rendering his
brain and lung “useless” along with
two other suspects Ryan Lee Spark,
30, of Hall County, and Jimmy Lee
Winkles, 24. .
According to previous reports, the
victim’s body was found near Odyssey
Trail off Hwy. 53 on Jan. 5, 2016.
Authorities previously stated that
while investigating the location where
the body was found, deputies “recalled
a recent traffic stop” that resulted in
Tidwell’s arrest for driving on a sus
pended license, which happened near
the crime scene.
Tidwell and Spark were arrested on
Jan. 7, while Winkles was found at a
home in Banks County the next day.
All three were later indicted for the
murder on Aug. 14, 2017.
According to Forsyth County
District Attorney Penny Penn, since
the trio’s indictment for charges of
malice murder, felony murder and
FROM 1A
of parents and staff, they decided to
give it a try for Veterans Day.
“It all came on pretty quick earlier
this semester,” Daniels said. “Two par
ents came to us, and they’d seen how
the students responded to the service
work that happened last year and
camesto-us with-a vision creating-it
and letting everyone in the school be
involved. They said, ‘Hey, let’s do a
sixth-grade day of service, let’s keep it
in-house, let’s start small,’ but it actu
ally got pretty big.”
Daniels said that during the two
hour event, more than 250 students
along with dozens of volunteers and
staff built and packed 50 care packages
to be shipped overseas and 50 bags of
supplies to be distributed to homeless
veterans in Georgia.
“It has really become a community
event,” Daniels said.
He said that they filled the boxes
with toiletries and other items that
were specifically requested by the dif
ferent armed forces. ,
“Anything that they need,” Daniels
said. “We kind of listened to them, and
we have specific addresses, so these
packages aren’t going to a random
place. They are going to a specific per
son that asked for these donations.”
The care packages will make the
long trip overseas to soldiers in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Cuba, Kuwait and
Syria, he said, while the Northeast
Georgia Homeless Veterans Shelter in
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
302 Veterans Memorial Blvd.
Cumming, GA 30040
PHONE (770) 887-3126
FAX (770) 889-6017
USPS 205-540
Updates daily online at
ForsythNews.com
MONDAY
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Tidwell
ed, and that for a guilty plea to murder,
there are two options for sentencing: a
life sentence with the possibility of
parole and a life sentence without
parole.
According to indictment documents,
as many as 50 different civilian and
law enforcement witnesses could be
called during the case and as of
Thursday evening, Penn said that they
expect the trial to extend into this
week.
This trial is being presided over by
Forsyth County Superior Court Chief
Judge Jeffrey S. Bagley and is being
prosecuted by Chief Assistant District
Attorney Sandra Ann Partridge.
After court proceedings Thursday,
Tidwell’s attorney John Rife expressed
his confidence in the case, stating “The
Jury has their work cut out for them in
this case ad they have been presented
with four different versions of what
happened so far by the state.”
Rife stated that he could not com
ment on whether his client would take
the stand in her own defense, but con
firmed that they expect the proceed
ings to go into this week.
Winder will receive the homeless vet
eran care packages.
“The students are also putting
together letters to ship overseas,”
Daniels said. “And hopefully those let
ters will be returned to the school. That
will be a nice thing for the school and
students to see.”
Sejal Chennuru, one of Daniels’ stu
dents, said that even if she doesn’t get
a letter back, she is happy knowing
that she brightened someone’s day.
.- Chennuru-said thatin the past she
has done charity with veterans groups,
but this event made her think about
doing more.
“If feels like you are doing some
thing good for your community,
because for everyone to be helping
them — for helping us, that’s really
nice,” she said. “I want to help out
more food pantries now.”
_According to Lakeside Principal
Kim Head, what Chennuru expressed
was one of the reasons that they hold
days of service in the first place —to
help out the community, yes, but to
give students a real-world experience
practicing service in a way they can
understand.
She said that even as young as these
students are, they can still connect
with the idea of charity and giving
back.
“It gives them an experience that
they don’t necessarily get academical
ly about putting their hands to work
for other people,” Head said. “It gives
them that real-world experience that
there is a bigger world out there out
side of what they do every day as a
student.”
PUBLISHER | Stephanie Woody
GENERAL MANAGER | Norman Baggs
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR | Nathan Schutter
EDITOR | Brian Paglia
SPORTS EDITOR | lan Frazer
CIRCULATION MANAGER | Alana Watkins
TUESDAY
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Showers early
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Nov. 6: 1069.30 feet
Nov. 7: 1069.40 feet
Nov. 8: 1069.40 feet
aggravated battery,
Spark and Winkles
pleaded guilty to the
murder and have
agreed to stand as wit
nesses for the state.
Penn said that both
Winkles and Spark
will be sentenced once
the trial has conclud-
WEDNESDAY
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Partly cloudy
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OBITUARIES
Wilma Gale Adams
Wilma Gale Adams, age 66, of
Royston, died Nov. 9, 2018, at St.
Mary’s Hospice House in Watkinsville.
Mrs. Adams was born on July 18,
1952 in Cumming, daughter of the late
Charlie Willard Neisler and the late
Wilma Belzora Pirkle Neisler. She was
a bus driver having worked for the
Forsyth County and Madison County
school systems. She was a member of
Zion Hill Baptist Church and attended
Grace Baptist Church.
Mrs. Adams was twice married, first
to the late Glenn C. Whitmire and sec
ond to the late Ronald Edwin Adams.
Survivors include sons, Jason
Whitmire of Royston, Donnie Adams,
Dennis Adams and Doyle Adams, all of
Dawsonville; daughters, Angel Selvey
of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., Darlene
Callahan and Debbie Cranford both of
Dawsonville; grandchildren, Jessica
Whitmire, Alyssa Selvey, Justin
Whitmire, Jordan Adams, Hunter
Adams, Zack Adams, Brittney Day,
Hedi Cranford, Wendy Elkins, Audrey
Gravitt, Jacob Adams, Chase Adams and
Samantha Adams.
Funeral services for Mrs. Adams will
be held at Zion Hill Baptist Church at 2
p.m. Nov. 11, with the Revs. Andy Huff,
Harold Bottoms and Mr. Donnie Adams
officiating. Mrs Adams will be placed in
the church at 1:30 p.m. prior to the ser
vice. Interment will follow in the church
cemetery.
The family will receive friends from
6-8 p.m. at Pruitt Funeral Home on
Saturday evening. The family is at the
home.
Online condolences may be made by
visiting www.pruittfhroyston.com.
Pruitt Funeral Home in Royston is in
charge of arrangements.
Sign our online guestbook at forsyth
news.com.
Forsyth County News
November 11, 2018
Bonnie Jean “Nana”
McGukin Headrick
Bonnie Jean “Nana” McGukin
Headrick, age 70, of Cumming, died
Veteran Dave Robbins found
a new calling: doggie day care
By Brian Paglia
bpaglia@forsythnews.com
When Dave Robbins found himself
out of a job late last year, he decided to
use the opportunity to finally make the
jump into entrepreneurship.
The Forsyth County resident had been
thinking about starting his own business
for a while. Robbins worked at AT&T
for more than a decade, helping to build
a mobility project management team,
and he’d been good at it. With less than
25 employees, Robbins developed a
team that managed revenues averaging
$350 million a year.
“We were incredibly successful,”
Robbins said.
Though the project thrived, Robbins
felt an urge to start his own business.
The layoff seemed like the perfect
chance.
Robbins kept gravitating toward dog
day cal_'e,._.¥_,¢, grew up with dogs, and he
and his wife have owned dogs ever since
they married 21 years ago.
But owning dogs didn’t always fit
with their family life during Robbins’
17 years in the U.S. Marine Corps
Reserves. The family leaned heavily on
dog day care facilities during that time.
Robbins went to Iraq in 2004, which his
wife used as an opportunity to visit
friends around the country, and every
~year, Robbins had to travel for Reserves
exercises three to four times.
“It was not fair for the dogs to be
home pretty much the entire day and
seeing people for an hour,” Robbins
said.
When Robbins found Hounds Town
USA, a dog day care facility business
based out of New York, he was con
vinced it was the right fit.
In particular, Robbins was struck by
the business’ approach.
“Their philosophy is to have smaller
playgroups, pair dogs up that have the
same temperament, play styles, things
like that,” Robbins said. “It’s a lot more
work that goes into it, but at the end of
the day, it gives the dog a more benefi
cial environment. And they’ve been very
successful with it.”
Nov. 8, 2018.
McDonald and Son Funeral Home is
in charge of arrangements. j
Forsyth County News
November 11, 2018
Johnny L. Holtzclaw
Johnny L. Holtzclaw, age 63, of
Dawsonville, died Nov. 8, 2018.
Bearden Funeral Home is in charge of
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
November 11, 2018
David Malcolm Jackson
David Malcolm Jackson, age 74, of
Cumming, died Nov. 7, 2018.
Ingram Funeral Home is in charge of
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
November 11, 2018
Sabrina Marie Morgan
Sabrina Marie Morgan, age 33, of
Dahlonega, died Nov. 6, 2018.
Ingram Funeral Home is in charge of
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
November 11, 2018
William K. Neils
William K. Neils, age 72, of
Cumming, died Nov. 9, 2018.
Byars Funeral Home is in charge of
arrangements.
Forsyth County News
November 11, 2018
Buddy Wilcox Ruis -
Buddy Wilcox Ruis, age 70, of
Cumming, died Nov. 9, 2018.
Ingram Funeral Home & Crematory is
in charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News
November 11, 2018
Joseph Yarberry
Joseph Yarberry, age 58, of
Dawsonville, died Oct. 31, 2018.
McDonald and Son Funeral Home is
in charge of arrangements.
Forsyth County News ;
November 11, 2018 :
o
Photo courtesy Dave Robbins
Dave Robbins, left, pictured with his
wife, spent 17 years in-the U.S.
Marine Corps Reserves, which
meant his family’s dogs often
stayed at day care facilities.
Robbins expects to open one of his
own next year in Forsyth County.
Indeed, the company, which was start
ed in 2001 by former New York Police
Department canine handler Michael
Gould, has nine locations in New York
and New Jersey. The facilities offer
overnight boarding with “townhouses”
for dogs that prefer company or “private
suites” for those that don’t. They also
offer a pet spa, pet taxi-and training ser
vices. Hounds Town USA locations
offer the same treatment for cats, too.
Robbins’ franchise would be the first
for the company outside the Northeast.
He’s currently scouring the county for a
location; particularly in south Forsyth.
Robbins expects to open the facility
sometime in early 2019.
But Robbins is undaunted by the pros
pect of being a business owner. After all,
he rose to the rank of staff Sergeant in
the Reserves. There he became respon
sible for the Chemical, Biological,
Radiological and Nuclear Defense sec
tion of his battalion. It was his job to
train reservists on how to stay safe in
dangerous toxic environments.
Pretty soon, he’ll create a safe envi
ronment for animals like his family’s
two mutts.
“We love animals,” Robbins said. “It
sounds like a very challenging thing to
build a very niche business and make it
successful (but) I love working with ani
mals. It drew me in.”
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