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Top Stories of 2008 
Photo/FILE
Meredith Emerson and her dog Ella before Emerson's death last January.
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2008 In Review January - Emerson killed in Dawson County A Georgia Bureau of Investigation autopsy revealed 24-year-old Meredith Hope Emerson died of blunt force trauma to the head and then was decapitated. According to Dawson County Sheriff's Office arrest warrants, those crimes occurred here, Jan. 4 in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. Gary Michael Hilton, 61 plead guilty to murdering Emerson three days after she was abducted from a day hike on Blood Mountain and was sentenced to life in prison. February - Jail facility officially dedicated The county's law enforcement operations now are under the same roof, a two-story masterpiece complete with enough floor and bed space to last Dawson through 2020. Dawson County leaders - business, civic and government - gathered to dedicate the $16 million state-of-the-art detention facility that opened in October. The names King, Vilendrer, Gibson, Anderson and the citizens of Dawson County join those of Sheriff Billy Carlisle, Major Kevin Tanner and the Dawson County Board of Commissioners on a plaque recognizing these people and groups as integral components of building a community facility. March - Dawson Most Wanted suspect nabbed in Gordon Chuckie Lamar Simonds, 44, has been wanted in Dawson County for the last six years. They almost nabbed him in September 2006 when sheriff's Sgt. Tony Boggus, responded to a 911 call regarding a prowler. Simonds was arrested around 10 p.m. on Feb. 26 in Gordon County on drug-related charges. Investigators discovered methamphetamine and marijuana at the residence where Simonds was taken into custody, Dawson County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tony Wooten said. April - Clean up from Friday storms continues A violent storm system rolled through the four corners of Dawson County on Friday night, downing power lines, hundreds of trees and damaging homes and businesses. Thousands of power customers lost electricity. "By the Grace of God," no one was injured, Dawson County Emergency Services Chief Lanier Swafford said. "The storm was in the county less than 30 minutes, but it left behind hours and hours of destruction," Swafford said. "There were no injuries reported; we were very, very fortunate." May - Tanner selected as County Manager Kevin Tanner's first day as the new county manager for Dawson County was a bit unusual for most new county managers. He arrived on time, which wasn't unusual. Nevertheless, his first visitor wasn't someone that visits Dawson County on a daily basis. That's because Dawson County's former State Senator and Georgia's current Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, (R-Chestnut Mountain) is on a tighter business schedule than he used to be. Cagle, accompanied by his Field Rep. Dennis Pitts, came by to wish Tanner, his longtime friend, well on his first day on the job. June - Drop in ISO Rating could be savings on Insurance Costs Last October ISO, came out and tested Dawson's fire response capabilities and Dawson received a 6 out of a possible 10. The new ISO rating will go into effect in August according to Thurmond. In 1988, the ISO rated Dawson a 7 out of 10 and a 9 out of 10, depending on the location of the property. This is important for the people of Dawson County because the ISO rating of Dawson County affects the fire insurance rates of property owners. "Everybody, whether you were a nine or a seven before will save money with this reevaluation," said Thurmond. July - Gold Creek closes its doors The Gold Creek Gold Club closed its doors on Thursday June 26. No official from Gold Creek has returned any calls regarding the mysterious closing. Tax Commissioner Linda Townley said that the club owed almost $130,000 in taxes and a levy has been placed on the property, but the office of the Tax Commissioner is not responsible for the closing of Gold Creek. Gold Creek was scheduled to appear in court about the taxes in August according to Townley. August - Dawson County Middle School is open for business The Dawson County Middle School was dedicated this past Sunday and members of the community were welcome to tour the building. The new building is a little over 110,000 square feet and is capable of educating 750 full-time students. There are 48 classrooms, a gymnasium with a capacity of 750 and a new auditorium with 340 seats. The building cost $10.2 million and development of the site cost another $1.7 million bringing the total cost $11.9 million. The school also features two memory walls in the main hall which were built using the bricks from the old building and features pictures and other memorabilia. September - Hit and Run at near Black's Mill Elementary Five-year-old Omar Gomez is at home and on the mend from injuries sustained when he was struck down Thursday morning by a hit and run driver near Black's Mill Elementary School. Gomez was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville in the aftermath of the accident and later transferred to Egleston Children's Hospital in Atlanta. His most serious injuries included a concussion and a skull fracture, Dawson County authorities said. He was released from Egleston late Thursday night and sent home late, Dawson County Schools Superintendent Nicky Gilleland said. Gomez, a student at Black's Mill, had just stepped onto Dawson Forest Road to board Dawson County School Bus No. 339 when he was struck down by a white Jeep Cherokee driven by 19-year-old Gary Hoosline of Cleveland, Dawson County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Tony Wooten said. DeShan Fishel, who was behind Dawson County School Bus No. 339, turned around and went after the fleeing Jeep Cherokee. While chasing the vehicle, Fishel called Dawson County 911 Communications. The vehicle veered off the asphalt and into a grassy area. Fishel pulled her vehicle behind the Jeep and waited for police to arrive. October - Local CPA arrested again on theft charges Local businessman Warren Pennington was arrested Tuesday morning by Dawson County authorities for additional counts of theft by conversion. Pennington surrendered to local authorities in July on a similar charge, Dawson County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Tony Wooten said. Pennington, a certified public accountant, who lived in Pickens County and now lives in Dawson County, is charged with nine additional counts of theft by conversion, Lt. Wooten said. November - Dawson County and Pickens County Co-Sign for Fire Station This last Thursday, representatives from Dawson County and Pickens County met at the Pickens County municipal buildings to sign an intergovernmental agreement that would provide fire service for the Wildcat community. The Wildcat community is located in both Pickens county and Dawson County. Currently, the Wildcat community does not have adequate fire protection service. Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Mike Berg from Dawson County cosigned with the sole Commissioner Robert P. Jones of Pickens County to bring the agreement into action. The fire station is to be located on Monument Road, on land acquired by Pickens County and approved of by Dawson County. The agreement signed by the two counties has agreed upon portions of responsibility that each county has for the fire station. December - New officials take office James Swafford was among the new and returning officials sworn in last Friday at the Dawson County Courthouse. Swafford will be joining the Dawson County Board of Commissioners at the representative for District 2. |
