Lumpkin County School Board tackles school safety
News March 1, 2018
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – In the aftermath of the shooting that killed 17 students and faculty in Parkland, Florida, and threats to “shoot up” schools in White, Dawson, Hall, Forsyth and Gwinnett counties last week, an anxious community filled the meeting room at the Lumpkin County School Board office Wednesday to discuss the only item on the agenda: school safety.
School Superintendent Dr. Rob Brown opened the meeting by saying, “School safety is the first consideration in every decision we make. We want to have an open conversation to include thoughts and ideas from everyone.”
In the two hours that followed, parents, teachers, law enforcement officials, school counselors, social workers and representatives of city and county government participated in a free-wheeling, constructive dialogue. The overwhelming sense of purpose that filled the room was “not-in-my-schools.”
Ideas that were explored included installing additional video monitors and metal detectors, locking all doors and having one single entry point, manned guard shacks at all schools as a first-line of defense and being more diligent about getting troubled kids help or getting them out of school.
Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said, “Every measure you put in place is a good measure. The more stringent they are the better.”
Georgia Mountain Education Charter High School Assistant Superintendent Tracy Sanford said, “There is no foolproof plan.” However, he cautioned school officials not to limit their attention to guns. He pointed out that the shooters who killed 13 people and injured 20 others at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 intended to use a bomb to blow up the school. He said the next tragedy could be a truckload of fertilizer driving into a school building.
Sheriff Stacy Jarrard discusses security at Lumpkin County Schools during the Board of Education meeting.
Sanford praised the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office: “As you all know, I work with 15 counties and their SROs (school resource officers). I guarantee this is by far the best and easiest to work with in north Georgia.”
Arming teachers is an issue that has sparked heated debate at the national level. Four of five Lumpkin County School Board members said they are open to the idea if a teacher is willing and has extensive firearms training. Only Craig Poore did not support the idea.
Brown said mental health issues have been at the root of many of the active shooter incidents the nation has experienced over the last couple of decades.
He said the school staff has been proactive in trying to address that issue. “Our social worker and school counselors have been offering a Parent Education Night since last spring to address an issue that is very, very important when we talk about school safety,” Brown stated.
Brown commended school social worker Joni McElwaney. “She works directly with families to ensure they know what community resources are available to them. She is usually the first one our administrators contact when they know there is an issue with a child, especially if there is a mental health concern,” the superintendent added.
The school board is expected to review the ideas presented and begin to implement some, or all, of them as soon as possible.
Another recommendation was that schools become more diligent in getting rid of students who cause trouble. Board member Mera Turner said state law makes that issue extremely difficult for educators to address. State law requires that every student be given a public school education until they reach the age of 18, or 21 if they are in a special education program.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
More arrests, more charges could be filed in Bender murder case
News October 13, 2019
Sheriff Stacy Jarrard
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said Friday there could be more arrests in the Hannah Bender murder case.
“I know the GBI is looking into that,” he said during a phone interview.
Jarrard also said the GBI could file additional charges against the six people already in custody.
Authorities believe Bender was murdered in Lumpkin County, but her body was found in a ravine in Forsyth County on Parks Road near Hwy 306.
Austin Todd Stryker, who was arrested in Pittsburgh last week, has been charged with Bender’s murder. He also has been charged with the robbery of the Dollar General store on Hwy. 60 in Lumpkin County in July.
Authorities have not revealed a motive in the murder. Nor have they said whether the robbery and murder are connected. The GBI special agent in charge of the investigation declined to be interviewed last week.
The others arrested include Bailey Williams, 21, charged with tampering with evidence; Dylan Reid, 19, charged with concealing a death; Isaac Huff, 18, charged with concealing a death; Elizabeth Brooke Donaldson, 21, charged with tampering with evidence; Jerry Harper, 78, charged with concealing a dead body and tampering with evidence.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
GBI makes arrest in Hannah Bender murder case
News September 26, 2019DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has arrested Elizabeth Brooke Donaldson, 21, of Dawsonville. She is charged with tampering with evidence. Donaldson is the fiancee of Austin Todd Stryker, the subject of a nationwide manhunt in connect with the murder of Hannah Bender of Dahlonega.
Elizabeth Donaldson
Bender’s body was found Wednesday in a partially-wooded, partially pasture-land area on Parks Road in Forsyth County. She was reported missing 11 days ago by her mother Carol Gilreath.
In a press conference Wednesday, Lumpkin County Sheriff said the body was identified by the woman’s tattoos but positive identification will be made following a GBI autopsy. He did not reveal the cause of death.
Jarrard said questions asked by investigators led them to the body. He also said he expects to make other arrests in the case. In addition to Stryker, authorities are searching for 78-year-old Jerry Harper as a person of interest.
Authorities, including U.S. Marshals, are conducting a nationwide search for Stryker and 78-year-old Jerry Harper of Dawsonville. They are believed to be traveling together in a white Ford Explorer with tag PXH 4402.
A post on the West Virginia State Patrol office stated Stryker had been spotted in Clay County, West Virginia this week.
Hannah Bender’s father thanked Jarrard and Investigator Captain Marcus Sewell for their effort to locate his daughter and her killer. He also asked people to stop speculating on social media about his daughter’s death.
Anyone with information is asked to call Marcus Sewell at 706-974-6824.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Authorities locate body of Hannah Bender in Forsyth County
News September 25, 2019
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard announced today the body of 21-year-old Hannah Bender, has been found in a partially-wooded, partially pasture-land area off Parks Road in Forsyth County.
Authorities with the Sheriff’s Office and Georgia Bureau of Investigation were led to the discovery through leads developed during the investigation.
Ms. Bender’s mother reported her missing Sept. 14 and a murder warrant was issued for her one-time boyfriend Austin Todd Stryker.
Fetch Your News will have more details as they become available.
Commissioners to Meet in Work Session Tuesday
News March 31, 2017
DAHLONEGA — Sheriff Stacy Jarrard will request the Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners approve a budget amendment of $36,700 for his office due to the disbandment of the Special Services Division when the Board meets in a work session Tuesday, April 4 at 4 p.m. in the Administration Building Boardroom, 99 Courthouse Hill.
Special Services, which is comprised of the K-9 unit, school resource officers, drug agents, victims services, records and community relations programs, was disbanded earlier this year to allow consolidation and a reduction in the number of divisions and command structure. The services provided by the unit will not go away. The 14 employees who worked in Special Services have been reassigned to other Divisions.
Commissioners are also expected to discuss:
⦁ The appointment of a representative to the Upper Etowah Alliance;
⦁ The appointment of a representative to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Advisory Planning Board;
⦁ The appoint of a member to the Planning Commission;
⦁ Abandonment of Shadowstone Subdivision Road;
⦁ An amendment to the Animal Control Ordinance;
⦁ Recommendations for Hospital Authority Board appointment;
Commissioners will also review a number of contracts and agreements, including:
⦁ The intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the City of Dahlonega & Lumpkin County regarding municipal elections;
⦁ The Senior Center Operating Contract;
⦁ Georgia EPD Local Government Scrap Tire Abatement Reimbursement Program Contract;
⦁ An addendum to the Legacy Link Nutrition Program Services agreement;
⦁ GDOT Wimpy Airport Tree Removal Reimbursement contract County Administration.
Other items to be discussed include:
⦁ A bond for Window Renovation Project Bid;
⦁ Plans for Fire Station Property Agreement
⦁ Legion Field Rehabilitation;
⦁ A Quit Claim Deed for Ralph Dodd Property, 575 Roy Grindle Road.
“American Patriot Rally” scheduled for Saturday
News September 13, 2019
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Residents of this picturesque little town (population 6,884) usually welcome visitors. But not so much Saturday. Better known for its hospitality and charming Christmas celebrations than politics – Dahlonega is bracing for what is billed as an “American Patriot Rally.” It’s a rally that many city officials fear could spark violence.
The original organizer is Chester Doles, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan who says the sole purpose is to “honor the President of the United States Donald J. Trump.” Doles said he had hoped to attract several hundred people to the rally when he filed the notice of intent in August.
Sheriff Stacy Jarrard
“But when Atlanta Antifascists got wind of it, they began trying to intimidate people not to come so I withdrew,” he said. Shortly thereafter, another Trump supporter Dustin Penner filed the notice of intent for the same event.
Antifa — a radical group of anarchists, socialists and communists — and the Socialist Coalition of North Georgia (SCNG) have made it clear they plan to disrupt the rally. SCNG issued a press release calling on “antiracists and progressives of all stripes to come to Dahlonega Sept. 14.”
The rally is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and end at 3 p.m.
City and county officials have worked overtime, to prepare. Dahlonega City Council last week rushed through an ordinance that prohibits many items at the rally such as rocks, sticks, bottles, backpacks and umbrellas. The ordinance also prohibits drones except those that belong to law enforcement or government.
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said the rally will be staged in two separate areas.
Dean Delliponti
“The original organizers of the rally will be at the Welcome Center on one side of the Dahlonega Gold Museum,” he said. “Antifa will be on the other side of the museum, about 70-100 yards away. If you want to be involved in the protest you have to pick one location or the other and there will be check points to make sure we get you to your location.”
The two groups will be separated by a wall of gray steel barricades and an even stronger wall of 300 – 500 law enforcement officers whose purpose is to ensure the event is peaceful and that First Amendment free speech rights are protected.
Still there was an uneasiness in town Friday. Residents and business owners were not sure what to expect. Some businesses will close Saturday. Others like Shenanigans Irish Pub and Bourbon Street Grille will remain open.
Asked if he would be in town tomorrow, University of North Georgia senior business marketing major Dean Delliponti said, “Definitely not.” He said he wasn’t sure what to expect. “It’s a crazy world but I hope there won’t be any violence. I don’t know why they had to pick little Dahlonega, Georgia.”
UNG senior biology major Katlin Thompson said she plans to attend. “I have to work but after work, I’m probably going to stop in just to see what it’s all about.”
Asked if she would like the groups to stay away from Dahlonega, she said, “Honestly? No I think everybody has the right to voice their opinion on anything they believe in. I just hope it isn’t in a negative way. We don’t need negative stigma for such a small town.”
As he often does, Jarrard asked for prayers for the city. “I hope when it’s over I can say I’m thankful that it’s over, thankful no one was injured, there was no loss of property and no one got assaulted. Hopefully we can go back to a routine life. Everybody has got a right to voice their opinion but that doesn’t mean it has to come with fear or hatred or destruction of property.”
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Rainbows stage protest before leaving Dahlonega
News July 9, 2018
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Thousands of “Rainbows” left Lumpkin County over the weekend but not before staging a protest against what they believe was harassment by federal, state and local law enforcement.
Some 70-80 protesters who participated in the Family of Living Light gathering in the Chattahoochee National Forest lined the sidewalk across from the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office Sunday, singing songs and carrying protest signs demanding their fellow “Rainbows” be released from jail.
Local activist Frank Gilkeson, who joined the protest, said, “They’re protesting the fact that the local sheriff has incarcerated a whole bunch of people for a various assortment of crimes. We don’t know when these cases will come up and these people live all over the country. Their cases need to be expedited.”
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said releasing those in jail is as simple as paying the bond.
Steven Gilley, of Anniston Alabama, complained that he had been stopped multiple times by the authorities who searched his car for drugs.
“The first time, the Forest Service and state police stopped me for over two hours and had a dog running around searching my vehicle,” he said. “I told them there ain’t no drugs. They took everything out of my van and left it piled up on the road. They took my pipe and an open liquor bottle I had from New Orleans and gave me a citation on Friday. I forgot it was there. If I knew it was there, I’d have drunk it.”
Gilley said he paid his fine last Monday and, as he was leaving court, he was ticketed for an expired tag and no insurance.
The U.S. Forest Service estimates approximately 4,500 Rainbow Family members attended the gathering this year. Spokeswoman Cathy Dowd told WSB TV that overall things went well this year, although 30 people were arrested and approximately 900 citations were issued during the event.
The Rainbow Family began gathering in 1972. The movement is reminiscent of the counterculture, hippie movement sparked by protests of the Viet Nam war. It is billed as a peaceful gathering, but twice in the last three years, violence has ended in death to a participant.
In March 2015, a gathering in the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida ended in gunfire when 39-year-old Clark Mayers of Milledgeville shot 24-year-old Wesley Jones three times. Jones survived the shooting but was paralyzed and when Jacob Cardwell of Arizona attempted to calm Mayers, he was shot twice and killed.
On Saturday, Elizabethtown (Kentucky) Police Department arrested Joseph Bryan Capstraw who admitted to murdering an unidentified woman after the two left the Rainbow Family gathering hitchhiking to Kentucky.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
LC BOE announces called meeting to allow public to express concerns
Lumpkin County High School, News March 22, 2019
LUMPKIN, CO.,
The Lumpkin County Board of Education announced a called meeting for Monday, March 25 at 6:30PM.
Lumpkin County School System announced on social media on Friday, March 22 that the purpose of the meeting is to allow Lumpkin residents to express their concerns regarding the recent resignation of Lumpkin County High School principal, Billy Kirk, “Individuals wishing to address the board can get a ‘Public Comment Sign-In’ form from the LCSS after 8AM on Monday, [March 25].” They further explain that “Completed forms should be given to the board secretary prior to the start of the meeting. Each speaker will be allotted three minutes.
When asked what made the LC BOE decide to hold a called meeting, LCSS Superintendent, Dr. Rob Brown, told FYN, “The board wants to give the community an opportunity to share their input on our current issues.”
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Rainbow Family Gathering peaceful so far
News June 19, 2018
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said Tuesday the Rainbow Family Gathering in the Niblewill area of the Chattahoochee National Forest just north of Dahlonega has been fairly non-eventful.
The “family,” which has been described as a loosely-organized group of hippies, nudists and itinerants that grew out of the anti-war, counter-culture movement of the 1960s and ‘70s, meets annually at a different national forest to “promote world peace, love and healing.”
In the past a small segment of the family has caused significant negative impact on nearby communities. In 2014 during a gathering in the Wasatch Mountain Range in Utah, a man was stabbed and a woman was found dead.
Several hundred family members have arrived so far and before the event concludes on July 5, up to 10,000 are expected.
“There really hasn’t been a lot of trouble,” Jarrard said. “I hope it will come and go without any trouble. Any time you have a large event like this that a lot of people attend, no matter which group it is, there can always be a small percentage that wants to cause trouble.”
While the sheriff is hoping for the best, he is prepared for the worst.
On Monday, he swore in 30 U.S. Forest Service employees which expanded their jurisdiction from the national forest to all of Lumpkin County. Georgia State Patrol, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Corrections and several cities and counties have sent deputies to help keep the peace. Forsyth County has sent as many as 25 deputies.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Antifa threatens to disrupt American Patriot rally in Dahlonega
News September 3, 2019
DAHLONEGA, Ga – Hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officers are bracing for the possibility of a violent confrontation during the American Patriot Rally to support President Donald Trump on Saturday, Sept. 14.
Chester Doles, a man who reportedly has ties to several white supremacist organizations received the original permit for the event. He withdrew his request, but shortly thereafter, Dustin Penner received a permit for the event.
Chester Doles
Members of Atlanta Antifascists — a militant, left-wing group of black-clad anarchist thugs known for sparking violence at Trump rallies, is expected to hold a counter-demonstration. A post on the Atlanta Antifa Facebook page brands Doles as “a longtime neo-Nazi and fourth-generation Klansman” and, it says the rally “is an attempt by Doles to draw pro-Trump rightists closer to his own neo-Nazi politics.”
Members of their group say they are keeping a watchful eye on the event.
Some reports have indicated that Bikers for Trump Georgia would participate, but the organization’s Director Dale Herndon spoke with Fetch Your News today and issued the following statement: “There is no way, knowing what we know now about the history of the original event coordinator and knowing that he is still promoting this rally that we can attend as Bikers for Trump. The news media would have tried to tie it all back to the past. I could not put the bullseye on our President.”
Andy Ngo
Antifa’s reputation for violence is well documented. It was Antifa that attacked and severely beat conservative journalist Andy Ngo in July. Ngo was kicked, punched and spit on. He sustained brain damage as a result of a brutal attack.
That same month, a 69-year-old man who claimed to be a member of Antifa fire bombed Tacoma Northwest Detention Centre before being shot to death by police.
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said there would be a heavy law enforcement presence for the Trump rally. “I have nothing against either group. I’m hoping the event will be peaceful but we will enforce the law.”
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Woman murdered after leaving Rainbow gathering
News July 7, 2018
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — Authorities in Elizabethtown have arrested a Florida man they say met an unidentified woman at the Rainbow Family of Living Light Gathering in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Lumpkin County then hitchhiked to Kentucky together where he beat and stabbed her to death.
WHAS Channel 11 TV, an ABC affiliate, is reporting tonight that Joseph Bryan Capstraw, 20, has admitted to killing the woman during a blackout and he has been charged with one count of murder.
Authorities with the Elizabethtown Police Department say while investigating a call of a suspicious person, officers located Capstraw who said he needed a hospital and that he “killed her.”
Officers report Capstraw then took them to the body of the female victim.
According to reports, it is believed Capstraw was in a verbal altercation with the woman when he blacked out. Capstraw then allegedly observed the woman, beaten badly, and that he had multiple injuries on his hands.
This marks the second time in three years, a supposedly peaceful gathering of the Rainbow Family of Living Light resulted in the death of a participant.
In March 2015, a gathering in the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida ended in gunfire when 39-year-old Clark Mayers of Milledgeville shot 24-year-old Wesley Jones three times. Jones survived the shooting but was paralyzed and when Jacob Cardwell of Arizona attempted to calm Mayers, he was shot twice and killed.
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard issued the following press release tonight:
“The Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office is requesting assistance in determining the identification of a homicide victim. On July 7, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Elizabethtown, Ky. Police Department. They advised they had in their custody a 20-year-old white male (See booking photo) Joseph Bryan Capstraw who is charged with the murder of an unidentified female he says he met at the Rainbow Family of Living Light here in Lumpkin County.
“Please, I ask if you have any information about the female that accompanied Joseph Bryan Capstraw as they were hitchhiking from the Rainbow Family of Living Light, please contact the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office so we can help this victim be identified and help her be returned to her loved ones. Please pray for the family of the victim.”
To provide information, please call 706-864-0414.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
They got him! Murder suspect Austin Stryker arrested in Pittsburgh
News October 2, 2019
Austin Stryker
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Austin Todd Stryker, the man accused of killing 21-year-old Hannah Bender was arrested at 1 a.m. today (Oct. 2) in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said they received a tip about Stryker’s whereabouts and passed it along to U.S. Marshals and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. No other details of the arrest are available at this hour.
Bender’s mother Carol Gilreath last saw her daughter on Sept. 14 and reported her missing on Sept. 19. Authorities found her body in a ravine near Parks Road in Forysth County five days later.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Stryker’s fiancee Elizabeth Brooke Donaldson in Dawson County. According to court records, she is charged with tampering with evidence. Her bond was set at $5,200.
Dawson County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Jerry Harper, 78, Friday. He is charged with concealment of a body and tampering with evidence.
Two other men — Isaac Huff, 18, and Dylan Patrick Reid, 19, were arrested Tuesday in Dawsonville. They are charged with concealing the death of another.
Stryker’s fiancee, Elizabeth Donaldson, and another man, Jerry Harper, were arrested last week.
Please follow Fetch Your News for up to date information when it is available.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Shooter, victims in Thursday murder-suicide identified
News April 6, 2018
Kelley James McDonald Jr.
DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Kelley James McDonald Jr., 39, a fugitive wanted in Florida for multiple counts of domestic abuse, has been identified as the shooter in Thursday’s murder-suicide that took the lives of three adults and sent one unidentified teenager to the hospital.
The deceased have been identified as McDonald, his ex-wife Kelly Garrison, and her sister Tracy Runnels. An unidentfied 16-year-old female also suffered a gunshot wound and was transported to an Atlanta-area hospital where she underwent surgery Thursday. Her injury is not believed to be life-threatening.
A 13-year-old female and a 2-year old female suffered only minor scratches in the incident but did not need to be transported to the hospital. Authorities declined to identify them because of their age.
At approximately 8:20 a.m. Thursday, Lumpkin County deputies responded to a “shots fired” call. Upon entering the residence, they found Runnels’ body and the 16-year-old female, who had been shot, in the upstairs portion of the home. As they began to clear that floor, they heard three more shots coming from a lower floor.
Downstairs, they discovered the bodies of McDonald and Garrison.
During a Thursday press conference, Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said it appears the incident started as a domestic incident in Florida and that Garrison fled the state to come to Lumpkin County to hide at her sister’s home.
Authorities do not know how McDonald made his way to Lumpkin County. There was a report that an unidentified Ford Explorer SUV was seen leaving the vicinity around the time of the shooting.
However, it now appears that vehicle did not play a part in the incident. There is some construction work going on in the area, and it looks like the SUV was in the area to drop off one of the workers.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Lumpkin County Commission to meet Tuesday
News April 28, 2017
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners will have another full schedule when it meets on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Two key issues on the agenda include the acceptance of a federal government grant and the proposed adoption of a timber ordinance that raised some questions during a recent commission meeting.
Commissioners applied for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Award in 2015 and were notified two weeks ago that they had been awarded the grant to fund two fixed generators, one for Fire Station #4 and one for the 400 Water System Well #1. The total project costs are $82,315, with $61,736 funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), $8,232 funded by the State of Georgia, and $12,347 to be funded with local dollars.
The purpose of the timber ordinance is to regulate timber harvesting in the unincorporated area of Lumpkin County and to provide procedures, rules and regulations governing persons, firms, businesses, companies and corporations engaged in timber operations to protect the citizens and the environment and to assure the public’s safety. Private land owners raised questions about whether the ordinance applied to them or to the companies that harvest the timber.
Sheriff Stacy Jarrard will address the board to ask for a modification to the county’s noise ordinance aimed at eliminating loud, offensive and disturbing noises, including the use of loudspeakers that attract attention but disturb the public.
Other items on Tuesday’s agenda include:
- A discussion about renaming the intersection of Little Creek Road and Little Mountain the Crane Intersection in honor of the Crane family which has owned and operated Crane’s Store at that intersection for the past 75 years;
- A request by Finance Director Allison Martin to declare several items as surplus and to advertise them for sale on GovDeals.com website. The items include a 1995 Ford Super Club Wagon, 1983 Ford, 1984 Hahn Fire Truck and 1989 Chevy tanker;
- Appointment of members to the Library Board of Trustees and Veterans’ Affairs Advisory Committee.
Contracts to be discussed, include:
- The Tourism Contract with the Chamber of Commerce;
- Go Green Medical Waste Solutions Service Agreement for proper transportation and disposal of regulated medical waste;
- Government Scrap Tire Abatement Reimbursement Program;
Also on the agenda will be discussions about placing a commemorative plaque at Fire Station No. 2 in honor of Lottie Ledford and the workforce development plan.
These and other issues will be discussed during the work session that begins at 4 p.m. and may be voted on during the regular meeting which follows immediately.
UPDATE: Escaped inmate recaptured near Johnson St.
News June 29, 2018
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The inmate who escaped from the Lumpkin County Detention Center this afternoon has been captured.
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard reports that James Dowd, Jr., who is charged with fraud, escaped around 4 p.m. from the sally port area of the detention center by pushing away from the guard and running into a kudzu patch behind the jail.
Jarrard said a helicopter and canine unit were used in the search. “He tried to steal a phone from a pedestrian on Johnson Street,” Jarrard said.
He was captured at approximately 5 p.m., about one hour after he escaped.
UPDATE: Escaped Lumpkin County inmate identified
News June 29, 2018
DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said an inmate who had just been brought to the Lumpkin County Detention Center pushed guards away and escaped from the sally port area of the Detention Center as he was being processed today (June 29) at approximately 4 p.m.
The inmate has been identified as James Dowd Jr. of Dahlonega, who is charged with fraud. Jarrard said Dowd does not have a history of violence. He was wearing handcuffs and an orange jump suit.
Jarrard asks that residents secure their homes and while the search continues and if you spot any suspicious activity to call 911.
Fetch Your News will have additional details as they become available.