Robber Snatches Elderly Dacula Woman's Purse As She Puts Groceries in Car When I read this police report, I was absolutely disgusted. It would be terrible no matter what age the victim was, but to target a 71-year-old woman seemed particularly heinous. Then, according to police, the people responsible targeted an 84-year-old Sugar Hill woman the next day. I just want to say thank you to the witness who kept his head, paid attention and was able to provide police with the tag number of the suspect’s vehicle. I also want to thank the Gwinnett County Police Department for quickly pursuing that …

Dacula Restaurant Scores a 55, Permit Suspended As of early Friday afternoon, the follow-up inspection score for Caprese had not been posted on the East Metro Health District website. Most restaurants tend to ace their reinspections, and hopefully Caprese will do the same. Remember, restaurants are required to keep their scores posted in a visible place. If you don’t want to wait until you get to the restaurant to see the latest score, check our weekly health inspection report or visit our restaurant inspections page.  I Don't Want to Be Part of Any Club That Will Accept Me As a Member' - …

Owner: Club Will Be ‘the Disneyland of Gun Ranges’ I enjoyed meeting with Verne Fowler last meet. It is always fun to meet people who truly love what they do and have a great enthusiasm for their work. Mr. Fowler is excited about the new gun range and I can see why. He has big plans for this facility and, based on what he showed me, I think it will be a fun place to visit. Keep checking Patch for the latest updates. If all goes well, Mr. Fowler should be able to break ground in early April. Three Questions With the Mayor: The Worst Intersection in Dacula and More A lot of people would agree …

Mill Creek Student's Death Ruled a Suicide This story is so incredibly sad. These poor parents must be going through absolute hell right now. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.  MVAA: 'We Have Started the Police Report Filing Process' As of Friday afternoon, “We have started the police report filing process” still means no report has been filed. Obviously this is a difficult situation for the Mountain View Athletic Association. From what I understand, they have sought guidance and are trying to rectify the situation. Unconfirmed reports indicate tens of thousands of dollars…

Dacula High Student Reportedly Brings Marijuana-Laced Brownies to School If anyone ever did anything like this at my school, I never heard about it. I do recall an instance though when an upperclassman walked by while I was talking to a friend of mine. My friend had torn an Oneida ad out of a magazine that featured a cute little bunny eating a piece of lettuce off a fork. She had taped the ad to the inside of her locker. The guy -- who we soon realized was stoned out of his gourd -- froze when he saw the picture. Then he started laughing with what was apparently relief and said, “I thought …

Rep. Broun: Second Amendment ‘Protects All the Rest of Our Liberty’ Rep. Paul Broun, Dacula’s new congressman, was at Dacula City Hall Tuesday night for a town hall meeting. If you weren’t able to attend, I hope you’ll take a few moments to read coverage of the meeting and perhaps watch the video clips. Broun, who has announced he plans to run for Senate in 2014, will be our voice in Washington for the next two years.  It is important to know where he stands on the issues and important to let him know where you stand on the issues.  Area Homeschoolers Working to Help Shelter Dogs I want to …

City Approves Annexation, Rezoning of Peak at University Parkway Property With little fanfare and only a modicum of public interest, the City of Dacula completed a major feat Thursday night by annexing and subsequently rezoning a 157-acre tract of land near Highway 316. If developed in a manner anywhere close to the concept plan that has been presented, this annexation could result in a substantial benefit to the city in terms of jobs, revenue and transportation improvements. Even those of us who do not live within the city limits will see the impact of this development. It will be very …

City of Dacula Awards First Liquor License This week, the Dacula City Council awarded Dacula’s first (and currently only) liquor license to Heather Weaver. Heather and her husband Russ bring 10 years of experience in the liquor store business and have a beautiful plan for their store, which will be called Dacula Cork and Bottle. While some may be upset with the prospect of a liquor store coming to town, the citizens of Dacula overwhelmingly voted in favor of allowing package stores in the city limits. As to where the store will be built -- let’s face it, there is no location that would have …

Three Submit Applications to Become Dacula's First Liquor Store Licensee This past week we learned which parties are interested in securing the license to operate a package store within the Dacula city limits. We also learned where the applicants intend to locate their stores. While one of the locations seems to be generally acceptable to those who commented on the story, there appears to be a good bit of concern about the other two proposed sites. The location, however, is just one aspect of what the Dacula City Council must consider when deciding who should be the licensee. If you are …

Zaxby's Warns Customers of Potential Security Breach at Dacula Store I am a big fan of Zaxby’s. I know the chicken finger plate is horrible for me, but it is so good! Needless to say, I go there quite often and I always use my credit card (and my Hawks card). If you are a Zaxby’s fan like I am and have used your credit card there, be sure to keep a close eye on your statements. Zaxby’s has identified a potential security breach in which credit and debit card data may have been accessed. Frankly, it will take more than a fraudster to keep me from those chicken fingers and fries.  Cupcake Shop …

Duck Dynasty' Star to Visit Hebron Baptist Church Dacula doesn’t get a lot of visits from celebrities, so the news that reality television star Jase Robertson from “Duck Dynasty” will be in town in March has created some excitement. Robertson is scheduled to speak at Hebron Baptist Church. Tickets go on sale next month, so keep an eye out because I bet they’ll go fast.  Mayor: New Sign Part of City's Commitment to Open Governance Whether you like the new sign or not, you have to at least appreciate the reason for getting it. Mayor Jimmy Wilbanks explained the sign is part of the city’s …

$75,000 Worth of Guns Stolen During Big Gun Armory Burglary The ATF and Gwinnett County Police will no doubt be devoting considerable resources to finding the person or persons responsible for stealing more than 60 weapons during the burglary of a Braselton Highway gun shop. It is sickening to think of all those weapons on the streets in the wrong hands. It is, however, also a very good reminder that criminals don’t care about gun control laws or any other laws. Lawmakers can try to restrict gun ownership and pass all the laws they like, but to what end? Law-abiding citizens will comply, but …

Hunter to Be Sworn in Sunday The long and, at-times, contentious campaign (I’m referring to the supporters of the candidates, not necessarily the candidates themselves) is over and Tommy Hunter, our new Gwinnett County District 3 Commissioner, will take his oath of office later today. Expectations are high for our new commissioner and I wish him the best of luck as he begins his four-year term in January.  Gun Shot, Large Fight Reported at Apalachee Trophy Club You expect to read about these sorts of things happening in Norcross (no offense Norcross), but not Dacula. A large fight that …

Holiday Crime Alert: Watch out for December Thieves This week, a Dacula Patch reader made excellent use of the site by posting a note to let the community know about some recent criminal activity. Thanks again to Chris Johnson for taking the time to remind us of the need to take steps to prevent similar crimes at our own homes.  Rodent Droppings Found at Dacula Restaurant I don’t know about the rest of you, but I always read the entire health inspection reports (the links are always posted in the restaurant inspection articles). Sometimes the scores are not indicative of the violations, as …

Dacula Middle School Student Facing Criminal Charge After Allegedly Making Threatening Statements The comments on this article were interesting. Several people seemed to automatically assume the school was overreacting. That is unfortunate, but also understandable I suppose given some of the ridiculous school issues that have made it into the news over the past few years. This case, however, is not like those in which a child gets in trouble for accidentally packing a plastic knife in their lunchbox or a water gun in their backpack, this was something entirely different. When a child is …

Man Robbed, Beaten After Night of Drinking at Dacula Restaurant For those of you who do not always keep up with the crime reports, we’ve had a number of robberies -- some violent -- recently. In this particular instance, the victim was in a parking lot, alone, late at night and, according to the police report, very intoxicated. I think women are more or less are warned all their lives to use caution and not to go out alone at night, but do men get the same warnings? Well, here you go fellas: Don’t go out wandering (drunk or sober) through nearly empty parking lots by yourself late at night. …

Liquor Store Application Process to Begin in January We may not know where the store will be located or who the owner will be, but we do know the answers are coming soon. Next month, the City of Dacula will begin accepting documents from parties interested in becoming the city's liquor store licensee. There will only be one, so it will be interesting to see how much competition there is to open a package store in town.  Three Arrested After Meth, Gun and Drug Ledger Found in Car In yet another I-85 drug bust, police got a gun and meth off the streets and locked up three people. I am always …

Armed Robber ‘Buys’ Energy Drink So He Can Rob Hamilton Mill BP Station I’d like to see the surveillance video of this robbery. I’d just like to see the look on the robber’s face when the clerk told him he couldn’t open the cash drawer unless the robber made a purchase. The robber, thinking fast on his feet, grabbed an energy drink and handed it to the clerk to “buy” it. I don’t know whether to laugh or shake my head at the thought. I’m just glad the clerk was uninjured.  Gwinnett Residents Could See Hike in Cost of Trash Collection I am constantly amazed at how willing some people are to …

Dacula Election Results 2012: Package Store Referendum Passes After the overwhelming margin by which Dacula voters passed Sunday package sales and Sunday liquor by the drink sales, the results of the Nov. 6 package store referendum did not come as a surprise. It will be a while before a store actually opens in town, but it seems as if area residents are eagerly awaiting the grand opening. Hopefully the revenue projections will be accurate and the city will reap a substantial benefit from the new business. Three Questions With the Mayor: DRI Review, Road Project Update and Fall Foliage …

Hamilton Mill Teen Tased, Arrested for Disorderly Conduct I read a lot of police reports, but even I was shocked at how this individual reportedly behaved. I sincerely hope this teen decides to change his behavior going forward or he is in for a life of hardship and misery. Hamilton Mill Resident Reports Gun Stolen Lock. Your. Doors. Over the past two years, I’ve run dozens of articles on Dacula Patch about car break-ins in which the vehicle owner left valuables -- including guns, computers, large sums of cash and more -- unsecured. Maybe these people normally keep their cars locked and just …