Dade is a peaceful, rural county where one garbled threat scrawled hastily on a bathroom wall by an angry teenaged girl elicits not just an instant police investigation but press releases from the heads of county schools and law enforcement agencies. See the previous Planet article for particulars of the referenced incident.
In that context, it is of some note that a much more serious school-violence event this week has a deep connection with Dade: Randall Jesse Davidson, who brought national attention to Dalton, where he is a teacher in the city’s public school system, when he opened fire Wednesday with a handgun in his locked classroom, is actually a resident of Rising Fawn. Dade tax rolls show him as co-owner with his wife, Lisa, of a home on Highway 11. Lisa Davidson is a science teacher at Dade County High School, listed as the chair of her department.
Davidson, 53, who locked students out of the room before he discharged his weapon, did harm to no one with his unexplained outburst. He is, however, facing serious charges in Dalton stemming from the shots-fired incident. National news reports describe him as a man troubled from depression who has puzzled police and his employers with unusual behavior before in the past two years.
Dr. Jan Harris, superintendent of Dade schools, confirmed that the DCHS science chair Lisa Davidson is in fact the same Lisa Davidson as the one married to the suddenly-famous Dalton schoolteacher, but reminds that Ms. Davidson is not accused of anything at all.
“I just want to respect her privacy,” said Dr. Harris. “She’s a wonderful teacher and trainer.”
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