Kenneth Austin Vance, who is the school safety director for Putnam County Charter School System and also a Republican candidate for the Georgia House District 133 seat, was arrested last month for DUI.
“I made a mistake for which I am ashamed, and I take responsibility for it and am facing the consequences; I have learned a valuable lesson,” Vance said in a telephone interview with the newspaper.
Vance was arrested around 11:30 a.m. June 3 in Habersham County on charges of improper stopping on roadway, DUI, and possession of an open alcohol container, according to Habersham County Sheriff’s Office jail reports. He spent two days in the jail before being released on a $2,280 bond.
Vance explained that he was traveling alone on his way to his high school reunion in Rabun County. He said he drank “more than I should” the night before at his home in Milledgeville and did not eat any breakfast before he left. While driving through Habersham County, Vance said he started getting sleepy and pulled off the side of the road to rest a few minutes.
“I didn’t pull over because I had drunk alcohol, but because I drive a lot and when I get sleepy, it’s better to pull off to the side of the road for a quick nap instead of driving sleepy,” he said.
While resting, Vance said he was awakened by a tap on the driver’s side window by a state trooper with the Toccoa State Patrol post. Vance voluntarily underwent some roadside tests for alcohol impairment. He said he also told the trooper about the alcohol container in his vehicle. He said the trooper told him he was taking him to the county jail to run a test on the breathalyzer machine.
“I told him I was fine with that,” Vance said.
At the Habersham County Jail, Vance registered .09.
“The limit is .08, so I knew I was DUI then,” he said.
When asked about being in jail for two days, Vance explained that he sat in a holding area for more than 12 hours before he was actually booked.
“They must’ve been short-staffed. They told me they were behind and that people ahead of me were still waiting to get booked in at the time,” he said.
Vance said he understood the process and what was happening. He is a former deputy sheriff in Monroe County and also in Florida, and most recently had served 13 years as director of Georgia Peace Officer’s Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Council.
Vance said that as soon as he was released, he had breakfast in Rabun Gap, and he called his wife and Putnam County Charter School System Superintendent Eric Arena.
When asked about his candidacy for the Georgia House of Representatives, Vance said, “I apologize to the voters. I apologize to everybody. I’m going to try to win this election and use what I’ve learned through this. The good Lord forgives me, and I hope everyone else will, too.”