Local News

Paula and Keith Wagnon reopened Buds ’n Bows Flower Shop on Aug. 1 after taking most of the summer off to care for their mothers. They then faced a series of issues, but the shop is back in business. (SHANNON MORAN/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Paula and Keith Wagnon reopened Buds ’n Bows Flower Shop on Aug. 1 after taking most of the summer off to care for their mothers. They then faced a series of issues, but the shop is back in business. (SHANNON MORAN/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Wagnons overcome illness, storm damage to reopen shop

Jesse Wood
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Paula and Keith Wagnon, her husband and co-owner of Buds ’n Bows Flower Shop, made the decision in June to temporarily close their flower shop to take care of their ailing mothers. A week after they reopened on Aug. 1, they were faced with damages to their store.
John Brewer, who lives in Arnoldsville, said: "I've always had stories running through my head.” The retired UGA professor, who is 85 years old, doesn’t plan to stop writing. (RAMON ELORTONDO/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

John Brewer, who lives in Arnoldsville, said: "I've always had stories running through my head.” The retired UGA professor, who is 85 years old, doesn’t plan to stop writing. (RAMON ELORTONDO/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

At 85, Brewer keeps writing, publishing novels

Avni Trivedi
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
As a child, John Brewer liked to invent stories in his head. He refers to himself as a “storyteller by nature.”    “I think my childish dreams were just that: childish,” Brewer said. “I used to tell my younger brother about my stories, and he wasn’t very interested at all.
Machines used in the manufacture of pills, including fentanyl, were confiscated in the raid on a house on Collins Avenue in Lexington last Friday. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Machines used in the manufacture of pills, including fentanyl, were confiscated in the raid on a house on Collins Avenue in Lexington last Friday. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Drugs, guns found in bust

Avni Trivedi
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
The Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office busted a drug manufacturing ring in Lexington and arrested three individuals this past weekend, Sheriff David Gabriel told The Oglethorpe Echo.
Kenzie Erwin, along with her horse Badger, has won three belt buckles in the 2022-23 season for her rodeo skills, which include goat tying and barrel racing. (LANDEN TODD/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Kenzie Erwin, along with her horse Badger, has won three belt buckles in the 2022-23 season for her rodeo skills, which include goat tying and barrel racing. (LANDEN TODD/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Erwin’s rodeo skills pay off with belt buckles

Julianne Akers
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Kenzie Erwin was 6 years old when she told her grandmother that she wanted to ride horses. Kenzie’s mother, Amy Erwin, said she enrolled her in horseback riding lessons where she learned the “foundations of riding,” and soon began barrel racing.
Tommy Carter in his lab with bags of soybeans he developed just before he retired from North Carolina State in 2019. Carter’s family has roots in Oglethorpe County dating to the 1800s. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Tommy Carter in his lab with bags of soybeans he developed just before he retired from North Carolina State in 2019. Carter’s family has roots in Oglethorpe County dating to the 1800s. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Growing up in Oglethorpe gave Carter a ’real sense of identity’

Garrett Kicklighter
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Tommy Carter was involved with science from a young age. His father was Oglethorpe County’s agricultural extension agent and his uncle was a farmer in Clarke County.    Carter’s family has owned farms in the county since the 1800s.
Holtzclaw

Holtzclaw

School officials: Car rider changes work

McCain Bracewell
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
The revised car rider line implemented at Oglethorpe County Elementary School last Wednesday has been successful in solving traffic congestion, school officials said.    The plan directed afternoon car riders off Fairground Road and around the transportation department building.
The Oglethorpe Echo

The Oglethorpe Echo

Women’s ag conference scheduled for Friday

News Staff
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Staff Report   The Southern Women in Ag team will host a hands-on workshop on beef cattle and small ruminants from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25 at the Oglethorpe County Ag Center.    The program is for women interested in farming, cattle or small ruminant production.
Superintendent Beverley Levine and members of the Oglethorpe County Board of Education meet in the Central Office for the first time since the building flooded in December. (MCCAIN BRACEWELL/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Superintendent Beverley Levine and members of the Oglethorpe County Board of Education meet in the Central Office for the first time since the building flooded in December. (MCCAIN BRACEWELL/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Enrollment numbers on rise at every school

McCain Bracewell
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Enrollment in Oglethorpe County schools increased by 88 students from last year and 132 from two years ago this year. The numbers don’t include pre-K or special needs preschool students.   Total enrollment is 2,259 students, an increase from 2,171 last August and 2,127 in 2021.
Jeff Sharp, Oglethorpe County’s code compliance officer, listens to the discussion during the Economic Development Authority meeting on Tuesday night. (JULIANNE AKERS/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Jeff Sharp, Oglethorpe County’s code compliance officer, listens to the discussion during the Economic Development Authority meeting on Tuesday night. (JULIANNE AKERS/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

EDA to file lawsuit against Paladin

Julianne Akers
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Expanding broadband internet was on the minds of members of Oglethorpe County’s Economic Development Authority at Tuesday night’s meeting.