Local News

The Oglethorpe Echo

The Oglethorpe Echo

Women’s ag conference scheduled for Friday

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

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.
The Oglethorpe Echo

The Oglethorpe Echo

Arnoldsville to hold special election for mayor

When Arnoldsville voters head to the polls on Nov. 7, they will see options to vote for both interim mayor, whose term ends Dec. 31, as well as mayor for the next four-year term, beginning in 2024.
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

Expanding broadband internet was on the minds of members of Oglethorpe County’s Economic Development Authority at Tuesday night’s meeting.
The Mirakel board includes the Rev. Stephen Pontzer (from left), Wayne Christian, Sue Christian, Ann Hansford, Tim Hansford, Marcia Dixon, Harold McLendon, Tony Gay, Don Christian and Cole Miller. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

The Mirakel board includes the Rev. Stephen Pontzer (from left), Wayne Christian, Sue Christian, Ann Hansford, Tim Hansford, Marcia Dixon, Harold McLendon, Tony Gay, Don Christian and Cole Miller. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Mirakel creates commercial to help publicize cream

Mirakel has hit the airwaves.   On Aug. 3, 13WMAZ-TV, a Macon-based station that covers 25 counties in Middle Georgia, filmed a commercial on Skrip Shoppe Pharmacy, giving Tim and Ann Hansford the opportunity to talk about Mirakel, their over-the-counter topical cream.
The arrows on this image show the revised car-rider line at Oglethorpe County Elementary School, which was to take effect on Wednesday afternoon. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

The arrows on this image show the revised car-rider line at Oglethorpe County Elementary School, which was to take effect on Wednesday afternoon. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Traffic forces adjustment to car-rider line

The first week of back-to-school traffic proved challenging for Oglethorpe County officials.    Superintendent Beverley Levine and school staff met with Oglethorpe County Sheriff David Gabriel on Tuesday morning to discuss traffic concerns at all of the schools.
The Oglethorpe Echo

The Oglethorpe Echo

720 pounds of trash found

Jeff Sharp, Oglethorpe County’s code compliance officer, said about 50 bags of trash weighing around 720 pounds were illegally dumped on Black Snake Road in Moss Creek sometime around Aug. 5.   The trash mostly consisted of diapers, Sharp said.
The Oglethorpe Echo

The Oglethorpe Echo

News Roundup: Bridges, 11, joins Angus association

Wyatt Bridges, 11 years old and a sixth-grader from Lexington, recently became a junior member of the American Angus Association.   Bridges is the son of Phillip and Leigh Anne Bridges, who are the fifth generation to own Angus cattle at the Bridges Angus Farm.
The roof was blown off a chicken house on Howard Sanders’ farm in Stephens during the storm on July 20 that blew down trees and knocked out power across the county. Sanders said the roof has been repaired. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

The roof was blown off a chicken house on Howard Sanders’ farm in Stephens during the storm on July 20 that blew down trees and knocked out power across the county. Sanders said the roof has been repaired. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Chicken farmers recover: Storm blew the roofs off houses last month

Howard Sanders assessed the damage to a chicken house after a severe thunderstorm ravaged Stephens and the rest of Oglethorpe County in July. About 100 feet of the roof was gone, blown away by the high winds.
The Oglethorpe Echo

The Oglethorpe Echo

Hunter puts energy into new mentor program

Veronica Hunter said she knew one mentor was a firefighter and would take his student to lunch. He once took his student fishing, and his student overcame his wary feelings toward worms.    One mentor liked to garden and would take her student to play in the dirt and with plants.