Local News

Madalyn Raines, who is 11 years old, poses as she competes in the 2022 America's Majestic Miss State pageant. She will compete in the preteen age division at the America’s Majestic Miss pageant. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Madalyn Raines, who is 11 years old, poses as she competes in the 2022 America's Majestic Miss State pageant. She will compete in the preteen age division at the America’s Majestic Miss pageant. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

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Raines duo to compete in national pageant

Shelby Wingate
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Isabella Raines and her aunt, Madalyn Raines, will represent Oglethorpe County at the America’s Majestic Miss national pageant at the end of June in Nashville, Tennessee.    Isabella and Madalyn, who live in Colbert, have an extensive pageant history.
Shatana Williams, representing the Athens Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, awards OCHS senior Kirkland Ross with an academic scholarship on Tuesday. (LANDEN TODD/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Shatana Williams, representing the Athens Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, awards OCHS senior Kirkland Ross with an academic scholarship on Tuesday. (LANDEN TODD/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

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Brewer named OCHS valedictorian

McCain Bracewell
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Charles Brewer, who hopes to become a professor, already has 30 college credit hours and he’s still a senior at Oglethorpe County High School.   Brewer, who has a weighted GPA of 101.
James Jackson

James Jackson

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Coroner needs a vehicle

Brooke Stewart
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
The county coroner’s office doesn’t have its own vehicle to transport the deceased in Oglethorpe County. For coroner James Jackson, that means borrowing transportation, which can mean higher costs for the county and more wait time for residents.

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Rooster closed as deMarrais recovers

News Staff
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
The Rowdy Rooster in Lexington will be closed until further notice while co-owner Kathleen deMarrais recovers from injuries she sustained in a fall on vacation in Greece.   She posted on Facebook last week that she fractured her pelvis and suffered a head injury.
Emily Thomas recently began soap making as a hobby and set up a table at the second annual Art Bazaar and Book Sale, which was held on Saturday at No. 3 Railroad Street in Arnoldsville. "Peggy (Hroma) convinced me to come out here and sell my soap and it has been really successful so far." (RAMON ELORTONDO/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Emily Thomas recently began soap making as a hobby and set up a table at the second annual Art Bazaar and Book Sale, which was held on Saturday at No. 3 Railroad Street in Arnoldsville. "Peggy (Hroma) convinced me to come out here and sell my soap and it has been really successful so far." (RAMON ELORTONDO/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

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Art Bazaar and Book Sale

Ramon Elortondo
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Chris Wrenn, the administrator of Quiet Oaks Health Care, and his staff have planned a week of festivities for National Skilled Nursing Care Week. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Chris Wrenn, the administrator of Quiet Oaks Health Care, and his staff have planned a week of festivities for National Skilled Nursing Care Week. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

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Quiet Oaks to celebrate National Skilled Nursing Care Week

Avni Trivedi
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Quiet Oaks Health Care will celebrate National Skilled Nursing Care Week with several festivities from May 14-20.
Miss Marigold — Roma Ellenberg, a 2021 Oglethorpe County High School graduate — rides in the Marigold Festival parade last year. This year’s festival is scheduled for Pittard Park on Saturday, May 13. (JACK CASEY/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Miss Marigold — Roma Ellenberg, a 2021 Oglethorpe County High School graduate — rides in the Marigold Festival parade last year. This year’s festival is scheduled for Pittard Park on Saturday, May 13. (JACK CASEY/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

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Day of activities set for annual Marigold Festival

Jesse Wood
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Winterville Marigold Festival organizers always make sure the event lives up to its name.   “We start planting (the marigolds) in April,” said Mary Barrett Yancey, the Festival Board of Directors secretary.
The Digital Atlas of Historic Oglethorpe County team of Elaine Collier Neal (from left), Ashley Simpson, Greg Yoder, and Tom Gresham have been working together to map historic sites since 2020. (MADDIE DANIEL/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

The Digital Atlas of Historic Oglethorpe County team of Elaine Collier Neal (from left), Ashley Simpson, Greg Yoder, and Tom Gresham have been working together to map historic sites since 2020. (MADDIE DANIEL/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Building a map into the past

Maddie Daniel and Gray Jones
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Between bouts of rain on a recent Friday afternoon, the sun was out just long enough for Ashley Simpson, Tom Gresham and Joe Baughns to meet outside St. John AME Church in Crawford.