Local News

Rick Skoglund owns Carquest Auto Parts stores in Oglethorpe and Wilkes counties, in addition to Mathews Used Cars in Crawford and Rick’s Pit Stop in Lexington. (Photo/Dink NeSmith)

Rick Skoglund owns Carquest Auto Parts stores in Oglethorpe and Wilkes counties, in addition to Mathews Used Cars in Crawford and Rick’s Pit Stop in Lexington. (Photo/Dink NeSmith)

Q&A: Skoglund’s restaurant background serves him well

Rick Skoglund owns and manages the Carquest Auto Parts stores in Oglethorpe and Wilkes counties, in addition to Mathews Used Cars in Crawford and Rick’s Pit Stop in Lexington.
Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Samantha Mathe, right, was part of a group that checked child booster seats at the primary school. (Submitted Photo)

Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Samantha Mathe, right, was part of a group that checked child booster seats at the primary school. (Submitted Photo)

Groups, Sheriff’s Office provides car safety seats to OCPS parents

Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Samantha Mathe, members of the Department of Public Health and Safe Kids Athens conducted child safety seat checks at Oglethorpe County Primary School during the first week of school.

Bell helps victims of Kentucky flooding

Oglethorpe County resident Roy Bell traveled to Barwick, Kentucky — an unincorporated part of rural Breathitt County — with the First Presbyterian Church of Athens on the third week of July for 21 years.

News Roundup: Commission approves 2023 budget, tax rate

The Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners approved the county’s 2023 operating budget of nearly $8.8 million, and a tax rate of 7.029 mills for the incorporated areas of the county and 6.363 mills for the unincorporated portions at a called meeting on Monday night.
Members of the University of Georgia Extension Office includes, from left, Shanna Reynolds, county extension coordinator/ag and natural resources agent, Brenda Mattox, administrative assistant, Breanna Jackson, 4-H program assistant. Brad Averill, family and consumer science agent, and Marcus Eason, 4-H youth development agent. (Submitted Photo)

Members of the University of Georgia Extension Office includes, from left, Shanna Reynolds, county extension coordinator/ag and natural resources agent, Brenda Mattox, administrative assistant, Breanna Jackson, 4-H program assistant. Brad Averill, family and consumer science agent, and Marcus Eason, 4-H youth development agent. (Submitted Photo)

UGA Extension Office to host open house event

The University of Georgia Extension Office will host a drop-in open house from 3-6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 55 Oglethorpe Drive in Crawford.

District to go through grant process for electric bus

Oglethorpe County School System Transportation Director Phillip Todd is set to submit a federal grant application for an electric bus on Friday.    The Environmental Protection Agency will supply funds to Georgia school districts that qualify for the grant.
The rumble strips on Beaverdam Road have been a source of issues for residents since they were installed earlier this year. (Photo/Dink NeSmith)

The rumble strips on Beaverdam Road have been a source of issues for residents since they were installed earlier this year. (Photo/Dink NeSmith)

Mistake leads to more rumble strip issues

The rumble strip saga has taken a new twist.   The rumble strips on both ends of Beaverdam Road that caused a stir among residents who said they were too loud, were recently filled in an effort to make them more quiet.

New school plans are in the works

The Oglethorpe County School System met with an architect this week to begin to plan the new elementary school that will serve students in kindergarten through fifth grade.    The district’s goal is to complete the school by the start of the 2024 school year.

News Roundup: Squirrel hunting season opens in Georgia on Monday

Squirrel season in Georgia begins Monday, Aug. 15 and continues through Feb. 28, 2022.    Hunters can pursue both gray and fox squirrels, and the maximum daily bag limit is 12 per hunter.    Some of the Wildlife Management Areas have a limit on the harvest of fox squirrels.