Local News

Deirdre Smith, John Smith, Robert Hauth, Dennis Helmreich, Robert Smith and Mike Harrison pose at G Brand BBQ in Crawford. The bluegrass group hosts “jam sessions” at the restaurant every Thursday night. (Shannon Moran/Oglethorpe Echo)

Deirdre Smith, John Smith, Robert Hauth, Dennis Helmreich, Robert Smith and Mike Harrison pose at G Brand BBQ in Crawford. The bluegrass group hosts “jam sessions” at the restaurant every Thursday night. (Shannon Moran/Oglethorpe Echo)

Easy pickin': Bluegrass group performs at local barbecue joint

Shannon Moran
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
WATCH: Here the music of the bluegrass band here.   A bluegrass group nestles into the corner of G Brand BBQ in Crawford every Thursday night, and they gingerly pluck the strings of their guitars, mandolins and fiddles.
Josefina (left) and Jose Luis (right), owners of Taco’s Mexican Food, pose for a portrait inside their restaurant in Lexington, Georgia on Feb. 15, 2022. (Julia Walkup/Oglethorpe Echo)

Josefina (left) and Jose Luis (right), owners of Taco’s Mexican Food, pose for a portrait inside their restaurant in Lexington, Georgia on Feb. 15, 2022. (Julia Walkup/Oglethorpe Echo)

‘With great sacrifice, I can say it’s all worth it’: Restaurant owners work for dream

Liset Cruz
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Jose Luis and his family, wanting to diversify Oglethorpe County’s cuisine, opened Taco’s Mexican #1 in Lexington. The creation of the restaurant wasn’t without sacrifice and struggles.   Jose Luis and his family had owned a restaurant in their Mexican home state of Guanajuato.
A first-grade art class in 1969 at the Oglethorpe Consolidated School, which was only for Black students

A first-grade art class in 1969 at the Oglethorpe Consolidated School, which was only for Black students

District aims to preserve history of primary school

Sabrina Laster
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Ed Sanders said he and other former students of the Oglethorpe Consolidated School hate the reality of their former building being torn down — but they understand the need.   “It is so historic, and that's where we started out,” he said.
Huggs was off limits on Feb. 12 because he was being prepared to be adopted by Meaghan and Jacob Mize. (Jamie Miller/Oglethorpe Echo)

Huggs was off limits on Feb. 12 because he was being prepared to be adopted by Meaghan and Jacob Mize. (Jamie Miller/Oglethorpe Echo)

Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter undergoes needed renovations

Jamie Miller
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Huggs interrupted the silence with a hopeful bark. It echoed through the 31 empty kennel units that surrounded him. The chain link gate rattled against the weight of his two front paws. A fluorescent pink tag hung from the gate and read, “ADOPTED. I cannot play today.
Sidney Wightman holds a pinata for Marty Barclay at the Oglethorpe County Library’s Teen Anti-Valentine’s Day event. (Yana Obiekwe/Oglethorpe Echo)

Sidney Wightman holds a pinata for Marty Barclay at the Oglethorpe County Library’s Teen Anti-Valentine’s Day event. (Yana Obiekwe/Oglethorpe Echo)

‘Anti-Valentine’s Day’ brings teens together

Yana Obiekwe
Thursday, February 17, 2022
WATCH: Take a look inside the "Love Stinks" event at The Oglethorpe County Library.   Atticus Cavendar shouts as he strikes down a balloon in a makeshift game of volleyball: “Love sucks!
Visitors to Lexington Antique Mall are greeted by this welcome mat. Its mission is to remind customers to shop from local and small businesses. (Colt Yeargin/Oglethorpe Echo)

Visitors to Lexington Antique Mall are greeted by this welcome mat. Its mission is to remind customers to shop from local and small businesses. (Colt Yeargin/Oglethorpe Echo)

Business owners say Lexington has changed drastically over the years

Colt Yeargin
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Driving through Lexington, a traveler will see historic storefronts lining the sidewalks with only a few small businesses still operating.    It wasn’t always like this.
Leroy, 91, and Bessie Collins, 88, first met 82 years ago, when they were baptized on the same day near the New Bethlehem Baptist Church. They’ve been married for 67 years. (Dink NeSmith/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Leroy, 91, and Bessie Collins, 88, first met 82 years ago, when they were baptized on the same day near the New Bethlehem Baptist Church. They’ve been married for 67 years. (Dink NeSmith/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Three couples equal 194 years of marriage

News Staff
Thursday, February 10, 2022
With Valentine’s Day nigh, here’s a question for sweethearts; where did you meet the love of your life?     Bessie Appling Collins, 88, and her husband Leroy Collins, 91, remember exactly where they met. He was just 9 years old, and she was only 7.