Local News

(Thomas Ehlers/The Oglethorpe Echo)

(Thomas Ehlers/The Oglethorpe Echo)

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ESPLOST would fund school building, other projects

Thomas Ehlers
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
The Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax will return to the ballot in Oglethorpe County on May 24.   Oglethorpe County Schools Superintendent Beverley Levine said if the resolution is passed, the 1% sales tax will be renewed, allowing the district to sell $22.
(Sydney Fordice/Oglethorpe Echo) Jennifer Spoor works on a crochet piece during a recent Covered With Love meeting at Lexington Baptist Church. The group of women gathers to crochet afghans to donate to various local groups every year.

(Sydney Fordice/Oglethorpe Echo) Jennifer Spoor works on a crochet piece during a recent Covered With Love meeting at Lexington Baptist Church. The group of women gathers to crochet afghans to donate to various local groups every year.

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Crochet group creates for community

Sydney Fordice
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Homemade snacks, laughter and plenty of colorful yarn can be found during bimonthly Covered With Love meetings at Lexington Baptist Church, where a group of women gather to crochet and donate afghans to those in need.
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)

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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

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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)

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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.