Local News

Oglethorpe County High School assistant principal Ean Sonnier discusses a grant worth $80,000 during the BOE meeting on Tuesday. The money has been earmarked for a new tractor, a welding cutter and other equipment for the agriculture program. (Drew Bearden/The Oglethorpe Echo)

BOE purchases two new propane buses

Ella Jones

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

The Oglethorpe County Board of Education decided to purchase two propane-powered school buses to replace older models Tuesday, in order to keep the district’s transportation program running efficiently. Each bus will cost $155,033, with $88,110 in state bond funds applied to each purchase.

Authorities found a 73-year-old hunter about 5:15 p.m. Monday after more than 24 hours in the woods in the Walker Gresham Road area of Stephens.

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Local Roundup: Search effort finds hunter after about a day in woods

News Staff

Thursday, October 30, 2025

Authorities found a 73-year-old hunter about 5:15 p.m. Monday after more than 24 hours in the woods in the Walker Gresham Road area of Stephens. His wife reported the Jackson County resident missing about 8:30 a.m. Monday, Oglethorpe County EMS director Josh Robinson said. He left home around 1 p.m.

Oglethorpe county agriculture teacher Jordan Paul (Right) hangs out with fellow teacher Hannah Doolittle on an Educational First trip in Germany. (Submitted Photo / Jordan Paul).

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Teacher: International trips broaden students’ horizons

Jacob Harper

Thursday, October 30, 2025

When Jordan Paul attended a recent workshop, she said her eyes were opened to the world of traveling internationally with students, especially because the training took place in Europe. “The training in Germany really prepares you for anything,” Paul said.

The upstairs of the factory building was partially insulated for an apartment, and part of it has exposed brick walls and large windows. This is part of the Historic Jefferson Mill property in Crawford that went up for sale in October of 2025 for $1.6 million. (Makenna Reavis/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Historic mill seeks new owner and purpose

Makenna Reavis

Thursday, October 30, 2025

Jefferson Mill in Crawford is full of local history, and Gary Stacy hopes to keep it that way. The building was built with brick made in Smithonia and was originally powered by a hydroelectric plant built at Watson Mill, giving it deep Oglethorpe County roots.

Mamie Hillman, founder and director of the Greene County African American Museum, speaks to about 20 people at the Historic Oglethorpe County meeting at the Oglethorpe County Library on Tuesday, October 28, 2025. The museum opened in October 2021. (Photo/Susanna Johnson)

Mamie Hillman speaks on Greensboro's Black history museum at meeting

Susanna Johnson

Thursday, October 30, 2025

Mamie Hillman has been working to “unearth the narratives” of Greene County’s Black heritage for more than 25 years. And Oglethorpe County residents are interested.

According to the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network, COVID-19 outbreaks in Georgia long-term care facilities like Quiet Oaks have been rising since July.

COVID cases rise at Quiet Oaks after months without outbreak

Hannah Freeman

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Quiet Oaks Health Care Center’s decision to cancel its Halloween carnival due to a COVID-19 outbreak disheartened residents and community members, but the concern now is how the facility manages the virus in a post-pandemic world.

Crawford Mobile Home Community has provided affordable housing for residents in Oglethorpe County for the past 15 years. The 25 homes on this property consist of 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom units and are rented for an average of $1,000 a month. (Ansley Gavlak/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Mobile homes are an option as housing prices climb

Mia Fishman and Ansley Gavlak

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

An orderly cluster of mobile homes sits on Wheeler Circle, just off of Highway 78. It’s a quiet, safe neighborhood, housing families and locals at an affordable rate. “I've got good, hard-working folks,” said Boyd Smith, manager of Crawford Mobile Home Community.

Crawford City Clerk Amy Wall-Lance (right) discusses the meeting agenda to the city council on Oct. 14. Willie Torres (left), who recently replaced Sandra Sheridan as a council member, and Brenda Butler (middle) listen to Wall-Lance. (Ansley Gavlak/The Oglethorpe Echo)

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Crawford to resubmit trail expansion grant

Ansley Gavlak

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

CLARIFICATION: Information was incorrect about which company was hired to clear the city streets from overgrown brush and limbs in the Lexington City Council minutes and the Oct. 30, 2025 print edition of The Oglethorpe Echo. The correct information is in the story below.

Linda Russell and Bob Gadd are among the residents who oppose the construction of a T-Mobile cell tower off Melton Road. Many of the attendees at the zoning board meeting on Oct. 23 wore red shirts with the phrase: “Vote no! Don’t let them tower over us!”

Zoning board tables cell tower request

Emily Adams

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Every seat in the Oglethorpe County Zoning Board meeting room was filled with more residents spilling out into the lobby, all wearing red shirts displaying a cell tower that read, “Vote no! Don’t let them tower over us!

Robert “Black Eagle” Costa addresses his congregation during a recent Seventh Generation Native American Church service at No. 3 Railroad St. This Sunday spiritual centered on leaves as a symbol of hope. (Photo/Molly Moore)

Spiritual connection focus of Native American church

Molly Moore

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Robert “Black Eagle” Costa speaks softly but with conviction starting at 11:11 a.m. each Sunday at No. 3 Railroad St. The founder and principal elder of Seventh Generation Native American Church doesn’t shout his sermons.