Local News

County residents and representatives gather on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, to hear the county's 5-year comprehensive plan update. There will be two more opportunities for public input before the plan is finalized. (Photo/Sophia Eppley)

County residents and representatives gather on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, to hear the county's 5-year comprehensive plan update. There will be two more opportunities for public input before the plan is finalized. (Photo/Sophia Eppley)

County seeks public input for new comprehensive plan

Sophia Eppley
Monday, December 1, 2025
Representatives from Arnoldsville, Crawford, Lexington and Maxeys gathered with county officials for the first county comprehensive plan public hearing on Nov. 18.  A comprehensive plan is a 20-year guide to growth and development for Georgia's local governments.
A parade route map for the Maxeys Christmas Parade shows the streets affected during the event on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. No parking is allowed along the parade route, and parts of Laurel Lane, Sunset Drive and Forest Circle may be blocked beginning at 9 a.m. A section of Highway 77 will close at 11 a.m. for the parade and is expected to reopen by about 11:40 a.m. Side roads will reopen once the parade clears. (Map/Carrie Hayes)

A parade route map for the Maxeys Christmas Parade shows the streets affected during the event on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. No parking is allowed along the parade route, and parts of Laurel Lane, Sunset Drive and Forest Circle may be blocked beginning at 9 a.m. A section of Highway 77 will close at 11 a.m. for the parade and is expected to reopen by about 11:40 a.m. Side roads will reopen once the parade clears. (Map/Carrie Hayes)

Maxeys Christmas parade returns for seventh year

Sophia Eppley
Monday, December 1, 2025
The Maxeys Christmas parade will bring holiday spirit to Maxeys for its seventh consecutive year on Saturday, Dec. 6.  This is Heather Parham’s fourth year organizing the parade, and this year, she’s doing things a little differently.
Pricila Salas-Lopez, a junior at OCHS, hands out bags of onions to families at the high school food pantry on Nov. 20. Salas-Lopez began volunteering for the pantry because she loves helping people. (Hannah Freeman/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Pricila Salas-Lopez, a junior at OCHS, hands out bags of onions to families at the high school food pantry on Nov. 20. Salas-Lopez began volunteering for the pantry because she loves helping people. (Hannah Freeman/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Students help power high school food pantry

Hannah Freeman
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
For some local families, the monthly food pantry at Oglethorpe County High School means groceries for the next few weeks and momentary relief from tough budget decisions. This pantry is vital to the community, but it requires many helping hands.
Debbie Winsett wraps a holiday-themed, hand-painted glass bottle she made and sold at her booth — Light Up Your Life — at the Christmas Marketplace at the Craw- ford Depot on Sunday. Winsett also sold hand-painted University of Georgia pieces that were sold out by the last day of the marketplace. “I call myself ‘Light Up Your Life,’ because most of the things that I do — all of my bottles — light up,” Winsett said. “I started painting lamp shades, and they all light up.” (Photo/Emily Adams)

Debbie Winsett wraps a holiday-themed, hand-painted glass bottle she made and sold at her booth — Light Up Your Life — at the Christmas Marketplace at the Craw- ford Depot on Sunday. Winsett also sold hand-painted University of Georgia pieces that were sold out by the last day of the marketplace. “I call myself ‘Light Up Your Life,’ because most of the things that I do — all of my bottles — light up,” Winsett said. “I started painting lamp shades, and they all light up.” (Photo/Emily Adams)

PHOTOS: The Christmas Marketplace

Emily Adams
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Beverley Levine

Beverley Levine

Levine to retire at the end of school year

News Staff
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Beverley Levine, superintendent of the Oglethorpe County School System, plans to finish the school year and then retire, she stated in a letter to faculty and staff last Friday.
All five REACH Georgia scholars (Silas Judson, Nevaeh Perry, Elizabeth Randolph, Eh Way, Haleigh York) sit at the signing table before finalizing their contracts on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. The ceremony represents the culmination of a months-long selection process. (Photo / Drew Bearden)

All five REACH Georgia scholars (Silas Judson, Nevaeh Perry, Elizabeth Randolph, Eh Way, Haleigh York) sit at the signing table before finalizing their contracts on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. The ceremony represents the culmination of a months-long selection process. (Photo / Drew Bearden)

REACH, big checks ‘really cool’ for OCMS students

Drew Bearden
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Five Oglethorpe County Middle School eighth-graders took an important step toward the future on Friday morning as they became the newest recipients of the REACH Georgia Scholarship.
Rob Findley and Jillian Moore organize food at last year's Thanksgiving lunch at the Colbert-Benton Guest House. Organizer Flo Hix said 300 people were served in 2024.

Rob Findley and Jillian Moore organize food at last year's Thanksgiving lunch at the Colbert-Benton Guest House. Organizer Flo Hix said 300 people were served in 2024.

Colbert-Benton House to host community lunch on Thanksgiving Day

Katherine Davis
Thursday, November 20, 2025
More than 300 people came to eat Thanksgiving lunch last year at the Colbert-Benton Guest House.  This year, owner Flo Hix is hoping for 500. “The idea is about community,” she said. “Especially people who are alone at the holidays. It’s nice to have them have somebody to talk to.”
The congregation proceeds into St. Paul Methodist Church for the rededication service in Lexington on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. Many reasons caused the church to be closed for several years. (Photo/Susanna Johnson)

The congregation proceeds into St. Paul Methodist Church for the rededication service in Lexington on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. Many reasons caused the church to be closed for several years. (Photo/Susanna Johnson)

Years after closing, service and fellowship mark St. Paul’s reopening

Susanna Johnson
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Neither storms, nor a pandemic, nor even a financial scam could stop the members of St. Paul Methodist Church from bringing their ancestors’ church back to life. St. Paul, located at 660 Comer Road in Lexington, opened its doors to the public Sunday for the first time in five years.
Ronnie Boggs (left) looks on as Tom Gresham uses a soil probe at Beth-Salem Presbyterian Church and cemetery last week. The probe helps determine whether a burial may be present in a specific location. (Photo/Molly Moore)

Ronnie Boggs (left) looks on as Tom Gresham uses a soil probe at Beth-Salem Presbyterian Church and cemetery last week. The probe helps determine whether a burial may be present in a specific location. (Photo/Molly Moore)

Gresham’s work with grave sites helps unearth history, culture

Molly Moore
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Tom Gresham has devoted his life to uncovering the hidden histories of Georgia, spending nearly four decades at grave sites and historic cemeteries to document lives that might otherwise have been forgotten.  His work bridges science, history and ethics, offering insights into the state’s past.