Opinion

Crawford’s Tony Resop points to a bear in a pecan tree in his neighbor’s pasture. This is a perfect example of the public giving The Oglethorpe Echo a news tip. (Dink NeSmith/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Crawford’s Tony Resop points to a bear in a pecan tree in his neighbor’s pasture. This is a perfect example of the public giving The Oglethorpe Echo a news tip. (Dink NeSmith/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Editorial: You can be a reporter; let us know when you see news

News Staff
Thursday, May 1, 2025
If you are reading these words, you are a special person in the life of your 151-year-old community newspaper.  You are either a reader or an advertiser, or even better you are both.
The Oglethorpe Echo’s volunteers and office staff recently gathered for lunch at G Brand BBQ. They include (back, from left) Marilyn Hill, Anne Garner and Mary Nouri, and (front, from left) Dink NeSmith, Connie Morgan White, Valerie Argo, Barbara Cabaniss, Cindi Johnson and Trisha Bearden. Judy Doherty and Wingate Downs weren’t present. (Submitted Photo)

The Oglethorpe Echo’s volunteers and office staff recently gathered for lunch at G Brand BBQ. They include (back, from left) Marilyn Hill, Anne Garner and Mary Nouri, and (front, from left) Dink NeSmith, Connie Morgan White, Valerie Argo, Barbara Cabaniss, Cindi Johnson and Trisha Bearden. Judy Doherty and Wingate Downs weren’t present. (Submitted Photo)

Editorial: Teamwork makes dream work

News Staff
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Following a spur-of-the-moment inspiration in 2021, the nonprofit The Oglethorpe Echo Legacy Inc. was born.  Everyone, including the Maxwell family and UGA’s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, endorsed the idea.
The sign at Welcome Avenue Congregational Holiness Church provides Biblical advice for tough times. (Dink NeSmith/The Oglethorpe Echo)

The sign at Welcome Avenue Congregational Holiness Church provides Biblical advice for tough times. (Dink NeSmith/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Editorial: Our thoughts and thumbs

News Staff
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Our thoughts and thumbs This sign on Crawford-Smithonia Road caught our eye.
Bubba is my “dog.” The mouse-catcher follows me around the barnyard. Some- times he perches on a fence post to watch as I do my chores. For his super- vision, the gray-nosed tomcat expects an extra scratch behind his ears. (Dink NeSmith/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Bubba is my “dog.” The mouse-catcher follows me around the barnyard. Some- times he perches on a fence post to watch as I do my chores. For his super- vision, the gray-nosed tomcat expects an extra scratch behind his ears. (Dink NeSmith/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Opinion Column: Don’t forget this key to long-lasting relationships

Dink NeSmith
Thursday, February 6, 2025
After 57 years of Valentine’s Day celebrations, I’ve learned that there’s one element that must be in the equation of a long-lasting relationship. Humor isn’t the only factor, but I believe that it’s essential in the mix. For a case in point, let’s go back 30 years.
Avi Young (from left), Kayla Lopez and Zeke Palermo read copies of The Oglethorpe Echo during class last January. An AI grant will be used to create specific tools to assist future Echo students. (Grady College)

Avi Young (from left), Kayla Lopez and Zeke Palermo read copies of The Oglethorpe Echo during class last January. An AI grant will be used to create specific tools to assist future Echo students. (Grady College)

Editorial: How AI will be used by The Echo

News Staff
Thursday, January 30, 2025
The evolution of artificial intelligence is exciting to many, but it also causes a fair amount of fear.  That makes sense: AI can now complete tasks previously possible only by humans — but in seconds rather than weeks.
When UGA’s yearbook, “Pandora,” asked to take my photo in 1970, I walked into the journalism school’s John E. Drewry Reading Room. Maybe it was prophetic, because I posed while reading a newspaper.  At the time, I had no idea that I would become a newspaper publisher. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

When UGA’s yearbook, “Pandora,” asked to take my photo in 1970, I walked into the journalism school’s John E. Drewry Reading Room. Maybe it was prophetic, because I posed while reading a newspaper.  At the time, I had no idea that I would become a newspaper publisher. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Opinion Column: A UGA professor’s challenge might be why you’re reading this

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
By the way he strutted, you could tell that the young professor was enjoying his command of our journalism class.