Lexington

Leo Lazo and his wife Maria Lazo serve pupusas, tamales and pollo rostizado at El Mana 2. The first location opened in Gainesville in 2018. (Photo/Libby Hobbs)

Leo Lazo and his wife Maria Lazo serve pupusas, tamales and pollo rostizado at El Mana 2. The first location opened in Gainesville in 2018. (Photo/Libby Hobbs)

Salvadoran restaurant opens in Oak Tree Plaza

Libby Hobbs
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Thick cake tortillas stuffed with cheese, pork and beans are a staple in El Salvador. This dish, called a pupusa, can be found in Lexington, too.  Pupuseria El Mana 2, located at Oak Tree Plaza (777 Athens Road), held its grand opening on March 19.
Rebecca Wood's yard, located outside of Lexington, Georgia, was destroyed by feral hogs. (Photo/Jesse Wood)

Rebecca Wood's yard, located outside of Lexington, Georgia, was destroyed by feral hogs. (Photo/Jesse Wood)

Feral hogs impact county yards, land

Jesse Wood
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Rebecca Wood trudged through her yard late last month to inspect her uprooted grass. She pointed to her beloved flower bed, home to tall, blooming perennials and annuals, and let out an aggravated sigh.“It’s just like a rototiller went through there,” Wood said. “I’m super pissed off about that.
Vintage and antique items are displayed during the First Friday event in downtown Lexington on Feb. 7.Gina Holloway, Linda Parish’s partner, said they’ve received positive feedback. (Photo/Libby Hobbs)

Vintage and antique items are displayed during the First Friday event in downtown Lexington on Feb. 7.Gina Holloway, Linda Parish’s partner, said they’ve received positive feedback. (Photo/Libby Hobbs)

Parish plans to bring antique, art businesses to Lexington

Libby Hobbs
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Linda Parish plans to bring new art and antique businesses to the buildings next to The Oglethorpe Echo in downtown Lexington. “There's a lot of talent in this county,” Parish said. “The art colony that we have out here is, I think, really important to the county.
Eggs are few and far between at B&T's Food Fresh Market, where a sign in the egg section reads “Due to a national egg shortage, costs have continued to rise. We continue to provide egg products at the best possible value.” (Photo/Jesse Wood)

Eggs are few and far between at B&T's Food Fresh Market, where a sign in the egg section reads “Due to a national egg shortage, costs have continued to rise. We continue to provide egg products at the best possible value.” (Photo/Jesse Wood)

Egg prices hit hard in county

Jesse Wood
Thursday, February 20, 2025
The egg section in B&T’s Food Fresh Market in Lexington sits nearly empty this week.Manager Tammy Watkins has found the egg shortage and the rising prices of eggs to be “frustrating.” The store would sell up to 80 dozen daily on average, but now, it sells approximately 30 dozen.
Linda Parish reads the Rural Zone Designation plan at the Lexington Downtown Development Authority board meeting at Town and Country Kafe on Thursday. The DDA, which includes Ronnie Boggs (left) and Tom Thon (right), discussed revisions to the master plan, updates to the community center and rural zone designation. (Photo/Libby Hobbs)

Linda Parish reads the Rural Zone Designation plan at the Lexington Downtown Development Authority board meeting at Town and Country Kafe on Thursday. The DDA, which includes Ronnie Boggs (left) and Tom Thon (right), discussed revisions to the master plan, updates to the community center and rural zone designation. (Photo/Libby Hobbs)

Community Center progresses amid funding challenges

Libby Hobbs
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Renovations and work on the Lexington Community Center, formerly the Macon Coil building, are underway. However, fundraising goals still haven’t been met.
Brenda Coley folds a worn military document back into a sheet of protective paper while within the Oglethorpe County Library in Lexington, Georgia on Monday, Jan 13, 2025. (Photo/Felix Scheyer)

Brenda Coley folds a worn military document back into a sheet of protective paper while within the Oglethorpe County Library in Lexington, Georgia on Monday, Jan 13, 2025. (Photo/Felix Scheyer)

50 years later, a ‘wonderful’ dad, veteran remembered

Julianna Duennes Russ and Felix Scheyer
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Nearly 50 years ago, a line of patrons stretched out the door of the Minit Mart Service and Liquor Store in Lexington.  Clutched in their hands, purses and pockets were receipts they’d gathered from years of grocery trips.
Rosa and Roger NeeSmith pose on the front porch of their home on Monday, Oct. 21 in Lexington, Georgia. The home originally had a wraparound porch that was altered to accommodate a dining nook in the kitchen, a laundry room and a carport. “The house originally had a wrap around this part where the carport is now, and the people that had it before we did, he was a meteorologist in Athens, he poured cement, and I guess the wood was rotten,” Roger NeeSmith said. (Emily Slepsky/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Rosa and Roger NeeSmith pose on the front porch of their home on Monday, Oct. 21 in Lexington, Georgia. The home originally had a wraparound porch that was altered to accommodate a dining nook in the kitchen, a laundry room and a carport. “The house originally had a wrap around this part where the carport is now, and the people that had it before we did, he was a meteorologist in Athens, he poured cement, and I guess the wood was rotten,” Roger NeeSmith said. (Emily Slepsky/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Back to Lexington

Emily Slepsky
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
When Rosa and Roger NeeSmith moved to Lexington in 1981 after living in Macon for years, it was a homecoming for Rosa.
Don Davis, a retired veteran, sits along the wall he built to help protect the graves he maintains on his property on Buddy Faust Road in Lexington. Not much is known about the people buried in the three graves next to his house. (MARY CATHERINE DODYS/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Don Davis, a retired veteran, sits along the wall he built to help protect the graves he maintains on his property on Buddy Faust Road in Lexington. Not much is known about the people buried in the three graves next to his house. (MARY CATHERINE DODYS/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Preserving their memory: Davis maintains unmarked cemetery

Mary Catherine Dodys
Friday, September 27, 2024
The traditional image of a cemetery is quite different from many in Oglethorpe County, where families often buried their loved ones on their own land, sometimes unmarked.  These family gravesites are scattered throughout the county.
Seven candidates qualified for the Nov. 5 Maxeys general election, with six positions that include the mayor and city council seats. (Mary Catherine Dodys)

Seven candidates qualified for the Nov. 5 Maxeys general election, with six positions that include the mayor and city council seats. (Mary Catherine Dodys)

Toledano only candidate for Maxeys mayor

Mary Catherine Dodys
Thursday, August 29, 2024
Seven candidates are eligible to run for six posts in Maxeys’ election on Nov. 5. Qualifying for the 2024 race took place last week at city hall. The positions include mayor and all city council seats. The fee was $1.
Hazel Sanders, owner of Hazel's Hair Salon in Lexington, sees customers of all ages, but has built a reputation with kids, including Jaden Hayes (left), 14, who has had his hair cut by Sanders for nearly nine years. Blade Dozier (center) from Wilkes County, receives his first haircut from Sanders in July 2020, and Sanders gave Bella Sheridan (right), who is 7, her first haircut as a toddler and continues to cut her hair. (Submitted Photos)

Hazel Sanders, owner of Hazel's Hair Salon in Lexington, sees customers of all ages, but has built a reputation with kids, including Jaden Hayes (left), 14, who has had his hair cut by Sanders for nearly nine years. Blade Dozier (center) from Wilkes County, receives his first haircut from Sanders in July 2020, and Sanders gave Bella Sheridan (right), who is 7, her first haircut as a toddler and continues to cut her hair. (Submitted Photos)

Special service: Sanders brings comfort to customers of all ages at her shop or in their homes

Margaux Binder
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Barbara Laubert, a 90-year-old Lexington resident, and her 93-year-old husband Andy exchange compliments and smiles in their home. Andy Laubert, however, shares his best jokes with Hazel Sanders, owner of Hazel’s Hair Salon, as she trims his white curls.