opinion

Janet Hill (from left), JF Hansford and Morgan Robinson are members of the Oglethorpe County Zoning Board, which meets on the third Thursday of each month. (Caitlin Downing/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Janet Hill (from left), JF Hansford and Morgan Robinson are members of the Oglethorpe County Zoning Board, which meets on the third Thursday of each month. (Caitlin Downing/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Editorial: Your voice is important

News Staff
Thursday, October 2, 2025
Besides voting, one of the best things a resident can do is to pay attention to what’s going on in national, state and local government. Awareness and knowledge are essential, especially in local issues. Few, if any of us, can keep up with what’s going on in Washington, D.C.

Editorial: Our thoughts and thumbs

News Staff
Thursday, September 11, 2025
 Patriot spirit aboundsThe Oglethorpe County Patriots football team (2-2) is getting a rest before taking on Elbert County in the Granite Bowl next week. While last Friday night’s score wasn’t a smiles-maker, the homecoming court was.

Editorial: Your voice matters

News Staff
Monday, April 8, 2024
An initial glance at Monday night’s county commission agenda signaled a breezy meeting. But unlisted items turned the session into a stormy exchange between commissioners and a few residents. Under “other business” and “public comment,” four topics stirred emotions and sometimes angry reactions.
Entrepreneur and visionary Elon Musk is pictured on the cover of the biography written by Walter Isaacson. (Submitted Photo)

Entrepreneur and visionary Elon Musk is pictured on the cover of the biography written by Walter Isaacson. (Submitted Photo)

Opinion: Elon Musk is rushing to change our world

Dink NeSmith
Friday, March 1, 2024
There’s a fine line between certified genius and certified crazy.    After reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk, I believe the world’s richest man, certifiably, has one foot on either side of that “fine line.
Paul Thiel, director of operations for the Oglethorpe County School District, talks with Margaux Binder, business and infrastructure, and Jim Bass and Ellie Pool, education and schools reporters. (Photo/Dink NeSmith)

Paul Thiel, director of operations for the Oglethorpe County School District, talks with Margaux Binder, business and infrastructure, and Jim Bass and Ellie Pool, education and schools reporters. (Photo/Dink NeSmith)

Community connections

News Staff
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Twenty-seven months ago, The Oglethorpe Echo entered a new era. After decades of stewardship under the leadership of the Maxwell family, the ownership of the 148-year-old newspaper was transferred to a new nonprofit, The Oglethorpe Echo Legacy, Inc.

Opinion Column: Letter to our grandkids about the latest war

Dink NeSmith
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Dear Wyatt, Hayes, William, Henry, Fenn, Bayard, Smith and Stella,   War. War. War.   Whether you’ve thought about it or not, each of you were born when America was at war, in either Iraq or Afghanistan. You may have seen the news coverage of our troops leaving Afghanistan in 2021.
Crawford Pizza will provide Oglethorpe County residents with another dining option when it opens. It’s across Highway 78 from G Brand BBQ. (ANDY JOHNSTON/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Crawford Pizza will provide Oglethorpe County residents with another dining option when it opens. It’s across Highway 78 from G Brand BBQ. (ANDY JOHNSTON/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

The Echo's Opinion: Positive signs

News Staff
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
If you haven’t noticed, there are positive signs in our community.   Look around.   If you’re traveling on Highway 78 from Athens-Clarke County into Crawford, you’re welcomed by a new mural on the west wall of soon-to-open Crawford Pizza.
One of my goals for the United Kingdom trip was for our grandchildren to visit the graves of some of our “Nasmyth” ancestors in Scotland. Standing with me, from left, are Stella NeSmith, 9; Hayes Wilson, 16; Smith Wilson, 10; Fenn NeSmith, 12; William NeSmith, 14; Henry Wilson, 14; Bayard NeSmith, 11; and Wyatt Wilson, 19. Several Nasmyths are buried in Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

One of my goals for the United Kingdom trip was for our grandchildren to visit the graves of some of our “Nasmyth” ancestors in Scotland. Standing with me, from left, are Stella NeSmith, 9; Hayes Wilson, 16; Smith Wilson, 10; Fenn NeSmith, 12; William NeSmith, 14; Henry Wilson, 14; Bayard NeSmith, 11; and Wyatt Wilson, 19. Several Nasmyths are buried in Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Opinion Column: Traveling to touch our family’s Scottish roots in Edinburgh

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
“Where are you from?” “Jesup.”   “Where’s that?”   “Southeast Georgia, 40 miles from the coast.”   That usually satisfies folks. Some will say, “Oh, yeah. Do you know so and so?” Indeed, I was born in downtown Jesup.
Thanks to the ingenuity of the great-grandfathers of Lamartine Griffin (Lam) Hardman V, left, and Henri Leon (Beau) Farmer IV, the Georgia Bulldogs have played between the hedges in Sanford Stadium since 1929. Today, Lam Hardman, left, is a senior at Athens Academy, thinking about UGA. Beau, right, is a junior, studying accounting, at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Thanks to the ingenuity of the great-grandfathers of Lamartine Griffin (Lam) Hardman V, left, and Henri Leon (Beau) Farmer IV, the Georgia Bulldogs have played between the hedges in Sanford Stadium since 1929. Today, Lam Hardman, left, is a senior at Athens Academy, thinking about UGA. Beau, right, is a junior, studying accounting, at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Opinion Column: Here’s how Sanford Stadium got its fabled privet hedges

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
A version of this column was first published on Feb. 27, 2013.   Gov. Lamartine Griffin Hardman was a progressive, but stern governor. In 1929 he decreed no vehicles of the University of Georgia should leave Clarke County.   Under normal circumstances, that’d be an easy rule to follow.