oglethorpe county

Hanna Burdette (left) and April Nation (right) share a smile six weeks after their successful kidney transplant. Nation donated a kidney to her daughter after Burdette went into kidney failure in May of 2024. (Photo/Jennifer Xia)

Hanna Burdette (left) and April Nation (right) share a smile six weeks after their successful kidney transplant. Nation donated a kidney to her daughter after Burdette went into kidney failure in May of 2024. (Photo/Jennifer Xia)

A mother’s gift of life: Kidney for daughter

Jennifer Xia
Thursday, January 30, 2025
This past Christmas, an Oglethorpe County mother gave her daughter a second gift of life.  April Nation, 44, and Hanna Burdette, 26, underwent a kidney transplant on Dec. 13 at Emory University Hospital.
Local hunter Seth Robinson found success with his son, Harris, who took down his first buck on New Year’s Eve. It was one of 3,650 deer harvested in Oglethorpe County in the 2024-25 deer season.

Local hunter Seth Robinson found success with his son, Harris, who took down his first buck on New Year’s Eve. It was one of 3,650 deer harvested in Oglethorpe County in the 2024-25 deer season.

Hunters take 3,650 deer from county this season

Mitchell Stone
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Oglethorpe County has once again solidified its place as one of Georgia’s top counties for deer hunting, ranking fifth for total deer harvested in 2024-25.
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.
Oglethorpe County Sheriff David Gabriel speaks to residents concerning safety techniques in the event of an emergency Jan. 21 at St. John's Ame Church. (Sydney Bishop/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Oglethorpe County Sheriff David Gabriel speaks to residents concerning safety techniques in the event of an emergency Jan. 21 at St. John's Ame Church. (Sydney Bishop/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Sheriff might move inmates to Hart jail

Zeke Palermo
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Oglethorpe County inmates might move to the new Hart County Jail when it is completed, which would make the judicial process more efficient, Sheriff David Gabriel said. This would be the third relocation of county inmates since 2022.
MICAHYA COSTEN/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO Cason Dremann, who lives in Winterville, is the founder and coach of the 706 Baseball Club. The club, which includes six teams, practices at The Yard in Watkinsville.

MICAHYA COSTEN/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO Cason Dremann, who lives in Winterville, is the founder and coach of the 706 Baseball Club. The club, which includes six teams, practices at The Yard in Watkinsville.

Winterville’s Dremann runs baseball program

Micahya Costen
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
  Cason Dremann wants to grow young boys into men beyond the sport of baseball by instilling life lessons into the game, on and off the field. That’s one of the reasons he founded the 706 Baseball Club.
Oglethorpe County 911 dispatcher Amelia Priest surveys her workstation at the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Department on Feb. 2, 2024. (Photo/Zeke Palermo)

Oglethorpe County 911 dispatcher Amelia Priest surveys her workstation at the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Department on Feb. 2, 2024. (Photo/Zeke Palermo)

New 911 tech allows texts, video

Zeke Palermo
Thursday, February 8, 2024
Residents can now text 911 when they need emergency services. Oglethorpe County 911 has joined 33 other public safety answering points in Georgia that accept and communicate with residents through text message, in addition to the traditional phone call.
Chief Magistrate Judge Megan Coile discusses the new ordinances with the Board of Commissioners in its monthly meeting on Monday. The ordinances, which passed unanimously, give deputies the option to impose lower-level charges for a variety of offenses. (Andy Johnston/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Chief Magistrate Judge Megan Coile discusses the new ordinances with the Board of Commissioners in its monthly meeting on Monday. The ordinances, which passed unanimously, give deputies the option to impose lower-level charges for a variety of offenses. (Andy Johnston/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Ordinances lower penalties on lesser offenses

Avi Young
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved four ordinances that offer the possibility of a lighter penalty for lower-level offenses during its monthly meeting on Monday night.

School system receives $10,000 in grants

News Staff
Thursday, February 1, 2024
The Oglethorpe County School System has been awarded $10,000 from the Rural Workforce Preparedness Grant, Sara Hughes, the director of federal programs, said in an email release to The Oglethorpe Echo.
Corrine Thiel (from left), president of Oglethorpe County Lions Club, Virginia Sanders, founder of Covered with Love and Emma Walter, secretary of Oglethorpe County Lions Club display a blanket from Covered with Love to include in pajama packs. The club donates pajamas and other items to Piedmont Athens Regional for children with extended stays. (Submitted Photo).

Corrine Thiel (from left), president of Oglethorpe County Lions Club, Virginia Sanders, founder of Covered with Love and Emma Walter, secretary of Oglethorpe County Lions Club display a blanket from Covered with Love to include in pajama packs. The club donates pajamas and other items to Piedmont Athens Regional for children with extended stays. (Submitted Photo).

Lions Club helps sick kids with pajama packs

Lily Reid Aldrich
Thursday, January 25, 2024
The Oglethorpe County branch of Lions Club has been helping children and families in need by making pajama packs for kids with extended stays at Piedmont Athens Regional.    Corrine Thiel, president of Oglethorpe Lions Club, coordinates the creation of the packs with the club members and Piedmont.
Cory Clements bails and wraps hay on John Robertson’s farm in the Smithonia Community in 2022. Oglethorpe County was the 10th largest hay producing county in the state in 2021. (Dink Nesmith/ The Oglethorpe Echo)

Cory Clements bails and wraps hay on John Robertson’s farm in the Smithonia Community in 2022. Oglethorpe County was the 10th largest hay producing county in the state in 2021. (Dink Nesmith/ The Oglethorpe Echo)

Hay fever: Rain leads to abundance of cash crop

John Henry Hammond
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Oglethorpe County’s unexpectedly wet hay season is coming to a close, bringing a bountiful harvest to farmers like Travis Legg.   “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and this is one of the wettest years I’ve seen,” said Legg, a third-generation farmer and owner of Windy Hill Ranch in Colbert.