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The Oglethorpe Echo
Volume 150, Number 1
October 5, 2023 ??? Oglethorpe County, Georgia
$1
Commissioners approve
changes to help landfill
By Jay Reece
The Oglethorpe Echo
The Board of Commissioners
agreed to alleviate the strain on
the diminishing capacity of the
Oglethorpe County Construc
tion and Demolition Landfill in
its monthly meeting on Mon
day.
The BOC approved raising the
cost of larger loads and restricting
use to county residents and com
mercial entities that operate with
in the county.
The tipping rate will stay at $40
per ton with a minimum of $10 to
dump. In addition, the commis
sion ruled that loads over two tons
will be deemed commercial and
charged at a rate of $60 per ton.
Loads are weighed upon entering
the facility.
The restrictions will be effective
Oct. 16. New signage will be post
ed at the landfill.
Proof of residence or operation
within the county will be required
for entry into the landfill. Previ
ously, businesses and people from
surrounding counties were able to
use the landfill.
Before these measures were put
in place, the landfill was projected
to run out of space by next April.
The restrictions aim to expand the
lifespan of the landfill.
Meanwhile, the county is in
the long process of expanding the
landfill.
See LANDFILL, Page 10
JAY REECE/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
A trash compactor (left) and a bulldozer move trash at the
Oglethorpe County Construction and Demolition Landfill. The
Board of Commissioners on Monday changed the cost of larger
loads and placed a restriction on who can use the landfill.
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150 YEARS
The Echo marks
a century and a half
of serving Oglethorpe
County and its people
UGA partnership positions
paper for a strong future
By Meadow Barrow
and Jared Smith
The Oglethorpe Echo
The Oglethorpe Echo has survived owner
ship changes, several downturns in the econo
my and a near-death experience in 2021 to cel
ebrate its 150th an
niversary with this
week???s edition.
The award
winning Echo is
thriving as it re
mains the primary
source of news for
Oglethorpe Coun
ty, thanks in part to
its partnership with
the University of
Georgia???s Grady
College of Jour
nalism and Mass
Communication.
???The Oglethorpe
Echo didn???t die,???
said Dink Ne-
Smith, chairman
of The Oglethorpe
Echo Legacy, Inc.
???It was headed for
the grave, and now
it (has) survived
and thrived with the partnership of Grady Col
lege.???
The inaugural edition of The Oglethorpe
Echo was printed in Crawford on Oct. 9, 1874.
The paper almost closed two years ago, when
then-publisher Ralph Maxwell Jr., who had a
stroke in 2017, felt that his health, among other
issues, were getting in the way.
???I just didn???t really have the energy anymore
to continue it, and it was in the middle of the
pandemic and a lot of business was slow,??? he
said. ???It was both a financial and health rea
son.???
That???s when NeSmith, a close friend of Max
well, stepped forward. He learned of the plan to
shut down the paper and immediately persuad
ed Maxwell to "hold on for another month," so
he could think of
a way to keep the
paper in business.
NeSmith de
veloped the idea
to donate the
newspaper to a
nonprofit, which
partnered with
the University of
Georgia. The plan
included having
UGA journalism
students become
the editorial staff
of The Echo.
Two professors
who have exten
sive newspaper
experience serve
as the editor and
assistant editor.
The paper,
which won nine
section and in
dividual awards in the Georgia Press Associ
ation's annual Better Newspaper Contest, has
also expanded how it delivers news and infor
mation with a website, e-edition, email news
letter and social media, serving as a national
model for innovative news-academic partner
ships.
And now, nearly two years after almost shut-
See PAPER, Page 2
1874
First edition of The Oglethorpe
Echo was published byT. Larry
Gantt in Crawford.
1876
Gantt relocated the paper to
Lexington, the county seat of
Oglethorpe County.
1880
Gannt was able to print eight
pages rather than four with
newspaper growth.
1881
Gantt sold the paper to John A.
Haire and W.A. Shackleford.
1944
Ralph Maxwell Sr.'s uncle
bought and began to operate
the newspaper.
1956
Ralph Maxwell Sr. became
owner and editor ofThe
Oglethorpe Echo.
1981
Ralph Maxwell Jr. took over his
father's role to run The Echo.
2021
Maxwell Jr. donated the
newspaper to The Oglethorpe
Echo Legacy Inc., a nonprofit
that partnered with the
University of Georgia.
SARAH WHITE/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Lexington's Ralph Maxwell Jr. was the publisher of
The Oglethorpe Echo from 1981 until 2021, when
he turned the paper over to The Oglethorpe Echo
Legacy, Inc.
School zone
cameras will
be operable
next week
By Evan Smoak
The Oglethorpe Echo
New speed cameras will be ac
tive in Oglethorpe County school
zones on Monday.
The cameras are on High
way 78 near Oglethorpe Coun
ty High School
and on Com
er Road near
Oglethorpe
County Prima
ry, Elementa
ry and Middle
schools.
???Safety is
always fore
front in our
daily school thoughts,??? said Paul
Thiel, director of operations for
the school system. ???We are opti
mistic that these cameras will pro
vide another level of safety for all
our schools.???
School safety isn???t the only goal
for the cameras, Sheriff David Ga
briel said.
???It???s important because a lot of
accidents occur right there in that
corridor (near Oglethorpe Coun
ty High School) between peo
ple turning into Bell???s and oth-
See CAMERA, Page 7
David Gabriel
ANDY JOHNSTON/
THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Speed cameras in the county's
school zones will be operation
al starting Monday, but there
is a one-month grace period
before tickets are sent.
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