Newspaper Page Text
Index
Halloween Extravaganza
News 2,5,6,7,8,9
Obituaries 3
Opinion 4
Around the County 7
Calendar 10
Sheriff's Report 11
Legals 11
Sports 12-13
\
to
There's something for everyone be
tween now and Halloween, including
A the rec department's Trunk or Treat.
Check out The Echo's list of events
and activities around the area and
catch up on safety tips for trick or treat
ers and their parents.
... Pages 6-7
The Oglethorpe Echo
Volume 150, Number 4
October 26, 2023 ??? Oglethorpe County, Georgia
$1
County officials to granite
SUBMITTED PHOTO
This 62,000-pound granite block was thrown from a tractor-trailer
onto Lexington-Carlton Road earlier this month. Commission
Chair Jay Paul has been in contact with the Elberton Granite As
sociation about the incidences in the county.
By Caitlin Downing
and Jay Reece
The Oglethorpe Echo
Provisions are being set to pre
vent additional damage on Lex
ington-Carlton Road and protect
Oglethorpe County residents from
tractor-trailers carrying granite to
Elbert County.
There have been three acci
dents in the past six months in
volving granite trucks, in ad
dition to a near collision with a
school bus on Sept. 11 on Veri-
best Road.
The issue isn???t new, Oglethorpe
trucks: Be careful
County Commission Chair Jay
Paul said, but officials are making
efforts to end it.
???Accidents happen, unfortu
nately, but it seems like over the
past six months, they've really
stepped up in frequency,??? he said.
???That's what we're trying to ad
dress.???
Paul said he has spoken with
the Georgia Department of Pub
lic Safety???s Motor Carrier Com
pliance Division (MCCD), which
regulates the commercial truck
ing industry. The MCCD in
formed Paul that it would become
more of a presence in Oglethorpe
County.
The MCCD will focus on the
county roads where accidents have
frequently happened, including
Lexington-Carlton Road, the next
few weeks.
???Most of the things that we
see may be driver error, mean
ing speeding, maybe distracted,???
MCCD Capt. Dante Hackney said.
???That may be causing some acci
dents along the corridor.???
Hackney said the MCCD will
deploy workers to check for speed
ing and distracted drivers.
See GRANITE, Page 8
Farmers find
ways to reduce
produce waste
By John James
The Oglethorpe Echo
Produce farming is hard.
It???s a year-round industry, filled with long
hours, intensive labor, and fruits and vegetables
that go out of season at a moment???s notice. Even
when farmers can produce a bountiful crop, it???s
impossible to sell everything.
Inevitably, goods are left over. What happens
to unsold produce?
In the past, that answer has been simple ???
waste. Over 800,000 tons of food are sent to land
fills in Georgia each year, according to the Envi
ronmental Protection Division of Georgia.
Farmers around Oglethorpe County, like Lama
Pallas, are looking to change that.
Pallas earned a doctorate in food science from
the University of Georgia, and since 2017, she???s
used that knowledge to help run Buffalo Creek
Berry Farm in Lexington. Pallas estimated Buf
falo Creek sells three-quarters of its production in
a good year, but not every year goes according to
plan.
She said they use the leftovers for several
things, such as feeding her family or making syr
ups, vinegars and jams.
???For us, it???s about, ???How do we survive on the
farm, being farmers???? ??? Pallas said. ???It???s hard do
ing the fresh market. You really need an outlet to
be able to move your seconds, or creating some
thing with them.???
Not all farmers are so efficient with their left
overs, Pallas said. She said there are many barri
ers to efficient use of produce waste, with knowl
edge being the primary obstacle.
See PRODUCE, Page 7
KATE HOFFMAN/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Laura Pallas, who co-owns Buffalo Creek Ber
ry Farm and has a doctorate in food science
from the University of Georgia, holds her son
Arthur James Phillips in February 2022. Pallas
uses leftover produce in a manner of ways,
including syrups and jams.
BEAVERDA*
VOL. FIRE DEPT,
EVAN SMOAK/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Beaverdam VFD fire chief Jehu Post (left) and assistant chief Cody Gibbs lead much of the training for firefighters in
Oglethorpe County. Departments across the county struggle with a lack of volunteers and firefighters who are getting older.
Volunteer firefighters needed
Chiefs across county struggle with numbers, aging departments
By Evan Smoak
The Oglethorpe Echo
Oglethorpe County is experiencing a
firefighter shortage.
???I think there???s a crisis across public
safety, a crisis for personnel,??? said Cody
Gibbs, assistant chief of the Beaverdam
Volunteer Fire Department.
According to department leadership,
volunteer fire departments face two main
problems: lack of numbers and lack of
youth.
???I would say that one of the biggest
things that has affected the volunteer fire
service in the last several years has been
the COVID-19 pandemic,??? Gibbs said.
???We saw several of our older members
who were pretty active kind of just step
back.???
And it???s not just affecting the Beaver
dam VFD. Ages have increased across
the country.
In 1987, 15.9% of the volunteer fire
fighters in communities under 2,500 peo
ple were 50 years old and up. In 2020,
that percentage had increased to 34%,
according to the National Volunteer Fire
Council (NVFC).
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Firefighters suppress flames dur
ing a live fire training exercise at the
Athens-Clarke County Fire Training
Center last year.
???The problem is a lot of us are ag
ing, and the younger people are not com
ing in to take people???s places when we
age out,??? said Heath Baker, chief of the
Amoldsville VFD.
More Info
To join a fire station as an
auxiliary member or in another
role, contact the fire chief of
the nearest station by visiting
|oqlethorpetirerescue.org|. Fire
fighter certification classes will
be available in January.
Oglethorpe County is completely reliant
on volunteer firefighters, who are unpaid.
The role also doesn???t require as many
certifications as a paid position. A vol
unteer firefighter must pass the state???s
written test, while a paid firefighter must
complete the written portion and a skills
portion in person.
However, volunteer firefighters make
up 65% of the first responders in the
U.S., according to the NVFC. And ac
cording to the Federal Emergency Man
agement Agency (FEMA), approximate
ly 70% of the fire departments in Geor
gia are completely or mostly volunteer
stations.
See FIREFIGHTERS, Page 2
Enjoy this deer season on your
own property!
Contact United Country Southern
Select Properties to speak with a
realtor that specializes in hunting
and farm land.
706-424-2472