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Heading to State
The Oglethorpe County football
team will make the short drive to
Elbert County for the first round
of the Class A Division I state
playoffs. The Patriots will play
the Blue Devils at the Granite
Bowl at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
... Page 13
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The Oglethorpe Echo
Volume 150, Number 6
November 9, 2023 ??? Oglethorpe County, Georgia
$1
Arnoldsville elects Morcom as mayor
By Elena Acosta
The Oglethorpe Echo
Danny Morcom was elected as the
next mayor of Arnoldsville on Tues
day.
Morcom won, according to un
official results Tuesday night, and
his opponent, city councilman Dan
ny Sniff who ran uncontested in the
special election also held on Tues
day, will finish out this year as in
terim mayor.
Official results weren???t available
before The Oglethorpe Echo went to
press.
More Online
Go to our website ???
theoglethorpeecho.corr
??? for vote totals and
voter turnout numbers
of Tuesday's election in
Arnoldsville.
The incoming city council will
include Blake Arnold, incumbent
Norma Craddock, Jack Norman,
Joel Kriner and Joyce Sniff. Nick
Sanders, an incumbent, was not
re-elected, City Clerk Dana Play
er said.
Player served as the election super
intendent.
Poll officers for early voting and
Election Day included Player???s daugh
ter, Haley Player; Pam Aaron; John
and Lena Parker; Adam Hill; Kim
Bradford; Danny Love and Valery Gil
lespie.
Love, who is the city attorney, said
he believed it has been at least 23
years since Amoldsville???s last contest
ed general election.
ELENA ACOSTA/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Poll officer John Parker watches longtime Arnoldsville
resident Jane Ash cast her ballot for the election at city
hall on Tuesday. Ash said she was the postmaster in
Arnoldsville and even served as mayor years ago.
GRACE MAINS/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Bret Williamson, co-owner of A&B Emporium in downtown Crawford, is a veteran after serving for four years. He and
his wife Alice have a passion for serving their community.
Veterans helping others
Local business owners, Post 123 are there for those who served
By Jordan Long
and Grace Mains
The Oglethorpe Echo
Enlisting in the military is a transfor
mative commitment ??? yielding disci
pline, camaraderie and a profound sense
of duty. Those who have served are often
connected by a desire to serve their com
munities.
???It's a family place. You know, we're
all here to have a good time and enjoy
each other's company,??? Jennifer Berry
said, co-owner of Soldier of the Sea Dis
tillery.
Veteran owners of two area business
es, Soldier of the Sea Distillery in Com
er and A&B Emporium in Crawford,
both highlighted the value of communi
ty and helping one's neighbor as a driv
ing force of their establishments ??? driv
en by lessons learned dining their mili
tary service.
???We want to support the community as
much as veterans. We like to see veterans
do better than what they???re doing cur
rently,??? said Bret Williamson, who co
owns A&B Emporium. ???In this commu
nity, it???s a small community, and we like
to just help out as much as we can.???
GRACE MAINS/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Mark Davis, a retired Marine, and Jen
nifer Berry, owners of Soldier of the
Sea Distillery in Comer, stand in the
back of the distillery. Each product
used in the process is made in the
U.S. and a majority are locally/region
ally sourced.
Soldier of the Sea Distillery
Settled just outside the Oglethorpe
County line in Comer is whiskey distill
ery Soldier of the Sea Distillery, run by
a Marine veteran, pollinator enthusiast,
and a distillery cat named Eclipse.
Mark Davis and Jennifer Berry, a re
search professional at University of
Georgia???s Honey Bee Lab, opened the
distillery in December 2022.
With Berry???s background, being pollina
tor-friendly business and spreading that mis
sion is half of the core of SOS Distillery.
The other half of their mission is to
honor veterans.
Davis said he was 17 when he enlisted.
???I had the opportunity to serve on sea
duty with the U.S. Marines,??? Davis said.
???And that, over decades later, started the
Sea Duty label that I have to honor.???
Davis traveled in the Mediterranean
and North Africa with a Marine de-
tatchment and served in artillery and as
an aerial observer during Desert Storm
while in the reserves.
???Half the mission is for honoring us
veterans,??? Davis said. ???And I have a
product that honors those who served at
sea and those that served on land, and
those in the air. And there is not one for
each branch of the service, but for the job
that you did. I didn't want to have 15 dif
ferent kinds of whiskey.???
See VETERANS, Page 8
Granite trucks
continue to
cause concern
By Caitlin Downing
The Oglethorpe Echo
A few weeks after granite truck drivers were
put on notice by the Elberton Granite Associa
tion, Oglethorpe County resident Karen Isenhow-
er asked the Board of Commissioners to take fur
ther action at its monthly meeting Monday night.
Isenhower, who has lived on Allgood Road
since January, said she thought her new home
would be peaceful, especially since it had been
empty for 35 years.
???I understand this is what they are used to,???
she said. ???But now that I bought the place, they
need to respect that I am the property owner, and
I live there. I was really nice and went out there
and asked them to please slow down ??? and they
sped up.???
Isenhower said she has taken several videos
at various times of day as the dust flies into her
yard from the passing trucks. She also said there
have been multiple incidents of truck mirrors
breaking and pieces flying into her yard.
Now, she???s concerned not only for her own
safety, but also for her housemate, Don Mira-
onov, as they both are starting to have breath
ing problems.
Isenhower said she spoke with Bill Daugh
try of Savannah Gray Quarry, who said he spoke
to his drivers. A Savannah Gray Quarry truck
flipped over on Veribest Road on Sept. 11.
Chairman Jay Paul said the state???s Motor Car
rier Compliance Division has been in the county
for a few weeks and is stopping trucks.
???As I have said before, I have not looked for
ward to inviting (MCCD) to the county, but the
granite industry has got to help me a little bit,???
Paul said. ???All they have to do is their part of
slowing down and lighter loads, and I think
that???ll go a long way to fixing the problem.???
This new complaint is in addition to other in
cidents involving granite trucks in the past six
months.
See GRANITE, Page 8
DINK NESMITH/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Karen Isenhower, who lives on Allgood Road,
shows commissioners David Clark (from left),
Howard Sanders, Will Brown and Tracy Nor
man video of the granite trucks that pass in
front of her house. The state's Motor Carrier
Compliance Division has started to patrol
the county.