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The Winterville Snowflake
10Kon Jan. 13 will kickoff
the five-year anniversary of
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The Oglethorpe Echo
Volume 150, Number 13 December 28, 2023 ??? Oglethorpe County, Georgia
$1
Looking
Staff Report
This year has been filled with
news that helped shape the coun
ty and fill the pages of The
Oglethorpe Echo. So The Echo???s
staff decided to take a look back at
the five most newsworthy stories
in Oglethorpe County in 2023.
Broadband
grant awarded
The hope for better broadband
received a boost in January, when
back at county???s top stories this year
Gov. Brian Kemp???s office awarded
$7.9 million to Oglethorpe County
as part of Georgia???s Capital Proj
ects Fund Grant Program.
Spectrum, in partnership with
the county, must use those funds
to provide internet access to 2,972
locations by Dec. 31, 2026. Work
has started on the project, mainly
in the western part of the county.
???This is the biggest thing to ever
happen to Oglethorpe, as far as in
ternet,??? Oglethorpe County Eco
nomic Development chair Will
Brown said at the time.
Kinetic by Windstream also has
installed optical fiber to hundreds
of homes in the Crawford and
Lexington areas this year.
New school
construction
Work on the county???s new K-5
elementary school started behind
the current primary and elementa
ry schools on Comer Road.
This year's top Oglethorpe County Stories
See STORIES, Page 2
MCCAIN BRACEWELL/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Crowds gather to watch a youth basketball game at the Oglethorpe County Recreation Department on Dec. 5. Stands on
both courts in the gym were packed with parents and other attendees. Recreation Department staff say space is at a pre
mium with continued growth in their athletic programs.
Tight for
space:
Recreation Department,
others call for expansion
amid increasing participation
By Jordyn Gershoni
and Christian Kirby II
The Oglethorpe Echo
Brody Bearden has often found himself
searching for small fields or empty patch
es of grass so the Little League baseball
teams he coaches can practice. That???s be
cause space at the Oglethorpe County Rec
reation Department???s Bryan Park is limited.
???It???s really tight trying to get in practice
space,??? Bearden said. ???I'm talking about 7-
or 8-year-olds and they're still practicing,
pushing 8 or 9 o'clock. That can be hard on
a school night.???
Due to a continued increase in sports
participation in Oglethorpe County, the rec
reation department is facing a challenge ???
finding space for its athletes.
Specifically, the main hub for rec sports,
Bryan Park on Lakeshore Drive in Craw
ford, has become cramped, causing sched
uling issues for teams.
Bryan Park sits on 32 acres. The prop
erty has three baseball/softball fields, one
full-sized football field, two tennis courts,
a blacktop basketball court, soccer fields
and a two-court indoor basketball facility.
There is also a pond with walking/jogging
trails.
Yet, recreation department staff have
CHRISTIAN KIRBY 11/
THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
These soccer fields at Bryan Park host
games for hundreds of players each
season. Under a possible new plan
to expand recreation department
facilities, soccer fields could move to
a county space near the Oglethorpe
County Jail. The Recreation Department
has talked with the Oglethorpe County
Board of Commissioners about the
concept.
consistently heard complaints about space.
Michael White, recreation department di
rector, said he has met with the Oglethorpe
County Board of Commissioners on multi
ple occasions and has developed a plan for
expansion.
The commissioners also have toured the
property to see the issues facing the depart
ment.
???Once we actually got them out here,
they were able to see in person the traffic
jam that builds in the park,??? White said. ???It
took them forever to get in here and forever
to find a place to park.???
White???s plans currently include convert
ing the tennis and outdoor basketball courts
into a parking lot, which would alleviate
stress on visitor parking. White also plans
to change the existing soccer and football
fields at Bryan Park into additional base
ball/softball fields.
White said he wants to keep baseball fields
on one property, so they would be able to
hold travel baseball tournaments. This could
also create a county revenue stream.
The county does have another space lo
cated by the Oglethorpe County Jail, off
Buddy Faust Road in Lexington, where
White said he would build new tennis
courts, pickleball courts, outside basketball
courts and a multi-purpose building that
would be available for rent.
White also mentioned having a 400-by-
800-foot soccer field that would act as an
???open canvas??? to use as needed.
See RECREATION, Page 2
Gabriel
to run for
reelection
Staff Report
Sheriff David Gabriel will run for
a third term in 2024 and said he will
???crank up??? his campaign around Febru
ary.
???My life plan is to run at least two
more times, this time and the next time,
and that puts me at retirement age at the
end of that,??? said Gabriel, who is 50
years old.
Gabriel was elected in 2016 and re
elected in 2020, when he defeated chal
lenger Don Waldroup with 55% of the
vote.
Gabriel will
have at least one
opponent in the
2024 general
election.
County coro
ner James ???Ju
nior??? Jackson,
who spent 18
years in vari
ous roles with
the Oglethorpe
County Sher
iff???s Office, said last week he plans to
run for sheriff. Jackson placed an intro
ductory ad in last week???s edition of The
Oglethorpe Echo.
Jackson and Gabriel recently met to
discuss Jackson???s candidacy and several
topics that likely will be hot-button cam
paign issues.
Those include use of the Oglethorpe
County Jail, Sheriff???s Office staffing, the
new school zone cameras on Highway
78 and Comer Road (Highway 22), and
the amount of warrants being served in
the county.
Jackson???s wife, Angela, is the coun
ty???s 911 director, which is under Gabriel.
Sheriff is one of several county-wide
positions in this year???s general primary,
which is scheduled for May 21.
Those include magistrate judge (Me
gan Code), probate judge (Kayla Grier),
chairman of the board of commissioners
(Jay Paul), tax commissioner (Sheila Ar
nold), coroner (James Jackson) and clerk
of superior court (Kelli Paradise Smith).
Also, representatives from Districts
1 (Guillermo Camacho), 2 (Tim Poole)
and 4 (Jake Willcox) of the board of ed
ucation, and from Districts 2 (Andy Sax
on) and 4 (Will Brown) of the board of
commissioners will be decided this year,
according to the Oglethorpe County
Board of Elections.
Qualifying for the offices will be held
from 9 a.m. Monday, March 4 to noon
on Friday, March 8 at the board of elec
tions office, 41 Fairground Road in Lex
ington.
David Gabriel
2394 Sharon NE Road
Crawfordville, GA 30631
5 Bed 2 Bath home on
73.97 Acres
Spacious Kitchen with Quartz
Countertops
42x50 Shop
30x25 Pole Barn
1 Acre Stocked Lake
Recently Updated Interior Roads
Well Maintained Food Plots
2 Creek Systems
Interested in this
Property?
r.-' ..
ii i it??? "P ??? an???i i
Call: 678-791-3483