Author: Jessica Waters

Stephens County Recreation Director Chris Rainey was named as Stephens County’s 2023 Employee of the Year. Stephens County Administrator Christian Hamilton announced the award.  The 2022 Employee of the Year was Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Mitty Higginbotham. Also at Tuesday’s Stephens County Board of Commissioners meeting, 2024 appointments of board members to local and regional boards and committees were approved  […]

Toccoa Falls College recently published its 2023 End-of-Year Reflections, looking back at the accomplishments and benchmarks of the past 12 months. Included in the year’s highlights were U.S. News & World Report ranking of Toccoa Falls College one of the Best Regional College in the South, ranked at #30, a Best Value School with a national ranking of 11, and […]

Due to heavy rains this past Saturday, The Toccoa Night of Lights Christmas Parade was rescheduled to tonight, Dec. 14.  According to the National Weather Service, the forecast for tonight calls for clear weather with 0% chance of rain and temperatures in the mid-40s at 5 p.m. dropping to 42 degrees at 8 p.m. Floats will begin lining up at […]

Yesterday afternoon, local law enforcement officials as well as Hart and Franklin County deputies and Georgia State Patrol Troopers spent several hours scouring the woods off of Highway 106 near Old Mize Road, looking for a suspect that Stephen County Sheriff Randy Shirley described in a post on Facebook as “armed and dangerous.” This morning, Shirley released information regarding the […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, Forest, Fish, and Wildlife Section will accept real Christmas Trees for recycling as fish habitat at J. Strom Thurmond Lake from Dec. 18, 2023, through Jan. 14, 2024, and at Hartwell Dam and Lake Project from Dec. 26, 2023, through Jan. 26, 2024. Artificial trees will not be accepted. Real trees may […]

At last night’s Stephens County Board of Commissioners meeting, Board members unanimously voted Tara Simmons, Post 1, as the board chair for 2024, and Chris Rickman, Post 4, as vice chair for the coming year.  Following the meeting, Rickman told WNEG News he is excited for the opportunity. He added that serving as a board member has been a learning […]

Yesterday afternoon, local law enforcement officials as well as Hart and Franklin County deputies and Georgia State Patrol Troopers spent several hours scouring the woods off of Highway 106 near Old Mize Road, looking for a suspect that Stephen County Sheriff Randy Shirley described in a post on Facebook as “armed and dangerous.” In the social media post, made at […]

As reported yesterday on WNEG News, The Toccoa City Commission voted at Monday’s meeting to appoint Freda Wheeler as Toccoa City Manager.  Wheeler, the city’s long-time clerk, has served as interim city manager since Billy Morse’s retirement at the end of September.  Following her appointment, Wheeler addressed commissioners and the city employees and citizens attending the meeting, saying she considers […]