Category: News

Financial problems that turned up earlier this year in the Stephens County school system continue to have repercussions. Last week, Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey said that he had talked with Standard and Poor’s Rating Service about the school system’s credit rating. Currently, Dorsey said the rating is an A-. He said, however, that the rating service is meeting […]

The Stephens County Board of Education could make a decision this week on what to do with a long-term lease request. In October, Evan Oglesby appeared before the school board and requested a 99-year lease of the old Toccoa High School gym on Pond Street in Toccoa. Currently, Oglesby has a lease with the school system through December 2016 at […]

Local and state officials turn out to recognize a local man for his service to veterans. William Tucker is retiring from his position with the Georgia Department of Veterans’ Services. He has worked out of the local office, serving Stephens and surrounding counties for 15 years. On Friday, a reception was held in Tucker’s honor in the Mitchell Allen Room […]

Toccoa City Commissioners will wrap up their calendar year later today. The city commission is set to meet at 5 p.m. today at Toccoa City Hall. Today’s meeting is the final scheduled meeting for the city commission for 2014. Leading today’s agenda are two alcohol beverage control items. First, city commissioners will deal with the renewal of ABC licenses. Then, […]

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia The search is on for a new Superior Court Judge in the Northern Judicial District, now that Superior Court Judge John H. Bailey has announced his retirement. Judge Bailey is retiring effective January 1. The Judicial Nominating Commission has been accepting nominations of persons to fill Judge Bailey’s vacancy on the Northern Judicial Circuit from […]

A local business shows off its newest product. The Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Thursday at its offices for Kokoon Homes of Toccoa. Kokoon was unveiling its newest product, the “Kokoon Kompak.” Kokoon Homes Owner Dave Rades said the “Kokoon Kompak” is a miniature house that can be moved from location to location. “It is a […]

The Stephens County Board of Education is still working through what to do about the cannery and its financial situation. School board members discussed it on Thursday at their work session. Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey says further investigations showed both additional revenues and expenditures in the cannery, increasing the financial deficit over the last five years. Those figures […]

Stephens County Commissioners deny a request for a change in language in the county’s land use ordinance. Tuesday, the county commission considered a request from United Renewable Energy of Alpharetta, the company that has placed solar panels on land owned by the Stephens County Development Authority. According to Stephens County Administrator Phyllis Ayers, the proposed change would have made it […]

A vehicle theft is reported in downtown Toccoa. The Toccoa Police Department said it responded to a downtown car lot on Thursday in reference to a report of a stolen vehicle. According to the report, a Jeep Grand Cherokee had been taken from the lot. Police said a BOLO was put out for the vehicle. Toccoa Police Chief Tim Jarrell […]

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia Hart County officials are calling it a history making event. Gov. Nathan Deal announced Wednesday that Germany-based Häring, a leading global manufacturer of precision components and subassemblies for the automotive industry, will locate its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Hartwell, creating 800 jobs by 2025 and investing $54 million into the project over the […]