Category: News

A number of incumbents have filed for re-election for municipal elections in Toccoa and Martin. First in Toccoa, City Clerk Fredda Wheeler says that Terry Carter qualified to run for re-election to Post 1 of the City Commission and Gail Fry qualified to run for re-election to Post 4. No other candidates had qualified as of 3:30 p.m. on Monday. […]

Comer Police Chief and Stephens County Commission Chair Dennis Bell will lead a statewide law enforcement organization for the next year. Bell was named President of the Peace Officers Association of Georgia last week at the organization’s 115th conference in Savannah. He said it is a privilege and an honor to receive the confidence of the membership to serve as […]

The city of Toccoa is looking to expand its capacity to increase its industrial wastewater pre-treatment program. Last week, Toccoa City Commissioners unanimously approved spending $14,000 to $17,000 in engineering fees to double the amount of industrial pre-treatment that the city is allowed. Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said that currently, the city’s Industrial Pretreatment Program at the Eastanollee Wastewater […]

The latest county unemployment numbers from the Georgia Department of Labor show a rising unemployment rate for Stephens County for the month of July. According to the Labor Department figures, Stephens County had a preliminary unemployment rate of 7.0 percent for the month of July. That is up four-tenths of a percentage point from the revised rate for June, which […]

Qualifying for municipal elections in Stephens County gets underway today. Toccoa, Martin, and Avalon will all hold qualifying this week. In Toccoa, candidates wishing to qualify for one of the three seats up for election this year should see Toccoa City Clerk Fredda Wheeler at Toccoa City Hall. Toccoa qualifying starts at 8:30 a.m. today and runs through 4:30 p.m. […]

Family Connection of Stephens County is still looking for mentors from the community to help fill spots in its mentoring program in the Stephens County School System. Mentor Coordinator Nancy Ekback says that Family Connection is about halfway to its goal of 115 mentors for this school year. Ekback says they are looking for adults to take time out of […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Hartwell Lake Office will open a number of recreation areas for archery and small game hunting during the regular 2015-2016 Georgia hunting season. Among those is the Jenkins Ferry Recreation Area in Stephens County. The others are the Paynes Creek Recreation Area, Hartwell Dam Quarry Area, and New Prospect Recreation Area. Hunting in the Hartwell Dam […]

By WLHR Radio, Lavonia The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are conducting an investigation involving murder and aggravated assault. Law Enforcement in Franklin County say they received a call around 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning, August 28, regarding a welfare check at a residence on Grady School Road. Officers say they arrived at the residence and […]

Stephens County Registrar Theresa Kelley has resigned. She made that decision Thursday morning, according to county officials. It was immediate. County Administrator Phyllis Ayers said that she had not received an official resignation letter as of Thursday afternoon, but was expecting one to be forthcoming. Ayers said that the county is moving forward to get Kelley’s responsibilities covered with a […]

A Stephens County Sheriff’s Office deputy is doing well after an accident on Wednesday. Sheriff Randy Shirley said it happened when his office responded to a call on Wednesday evening. “They received a 911 call to go to a residence on Whisnant Street regarding a domestic dispute,” said Shirley. “Upon arrival, there was a physical altercation between a husband and […]