Local

Second grade teacher Samantha Cochenour has been named Teacher of the Year for Cottrell Elementary School.

Second grade teacher Samantha Cochenour has been named Teacher of the Year for Cottrell Elementary School.

Exclusive Content

Cochenour named Cottrell Elementary Teacher of the Year

Keith Murden
Thursday, November 6, 2025
It was Halloween, and Samantha Cochenour’s second grade classroom was a whirlwind of activity, with small groups of costumed students zooming around five different activity tables; she was peppered with a seemingly endless stream of questions from the groups of inquisitive students.
Diana Dunetz, co-founder of the Run for the Rescues 5K, with Lumpkin County Animal Shelter resident Bishop, who is looking for his forever home.

Diana Dunetz, co-founder of the Run for the Rescues 5K, with Lumpkin County Animal Shelter resident Bishop, who is looking for his forever home.

Run for the rescues should help fetch funds

Keith Murden
Thursday, November 6, 2025
The Run for the Rescues 5K is coming to Dahlonega later this month, and Friends of Lumpkin County Shelter Animals volunteer and event organizer Diana Dunetz is hoping the brand new event will make a real difference in the lives of local animals.
A concept plan depicts a restored Woody’s Store and Kate Woody Building facing Auraria Road, with the addition of a new 8,000 square foot museum and outdoor amphitheater behind them.

A concept plan depicts a restored Woody’s Store and Kate Woody Building facing Auraria Road, with the addition of a new 8,000 square foot museum and outdoor amphitheater behind them.

Cherokee Tribe Museum masterplan taking shape

Keith Murden
Thursday, October 30, 2025
A plan that would see Woody’s General Store and the surrounding Auraria property transformed into a museum and heritage center honoring the Georgia Tribe of the Eastern Cherokee is gaining fresh momentum.
Investigators from the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office are working to track down the culprits responsible for the theft of Shaquille O'Neal's Range Rover.

Investigators from the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office are working to track down the culprits responsible for the theft of Shaquille O'Neal's Range Rover.

Exclusive Content

Shaq’s new Range Rover stolen after visit to local custom shop

Matt Aiken
Thursday, October 30, 2025
Shaquille O’Neal’s brand new custom SUV was last spotted in Lumpkin County before a fast breaking felony resulted in the disappearance of the NBA superstar’s $180,000 Range Rover, and now investigators from the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office are working to try to chase down the culprits.
Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners Chairman Chris Dockery (left) makes an impromptu presentation on local traffic issues.

Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners Chairman Chris Dockery (left) makes an impromptu presentation on local traffic issues.

Exclusive Content

Housing development near GA400 denied

Keith Murden
Thursday, October 30, 2025
A Character Area Map amendment that would have paved the way for Antler Ridge, a proposed 150-unit townhome development at the end of GA 400, has officially been denied; the development’s progress had been closely monitored by the public since the request first surfaced at the County Planning...
A posthumous exhibit featuring the work of Dr. Alice Sampson-Cordle will start Tuesday, October 28. Joel Cordle said his wife’s “personal favorite photo” was taken at a farm near Bishop, Ga. “Goats get a lot of people’s attention—You don’t see goats in The Nugget every week.”

A posthumous exhibit featuring the work of Dr. Alice Sampson-Cordle will start Tuesday, October 28. Joel Cordle said his wife’s “personal favorite photo” was taken at a farm near Bishop, Ga. “Goats get a lot of people’s attention—You don’t see goats in The Nugget every week.”

Exclusive Content

Photography exhibit honors legacy of Dr. Alice Sampson-Cordle

Keith Murden
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
A large trove of unpublished photographs and other artistic expressions from former University of North Georgia faculty member and Georgia Applachian Studies Center founder Dr. Alice Sampson-Cordle will be on display at the historic Vickery House starting on Tuesday, October 28.
A new 3D model of the planned Veterans Memorial Cemetery depicts an entrance off of Blackburn Road.

A new 3D model of the planned Veterans Memorial Cemetery depicts an entrance off of Blackburn Road.

Exclusive Content

Donations are making new Veterans Cemetery closer to reality

Keith Murden
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
A major fundraising effort to build a Lumpkin County Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Blackburn Road is picking up momentum, and local Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Stan Kelley wants the public to know that every dollar donated toward the effort effectively counts twice.
Tarpon Towers representative Andy Rotenstreich discusses a proposal that would make way for a new 240-foot cell tower off Hightower Church Road.

Tarpon Towers representative Andy Rotenstreich discusses a proposal that would make way for a new 240-foot cell tower off Hightower Church Road.

Exclusive Content

New 240-foot cell tower on the horizon for Lumpkin

Matt Aiken
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
"Can you hear me now" -- if you’re making a call in the Hightower Church Road area, there’s a good chance the answer is no, but that may change soon as the Lumpkin County Planning Commission recently approved a variance request that will pave the way for a new 240-foot cell tower on a 13 acre plot...
Local couple Marvin and JoAnne Martin will preside over this weekend’s Gold Rush Days Festival as 2025 King and Queen.

Local couple Marvin and JoAnne Martin will preside over this weekend’s Gold Rush Days Festival as 2025 King and Queen.

Gold Rush 2025 King and Queen have always loved Dahlonega

Keith Murden
Thursday, October 16, 2025
“It was a big surprise," JoAnne Martin repeated as she recalled the moment she and her husband Marvin found out that they would be Queen and King of this year’s annual Gold Rush Days festival.  “Ms. [Mallory] Odom gave me a call.
Candidates for Dahlonega City County Post 1 Tom Gordineer (left) and Tony Owens share their thoughts in The Nugget’s Q-&-A this week.

Candidates for Dahlonega City County Post 1 Tom Gordineer (left) and Tony Owens share their thoughts in The Nugget’s Q-&-A this week.

Exclusive Content

City Council candidates weigh in on local growth

Matt Aiken
Thursday, October 16, 2025
The race for City Council is well underway., and so is early voting. Now that the polls are officially open, The Nugget caught up with Post 1 contenders Tony Owens and Tom Gordineer for a Dahlonega-themed Q-&-A.