Deputy Chief Tony Kent celebrated 16 years with Lumpkin County Emergency Services during a retirement party Thursday afternoon at Fire Station #1. Below: Kent was gifted a commemorative axe by his peers.

Lumpkin County High School Principal Brian Matthews said he is concerned about the proliferation of increasingly concealable vape devices and edible drugs designed to appeal to children.

After years of work, local author Matt Nielsen has completed his epic swashbuckling novel Hand of the Reaper: Islands of the Cursed Seas.

The Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners met with County Manager Alan Ours and Finance Director Abby Branan last week to establish the annual millage rate. However, a delay in receiving needed digest information from the Tax Commissioner’s office scuttled those plans.

As of Sunday, July 27, the Georgia Lottery website reported that 17 of the 19 top prizes for the “100X The Money” scratch-off ticket have been claimed thus far. One of those $3 million prizes was recently won in Dahlonega.

Dahlonega resident Lisa Raber proudly displays the cover of an upcoming self-help book she co-authored.

North Georgia Honey Company owner Eric Weller prepares to merge bees from two different hives. A layer of newspaper between boxes slows the introduction process, so the new bees are accepted into the existing hive.

The new DOT plan is to replace two bridges and create two new roundabouts, one at Hwy. 52 and Auraria Road, which will feature bike lane and sidewalk accommodations, and the other at Hwy. 52 and Torrington Drive. An existing bridge on Hwy. 52 will be demolished.

Southern humorist Jameson Gregg holds up a copy of his favorite novel, A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole. The Pulitzer Prize-winning book was not appreciated in the author's time and was only released posthumously, in 1981.

Dahlonega-based filmmakers Luke Pilgrim (left) and Brad Kennedy are exploring the Ellijay area for their new online docu-series about the paranormal.