It is our privilege to bring you the Best of competition

We’ve been holding the Best of competition for five years now but it already feels like it’s always been a tradition in this town. Each year, the enthusiasm, voter turnout and friendly competitiveness seems to increase.

Reflecting on memories of Centennial Olympics

The metal tube, with its intricate engravings and wooden handle, is numbered 128. From time to time, I touch it. But when I pick up the 31.5-inch-long piece of memorabilia, my mind rewinds to the summer of 1996. Twenty-five years ago, my friend called and asked, “Don’t you want to run the torch?

Speak up for victims

Amid recent reports of sexual abuse against children here in the area, we think it’s an important time to remind folks about two victim advocacy groups that we are fortunate to have right here in the area: the Harmony House and Northeast Georgia Council on Domestic Violence.

Patriotic music moves me

Just thinking about the music to come was enough for me to begin to sniffle… July 4th our church choir (HFUMC) sang the most beautiful medley of patriotic songs you can imagine. Dressed in red, white and blue, each choir member sang their hearts out.

America at its best: Hartwell Georgia

Some people in America believe that our country is a terrible place in which to live; they believe that it is filled with racists and suffers from a checkered past. In order to keep this position in full view, we are constantly barraged with negativity by some TV stations and newspapers.

Fifty years later, ink is still in my veins

Our 1969 wedding vows didn’t include “We will never live in each other’s hometowns.” But we agreed that Jesup and Camilla were out. I guess we missed Allen Saunders’ advice in Reader’s Digest. I had my eyes on law school, and Pam’s were on UGA grad school.

Let the NIL era begin

This year, I’ll be joining a whole country of sports fans closely watching how the new name, image and likeness (NIL) rights impact college athletics and the domino effects on other industries and institutions.

What’s a fair age for youth workers

Yes, I know. Times are different. This is 2021 in the 21st century. Even though this is a new era, I couldn’t keep quiet. What I was hearing sounded like lunacy. “But Mom, my friend charges $35 per hour to run errands and do special jobs,” the rising high school senior said.

Keep Lake Hartwell trash-free

Lake Hartwell is one of the natural gems of this whole region and it plays a huge role in the character and charm of our town. For that reason and others, it’s crucial that we as residents do our part keeping it clean. That starts with picking up after yourself after spending time on the lakeside.

Ready for a normal football season

We’ve now cleared some of our major festivals in Hartwell and are headed towards the steamy doldrums of summer. For some of you, that probably means hunkering down in the A/C and getting out on the lake when you do leave the house.