News

Eatonton Messenger/Graphic

Eatonton Messenger/Graphic

Exclusive Subscriber Content

Short-term rental ordinance taking shape

Rufus Adair
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
The Putnam County Board of Commissioners may not have made any final decisions on a short-term rental (STR) ordinance during a Monday morning work session, but enough general consensus emerged to direct the staff to draft a new version.
Kemondre A. Lane

Kemondre A. Lane

Exclusive Subscriber Content

Policemen follow trail to catch alleged burglar

Lynn Hobbs
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
An old fairytale seemed to come to life for Eatonton Police officers last week when a burglar left a trail of evidence that led them straight to his door, according to a report from the Eatonton Police Department.
Eatonton Messenger/Graphic

Eatonton Messenger/Graphic

Exclusive Subscriber Content

Highway 44 expansion, costs dominate discussion

Rufus Adair
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Buckle your seatbelts and hang on. The next four years of the 4.5 mile-widening of Ga. 44 is going to get bumpy, as work on both sides of Lake Oconee is going to come sooner than previously scheduled. But it will be complex, and no doubt accompanied by frustrations.
Mothers Against Crime member Brenda Bonner (right), who has been volunteering with the organization since its 1992 inception, received a special service award Saturday night from MAC founder and organizer Georgia Benjamin-Smith. IAN TOCHER/Staff

Mothers Against Crime member Brenda Bonner (right), who has been volunteering with the organization since its 1992 inception, received a special service award Saturday night from MAC founder and organizer Georgia Benjamin-Smith. IAN TOCHER/Staff

Exclusive Subscriber Content

Mothers Against Crime holds annual banquet

Story And Photos By Ian Tocher
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Mothers Against Crime (MAC) held its annual banquet Saturday night at Eatonton’s First United Methodist Church, where approximately 50 people shared a meal and fellowship while listening to local pastors and law enforcement leaders offer encouraging words to and about the 31-year-old organization.
Michael Seth Perrault

Michael Seth Perrault

Exclusive Subscriber Content

Georgia Supreme Court denies Perrault new trial

Lynn Hobbs
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Prison walls will apparently remain Michael Seth Perrault’s home for the rest of his life. On May 2, the Supreme Court of Georgia denied the former Eatonton Police officer’s request for a new trial. Perrault was found guilty of the murder of his wife in a February 2022 trial.
Photo courtesy of Putnam County Sheriff’s Office

Photo courtesy of Putnam County Sheriff’s Office

Woman dies in fire in gated community

Lynn Hobbs
Saturday, May 6, 2023
An elderly Eatonton woman lost her life in a house fire in Great Waters last night, authorities say.  74-year-old Carol Schwalbe Dunn died in the fire that consumed her Hopeton Lane home in the wee hours of the morning Saturday, May 6, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.
Russell and Shirley Dermond/File Photo

Russell and Shirley Dermond/File Photo

Exclusive Subscriber Content

New evidence discovered in Dermond slayings

Lynn Hobbs
Thursday, May 4, 2023
This week marks the nine-year anniversary of the slayings of Russell and Shirley Dermond, residents of the quiet and prestigious gated Great Waters community in Putnam County.
Organizers of the first Masonic Bass Tournament, left to right, past Master and Junior Deacon of Lodge No. 4 Michael Cumbie, GBT owner Michael Tarrer, Senior Steward of Lodge No. 4 Greg Smith, and Worship Master of Lodge No. 4, Michael Gailey. LENA HENSLEY/Staff

Organizers of the first Masonic Bass Tournament, left to right, past Master and Junior Deacon of Lodge No. 4 Michael Cumbie, GBT owner Michael Tarrer, Senior Steward of Lodge No. 4 Greg Smith, and Worship Master of Lodge No. 4, Michael Gailey. LENA HENSLEY/Staff

Eatonton Free Masons raise funds for needy children

Lena Hensley
Thursday, May 4, 2023
A large group of people was ready to set sails at the Dennis Station boat ramp on Lake Sinclair as the first ray of sun lit the horizon on April 22.
At Interfor’s Putnam County facility on Dennis Station Road, massive piles of southern yellow pine are backed by large mounds of sawdust and wood chips, none of which go to waste. CONTRIBUTED

At Interfor’s Putnam County facility on Dennis Station Road, massive piles of southern yellow pine are backed by large mounds of sawdust and wood chips, none of which go to waste. CONTRIBUTED

Exclusive Subscriber Content

Putnam A to Z: I is for Interfor

Ian Tocher
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Editor’s note: The symmetry of 52 weeks in a year and 26 letters in our alphabet inspired us here at The Eatonton Messenger to embark on an alphabetical journey of Putnam County every other week this year, looking at something – or someone – unique, significant, unusual, or just plain interesting.
Subscribe to