News

Eatonton Messenger/File Photo

Eatonton Messenger/File Photo

Autistic child goes missing, found in Lake Oconee

Lynn Hobbs
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
The lake, with its many obvious pleasures and beauty, sometimes brings tragedy. Monday was one of those times for a Lake Oconee family who lost their young child.The 7-year-old boy, Xander Whitehurst, was playing in the yard of the Lakeview Estates Lane home he lives in with his great-grandparents.
Eatonton Messenger/File Photo

Eatonton Messenger/File Photo

Missing woman found by K9 dies at hospital

Lynn Hobbs
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
It’s one of those calls no officer wants to receive, and no person wants to make.Around 6:20 a.m. Monday, a call came in to the Putnam County Sheriff’s 911 Center about an elderly woman who was missing from her home on the 700 block of Lower Harmony Road.
E-PCOC President Robbie King (far left) and Peoples Bank President Chuck Haley (far right) presented the 2026 Business of the Year Award to Keith Fitzgerald, founder and owner of ProSouth Services Electrical-Heating and Air, with his family. IAN TOCHER/Staff

E-PCOC President Robbie King (far left) and Peoples Bank President Chuck Haley (far right) presented the 2026 Business of the Year Award to Keith Fitzgerald, founder and owner of ProSouth Services Electrical-Heating and Air, with his family. IAN TOCHER/Staff

E-PCOC presents annual awards at Rock Eagle

Ian Tocher
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
The Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce made its annual business and community award presentations Monday night at the Rock Eagle Conference Center, north of Eatonton.
Eatonton Messenger/File Photo

Eatonton Messenger/File Photo

Dump truck rolls over on MLK Drive

Lynn Hobbs
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Traffic was blocked on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Eatonton on Monday for a few hours after a dump truck overturned on its side and its contents were strewn all over the road.
Eatonton Messenger/File Photo

Eatonton Messenger/File Photo

Bill capping annual property tax increases advances in Senate

Mark Niesse
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Georgia homeowners’ property values couldn’t rise faster than the inflation rate, putting the brake on annual property tax increases, according to a bill that passed the state Senate on Tuesday.Property taxes pay for most local services, including schools.
CONTRIBUTED

CONTRIBUTED

‘Heavy’ snowfall predicted for Putnam County

Lynn Hobbs
Friday, January 30, 2026
Eatonton and Putnam County are among all the other counties in Northwest and East-Central Georgia that are predicted to receive 2 to 6+ inches of snow this weekend, according to a notice from the National Weather Service of Atlanta. The notice was issued around 2:50 p.m. Friday, Jan.
Putnam High School’s Valdis Ozols, Carolyn Thomas, Russell Thomas, Pam Thomas, and Rotarian Dr. Tyler Franks. CONTRIBUTED

Putnam High School’s Valdis Ozols, Carolyn Thomas, Russell Thomas, Pam Thomas, and Rotarian Dr. Tyler Franks. CONTRIBUTED

Rotary recognizes January students

News Staff
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
The Rotary Club of Greene and Putnam Counties has recognized the following Studentsof- the-Month for January 2026: Ellie McMillian at Gatewood, Ezekiel Frederick at Greene County High School, Lili Nelson at Lake Oconee Academy, and Carolyn Thomas at Putnam County High School.
With PDA board members lined up on the left and county commissioners on the right, the seating arrangement mirrored the adversarial relationship that seems to have developed lately. IAN TOCHER/Staff

With PDA board members lined up on the left and county commissioners on the right, the seating arrangement mirrored the adversarial relationship that seems to have developed lately. IAN TOCHER/Staff

PDA board meets publicly with commissioners

Ian Tocher
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
At a joint public meeting marked by candor, frustration, stern faces, and multiple calls for better communication, the Putnam County Board of Commissioners (BOC) and the Putnam Development Authority (PDA) spent about two hours Jan.
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