Local Lens
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — Just as Lanier County’s new baseball complex is taking shape as a place where children will learn teamwork, families will gather and future athletes will compete, someone allegedly chose to steal from it. Now, Lanier County Sheriff Nick Norton is asking…
By Jeff Amy, Georgia Recorder – July 13, 2026 4:00 am / * Inglés y español | Some school districts in Georgia are eliminating vacant positions as enrollment falls and property tax growth flattens. Others are dipping into savings accounts. (Justin Taylor/The Current GA/CatchLight Local) After years of spending rapidly increasing revenues on new programs…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — For many people, a debit card represents something simple: the ability to buy groceries, pay utility bills or purchase medication. For one Lanier County resident, investigators say it became the tool through which thousands of dollars were repeatedly stolen. The Lanier…
ByEllie Fivas, The Georgia Recorder – July 15, 2026 8:02 pm / * Inglés y español | While some Georgia newsrooms are shrinking or closing down, two of the state’s largest local publications are being reimagined as nonprofit newsrooms. The Georgia Trust for Local News announced Wednesday that they have acquired the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer and the Macon Telegraph…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | ATLANTA — The fireworks have faded, picnic tables have been cleared, and America has officially celebrated its 250th birthday. But the dangers that accompanied the Fourth of July weekend are still very much with us. The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — After approximately 5,531 consecutive weekly editions, the Lanier County News has done the seemingly impossible. It is going to be… …twelve hours late. Authorities are asking residents to remain calm. The weekly edition, normally released shortly after midnight Thursday, has…
The Past Comes to Life as Lowndes Unseals Time Capsule By T.S. Carter / * Inglés y español | VALDOSTA – Time seemed to momentarily stand still July 2 as Lowndes County officials unsealed a capsule outside the county’s historic courthouse telling of local life 50 years ago. Part of the nation’s 250th…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | SOUTH GEORGIA – Whether you’re filling up the family SUV in Valdosta, hauling peanuts in Tifton, driving a logging truck through Clinch County, or commuting to work in Douglas or Waycross, one thing is certain—high gas prices hit South Georgia harder than…
Area News
Valdosta State University is proud to announce the members of its graduating class of Spring 2026, including the following list of area residents. Each of these graduates came to VSU with their own ideas and inspiration, and during their time as a student, they stepped outside their comfort zone, made an impact, created new knowledge,…
The GBI and the Ware County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) have arrested and charged five people following a multi-agency child sexual abuse investigation, led by the GBI and the WCSO, involving multiple victims in several counties. The Clinch County Sheriff’s Office and the Charlton County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI to assist in the investigation. The…
SGMC Health has named members of its Intensive Care Unit team as Health System Heroes, recognizing their compassion, empathy, and commitment to supporting patients and families through some of life’s most difficult moments. The recognition honors Nana Afua Addo, MD; Venkata Gandi, MD; Kristi Ashworth, RN; Kelley Howell, RN; Conner Denton, RN; Margarita Monfort, RN; Brianna…
Area Sports
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — Some schools celebrate when one player earns All-State honors. Lanier County celebrated six. Fresh off capturing their third consecutive GHSA Class A Division II state baseball championship, six Bulldogs have now earned one of Georgia’s highest baseball honors after being selected…
Get ready for another exciting season with VLPRA Youth Football & Cheerleading! Registration is now open for boys and girls across Lowndes County and Valdosta… but don’t wait, the registration deadline is June 23. VLPRA’s Football & Cheerleading Program is school-based, meaning participants are assigned to teams based on the middle school they will attend. Children…
Whether you are spending the day on the trail or camping overnight, remember to pick up all trash and be BearWise, encourages the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD). “Taking a few simple steps to be BearWise can help make outdoor adventures safer and more enjoyable for everyone, while also helping keep…
First Responses
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — What began as an early morning traffic stop for a vehicle traveling at more than 100 miles per hour ended with an arrest, a trip to the Lanier County Jail and an immigration detainer issued by federal authorities. Lanier County Sheriff…
By T.S. Carter / * Inglés y español COLQUITT COUNTY, Georgia – Authorities are holding a Colquitt County man without bond after a June 22 arrest on a sex crime felony relating to a minor – the same but separate charge for which he had been released from the Colquitt County jail in March. This…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — A Lakeland man was arrested Tuesday, June 23 after a Lanier County deputy conducting a traffic stop allegedly discovered nearly 20 grams of suspected marijuana and drug-related paraphernalia inside his vehicle, according to the Lanier County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Nick Norton…
Entertainment, Inspiration & Solutions
By Jack Bagley / * Inglés y español | The heights of summer! (Or the depths, depending on how you look at it.) Some people decry the heat and humidity, while others seem to revel in it. I’m not too sure about those revelers, though. Personally, when the heat and humidity get too much, I…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — Every great small town has that one place where people suddenly stop walking, smile, pull out their phones and say, “Wait… we need a picture.” Lakeland just added another one. After months of careful planning that began in early 2026 and…
By Gary Toole / * Inglés y español | They say that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck! So true! When you see an army general then most of the time they are wearing an army uniform of some…
By Jack Bagley / * Inglés y español | The best part of summer … I was recently asked by a friend what the best part of summer is, and do you know what I think? It’s the glaring lack of holidays. Sure, we have Flag Day in June – but that’s not really a…
Opinions & Viewpoints
By James Finck PhD | Historically Speaking | July 9, 2025 | 4 Minutes From Southwest Ledger In July of 2022 U.S. Rep. John B. Larson (D-Conn.) wrote an op-ed in which he called the Senate “the most debilitating threat” to our nation. He was writing about Rule 22 in the Senate which requires 60…
By Ty B. Kerley, D.Min / * Inglés y español | We continue this week looking at the biblical story of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1-17), specifically observing the actions God takes (and does not take) concerning the question of why He may possibly allow evil to exist in the world. According to the biblical…
By James Finck PhD | Historically Speaking | June 24, 2026 5 MinutesFrom the Lawton Constitution Finals are done and grades are all turned in. That means just one thing: summer. While there are many things that represent summer, my favorite is the road trip. I love traveling, seeing new things, and especially visiting historical sites.…
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Government for its Citizens
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | SOUTH GEORGIA — Federal prosecutors have announced a new round of grand jury indictments charging multiple defendants with illegal firearms possession and immigration offenses, continuing an aggressive enforcement effort that has become increasingly visible across South Georgia during the past year. Margaret E.…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | SOUTH GEORGIA — At first glance, the recent federal indictment of a 21-year-old Tallahassee man for allegedly possessing a machinegun may appear to be another firearms case from just across the Florida line. Federal authorities say it is much more than that. The…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — What began as an alleged shoplifting incident at a department store has become another example of an increasingly aggressive federal effort to remove armed repeat offenders from communities just south of the Georgia line. Lamar Bunch, 35, of Tallahassee, pleaded…