Local Lens
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…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — A stark warning from Lanier County Sheriff Nick Norton is putting parents on alert as local law enforcement officials say methamphetamine and fentanyl continue to pose a growing threat across South Georgia. In a public message to the community, Norton urged…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | Unlike credit card skimming, ATM jackpotting attacks the machine itself—not your debit card. Here’s how investigators say it works: Criminals gain physical access to an ATM. Specialized malware is installed inside the machine’s computer. The malware bypasses the ATM’s normal security controls. An…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — It isn’t every day a sheriff manages to sum up modern law enforcement in five words. Monday, June 22 was definitely not the “average” Lanier County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement work day! “From cows to crack… Deputies do it all!” That…
By T.S. Carter / * Inglés y español | SOUTH GEORGIA – Macon occupied a prominent spot on the nation’s music map in the 1960s and ‘70s as the home of such rock n’ roll greats as Little Richard, legendary soul music artist Otis Redding and Southern Rock’s premier band The Allman Brothers Band. This…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | TIFTON, Ga. — Every month, a classroom inside the Tifton Police Department becomes something far different than a lecture hall. It becomes a place where choices are examined, consequences become personal, and volunteers hope to prevent the next tragedy before it happens. The…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | LAKELAND, Ga. — The Lanier County Sheriff’s Office has announced it will no longer accept cash for jail bonds after recently testing bond money that allegedly showed the presence of methamphetamine residue, raising concerns about employee safety and the widespread contamination of U.S. currency. …
Area News
Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced the second cohort of fiscal year (FY) 2026 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants, completing the largest ever single-year financial investment in the history of the grant program. This year, USDA awarded a total of nearly $20 million to 68 projects that will empower more American farmers, producers, ranchers, and fishers to serve their local foods…
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) welcomed three scholars to its Research Center in Savannah in May as part of the 2026 Vincent J. Dooley Distinguished Research Fellows Program. The fellowship gave each scholar the opportunity to conduct research at the GHS Research Center while experiencing Savannah’s history firsthand. The Research Fellows were Dr. Diane Mutti Burke of the University…
Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) marks 53 years of enforcing the nation’s controlled substance laws and regulations. This year alone, DEA efforts have led to the seizure of 171,167 pounds of cocaine and 16.47 million fentanyl pills. Since the 1980s, more than 1 million domestic arrests have also been made in support of this…
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…
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 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…
By T.S. Carter / * Inglés y español | TIFTON, Ga. – A months long investigation into a string of golf cart thefts has led to the arrests of a half dozen suspects, say the Tifton Police Department and Tift County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the thefts jointly. By June 10, the two law enforcement agencies…
Entertainment, Inspiration & Solutions
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…
By Vic Dove / * Inglés y español | Sadly, most people waste a lot of their life, if not all of it, before they realize that having a right relationship with God is the most important thing in all of life. This world struggles to find peace and joy in all the wrong places…
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 — Most people have heard of credit card skimmers hidden on gas pumps or ATMs. Far fewer realize today’s criminals are using sophisticated malware that can make an ATM spit out thousands of dollars in cash without a customer’s bank card…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | ATLANTA, Ga. — A sweeping federal crackdown on health care fraud is sending a strong message to medical providers and taxpayers across Georgia, including communities throughout South Georgia that depend heavily on Medicare and Medicaid services. Federal prosecutors announced charges against two Atlanta-area…
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español | MADISON, Fla. — A Madison County man is facing multiple federal charges after authorities alleged he possessed large quantities of methamphetamine and firearms during an ongoing drug trafficking operation. A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Florida has indicted Frederick Allen Smith…