Regional

Wayne Knuckles/The Clayton Tribune. Moonrise Distillery in Clayton was one of the first craft distilleries in the nation to convert production to hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 health emergency. Owner Doug Nassaur said Moonrise will continue to make bottles of sanitizer available to local residents as long as it is possible to do so.

Moonrise converts production to hand sanitizer for the community

News Staff
Monday, March 30, 2020
CLAYTON—When life gives you lemons, some people make lemonade. But when life gave Moonrise Distillery’s Doug, Jen, and C.J. Nassaur an unprecedented national health emergency, they made … hand sanitizer. “We half-joke around here that we sanitize people on the outside and on the...
Photo credit: Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center

New COVID-19 policy in place at Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center

News Staff
Monday, March 23, 2020
After further discussion with staff and the community, we are making some changes to our COVID-19 policies here at Foxfire. As we’ve previously stated, we are monitoring the policies of the state park systems and, thus, have adjusted our policy accordingly. Our goal in changing these policies...
Alexander “Sandy” Simon Jr.

‘A Stroke of Genius’ author is investing in Clayton’s future

News Staff
Friday, March 6, 2020
LAKEMONT—Alexander “Sandy” Simon Jr. is a living testament to the power of the human spirit to overcome life’s obstacles. A super-successful salesman, businessman and developer whose work included development of the Savannah Mall and a stint as business manager for Hollywood actor Burt...
American Pest Control will continue to offer the Gene Higginbotham Memorial Scholarship through schools in their wide service area across Northeast Georgia and parts of South Carolina.

American Pest Control offering scholarships

News Staff
Friday, March 6, 2020
American Pest Control, a local family owned and operated company, introduced the Gene Higginbotham Memorial Scholarship in May 2016. Gene Higginbotham founded American Pest Control in 1971. He valued family, education, and community as top priorities for his company. Mr. Higginbotham passed away...
Inger Smith is the new teaching kitchen manager for the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia as of January 15, 2020. Her goal for the teaching kitchen is to build relationships with people in the community.

Smith aims to ‘be the good’ at Food Bank kitchen

News Staff
Friday, February 7, 2020
CLAYTON— Feeding people is something that Inger Smith has done for over 30 years, and as the new teaching kitchen manager for the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia she hopes to “be the good” as a hub of good will for the people in Rabun County and the mountain region. Smith began her role as...
Blair Housely is ready to raise a glass to the upcoming Dahlonega Brewery.

Mead maker taps into brewery market

News Staff
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
While some would say Dahlonega is late to the local brewery party, which has exploded in Georgia over the past few years, when the city’s first brewery opens later this spring, it’ll be the first of its kind in the state. Etowah Meadery, which opened in 2017, will be opening up Dahlonega...
Megan Broome/The Clayton Tribune. Over 150 people turned out for a public forum on proposed changes in management and policy that would affect thousands of acres of National Forest Service land in Rabun County.

Forest proposals spark lively discussion

News Staff
Friday, January 17, 2020
 CLAYTON— What do Forest Service Lands mean to the people of Rabun County?  This was the overarching question as over 150 people flocked to a public forum that was standing room only to discuss both the United States Forest Service’s (USFS) Chattahoochee-Oconee National Land...
Jimmy Fletcher Meders

Death row inmate granted clemency

News Staff
Thursday, January 16, 2020

   Jimmy Fletcher Meders, who was condemned to death after being convicted of a murder in Glynn County in 1987, had his sentence commuted Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parol