Local

Photo courtesy Vickie Carpenter/The Franklin Press. Otto (N.C.) Volunteer Fire and Rescue members, past and present, celebrate the start of construction of a new firehouse at 8249 Georgia Road, on Monday, Feb. 24. The firehouse is slated for completion in 2026.

Photo courtesy Vickie Carpenter/The Franklin Press. Otto (N.C.) Volunteer Fire and Rescue members, past and present, celebrate the start of construction of a new firehouse at 8249 Georgia Road, on Monday, Feb. 24. The firehouse is slated for completion in 2026.

Otto, N.C., VFD breaks ground on new fire station

To meet the growing needs of the Otto, N.C., community and southern Macon County, the Otto Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department held a groundbreaking on Feb. 24 for its future 15,000-square-foot fire station, slated to be completed in 2026. “It’s not for us.

Foster earns 75-year apron, pin & plaque

Robert Hughes Foster, Sr. of Clayton was visited by Brother Van S. McGee on Feb. 11. McGee is the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Georgia. McGee presented Foster with his 75-year apron, pin and plaque.

Photo contest open for Lake Living magazine

Temperatures are rising and spring is in the air. It’s time to take your boat out of storage and make plans to visit one of Northeast Georgia’s beautiful lakes. Lake Living magazine is looking for photos that represent this scenic time of year at the lake.
Megan Horn/The Clayton Tribune. United States Army Veterans and locals Gary Cantwell and Jon Jones are awarded Quilts of Valor by Karen Trombley, Georgia State Coordinator, and Sharon Ruth with Quilts of Valor during a special presentation at the VFW Post 4570 Friday, Feb. 28. Pictured are Trombley (left) Jones, Ruth and Cantwell.

Megan Horn/The Clayton Tribune. United States Army Veterans and locals Gary Cantwell and Jon Jones are awarded Quilts of Valor by Karen Trombley, Georgia State Coordinator, and Sharon Ruth with Quilts of Valor during a special presentation at the VFW Post 4570 Friday, Feb. 28. Pictured are Trombley (left) Jones, Ruth and Cantwell.

Cantwell, Jones awarded Quilts of Valor

U.S. Army veterans and locals Gary Cantwell and Jon Jones were recently awarded Quilts of Valor during a special presentation at the VFW Post 4570 on Friday, Feb. 28.
File Photo submitted by Megan Morris. Firefighters from Rabun County Fire Services Stations 5, 1, 6, 9, 12 as well as Otto (N.C.) Fire and Rescue work to extinguish a commercial structure fire at 6676 Highway 441 North (Marathon station) in Dillard on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. The building is a “total loss.”

File Photo submitted by Megan Morris. Firefighters from Rabun County Fire Services Stations 5, 1, 6, 9, 12 as well as Otto (N.C.) Fire and Rescue work to extinguish a commercial structure fire at 6676 Highway 441 North (Marathon station) in Dillard on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. The building is a “total loss.”

Local arson incidents remain undetermined

The causes of three arson incidents in Rabun County were still under investigation by the Georgia state fire marshal as of press time Wednesday. The cause of a commercial structure fire at the Marathon station in Dillard Dec. 7, 2024; a structure fire at 337 Sandy Ford Road in Clayton on Dec.