Stephen Milligan

First row, from left, are STAR Students Madeline Jackson, George Walton Academy; Ella Masterson, Loganville Christian Academy; Nathan Strange, Monroe Area High School; Micah Filer, Loganville High School; Audrey Hicks, Social Circle High School; Alexander Turley, Victory Baptist School; and Carter Dillard, Walnut Grove High School. Back row, from left, are STAR Teachers Hannah Marier, GWA; Andrew Martin, LCA; Scott Hill, MAHS; Julie Ruth, LHS; Jennifer Forster, SCHS; Vanessa Torres, VBS; and Angie Head, WGHS.

Academy addresses hot-button issues with new school-wide podcast

Local students learn dangers and safety tips in dealing with forced labor cases

George Walton Academy junior Morgan Robertson is a Positive Athlete Georgia award-winner.

George Walton Academy pupil Rosemary Ferguson shakes hands with judge Michael Morris during The Great Shake competition, which sought to teach middle school students at GWA how to conduct interview and make a good impression on people.

From the governor's office to City Hall, the levers of government swing

Every time I open Facebook lately, someone is screaming at me. It might be about Israel. Or Trump. Or Ukraine. Or about women in comic book movies.

Since the last prisoners were transported to the new Walton County Jail in the past year, the old jail has sat silently on South Madison Avenue, an empty shell slowly falling into decay.

My oldest niece, Kara, turns 12 today. It is a magical age in many ways, the end of one era for a child as they reach the cusp of another.

Freida Riley Edwards, 74, passed away on Thursday, July 2, 2026 at home surrounded by her family.