Madfest was held beneath overcast skies April 27, but the event still brought out a large crowd of locals and visitors drawn to Madison for the festivities organized by the city each spring at Town Park. Although Madfest is a portmanteau of Madison and Festival, one might well define Madfest as being carried away by enthusiasm for this celebration of community, spring flowers, garden plants, handmade arts and crafts, with regional food and great live music available all day long from locations on Madison’s Second Street.

Savannah Court of Lake Oconee, a senior care center on Willow Run Road in Greensboro, will remain open despite receiving a Notice of Intent to Revoke Permit from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), which regulates senior care facilities.

The widely discussed and reported case of the murders of Russell and Shirley Dermond may still be unsolved on its 10-year anniversary, but it is in no way a cold case. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills continues to not only think about the case every day but also explore every possible avenue of finding a suspect.

Crime reports from the April 26, 2024, edition of the Lake Oconee News.

Madison Police Chief William “Bill” Ashburn has retired, and the city has hired an interim chief while it searches for a new permanent replacement to run the police department. After 42 years in law enforcement, the Ashburn recently announced his retirement.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has called a public meeting May 7 to present slight changes made in the project to widen Highway 44 to four lanes through Greene and Putnam counties. The Public Information Meeting will be held from 5-7 p.m.

The Greene County School System began an attendance campaign this year to address chronic absenteeism that has plagued schools since the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Firefighters had to contend with winds gusting as high as 40 mph as they battled a fire in Woodville April 12, but personnel from several departments were able to get the fire under control in 10 minutes.

After serving as a football field, a soccer pitch, a track meet site, a graduation venue and various other school-related needs for more than a decade, the turf at Greene County High School’s Tiger Stadium is getting a refresh.