President of the Georgia Gang Association, Chief Jose Ramirez, was invited by Dr. Kandiss Taylor, Student Services Coordinator for the Appling County Board of Education, to speak to 4th-12th grade students over a two-day period this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Chief Ramirez presented his tes…

On Friday, February 17, around 12:30 p.m., Baxley Police and emergency personnel responded to a call on the railroad tracks between Doris Street and Copeland Street. Upon arrival officers discovered that a pedestrian had been struck by a Norfolk Southern train. The pedestrian, Gregory Frankl…

As the Citi-Trends building nears completion of its facelift, the building looks rejuvenated and ready to come to life. To continue with last week’s report on the revitalization of the downtown area, Aaryn and Grace of J & G will occupy half of the bottom of the former Citi-Trends buildi…

Five Appling County High School students are now known as five of the elite high school choral students in the State of Georgia after being selected to participate in the prestigious All State High School Chorus. Keion Jackson, Luke Langlois, Carter Lasky, Tristan Pate, and Jaden Giles are a…

On Friday, January 13, members of the Appling County Sheriff’s Office and the Baxley Police Department conducted a search at 78 Kenny Lane. As a result, Earnest Lee Heller, 71, and Dametrice Antwon Heller, 21, were arrested.

Teen Maze is a behavior/consequence reality for teens; they draw something from the bag they are given. They may spin a wheel at one station, but they will never have the same consequence twice. At the funeral home, preachers in coats and ties have them write their own eulogies. They see how…

ACHS’s outstanding Pirate football running back Jaylen Johnson has made his decision. Johnson received 21 college offers to play football, but in the end, he selected the University of South Florida as his college. In his senior year Johnson finished with 1,335 yards rushing for the Pirates.…

Frigid temperatures hit Appling County hard the past few days. Over the weekend the community witnessed temps in the teens and barely rose above freezing at the height of the warmest part of the day. Busted pipes were witnessed all around town, many at businesses closed for the holidays. Sho…

(Editor’s note: Most of the following information comes from the article “Make Way for the College’s Youngest and Oldest Graduate.” Fisher Lee is from Baxley and has been a student at VSU since he was 14. He is the son of Ron and Knicole Lee. Should you care to read the article, you may go t…

News-Banner to close for holiday

Following an open records request to the Appling County Board of Education, The Baxley News-Banner has confirmed that Appling County High School longtime principal Dr. Gene Starr has tendered his resignation to the Appling County Board of Education, effective December 9. In his letter, addre…

On Wednesday, November 30, the City of Baxley held its Annual Christmas in the Park service to open the holiday season in the community. Mayor Tim Varnadore gave a warm welcome to all in attendance and the attendees were treated to musical performances by local talent Maverick and Alexis Bar…

In the early morning hours of Friday, November 25, the Appling County EMS Building, on Fair Street, caught fire and caused considerable damage to the facility. Fortunately, all employees were able to make it out of the building safely according to EMS Director Jimmy Twiggs. The director also…

The Appling County Pirate football team traveled to LaGrange this past Friday night and defeated the Callaway High School Cavaliers, 44-21, in the quarterfinals of the AA State Playoffs. The Pirates will now move to the semifinals and face the Thomson High School Bulldogs. This will be the f…

When the public attends one of the big choral shows done by the Appling County High School show choir (Appling Applause) and the chorus, most people don’t realize how much work goes on behind the scenes. The performance will showcase songs from Country, Bluegrass, and Gospel music. Karen Dav…

Impressive. That is the word that comes to mind about the Appling County Pirate football team’s performance against the Washington County Golden Hawks in the opening round of the AA State Playoffs Friday night at Jimmy Swain Stadium. The team cruised to victory putting up 65 points. Washingt…

The Appling County High School Lady Pirates softball team is Columbus bound once again. The Lady Pirates defeated Josey and Berrien in the AA Super Regional Tournament last week to advance to the Elite 8 in the AA State Tournament, held in Columbus. The first game for Appling is Wednesday, a…

Over the past few months, the Baxley Police Department has been cracking down on illegal drug dealers and users. Police Chief Jeffery Taylor said that the department is working hard to get illegal drugs off Baxley streets. Taylor offered his praise to his officers and investigators for the w…

The Appling County Lady Pirates volleyball team will host the opening round of the AA State Playoffs at home on Tuesday of this week. The Lady Pirates defeated Wayne County last week at home and held Senior Night. Three seniors were honored including Vera Kate Tyre, Myracle Richburg, and Add…

After winning the Region 3-AA Title for the second year in a row, the Appling County High School Lady Pirates softball team will host the Super Regional Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. The winner of the tournament will advance to the Elite 8 in the State AA Tournament, held…

The Appling County Pirate football team started out last week playing on Monday, Oct. 3, and as previously reported, had a huge victory over region foe Pierce County 28 – 17. This victory seemed to shock many sports pundits across the state. On Friday night the team traveled over to Lyons to…

Not even a hurricane could stop the inevitable this year. The Appling County High School Pirate football team played the Pierce County High School Bears on Monday night and defeated the top-ranked Bears for the first time since 2017, 28-17. It was a hard-fought game, but the Pirate defense s…

Despite horrible weather conditions and a canceled season opener, the Appling County School System was able to unveil the new turf field at Jimmy Swain Stadium last Friday evening before the weather arrived. Superintendent Dr. Scarlett Copeland, Appling County Board of Education members, and…

In the picture above, Commander Jimmy Lawton, Commanding Officer of the USS Detroit, which is a Littoral Combat Ship out of Mayport, Florida, is awarding an end-of-tour award to Cory Dyal for his time as the Independent Duty Corpsman aboard the USS Detroit. The occasion is Dyal’s separation …

In January of this year, Sarah Stevens (67) started noticing that she was having trouble talking. Her speech was blurred. The struggle to communicate plainly was just too much for her. Other than that, she felt fine with the usual amount of energy. She continued her activities which included…

The annual fireworks display is scheduled for Saturday, July 2, at the Appling County Young Farmer’s Tractor Pull area. The fireworks display is scheduled to start between 9:15 - 9:30 p.m. Parking is available at the Appling County Recreation Complex or the field beside the tractor pull trac…

On Monday, June 27, the Appling County Barracudas hosted a District Swim Meet. Hundreds of people surrounded Max Deen Pool for the district event. Above, a swimmer leaps from the starting platform on Monday. As of press time, The Baxley News-Banner has not received the results of the meet. P…

On June 8, the Appling County Commissioners met at the Courthouse Annex at 5:30 p.m. After the pledge and the invocation, Chairman Mike Shumans introduced the new clerk, Robyn Evans, and then asked the board to approve the minutes for the May 3 and May 10 meetings, which they did unanimously.

Arriving at the American Legion building, I saw teenagers and adults working a big saw and cutting boards. Everyone nodded and smiled and when I asked who was in charge, they said Mickey. Just Mickey, no last name. I moved through the crowd of people and was finally pointed to the back door …

Darris Smith will soon be headed to Athens to play for the University of Georgia. But the accolades continue to come for the 4-star signee. Last week Smith was awarded the ITG Next Male Athlete of the Year Award for all of Georgia. During his high school career, Smith participated in footbal…

Spring is the season when fresh vegetables start to come in and human palates turn to those delightful flavors. Some local stores carry fresh local produce; some do not. That found at the local farmers’ market though is about as fresh as it comes. Lots of it slept in the garden or field the …

On Tuesday, May 17, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged Ronnie “RJ” May, 29, of Sandersville, with felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and tampering with evidence. On Friday, May 6, the Baxley Police Department ask…

On Friday night, May 27, at 7:30 p.m., Appling County High School will hold the Class of 2022’s Commencement Ceremony. Two hundred and twenty-nine seniors will graduate from ACHS.

Early voting began in Appling County on May 2. May 24 is Election Day. Don’t miss your chance to make your voice heard.

Pirates win big at AAA State Track and Field

The 2021 ACHS Lady Pirate State Champion Fastpitch Softball Team received their championship rings on Friday night between games of the state baseball playoffs. This team is Appling County’s first ever fastpitch state champions. Congratulations to all players and coaches.

The ACHS Pirate Baseball Team will travel to Gainesville this week to face off against the North Hall Trojans. The first two games of the series will be played on Wednesday with game one beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Pirates cruised by Windsor Forest last week to advance to the next round. Beau…

Nobles Funeral Home and Crematory announces the funeral service of Mrs. Pearl Lightsey Turner, 85, who passed on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at her residence.

Coaline Herndon Tippins of Bluffton, SC and formerly of Baxley, Ga. died Friday, April 15, 2022.

Sada Young Petty, 82, of Baxley passed away Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at Memorial Health in Savannah.

Gary Niles Eason, age 72, of Baxley passed away Saturday, April 9, 2022 at Wayne Memorial Hospital.

Nearing the end of her freshman year at the University of Georgia, Aizhia Poblete heard that it was time to audition for drum major for the Georgia Red Coat Band. Filling that position in that band had long been a dream of hers. Just getting into the Redcoat Band was hard enough since there …

On Saturday last, quite a few Baxley folks gathered at Water Works Park on Tippins Street to spruce up the city a bit on the day after Earth Day. Ages of workers ranged from the very young supervisors in strollers to the very mature. All the people there knew of course not to throw trash on …