Area News

The Dade County Industrial Development Authority on Feb. 2 approved an intergovernmental agreement that would position the authority to receive funding from a proposed countywide Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) if voters approve the measure. The vote on the six-year SPLOST is scheduled for May 19 of this year. The agreement brings together…

Vanessa White still remembers the first time she saw her adoptive mother, though nearly four decades have passed since that moment.  White and her brother were huddled in the back of a police cruiser, both scared, all of their belongings stuffed into black plastic trash bags in the car’s trunk. Though she was only eight…

In 2025, the Dade County Public Library saw nearly 8,000 more visitors than the county as a whole has residents, one of the many stats marking the library’s banner year.  The total number of visits to the library over the last year was 23,884, said Library Director Lydia Soucy, and it’s been a noticeable change…

Nearly two dozen people are vying for the now-open District 14 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, and with that many candidates qualifying and the specific timing of the special election, the race is projected to be both a long and grueling contest.  The list of 22 candidates includes Dade County residents Clay Fuller,…

By John P. Boan News Editor Local businessman Ryan Faircloth resigned from the Trenton Downtown Development Authority (DDA) on Jan. 9, writing in a resignation letter that the priorities of the Trenton City Commission “do not align with the fundamental needs of local entrepreneurs.” This comes roughly six weeks after Faircloth was accused in a…

By John P. Boan News Editor It’s not often that 50 million people across 170 countries see the work you’ve done, but for a Dade County family, that’s exactly what happened.  Leonda Smith and her daughters Amanda Smith and Kyla Castleberry recently traveled to Pasadena, CA to decorate floats for the 137th Rose Bowl Parade…

Hello, readers. I wanted to take this space to introduce myself and set my intentions for the work ahead. My name is John Peyton Boan, and I am your new writer and editor at the Dade County Sentinel. It’s an honor to join such a longtime Trenton institution, and I take seriously the responsibility of…

BY JOHN P. BOAN News Editor Standard operating procedures surrounding aggressive dogs and how to handle jurisdictional questions are in the process of being updated, according to a Jan. 6 meeting of the Trenton-Dade Animal Center Committee. Emily Richards, Director of Animal Services for the Trenton-Dade Animal Center (TDAC), said the department is working to…

Since it first opened its doors on Jan. 12, 1956, Bank of Dade has seen the ways its customers do business change dramatically. Back then, there were no banking apps, no way to call a phone number and check your account balance and no way to send money to a loved one with just the…

By LYDIA BERGLAR News Editor “Treasure your time as a local news reporter. Your community reporting is likely to have a greater effect on readers than anything else you will ever write, no matter where your journalism career may take you.” – Bruce DeSilvia in “The Straight Scoop: An Expert Guide to Great Community Journalism”…