Annual OCAF Members Exhibit Opens Friday

Included in the 2013 exhibit is a diverse display of more than 125 works from a variety of skilled artists.

'Spring Has Sprung' at Malcom Bridge Elementary

Kindergarten art students create impressionist flower gardens and first and second graders make folk art birds.

This month's art board on display in the Oconee County Schools district central office features works by Malcom Bridge Elementary School students instructed by Laura Toney. See also: Don’t miss any Oconee news. Subscribe to Oconee Patch’s free newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Winning PEEPs Contest Entry Honors Work of Habitat for Humanity

Winner Stacie Stamper: "Everybody has a way to give."

  The winner of the Patch Easter PEEPs contest is a diorama that shows a little marshmallow figure in a hard hat helping to build a home while other PEEPs cheer him (or her?) on.  The entry by Stacie Stamper honors the work of the Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, which helps support the nonprofit’s mission to provide decent housing for low-income people around the world.  "That's so exciting. How fun is that?" Stamper said when she learned that her entry had won. Second place goes to Martin Burrow of Winder, who used jelly beans and a glass jar to create a colorful PEEPs floral arrangement. Stamper, a Duluth resident, is the donations coordinator for the Gwinnett Habitat ReStore in Lawrenceville. Habitat ReStores take donations of …

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'42' Movie Reviews: Jackie Robinson's Story Inspires

"The Story of an American Legend," just in time for baseball season, knocks one out of the park, critics say. Will you see it?

Eager to see it? "42" is playing at nearby Gateway Cinemas 12 in Barrow County and Beechwood Cinemas 11 and Carmike 12 in Athens.  There are people around who remember when Jackie Robinson entered major league baseball by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. My father was one of them. As someone for whom ability trumped race, Daddy talked about Robinson's skills as a first baseball, a hitter, and most of all, his incredible speed and wily base stealing. He also mentioned the vile, violent reaction many people had to a black man desegregating white baseball. Academy Award winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland directs 42, a baseball biopic about Jackie Robinson during his first season with the Dodgers. The subtitle is "The Story of an …

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ACM Awards 2013 - Florida Georgia Line Wins New Artist of the Year

The country music duo, featuring Monroe, Ga. native Tyler Hubbard, beat out Brantley Gilbert and Jana Kramer for the award selected by fans.

UPDATE: Florida Georgia Line banked two of the three awards for which the country music duo was nominated at this year's ACM Awards -- New Vocal Duo and New Artist of the Year.  The latter was determined by votes by fans. See also: Artist of the Year went to Luke Bryan, who co-hosted the show with Blake Shelton. Bryan hails from Leesburg, Georgia, a town outside of Albany about three hours south of Watkinsville. Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert took home the  awards for the Male and Female Vocalists of the Year.  It was a first-time win for Aldean and the fourth consecutive win for Lambert in that category, according to an ACM news release. Want to know the winners from the other categories? Visit www.acmcountry.com/winners_dynamic.htmlIf …

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Vote for Your Favorite Easter PEEPs Creation

We have six finalists and now it's up to you to help us choose a winner and 2 runners up! You have until noon Sunday, April 7 to cast your ballot. (Larger versions of these images are in a gallery below this poll.)

Want to see even more inspired ideas using PEEPs? Check out these PEEPs creations. And please take a moment to post a comment below to tell us why you voted for a particular piece of PEEP art. Readers, if you're having trouble seeing the poll, your mobile device may be incompatible with this tool. Please come back when you're at a computer.

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'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' — Should You See It?

Here's what critics are saying about this sequel to "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra."

"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" is playing at Gateway Cinemas 12 in Barrow County and in nearby Athens at Beechwood Stadium Cinemas 11 and Carmike 12.  The premise, courtesy of the film's official website: A follow-up to the 2009 blockbuster "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," which grossed over $300 million worldwide. In "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," the team is not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra, but they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence.  Here's what critics are saying: "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of combat violence and martial arts action throughout, and for brief sensuality and language. The film runs 110 minutes.

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