tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015Mon, 05 Mar 2012 02:13:53 +0000News and comments about developments in Oconee County, Georgiahttp://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)Blogger411125OconeeCountyObservationshttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-2166091829275956871Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:59:00 +00002012-03-04T20:59:11.338-05:00Different from 2008 Just more than 5 percent of the active registered voters in Oconee County have already cast their ballots in the presidential primaries, for which final voting will take place on Tuesday. Of the 1,060 votes cast by the end of early voting on Friday, 1,033 (97.5 percent) were cast in the highly contested Republican primary, with the remaining 27 being cast in the Democratic http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/03/nearly-all-of-oconee-countys-early.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/ihVB0WEjZXg" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3689548062375768646Tue, 28 Feb 2012 03:41:00 +00002012-03-04T21:13:53.346-05:00Bogart Gets Piece of Plant While the 247-acre site for the future Caterpillar plant straddles the Clarke and Oconee county line, most of the actual plant will be in Oconee County, according to a preliminary site plan submitted to the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission. The plan locates the plant mostly in the western part of the tract on the Bogart line. It shows entrances to the site off U.S.http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/caterpillar-plant-likely-to-be-mostly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/F5pfNqF_-gM" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3815152165531736646Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:33:00 +00002012-02-27T23:00:42.452-05:00Links McKillip to Obama Regina Quick told Oconee County Republicans earlier this month that the first thing she would do if she is elected to represent the county in the General Assembly in 2013 is introduce legislation to reverse redistricting from 2011 and make Oconee County whole in the 119th House District. She said she would accomplish this by increasing the size of the Clarke County http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/candidate-regina-quick-says-she-will.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/1ADL8g42Czc" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-1196636762909684501Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:05:00 +00002012-02-26T19:35:16.163-05:00Add Two Buildings Lowe’s Home Center on Epps Bridge Parkway, which lost one entrance when Jennings Mill Parkway was raised, will shift another and alter the traffic pattern for its parking lot if changes recommended by the Oconee County Planning Commission last night are approved by the Board of Commissioners on March 6. The main entrance to the parking lot off Epps Bridge Parkway will be shiftedhttp://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/oconee-county-lowes-on-epps-bridge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/0bS6hIa6enA" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-5243589435115260008Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +00002012-02-22T11:13:21.316-05:00Wants Document in Reserve Oconee County is seeking to renew its permit to discharge 1 million gallons per day of treated wastewater into Barber Creek, although county Utility Department Director Chris Thomas has indicated he does not plan to use the permit. In fact, Thomas presented to the Board of Commissioners on July 26 of last year a long-range sewage and water plan that does not include http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/oconee-county-seeking-reissuance-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/dnUB84GZNUM" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-8275643229536366080Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:46:00 +00002012-02-19T20:48:12.145-05:00Courthouse Money Unspent Oconee County was sitting on $5.7 million in unspent money collected from the 2004 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax as of June 30 of last year, according to the required report on SPLOST spending filed by the county at the end of 2011. The county currently is spending revenue from the current SPLOST approved by voters in March of 2009, according to the report. As ofhttp://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/splost-report-shows-oconee-county-has.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/KxriBYGYpJs" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-4696620663493770003Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:09:00 +00002012-02-12T21:11:18.232-05:00Act(s) of God Included In a split vote, the Oconee County Board of Commissioners last night approved a five-year contract to sell Walton County half a million gallons per day of water pumped from Oconee County wells. Commissioner Chuck Horton, who had said earlier he was inclined to vote against the contract but was willing to hear arguments in its favor, said last night he was concerned because http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/oconee-county-commissioners-agree-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/UOs-bWCE4ls" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3070648468706943850Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:55:00 +00002012-02-08T23:19:06.815-05:00Wells and Sales at Issue The Oconee County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night is scheduled to take up again a proposed contact that would allow Walton County to purchase up to a half million gallons per day of water from Oconee County. The contract was brought to the Board at its Jan. 24 agenda-setting meeting by County Utility Department Director Chris Thomas. Horton, 1/24/2012 At the http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/oconee-county-commissioners-to-revisit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/pV9_1y-UCpQ" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-5019323127169896299Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:23:00 +00002012-02-06T17:08:01.146-05:00McKillip Funded Poll All three of the current members of the Georgia General Assembly who will be seeking election in Oconee County this year begin the election season with significant funds in their campaign accounts. Sen. Bill Cowsert had a net balance on hand of $61,248, according to the Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report he filed with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/oconee-county-incumbents-in-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/eDPbByMniTw" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-446545137908369096Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:56:00 +00002012-02-02T10:16:46.899-05:00Democratic Primary Already Decided Following the election in Florida on Tuesday, attention will shift significantly to March 6--Super Tuesday-- when Georgia joins six other states in holding presidential primaries. Barack Obama will be the only name on the Democratic ballot, but the Republican ballot includes the names of nine candidates or former candidates, including the four leading in the http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/01/oconee-county-voters-will-help-select.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/vY9rNz6z4xw" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3945520100268953267Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:03:00 +00002012-01-29T21:25:48.814-05:00Official Closing Date Not Set All of the current employees of the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Natural Resource Conservation Center outside Watkinsville received their reassignment letters last week and will be at their new jobs by June 18, a spokesperson for the Agricultural Research Service confirmed today. ARS, a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has not yet set the final closing date for http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/01/research-center-staff-at-campbell.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/NQL0gMxInKU" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3735449959575808149Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:39:00 +00002012-01-27T22:08:36.240-05:00Water for Walton Controversial The Oconee County Board of Commissioners last night gave tentative approval to a list of water and sewer projects for the next two years that included an extension of a sewer line along McNutt Creek. The Board didn’t determine which of three proposed segments of that sewer line it was funding, but Chris Thomas, Utility Department director, told me after the meeting http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/01/zoom-baitst-marys-sewer-line-likely-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/Vcc0qGI1Ilg" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-345395321965806318Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:11:00 +00002012-01-25T21:47:59.116-05:00Barber Creek Sewage Plant Off List The Oconee County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night is scheduled to review water and wastewater treatment project priorities for the county as part of a proposed 2013-2014 Water and Sewer Improvements Plan. Included will be a sewage line that could serve Zoom Bait, St. Mary’s Health Care and the Gordy tract, this time as part of a larger project providing http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/01/oconee-county-commissioners-to-review.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/wNKe8hLgDR4" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-6971726827431404615Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:14:00 +00002012-01-22T20:32:50.749-05:00Also Uninvolved In his first formal campaign presentation in incumbent Congressman Paul Broun’s home county, challenger Stephen Simpson tonight said Broun is not representing those who elected him and is absent when important business is being conducted in the country. “We need someone who genuinely cares about his country and his constituents,” Simpson told about 30 persons attending an Oconee http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/01/challenger-simpson-tells-oconee-county.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/fpUnBLJjXLA" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-2510487000269328983Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:39:00 +00002012-01-19T22:15:20.008-05:00Not Tea Party Heaven Oconee County has a reputation as a bastion of conservative Republicanism. WGAU newsman Tim Bryant even referred to the county as “Tea Party heaven” in an interview he did on his Newsmakers program on Dec. 15. But the characterization misses some subtleties about political sentiment in the county, a survey conducted by students in a graduate research methods class in the http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/01/oconee-county-less-conservative-than.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/b4j-eyC6HcU" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-6166598772519918807Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:20:00 +00002012-01-11T13:38:41.120-05:00Survey Finds While many Oconee County registered voters have not yet decided how they will vote on the Transportations Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that will be on the ballot next summer, those who have already decided are split on the issue. Voters are much more concerned about economic issues, including unemployment and the collapse of the local housing market, than they are about http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/12/oconee-county-voters-split-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/W9Pk_o7W6kk" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-6424541352062217520Sat, 24 Dec 2011 11:56:00 +00002011-12-30T12:23:11.902-05:00Pressure on Price Oconee County Administrative Office Alan Theriault did not answer one question that was central to the concerns of Pinewood Estates South residents when the residents met with county officials at the Civic Center on Dec. 12. Would the county close down the mobile home park on Jan. 13, when it proposed to cut off water and sewer services to the residents there, one resident askedhttp://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/12/oconee-county-officials-did-not-want-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/JOt7Qatqr5w" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-6904037218386967128Sun, 18 Dec 2011 17:40:00 +00002011-12-24T07:16:12.840-05:00To Tinker or Not Oconee County Attorney Daniel Haygood has prepared a three-page “synthesis” of the county’s enabling legislation as a starting point for continued discussions Tuesday evening by the Board of Commissioners of changes in those documents. Haygood boiled down legislation passed by the Georgia General Assembly for the county since 1917. He broke his summary into 12 “sections” that http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/12/attorney-prepared-to-brief-oconee.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/rkMKojF9stY" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-6274331313219928101Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:46:00 +00002011-12-18T12:47:44.647-05:00University Made Request U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has not made any decision yet on disposal of the land from the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Natural Resource Conservation Center outside Watkinsville and isn’t likely to do so until after the first of the year, a spokesperson in the department told me on Monday. The Campell Center is one of nine facilities around the country the http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/12/decision-on-disposal-of-land-from.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/mWIhNIWVFqc" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-212636211809138697Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:20:00 +00002011-12-17T15:05:36.617-05:00Redistricting Discussed Immigration. Tax reform. A rewrite of the state’s open meetings and records laws. Problems of pill mills. Mortgage fraud. Reform of the state’s criminal justice system. An initiative to amend the U.S. Constitution. These are some of the issues that Oconee County’s representatives to the Georgia General Assembly said they believe they will be dealing with when the body http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/12/oconee-county-legislators-identify.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/EadO46AJ_mw" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-4605767205560620981Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:10:00 +00002011-12-13T22:21:56.739-05:00BOC Meeting Planned Oconee County officials told residents of Pinewood Estates South mobile home park tonight that the county is “cautiously optimistic” that it has reached a settlement with the owners of the park that will keep water flowing beyond the proposed Jan. 13, 2012, shutoff date. County Attorney Daniell Haygood told me after the meeting that the county plans to call a meeting of http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/12/oconee-county-officials-optimistic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/jsY6Yyn9uQA" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3013819712021792987Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:29:00 +00002011-12-13T06:39:22.594-05:00Hearing a Formality The Oconee County Board of Commissioners will hold its official public hearing tomorrow night on a variance request by the estate of Dave R. Knowlton for a piece of property in the busy intersection of Daniells Bridge Road and the Oconee Connector. Citizens who are in favor of or opposed to the requested waiver or modification of requirements regarding buffers on the property http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/12/commissioners-to-be-asked-to-grant.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/AT1gO0Y3zug" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3816574998880582830Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:43:00 +00002011-12-05T21:38:34.993-05:00Deadline for Cutoff Jan. 13 A sewage pump station tucked behind a shopping center on Epps Bridge Parkway is playing a key role in a controversy that threatens to cut off water and sewage services to residents of Pinewood Estates South mobile home park in Oconee County. The pump, or lift, station, doesn’t even serve the residents of the mobile home park, though it lies between the shopping center http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/12/dispute-over-sewage-upgrades-in-oconee.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/lE7vtEAD7rA" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-7719952399284068669Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:08:00 +00002011-12-04T22:57:44.498-05:00Dates Back to 1917 Oconee County Commissioner John Daniell plans to ask his colleagues tomorrow night to begin the process of changing the enabling legislation that defines the government structure in the county. Daniell’s goals are limited. He wants the Board of Commissioners to gain control over how salaries for the commissioners are determined. He also wants all five commissioners to vote on http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/11/oconee-county-commissioner-daniell.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/4CtKonEfQPo" height="1" width="1"/>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3619269822080072873Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:11:00 +00002011-11-28T22:28:03.532-05:00Bogart Not So The mayoral race in Watkinsville produced a higher voter turnout for Oconee County’s Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum than would have been the case without it, an analysis of precinct votes for the Nov. 8 election indicates. Overall, 10.1 percent of the county’s eligible voters cast a ballot on the education tax, putting the turnout just behind the 10.2 http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2011/11/watkinsville-mayoral-race-boosted.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OconeeCountyObservations/~4/hURW8CMYN9c" height="1" width="1"/>