tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015Sun, 18 Oct 2026 03:57:52 +0000Calls Creek wastewater plantMars Hill RoadAnimal ControlBishop BypassRocky Branch LASEpps Bridge CentreDaniells Bridge RoadHard Labor Creek Regional ReservoirJamie BoswellFalls Of OconeeCaterpillarJimmy Daniell RoadOconee County BudgetNews and comments about developments in Oconee County, Georgiahttp://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/noreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)Blogger3137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-901546550296131563Sun, 18 Oct 2026 03:49:34 +00002026-10-17T22:57:52.639-05:00***Oconee Turnout Far Ahead Of Neighboring Counties*** After the first week of early voting for the Nov. 3 election, 4,984 Oconee County voters had cast a ballot, down from 5,556 after the first week of voting in the comparable election of 2022. The drop in voting reflects in part the fact that only five days of early voting took place in the first week of early voting this year, compared with http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/10/turnout-in-shortened-first-week-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-978816062048333618Fri, 16 Oct 2026 05:12:47 +00002026-10-16T13:57:45.742-05:00***Republicans Also Refused To Answer Written Questions*** The three Democrats seeking to represent Oconee County in the General Assembly in January took critical stands on data centers in a forum with representatives of the local scientific community last week. Suzanna Karatassos, running in House District 120, and Ray Smith, running in Senate District 46, said they want a moratorium on http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/10/three-democrats-running-for-oconee.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3590424901229554893Wed, 14 Oct 2026 02:48:58 +00002026-10-14T08:40:49.714-05:00***Total Outpaces Comparable Elections in 2022 And 2018*** In the first day of early voting on Tuesday for the Nov. 3 election, 1,105 Oconee County voters cast a ballot, up by 282 from the comparable election four years ago and up by 392 from the November election in 2018. The 1,105 voters on Tuesday represents 3.2 percent of the eligible voters, while the 823 first day voters in 2022 http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/10/early-voting-off-to-strong-start-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3606518445003606633Tue, 13 Oct 2026 03:53:11 +00002026-10-12T23:12:38.163-05:00***Early Voting Starts Tomorrow*** Shelia Edwards and Peter Hubbard made it clear in their meeting with Oconee County Democrats earlier this month that they are running as a team with the goal of taking control of the state Public Service Commission from the Republicans. “I tell everybody that there's no win for us if you elect Peter and don't elect me,” Edwards said, “because we'll be in the http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/10/democratic-candidates-for-state-public.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3166303222986473737Sun, 11 Oct 2026 03:23:24 +00002026-10-11T18:23:19.611-05:00***County Acted Before Meeting With Watkinsville Leaders*** The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $275,000 contract with WSP, an international professional services company with offices in Kennesaw, for a traffic study of downtown Watkinsville. Included will be the collection of data on traffic corridors and congestion in the city, including average daily traffic and http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/10/oconee-county-commissioners-approve.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-7537203220620128554Fri, 09 Oct 2026 04:39:51 +00002026-10-08T23:49:50.221-05:00***Citizen Voices Concern About Voting In Long-Term Care Facilities*** Oconee County mailed out 571 absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 election on Monday (Oct. 5), the first day ballots could be issued, Jennifer Stone, Assistant Director of Elections and Registration, told the Board of Elections and Registration at its meeting on Monday. The county also issued 49 electronic ballots to voters http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/10/oconee-county-election-board-gets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-8858119691520350747Thu, 08 Oct 2026 03:48:52 +00002026-10-08T09:06:57.205-05:00***Three Candidates Invited To Speak*** Although three candidates on the November ballot were invited to the September meeting of the Oconee County Republican Party to speak, the meeting quickly turned into a pep rally, strategy session, and warning about the consequences of Republican candidates not winning in November. Oconee County Republican Party Chair Kathy Hurley began the meeting by http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/10/oconee-county-republican-party-meeting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-4168272240512862245Mon, 05 Oct 2026 05:34:20 +00002026-10-05T00:51:09.817-05:00***Hospitals Agree To Consider Further Change In Two Years*** The Oconee County Board of Commissioners last week gave initial approval to an agreement with St. Mary’s Hospital and Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center that transfers responsibility for 911 emergency medical care and transportation services to the county on Dec. 31. The agreement will replace the current contract the two http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/10/oconee-county-commissioners-give.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-2391693330694258771Fri, 02 Oct 2026 05:10:26 +00002026-10-02T11:19:13.880-05:00***Bridge Foundation Work At Connector To Begin Next Week*** The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) last week released detailed plans for construction of the SR 316 and Oconee Connector interchange to show SR 316 flying over the Connector rather than the Connector flying over SR 316. GDOT announced on Thursday (Oct. 1) that bridge foundation work on the future east bound SR 316 bridge http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/10/georgia-transportation-department.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-4054871628685500939Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:44:08 +00002026-09-28T15:00:16.479-05:00***Broad Support For Oconee County Agriculture Voiced*** All four of the candidates in state Senate District 46 and state House District 121 spoke out in opposition last week to the plans currently under consideration by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) for a truck bypass linking SR 15 and U.S. 441 south of Watkinsville. Speaking at a Candidate Forum organized by the Oconee http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/candidates-at-farm-bureau-forum-oppose.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-1289572632487377417Sat, 26 Sep 2026 06:27:02 +00002026-09-26T01:39:59.700-05:00***Gaines Does Not Participate*** The seven candidates seeking to represent Oconee County in the General Assembly in Atlanta and in Congress in Washington interacted cordially in a Candidate Forum on Thursday, sometimes agreeing in response to questions from an audience of more than 90. At many times in each of the four sessions in the Forum, however, the candidates took very different http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/differences-among-candidates-seeking-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-4786727283867821279Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:54:31 +00002026-09-24T20:39:00.812-05:00***Report: $7.8 More In Revenue In FY 2026 Than Budgeted*** Discussion of Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) and of the Peach Education Tax Credit program dominated the Oconee County Board of Education meeting last week. Superintendent Melissa Butler, in her report to the Board, said she had recently toured both of the system’s high schools to explore options for growth in http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/oconee-county-school-board-updated-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-8048468043184343455Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:19:17 +00002026-09-22T10:25:42.747-05:00***States Position On Abortion, Vaccines, Other Issues*** In response to the first question at his Town Hall meeting last week, Republican House District 121 candidate Mack “Dutch” Guest IV said he is opposed to current plans for the truck bypass connecting SR 15 south of Watkinsville to U.S. 441. Guest also said he was opposed to the state incentivizing data centers, wants the state to help http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/republican-state-house-district-121.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-7809401307639565725Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:44:44 +00002026-09-20T19:53:38.562-05:00***Gaines Only Candidate Not Attending*** Citizens will have a chance on Thursday to pose their questions directly to candidates seeking to represent Oconee County in State House District 120, State House District 121, State Senate District 46, and U.S. Congressional District 10. Moderators at a candidate Forum sponsored by The Oconee Enterprise and Oconee County Observations will ask citizens http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/thursday-forum-will-allow-citizens-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-1597064834092005230Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:25:35 +00002026-09-22T05:35:11.507-05:00***Hears Report Mandating New List Of Persons Who Vote*** The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration agreed on Monday (9/14/2026) to add an extra hour at the end of the day in the final week of early voting for the Nov. 3 elections. The Board took the action on the recommendation of Sharon Gregg, Director of Elections and Registration for the county, who said extending the voting dayhttp://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/oconee-county-election-board-votes-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3163932728891855766Fri, 18 Sep 2026 22:02:52 +00002026-09-19T16:15:21.688-05:00***No End Date Given For Disruption*** Traffic on the Oconee Connector will be greatly restricted beginning at 7 p.m. today (9/18/2026) as Archer Western Construction begins work on mid-span vertical supports for the two bridges that will carry SR 316 over the Connector. The current four lanes of traffic now moving through the intersection in each direction will be cut to two lanes, one for http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/construction-at-sr-316-will-cut-in-half.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-2606953058968963926Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:44:49 +00002026-09-18T09:13:13.252-05:00***Lisa And Bill Douglas Continue To Own Farm*** Lisa and Bill Douglas have granted a conservation easement deed to Madison-Morgan Conservancy that will prohibit the development of almost all of their 332-acre historic Hedgerow Farm on Price Mill Road west of Bishop. The easement allows the Douglases to continue to own and farm the property and to sell it, but the easement prevents the http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/madison-morgan-conservancy-accepts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-7189215304902979448Thu, 17 Sep 2026 06:18:39 +00002026-09-17T07:48:53.007-05:00***Large Crowd Turns Out For Called Town Hall Meeting*** All five of Oconee County’s commissioners on Tuesday night said they were opposed to the close-in route for a truck bypass linking SR 15 with U.S. 441 south of Watkinsville that consultants for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) said they are considering as the recommended route. The commissioners were joined in that http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/oconee-county-commissioners-say-they.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-2766022219903416096Mon, 14 Sep 2026 03:29:57 +00002026-09-14T21:06:32.130-05:00***Farm Bureau, Enterprise, Observations Are Hosts*** Forums scheduled two nights in a row in Oconee County next week will give voters a chance to hear candidates for state House District 120, state House District 121, and state Senate District 46 answer questions on issues in the Nov. 3 election. On Sept. 23 candidates will be asked to respond to questions from directors of the Oconee County http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/forums-scheduled-at-two-oconee-county.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-8184853530254870961Sun, 13 Sep 2026 21:59:19 +00002026-09-13T16:59:19.013-05:00***Also Note Adverse Affects On Renters, Businesses*** Democrats in the Georgia House of Representatives, in a meeting at the Bogart Library last month, argued that their opposition to legislation in the General Assembly earlier this year that would have eliminated the property tax for homeowners was based on opposition to the resultant increase in sales taxes. They also said elimination of http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/democrats-defend-opposition-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-394740613071949351Fri, 11 Sep 2026 02:53:47 +00002026-09-10T22:58:05.267-05:00***Goal Of $1 Million Set*** Oconee County Schools has received approval of its application to the Georgia Foundation for Public Education (GFPE) allowing it to raise money through the PEACH Education Tax Credit program for upgrades to its Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs. The money Oconee County Schools is able to raise from donors will be used for development of “http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/oconee-county-schools-granted-approval.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-3021153430512753098Tue, 08 Sep 2026 04:36:10 +00002026-09-08T07:41:02.362-05:00***Blow-Up For Meriweather Road Closure Included*** The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has released a new detour map for the closure of Jimmy Daniell Road at SR 316 scheduled for Sept. 14, underscoring that travel along that major artery in the county is about to get much more difficult. The very busy intersection of the Oconee Connector with SR 316 now also has a flashing sign http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/georgia-transportation-department.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-4036994196721561522Tue, 08 Sep 2026 03:07:16 +00002026-09-08T00:02:40.719-05:00***Bluestein Says Decision Will Be Affected By November Election*** During his one hour and 15 minute meeting with Oconee County Democrats last week, veteran political journalist Greg Bluestein told inside stories, laughed about the tactics of U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, speculated on career paths for Ossoff and others politicians, discussed the current campaigns, and predicted plans of the Georgia http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/in-meeting-with-oconee-county-democrats.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-6727999038394966706Mon, 07 Sep 2026 05:19:42 +00002026-09-08T14:15:41.944-05:00***Plan Fell Through When Center Moved To Different Site*** Walton County Board of Commissioners Chair David Thompson reported to the Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board last week that his efforts to obtain $7.5 million from a company wanting water from the reservoir for an additional data center in Social Circle have been unsuccessful. Thompson said the approach from the data center http://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/walton-county-chair-reported-plans-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30714015.post-4065057416573848180Sun, 06 Sep 2026 04:41:27 +00002026-09-06T15:46:02.913-05:00***Drops In Enrollments For Three Straight Years*** Oconee County Schools had 130 fewer students as the school year began on Aug. 3 than it had at the beginning of last school year, according to First Day Counts released by system Human Resources Officer Justin Cofer on Thursday. Last year, based on those same counts, enrollment had dropped by 259 students, and the year before the drop had beenhttp://www.oconeecountyobservations.org/2026/09/first-day-count-for-oconee-county.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Lee Becker)0