Oconee County School Board Chair Says Board Would Like To Have A New Superintendent In Place In September

***Interim Superintendent Harden To Reopen Mold Investigation***

Oconee County School Board Chair Michael Ransom said the Board would like to name a new school superintendent in September and have that person start serving as superintendent that month.

Ransom said he recognizes that his time line is “pretty aggressive,” and he said it is likely the new superintendent will not be in place until later in the fall semester, and perhaps not until January.

Unveiling Of Marker Recognizing 1905 Lynching By Angry Mob Draws Large Crowd To Oconee County Courthouse In Watkinsville

***Names Of Victims Read Aloud***

Approximately 75 people turned out in the extreme heat on Sunday to unveil a memorial marker on the north side of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville to recognize the lynching of nine individuals on that site 120 years ago.

The marker lists the names of the eight persons who lost their lives to the mob violence–one miraculously survived–and notes that the 1905 lynching was one of the deadliest such events in Georgia history.

Oconee County Planning Commissions Recommends Approval Of Rezones For Three Commercial Developments

***Citizen Speak In Opposition To Two Requests***

More than 40 people were in the Commission Chamber as the Oconee County Planning Commission began the first of three public hearings on requests for zoning changes for three commercial developments in the county on June 16.

Four of those audience members spoke in opposition to the request by CK Capital to rezone 14.9 acres on Mars Hill Road at Bell Road so developer Chad Keller can build a nine-lot commercial development.

Minor Sewer Spill Occurred As Oconee County Completed Replacement Of Troubled Forced Main Sewer Line On Tributary To McNutt Creek

***1,300 Gallons Of Untreated Sewage Released***

Oconee County has completed replacement of the 1,000 feet of forced main sewer line that produced three major spills in a year into a tributary to McNutt Creek that separates Tanglebrook subdivision and the Pinewood Estates South mobile home park.

As work was being completed on the new forced main replacement line, and before the switch to the new line, a minor spill occurred resulting from a break in the old forced main line.

Outcome Of Democratic Primary In Oconee County For District 3 Public Service Commissioner Differed From Those Statewide; Runoff Required

***Voting On Election Day Nearly Reached Early Voting Level***

Oconee County Democrats will have to return to the voting booth in four weeks to decide who will represent the party in the November election for District 3 Public Service Commissioner as none of the three candidates on the ballot on Tuesday received a majority.

In Oconee County, Robert Jones received 36.9 percent of the vote, with Peter Hubbard getting 35.9 percent, and Keisha Sean Waites receiving 27.2 percent.

Turnout Remains Light In Democratic And Republican Primaries For Public Service Commission Races With Final Voting On Tuesday

***Ballots Cast 36.2 Percent Democratic, 63.8 Percent Republican***

Leading up to election day voting on Tuesday, only 2.0 percent of Oconee County’s eligible voters had cast a ballot in the special Democratic and Republican Party primaries for Districts 2 and 3 on the state Public Service Commission.

Reflecting the more competitive nature of the Democratic race than normal, 36.2 percent of the ballots cast were in the Democratic Party primary, with the remaining 63.8 percent cast in the Republican Party Primary.

Zoning Requests On Oconee County Planning Commission Agenda For Commercial Developments on Mars Hill Road, Lenru Road, U.S. 441

***Staff Wants Change In Mars Hill Road Request***

The Oconee County Planning Commission on Monday (June 16) is scheduled to review requests for three separate commercial developments, one on Mars Hill Road, one on nearby Lenru Road, and the third on U.S. 441 at Spartan Lane.

The county planning staff has recommended approval of all three requests, but it is asking the Planning Commission and the Board of Commissioners to eliminate proposed B-2 (Highway Business) Zoning for one lot in the commercial development on Mars Hill Road.