Oconee County Board Of Education Treated To Holiday Song Medley By Elementary School Students

***Rocky Branch Chorus Performed***

The meeting of the Oconee County Board of Education on Monday had a special feature, in keeping with the season.

Eighteen students, making up the Rocky Branch Elementary School Chorus and led by Josh Luke, performed a medley of holiday songs.

Oconee County Planning Commission Recommends Approval Of Rezone Modifications For Two Large Residential Developments

***Part Of Legal Settlement***

The Oconee County Planning Commission took quick action on Monday on three rezone requests dictated by the county’s settlement of lawsuits involving the massive Parkside and Westland projects that together will bring 1,175 new residential lots to the county.

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners actually brought the rezone requests to the Planning Commission, as called for in the settlement of the lawsuits, and the Planning Commission dutifully recommended to the Board of Commissioners that it approve them.

Oconee County Commissioners Granted Variance (And Forgiveness) To Builder Who Said He Made “Small Mistake”

***House Too Close To Street***

Keith Newberry, managing partner at Keystone Custom Homes LLC of Athens, told the Oconee County Board of Commissioners at its regular meeting last week that his draftsman made a mistake in drawing site plans for two homes he built this year in Lee Ridge Subdivision southeast of Watkinville.

One house, a 2,370 square-foot structure at 2339 Maddison Avenue, now sits more than four feet closer to the street than the county’s Unified Development Code allows, and Newberry was asking the Board of Commissioner for forgiveness.

Oconee County Board Of Education Receives Proposal For School Calendars

***Later Start Dates Offered***

Oconee County schools will begin classes on the first Wednesday of August and end classes on the Friday of the third full week in May in each of the next three academic years if the Board of Education accepts the recommendation presented to it at its work session last week.

Anisa Sullivan Jimenez, director of Communications for the schools, told the Board the draft calendars were the result of work by a Calendar Committee and had been reviewed as well by Parent Advisory, Student Advisory, and Teacher Advisory groups.

Republicans Raffensperger And Eaton Carry Oconee County In Runoff, But Democrats Gained From November

***Light Turnout***

Republican Brad Raffensperger got 67.1 percent of the vote in Oconee County in the runoff for Secretary of State on Tuesday, up just slightly from his 66.8 percent vote on Nov. 6.

Democrat John Barrow received 32.9 percent of the vote in Oconee County on Tuesday, up from the 30.7 percent he received in the three-way contest on Nov. 6.

Oconee Commissioners Approve Variance Requests for Eastville Car Museum

***No Sidewalks, Buffers Needed***

Tony Townley won’t have to meet county standards requiring a 15 foot setback in the front yard of his Eastville Car Museum.

He also won’t have to move four existing silos, a windmill, and a water tower from the front yard of his property at Snows Mill Road and Cole Spring Road, even though they violate the county’s Unified Development Code.

Oconee County Commissioners Told 2004 And 2009 Unspent SPLOST Funds Soon To Be Used

***Courthouse Expansion With 2004 Funds***

Oconee County soon will deplete money currently sitting in the 2004 and 2009 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax accounts and then will be dependent solely on revenue coming from the 2015 tax, county Finance Director Wes Geddings reported earlier this month.

The 2004 SPLOST account currently has $2.5 million in unspent funds, while the 2009 SPLOST account has $0.4 million, Geddings told the Board of Commissioners as part of his financial update for the first quarter of the 2019 Fiscal Year.