Friday, December 30, 2011

Oconee County Voters Split on Transportation Tax Ballot Issue on Ballot in 2012

Survey 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 traffic or transportation issues.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Oconee County Officials Did Not Want to Answer All Pinewood Estates South Questions

Pressure 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 asked.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Attorney Prepared to Brief Oconee County Commissioners on Enabling Legislation

To 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 establish a “board of commissioners of roads and revenues” for the county and specify how it operates.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Decision on Disposal of Land from Agricultural Research Center In Oconee County Still Pending

University 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 Agricultural Research Service is closing completely, Sandy Miller Hayes, director of information for the ARS in Beltsville, Md., told me in phone conversation on Monday. Another will be closed in part.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Oconee County Legislators Identify Issues They Expect to Address in Upcoming Assembly Session

Redistricting 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 convenes on Jan. 9 in Atlanta.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Oconee County Officials Optimistic Settlement Near in Pinewood Estates Water and Sewer Dispute

BOC 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.

Monday, December 05, 2011

Commissioners To Be Asked to Grant Variances to Settle Disagreement Over Oconee County Connector Access

Hearing 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 will have a chance to speak.

Sunday, December 04, 2011

Dispute Over Sewage Upgrades in Oconee County at Center of Pinewood Estates Mobile Home Controversy

Deadline 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 and the park.