Monday, May 30, 2022

Questions About Planned Roundabouts At Jimmy Daniell Road/SR 316 Interchange Dominate GDOT Virtual Public Information Open House

***Noise Barriers, Meriweather Drive Also Topics***

A team from the Georgia Department of Transportation responded to exactly 50 questions from citizens regarding the planned upgrade for the Jimmy Daniell Road and SR 316 interchange in a two-hour virtual session on May 26.

Many of the questions focused on the planned roundabouts at each of the exits from SR 316 to Jimmy Daniell Road, which will fly over SR 316 in the planned multi-grade intersection.

Friday, May 27, 2022

Hospital Association Reports Stability of COVID Indicators For Area Hospitals; Department Of Public Health Reports Local Case Increase

***Clarke Reports Confirmed COVID Death Of 27-Year-Old***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 10 COVID-19 patients, up just one from the nine reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 60, the same as a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 19, down from 20 a week earlier.

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Questions On Oconee County Republican Ballot Send Messages To Board Of Education

***Only Five Days For Early Voting In Runoff***

The Oconee County Republican Party leadership sent messages to the Oconee County Board of Education Tuesday through four nonbinding questions it placed on the ballot.

In responding to those questions, voters using the Republican ballot said clearly that they, not Board members, should fill vacancies on the Board, and citizens more than 70 years old should receive a reduction in their school property taxes.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Oconee Post 3 School Board Republican Primary Requires A Runoff

***Hammock And Mauck To Meet June 21***

Ryan Hammock and Julie Mauck are headed for a June 21 runoff as neither received more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s Republican Primary for Post 3 on the Oconee County Board of Education.

Mauck led the field with 41.7 percent of the vote, followed by 38.3 percent for Hammock and 20.0 percent for Elliott Rogers, based on the unofficial results posted just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Post 3 Board of Education primary race was the only contested local election on the ballot on Tuesday.

Monday, May 23, 2022

Oconee County Gives Legislative Delegation Independence From Athens-Clarke

***Registration, Campaign Spending Tell Story***

In the 2021 legislative session, Houston Gaines, who represents part of Oconee County and part of Athens-Clarke County in the Georgia House, introduced legislation to ban some local governments from reducing their law enforcement budgets.

The bill, which targeted Athens-Clarke County, passed and became law, with the support of Rep. Marcus Wiedower and Sen. Bill Cowsert, who also represent Oconee County, as well as parts of Athens-Clarke County, in the General Assembly.

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Area Hospitals Report Slight Drop In COVID-19 Cases; Average Case Counts Down In Oconee, Clarke Counties

***Clarke Reports One New Confirmed Death From Disease***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had nine COVID-19 patients, down from the 13 reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 60, down from 70 a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 20, down from 33 a week earlier.

Friday, May 20, 2022

Heavy Turnout On Thursday And Friday In Oconee County Push Up Totals As Early In-Person Voting Ends

***Republican Ballots Continue To Dominate***

Nearly 16 percent of Oconee County’s registered voters have cast a ballot already for Tuesday’s primary and non-partisan Judicial elections through in-person voting, with a quarter of those casting an early in-person vote doing so on Thursday and Friday.

Rebecca Anglin, Director of Elections and Registration, said wait times had been “upwards of 45 minutes all day long” for early in-person voting on Friday and “average wait time” on Thursday was 25 minutes.

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Georgia Department of Transportation Asks For Citizen Input On Intersection Improvement At SR 316 And Jimmy Daniell Road

***Dials Mill Intersections Plans Revealed***

The Georgia Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced a virtual presentation and question and answer session for 4 to 6 p.m. on May 26 for the Jimmy Daniell Road and SR 316 Interchange Project.

GDOT also launched a new section on its web site containing information about the planned multi-grade intersection improvement at Jimmy Daniell Road. Construction of the interchange is expected to begin in 2024.

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Few Oconee County Voters Opting For Democratic Ballot In Early Voting For May 24 Primary

***Contrast With May 2018 Election***

After 12 days of early voting, 2,516 of Oconee County’s 32,034 registered voters have cast a ballot, with 2,204, or 87.6 percent, using the Republican ballot, and 306, or 12.2 percent, using the Democratic ballot.

At the end of early voting in 2018 in the county, 72.5 percent of the ballots cast were in the Republican Primary, and 26.9 percent were in the Democratic Primary.

Saturday, May 14, 2022

COVID-19 Cases At Area Hospitals Increase; Case Counts In Northeast Health District, Oconee, Clarke Also Up

***Oconee Schools Reports Three New Student Cases***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 13 COVID-19 patients, up from the four reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 70, up from 58 a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 33, up from 31 a week earlier.

Sunday, May 08, 2022

COVID-19 Cases At Area Hospital Remain Low; Clarke County Reports New Death From Disease

***Oconee Schools Reports New Staff Case***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had four COVID-19 patients, up just one from the three reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 58, also up by one from a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 31, the same as a week earlier.

Tuesday, May 03, 2022

Two Candidates At Democratic Party Meeting Offer Different Assessments Of Their Likelihood Of Winning in November

***Few Using Democratic Ballot In Early Primary Voting***

Jeff Auerbach told Oconee County Democrats last month that, as the Democratic Party nominee in the new House District 121, he does not expect to be able to defeat Republican incumbent Marcus Wiedower in his first match-up on Nov. 8.

Auerbach said he had been recruited by the Georgia House Democratic Caucus to run against Wiedower, and he thinks, in the future, he will represent the 121 House District in the Georgia General Assembly. The 121st is made up of  most of Oconee and parts of Clarke counties.

Sunday, May 01, 2022

Citizen Tells Oconee County School Board She Is Concerned About Accreditation And Content Of Curriculum

***Board Members Profess Ignorance About Decision***

Suzannah Heimel told the Oconee County School Board during the public comment section of its meeting last month that originally she had planned to come before the Board with prepared comments about accrediting standards and critical race theory.

She said she decided to put aside her initial comments, however, because “the governor has passed a law stating that we cannot teach CRT in our school system.”