Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Oconee County Commissioners Initiate Plans For Putting Transportation Sales Tax Referendum On November Ballot

***Would Result In Property Tax Reduction***

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners took the first step on Tuesday night to put a 1 percent Transportation Special Purpose Local Sales Tax referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot.

A portion of the tax would be used to cover transportation projects normally included in the county’s general fund budget, allowing the county to reduce its property tax by 1 mill. The current county millage rate is 6.686.

Monday, June 27, 2022

New Plans For Publix Shopping Center On Oconee Connector Under Review

***Main Access Off Connector***

Deferred Tax LLC has submitted preliminary paperwork for a second attempt to rezone property on the west side of the Oconee Connector between SR 316 and Mars Hill Road for a shopping center that is to include a Publix.

The rezone request includes only a little more than 34 acres of the total 47 acres owned by Deferred Tax and seeks a less intense business classification than sought in the first rezone. The Board of Commissioners rejected that request in May of 2021.

Friday, June 24, 2022

COVID-19 Hospital Cases At Area Hospitals More Than Double In Last Week; Case Count In Northeast Health District Also Up

***Three New Deaths From Disease Reported***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 29 COVID-19 patients, just more than double the 14 reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 61, down from 63 a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 27, up from 23 a week ago.

In its weekly COVID-19 report, the Georgia Department of Public Health announced that the number of new COVID-19 cases tallied in its electronic tracking system in the Northeast Health District in the week ending on June 22 was 696.

Thursday, June 23, 2022

GDOT Says SR 316, Oconee Connector, Virgil Langford Road Will Remain Open During Interchange Reconstruction

***One Exit Ramp Closed For 45 Days***

The Oconee Connector and Virgil Langford Road intersections with SR 316, as well as SR 316 itself, will remain open to traffic during reconstruction of the two intersections, scheduled to take place from 2024 to 2027, with one exception.

Eastbound traffic on SR 316 trying to exit onto the Oconee Connector most likely will be required to detour around the intersection for 45 days at some point after reconstruction of that intersection gets underway.

The detour will route eastbound traffic along Jimmy Daniell Road to Virgil Langford Road, where it will be diverted either north or south.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Hammock Defeats Mauck In Republican Primary Runoff For Oconee County School Board Post 3

***Collins, Johnson-Green Favored In U.S. House Races***

Ryan Hammock soundly defeated Julie Mauck in the runoff Tuesday for the Oconee County Republican Party nomination for Post 3 on the Board of Education.

Hammock won in each of the county’s eight precincts.

He also won in early voting, absentee ballot voting, and election day voting.

His final figure was 57.9 percent to Mauck’s 42.1 percent.

Monday, June 20, 2022

Oconee County Early Voting For June 21 Runoff Less Than Half Early Voting For May Election

***Republican Ballot Rate Increased***

Turnout in early voting makes it likely that a relatively small number of Oconee County voters will have cast a ballot in the party primary runoffs by the end of election day tomorrow.

When early voting ended on Friday, only 2,244 of Oconee County’s 29,155 active voters had cast a ballot.

Another 282 voters had turned in an absentee ballot, bringing to 2,526 the total number of ballots received by the end of the day on Friday, or 8.6 percent of the county’s active voters.

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Number of Hospital Cases Of COVID-19 Decreased In Last Week; Department Of Public Health Case Count Continues To Increase

***Oconee County Reported Drop In Cases***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 14 COVID-19 patients, down from the 18 reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 63, up from 58 a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 23, down from 24 a week earlier.

Thursday, June 16, 2022

Runoff Candidates At Oconee County Democratic Forum United And Looking Forward To November Election

***One Congressional Candidate A No Show***

Jessica Fore and Charlie Bailey joined the Oconee County Democrats in person for the party’s candidate forum on Thursday night before the June 21 primary runoff.

Kwanza Hall, who, like Bailey, is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor, joined remotely via Zoom.

Dee Dawkins-Haigler and Bee Nguyen, candidates for the party’s nomination for Secretary of State, also checked in remotely.

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

GDOT Releases Plans For Oconee Connector/SR 316 Interchange; No Access To Proposed Publix Shopping Center Shown

***Virgil Langford Road Plans Also Released***

The Georgia Department of Transportation released plans for the transformation of the SR 316 and Oconee Connector interchange on Wednesday that do not include access from the Connector to the proposed site of a Publix grocery.

The plans show the Oconee Connector flying over SR 316, as had been expected, but they also show an exit lane to the Oconee Connector for eastbound traffic that reaches far down the Connector, ending in a traffic light.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Oconee Town Hall Meeting Provides Answers To Questions On Costco Opening, Truck Traffic Ordinance, Tennis And Pickleball Courts

***Small Number of Questioners***

Costco is on schedule for an opening this fall.

Funding from the current Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) should be sufficient to begin construction of eight new tennis courts at Oconee Veterans Park by Fiscal Year 2025.

The existing tennis courts at Herman C. Michael will be converted to pickleball courts when new tennis courts are opened at Veterans Park.

Oconee School Board Approves $90 Million Fiscal Year 2023 Budget With Pay Raises And New Staff Positions

***Millage Rate Drop Included***

The Oconee County Board of Education, at its final meeting of the school year last week, approved a $90.2 million Fiscal Year 2023 expenditure budget that includes salary increases for certified and classified staff and 19 new staff positions.

The budget is 4.0 percent higher than the $86.7 million Fiscal Year 2022 budget and includes, for the first time since before the pandemic, full state funding of the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula.

Sunday, June 12, 2022

Oconee County Democrats Announce Candidate Forum For June 21 Runoff

***Recount Still Underway***

The Oconee County Democratic Party will hold a forum on Thursday night with candidates for three of the five races on the Democratic ballot in the June 21 runoff election.

Jessica Allison Fore and Tabitha Johnson-Green, candidates for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. House District 10, have agreed to participate.

Dee Dawkins-Haigler and Bee Nguyen, candidates for the party’s nomination for Secretary of State, also will join.

Friday, June 10, 2022

Area Hospitals Report Increase in COVID-19 Cases; Department Of Public Health Also Reports Increase in Case Count

***Oconee County Adds New COVID-19 Confirmed Death***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 18 COVID-19 patients, up from the 11 reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 58, down from 66 as a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 24, down from 36 a week earlier.

Wednesday, June 08, 2022

Oconee Commission Agrees To Ban Truck Traffic From Mars Hill Road, Section of Connector, Astondale Road

***Update To Truck Traffic Ordinance Lists 56 Roads***

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners passed an updated Truck Traffic Ordinance on Tuesday night that bans through trucks on Mars Hill Road in its entirety, on the Oconee Connector from Daniells Bridge Road to SR 316, and on Astondale Road.

The ordinance lists 56 roads in the county on which through truck traffic is forbidden, up from the 47 on the list when the ordinance was given first reading on May 24.

Tuesday, June 07, 2022

Oconee School Board Post 3 Republican Candidates Agree On Many Issues, Offer Support For, Criticisms Of Current Board Policies

***Disagree–Of Course–On Who Is Better Candidate***

The two candidates seeking the Republican Party nomination for Post 3 on the Oconee County Board of Education in the June 21 runoff election agree that School Board openings should be filled by voters, not internally by the Board, as is the case at present.

They also think older citizens should get a break on their school taxes and that School Board elections should remain partisan and at-large, rather than by district.

And both said that the School Board should hold Town Hall meetings, which it has refused to do, and that they are in favor of live-streaming Board meetings, which it does not do at present.

Sunday, June 05, 2022

Oconee County Commission To Consider Making Newly Widened Mars Hill Road, Astondale Road, Truck Routes

***Public Asked To Give Feedback***

Oconee County Public Works Director Jody Woodall’s recommendation that trucks continue to be banned on Astondale Road and on Mars Hill Road between Butler’s Crossing and SR 316 ran into opposition from two members of the Board of Commissioners last month.

Commissioner Amrey Harden said he thinks Mars Hill Road and the section of the Oconee Connector from Daniells Bridge Road to SR 316 should be removed from the list of roads on which through truck traffic is prohibited in a revised Truck Traffic Ordinance.

Friday, June 03, 2022

COVID-19 Hospital Case Count In Area Hospitals Up Just Slightly From Week Earlier

***One Confirmed Death From Disease Added In Health District***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 11 COVID-19 patients, up just one from the 10 reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 66, up from 60 as a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 36, up from 19 a week earlier.

Thursday, June 02, 2022

Oconee Election Board Certifies May 24 Vote, Outlines Plans For June 21 Runoff

***Only 11.9 Percent Of Votes Cast Were With Democratic Ballots***

The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration certified the results of the May 24 party primaries and nonpartisan election on May 31, setting the stage for the party runoff elections on June 21.

Rebecca Anglin, director of Elections and Registration for the county, told the Board that the May 24 election had run smoothly, though there were long wait times on election day at all eight of the county’s polling locations.

The wait times ranged from 30 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes, she said.