Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Oconee County’s Members Of General Assembly Sitting On Large Campaign Reserves Half Way Through Off Year In Election Cycle

***Watkinsville Will Have Two Contested November Races***

State Rep. Houston Gaines, half way through the 2023 non-election year, has $456,586 net balance on hand in his campaign account.

Half way through the 2022 election year, Gaines, who represents part of Oconee County in the General Assembly, had $251,041 net balance on hand.

On June 30 of 2021, which was not an election year, Gaines had $108,514 net cash balance on hand, or less than a quarter of what he has on hand at this time.

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Oconee County Industrial Development Authority Agrees To Sell Last Usable Parcel In Gateway Technology And Business Park

***IMI To Leave Watkinsville Industrial Park***

The Oconee County Industrial Development Authority on Wednesday agreed to sell the 52.8 acre western most parcel in Gateway Technology and Business Park to IMI Industrial Services Group, which plans to relocate to the new site from the Watkinsville Industrial Park.

The contract sets the sale price at $37,500 per acre, which, based on the existing survey, would total to $1,981,012.

The large, currently empty parcel, is the last accessible acreage in the Gateway Technology Business Park, which runs west, mostly north of SR 316, from McNutt Creek Road on the southwest side of Bogart.

Friday, August 25, 2023

COVID-19 Case Count In Northeast Health District Nearly Doubles In Last Week According To Department Of Public Health Status Report

***Oconee Cases Drop Slightly, While Clarke Cases Increase Sharply***

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 519 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on Aug. 23, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.

The Department of Public Health reported 266 new cases in the week ending on Aug. 16 and 230 new cases in the week ending on Aug. 9.

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Line Item Budget For Oconee County Schools Details $15.8 Million Increase In Spending For Fiscal Year 2024

***Spending For Superintendent: $284,810***

Oconee County Schools last week released a detailed budget for Fiscal Year 2024 documenting a $3.9 million increase in teacher salaries and a $4.9 million increase in healthcare costs for certified employees.

Those increases and the others spelled out in the July 2023 Budget Report explain in detail the $15.8 million increase in spending in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget adopted by the Board in June.

Saturday, August 19, 2023

COVID-19 Case Count In Northeast Health District Increases For Two Weeks Running

***Both Oconee And Clarke Report Jumps In Cases***

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 266 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on Aug. 16, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.

The Department of Public Health reported 230 new cases in the week ending on Aug. 9 and 224 in the two weeks ending on Aug. 2.

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Oconee County Library Board To Consider Five Requests For Reshelving Of Books At Library In Watkinsville

***Decision Expected In October***

The Oconee County Library Board of Trustees, at its meeting in October, is expected to consider the requests of five citizens who have asked that the Oconee County Library in Watkinsville change the shelving of five different books the citizens say are inappropriate for children.

The five Requests for Reconsideration of Material currently are being reviewed by a committee of professional librarians of the Athens Regional Library System, of which the Oconee County and Bogart libraries are a part.

Sunday, August 13, 2023

COVID-19 Case Count In Northeast Health District Continues To Increase

***Oconee Cases Stable; Cases In Clarke Increase***

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 230 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on Aug. 9, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.

The Department of Public Heath did not issue a report two weeks ago, and the number of cases added last week after a two-week gap in reporting had been 224.

Friday, August 11, 2023

Oconee County Schools Announced Community Engagement Session For September As Part Of Strategic Planning

***High School Growth Likely Topic***

Oconee County Schools will hold a Community Engagement Session from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 19 at the Oconee County Civic Center as part of its new Strategic Planning Timeline, school Chief Academic Officer Susan Stancil told the Board of Education at its meeting on Monday.

Oconee County Schools also will conduct stakeholder surveys in September and October before joining with the Georgia School Boards Association to develop goals, initiatives, and action steps for review by the Board of Education in May and June of next year.

Monday, August 07, 2023

Oconee County Schools Reported To State That Six Incidents Involving Weapons Took Place At Its Schools In School Year 2022-2023

***A Single Incident Involving Weapons Reported Year Earlier***

Oconee County Schools reported to the Georgia Department of Education six incidents at its schools involving weapons during the last academic year in the required Discipline Incident Type Count due at the end of the school year.

Two of the six incidents involved knives, two involved rifles, and two involved other unspecified weapons.

Oconee County Schools has provided to the public no information on any of the incidents, though open records requests indicate that it did communicate via email internally about three of the incidents.

Sunday, August 06, 2023

Oconee County Commissioners Name Planned New Park After Wendell And Betty Dawson

***Cite Service Of Couple To Nation, State, And County***

Oconee County’s planned new park on the 246 acre Land Application System site on Rocky Branch Road will be named the Wendell and Betty Dawson Park following action taken by the Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night.

The Board passed a resolution naming the future park for the Dawsons early in the meeting, citing Wendell Dawson’s service to “his country, state and county in a long and honorable career” and stating that “his wife Betty Dawson has been a constant support and help in all of his service.”

Saturday, August 05, 2023

COVID Case Counts In Northeast Health District Show Sharp Increase Over Last Two Weeks

***Oconee And Clarke Report Increases***

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 224 new cases of COVID-19 in the two weeks ending on Aug. 2, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.

The Department of Public Heath did not issue a report last week, and the number of cases added in the  week ending on July 19 had been 63.