When the Oconee County Industrial Development Authority decided late last year to donate 13 acres on McNutt Creek Road south of SR 316 to the state, it set in motion a series of events likely to have significant positive impact on the county.
The Industrial Development Authority said at the time that the state Department of Driver Services would build a new Customer Service Center on the property, but soon the Georgia State Patrol was interested in relocating to the property as well.
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 84 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on May 10, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.
The number of cases added a week earlier had been 60. The number of cases has been up and down slightly in recent weeks.
The Department of Public Health reported one new confirmed death from COVID-19 in the Northeast Health District in its report on Wednesday.
The Department of Public Health had reported two new deaths in the Northeast Health District on Wednesday of last week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has discontinued its reporting of community level COVID-19 data, such as Transmission Rates.
Weekly Report
Although the Department of Public Health is releasing a report only weekly, it is gathering data on a daily basis, and the weekly report includes a data file containing case counts each day, ending on a Wednesday.
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The Department of Public Health switched to weekly, rather than daily, case counts in April of last year in part because of a concern that its counts under-represent the actual number of cases.
At-home test results are not included in the electronic reporting system.
The average number of added cases per day in the last seven days ending on May 10 in the Northeast Health District was 12.0, up from 8.6 last week.
Oconee County added five new case in the seven days ending on Wednesday. The county had added seven new cases in the seven days ending on May 3.
Clarke County added 22 new cases in the seven days ending on May 10. It had added 15 cases in the week ending on May 3.
The unstandardized rolling average of added cases in Oconee County on May 10 was 0.6. It had been was 0.4 on May 3.
The unstandardized seven-day rolling average of added cases in Clarke County on May 10 was 2.7. It had been 1.9 on May 3.
Deaths
The confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in the Northeast Health District in the May 10 report was in Jackson County.
The Northeast Health District now has recorded 1,759 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 since February of 2020, or 331.8 deaths per 100,000 population.
Clarke County has the lowest rate of deaths per 100,000 population among the 10 counties in the Northeast Health District (195.1), followed by Oconee County, with 253.6 confirmed deaths per 100,000 population.
The Northeast Health District reported 195 “probable” deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, the same as last week.
The Georgia Department of Public Health’s 10-county Northeast Health District includes, in addition to Oconee and Clarke counties, Barrow, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oglethorpe, and Walton.
The Oconee County Planning Commission on Monday will hear three rezone requests for property in the northeast of the county where the owner is seeking to convert parcels currently zoned for residential use to office and business uses.
Dr. Brent and Mary Lynn Nail are seeking to rezone a 3.1 acre single family residential lot on Mars Hill Road near its intersection with the Oconee Connector so they can remove the existing residence and build a new dental office.
The Oconee County School Board on Monday adopted a tentative Fiscal Year 2024 General Fund Budget that shows a 13.0 percent growth in revenue over the budget the Board adopted a year ago and a 17.5 percent growth in expenditures.
The revenue growth includes 11.0 percent growth in local funds, including a projected 11.1 percent increase in Property and Ad Valorem Taxes and a 14.8 percent growth in state revenue for Oconee County Schools, including for teacher pay.
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 60 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on May 3, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.
The number of cases added a week earlier had been 76.
Opponents of the court settlement allowing for construction of Oconee Crossing Shopping Center turned out in the Commission Chamber at the Oconee County Courthouse on Tuesday night, but they didn’t change the minds of the needed two commissioners.
After detailed arguments by two residents of Oconee Crossing subdivision, the vote was unchanged from March 7.
Oconee County Schools released its tentative budget for Fiscal Year 2024 on Monday, showing revenue of $103.9 million, up from $91.9 million in the current fiscal year, and expenditures of $106.0 million, up from $90.2 a year ago.
The revenue projection is based on growth in the tax digest of 7.3 percent and an unchanged millage rate of 15.5 mills.
The tax digest grew by 15.4 percent last year, and 5.6 percent the year before that.
