Only six people spoke Tuesday evening at the sole public forum Oconee County Schools has planned before the Board of Education is scheduled to adopt its new redistricting plan on Nov. 14.
The meeting was not live streamed, and Oconee County Schools has released no video of the forum, but the minutes published after the forum report the names of the six speakers and that the meeting lasted only 31 minutes.
The Oconee County planning staff has recommended approval of the rezone request for a shopping center with a Publix at the Oconee Connector and Mars Hill Road on the condition that access to the shopping center be significantly restricted.
The planners have said that entrance to the shopping center off the Oconee Connector should allow only right-in and right-out traffic, rather than the full commercial access requested by property owner Maxie Price.
The planning staff report says that access to the shopping center off Mars Hill Road should be limited to one full-access entrance and two right-in, right-out entrances.
The campaign signs for Republican Ryan Hammock spread around the county are unlikely to be matched by those for any of the three other candidates seeking the two Board of Education Posts on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Melissa Eagling, running as an Independent with Hammock for the open Post 3 on the Board of Education, has filed an affidavit stating that she does not intend to exceed $2,500 in contributions and/or expenditures in the campaign.
Both incumbent Republican Amy Parrish and Independent Ryan Repetske, running for Post 2, also have filed that affidavit limiting contributions and/or expenditures to $2,500.
Incumbent Republican Houston Gaines, who represents part of Oconee County in the Georgia House of Representatives, raised $177,190 in campaign contributions in the three months ending on Sept. 30.
Incumbent Republican Marcus Wiedower, who represents the bulk of the county in the Georgia House, raised $142,675 during that same period.
The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 14 COVID-19 patients, down from the 17 cases reported last Friday. The 14 cases are the lowest since June 17.
The number of ICU beds in use on Friday was 72, down from 73 a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 28, down from 29 on last Friday.
Tim Bryant, News Director for Cox Media Group Athens, asked the two candidates seeking Post 2 on the Oconee County Board of Education 17 questions over a 45-minute period in the Republican Party sponsored debate last week.
In the next 45 minutes, Bryant asked six of those same questions and five new ones of the two candidates seeking Post 3 on the Oconee County Board of Education.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night, in a 3 to 1 vote, rejected the rezone request of Donald Hammett for a shopping center at U.S. 78 and Hog Mountain Road abutting Oconee Crossing subdivision.
The vote came after a lengthy discussion by the Board following presentations by representatives of Hammett and by representatives of the Oconee Crossing subdivision.
