Oconee County School Board Told Proposed Route For SR 15 Truck Bypass Will Not Adversely Affect Colham Ferry Elementary School

***Route Could Impact School In Future***

One of the three alternate routes the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has proposed for a truck bypass linking SR 15 with U.S. 441 south of Watkinsville would pass near the property line for Colham Ferry Elementary School, but it would not require any changes at the school.

If the Board of Education decides to expand the school or do updates or repairs, it will have to get state approval, and the state Department of Education could require construction of a berm and modifications of such things as windows to accommodate the dangers of truck traffic.

Early Voting For May 19 Primary Increased In Week Two, With Democratic Ballots Making Up Larger Share Than Four Years Ago

***Friday Was Heaviest Voting So Far***

Early voting for the May 19 Party Primary and Nonpartisan elections is running just ahead of early voting in the those elections in 2022, with 9.8 percent of the county’s 34,014 voters having cast a ballot by the end of the second week of early voting on Saturday.

Of that total, 3,214 votes were cast Advance In Person, up from 2,516 at that same point two years ago, when the county had 32,034 registered voters. The 3,214 is 9.4 percent of registered voters this year versus 7.9 percent four years ago.

Oconee County Unveils $85.5 Million Proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Budget With $3.1 Million For New Emergency Medical Services Department

***Millage Rate Not Set***

Oconee County Finance Director Melissa Braswell on Tuesday night presented to the Board of Commissioners and the public an $85.5 million total budget for the county for Fiscal Year 2027, up 2.1 percent from the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

Included is a $49.0 million General Fund Budget, up 7.2 percent from the $45.7 million General Fund Budget adopted last June for the current Fiscal Year.

Oconee County Commission Votes To Request That GDOT Delay Decision On Truck Bypass Linking SR 15 And U.S. 441

***Board Asks For Consideration Of Route Inside City***

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night officially and unanimously asked the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to slow down its planning for a truck route linking SR 15 and U.S. 441 south of Watkinsville.

The request came in the form of a resolution passed by the Board after a crowd of a just more than 100 gathered in the Commission Chamber of the county Administrative Building in anticipation of Board action on GDOT’s stated plans for a bypass.

Final Oconee County Republican Party Meeting Before May 19 Primary Featured Unopposed School Board, County Commission Candidates

***Unopposed House 121 Candidate Also Spoke***

Oconee County Republican Party Chair Kathy Hurley invited five office seekers to her final "Cavalcade of Candidates" last week, as early voting was just getting underway, but only Kate Patterson was an unknown to the group.

Patterson, who is on the Party Primary Ballot as the nominee for Post 2 on the Oconee County Board of Education, is running unopposed in the May 19 election.

Georgia Transportation Department Data Base Shows Decrease In Volume Of Traffic Passing Through Center Of Watkinsville

***Volume Drop May Not Mirror Congestion***

Based on data gathered by the Georgia Department of Transportation as part of its Traffic Monitoring Program, the volume of traffic flowing through downtown Watkinsville on Main Street decreased from 2019 through 2024, the most recent year for which counts are available.

This is true based on actual counts from a monitoring location at the center of Watkinsville and on projections from those counts.

Early Voting For May 19 Primary And Nonpartisan Election Off To Slow Start–Mirroring Early Voting In May 2022 Election

***Friday Voting Heaviest So Far***

After six days of early voting for the May 19 Party Primary and Nonpartisan elections, 1,277 of Oconee County 34,515 registered voters have cast a ballot, a just slightly higher percentage than had cast a ballot after six days of early voting in the May 2022 elections .

Another 41 voters have returned a mail ballot, bringing the total number of voters who have cast a ballot by the end of the day on Saturday to 1,318, or 3.8 percent of the total eligible voters.