The three Democrats seeking to represent Oconee County in the General Assembly in January took critical stands on data centers in a forum with representatives of the local scientific community last week.
Suzanna Karatassos, running in House District 120, and Ray Smith, running in Senate District 46, said they want a moratorium on building data centers.
In the first day of early voting on Tuesday for the Nov. 3 election, 1,105 Oconee County voters cast a ballot, up by 282 from the comparable election four years ago and up by 392 from the November election in 2018.
The 1,105 voters on Tuesday represents 3.2 percent of the eligible voters, while the 823 first day voters in 2022 represented 2.5 percent of the then eligible voters, and the 713 first day voters in 2018 represented 2.8 percent of the then eligible voters.
Shelia Edwards and Peter Hubbard made it clear in their meeting with Oconee County Democrats earlier this month that they are running as a team with the goal of taking control of the state Public Service Commission from the Republicans.
“I tell everybody that there's no win for us if you elect Peter and don't elect me,” Edwards said, “because we'll be in the same situation in 2027 where the Democrats are a minority.”
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $275,000 contract with WSP, an international professional services company with offices in Kennesaw, for a traffic study of downtown Watkinsville.
Included will be the collection of data on traffic corridors and congestion in the city, including average daily traffic and turning movement counts at key intersections, vehicle classifications, and crash patterns.
Oconee County mailed out 571 absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 election on Monday (Oct. 5), the first day ballots could be issued, Jennifer Stone, Assistant Director of Elections and Registration, told the Board of Elections and Registration at its meeting on Monday.
The county also issued 49 electronic ballots to voters outside the U.S., including in the military, Stone said, bringing to the total number of issued absentee ballots to 620.
Although three candidates on the November ballot were invited to the September meeting of the Oconee County Republican Party to speak, the meeting quickly turned into a pep rally, strategy session, and warning about the consequences of Republican candidates not winning in November.
Oconee County Republican Party Chair Kathy Hurley began the meeting by linking the Democratic candidates seeking to represent Oconee County in the General Assembly and on the state ballot with the Democratic Socialists of America.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners last week gave initial approval to an agreement with St. Mary’s Hospital and Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center that transfers responsibility for 911 emergency medical care and transportation services to the county on Dec. 31.
The agreement will replace the current contract the two hospitals have with National Emergency Medical Services and is the final step for implementation of the county’s own Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program.
