Candidates At Farm Bureau Forum Oppose SR 15 Truck Bypass, Answer Questions On Property Taxes, Farmland Preservation

***Broad Support For Oconee County Agriculture Voiced***

All four of the candidates in state Senate District 46 and state House District 121 spoke out in opposition last week to the plans currently under consideration by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) for a truck bypass linking SR 15 and U.S. 441 south of Watkinsville.

Speaking at a Candidate Forum organized by the Oconee County Farm Bureau, Democrats Ray Smith and Eric Gisler and Republicans Marc McMain and Mack “Dutch” Guest IV took nearly identical positions, saying that the routes under consideration would damage farmland important to the county.

Differences Among Candidates Seeking To Represent Oconee County In Atlanta, D.C., Highlighted In Candidate Forum At Veterans Park

***Gaines Does Not Participate***

The seven candidates seeking to represent Oconee County in the General Assembly in Atlanta and in Congress in Washington interacted cordially in a Candidate Forum on Thursday, sometimes agreeing in response to questions from an audience of more than 90.

At many times in each of the four sessions in the Forum, however, the candidates took very different positions on issues raised by an audience member.

Oconee County School Board Updated On Plans For And Funding Of New Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education Programs

***Report: $7.8 More In Revenue In FY 2026 Than Budgeted***

Discussion of Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) and of the Peach Education Tax Credit program dominated the Oconee County Board of Education meeting last week.

Superintendent Melissa Butler, in her report to the Board, said she had recently toured both of the system’s high schools to explore options for growth in CTAE instruction.

Republican State House District 121 Candidate Guest Rejects Current Plans For Truck Bypass Of Watkinsville In Town Hall Meeting

***States Position On Abortion, Vaccines, Other Issues***

In response to the first question at his Town Hall meeting last week, Republican House District 121 candidate Mack “Dutch” Guest IV said he is opposed to current plans for the truck bypass connecting SR 15 south of Watkinsville to U.S. 441.

Guest also said he was opposed to the state incentivizing data centers, wants the state to help address homelessness in Clarke County, was in favor of a cap on property taxes, and supported cuts to the state income tax. He also said the 4 percent state sales tax should be reviewed.

Thursday Forum Will Allow Citizens To Pose Questions Directly To Candidates Seeking To Represent Oconee County In Atlanta, D.C.

***Gaines Only Candidate Not Attending***

Citizens will have a chance on Thursday to pose their questions directly to candidates seeking to represent Oconee County in State House District 120, State House District 121, State Senate District 46, and U.S. Congressional District 10.

Moderators at a candidate Forum sponsored by The Oconee Enterprise and Oconee County Observations will ask citizens wishing to ask a question to identify themselves and state a question for the candidates.

Oconee County Election Board Votes To Extend Time In Last Week Of Early Voting

***Hears Report Mandating New List Of Persons Who Vote***

The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration agreed on Monday (9/14/2026) to add an extra hour at the end of the day in the final week of early voting for the Nov. 3 elections.

The Board took the action on the recommendation of Sharon Gregg, Director of Elections and Registration for the county, who said extending the voting day in the week of Oct. 26 through 30 would accommodate voters who work until 5 p.m.

Construction At SR 316 Will Cut In Half Number Of Lanes Of Traffic In Each Direction On Oconee Connector

***No End Date Given For Disruption***

Traffic on the Oconee Connector will be greatly restricted beginning at 7 p.m. today (9/18/2026) as Archer Western Construction begins work on mid-span vertical supports for the two bridges that will carry SR 316 over the Connector.

The current four lanes of traffic now moving through the intersection in each direction will be cut to two lanes, one for through traffic and one for left-hand turns.

Madison-Morgan Conservancy Accepts Conservation Easement Protecting Historic Hedgerow Farm West From Future Development

***Lisa And Bill Douglas Continue To Own Farm***

Lisa and Bill Douglas have granted a conservation easement deed to Madison-Morgan Conservancy that will prohibit the development of almost all of their 332-acre historic Hedgerow Farm on Price Mill Road west of Bishop.

The easement allows the Douglases to continue to own and farm the property and to sell it, but the easement prevents the Douglases or anyone who purchases the land from dividing it or altering its “relatively natural, pastoral, agricultural, forested, open and relatively undeveloped condition.”

Oconee County Commissioners Say They Are Opposed To Proposed Truck Bypass Route Of Watkinsville That GDOT Consultants Favor

***Large Crowd Turns Out For Called Town Hall Meeting***

All five of Oconee County’s commissioners on Tuesday night said they were opposed to the close-in route for a truck bypass linking SR 15 with U.S. 441 south of Watkinsville that consultants for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) said they are considering as the recommended route.

The commissioners were joined in that opposition by Georgia House District 121 Rep. Eric Gisler and Georgia Senate District 46 candidate Ray Smith, both of whom were in the audience of more than 80 at the called Board of Commissioners Town Hall Meeting.

Forums Scheduled At Two Oconee County Venues For Candidates Seeking To Represent County In Atlanta And Washington

***Farm Bureau, Enterprise, Observations Are Hosts***

Forums scheduled two nights in a row in Oconee County next week will give voters a chance to hear candidates for state House District 120, state House District 121, and state Senate District 46 answer questions on issues in the Nov. 3 election.

On Sept. 23 candidates will be asked to respond to questions from directors of the Oconee County Farm Bureau on issues that impact farmers and rural Oconee County.

Democrats Defend Opposition To Elimination of Homeowner Property Tax, Citing Resultant Increase In Sales Tax, Cuts To Police, Schools

***Also Note Adverse Affects On Renters, Businesses***

Democrats in the Georgia House of Representatives, in a meeting at the Bogart Library last month, argued that their opposition to legislation in the General Assembly earlier this year that would have eliminated the property tax for homeowners was based on opposition to the resultant increase in sales taxes.

They also said elimination of property taxes on homeowners would have transferred the tax burden to renters and businesses and would have resulted in cuts to police, schools, and other local services.

Oconee County Schools Granted Approval To Raise Funds For Upgrade To Facilities Through the State Education Tax Credit Program

***Goal Of $1 Million Set***

Oconee County Schools has received approval of its application to the Georgia Foundation for Public Education (GFPE) allowing it to raise money through the PEACH Education Tax Credit program for upgrades to its Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs.

The money Oconee County Schools is able to raise from donors will be used for development of “innovative 21st-century learning environments across Oconee County Schools' CTAE labs and specialized spaces,” according to the application submitted by Oconee County Schools to the Foundation.

Georgia Transportation Department Releases More Detailed Map For Jimmy Daniell Road Closure And Detour At SR 316

***Blow-Up For Meriweather Road Closure Included***

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has released a new detour map for the closure of Jimmy Daniell Road at SR 316 scheduled for Sept. 14, underscoring that travel along that major artery in the county is about to get much more difficult.

The very busy intersection of the Oconee Connector with SR 316 now also has a flashing sign indicating that a change in the traffic pattern there will begin on Sept. 18.

In Meeting With Oconee County Democrats, Veteran Political Journalist Lists Reasons For Governor Calling Special Legislative Session In Fall

***Bluestein Says Decision Will Be Affected By November Election***

During his one hour and 15 minute meeting with Oconee County Democrats last week, veteran political journalist Greg Bluestein told inside stories, laughed about the tactics of U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, speculated on career paths for Ossoff and others politicians, discussed the current campaigns, and predicted plans of the Georgia General Assembly.

Bluestein said that the Georgia General Assembly “likely” will be back in session after the elections in November, and the probability of that happening will increase if Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms wins the governor’s race.

Walton County Chair Reported Plans To Sell Water From Hard Labor Creek Reservoir For Data Center, Without Oconee County Involvement

***Plan Fell Through When Center Moved To Different Site***

Walton County Board of Commissioners Chair David Thompson reported to the Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board last week that his efforts to obtain $7.5 million from a company wanting water from the reservoir for an additional data center in Social Circle have been unsuccessful.

Thompson said the approach from the data center operator came after Archer Western, contractor for the $141.5 million treatment plant under construction on the reservoir, said it was an ideal time to reverse an earlier decision to scale back the plant from 16 to 12 million gallons per day.

First Day Counts For Oconee County Schools Show Decline In Enrollments Of 130 Students For Current School Year

***Drops In Enrollments For Three Straight Years***

Oconee County Schools had 130 fewer students as the school year began on Aug. 3 than it had at the beginning of last school year, according to First Day Counts released by system Human Resources Officer Justin Cofer on Thursday.

Last year, based on those same counts, enrollment had dropped by 259 students, and the year before the drop had been by 26 students.

Oconee County’s State Rep. Gisler Covers Wide Range Of Topics In Town Hall Meeting, Ends With Response To Attack Mailers From Texas

***State Senate Candidate Smith Joins Gisler***

Georgia House District 121 Rep. Eric Gisler began his ninth Town Hall Meeting at the Bishop Community Center last week saying it would be a little different from the others he had held.

Gisler said “he decided to blur the lines a little bit” between receiving feedback as a representative and receiving feedback as a candidate running for reelection.

Oconee County Commissioners Tell Developers Of Celebration Village That Assisted Living Facility Must Precede Residential Duplexes

***Commission Affirms Decision Of Planning Staff***

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night turned down a request by Celebration Village Athens that would have allowed it to build and occupy self-standing housing units before it completed the assisted living and memory care components of the Assisted Living Community.

Active Senior Concepts, developer of the 61.7-acre complex on the Oconee Connector across from Home Depot, was proposing to contract for assisted living services to operate out of the social club prior to completion of the assisted living and memory care building.

Oconee County Observations Turns 20 With This, The 3,110th Post

***Largest Number Of Posts During COVID Year 2020***

Today marks the 20th anniversary of my first post to Oconee County Observations.

I posted only 15 stories in those final four months of 2006, and that number grew only to 26 in all of 2007.