Monday, September 13, 2021

Close-In Route On Watkinville South Side To Be Considered By GDOT For SR 15 Bypass To U.S. 441

***Public Hearings On Scoping Study Set***

The Georgia Department of Transportation will review possible routes just south of Watkinsville for a truck bypass to link SR 15 and U.S. 441.

Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz and Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell made fleeting references to close-in routes for a bypass at the Wednesday meeting of the MACORTS Policy Committee.

Friday, September 10, 2021

Northeast Health District Records Decline In Added COVID-19 Cases; Confirmed Deaths Remain High At 21

***Oconee Schools Also See Drop In Cases***

The 10-county Northeast Health District added 2,817 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on Friday and 21 new confirmed deaths from the disease.

Four of the confirmed deaths were in Clarke County.

The 2,817 added cases of COVID-19 and 21 deaths compare with the 3,331 new cases and 24 confirmed deaths added in the week ending Sept. 3.

Wednesday, September 08, 2021

Citizens, Developer, Oconee County Commissioners Reach Compromise On Rezone Of U.S. 78 Shopping Center

***Entrance Off Talus Street Becomes Multi-Use Path***

Joel Adair, president of the Belfair Homeowners Association, was deliberate and measured as he offered his 12-minutes of comments to the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night.

Adair said he recognized that the proposal before the Board for a reconfigured Meadowlands shopping center and Continuing Care Retirement Community fronting on U.S. 78 was a significant improvement over the one approved by the Board in 2009.

Tuesday, September 07, 2021

Oconee County School Board Extends Contract Of Superintendent After Executive Session

***Salary Remains Unchanged***

The Oconee County Board of Education has extended the term of Superintendent Jason Branch’s contract for another year until June 30, 2024.

The Board took this action after its executive session at the end of its open work meeting on Aug. 2.

Deliberations in executive session are private, and the Board reconvened and held an open meeting for only one minute to vote unanimously to approve the new contract, which has a start date of July 1, 2021.

Sunday, September 05, 2021

Walton County Has Not Yet Submitted Application For Federal Relief Funds For Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir

***Draft Application Argues Funds Needed For Economic Development***

Walton County Commission Chair David Thompson did not file an application for federal relief funding of a water treatment plant and distribution system for Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir on Aug. 19 as he had promised, or on Aug. 31, the original application deadline.

Walton Board of Commissioners Clerk Rhonda Hawk explained Thompson’s decision by noting that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has extended the deadline to Oct. 31 for applications for allocation of federal funding for pandemic relief.

A draft of the Walton County application shared with Oconee County officials after the Aug. 11 meeting of the Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir Management Board states that the treated water is needed to serve “the emerging industrial corridors” along Interstate 20, U.S. 78 and SR 316.

Saturday, September 04, 2021

Oconee County Commissioners Accepts Plan To Sell Two Properties Adjoining Courthouse That Will Become Surplus

***Reject Idea Of An Auction On Courthouse Steps***

Oconee commissioners agreed on Tuesday to take steps to dispose of two properties bordering the Courthouse in downtown Watkinsville that will become surplus once the planned administrative building is opened on Watkinsville’s northern edge.

One of those building is familiar to many voters because it houses the Elections and Registration Office at 10 Court Street south of the Courthouse and has been used as an early voting site in the past.

The other, at the corner of North Water Street and South Third Street on the opposite side of the Courthouse, is home to the county’s Operations and Facilities Office.

Friday, September 03, 2021

Northeast Health District Added 24 Confirmed COVID-19 Deaths In Week Ending On Friday, Double The Number Last Week

***Cases Increase, But At Slower Rate***

The 10 county Northeast Health District added 3,331 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on Friday and 24 new confirmed deaths from the disease.

Three of the confirmed deaths were in Clarke County.

The 3,331 added cases of COVID-19 and 24 deaths compare with the 3,218 new cases and 12 confirmed deaths added in the week ending Aug. 27.