Oconee County Commission To Vote On Solid Waste Management Plan

***County Says It Has Capacity For 10 Years***

Oconee County commissioners on Tuesday night will be asked to give final approval to a Regional Solid Waste Management Plan that requires Oconee County to provide assurance that it has solid waste handling capability and capacity for at least 10 years.

The plan covers the 10-county jurisdiction of the Northeast Georgia Regional Solid Waste Management Authority and includes a facility inventory, an analysis of land designated as not suitable for solid waste handling facilities, a report of accomplishments, and a community work program for the next 10 years.

Oconee County Joint Board Of Education, Board Of Commissioners Meeting Mostly Dodged Conflicts

***Residential Growth Only Open Controversy***

Mostly, it was a very polite affair.

Kim Argo, chair of the Oconee County Board of Education, thanked the members of the Board of Commissioners at the beginning of the joint meeting of the two boards on Wednesday night “for coming and breaking bread with us and sitting down to have a conversation.”

Facilitator Keith Everson, executive director of the Northeast Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency, said “you all should be commended for getting together like this and talking about what you do. This doesn't happen everywhere.”

The two Board avoided the many topics that have divided them over the last several years, such as the construction of the entrance to Dove Creek Elementary School, roundabouts at Malcom Bridge Middle School, and fees the school system is charging the county for use of its athletics facilities.

Oconee County Citizens Show High Level Of Interest In Proposed Truck Bypass Linking SR 15 And U.S. 441 South Of Watkinsville

***Impact On Bishop A Concern***

Sixty people participated in two public informational meetings this week held by the federally-mandated local metropolitan planning organization MACORTS as it considers a request to launch a scoping study of a truck bypass link between SR 15 and U.S. 441 south of Watkinsville.

The first of these meeting was on Monday evening and was virtual, with 12 people participating.

On Thursday evening, 48 people turned out at the community center in Oconee Veterans Park to ask questions of MACORTS transportation planners.

COVID-19 Cases Drop In Oconee And Clarke Counties, Northeast Health District; Confirmed Deaths From Disease Drop In District

***Hospital Cases Continue To Decline***

The 10-county Northeast Health District added 1,367 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on Friday, down from 1,904 a week earlier, and 27 new confirmed deaths from the disease, down from 35 last week.

Five of the confirmed deaths were in Clarke County.

The average number of added cases in the District was 195.3 per day, compared with 272.0 per day in the week ending Sept. 24.

Oconee County Democrats Note Difficulty Of Running In 10th Congressional District; New Map Suggests It May Get Harder

***Labor Commissioner Candidate Criticizes Incumbent***

Oconee County Democrats were polite and supportive of Kimberly Clark Reuter as she spelled out her positions on the issues she plans to focus on in her campaign for the Democratic nomination in the open U.S. 10th Congressional District.

They also were clearly dubious of the likely success of her venture.

Reuter, one of two declared candidates for the Democratic nomination, no doubt would face an uphill battle in the race to replace Jody Hice, who has stepped down to run as former President Donald Trump's endorsed candidate for Secretary of State.

Oconee County Schools Has Bulk Of Relief Funds Still Unallocated; Four New Buses To Be Purchased With Federal Monies

***Sales Tax Revenues Allocated For New Classrooms***

Oconee County Schools had available at the end of August nearly $2.7 million in federal relief funds allocated to the schools, Liz Harlow, chief financial officer for the system told School Board members on Monday.

Harlow, making her first report after having been appointed chief financial officer at the Board’s Work Session a week earlier, also reported that collections for the system’s Education Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST) were up 25 percent from July of last year.

Oconee County Schools Reports Continuing Decline In SAT Scores Of Its Student

***Schools Drop To Eighth In State***

For the third year in a row, Oconee County Schools has seen a drop in the average score of its students who have taken the SAT college entrance exam.

The report of the drop in SAT scores followed a report by Oconee County Schools last month of a drop in state Milestone test scores.