Saturday, November 12, 2022

COVID Cases At Area Hospitals Decline; Case Count For Northeast Health District Largely Unchanged

***CDC Increases Rating Of Transmission In Oconee***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 13 COVID-19 patients, down from 19 last Friday.

The number of ICU beds in use on Friday was 65, down from 69 a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 24, down from 27 on last Friday.

Friday, November 11, 2022

Dove Creek Middle School Expected To Open In August With Fewer Than Half Its 1,000 Student Capacity

***Malcom Bridge Middle Also Will Have Unused Capacity***

Based on preliminary estimates, Oconee County’s new Dove Creek Middle School will open next year with 478 students, or less than half the 1,000 student capacity of the school.

Malcom Bridge Middle School is projected to have 611 students, and Oconee County Middle School is expected to have 844 students. Both schools also have a capacity of 1,000 students.

The figures are estimates, but they are the ones Oconee County School administrators used to create the redistricting plan for the new middle school for next year.

Wednesday, November 09, 2022

Oconee County Agrees To Donate Land On SR 316 Near Bogart For A State Driver Services Customer Center

***State Budget Includes $4 Million For New Facility***

The Oconee County Industrial Development Authority on Monday agreed to donate to the state a 13-acre parcel south of SR 316 for a new Georgia Department of Driver Services Customer Service Center.

Technically a part of the county’s Gateway Technology and Business Park, the acreage is south of SR 316 near Bogart with a small amount of frontage on McNutt Creek Road.

Tuesday, November 08, 2022

Oconee County Voters Approve TSPLOST, Elect Republicans In School Board Races

***Walker’s Vote Lags Other Republicans On Ballot***

Oconee County voters on Tuesday decided to increase the tax they pay at cash registers in the county from 7 percent to 8 percent starting in April.

The vote was close to a mirror image of that of a year ago, with 51.3 percent voting in favor of the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. Last November, 52.8 percent had voted against the tax.

Turnout on Tuesday was 74.5 percent of active voters. Last November, it had been 10.7 percent.

Sunday, November 06, 2022

Early Voting Ended On Friday With Large Turnout, And Nearly Half Of Oconee County Voters Have Already Cast A Ballot

***Absentee Voting Sharply Down From 2020***

Nearly half of Oconee County’s registered voters have already cast a ballot, either by advance voting or with an absentee ballot, before voting begins at the county’s eight polling locations on Tuesday morning.

The vast majority of those votes were cast in person, with 1,542 votes registered on the final day of early voting on Friday, bringing the total to 14,867, or 45.3 percent of the county’s registered voters.

Saturday, November 05, 2022

Number Of COVID Patients At Area Hospitals Increases; Deaths From Disease In Northeast Health District Also Up

***Case Count In NE Health District Up Slightly***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 19 COVID-19 patients, up from 11 last Friday.

The number of ICU beds in use on Friday was 69, down from 72 a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 27, down from 32 on last Friday.

Tuesday, November 01, 2022

Oconee County Commissioners Given Opportunity To Review New Master Plans For County’s Existing And Proposed Parks

***First Item On Goal Setting Meeting Agenda***

Oconee County Commissioners got a preview last week of master plans for the county’s four existing parks and two planned new parks--one at the current Land Application System site on Rocky Branch Road and the other on the Middle Oconee River.

The plans will be before the county’s Recreation Advisory Committee later this month and then back before the Board of Commissioners, probably early next year, for adoption.