Property Owner Demolished Historic Oconee County House That State Said Was Obstacle To SR 316 Interchange At Dials Mill Road

***County Issued Demolition Permit In January***

Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Engineer Marvin Gavins said in late March that the Department had picked Dials Mill Extension over Dials Mill Road for its preferred full interchange at SR 316 in part because of the existence of a historic house on the northwest corner of Dials Mill Road and SR 316.

The owners of that property literally have removed that justification.

UCS Dials Mill Road LLC applied for and received a permit in the middle of January to demolish the historic home, and the site is now cleared of what was the Lee Daniel Farm homestead, built in 1910, according to county tax records.

March Presidential Preference Primary Sets Stage For Conservative Test Of Oconee County In May Primaries, November Election

***Trump Support In Oconee Sixth Lowest In State***

In the March 12 Presidential Primary, Oconee County was sixth from the bottom among Georgia’s 159 counties in the percentage of Republican Party vote going to former President Donald Trump.

The only counties in the state ranking lower than Oconee County in terms of the percentage of Republican vote for Trump were Chatham, Cobb, Clarke, Fulton, and DeKalb, in that order.

GDOT Releases Preliminary Plans For SR 316 Interchanges At McNutt Creek Road, Mars Hill Road, Julian Drive

***Access To Be Closed At Mars Hill Road, Julian Drive***

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) showed plans at its In-Person Public Meeting in Statham last week for a Right-In, Right-Out Access to SR 316 from McNutt Creek Road and for closing access to SR 316 at both Mars Hill Road and Julian Drive.

The presentation was labeled as “Initial Findings of the SR 316 Planning Study,” and those in attendance at the meeting were advised that “access point improvements may be refined during preliminary engineering.”

Oconee County Voters Will Confront Long Ballot Requiring A Lot Of Reading As Early Voting Begins

***Incumbents Being Challenged***

Voters participating in early voting for the 2024 General Primary/Nonpartisan General Election starting at 8 a.m. Monday will confront a long and complex ballot.

Those selecting the Republican Ballot will see contests for County Commission Chair and County Commission Post 4, Board of Education Post 1 Chair, Post 4 and Post 5, eight nonbinding Party Questions, and, for those in six of the county’s eight precincts, a contest for House District 121.

Oconee County School Board Candidate Forum Included Criticism Of Current Board, With Current Board Member Engaging In Exchange

***Audience Asked Their Own Questions***

Oconee County Post 5 School Board Member Michael Ransom was in a unique position among the members of the panel at the candidate forum on Thursday night.

None of the other seven candidates seated at the front of the room in the Community Center at Oconee Veterans Park is currently on the Board.

Oconee Commission Chair Takes His Presentation About 10 Items On May 21 Ballot Dealing With Homestead Exemptions To GOP Meeting

***Discusses Benefits For Seniors***

Oconee County Commission Chair John Daniell took his informational campaign on the 10 items on the May 21 ballot designed to increase the homestead tax exemption and freeze assessments for seniors to the Oconee County Republican Party on Monday night.

Daniell has been working to explain the proposed changes to the public for more than a year now at a variety of settings, including at the quarterly Board of Commissioners Town Hall Meetings and at a session with Oconee County Democrats last month.

Books Displayed In Children’s Section Of Oconee Library Might Not Be Put There By Staff, Patron And Librarians Say

***Display Also Has Two Meanings***

When a parent told the Oconee County Library Board of Trustees earlier this month that he didn’t want his child to see the book, A Child’s Introduction to Pride, on display on a shelf at the Oconee County Library, he acknowledged a problem.

He said he didn’t know who opened the book so its cover was on display next to other books with only their spines showing on the library shelf.