When the six members of the Oconee County Animal Control Advisory Board began their meeting last night, they were facing an audience of nearly 30 people in a small, overly warm room at the Community Center in Veterans Park.
A few people drifted in and out as the nearly three-hour meeting progressed, but when the Advisory Board let the citizens speak at two hours and 20 minutes into the meeting, 25 people were still present.
When Caterpillar announced on Sept. 24 that it plans to cut 10,000 employees and consolidate and close more than 20 facilities around the world, it left unspecified which plants would be impacted.
In its news release, which has been the source of much of the reporting on the announcement, Caterpillar would say only that “There are many factors that impact these contemplated decisions” as well as their timing.
Oconee County issued a permit for an 8 foot by 12 foot LED sign at SR 316 and McNutt Creek Road Sept. 29 and is processing applications for two additional large LED signs, one at the Oconee Connector and SR Loop 10 and the other on Mars Hill Road just north of Barber Creek Drive.
A small sign on the property on the northwest corner of SR 316 and McNutt Creek Road will be removed, and the large replacement sign will be just beyond the 10-foot setback from the state right of way for SR 316.
The Oconee County Animal Control Advisory Board, meeting on Wednesday evening, will address a full slate of issues, including tethering and hoarding of animals, the status of the foster program, changes to the county’s Animal Control Ordinance, and the status of the shelter facility.
The Advisory Board also will discuss the ordinances passed by the Board of Commissioners creating the Advisory Board and consider changes to its bylaws.
Oconee County Attorney Daniel Haygood has referred to Special Master James C. Warnes an ethics complaint that Sarah Bell has filed against Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis.
Bell contends that Davis violated at least eight sections of the county’s ethics code by “using taxpayer money to pay an employee and to prepare and purchase plans” for the reconnection of Old Mars Hill Road to Mars Hill Road proper “as a special favor for one citizen.”
Oconee County late yesterday informed the Georgia Environmental Protection Division of yet another problem with the operation of its Calls Creek wastewater treatment facility.
From 5 to 8 a.m. on Sept. 25 the plant released an estimated 50,000 gallons of discharge containing total suspended solids that exceeded the permitted level, according to the county’s report.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners tonight let die without comment the proposal to reconnect Old Mars Hill Road with Mars Hill Road proper.
Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis, who initiated the redesign of the roadway to allow for the connection, brought the proposal before the other commissioners, but none of them wanted to go forward with it.
