Friday, July 28, 2023

Oconee Commissioners Being Asked To Approve Requests For Two Gymnasiums

***Planning Commission Recommended Approval***

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday will hear requests from two petitioners, each seeking permission to build a gymnasium.

Core Blend Training LLC wants to change the conditions of an earlier rezone for 2.1 acres on Jamestown Road off Hog Mountain Road west of Butler’s Crossing to allow for an office building and a gymnasium.

Thursday, July 27, 2023

State Planning Full Interchanges At McNutt Creek Road And Dials Mill Extension On SR 316

***Dials Mill Road To Be Closed At Highway***

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has changed its plans for the three western most SR 316 interchanges in Oconee County and is now proposing to build a full access interchange at McNutt Creek Road, to close access at Dials Mill Road, and to build a full access interchange at Dials Mill Extension.

Earlier plans had called for a full access interchange at Dials Mill Road and flyovers at McNutt Creek Road and Dials Mill Extension.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Ribbon Cutting For New Oconee County Administrative Building Draws Large Crowd

***Tours Show Off New Building***

A lively crowd of local government leaders, county employees and their families, former employees, and local residents filled the atrium of the new Oconee County Administrative Building on Tuesday afternoon for the building’s official ribbon cutting.

County Administrator Justin Kirouac did the honors, at the request of County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell.

“We’re going to ask Justin to do the ribbon cutting for all of his hard work on everything he has done,” Daniell said.

Monday, July 24, 2023

Small Turnout For Oconee School Board Hearings On Tax Increase; Speakers Confront Change In Budget

***New Budget Increases Surplus***

Only four persons spoke on Monday at the first two public hearings on the proposed 9.53 percent increase in property taxes for Oconee County Schools.

All four asked the Board to reduce the millage rate below the proposed 15.0 mills.

The two who spoke on Monday evening also were strongly critical of the Board for embargoing the legal advertisements announcing the increase in the county’s legal organ, The Oconee Enterprise.

Sunday, July 23, 2023

Attorney Who Sought Writ Of Mandamus Aimed At District Attorney Gonzalez To Speak To Oconee County Republicans

***District Teen Republican Chair Also To Speak***

Oconee County Attorney Kevin Epps, who has filed a writ of mandamus directed at Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, will be a featured speaker Monday at the July meeting of the Oconee County Republican Party.

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Lobby Meeting Room at the main building of the Piedmont Oconee Health Campus, 1305 Jennings Mill Road. A half-hour social precedes the meeting.

COVID Case Counts Drop Just Slightly In Northeast Health District

***Oconee Reports Only Four Cases In Last Week***

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 63 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on July 19, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.

The number of cases added a week earlier in the Northeast Health District had been 71.

The Department of Public Health reported no new confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in the Northeast Health District in its report on Wednesday.

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Oconee County Schools Will Begin School Year With 126 New Hires, Including 24 Expansion Positions

***Amended Budgets Add $10.2 Million In Revenue***

Oconee County Schools begins the school year on Aug. 2 with 126 new hires, including 93 new certified employees, 78 of whom are teachers, Justin Cofer, Chief Human Resources Officer, told the Oconee County Board of Education on Monday.

More than half of those new teachers have six or more years of teaching experience, he said, and 64 percent of the certified new hires have advanced degrees.