Mack “Dutch” Guest IV, running as a Republican in the Dec. 9 House District 121 Special Election, opted to have his 15-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son introduce him at the Monday night meeting of the Oconee County Republican Party.
“My dad is a really nice person who cares about everyone,” Sarah Beth, a freshman at Oconee County High School, said. “Voting for my dad would really help the future,” she added.
In the first day of advance voting for the Dec. 9 House District 121 Special Election, 212 Oconee County voters cast a ballot.
Only voters who live in the Central, South, and Dark Corner precincts of the county are eligible to vote, and the 212 voters casting a ballot on Monday compare with the 144 voters in those three precincts who cast a ballot on Oct. 14, the first day of early voting for the Nov. 4 election.
Full time equivalent (FTE) enrollment at Oconee County Schools dropped by 192 from October of 2024 to October of 2025, based on the official enrollment figures Oconee County Schools filed with the Georgia Department of Education.
From October of 2023 to October of 2024, FTEs had dropped by 61.
The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration will have at least one new member when it meets in January.
The terms of Doug Hammond and Shami Jones expire at the end of the year, and Hammond, in a letter he sent to fellow board members, said he will not seek reappointment to the Board when his term ends.
A State Route 316 Planning Study released by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is recommending upgrades to four intersections of that roadway in Oconee County not currently scheduled for or undergoing reconstruction.
The study is recommending that the McNutt Creek Road intersection be converted to a right-in, right-out design, that the Mars Hill Road intersection be closed, that the SR Loop 10 intersection be massively upgraded, and that Julian Drive fly over SR 316.
The Oconee County Board of Education paused its regular meeting on Monday (Nov. 10) night to thank and honor Debra Harden, who stepped in as interim superintendent and then interim associate superintendent during the transition in school leadership.
New Superintendent Melissa Butler, in her first superintendent report to the Board, said that Harden will be leaving her current position effective Nov. 21. Butler said she “will forever be grateful for my time working alongside her.”
Oconee County voters who decide to cast a ballot in the Dec. 9 Special Election to fill the vacancy for Georgia House District 121 will have only two names to choose from, Democrat Eric Gisler and Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest IV.
Republican Steven Strickland, who had declared for the opening soon after Republican Marcus Wiedower announced he was stepping down on Oct. 28, decided not to qualify by the 1 p.m. deadline on Monday (Nov. 10).
