Oconee County has placed Catlyn Vickers, Animal Services Department director, on administrative leave with pay while the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency conducts an audit of pharmaceuticals at the Animal Services Department.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office requested the audit by the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency following an initial investigation by the Sheriff’s Office of a discrepancy of $398 in the account of the Animal Service Department.
After initially trying to cut off discussion of the proposed Apalachee River intake facility, Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell relented last (Tuesday) night and allowed 12 citizens from Oconee and Morgan counties to state their opposition to the project.
As was the case a week ago, those who spoke focused primarily on the water levels in the Apalachee, arguing that the river does not have sufficient flow to sustain pumping to the Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir in southeastern Walton County.
A teacher is Oconee County Schools who makes a little more than $60,000 a year in salary actually has a total estimated benefit of nearly $86,000 when the contributions of the school system itself are included.
That was the message of Saranna Charping, chief financial officer for the school system, who reviewed the Total Benefits Statement sent to all school system employees with the Board of Education last month.
Michael Williams told the gathering of Oconee Area Republicans that the state legislature, which is controlled by Republicans, is dominated by lobbyists, special interests and big corporations.
Joe Hunt said that the Republic Party at the national level is struggling to make clear that it is not controlled by dark money, is not racist, and is not dominated by big business.
Oconee County has been trying since August of last year to get Chad Forehand to stop operating a landscaping business at New High Shoals Road and Union Church Road.
County code enforcement officers have filed new citations charging they have not been successful.
John Laster, in a meeting with local Republicans last week, left little doubt about the pro-development views he would bring to the Oconee County Board of Commissioners were he to win the Republican primary on May 22.
Laster said he wants to see continued residential development in Oconee County, “and, to me, that is a great privilege for our land to no longer grow crops but grow communities.”
Marisue Hilliard, who helped found the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, told Oconee County Democrats last week that she was motivated to run for the Georgia Senate from the 46th District by gun violence.
Hilliard listed healthcare and education as other issues she will focus on in the campaign, but she said the need for “common sense gun laws” is what led her to seek public office for the first time.
