Virtual Town Hall Meeting Focuses On Absentee Balloting And Census Participation

***Organized By Mokah Jasmine Johnson***

Sara Tindall Ghazal, former voter protection director for the Georgia Democratic Party, and Rev. James Woodall, president of the Georgia NAACP, participating in a virtual Town Hall meeting last week, urged Georgia voters to apply for an absentee ballot for the May 19 election.

Voters should fill out the application sent to all active, registered voters in the state by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the two said, as a safe way to vote as the COVID-19 pandemic plays out in the state.

UPDATE: Raffensperger on Thursday morning moved the primary back to June 9.

Number Of Confirmed Cases Of COVID-19 In Region And State Increases, But At Lower Rate Than Day Earlier

***Local Hospital Demand Exceeded With Extreme Projection***

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the 10-county Northeast Health District of Georgia grew by 16 in the 24-hour period ending at noon on Wednesday, down from the increase of 46 cases in the 24-hour period ending at noon on Tuesday.

The number of deaths in the Northeast Health District increased by only one during that time period, reflecting the first death attributable to the disease in Oconee County, picked up in the 7 p.m. Daily Status Report from Tuesday.

Oconee County Elections Board Calls For Special Election To Fill Commission Vacancy

***One Candidate Already Announced***

The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration on Tuesday officially approved a call for a special election to fill the Post 3 vacancy on the Board of Commissioners.

The election will be held in November without a primary, meaning that qualified candidates will have the chance to pick a party label, and more than one candidate can run with the same label.

Number of COVID-19 Cases Jumps In Oconee County, Northeast Region And State; Deaths In State Up by 100

***Local Hospitals Prepare For Surge***

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased greatly in Oconee County and the Northeast Georgia region on Tuesday, reflecting the dramatic increase across the state in the noon Daily Status Report from the Georgia Department of Health.

The report shows Oconee County with 32 confirmed cases, up from 24 at noon on Monday, and Clarke County with 77, up from 69 at noon on Monday.

Number of COVID-19 Confirmed Cases Increases By 22 In Northeast Region As State Experiences Large Jump In Documented Cases

***Local Leaders Ask For Masks***

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the 10-county Northeast Health District of Georgia increased by 22 in the 24-hour period ending at noon on Monday, and the number of cases in the state during that time period increased by 667.

Oconee County is part of the Northeast Health District, but it saw no increase in cases during the 24-hour period, but Clarke County had an increase of seven cases, Barrow County had an increase of two cases, and Walton County had an increase of four cases.

Oconee, Clarke, Barrow, Walton And Jackson Counties Add COVID-19 Confirmed Cases; Walton County Has First Death From Disease

***Ratio Of Confirmed Cases Per Population Increases Greatly In Week***

Oconee, Clarke, Barrow, Walton and Jackson counties all added new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the 24-hour period that ended at noon on Sunday, and Walton County counted its first death attributable to the disease.

The total number of cases in Oconee County in the noon Daily Status Report from the Georgia Department of Health was 24. It was 62 in Clarke County and 25 in Barrow County.

Oconee County Industrial Development Authority Agrees To Sale Of Gateway Tract To Taylors Iron Company Of Watkinsville

***Authority Also Agrees To Refinance Bonds***

The Oconee County Industrial Development Authority, in a called meeting on Thursday morning, approved the sale of just under 25 acres from the eastern tract of the Gateway Technology and Business Park to Taylors Iron Company of Watkinsville.

Taylor’s Iron Company currently is located at 1081 Industrial Drive in the Watkinsville Industrial Park and will use the Gateway location as a new site of operations.