Routine Maintenance Of Oconee Voter List Results In Removal Of 368 Names; Another 432 Could Be Labeled Inactive

***Part Of A Statewide Secretary Of State Effort***

State and county election officials have removed 368 voters from the Oconee County registration list since the end of June as a result of routine maintenance of the list.

In addition, early this month county election officials sent notices to 432 Oconee County voters who have not had any contact with the county’s election system for at least five calendar years.

If those voters receiving the notice do not respond, they will be moved from active to inactive status and the countdown will have started for possible removal from the list.

Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board Votes To Support Application For Treatment Plant Construction Funding

***Two Oconee County Representatives Vote No***

Over the objections of two of Oconee County’s representatives, the Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board on Wednesday voted to fund a lobbyist to assist in an application for $146 million in federal funds to build the reservoir’s water treatment plant and distribution system.

Oconee County has only three representatives on the seven-member Management Board and no representatives on the Walton County Water and Sewer Authority, which also agreed on Wednesday to spend the money in support of the application for federal funds.

Walton County Board of Commissioners Chair David Thompson, a member of the Management Board, said Walton County already has the application of the funds ready to submit and will go forward with or without the support of Oconee County, its partner in the reservoir project.

Oconee Board Of Education Chair Odom Steps Down, Citing Health Concerns

***Board To Pick Member For Three-Years Remaining In Term***

Tom Odom, less than nine months into his third, four-year term as chair of the Oconee County Board of Education, announced on Monday that he is stepping down from the Board on Sept. 1 for health reasons.

Odom said in a statement he read at the Board of Education meeting on Monday that he made the decision after an “unexpected health issue” caused him to consider his tenure on the Board.

Much of the rest of the meeting was devoted to tributes by other board members and by Superintendent Jason Branch, who praised Odom for long service to the school system and the community even before Odom was elected to the Board as chair in 2012.

Famed Political Scientist And Election Expert Told Oconee County Republicans That Biden Won In Georgia In November

***Fraud Was Not Widespread, He Said***

Political scientist Charles Bullock, an expert on Georgia elections and politics, told Oconee County Republicans at their meeting last month that Joe Biden won the November election in Georgia and that a focus on election fraud in the race was incorrect.

Bullock said that there is always some evidence of minor irregularities in elections but that there was no evidence of any major fraud that would have changed the results last November.

Bullock, the featured speaker at the July meeting of the party, made his comments about Biden’s victory and the lack of significant fraud in response to a question after his formal comments to the group.

Northeast Health District Adding Nearly 200 New COVID-19 Cases Per Day; Hospital Cases Increasing Sharply

***Three New Confirmed Deaths From Disease Recorded***

The 10 county Northeast Health District added 1,271 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on Friday and three new confirmed deaths from the disease.

The 1,371 added cases of COVID-19 and three deaths compare with the 837 new cases and one confirmed death added in the week ending July 30.

The average of 195.9 new cases per day for the week ending on Friday compares with the average of 119.6 new cases per day for the week ending on July 30.

Oconee County Commission Votes To End Contract With Partner For Broadband Project

***New Options Being Explored***

Oconee County commissioners, after a 40-minute executive session on Tuesday, terminated the county’s contract with Smart City Capital, its partner in building a broadband network in the county.

County Administrator Justin Kirouac gave little explanation for the decision in the short public session following the closed meeting, saying little more than that it was time to “pivot” on the project.

In an email exchange on Wednesday, Kirouac said the previous model “was proving to not be viable” and the county is exploring “different models with different partners.”

Georgia Office Of Inspector General Said Pirkle, Boswell Did Not Act Improperly In Oconee Connector Median Decision

***Confirms Boswell Met With Pirkle***

The state Office of Inspector General has concluded that Georgia Department of Transportation Chief Engineer Meg Pirkle acted properly earlier this year when she overruled lower-level engineers in favor of a median break on the Oconee Connector.

Although the Office of Inspector General only has responsibility for the executive branch of government, it also concluded that local commercial real estate agency owner Jamie Boswell did not “inappropriately impact the design decision” Pirkle made.