Oconee Democrats Told They Can Help In State Races By Making The County Less Red

***Candidates For Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner***

Oconee County Democrats do not need to turn the county blue, Jen Jordan, a candidate for Attorney General, said at last month’s party meeting.

They just need to make it a little less red, Jordan said, for the party to have success in statewide elections in November.

To that end, Jordan said, it will be helpful if the party can field candidates for the county Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners races in November, as well as to run in the county’s two state House districts and the county’s state Senate district.

COVID-19 Cases Continue To Fall In Northeast Health District, Oconee, Clarke Counties, While Deaths From Disease Remain High

***Hospital Cases Continue To Fall***

The 10-county Northeast Health District added only 371 new cases of COVID-19 in the last seven days ending on Friday, down from 654 cases added last Friday.

The District added 34 confirmed deaths from the disease, down by three from the 37 deaths added last Friday. Deaths are a lagging indicator of the disease.

Walton And Oconee Counties Passed Over In Awards Of Federal Relief Funds For Water And Sewer Projects

***Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Requests Not Granted***

Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday the awarding of just more than $422 million in federally-funded water and sewer grants, passing over requests by Walton County for $115.5 million and by Oconee County for $23.5 million.

Walton County submitted its request for $80 million for construction of a water treatment plant and raw intake pump station for Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir and for $35.5 million for a water transmission system for the treated water.

Oconee Representative Wiedower One Of Eight Republicans On Natural Resources Committee With Funding From Twin Pines Minerals

Firm Seeking Permit For Mining Near Okefenokee

Oconee County Representative Marcus Wiedower is one of eight Republicans on the Georgia House Natural Resources and Environment Committee who have reported receiving a campaign contribution in the last cycle from Twin Pines Minerals, the Birmingham, Ala., firm seeking a permit to surface mine near the Okefenokee Swamp.

Wiedower and four other Republicans on the 24-member Committee also reported receiving campaign funds from the Macon-based Georgia Mining Association Committee for Good Government, which supports state legislation for mining in the state.

COVID-19 Cases In Northeast Health District Drop Dramatically In Last Month, But Deaths From Disease Increase

***Oconee, Clarke Levels Just Above Levels Before Surge***

The 10-county Northeast Health District added 654 new cases of COVID-19 in the last seven days, or only just less than a 10th of the cases added in the week ending on Jan. 21, and down from 1,245 cases added last Friday.

The District, however, added 37 confirmed deaths from the disease, up from 28 last Friday and up from the 17 added on Friday four weeks ago. Deaths are a lagging indicator of the disease.

One of the confirmed deaths was in Oconee County and seven were in Clarke County.

Oconee School Board Approves Redistricting Timeline For New Dove Creek Middle School, With Expectation Plan Will Be Far Reaching

***Plan Likely To Impact Other Schools***

The Oconee County Board of Education on Monday gave Brook Whitmire, Chief Human Resources Officer for Oconee County Schools, the authorization to begin assembling school system leaders to create a redistricting plan for the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

Whitmire told the Board a week earlier that while the primary purpose of redistricting was “to populate” the new Dove Creek Middle School, “anything is on the table” in terms of redistricting and all schools in the county could be affected by the plan.

Oconee County’s State Legislators Begin Year With Hefty Reserves In Campaign Accounts

***Three Republicans File Campaign Finance Reports***

State Rep. Houston Gaines, fresh off a seven-month fundraising period during which he raised $169,915, has $258,848 available as he enters the 2022 campaign season.

Rep. Marcus Wiedower, who raised $84,900 in the second half of 2021 and first month of 2022, will have $135,704 on hand once the legislature ends its session and the campaign season gets fully underway.

Sen. Bill Cowsert raised $75,285 in the June 30, 2021, to Jan. 31, 2022, period and has $310,108 in his campaign account as of the end of January.