Oconee Post 3 School Board Republican Primary Requires A Runoff

***Hammock And Mauck To Meet June 21***

Ryan Hammock and Julie Mauck are headed for a June 21 runoff as neither received more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s Republican Primary for Post 3 on the Oconee County Board of Education.

Mauck led the field with 41.7 percent of the vote, followed by 38.3 percent for Hammock and 20.0 percent for Elliott Rogers, based on the unofficial results posted just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Post 3 Board of Education primary race was the only contested local election on the ballot on Tuesday.

Oconee County Gives Legislative Delegation Independence From Athens-Clarke

***Registration, Campaign Spending Tell Story***

In the 2021 legislative session, Houston Gaines, who represents part of Oconee County and part of Athens-Clarke County in the Georgia House, introduced legislation to ban some local governments from reducing their law enforcement budgets.

The bill, which targeted Athens-Clarke County, passed and became law, with the support of Rep. Marcus Wiedower and Sen. Bill Cowsert, who also represent Oconee County, as well as parts of Athens-Clarke County, in the General Assembly.

Area Hospitals Report Slight Drop In COVID-19 Cases; Average Case Counts Down In Oconee, Clarke Counties

***Clarke Reports One New Confirmed Death From Disease***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had nine COVID-19 patients, down from the 13 reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 60, down from 70 a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 20, down from 33 a week earlier.

Heavy Turnout On Thursday And Friday In Oconee County Push Up Totals As Early In-Person Voting Ends

***Republican Ballots Continue To Dominate***

Nearly 16 percent of Oconee County’s registered voters have cast a ballot already for Tuesday’s primary and non-partisan Judicial elections through in-person voting, with a quarter of those casting an early in-person vote doing so on Thursday and Friday.

Rebecca Anglin, Director of Elections and Registration, said wait times had been “upwards of 45 minutes all day long” for early in-person voting on Friday and “average wait time” on Thursday was 25 minutes.

Georgia Department of Transportation Asks For Citizen Input On Intersection Improvement At SR 316 And Jimmy Daniell Road

***Dials Mill Intersections Plans Revealed***

The Georgia Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced a virtual presentation and question and answer session for 4 to 6 p.m. on May 26 for the Jimmy Daniell Road and SR 316 Interchange Project.

GDOT also launched a new section on its web site containing information about the planned multi-grade intersection improvement at Jimmy Daniell Road. Construction of the interchange is expected to begin in 2024.

Few Oconee County Voters Opting For Democratic Ballot In Early Voting For May 24 Primary

***Contrast With May 2018 Election***

After 12 days of early voting, 2,516 of Oconee County’s 32,034 registered voters have cast a ballot, with 2,204, or 87.6 percent, using the Republican ballot, and 306, or 12.2 percent, using the Democratic ballot.

At the end of early voting in 2018 in the county, 72.5 percent of the ballots cast were in the Republican Primary, and 26.9 percent were in the Democratic Primary.

COVID-19 Cases At Area Hospitals Increase; Case Counts In Northeast Health District, Oconee, Clarke Also Up

***Oconee Schools Reports Three New Student Cases***

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported on Friday that area hospitals had 13 COVID-19 patients, up from the four reported on Friday of last week.

The number of ICU beds in use was 70, up from 58 a week earlier, and the number of adult ventilators in use was 33, up from 31 a week earlier.