The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 165 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on March 1, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.
That number of added cases a week earlier on Feb. 22 had been 470.
Both Oconee County and Clarke County reported decreases in cases.
Georgia House Bill 71, introduced on Jan. 24 by Thomasville Republican Darlene Taylor, generated a lot of attention by groups around the state seeking to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from nearby mining.
The Georgia River Network, based in Athens and with many followers in Oconee County, urged its members to write their legislators in support of the bill.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners at its agenda-setting meeting on Tuesday night decided to move forward with postponed plans to reconstruct Malcom Bridge Road at the entrances to Malcom Bridge Elementary and Malcom Bridge Middle schools.
The goal of the changes, Board Chair John Daniell said, is to remove the deputies from the roadway at the entrances to the schools for the safety of the deputies.
The project will add a median along Malcom Bridge from the roundabout at the bus driveway north and south past the entrances for the elementary and middle schools.
Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell said on Tuesday that legislation introduced in the Georgia General Assembly last week, if passed, would “nullify” Oconee County’s Comprehensive Plan.
Oconee County Commissioner Chuck Horton called the legislation “an attack on local control.”
The two were reacting to House Bill 517, called the Georgia Homeowner Opportunity Act, introduced by Rep. Dale Washburn, Republican from Macon.
Given the panel that Marvin Nunnally assembled for his presentation on Sunday on African-American History in Oconee County, it was almost inevitable that school desegregation would become the focal point of much of the discussion.
The four female panel members all had links to Oconee County Schools as students, teachers, or the children of teachers.
Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell said on Friday that he remains opposed to House Bill 189, which has been revised to allow commercial trucks with only specified types of cargo to exceed the current weight limit on roads throughout the state.
Daniell had sided with the Georgia Department of Transportation in opposing the original version of Georgia House Bill 189 that would have increased the weight limit of all commercial trucks on state and local roads from 80,000 to 90,000 pounds.
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 470 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on Feb. 22, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.
That number of added cases a week earlier on Feb. 15 had been 353.
Both Oconee County and Clarke County reported an increase in cases.
