Groundbreaking Ceremony For New Oconee County Library At Wire Park Highlights Plans For New Facility

***State Added $500,000 To Cover New Components***

Groundbreaking events are always ceremonial and symbolic.

Even by that standard, as Mark Campbell, Chair of the Oconee County Library Board of Trustees, had announced in advance, the Friday Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new Oconee County Library at Wire Park in Watkinsville was unusual.

No ground was broken for the 25,000 square building, which was very much in evidence behind the line of participants as they donned white hard hats, grabbed shovels with a gold painted blade, and smiled for photos.

Oconee County Responds To Lawsuit Seeking To Overturn Rejection Of Shopping Center At Mars Hill Road And Oconee Connector

***County Says Owner Responsible For Any Injury Sustained***

Oconee County filed its response on Tuesday to the lawsuit seeking to overturn its denial of a rezone request for a shopping Center at Mars Hill Road and the Oconee Connector, saying that the claims are barred by applicable statutes of limitations.

Deferred Tax LLC, which filled the suit against the county on March 6, also failed to use and exhaust remedies afforded by state law to address the claims it has made, the response by the county states.

COVID Cases In Northeast Health District Increase Slightly; Oconee And Clarke Report Slight Declines In Cases

***Clarke County Has New Confirmed Death From Disease***

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 80 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on April 12, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.

That number of cases added a week earlier had been 58.

The Department of Public Health reported one new confirmed death from COVID-19 in the Northeast Health District in its report on Wednesday.

Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board Awards Contracts For Transmission Design, Construction Manager For Treatment Plant

***Oconee To Begin Discussion Of Bond Sales***

The Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board on Tuesday voted to award an $18.6 million contract for a construction manager for a water treatment plant at the Walton County reservoir.

The Board also voted to award a nearly $600,000 contract for design of the water transmission line from the planned treatment plant to Walton County’s water distribution system.

Oconee County Schools To Assume Costs Of Stationing Deputies At School Entrances

***Associate Superintendent Makes School Safety Report***

Oconee County Schools will no longer rely on the county to cover the costs of hiring the deputies who direct traffic in front of the system’s schools, but rather it will pay those expenses out of its own budget starting with the next fiscal year.

Associate Superintendent Dallas LeDuff made that announcement at the Board of Education meeting on Monday as part of his school safety update.

Public Hearings Set For Rezones Near UNG, At Manders Crossing, In Far Northwest Of County, And On Cole Springs Road

***Planning Commission Meeting Monday***

Bob Bishop wants to rezone parts of the 17.8-acre parcel he owns abutting the Oconee Campus of the University of North Georgia to create two lots for residential development.

The Brothers Company of Atlanta wants to rezone the vacant lot at the corner of Cliff Dawson Road and Mars Hill Road at Manders Crossing to build a single-story, 10,600 foot retail building serving between one and three tenants.

COVID-19 Cases In NE Health District Continue To Decline; Oconee And Clarke Counties Each Report Confirmed Death From Disease

***Oconee Transmission Rate Now Rated As Low***

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that the Northeast Health District added 58 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending on April 5, based on the Department’s electronic tracking system.

That number of cases added a week earlier had been 78.

The Department of Public Health reported two new confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in the Northeast Health District in its report on Wednesday.