Republicans Bill Cowsert, who represents Oconee County in the Georgia Senate, and Houston Gaines, who represents one of the county’s four precincts in the Georgia House, have amassed large campaign caches that they won’t be able to use in the 2026 elections.
Cowsert had $332,226 net cash on hand in his Senate District 46 campaign fund, according to his most recent Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report for June 30.
State Rep. Marcus Wiedower brought the House Study Committee on Gaming, which he chairs, to what he called his hometown of Watkinsville on Monday where he had a personal exchange about parenting and gambling with Watkinsville attorney Pam Hendrix.
Hendrix was the last of five persons who chose to speak before the Study Committee in its two-hour-long session at the Oconee County Administrative Building, and she was the sole speaker from Oconee County.
An outside professional air evaluation team hired by Oconee County Schools has concluded that the air quality in a selected classroom and in the gym at Oconee County Elementary School closely matches the air quality outside those school facilities.
Mayah Kirson and Tyler Kelly with Geo-Hydro of Kennesaw reported that for 20 fungal spore types identified in the air inside and outside of Classroom 607 at the Elementary School, fungal spore levels inside the school did not exceed levels outside the school.
The House Study Committee on Gaming In The State of Georgia will hold the first of at least four public hearings at 10 a.m. on Monday (July 28) at the Oconee County Administrative Building, 7635 Macon Highway, north of Watkinsville.
While the agenda for the meeting has not been released, the topic of the meeting is listed as casino gambling.
The Oconee County Board of Education is preparing to put a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot for a new Education Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST).
The current ELOST does not expire until the end of 2027, so a new tax, if approved by voters in November, would not take effect on Jan. 1 of 2028.
The developer of a 377-unit senior living community on the Oconee Connector where it dead ends into SR Loop 10 said on Thursday he experts to have a land disturbance permit next week and to begin work on the project once that is in hand.
Paul Aase, Chief Executive Officer of Active Senior Concepts, told a gathering of about 25 future and prospective residents of what will be Celebration Village Athens that he expect construction to start after the end of this year.
The Oconee County Board of Education on Wednesday completed the first phase of its screening of the 19 applications it received for superintendent of Oconee County Schools.
Board Chair Michael Ransom said in an email on Wednesday evening that the Board had interviewed seven applicants in the three sessions it has held and that the Board “in the weeks ahead” will review notes from the interviews.
