Oconee County, GA Politics

Just thought I might post some of the unedited stories I have written for the Banner-Herald's Oconee Living section: Dan Matthews Bishop town council Nov. 9, 2004 Oconee Living section Athens Banner-Herald Bishop balances between old and new By Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Correspondent Bishop council members took a look at the preliminary plat designs for the Townside subdivision and found a few discrepancies between what they had agreed upon with developers of the so-called Ballard property a couple of months back. City clerk Carolyn Pritchett pointed out to acting Mayor Nedra Johnson that the sidewalk on Price Mill Road did not connect in to the actual subdivision. Council member Frank Parks made a motion to approve the plat contingent upon the State Department of Transportation’s approval of an entrance and deceleration lanes on Highway 441 and the reworking of the sidewalks to join into the subdivision. Johnson said she would call developer Ken Beall to make...

Developer Norm Grayson got a tongue lashing from four people and three city council members four about 90 minutes Wednesday for destroying his property's home after teasing the council members with grandiose plans of town homes. The Mayor of Watkinsville Jim Luken conducted himself very fairly and only responded when personally attacked by Grayson. The developer demolished a house without a permit. The fact that it is in a historic corridor does not enter into the governmental permit process at this point, but it should. Hopefully this is a Maginot Line, a line in the sand, a point where Oconee County people can shout "ENOUGH ALREADY! to all those hellbent on paving the entire beautiful, wonderful place. The following is an article to be published next Wednesday. Merritt Melacon wrote a good story here in today's paper. Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Watkinsville Council meeting July 14, 2005 Oconee Living section Athens Banner-Herald Watkinsville Council penalizes devel...

Last night I attended the city council meeting in Bogart, Georgia. In many ways Bogart has always been the outpost of the Oconee County frontier, largely ignored and often overlooked for services and support. They do not have connection to the sewer except for a sweetheart deal provided to Larry Benson and Benson's Bakery, a fruitcake manufacturer and a hotel developer rumored to be running for Brian Kemp's slot in the State Senate. A couple by the last name of Fouche who live at 1871 McNutt Creek Road can not convince the county that they are not inside the city limits of Bogart. They have lived at the residence for 22 years and never paid municipal taxes. They do not vote in the Mayoral or City Council elections. They came before the city council to prove that they do not reside inside of the city limits and had to get a letter signed by Mayor Jan Thurmond to prove they do not live in Bogart proper. City council member Woody Bruce joked that they would be accepted right aw...

First I would like to welcome you to this gathering of information about Oconee County, Georgia and surrounding areas. I am a 42-year-old single father homeowner from Watkinsville, the county seat of Oconee County. We are a bedroom community 10 miles from Athens and the University of Georgia, an hour-plus from Atlanta and not far from Commerce, Madison, Greensboro and Lexington-Crawford-Comer-Colbert in Oglethorpe County. We are working to make Oconee County a better place for our children. The local political structure is suffering from a stranglehold of conservative Republican ideology. We are the loyal opposition, providing better answers to the problems that plague us all. The Republicans at the state and local level want to build more cookie cutter, big box developments and destroy historic properties. They want toll roads and pavement. We offer constructive solutions including sidewalks, smart growth and community planning. We support better pay for our teachers and public empl...