Oconee County, GA Politics

Blue Nation by Chris Bowers, Mon May 15, 2006 at 08:29:17 PM EST Ever since 2000, American progressives have been subjected to a steady stream of red-blue electoral maps. There are many problems with such maps, but what always irritated me the most about those maps were how they over-emphasized large, thinly populated expanses of land. New York City has more people than Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Montana and the Dakotas combined, but on the red-blue electoral map of national counties is shows up as a tiny, dark blue speck compared to a sea of deep red. It was the sort of visual aide that any feudal lord would have loved, since it emphasized land instead of people. However, the situation has now changed. The new Survey USA 50-state Bush approval rating shows the depth of Bush's troubles. In forty-seven states, Bush has a negative approval rating. In seventeen states, Bush's disapproval rating doubles his approval rating. In fifteen states, his disapproval rating is lower than any dis...

A Lonely Warning On Debt By David S. Broder, The Washington Post Sunday, May 14, 2006 The hardest question any Washington reporter faces these days, whenever talking with voters outside the capital, is simply: Can I believe anything I'm told by those politicians in Washington -- or by the press? The cynicism in the public is thick enough to cut with a knife. People are tuning out on the president, on politicians -- and on the press. That is what makes it newsworthy when a public official, speaking on the record, sets forth a view that is as blunt and uncomfortable as it is politically unpalatable. Without further ado, let me then quote extensively from a speech delivered May 3 on the floor of the Senate by George Voinovich, a Republican from Ohio -- a speech that, by the way, drew almost no comment from his colleagues or from the apparently benumbed press corps. Voinovich began by pointing out that when he came to the Senate in 1999, "the national debt stood at $5.6 trillion. ...

The rodeo sucked because the announcer was a racist, sexist asshole who belittled women and minorities and gays, among many others. They also dropped the flag on the ground. This is the press release from the People for Ethical Treatment for Animals: Farmington, Ga. — PETA has fired off a letter to Dr. Michael Adams, president of the University of Georgia (UGA), urging him to make this year’s "pig tote" race in UGA’s Great Southland Stampede Rodeo the university’s last. PETA’s request follows a rash of complaints from UGA students and faculty that the baby pigs used in the event are obviously frightened, often attempt to escape, and have even suffered painful broken bones. In the pig tote, competitors thrust baby pigs by their hind legs into wheelbarrows and begin the race, during which the animals sometimes fall out and are tossed back in. Besides the frightening noise of the crowd and having to cope with strange surroundings, the baby pigs particularly suffer when they are ...

Evening everyone: We received very good news today folks. The owners of the Branch Road property at the corner of US441 have withdrawn their rezone request! Undoubtedly the unanimous vote for denial by the Planning Commission on Monday night, along with the recommendation for denial by the Planning Department, had significant impact on the developers. I’ll keep you posted on what more we may learn in the days/weeks ahead. I’m cautiously optimistic that this will be the last battle over commercial rezone of that property. Hopefully in the short-term at least. Thanks to all of you for your support!!! By influencing the type and quality of development in the southern region of the County, we are making a positive difference in the County as a whole. Stay tuned………

It was not so much who was in attendance in the less than two dozen people present for Lt. Gov. candidate Ralph Reed's appearance in Oconee County, it was who was not there. Not a single member of the local government, not even the sheriff. Now there were some other elected officials and candidates for certain; Comer's own State Senator and father of a billboard man Ralph Hudgens was there and endorsed Reed, Bill Cowsert and son ? (not sure about him) - I will defer to Jay Hanley who ran a good meeting and the Rev. Larry Davison who made me feel welcome and shook my hand upon exit. Ralph Reed spoke eloquently about a variety of topics. The mechanics of his school voucher program made me wonder why people who are in counties where more than 50% of the people DON'T fail won't get the government money to go to private schools or homeschool. And one member of the audience remarked that the several thousand dollars Reed was proposing would not even cover a third of the expen...

Watkinsville City Council May 11, 2006 Oconee Living Section Athens Banner-Herald Watkinsville Council increases local businesses by 10 By Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Correspondent The Watkinsville City Council met with a very busy schedule Wednesday and approved nine new business license applications and renewed one with a notorious past. Sandy Callaway of S.C. Logging Company at 50 Barnett Shoals came back before the city council to seek reinstatement of his wood yard’s business license after getting it revoked during the previous administration of Mayor Sammy Sanders some years back. Callaway complied with numerous suggestions for beautifying the area he thought had been a wood yard for more than 60 years by removing junk cars and other garbage. Council member Joe Walter, who was the city’s first code enforcement officer, commented that he thought Callaway had complied with every request presented him by current code enforcement officer Robert Hegge. Council member Samantha Purcell succ...

Oconee groups want revised plan tweaked Stormwater management By Merritt Melancon | juliana.melancon@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 9:56 PM on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 WATKINSVILLE - Though turnout was low and public comment virtually nonexistent at the first public hearing on Oconee County's revised stormwater management plan, local advocacy groups are hoping officials will tweak the plan before it's approved June 6. Since Amy Morrison, the county's stormwater coordinator, first introduced the proposed stormwater management plan last fall, it's been consolidated from three ordinances into one and lost some of its teeth. Now members of the Athens Area Home Builders Association are inspecting the ordinance looking for any other objectionable regulations, while members of the county's smart-growth advocacy group Citizens for Oconee's Future are hoping that county officials will restore some of the regulations cut from the first draft. County officials ha...

This just in from Tony Glenn and the folks who want to save South Oconee: Sorry it’s taken me 24 hours to update all of you on the events at the Planning Commission meeting last evening. For those who could not attend you can find additional info at Kate McDaniel’s site (http://www.apvoc.com/). Our main issue was of course the proposed convenience store at the corner of Branch Road and US441. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny the request. Their vote, along with the Planning Staff report which also recommended denial, gives us cautious optimism going into the Board of Commissioners meeting on June 6th. Remember that the BOC has the final deciding vote on rezone issues. I can’t stress enough that you should plan to attend the BOC meeting if at all possible. Having a significant number of people at the meeting, whether you intend to speak or not, does have an impact. Also, at the June 6th meeting, note that outside the Commission chambers there will be a row of sig...