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Showing posts from October 28, 2007

Housing Surplus theatens Oconee economy

With an unprecedented period of growth and development in Oconee County comes a large number of houses on the market. The overall infrastructure has yet to catch up with the massive amount of building here in this special section of Northeast Georgia. Three years of building has resulted in a glut of houses on the market, with Oconee's median price pushing over the half-million dollar mark recently. We need sanitary sewage systems for the entire county. No more huge septic fields please. The balloon could soon burst for all of us unless we compile a creative approach to growth and a vision to incorporate it with improved services such as a paid fire department. Keep an eye on the Planning Commission, Board of Commissioners and more as they threaten to mortgage our future with one too many strip malls and cul de sac developments

Terry Holley: trying once again to disunite Democrats

Grovetown's Terry Holley decided to waste time and miles driving around the 10th district to get stomped by Bobby Saxon in next June's primary. To be fair, Holley has not declared his candidacy yet, only that he has an exploratory committee. I will not support him, unless Bobby Saxon drops dead or something. Something tells me the third time will not be the charm for Holley, as he ran in 2006 and 2007. Holley preached well to the choir, but did not convert many believers. Holley lost to Charlie Norwood in the 2006 General Election and lost to James Marlow in the run up to the special election. Holley is the 10th district Democratic Congressional district chair, which he has to give up again, and is a very nice person but does not inspire great deal of confidence or "elect-a-bility." He seems woefully underfunded, understaffed and not very web savvy. He could serve his would-be constituents a whole lot better by working behind the scenes to raise money for legitima...

Oconee Veterans Memorial BBQ

The following was written by Kate McDaniel, and I certainly support our Veterans as well: The Oconee Veterans Memorial Foundation is coordinating a fundraising B-B-Q for the memorial to be built and erected at the entrance of the Oconee Community Complex and for the Reeves Family. Two (2) fliers are attached with the specifics. Since veterans are both Democrats, Republicans and Independents, it is fitting for all to pay tribute to our Oconee Veterans. Would you send this out to all of your members or if you prefer, I will be glad to do it if you are busy with other things and if you will supply me with the e-mail list. I have a few of your members on my list but certainly not all. The B-B-Q (being prepared by Tom Little and his staff) is donation only and all proceeds will go to the Reeves Family and the Memorial Foundation for building the memorial. Please help Mr Little by getting the word out this weekend or early next week. The date is Memorial Day, Nov 11 on Sunday from 11 am t...

Stomach flu going around Athens Academy

For those of you with kids in school at the land of Spartans, I can report of an epidemic of the stomach flu variety, threatening football games and what not this weekend. Pack up on those crackers and fluids and give me any suggestions for battling this outbreak.

Bobby Saxon HQ opening a year before election day 2008

You are cordially invited to the Grand Opening of the Bobby Saxon for Congress Campaign Headquarters Tuesday, November 6, 2007 5:00 p.m. till 7:00 p.m. 125 South Milledge Avenue Athens , GA 30606 Please RSVP to (706) 549-2862 or info@bobbysaxon.com Paid for by Bobby Saxon for Congress P.O. Box 6624, Athens GA 30604 706-549-2862 www.BobbySaxon.com

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Welcome to the latest blog on the Oconee block by the name of Oconee Politics . Sound familiar? It should, but that is OK. Public relations professional and Watkinsville city council member Brian Brodrick, who has certainly spoon-fed me any number of posts over the years, finally took the plunge and created his own blog with the same name as mine. Now Lord knows I have accused various Republicans of various crimes against humanity over the years, but originality is not one of them. Many people call me or this blog "Oconee Democrat" because of the URL reflects that, but I still refer to it as Oconee Politics, and to Brodrick's credit, he has subtitled his a "Voice of Moderation." Does that mean I am branded as a voice of immoderation? Perhaps in some people's opinion. One of my latest photos from the batch on Spotted may actually be reprinted in the Community Window thanks to Jason Winders. Now will I get paid freelance like I used to for a quarter century ...

Want to witness the final nail in the coffin of water debt?

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 The hearing to validate the $66,000,000 Oconee County bond issue for its 3.5 million gallons per day share will be held at 9:30AM Nov. 6th at the Walton County Courthouse, Monroe, GA. Citizens who wish to intervene should read the legal announcement published in the Oconee Enterprise 10/25/07 and proceed accordingly. The Tuesday night Board of Commissioners meeting was quite a spectacle, primarily for what was missing. While they spent a considerable amount of time congratulating themselves on how well they have handled the water "crises" and how much water consumption has dropped, not a word was mentioned about the fact that water revenue drops along with reduced water consumption. All that projected revenue used to justify spending so much on so little in Walton County will evaporate just as quickly as the Bear Creek water has evaporated. Not a word was mentioned about long term w...

Sale at Watkinsville Community Center Saturday - from Mary Ann McQuinn

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After (or maybe before) the last soccer game of the season Saturday morning and trophies are handed out at the party, I plan to go to this sale at the Watkinsville Community Center. I have bought some books through Many Ann's website and they are very good. The following is from an email Mary Ann sent me without the color and exclamation points. I am always down with the free mini-massages. For those of you near Watkinsville, Georgia, I will have some of the 140 new Usborne titles on sale this weekend at the Holiday Bazaar, says Mary Ann McQuinn. "We will have several door prizes from each of the vendors listed below" Please help us get the word out by forwarding this e-mail to your friends. ***Don't forget to visit my web site monthly and enter to win $50 in free books! No purchase is required; however, there are internet-only specials that are quite a good deal As always, if you would like to get free books, ask me about a home party. I will also personally visit yo...

Drive slow and carefully through our cities and subdivisions this evening watching out for trick or treaters

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second sunday soccer game at uga 008 Originally uploaded by danmatthews Be safe and careful tonight when you are trick or treating in all our subdivisions and neighborhoods. You can hit downtown businesses in Watkinsville starting at 4 pm and it makes a very safe and easy journey.

Oconee Democrats take you to the Moon at the movies

Come see the film "In the Shadown of the Moon" Monday As for the movie -- we've hastily put this together because we thought this stirring documentary would be especially heartening in these depressing times of war, torture and drought. In the Shadow of the Moon is about the dogged scientists and courageous astronauts who reached the moon. Join Oconee County Democrats and others from around the region to see a fine movie, discuss the film and other matters with new and old friends, and support Ciné. We'll meet inside around 7; the movie starts at 7:15. Please forward this to your friends! Hope to see you! Pat Priest --------- IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON http://www.intheshadowofthemoon.com/ [ UK 2006, 35mm, 100min, Dir: Duncan Copp ] Winner: 2007 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award The excitement, majesty and extraordinary human accomplishment of the American lunar program of the '60s and early '70s is rousingly captured in IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, a new docu...

A Rose by any other name......

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Please share this with everyone you know who may be interested. Something new is happening...a professional theatre for our community. A non-profit theatre company, producing vibrant professional live performances that speak to the entire community. Rose of Athens is holding its’ first fundraiser. A masquerade, where you can come dressed as your favorite movie star, literary character, cartoon, or whatever strikes your fancy. You can even come as yourself, since costumes are optional. Mary Delaplane from the Dress Up Box will be on hand to provide costume accessories for those who forgot or didn’t have time or who just want to play. Proceeds will fund our outreach programs, academy style classes, ticket scholarship programs and general operating funds for our community's only non-profit professional theatre. Donations are tax deductible and will make you an important part of this new model for theatre! Be a part of our vision! Come celebrate the beginning of Rose of Athens Theatre...

New Oconee jail worth all our tax dollars

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Sheriff Scott Berry kindly toured his new facility with the law abiding members of the Oconee County Democratic Committee Sunday evening. He answered every question directly and took us places where not many public people get to go. The communication center was extremely interesting as to how they keep DVR copies of all the many video cameras for 60-90 days. The most hilarious aspect of the tour was hearing the Star Trek sound effects on the copious computer terminals through out the very impressive and sterile facility. No pathogens or staph infections here, thank you very much. No basketballs in the recreational area either (so no attempted outages of the surveillance equipment. They have room for around 180 prisoners but only had around 70 at the time we went through. They have a contract with Jackson County and the city of Winder to house their prisoners, as well as an understanding with Clarke County to house some of their overflow. We were not treated to any shakedowns or MSNB...