Oconee County, GA Politics

Dear Dan, All over Georgia, people are talking about the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner .  The response has been overwhelming, and demand for tickets is high.  To show the nation how excited Georgia Democrats are about this event, we're offering you a very special opportunity - now, if you haven't purchased tickets, you can come see the Presidential speeches for only $25! Click here to buy your tickets for $25 ! Of course, you can also buy tickets for the whole evening, including dinner, a chance to help us honor Senator Max Cleland and Congressman John Lewis with the first-ever Georgia Giants awards, and preferred seating for the speeches by Senator Clinton and Senator Edwards.  Those tickets are only $250, but we only have a few left.   You can still invite Senator Obama to be there by clicking here . Click here to buy tickets for the dinner and Presidential speeches ....

Once again Lee Becker does an excellent job explaining the situation much better than I could, so please read his post about the upcoming Oconee County Board of Commissioners meeting and why you should attend: Dear Friends, The Oconee County Board of Commissioners will get an update on the bids for the upgrade of the Rocky Branch sewage treatment plant at its meeting on Tuesday. It is not possible to know if the Board will be asked to take action or anything about the bids themselves or the review process since the County has closed the entire process to citizens. The County offered bidders the option of using one of two technologies for the plant. I've been told by an expert on these plants that the technologies differ significantly  and that the only way to know which will produce the higher quality water is to have details about the bids. At the BOC meeting on Tuesday, members of the Board of Directors of Friends of Barber Creek will ask the BOC not to take any actio...

Transferable Develop Rights aren't very sexy, but they are important. Please consider attending this meeting. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: important discussion about TDRs in Oconee county Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:01:38 -0500 From: bill paul <bpaul@uga.edu> To: bill paul <bpaul@uga.edu> CC: Tom Hurst <tom2299@bellsouth.net> , ANTHONY GLENN <aglenn@uga.edu> , Bob and Harriett Nix <bob-harriett@charter.net> , Bonnie Murphy <mayabee333@bellsouth.net> , Brian Broderick <bjbrodrick@bellsouth.net> , Chrissy Moffett <chrissymoffett_76@hotmail.com> , christine rodick <christine.rodick@gmail.com> , Dan Matthews <danjmatt@bellsouth.net> , Don Shenk <donschenk@charter.net> , Gail Hoge <gwhoge@bellsouth.net> , Gwen Darden <gmdarden@charter.net> , J Lintecume <Birdgirl59@netzero.com...

Will there be any fall out from the absence of jurisprudence in the extremely light sentencing of embezzler Jim Ivey? The most likely and deserving victims would be Oconee County Board of Commission members chairman G. Melvin Davis and Jim Luke. They are both public servants and private people that should be dealt with swiftly in the voting booth. We need to maintain a level of dignity and sobriety in the removal of anyone willing to serve in public leadership. Just because someone testifies at a trial does not automatically condemn those with whom they side. I commend these gentlemen for standing up for their convicted colleague. But I also counsel that this testimony was delivered at a steep political price, and now it is time to pay. There are ways of registering our displeasure with the decisions of the Board of Commissioners while maintaining decorum in public meetings, and giving our leadership polite disapproval in the appropriate forum. Do not harass them in Publix or in the...

Dear Friends, I want to call your attention to two items of significance to those of us concerned about water and other environmental issues affecting Oconee County. First is a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday (January 22) in Masters Hall in the Georgia Center on the University of Georgia campus to discuss the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, which would be located on South Milledge avenue near the Middle Oconee River separating Clarke and Oconee counties. At the meeting, Edward Hammond, U.S. director of the Sunshine Project, an international watchdog agency opposed to biological warfare, will be speaking. Hammond is being brought to Athens by FAQ, a local group trying to make sure people are informed about the project. The second item is the public notice that Walton County is seeking a reissuance of its permit to discharge 3.4 million gallons per day of treated sewage water to Jacks Creek, a tributary to the Apalachee. As a point of reference, the proposed upgrade to th...

I have not yet had the pleasure of personally meeting the newest Oconee County beat reporter for the Athens Banner-Herald in Adam Thompson, but once I do I am sure my reaction will be something like - "Oh yeah, you're that other guy writing notes at all those various meetings around here." He has written an excellent summary of both sides of North High Shoals squabble surrounding the future (and past and present) of the debate surrounding the disbanding of the town charter, effectively un-incorporating the municipality. Let me also turn back the clock to a different time when small towns could take their differences out on the softball diamond . I had never hit a ball over a home run fence where the home run becomes an out, but I did that day.

This article provides some interesting insight into the newly unleashed student onto the world at large. Sometimes the world unfortunately bites back. I do hope they find this young man but with the frigid temperatures of late I am afraid his destiny is to join that of other infamous recent disappearances of local college students. Please keep looking and let the authorities know if you find anything unusual on your property between here and Atlanta.