Oconee County, GA Politics

Note first that the doors open an hour earlier than previously mentioned at Clarke Central. I hope a lot of Athens and Oconee County Democrats turn out to support David Jarrett and Karen Solheim Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Subject: [oconee] 10th District delegate caucus There has been a final revision in the time  schedule  for the 10th district Democratic  Caucus. As a reminder, all Democrats living in the 10th Congressional District are invited to attend the Caucus next Saturday April 19th in the Community Room at Clarke Central High School Doors will open at 9:00 AM and will lock at 10:00AM (Please note this is a change from the last notice) There will be about 45 minutes of speeches from the candidates for election as Delegates to the Democratic National Convention and then we will vote.  There are about 7 candidates for each delegate position. We will elect one male and one female delegate pledged to...

Nancy Schaefer dropped out of the race for the 10th District Congressional race , leaving it to Dr. Paul Broun and Barry Fleming rolling in the mud for the Republicans to decide who will face Bobby Saxon. Lots of rumors of sleaze erupting on the Augusta side, with Fleming facing allegations and whispers for relatives' transgressions . I am sorry for Mrs. Schaefer's husband and I hope he recovers from his surgery, but this is the first smart thing Nancy has done in this race. Esther Porter wants to take Margaret Hale place on the Oconee County Board of Commissioners. I may not agree with Margaret's votes some of the time, but if in some way she loses in the GOP Primary, she is welcome to run as a Democrat. I do not think Hale will lose the primary, but anti-incumbency is at an all-time high around here now, with the possibility of a clean sweep of all current officer holders. Carter Brank is running for the Board of Education Post 3 along with Ashley Hood and Ryan House. I h...

The biggest news out of this story should be that Oconee County Board of Commissioners member Margaret Hale got up and left a budget meeting, but instead it looks like another member of the G.O.P. elite are going to run against G. Melvin Davis for the chairmanship of the Board of Commissioners in Oconee if we are to believe the scuttlebutt at the end of the comments. Always click on the show comments section of Athens Banner-Herald stories online as they often provide hilarity, irony and insight into various goings-on in Oconee County and elsewhere.

I plan to go watch the trapeze action next weekend with the wonderful Canopy folks and thought you should too. The Oconee River is considered the headwaters of the Altamaha River basin. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. ARK is grateful to have the energy and support of friends like Susan Murphy and Janisse Ray whose life long love of the mighty Altamaha inspires their creativity and generosity. Please join Susan and Janisse's efforts to extend our outreach by using your talent and imagination to create ways to help ARK protect our great river system. The Malcom Fraser Foundation is graciously matching all donations made before June 1.  Please support ARK's work with a contribution, its easy, go to our web site : www.altamahariverkeeper.org and link to paypal. Janisse Ray On Nature   Here's the latest installment of On Nature, columns that wrestle with environmental matte...

Okay, this is more capitalism than politics, but hey, they are moving across the street and are one of Watkinsville's longest running businesses and they seem to advertise every where, so I give them my seal of approval. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. All: FYI on Dory's re-opening in Watkinsville later this month. Looks like a nice large new space. http://www.doryshearthandhome.com/   Please share with others who might be interested in what is going on in Watkinsville or in "hearth and home" items. Brian   Subject: April 25th and 26th open house Hey Friends, For those who know me well know that we have been working on this project since November.  We simply out grew our old building.  What we have accomplished far exceeds what we were hoping to do.  All the things needed to operate our family business from parking, warehouse deliveries and pick ups to show room, outside displays and offices. In order to bre...

Don't forget Touch a Truck is this Saturday, April 12, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at Heritage Park off Hwy. 441 South.  Free hands-on event for children to see, touch, and explore their favorite big trucks, heavy equipment, and large vehicles.  Dump trucks, fire trucks, ambulances, helicopters, and the like will be a part of the event! Each vechile will have a trained staff to answer questions.  Lots of fun family activities including face painting, free raffle with great prizes, and much more! Concessions will be availble during the event. For more information please contact Whitney Byce, event coordinator. Herman C. Michael Park PO Box 55 Watkinsville, GA 30677

...except in storms, etc. But I do feel sorry for the folks on Snow's Mill Road who have to endure this double-crossing from the power company . I have no problem with them, but I do think no encroachment should mean no encroachment by anyone.

Here's some information a friend gave me about a workshop coming up May 20: Herb Rainwater Harvesting Workshop What: Rain Harvesting Workshop - This Professional Training is part of the American Rain Catchment System Association's Professional Certification Program (http://www.arcsa.org/). In order to improve water conservation in Northeast Georgia, University of Georgia and Texas A&M University have teamed up to offer this in-depth training to professionals and homeowners. Come join us to learn how to conserve water and save money on your water bill. By attending this training you will learn about designing rain harvest systems - downspouts, cisterns, rainbarrels, water features, filters, pumps, pipes, water quality and irrigation options will all be covered. Where: Oconee County Civic Center, 2661 Hog Mountain Road, Watkinsville, GA 30677 When: May 20, 2008 Cost: $10 (covers lunch, breaks, and print material) Register online: http://www.caes.uga.edu/unit/a...

Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman G. Melvin Davis cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the beer and wine pouring ordinance for restaurants in unincorporated Oconee County yesterday . Conversely former Oconee County Republican party chair Sarah Bell tossed her hat into the ring to run against Davis for the nomination . I wish Ms. Bell the best of luck with her burgeoning trek but so far her campaign has a less than auspicious beginning. I wonder where local G.O.P. wunderkid Jay Hanley comes down on this race; I would imagine with Davis, but it will be interesting to see how the beer and wine issue ferments in the next several months. Her former party leadership position is also where the incumbent Davis started his ascension to the top of Oconee County Board of Commissioners position when a few members of the Republican party decided to purge the nomination of a firefighter and husband of the former Mayor of Bogart almost a decade back. Charles and Robin Hoag along with former...

Hold the afternoon of April 27, a Sunday! The Oconee Democrats are sponsoring what we're calling a "Sustainability Showcase," an opportunity for the public to learn about solar panels, permaculture gardens, cisterns, rain barrels, bathouses, solar cookers, and other earth-friendly strategies employed at a home in Oconee County. This "Open Garage" (where the solar panels are located) will take place from 3 to 5, with experts on hand to answer questions. This part is unusual: the people attending will be ferried the mile or so to the showcase site in hybrid and bio-diesel cars after parking at the PAB bank on Epps Bridge Parkway. We're promoting carpooling, hybrids, and bio-diesel (with a car that runs on poultry bioproducts)! Please come join us -- and please volunteer to help us that day if you can! We could use some more hybrid car drivers and people to help with some of the show-and-tell areas. For example, we'll be showing people how to identify an...

Fear mongering is a popular spectator sport in Oconee County. The county government is not going to start forcing people to buy beer at $1.00 a bottle with a plate of chips at various restaurants outside of the municipalities. The misinformation flying around about this argument is amazing as usual, but I must give the various components of the opposition to allowing people to order beer and wine with a meal credit for effective tactics in attempting to delay the inevitable. I was not living in Oconee County when beer was first made available in convenience stores in the mid 1980s I believe. I did drive out to Oconee County to some solitary cinder block shack somewhere off the old 441 back when I was a degenerate undergraduate earlier than that to buy beer on Sunday for the then outrageous amount of $10.00 for a 12-pack. People are going to drink no matter what you do. People will tailgate and dine at restaurants in various eating establishments, and if they want a beer or wine with th...

So what do you think of renaming the Blue Hats to the Bonanza Democrats or something equally not associated with the Red Hats or anything else. Member Rita Bennett was recently chronicled in the Athens Banner-Herald's Oconee Living section , oh and a correction to the Oconee Enterprise, Oconee Living and longtime Athens Banner-Herald writer and editor Wayne Ford is not going to California, sorry Maridee and Miss Vinnie. Title: Blue Hats of Oconee Co. Democrats Date: Saturday April 12, 2008 Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Repeats: This event repeats every month on the second Saturday until Saturday January 31, 2009. Next reminder: The next reminder for this event will be sent in 4 days, 2 minutes. Location: Krimson Kafe, Watkinsville, GA Street: 40 Greensboro Hwy City State Zip: Watkinsville, Georgia Notes: Discussion of important topic! Look for us to the left inside. Come early to eat lunch. PLEASE RSVP RITA BENNETT AT bonanzagirl@hotmail.com or 706-...

AGENDA CITY OF WATKINSVILLE April 9, 2008 CALL TO ORDER QUORUM CHECK MINUTES APPEARANCES 1. Lillie S. Nielsen – business license – Lillie S. Nielsen (hair stylist) – 10 Barnett Shoals Rd. Ste B 2. John Zarb – business license – Master Dental Prosthetics – 300 Jerry Smith Drive Suite B 3. Don Harrison – business license – SunDre Blues LLC – 2 Main Street Suite 107 4. Shenara Sexton – business license – Shenara Austin Sexton, M.D., LLC – 31 N Main St 5. Oliver Lee – sewer request for 113 Hight Drive 6. Edward & Joanne Nucci – building permit – convert existing 12 x 26 storage bldg. into a pool house – 20 Spring Circle 7. Dr. John Jackson – Oconee County Board of Education – Concept Plan 8. Luke Bishop (Warehouse District) – Front building setback variance from 30 ft. to 20 ft. – 1290 Greensboro Highway ADMINISTRATION 1. February Reconciliation Report 2. Website Report MAYOR’S REPORT CITIZEN’S COMMENTS OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS 1. Consider text changes to Zoning Ordinance...