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Showing posts from April 19, 2009

Road race photos

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There was a road race in my neighborhood Friday. St. James United Methodist Church held a raise which started and ended at the neighboring Baptist church, which I thought gracious of them. I sat up a water station table and so did members of the church. This was a sacred running holiday for me when I was growing up as it was part of the Drake Relays, so I was happy to play my part this time around. We would get out of school to go to the Drake Stadium for the races when the team like the University of Georgia and Coach Lewis Gainey would bring Herschel Walker and Mel Lattany (all three in the Drake Relays Hall of Fame) to Des Moines. So I had to help this time around out my back door. Watkinsville Council member Brian Brodrick, former Berry College scholarship runner, continued his road race efforts with a great job pushing his kid and staying near the front. I had fun as he faked shoving his son and my direction and he came back to get water from my neighbor Jimmy Marbut, who had a b

Oconee resident Coach Mark Richt makes a religious public appearance

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I am not one to plug a whole bunch of church activities, but this is for the National Day of Prayer and features Coach Mark Richt of UGA, so why not? Oconee County churches will sponsor breakfast at 6:30 a.m. May 7 at the Oconee County Civic Center, 2661 Hog Mountain Road in Watkinsville, in observance of the National Day of Prayer. Mark Richt will be the keynote speaker. Open to the public. (706) 769-7660 or www.briarwoodbaptist.net.

Meetings were not attended well?

I hurriedly drove to the Watkinsville beer and wine hearing at 5:55 pm and the doors were locked tight on the Community Center. When I got back in my truck, I saw the Oconee Enterprise newspaper reporter Blake Giles coming out the place where the Watkinsville City Council holds its meetings. I guess we will have to wait for yet another one of his breathtaking reports about how the evils of alcohol will destroy the moral fabric of Watkinsville as we know it so we can get some actualities of residents who could make it back home before 6:00 pm. So then I drove over to the MACORTS meeting at Oconee Veterans Park and the people there could not have been more friendly. I think there were only four people who recorded their viewpoints. They asked where we live, where we worked, where we would commute to on public transportaton, and offered up some other suggestions. I arrived in the park just as Chairman G. Melvin Davis of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners was departing the park. I a

Lecture on Obama's Cabinet at Oconee Library

--- On Thu, 4/23/09, Pat Priest <ppriest@charter.net> wrote: From: Pat Priest <ppriest@charter.net> Subject: Lecture on Obama's Cabinet at Oconee Library Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 1:41 PM Hello! I'm pasting in a press release below from the Oconee Democrats about a slide show on President Obama's Cabinet that we've scheduled for May at the Oconee Library. Please see the details below. Thank you for your assistance! Sincerely, Pat Patricia J. Priest, Ph.D. Member, Oconee Democrats ----------------------------------------------------------------- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dr. Larry Nackerud to speak about President Obama's Cabinet 4 PM Sunday, May 17th Oconee County Library Contact: Pat Priest 353-8310 Dr. Larry Nackerud, professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia, will present a slide show about the members of President Obama's Cabinet at 4 PM on Sunday, May 17th, at the Oconee County library in Watkinsville. The free, pu

And a reminder for today's MACORTS meeting

Which is a good excuse to see the lovely new Veterans Park if nothing else from 4 to 7 pm at 3500 Hog Mountain Road near Butler's Crossing outside of Watkinsville proper. Go tell them we need a train and bus and sidewalks and bikepaths in Oconee County. Or don't.

Beer and wine hearing tonight at Watkinsville Commmunity Center

I wrote yesterday implying the special called Watkinsville City Council meeting to air grievances or support of the proposed beer and wine package sale ordinance was that night when in fact it is at 5:00 pm Thursday at the Watkinsville Community Center. This is to determine essentially if there are going to be beer and wine sales in convenience stores inside the city limits. It may lead to other businesses relocating in Watkinsville, but I would make damn sure those business owners are at the meeting this evening. I need to go by the store on Baxter and check it out. I am sure it would go well with concerts at Ashford Manor Bed and Breakfast. Speaking of which, there is a cool event there Sunday for those planning a wedding or any other special event.

So will any one else write anything about our event?

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  I don't think so

Just testing a new photo uploader

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  David Poythress at Oconee Veterans Park

Mitigation Resolution Makes BOC Agenda

A step in the right direction: I would go ahead and make it a requirement by law. Thanks Lee for posting this. From: Lee Becker < lbbecker@mindspring.com > Date: Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 11:12 PM Subject: Mitigation Resolution Makes BOC Agenda To: lbbecker@mindspring.com Dear Friends, The Oconee County Board of Commissioners tonight agreed to give preliminary consideration at its regular meeting on May 5 to a resolution that would state the county's preference that future mitigation of damage to streams and wetlands in the county be carried out in the county. A draft resolution for the county to review was presented to the Board by Katie Sheehan, the staff attorney at the River Basin Center in the Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. The U.S. Corps of Engineers recently granted a permit for destruction of streams and wetlands on the site of the Epps Bridge Centre on Epps Bridge Parkway and allowed mitigation to be in Greene County. For details

Little bit about a lot of nothing and some things worth noting agian

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A new Barberitos restaurant will be opening in the old Shishkabobby's/Gautreau's location in Town Center this weekend. Board of Education chair David Weeks and company have apparently completed the transformation and we will see beans and guacamole coming out of that restaurant soon. Not so sure about getting lots of traffic in and out of there, but good luck in this tight economy opening anything and making it stick. All businesses are going the extra mile with promotions or sometimes giving up the ghost after losing or at least not making money recently. I know of one longtime Watkinsville business that is probably going to stop being open in October, and they are not selling the old Allen's sign. Just wanted to let you know that two times in a row, going to the Publix in Watkinsville, I saw former Board of Education candidate Ashley Hood shopping for her family, and this time the entire Hood entourage was sighted piling into their SUV and teenage cheerleading champion d

Senior Citizens are an important resource in Oconee County

I do not think we will ever take sufficient care of our Senior Citizens. This is coming from a 46 year old father of one with a 79-year-old father who is needing more and more help every day. That much said, read a recent submission to the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism's Journal about " Aging Gracefully in Oconee County ."

MACORTS Announcement with local meeting Thursday at Vets Park Community Center

Do you want to have any input or say in the future of regional transportation choices? If so you should attend this meeting (thanks to Adrian for posting this to his blog and allowing me to borrow it): The Madison Athens-Clarke Oconee Regional Transportation Study (MACORTS) has contracted with Street Smarts to assess the need and evaluate the options available to provide public transportation service within the MACORTS region. A public meeting will be conducted in both Madison County and in Oconee County to obtain public input on various service concepts for meeting public transportation needs in the community. The meetings will be held as follows: Oconee County Thursday, April 23rd 4:00 to 7:00 PM at the Oconee Veterans Park Community Center 3500A Hog Mountain Road Watkinsville, GA 30677

Another death in the neighborhood - this time in the canine variety

People's pets are an important investment, both emotionally and financially. It sucks big time when they are removed from us with little or no warning. A neighbor of mine flagged me down today after lunch today to tell me that he had been the victim of a hit and run with his pup passing on this morning. Stopped to chat and add as much sympathy as I could from an idling pick-up truck. Come to think of it I did see two girls in a big blue SUV speeding very fast this morning through my subdivision cut through. Did not think anything about it then but I hope they get caught if indeed they are the perpetrators. We might need some speed humps after all in our neighborhood. I think the Mayor Jim Luken would approve if we got a consensus from all those in our subdivision since it is essentially the issue he rode into office as well. There are speed humps on Third street between the ridiculously dangerous Whitehall-Simonton Bridge and the wide Barnett Shoals in Watkinsville where he lives

Please attend April 23 banquet - news about FBI investigation

After getting harassed in our local grocery store yesterday ~ Publix ~ by a bunch of teenage Bishop baseball players with the last name of Poynter for wearing a shirt with our President on it and then subsequently being told by a friend's 16 year old daughter with the worst frown on her face she could not be seen with me because of the same shirt and she joined the College Republicans - yes you Madison Hood - the need for education for and enlightening our Oconee, Walton and Clarke County youth is greater than ever. Please attend or at least donate to the Moore's Ford Memorial Committee banquet this Thursday. From: "Rich Rusk" < richrusk@bellsouth.net > Date: April 20, 2009 6:21:20 AM EDT To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;> Subject: please attend April 23 banquet -   news about FBI investigation   Dear folks,    Sometime today or tomorrow, many of you should receive a hard copy mailer inviting you to our Tenth Annual Moore's Ford Scholarship Banquet, set fo

Oconee County Democratic Committee Adopt-a-Road April 25

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Help us keep Oconee County beautiful by picking up garbage on the side of the Oconee Connector Saturday. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. To: oconee@yahoogroups.com; oconeedemocrats@yahoogroups.com From: sjathome91@yahoo.com Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:54:48 -0700 Subject: [oconee] Adopt-a-Road April 25 Reminder: The date for the Oconee Democratic Party to clear roadside litter from our adopted mile is this Saturday, April 25, 2009. Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the Barber Creek fire station, and bring a pair of work gloves. Remember to bring empty aluminum cans for the firefighters' recycling project. See you Saturday. Sarajane Love __._,_.___

Poythress, Porter introduce themselves to Oconee County voters Sunday

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Georgia Democratic Gubernatorial candidates are leaving no stone unturned looking for voters as David Poythress and DuBose Porter met with a group of near 60 voters in the Tennis Pavilion of Oconee County's Veterans Park Sunday afternoon. With homemade peach ice cream purchased from Hot Thomas' nearby orchard, voters heard music from the three piece Irish band Repent from Leisure and listened to introductory speeches from the two South Georgia based candidates for Governor. Both speeches were critical of Republicans' inactivity at Gold Dome to solve even the basic problems facing Georgia every day. Days before the Teabaggers held a rally in front of the park on a flat bed truck, but this event was more dignified and displayed a much less ironic tone than the local GOP protesting taxes in a park paid by taxes. The following are just some of the many images of a very busy day. Among the dignitaries attending included Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Doug Lowry and State De