First Friday in Watkinsville works well in bringing families to the county seat

Watkinsville's highly successful attempts at luring extra families downtown did exactly that once again Friday, August 8, 2009. This time acoustic performers played on one side of Main Street while the cars slowed down for Chief Lee O'Dillon and his traffic keeping deputy. Blow-up bouncy moonwalks made kids happy as did balloons and bubbles. Kids bounced on hoppity hops on downtown sidewalks attempting to get other kids into the karate studio. The most unusual aspect of this First Friday had to be the Man Bake Sale in Dan Elder's building in an artfully done attempt at renting this amazingly refurbished building. Lots of people dined at Barberitos and Mirko's Pasta with long lines at Sweet Retreats as well. Ashford Manor Bed and Breakfast is having a great yard sale with lots of Elvis Presley memoribilia It will continue tomorrow and I strongly advise you to come check out the vast quantities of really cool stuff they have ready to make your life better.

The Bake Sale benefitted the Woman's build for Habitat for Humanity. Lots of sweet treats to eat in bake sale style done well by men with many cakes and pies and a particularly messy blueberry crunch

Local roads remaining in the MACORTS 2035 plans

R-21 Daniells Bridge Rd. Extension (Oconee) $9,105,500
Construct 2-lane extension of Daniells Bridge Rd. across the Athens Perimeter to
Epps Bridge Parkway to connect with the proposed Jennings Mill Parkway.
Grade-separation is included with SR 316 corridor improvements.

R-22 Daniells Bridge Rd. Widening (Oconee) $13,821,500
Widen/reconstruct Daniels Bridge Rd. with additional turn lanes as needed from
Mars Hill Rd. to Hog Mountain Rd.

R-23 Hog Mountain Rd. Widening (Oconee) $19,128,500
Widen to 4-lane cross section from Mars Hill Rd. to US 441 with additional turn
lanes as needed.

R-24 Malcolm Bridge Rd. / Mars Hill Rd. Intersection (Oconee) $1,003,000
Add lanes at intersection to increase capacity. Signalization of the intersection
will be included.

R-25 Jimmy Daniell Rd. Widening (Oconee) $10,567,000
Widen / reconstruct Jimmy Daniell Rd. to 4 lanes with additional turn lanes as
needed from Mars Hill Rd. to Clarke County line. Sidewalks should be included
in this project.

R-26 Mars Hill Road / Experiment Station Road Widening (Oconee) $52,455,000
Widen to 4 lanes and construct turn lanes as needed from SR 316 to US 441
Business in Watkinsville. Sidewalks and bicycle lanes are planned for this
corridor, where feasible.

R-27 Simonton Bridge Road Widening (Oconee) $31,892,500
Widen/reconstruct from 3rd Street to Athens-Clarke County line to make 4-lane
roadway with additional turn lanes as needed. Project will include 4-ft. bicycle
lanes.

R-28 SR 15 / US 441 Connector (Oconee) $10,310,000
Construct 2-lane roadway between SR 15 and the Watkinsville Bypass south or
on the south side of Watkinsville.

R-29 SR 15 at US 441 Intersection Improvements (Oconee) $784,500
Reconfigure lanes on SR 15 approach to enhance safety
49

R-30 Union Church Rd. Improvement project (Oconee) $6,054,500

R-30 Union Church Rd. Improvement project (Oconee) $6,054,500
Widen to 4 lanes from Hog Mountain Rd (SR 53) to New High Shoals Rd. (SR
186)

R-31 Virgil Langford Rd./ Jimmy Daniell Road/Rocky Branch Rd./Mars Hill Rd.
Intersection Improvements (Oconee) $2,073,500
Bring these roads together to form one intersection instead of two intersections
spaced closely together.

Saturday's Farmers Market at Eagle Tavern

Lots of good produce for purchase behind Eagle Tavern bright and early Saturday morning. I love me some okra, blueberries and home grown tomatoes in the summer time (or anytime for that matter). If you arrive early enough, then you can stroll through Watkinsville with Joe Ruiz of OCAF to check out the art he has helped post in various parts of downtown Watkinsville.


Hello,  Hope everyone is well. This week we will have: many different kinds of pound cakes, banana bread, assorted pies, including blueberry, fresh bread/rolls (rye, honey wheat, sourdough), fresh eggs, fresh milk from Johnston Dairy,  blueberries, peaches, jams, jellies, handmade soaps & lotions, grass fed beef, tomatoes, okra, eggplant, green onions, sweet onions, cucumbers, potatoes, several kinds of squash, green beans, dragon tongue beans, baby soybeans, herbs, root vegetables, fresh cut flowers, salsa from Salsa Ya'll, gourds, fresh lamb, woolens, among other things! The tour of Watkinsville will also be going on, so join in! I also have updated the website so check it out!
Hope to see you all there!
Karl
P.S. Check out the Oconee Farmers' Market on Facebook!!
Don't forget to tell a friend or co-worker about the Market!

 

Karl Berg

706-215-7385

www.oconeefarmersmarket.org and http://www.apvoc.com/

Saturday Stroll tomorrow offers more artsy view of Watkinsville with Joe Ruiz of OCAF

Hello!

There's another especially interesting Saturday Stroll coming up -- this
very weekend (August 8th) at 9 AM -- that I thought you might like to
know about. If you've ever wondered about the history of the buildings
and garden that comprise the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation complex,
here's your chance to tour them with the non-profit's wonderful
director, Joe Ruiz.

And it's a neat opportunity, too, because the stroll will take you from
the Courthouse along School Street, where there's a collection of
vibrant and diverse public art displayed all along the way.

We meet at the Courthouse (23 North Main Street) in Watkinsville and
start off right about 9:00 am. No need to pre-register. The funds raised ($5
per person) will go to OCAF this week.

Please wear comfortable shoes and perhaps bring a hat for this hour-long
(or so) tour, as we'll really be strolling this week!

For more information about this week's stroll, contact Ann Stoneburner
ahstoneburner@bellsouth.net.

And the following Saturday's stroll leader is Representative Bob Smith
(R-Watkinsville)!

Enjoy summer as it winds down.

Pat Priest

State Representative Bob Smith, stroll leader on August 15th

Saturday, August 15

Representative Bob Smith (R - Watkinsville) will lead an informal,
hour-long stroll in Watkinsville starting at 9 AM on August 15th.  The walk is part of the "Saturday Strolls" series scheduled through October that showcases Watkinsville's history and charm during walks lead by historians, naturalists, and community leaders.

Representative Smith is serving his sixth term in the Georgia House of
Representatives, where he is Vice Chairman of Appropriations for the
Higher Education Sub-Committee.  He's also a long-time real estate
broker and former appraiser.  He holds a degree from UGA's Business School.

Smith is one of the founding members of the Oconee County Relay for Life
Organization and is a member of the Oconee Rotary Club.  Three generations of his family have lived in Watkinsville; he's seen
myriad changes in the downtown area and in the county over the years.

Funds raised each week from the $5 per person fee are donated to a
charity chosen by the volunteer guide.

Participants should meet in front of the Oconee County Courthouse (23
North Main Street in Watkinsville) -- across from the Saturday Farmers
Market at the Eagle Tavern.  No advance reservations are necessary.

For more information on this or future Saturday strolls, contact Pat Priest (ppriest@charter.net).

 

 

 

 

Former North Hall standouts come together at Georgia practice

Oconee County has four players on the big roster with Zach Mettenberger, Josh Sailors, Andrew Johnson and Blake Sailors make the Warriors proud. Former North Hall standouts come together at Georgia practice

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Athens-Clarke, Oconee cops team up to battle 'crime emergency' | Breaking News | OnlineAthens.com

Teamwork, long time coming, welcome development between our neighboring counties.Athens-Clarke, Oconee cops team up to battle 'crime emergency' | Breaking News | OnlineAthens.com

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Seahawks release Watkinsville native Taylor | Sports | OnlineAthens.com

I was watching former Oconee County and UGA football player Tony Taylor last night on a replay of the 2005 Auburn game just last night. Tony used to come to open gym a lot during the era when I worked at the John T. Brannen building of the Herman C. Michael Park of the Oconee County Recreation Department in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hope he gets picked up by someone needing a great special teams player in the National Football League. Seahawks release Watkinsville native Taylor | Sports | OnlineAthens.com

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Garden club gets a growth spurt | Oconee | OnlineAthens.com

Good job Max Liebl, you make all the Boy Scouts proud. Garden club gets a growth spurt | Oconee | OnlineAthens.com

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Family believes DOT spray kills more than weeds | News | OnlineAthens.com

The Georgia Department of Transportation is perhaps the worst run State Agency ever. This case is prime for some serious lawsuit for an adventurous barrister who does not mind suing the State and waiting about three years for a favorable verdict. Family believes DOT spray kills more than weeds | News | OnlineAthens.com

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Power shift in Oconee County | News | OnlineAthens.com

Welcome back to Oconee County coverage Merritt Melancon. The comments as always are amusing in this Athens Banner-Herald story. I do not think this is not a major power shift per se but more of an ego bruising for Chairman Davis. The sun is indeed shining in Oconee County this morning and the sky is not falling.Power shift in Oconee County | News | OnlineAthens.com

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Oconee County Board of Commissioners pass governmental reorganization unanimously

I have never been more proud of my home county government than this evening. I sat in the front row and even got up and spoke in favor of the Ordinance Providing for Organizational Structure, Allocation of Duties AMong Certain Officials of Oconee County and Meeting Procedure. The motion passed unanimously but not without some heated exchange and general gnashing of rhetorical teeth. Some people in audience need to remain quiet during the meeting as well, but that is for another post.

Chairman Melvin Davis spoke against it, and several other people got up to speak against it as well such as Kate McDaniel and Mary Mellein among several others. Charlie Baugh was one of the few to support it besides me. Commissioner Chuck Horton said he had been working on this since 2005. Davis said his count with 24% percent in favor and 76% against it, and Commissioner Jim Luke questioned where he pulled such numbers from before the vote. Commissioner Margaret Hale spoke passionately about how things are not really going to change, and Commissioner John Daniell read a pragmatic approach to the Ordinance in straight forward terms.

The main complaint of the people speaking against it was that they had not had an opportunity to address this issue. John Daniell entered a long time line into the record resolving the fact that there had been many weeks, months and meetings where the populace at large had plenty of opportunity to discuss and input their opinions on the Governmental Organization.

The sky had not fallen when I walked out of the meeting. Department heads will continue to deal with Administrative Officer Allen Theirault in the budgeting process of the Oconee County, Georgia government. County attorney Daniel Haygood rewrote some of flow charts to make sure various departments like the Senior Center would be involved. The following are photos from the meeting.

Deal hosts health care discussion

Begin forwarded message:

From: Sue Harmon <sue.harmon@gmail.com>

Date: August 4, 2009 4:47:34 PM EDT

To: Sue Harmon <sue.harmon@gmail.com>

Subject: sorry for so many emails but...

here's the website with directions and details for the event http://www.ghcc.com/news/news_details.asp?news_id=974

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sue Harmon <sue.harmon@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Subject: Deal to meet with citizens to discuss Health Care Issue
To: Sue Harmon <sue.harmon@gmail.com>


Ninth District Citizens,

Congressman Nathan Deal has scheduled a local, open to the public, health care "discussion" meeting for Wednesday August 12 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the new Walters Auditorium at NE GA Medical Center.  Citizens are asked to RSVP to Brittany Holtzclaw, brittany@ghcc.com, at 770-532-6206 (Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce), even though the event is open to the public.  Congressman Deal's staff person was careful to say that this will NOT be a town hall meeting but a discussion.......not sure the difference.

I think it is crucial for those interested in a public option to have an organized presence with well thought out questions and comments ready at this event.

It will be difficult for me to come but not totally out of the question yet.  I am trying to arrange my schedule.

Will anyone join me?

Sue

--

Sue Harmon
770-540-3672

"Let the beauty we love be what we do."
~Rumi~

--
Sue Harmon
770-540-3672

"Let the beauty we love be what we do."
~Rumi~

Neighbor upset over goose blast | Cops | OnlineAthens.com

This is the worst kind of journalism. No by-line, no attributions, random accusations with few facts. Come on Banner Herald, you can do much better than this.Neighbor upset over goose blast | Cops | OnlineAthens.com

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Lee Becker: Pivotal Oconee vote is Tuesday | Letters | OnlineAthens.com

Well written letter by UGA Journalism professor Lee Becker with links and facts. Somehow someone commented at the end that the Oconee Enterprise newspaper is owned by a Tea bagger. While Miss Vinnie may enjoy an occasional steeped and brewed cup of tea, she has never struck me as being that far right. Rob Peecher at the Oconee News Leader is another story all together. Lee Becker: Pivotal Oconee vote is Tuesday | Letters | OnlineAthens.com

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Oconee reorganization vote tonight | News | OnlineAthens.com

Despite the well-engineered G. Melvin Davis-led Public Relations campaign seemingly spearheaded by both the Oconee Enterprise and Beyond the Trestle's Johnathan McGinty in a column in the Athens Banner-Herald (with whom I have no personal beef) against it, I am in full support of the proposed reorganization of the Oconee County government. Thank you very much to all the members of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners and please continue on your mandate.

Just to reiterate, I have no enmity with either McGinty, Davis, or anyone working for any newspaper, radio station or local media. I appreciate people having the nerve to stick their necks out with opinions and commentary, but one has to expect people to disagree with them with the more they express those opinions on the topic du jour. This governmental restructuring process has seemed to strike a very raw nerve in the community and beyond. I think Chairman Davis is a good person who has done a decent job of running the county over the last years, but I think he can do better for Oconee County.

The odd political bedfellows on this topic would seem to include the members of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners, former chair candidate Sarah Bell and former chairman Wendell Dawson on the side of restructuring with myself and Becker with the previously listed people on the status quo. That does not mean either side is right or wrong, and no inference should be made as to our feelings toward the personalities involved. Face it, run for office or write a blog, you have to have an ego and thick skin. Frustrations have boiled over on both sides of this contentious issue, and I have tried to remain professional in my criticism and praise for the various sides of this issue. Perhaps I have not done a very good job of that, and to anyone's feelings that have been bruised, I apologize. I am very passionate in my belief that Oconee County is a great place to live, and should be run as such and not as a personal fiefdom. It would be real easy to chalk this up as all sour grapes being mashed on both sides, but it is never that cut and dried. I suppose my tone could have been less accusatory, but sometimes you need to raise a little Hell to get noticed around these parts.

I have worked two jobs for the County government in the previous administration and have witnessed how the lack of communication effects everyday Oconee County residents in an extremely negative way. Short of Davis resigning, this is the best remedy for a shoddy style of governing by the current and future chairs of the Oconee County Board of Commmissioners. After listening to Lee Becker this morning on the radio this morning being interviewed on NewsTalk 1340 WGAU AM Newsmaker Monday, I am convinced the reorganization will pass unanimously this evening.

Oconee reorganization vote tonight | News | OnlineAthens.com

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Athens Area Humane Society moves to new digs in Watkinsville | News | OnlineAthens.com

Watkinsville will play host to more cats now. What will Miss Vinnie write about this week in her alleged newspaper column for the Oconee Enterrprise?Athens Area Humane Society moves to new digs in Watkinsville | News | OnlineAthens.com

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