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Showing posts from August 2, 2009

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

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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

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 H

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 Watkinsv

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

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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 ahstoneburne

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 charit
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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 Shared via AddThis

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 Shared via AddThis

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 Shared via AddThis

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 Shared via AddThis

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 Shared via AddThis

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 Shared via AddThis

Oconee County Board of Commissioners pass governmental reorganization unanimously

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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

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 care

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 Shared via AddThis

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 Shared via AddThis

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

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 Shared via AddThis