Oconee County, GA Politics

I love Watkinsville and Oconee County;  the fact that local folks and folks far away like to keep up on how we got where we are at and how we are getting there. History is alive, and we need to chronicle your story. Come to this event and let us know your past.

Toby Bradberry envisions a town that celebrates its citizen’s contributions on a personal level and through the connectivity of the Internet. There’s no mountaintop from which to shout, but there is a picturesque river that could be photographed and promoted on social media, he said. As sole qualifier for a special mayoral election, Bradberry has won the election by default. The North High Shoals native will be sworn in during the April town council meeting.~ by Michael Prochaska North High Shoals has new mayor : North High Shoals has 53 followers on Facebook but more than 650 people res...

She practices in Watkinsville, too Lakeview junior Samantha Simonton seeks Olympic spot in shooting

Britt Beaver spends his day helping kids make the right choices. As the lead counselor at Anita White Carson Middle School in Greene County, Beaver prepares students for collegiate studies and life in the workforce. Beaver said his former students should not be surprised to see his name on the ballot May 24. Beaver is running for the Board of Education chairman’s seat against incumben...

Suburban counties again head the rankings of Georgia’s healthiest counties, with Oconee County placing second overall. For the fourth straight year, Forsyth County is the healthiest in Georgia, according to the 2016 County Health Rankings, released Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Forsyth was followed by Oconee, Fayette, Harris and Gwinnett. Rounding out the Top 10 were Cherokee, Cobb, Columbia, Paulding and Coweta. Forsyth and six others are in suburban Atlanta. Oconee is near Athens, Columbia near Augusta, and Harris is just north of Columbus, and has high per-capita income. At the bottom of the Georgia list is Quitman County. Seven of the bottom 10 counties, like Quitman, lie in the southwest corner of the state. Clarke County placed 52 out of the state’s 159 counties, ranking 22nd in length of life but 101st in quality of life and 142nd in physical environment. Jackson County was 33rd...

AGENDA CITY OF WATKINSVILLE March 16, 2016 CALL TO ORDER QUORUM CHECK MINUTES 1. February 17, 2016 APPEARANCES 1. Jason McGahee – business license – Clarke Veneers and Plywood – 1450 Greensboro Hwy. 2. Randy Tallent – business license – US Lawns/Athens – 1401 Greensboro Hwy. 3. Trixie Ware – business license – FitMix, LLC Personal Training & Fitness – 10 S Barnett Shoals Road 4. Jeff Hutchins – business license – J.B.’s Smokin’ Pig, LLC – 64 N Main Street 5. Kenton Jenkins – business license – Kenton’s – 1121 Industrial Drive 6. David Branch, Jr. – business license – Branch Environmental, Inc. – 72 ½ N Main Street 7. Luke Bishop (Fifteen Properties) – Demolition Permit – existing house @ 420 Jerry Smith Dr. 8. Luke Bishop – variance request – 1010 Hillside Drive (to allow 7 lots off private drive) 9. Luke Bishop – preliminary plat consideration – 1010 Hillside Drive ADMINISTRATION 1. Reconciliation Reports – February 29, 2016 Genera...

State Senator is also executive with billion dollar a year state vendor

Two pieces of sculpture went up on Main Street in downtown Watkinsville over the weekend, continuing the city’s commitment to being the “Artland of Georgia.” Cindy Farley, the director at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation, said the sculptures are part of the 2016 Pop-Up Sculpture Exhibit, which is partially funded by a Georgia Council for the Arts grant. The exhibit will see fie sculptures erected in downtown Watkinsville. “What we thought was that for years we have had all these artists working in their studios all around Oconee County,” Farley explained. “That’s why Watkinsville is the Artland of Georgia. Our thinking was that we should bring this art out into the community.” Farley, who serves on the city’s Arts Advisory Council, said that group initiated the campaign. A total of five sculptures will go up around town. Saturday afternoon, Joni Younkins-Herzog was putting up her sculpture Scopa in front of the AT&T building on Main Street. The piece is ma...

On March 5, Oconee County Cpl. Mark Smith met with a 70-year-old Bishop man, who reported that on March 3 he received a telephone call from a man who identified himself as being with legal aid in Illinois. The caller explained the man’s grandson was in jail on a DUI charge. The grandson is stationed in Germany but was in Illinois for the funeral of a friend and was in a wreck. The grandson then got briefly on the line and though it didn’t sound like his grandson, the caller explained his voice change by saying he broke his nose in the wreck. The grandson had bail set at $3,500, but could get out if his grandfather would send $1,162 by Moneygram. Bishop man loses over $1,000 in phone scam