Oconee County, GA Politics

To: Julie Sanders <jsanders@cityofwatkinsville.com Subject: FIRST FRIDAY CANCELLED Due to threatening weather and temperatures, there will be no First Friday activities tonight. Thank you! Have a great and safe weekend!! Julie A. Sanders, CMC City of Watkinsville 191 VFW Drive PO Box 27 Watkinsville, GA 30677 706.769.5161 (office) 706-769-4760 (fax) jsanders@cityofwatkinsville.com This message and attachments may contain legally privileged and confidential information intended solely for the addressee. If the reader is not the intended recipient, any reading, distribution or other use is strictly prohibited.

Oconee County at Chapel Hill, 5:30 p.m. Records: Oconee County is 14-4-2, Chapel Hill is 16-2. How they got there: Oconee County defeated Northwest Whitfield 3-2 in the first round and Howard 6-0 in the second. Chapel Hill topped Chestatee 3-2 and Richmond Academy 8-0. Need to know: Oconee County’s rout of Howard in the second round was its eighth shutout of the season. Chapel Hill has allowed six goals through its four-game win streak. What’s next: The winner will play the St. Pius X-Blessed Trinity winner Tuesday. A look at the girls state soccer high school quarterfinals

GARY GROSSMAN 237 HIGHLAND AVE GA 30606  To: Editors of the Athens Banner Herald, Re: Robert Ringers column We are writing to demand that you retract the incendiary and hate-filled column by Robert Ringer, published in your newspaper on 28 April 2017 and entitled “Radical Left Should Be Eliminated” see http://onlineathens.com/opinion/2017-04-28/ringer-radical-left-should-be-eradicated. We also request that you publish an apology to the Democrats of Athens, the state of Georgia and the US, given Mr. Ringer’s following published words “America’s greatest enemy is entrenched right here in our homeland, and it goes by the name of Democratic Party. It has become a front for the Radical Left, whose goal it is to destroy what’s left of American values, American exceptionalism, and the Constitution.” “As I have said many times, as with ISIS, merely containing the Radical Left is not an acceptable alternative. The goal should be to totally eradicate this lying...

Weather permitting, come on down to the area in front of Pour Bistro across from the Courthouse for the First Friday in downtown Watkinsville this evening.

I think it is well past time for Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens to go back home to Madison County and selling billboards and leave the insurance decisions to the adults in the room who have a little bit of fiscal responsibility and experience. At the very least he should forfeit his annual income of $120,394.00 if he chooses not to resign. To quote from the story: Even after laying off staffers, the state agency that regulates the insurance industry and investigates fires was $170,000 in the hole with two months left in fiscal 2017, which is why it is having to furlough employees. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  reported last week that the agency’s budget was such a mess that it had to shed 10 employees and give its remaining about 200 employees four days off without pay before June 30 . Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens t old the AJC the budget problems were due to his agency handing out raises without having the money to do s...

Who does 10th District Georgia Rep. Jody Hice, R-Monroe, serve? Is he at all concerned about the delivery of affordable and comprehensive physical and mental health care to his northeast Georgia constituents? Hice believes that market-driven solutions will enable all Americans to receive health care. To date, no place on earth offers an example of comprehensive health care delivery using a market-driven strategy. Did Hice miss that fact? Many market-driven strategies have been horrible for the nation’s health. If corporate marketing strategies were always allowed to prevail, we would still have lead in paint, lead in gasoline, no seat belts in cars, and no information about the tobacco death industry. Does Hice object that government intervention based on scientific research blocked the “free market” distribution of harmful products? If so, he should defy government regulations and not use his seat belt, fill up with leaded gasoline, and smoke cigarettes...

Oconee County advances to Elite Eight with 3-2 overtime win against Upson-Lee

Reed: Ringer ‘should be ashamed of himself’

Oconee County High FFA member wins first place in state lawn mower competition

Oconee County ousts Howard from girls soccer playoffs

Watkinsville now serving breakfast : Growing up, Sheila Bennett’s grandmother, Cora, served homemade biscuits for every meal.

Watkinsville rejects library budget request : The Watkinsville City Council last week declined a 5.6 increase in funding for the Oconee County Library.

David R. Sweat, chief judge of the Superior Courts of the Western Judicial Circuit, which serve Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties, will retire from active service effective July 31, according to a news release from the Athens-Clarke County government. Gov. Nathan Deal will appoint someone to serve for the remainder of Sweat’s current elected term, which expires on Dec. 31 of next year. Sweat intends to take Superior Court senior judge status, where he will continue to assist in the Western Judicial Circuit and other circuits around the state. He also will conduct private mediations, judicial settlement conferences and arbitrations. Sweat was elected in 2002 to the open seat on the Superior Court bench created when the late Judge Joseph J. Gaines retired. Before taking the bench, Judge Sweat practiced law in Athens for 23 years. He won re-election three times. In his first campaign for the Superior Court office, Judge Sweat noted that the work of th...

Julie Payne, media specialist at Malcom Bridge Elementary School. was nominated by Malcom Bridge Middle School student Lainey Lyle. The contest ran from Jan. 4 to March 1, and gave middle and high school students a chance to say publicly just how much they appreciate their teachers. Students nominated their favorite teacher by writing essays, poems or thank-you letters that shared how their teacher had influenced their life and why they appreciated and admired their teacher. Payne will receive a special award acknowledging her achievement and additional recognition in a ceremony at the Athens Barnes &Noble, 3650 Atlanta Highway, at 6 p.m. on May 3. Lyle, who wrote the winning essay, will receive a certificate of recognition and will also be honored at the event. The public is invited to attend the award ceremony, along with students and faculty of Malcom Bridge Elementary and Malcom Bridge Middle schools. Oconee media specialist Julie Payne honored