Oconee County, GA Politics

So when is a transfer not a transfer? When you are married to the Landlord, apparently, at least in the wonderful world of Watkinsville beer and wine sales. This was the case at the Watkinsville City Council meeting as the city breezed through a relatively light business agenda with a couple of no-shows in Pike Gas Service and Harjo Wood Works Wednesday evening at the Community Center..  The Watkinsville City Council gave its stamp of unanimous approval to a slightly changed Animal Control ordinance that essentially is designed to give teeth to combating animals left alone and tied up without supervision inside the City Limits.  Apparently there are a couple of poor pooches in the White subdivision that are on a chain and keeping people from walking around their neighborhood without fear of getting bit by Fido. I think 45 minutes is as long as you can keep a dog tied up in your yard with no one around. Nicole Brooks, center, taking the place of Julie Sanders at a meeting...

The Watkinsville City Council had a full slate of members to go with a distracted Mayor Wednesday evening at the Community Center in the county seat of Oconee County. Business was slight as 2/3rds the appearances failed to show up on time, but the remaining appearance was approved as Corey Davis received approval for his Core Blend Training and Wellness at 1410 Greensboro Highway with a testimonial on his application from recent Olympic Bronze Medal shot putter Reece Hoffa, who came back to Northeast Georgia from London with the hardware. Davis intends to train "regular people" in addition to elite athletes in the business he purchased recently. He will have early morning boot camps at 5:30 and 7:30 am as well as 9:30 am as well as zumba and yogi classes later in the day. Those not arriving in time included Kevin Pike of Pike Gas Services at 75 Barnett Shoals Road and Bindhumol John for J&B Food Mart for a beer and win retail license at 1461 Greensboro Highway. Counci...

Brian Brodrick and Henry Norman The future of domesticated fowl inside the city limits was briefly considered near the end of the new business section of the Watkinsville City Council meeting Wednesday evening at Community Center, but the biggest news might be what the executive session yielded in terms of possible future litigation against the city. Council members Toby Smith and Samantha Purcell listen to a business license request Speculation abounds as to whether the much ballyhooed problems in a section of downtown businesses could be the source of concern, or could it be something much more nefarious and or insidious? We will find out and report shortly. Watkinsville will apparently allowed chicken and roosters in the yard if they are contained, and a sinkhole remains in the back of yard on Katie Lane. A boilerplate tattoo ordinance was inked from Oconee code with no tattoo and body piercing places on the horizon out here after a second public hearing. Victoria Al...

The economic rebound continues to percolate in lovely downtown Watkinsville, with Delores Schofill of CIRCA returning to the Main Street strip at 13 1/2 Main Stgreet, and Mae Rivera returning to cut hair basically across the street from her original location where pine straw has been sold with Watkinsville Clipper Cuts at 52 N. Main Street, Suite B, in the same development as Sunshine Cycles. Delores Schofill of CIRCA comes back to Watkinsville Kristina Butler received the OK for Fresh Baked Home Just down the street from the return of CIRCA and their authentic antiques from the 1700s and 1800s is Fresh Baked Home run by Kristina Baker at 17 North Main Street. All these businesses received unanimous approval by the City Council in an otherwise brief meeting. Mayoral candidate Dan Matthews was in the audience, and his opponent Charles Ivie continued his absence from the regular meetings. The Sons of Confederate Veterans received non-unanimous approval for a solar powered lig...

The last quarter of Mayor Jim Luken's third and final term in office as Mayor of Watkinsville was run like a Marine inspection by the former Marine and son of former Cincinnati mayor of the same name. It appears the younger Luken may have found a signature send off in stopping the four lane build out of Simonton Bridge Road after members of the Georgia Department of Transportation said the thoroughfare does not meet the criteria for becoming four lane at a MACORTS meeting today. The fact he also found an extra $40,000.00 from interest on the city's Certificates of Deposit for the City coffers is not bad thing to be remembered by either.  "We have a real chance to step in a muddy hole here," commented Luken.  "We have got to be careful."  The county seat of Oconee County continues a carefully honed path of progress and growth amidst a sea of abandoned subdivisions even encroaching inside the city limits. Among the new businesses approved by the Cit...

With the qualifying period now half over, no challengers have emerged (so far) for presumed Mayor Joe Walter, City Council member Brian Brodrick and newly appointed member (and Christian Lake subdivision resident) Henry Norman (who has yet to officially attend a meeting of the Watkinsville city council as a member but will do so in less than a fortnight Wednesday, September 14.) The special qualifying period for Walter's seat he gave up to become Mayor will be during the last week of September, according to City Clerk Julie Sanders. "Qualifying will be the end of September. An advertisement will be in the paper - probably next Thursday announcing qualifying," according to Julie.