Oconee County, GA Politics

Future Land Use Plan Developed Through Citizen Feedback Plan to be Presented at Dec. 1 Meeting WATKINSVILLE, GA., Nov. 22, 2005 - The City of Watkinsville will hold the third and final public meeting in the "Your Watkinsville" city visioning process on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. A future land use draft will be presented based on the community vision, goals and objectives derived from previous meetings and stakeholder feedback. The plan is the result of a nine-month process in which Watkinsville citizens, land owners and business owners have voiced their opinions on the current strengths and weaknesses of Watkinsville, as well as their thoughts on the future of the city. The presentation is anticipated to show a land use plan that significantly differs from the plan currently in use. Computer models will be utilized to highlight the scale of new developments allowed under the revised plan, as well as forecasted population statistics and development trends. Vital ...

Hey everyone. We have an exciting new concert for the holidays here at Ashford Manor. It will be part of a day-long celebration in Downtown Watkinsville, starting with the annual Watkinsville Christmas Parade and followed by the concert, details below. Also there will be holiday shopping opportunities in town all day. See below. And let me know if you have any questions. SEE YOU THERE! WHAT: The First Annual Holiday Concert on the Lawn at Ashford Manor. A traditional holiday concert set on the beautiful lawn of Ashford Manor; a perfect event for families, couples, friends and old alike. Food & hot beverages will be made available by: Jittery Joes, Maison Bleu and the Big Easy. WHO: 1:30pm The Lighthouse Gospelettes featuring a Traditional Christmas 2:30pm The Athens A-Train featuring Katie Ford a Jazz Christmas WHEN: Saturday, December 3rd ...

We've heard much talk of the states serving as "progressive laboratories" in recent years. But conservatives have been working to shape state laws for the past 30 years. The center of gravity for that effort is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation's largest network of state legislators. Founded in 1973, ALEC was the brainchild of paleocon Paul Weyrich , a leading "Movement conservative" and the head of the Free Congress Foundation (in 1973 Weyrich also co-founded the Heritage Foundation). It is the connective tissue that links state legislators with right-wing think tanks, leading anti-tax activists and corporate money. ALEC is a public-policy mill that churns out "model legislation" for the states that are unfailingly pro-business. The organization fights against civil rights laws, as well as consumer, labor and environmental initiatives. According to the National Resources Defense Council , corporations "funnel cash t...

Developer suing over zoning vote Oconee County By Merritt Melancon juliana.melancon@onlineathens.com Story updated at 12:14 AM on Friday, November 18, 2005 WATKINSVILLE - An Oconee County development company is suing the Oconee County Commission over its Oct. 4 denial of a rezoning application that would have allowed 66 acres of commercial businesses on Mars Hill Road land that's currently zoned for agriculture. Oconee County developer Mark Jennings' company, Plant-a-Seed Inc., sued commissioners in Oconee County Superior Court to overturn their decision and to force them to reconsider the rezoning. Plant-a-Seed originally asked commissioners to rezone two separate parcels for a pair of developments known as The Promenade at Parkside and The Commons at Parkside. The applications asked that one 48-acre tract be rezoned so that offices could be built there and that one 6-acre tract be rezoned so that retail shops and offices could be built there. The two developments wer...

Voter ID memo stirs tension Sponsor of disputed Georgia legislation told feds that blacks in her district only vote if they are paid to do so. By BOB KEMPER in Washington , SONJI JACOBS in Atlanta The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 11/18/05 The chief sponsor of Georgia's voter identification law told the Justice Department that if black people in her district "are not paid to vote, they don't go to the polls," and that if fewer blacks vote as a result of the new law, it is only because it would end such voting fraud. The newly released Justice Department memo quoting state Rep. Sue Burmeister (R-Augusta) was prepared by department lawyers as the federal government considered whether to approve the new law. It also says that despite Republican assurances the law would not disenfranchise elderly, poor and black voters, Susan Laccetti Meyers, the staff adviser for the Georgia House of Representatives, told the Justice Department "the Legislature did not ...

There seems to be an effort to locate the old Central School House in a freaking cul-de-sac in Heritage Park. William White is under pressure from Melvin Davis to come to a decision where to locate the old structre, donated several years ago. It has to be moved soon to maintain some sort of historic integrity. I think it should be at the front of the park. Don Oliver of the Oconee County Parks and Recreation Department wants to put the schoolhouse in the back of the park down a slope away from Highway 441. Members of the Historic Sites and Tourism committee want to see the park located closer to the road so it can be seen from 441. It does not have to be at the side of the road, but at least in some sight distance from the highway. There is alread another historic structure at Heritage Park and there would be no way these would be located right next to each other at the end of a cul de sac. There are already way too many cul de sacs in Oconee County as it is right now. Oliver also want...

Dear Daniel, Please forward this email to all of your friends and family in Georgia. Congressmen from Georgia should not be accepting money from corporate special interests like Wal-Mart This morning, Wal-Mart hosted a breakfast fundraiser "honoring" Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D-GA). WakeUpWalMart.com staff and volunteers greeted the Congressman and the funders - $1,000 PAC donors and $500 individual donors were invited - at Wal-Mart DC location on 575 7th Street, NW with signs, flyers and protestors. WakeUpWalMart.com supporters were wondering why a Democratic Congressman from Georgia would take money from Wal-Mart. In your home state of Georgia, more than 10,261 children - 6.2 % of all children in the state - enrolled in PeachCare for Kids, the states health care program for low income children, had parents working for Wal-Mart. PeachCare coverage for Wal-Mart employees children costs state taxpayers $10 million per year. Please call or write Congressman Bishop toda...

Bush Political Appointee Ignores DOJ Staff Investigation Today, the Washington Post reported that four of the five Justice Department lawyers and analysts reviewing the Georgia voter-ID law recommended that it be rejected as it violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act, but they were overruled by a political appointee in President Bush’s Justice Department. The lawyers and analysts said that the state of Georgia provided data that was inaccurate and incomplete and that the plan was “retrogressive,” meaning it was discriminatory to African-Americans and other minorities attempting to vote. The complete Washington Post article, “Criticism of Voting Law Was Overruled; Justice Dept. Backed Georgia Measure Despite Fears of Discrimination,” can be read here . Excerpts follow: “A team of Justice Department lawyers and analysts who reviewed a Georgia voter-identification law recommended rejecting it because it was likely to discriminate against black voters, but they were overruled the next day by h...

Feedback trickles in on stormwater proposals Oconee County By Merritt Melancon juliana.melancon@onlineathens.com Story updated at 10:33 PM on Tuesday, November 15, 2005 Oconee County has gotten only one comment on proposed new stormwater regulations, but that doesn't mean the ordinances will necessarily be adopted as is. As the ordinances currently are written, one would bar dumping anything other than rainwater into a storm drain and another would require the county to make periodic inspections of existing stormwater retention ponds maintained by their owners - whether that is a private landowner, the owner of a commercial development or a neighborhood association. A third ordinance would require new developments to include detention ponds that reduce pollutants, not just hold and slow stormwater runoff as local law requires now. The inspection ordinance would apply only to the 22-square-mile area of the county that the state Environmental Protection Division has dubbed ...

Kinky people of the world: A message from Governor Jesse Ventura Independent-minded Texans should be thrilled with the latest Zogby poll showing the following results: Rick Perry (R) 41% Chris Bell (D) 25% Kinky Friedman (I) 21% In 1998, my campaign didn't reach 20% in a likely voter poll until 10 days before the election. Ross Perot only received 19% in his presidential race in 1992, but Kinky is polling at 21% a full year before Election Day. Remember, the Zogby poll really only counted voters that voted in the last Governor’s race. Since that was less than one third of the electorate, 21% is a pretty remarkable place for Kinky to be in this early. I know about Texas pride; Texans like to be first in everything they do. Well, Minnesota's been the mecca of third-party politics for years. But Texas has a chance to steal the title from us. Elect Kinky Friedman as your next Governor and the baton will be passed on to Texas. That's my challenge to you. But Kinky can’t do it al...

Elizabeth Edwards came to Athens with daughter Cate Edwards on the eve of the Georgia primary in 2004. I publish her letter to me not because of that or because she is a breast cancer survivor, but because she writes well. Let me know what you think: Dear Dan, Each morning when I open the newspaper, I am disappointed. Disappointed as a mother. Disappointed as a woman. Disappointed as an American. I am disappointed in the way the Bush Administration and Republican leaders are handling the major issues facing our country right now. Each morning, I read about another young life sacrificed in Iraq. As a mother, my heart breaks. These noble young men and women are carrying out their mission with skill and honor. But in Washington, our leaders are not doing the same. The president failed to conduct a full investigation of how we as a country were misled in the run up to the war in Iraq. The vice president and his staff continue to stonewall an investigation into how a covert CIA agent was re...

...had almost a dozen folks from Oconee and one lady from Jefferson, in Jackson County, who knew Violet Dawe from the horse show circuit. Howard Dean spoke to us via conference call. I brought a crusty old speaker phone over to the Stewarts' lovely home in Northwest Woods. Chairman Dean suggested we concentrate on the lower level and hammer home the message "together America can do better." We want to emphasize the truth and talk to people to find common ground. Rich Rusk volunteered to do phone banking for future meetings. Violet Dawe collected about half the money for the horse carriage coming from Gillsville.

Watkinsville City Council approves plat precedent Community By Daniel J. Matthews Jr. Correspondent Story updated at 10:55 PM on Tuesday, November 15, 2005 The Watkinsville City Council approved a pair of plat variances and sewer requests for the property of Jewell Jean Evans at 19 Whitehall Road despite the warnings of the city attorney and objections of some neighbors regarding to potential storm water run-off during the Nov. 9 meeting. Newly-elected council member Joe Walter made a motion to deny the request to essentially subdivide two substandard sized lots, but his denial died due to lack of a second. Council member Samantha Purcell made a motion to approve the recommendation to subdivide the tracts, and Brian Brodrick seconded it. Walter voted against it, with the votes of Brodrick and Purcell pushing the motion over the newest members' objections. Council member Mike Link was absent from the meeting. The motion for the sewer hook-up passed unanimously. City attorn...

A co-worker friend of mine said he grunted everytime he said "immigrant," or "immigrunt" as the case may be. She sat close enough to have to deal with his spittle.

From 7-8 pm this Tuesday, November 15, there will be two grass roots organizing parties with a teleconference call from Chairman Howard Dean to unleash the 50 state strategy for 2006. City Council member Fred Johnson is hosting a party for his precinct in North High Shoals at his 1191 Falcon Ridge Drive home (706-769-2569). John and Barbara Stewart are also hosting an event at their home at 1301 Northwest Road in Northwest Woods subdivision (706-769-6842) in Watkinsville. On Tuesday, November 15, the Democratic National Committee is facilitating House Parties across the nation to kick-off our push to the elections in 2006. Hosts of National Organizing Kickoff meetings will have materials to run a briefing on our party-building efforts, the political landscape in your state and opportunities to take action locally. The Oconee Democrats will be hosting their regular monthly meeting 7-8 pm Thursday, December 1st at the Board of Commissioners' chambers of the Oconee County Courthouse o...

Last night I attended a debate sponsored by the Ideas and Issues division of the University Union at the Hodgson Hall Performing Arts Center. The debate was between former Presidential candidate and Nixon speechwriter Pat Buchanan and NYU Law School professor Nadine Strossen, who is also the head of the American Civil Liberties Union. Buchanan gave lots of history lessons, basically equating actions in the past with the framework of the post-9/11/01 world. Stroessen shot down everything Buchanan said, except for defending his right to be an anti-war critic. Yes, you read that correctly, Pat Buchanan is an ardent critic of the current administration's attempt at nation building in Iraq. He even thinks there may be a horrible disaster sometime in the next several years there, after he answered my question at the end of the platform debate about civil liberties. I will post some photos soon.

She was very entertaining and had been to UGA recently to debate William F. Buckley, Jr. and sent him into retirement from the debate circuit soon there after. She towed the non-partisan line very well.

AJC: “Georgia juvenile justice probed;” “Papers allegedly were falsified” by Perdue Administration According to Saturday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, federal and state authorities are investigating whether Governor Sonny Perdue’s Department of Juvenile Justice falsified documents to help Georgia meet U.S. Department of Justice standards for child safety. The article reported that the DJJ’s former Director of Legal Services, Nina Edidin, turned into a whistleblower and reported the alleged wrongdoing to the Attorney General’s office, which asked the GBI to investigate. According to GBI documents examined by the AJC, Ms. Edidin had gone to the Attorney General after Albert Murray, Perdue’s DJJ Commissioner, failed to act in response to her concerns. Ms Edidin also apparently told the GBI that she was forced to resign after contacting the Attorney General. The supervisor of the FBI’s Atlanta public corruption squad confirmed that it is now involved in the probe. [ J. Miller, “Georg...

I know that Joe Walter won because he knocked on every door in Watkinsville. I did not see Andy Griner out campaigning ever except for a pair of appearances at city council meetings. The fact that Walter beat Griner and John Walsh defeated Jay Hanley by 3-to-1 margins are signs that the county seat in much more progressive than the county as a whole. Perceptions become reality, and Watkinsville is the beacon for the rest of the county. What can we expect from a clear majority now on the city council? Beer and wine sales in the convenience store(s) would be a start not requiring a referendum. I was under the false impression that the same could be done for beer and wine sales in restaurants, but I think that a city-wide referendum on strictly beer and wine would pass by an equally large margin in Watkinsville alone. There are three restaurants where beer and wine are already consumed in a BYOB manner, and I know of at least two more on the way. I think we would get a Loco's here ove...

Bachtel: Oconee County considered a metro, not rural area Northeast Georgia Story updated at 11:35 AM on Sunday, November 13, 2005 I recently read with interest that a national agricultural publication named Oconee County one of the best rural places to live in America. I don't want to shovel any cow chips toward the good folks in Oconee County, but the editors of this ag publication have done a great disservice not only to the residents and decision makers in Oconee County, but all of the rural counties in America as well by their basic lack of understanding regarding the term rural. Oconee County is, by no stretch of the imagination, rural. The Census Bureau defines two types of counties, and they are metropolitan and nonmetropolitan. These definitions are used by all sorts of governmental agencies as well as private entities for qualifying for grants and programs, and as a result, are important. Oconee County is a metropolitan county, and it is part of the four-county ...