Oconee County, GA Politics

I have been told that the fact I live in a municipality, the fact that I am the head of the local political arm of the Democratic committee, and the newspaper reporting gig are the reasons I am never voted on to be on the planning commission. Fourth time was not the charm in my attempt at adding some citizens' input on the Board dealing with buildings in Oconee County. Perhaps if my dad was a good old boy involved in the real estate, developers or bankers' communities I would be given more creedence in the eyes of the local elected officials. Maybe next time I should ask the BOC questions instead of making a spiel about why they should pick me. At their meeting on July 6, 2006, the Oconee County Board of Commissioners made the following appointments: Land Use & Transportation Planning Committee - terms ending 9/30/2008 Abe Abouhamdan Bob Isaac James Morris Henry Norman Bob Sanders Frank Watson Planning Commission - terms ending 9/30/2010 Travis Marshall Fritzie Jackson Recr...

These two fine gentlemen addressed the July meeting of the Oconee County Democratic committee Thursday evening at Maison Bleu in the Town Center development in downtown Watkinsville. Neither of these non-partisan groups should be called "anti-development" but both are pro smart growth" and getting the control of our government out of the hands of developers. We had several new faces upstairs in the balcony of Maison Bleu and that is what we want in the local Democratic efforts. Glenn told us of the efforts of Citizens for South Oconee County and the success they had against a truck stop below Farmington. They also hosted a succesful Fourth of July celebration with 200 people appreciated small town Americana down yonder. Becker battled the local powers-that-be who are dumping our affluent effluent in little old Barber Creek. Experts have warned this creek is entirely too small to support our waste and recommended that we build a treatment facility for sewage on the Oconee...

Democratic Primary – Early/Advance Voting Mon-Fri, July 10-14, 9am-5pm Location: Your County Registration/Elections office Democratic Primary – GET OUT THE VOTE Tuesday, July 18, 7am-7pm Location: Your Precinct’s Designated Polling Place DPG State Convention Delegate Selection & DNC Democratic Reunion Saturday, July 22 Location: In your County DPG State Committee Meeting Saturday, July 29 Location: CWA Union Hall, 307 Logan St SE, Atlanta GADCC Richard Russell Dinner Saturday, August 12 Location: Macon Baymont Inn & Suites Convention Center DPG State Convention Saturday, September 16 Location: The Georgia International Convention Center DNC Election Day Team Training Saturday, September 30 Location: In each County General Election – Early/Advance Voting Mon-Fri, Oct 30-Nov 3, 9am-5pm Location: Your County Registration/Elections office General Election – GET OUT THE VOTE Tuesday, November 7, 7am-7pm Location: Your Precinct’s Desig...

MINUTES OF MEETING OF MAYOR AND COUNCIL CITY OF WATKINSVILLE June 14, 2006 PRESENT: Mayor Luken, Council members Link, Purcell, Brodrick, Walsh, Walter and City Attorney Huff. VISITORS: See attached sheet. QUORUM CHECK: Mayor Luken acknowledges a quorum is present and asks those with non-emergency cell phones to turn them off or down. Mayor Luken also welcomes County Commissioner Chuck Horton. WATKINSVILLE BEAUTIFUL YARD AWARD: Mike and Nona Thornton of 9 South Main Street were awarded, in abstention, the Watkinsville Beautiful Yard Award for the month of June. The selection was made by Jim Shearon of Ashford Manor Bed & Breakfast. MINUTES: Councilwoman Purcell moved and Councilman Link seconded the motion to approve the minutes of the May 10, 2006 Council meeting as presented with corrections provided by Councilman Brodrick. Motion carried unanimously. ZAHID ABDULLAH: Steve Knapp and Laura Wright represented Zahid Abdullah. Councilman Walter moved and Councilman Walsh seconded th...

Called City Council Meeting Oconee Living section Athens Banner-Herald June 26, 2006 Residents show support for Council approval of beer and wine sales By Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Correspondent Athens Banner-Herald 35 residents of Oconee County, many in favor of the council voting for approval of beer and wine sales without a referendum, came to the Watkinsville Community Center on a wet Monday evening for a special called meeting of the city council concerning the possible sales of beer and wine in restaurants and stores inside the city limits. Currently beer and wine sales are legal in Oconee County stores only outside of municipalities, having passed in 1987 without a referendum as well. Watkinsville mayor Jim Luken made sure everyone who attended his meeting called for Monday night were aware this special called meeting had no agenda and no vote. “This was an information gathering meeting,” said Jim Luken. “Nobody was trying to sneak anything past you. We are not voting on anythi...

Heidi just announced she will be seeking a second term. More later. Post AthFest haze.

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Subject: Planning Commission public hearing on Stormwater Ordinance The public hearing for the Stormwater Ordinance was held by the Planning Commission near the end of last night's regular meeting. Thanks to those who stuck it out and stayed for the hearing in order to speak out on the proposal. As it turned out, there had been changes made to the ordinance that were not available to the public. The draft on the county web site was not the most current. The Athens Homebuilders Association, through a representative had worked more magic on the ordinance and those changes were not included in the public version. For the public to have known there were recent changes they would have had to go by the public works department and ask for the most recent update. Not the best way to run a public hearing if you expect the public to have informed input. The Athens Homebuilders Association was not satisfied wit...

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Subject: Volunteers to speak at upcoming stormwater ordinance hearings This message is going to those who have expressed an interest in county issues such as zoning and ordinances such as the Master Planned Development ordinance. The County will hold two public hearings on the proposed stormwater ordinance before approving it later in July. The first is a Planning Commission hearing June 19th at 7:00 PM. The second is a Board of Commissioners hearing on June 27th at 7:00 PM. Developers have worked their magic on the proposed ordinance by getting substantial penalties removed and by having the ordinance apply only to the bare minimum portion of the county. Portions of the county where substantial development is occurring are not included. It is important the Board knows that citizens have an interest in maintaining a good quality of life and that clean water is a quality of life issue. They need to see c...

Watkinsville City Council June 14, 2006 Oconee Living Section Athens Banner-Herald Watkinsville considers beer and wine sales By Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Correspondent After an arduous ordeal of considering budgeting and a sign ordinance, Mayor Jim Luken was ready to adjourn the lengthy meeting of the Watkinsville City Council. City council members John Walsh, Jr. and Samantha Purcell had a new business bombshell to drop with almost no one left to watch the impact. Walsh read a prepared statement supporting the city council’s consideration of regulating beer and wine sales in city restaurants and retail establishments. Purcell followed up with a list of 10 reasons she felt the regulation of beer and wine sales would be beneficial for Watkinsville. Both emphasized they did not want to ever see hard alcoholic drinks sold in city limits. Currently Oconee County allows sales of beer and wine in stores outside the city limits. Council member Brian Brodrick said the ordinance needs a lot of w...

This will be at the Watkinsville Community Center on VFW Drive. Looks like the Watkinsville economy will be expanding again. AGENDA CITY OF WATKINSVILLE June 14, 2006 CALL TO ORDER QUORUM CHECK WATKINSVILLE BEAUTIFUL YARD AWARD MINUTES APPEARANCES 1. Zahid Abdullah – business license – Jack’s Food Corner – 42 Greensboro Highway 2. Vicky Tavernier – business license – Sweet ReTreat – 2 S. Main Street, Suite 102 3. Tom George – business license – TCML, Inc. – 205 Concord Drive 4. Daniel Nash – business license – Total Home Care – 115 VFW Drive 5. Kari Lentini – business license – The Beadholder – 11 School Street 6. Scott Boswell – business license – Floyd’s Grill – 64 N. Main Street 7. Donald Duncan – business license – Classic City Cabinet Mfg. Co. – 1260 Greensboro Hwy. 8. Stephanie Cartwright – business license – Jack & Jill Co. dba Bread & Budder – 1260 Greensboro Hwy., Suite 302 9. Michael McCoy – business license – Southern Crane and Mechan...

Small Town of Farmington Celebrates a Great Nation The small farming community of Farmington, Georgia will be hosting its first annual Independence Day celebration this July 4th at the Farmington Community Center on Old Farmington Road. The evening’s festivities are scheduled to begin at 5 PM and end at 8 PM. “This is a celebration of our nation as well as a celebration of our community”, says committee member Lorraine Thompson, “We invite everyone to come out and join us for an evening of music, food, and family fun.” This event is being sponsored by Citizens for South Oconee County, a regional organization promoting smart growth principles and a sense of community while protecting rural qualities. Individuals can bring a picnic dinner or enjoy the down home BBQ of Dan Reed. Sweets and refreshments will also be available. Activities will include horseshoes, face painting, water balloon toss, hayrides, and a watermelon eating contest. Live music will be provided. If you play an...

My son is going to day camp at the Oconee County Recreation Department primarily at the John T. Brannen building of Herman C. Michael park. He will start his second week Monday morning and gets to go see the animated film "Cars" this week. The Rec. Dept. showed a film called "Dreamer" this past weekend. There were lots of things to do, including disc golf, regular golf, lacrosse, soccer, rock climbing and even jazzercise. My son has always wanted to play lacrosse so it was fun for him to get to try and catch/throw that hard rubber ball. After a week of seeing how poorly the Athens YMCA runs a camp, it is good to get back to Oconee County. There was a movement a couple of years back to try and bring a new Y to Oconee largely borne out of frustration with the recreation department back then. I still wish the aquatics center was on the front burner for the Oconee Community Complex/Monument to Jim Ivey's greed across the street. We shall see how the new private indo...

My son is going to day camp at the Oconee County Recreation Department primarily at the John T. Brannen building of Herman C. Michael park. He will start his second week Monday morning and gets to go see the animated film "Cars" this week. The Rec. Dept. showed a film called "Dreamer" this past weekend. There were lots of things to do, including disc golf, regular golf, lacrosse, soccer, rock climbing and even jazzercise. My son has always wanted to play lacrosse so it was fun for him to get to try and catch/throw that hard rubber ball. After a week of seeing how poorly the Athens YMCA runs a camp, it is good to get back to Oconee County. There was a movement a couple of years back to try and bring a new Y to Oconee largely borne out of frustration with the recreation department back then. I still wish the aquatics center was on the front burner for the Oconee Community Complex/Monument to Jim Ivey's greed across the street. We shall see how the new private indo...

Tant: Bush administration marching America directly into fascism | | Story updated at 10:12 PM on Friday, June 9, 2006 Ed Tant more Tant columns We aren't always the good guys and America doesn't always fight for freedom. Sometimes the shadow of the swastika looms over the "land of the free." From Abu Ghraib to Haditha, the Bush administration's ill-conceived and imperialistic invasion of Iraq has proved that the philosopher Voltaire was right when he said, "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Here at home, the folly of the Iraq war likewise proves that historian Howard Zinn was quite correct when he said, "One certain effect of war is to diminish freedom of expression." From the sadly misnamed "free speech zones" to corral protesters against Bush's policies to the widespread surveillance of phone calls made by Americans, it would seem that despite the prattling of the president it...

I saw another blog saying 9339 voters exist today in Oconee County. Surely several thousand of them are upset with the status quo corruption and development. Perhaps more people will decide with the children and the future in mind. The following is from Maddie Powell and her outfit, with a note from Fred Smith attached at the end. Hi everyone! Huge thanks to you, the kick-off now has a stellar Host Committee, which includes (in no particular order) Bob and Nancy Denson, Bertis and Katherine Downs, R.E.M., Ron Schwartz, Dick Bestwick, John Jeffreys, Becky Vaughn, Gwen O'Looney, Dr. David Jarrett, Doug and Mary McKillip, Jackie Howe, Ed Robinson, Rich and Janice Rusk, Ray and Nancy MacNair, Jim and Katie Bavis, Grady and Cynthia Martin, Marvin Nunnally and Charlie Maddox, and Evan and Erika Powell. This list is still growing, we have decided to use a mailing service instead of attempting to do it ourselves, which bought us a little bit of time to keep asking all of you to support ...

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Subject: Board of Commissioners Budget Hearing and Agenda Meeting Notes, 5/30/06 Sadly only a hand full of citizens came to the Budget Hearing but I suppose those who did not waste their time were the smart ones as what was presented was virtually incomprehensible. However there were 2 numbers that just jumped off the charts: a total "budget" of $43,261,408 representing a 9.13% increase over last year. It did not take long to see that what was presented as the "budget" was in fact grossly incomplete when a citizen asked how much is included for the new jail financing. The answer was nothing. Excuse was because the Board had not decided how to finance it and they expect to cover it with the fund balance. Later one of the Commissioners pointed out that the cost of acquiring right of way for the Mars Hill road widening also was not in the "budget". As it stands now the "bu...

The hot weather seemed to keep the crowds down at OCAF's Southworks this past weekend. I enjoyed seeing Bob Hay and Jolly Beggars (this pic was not taken there but at the effie's club follies show at the Georgia Theater earlier last week) but would have rather seen them outside on the stage instead of inside the old basketball gym. If they ever need a place to film Hoosiers II this Rocket Field gym would be the place. I liked all the art and always get a bone or rock from Oconee Minerals. This time it was a lapis ring for my son and a couple sapphires inside of some other rock. We built a steamroller thanks to Lowe's and listened to a bagpiper walking around the grounds. We walked up there once and biked a second time. It was truly amazing to see what a good job they did of cleaning up after themselves immediately afterward Sunday.

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Subject: Oconee County Stormwater Ordinance Following is the text of an e mail message from Lee Becker, Friends of Barber Creek with important information about the proposed stormwater ordinance. Lee provides an excellent summary of the important issues with the proposed ordinance. I urge all to read this e mail and the ordinance and then let the county staff know of your concerns. Lee is most concerned about the impact on Barber Creek but the impact of poor stormwater protection is not limited to Barber Creek.  Folks, this ordinance is far more important to the long term future of the county than any single rezone. This Board of Commissioners is driving development of the county and based on the direction given the county staff to "water this ordinance down" (no pun intended) it looks like they are willing to sacrifice water quality, an important part of what makes the county a good plac...

Biodiesel finds home in backyards By Stephanie Schupska University of Georgia The biodiesel topic is hitting the lips of those working in places ranging from labs to government regulations offices. As fuel prices continue to mount, many Americans have started hunting ways to make transportation more economical. And that includes the production of biodiesel. "Biodiesel has true scale-ability," said Rob Del Bueno of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "It can be made in a multimilliongallon tank or in a 2-liter bottle in a kitchen if done carefully." Del Bueno knows this firsthand. After college, he promoted a band that played gigs wherever they could get them. To save money, they converted the tour van to run on vegetable oil taken straight from the fryers at the bars where they played. Del Bueno was hooked, not on the band, but on the fuel they used. He started tearing apart engines, making his own biodiesel and running his car on it. He then started making it f...