Oconee County, GA Politics

By a 4-to-1 vote, the Watkinsville City Council passed the beer and wine control restaurant pouring ordinance Wednesday evening. Managers have to be 25 years old and the eateries have to seat at least 50 people on the inside. The ordinance will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2007.

Outside of the Eckerd's at Butler's Crossing. He looked sad and lonely. I waved and he waved back. Sorry no one I know is voting for you

Might be some beer and wine rumblings for restaurants in Watkinsville and Oconee County in the not too distant future.....see #2 on old business. AGENDA CITY OF WATKINSVILLE August 9, 2006 CALL TO ORDER QUORUM CHECK WATKINSVILLE BEAUTIFUL YARD AWARD MINUTES APPEARANCES 1. Jaimee Dean – business license – Mary Lou’s Garden – 10C Barnett Shoals Road 2. Flo Wilkes – demolition permit – existing building @ Greensboro Highway 3. Ted Evans – building permit – 55’x130’ steel building @ 50 Greensboro Highway ADMINISTRATION 1. Reconciliation Report (June 30, 2006) MAYOR’S REPORT CITIZEN’S COMMENTS OLD BUSINESS 1. Bicentennial Reports 2. Consider Beer & Wine Ordinance NEW BUSINESS 1. Possibly consider new storm water engineer. 2. Consider moratorium on construction in downtown Watkinsville and consider expansion of the downtown area. ADJOURN

Athens Banner-Herald's Oconee County beat reporter Juliana Merritt Melancon wants to talk to some people from the south end of Oconee County to ask them various questions, some of which you will get a clue about below. If you are from Bishop on south, please call her if you can. Here is her plea. Thank you very much from the both of us. Hello Oconee County Residents, This is Merritt Melancon from the Athens Banner Herald . I’m one of the writers here who covers Oconee County for our paper, and I could use your help. I’m working on an article about families who live in the more rural southern half of the county, and families who live in the more suburban northern half of the county. It’s about how they’re similar and how they are different. What services each group expects from the county and what services they use? How they picture the county in 10 years? How involved are they in the workings of the county government? Why they live in the county and how they identify themselves w...

The Oconee County Democratic Committee cobbled together a couple of letters thanking voters for selecting the Democratic side in the recent primary. We mined and stiched together various databases to retrieve the names of those who voted on the Democratic side for both this election and the most recent. We realize people cross over for various reasons and I suspect this person might have done so for her own personal decision. We respect that so I wanted to remove her name. But here is the email exchange I went through with her: Mr. Matthews, My husband and I recevied a letter from the Democrat party recently. We have also received numerous phone calls from Democrat candiates asking us to vote for them. These calls are recorded calls and do not give any information on what the candidate stands for. I want to know who you got our personal information from. To me this is an invasion of my privacy and I DO NOT want to receive any more calls from your candidates. You can respond to thi...

I am supporting Jim Martin in the Democratic run-off for Lieutenant Governor on August 8, and I hope you will too. In the race for Lieutenant Governor, only Jim Martin has the experience we need to bring down healthcare costs, bring good-paying jobs to Georgia, and increase student achievement. Jim served for 18 years in the state House, was an active member of the Democratic leadership, and passed more than 60 laws that improve the lives of Georgians every day. He also led the Department of Human Resources under two governors. Jim is respected statewide as an advocate for children, senior citizens, and families. No candidate in the race for Lieutenant Governor has a comparable record of accomplishment or shares our values more than Jim Martin. That is why Jim has been endorsed by Mayor Shirley Franklin, Ambassador Andrew Young, Governor Roy Barnes, the Georgia Association of Educators, and leaders from across the state. I ask you to join me in voting for Jim on August 8. To learn more...

Just picked up the first issue of the new weekly newspaper and was very impressed with the initial edition. Any time there is competition for local news everyone benefits (although I know a certain General Manager who might disagree with me). The 24 page tabloid is colorful and printed well. It reminds me of a top notch college newspaper printed well in Monroe. The logo is kind of off balance or off kilter a bit, and I would suggest making it about an inch and a half wider on the left and less curved. I know Rob Peecher from our days together in Eatonton at the Messenger and he will put out a quality product. It is a tad too gray on some of the inside pages - page 3 could have used a photo, but considering the start-up from near zero, they have exceeded expectations in a short time. Rob wrote almost every news story and feature, and he can't possibly expect to continue that load. The autism feature was interesting but read more like a magazine story, but I would well imagine he had...

The latest informational meeting of the Watkinsville City Council was packed to a full house Monday evening. The funniest event of the evening was when a supporter of the beer and wine proposal was describing how his 91 year old mother was trying to foist a bottle of wine while using a walker and then having to drink the whole bottle.

Not from me, but from Jim Shearon of Ashford Manor fame: 27 July 2006 Dear Mayor Luken and City Council Members, We acknowledge that you have been working steadily and digilenty with the RDC to format new ordinances for the City and that it is an extensive and complicated process. None the less we are greatly concerned over the possibility that there could be additions, renovation/remodeling, removal of buildings on properties within the Historic/Business District that would not be consistent with the look and atmosphere of the existent buildings and the vision of the City that came out of last year’s Visioning Sessions. We fear that potential developers within this area might not show the sensibility and aesthetic exhibited in the Town Center development. This fear is reinforced by the slovenly care of many of our downtown properties including Commercial, residential and undeveloped plats by their current owners. The Urban Forrest Ordinance and the new Sign Ordinance (which di...

We need to ween Georgia off fossil fuels as soon as possible. I have added a tank or two of biodiesel to my truck, not yet available in Oconee although we're working on that one. Go to Apex Oil off Old West Broad in Athens for Biodiesel FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kristin Brekke, Communications Director Phone: (605) 334-3381 / E-mail: kbrekke@ethanol.org Ethanol-Blended Fuel Could Ease Atlanta Gas Prices Sioux Falls, SD (March 31, 2005) – Atlanta gas prices could drop by seven cents per gallon or more if ethanol was used in the metro area's fuel, according to the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE). “Because of the strong production of ethanol in the U.S. and record high prices for gasoline, the price of ethanol-blended fuel is a great value,” said Ron Lamberty, ACE Vice President / Market Development. “We estimate that, based on current market prices, fuel prices in the Atlanta metro area could be seven cents per gallon lower if stations were allowed to use ethanol...

Good evening everyone, Below is some info regarding the upcoming public reading and subsequent vote on the county’s stormwater ordinance. The following info comes via Charles Baugh and Lee Becker. Please attend the upcoming BOC meetings and/or write the Commissioners in support of countywide application of the ordinance. If you aren’t familiar with the issue, you can study the files available at the Friends of Barber Creek website (http://www.barbercreek.org/barbercreek/library.html). Given the rapid growth occuring in the county, a countywide ordinance is the only way to ensure proper protection measures are in place for our streams and rivers. The county actually has a very good history of implementing environmental protection standards that are beyond the State’s basic guidelines (e.g., 100 buffer on rivers for construction; 50-100 buffer on the flood plain). Let’s hope they keep such high standards for the stormwater issue as well. My apologies for any duplicated posts. Ch...

Bobbie Paul, Director of Women's Action for New Directions (Nuclear Disarmament), is searching for men who are willing to play the part of KKK men in a drama on Tuesday afternoon, evening, in Oconee County at Moore's Ford, as described below. Senator Tyrone Brooks is the leader of the effort, as described below. This is a nationally famous event. Please check out the directions below and respond to Bobbie Paul: Bobbie Paul Director Atlanta WAND 250 Georgia Ave SE Suite #202 Atlanta, Georgia 30312 (404) 524-5999 www.atlantawand.org bobbiepaul@rp.cbeyond.com Tyrone brooks can be reached here. There is press conference at Concerned Black Clergy tomorrow at noon. GABEO Legislative Building Suite 511 18 Capitol Square SW Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Phone: 404.656.6372 Fax: 404.656.0238 mowens@legis.state.ga.us http://www.gabeo.org/nm/publish/news_63.shtml 60th Anniversary Commemoration and 2nd Re-enactment of the Lynchings at the Moore’s Ford Bridg...

Hi everyone, PLEASE share this email with your friends and other groups you are affiliated with in North Georgia. Charlie Norwood is attending the Georgia Mountain Fair Parade in Hiawassee, GA, this Saturday, July 22. The parade starts at 12:00 p.m. (Norwood's campaign opponent, Terry Holley, has a conflict and won't be at this event.) Norwood is behind the push for I-3, the proposed interstate through the North Georgia mountains. (Terry Holley opposes I-3.) IT WOULD BE GREAT if folks who oppose I-3 and especially folks who oppose Norwood could attend this parade on Saturday, and take some homemade signs (like: "To stop I-3, stop Norwood!"), and scatter themselves along the parade route. Please encourage folks to do this! Also, the latest Stop I-3 Newsletter can be found online at: http://www.stopi3.org/newsletter.html Thanks much!! -- Kat Here is the link to the latest Stop I-3 Coalition Newsletter (which includes the latest candidate tracking poll...

Not even 10 pm and he gives up. 11alive.com

Dear Moore's Ford friends, Please attend our upcoming film screening on July 22 with Keith Beauchamp. A short press release and longer personal column are attached. Keith is terrific - young, eloquent, full of passion. No wonder he got some older residents in Mississippi to start talking about Emmett Till. Please send this news to friends and list servs you think may be interested. How about Common Ground in Athens and OCAF in Oconee County, among others? Had a great trip to Alaska, where I was helping a friend build a home. But its always nice to come home. All the best, Rich Emmett Till Film & Producer Headed for Monroe On July 22, to honor the 60th anniversary of the Moore’s Ford lynching of 1946 and build support for the current FBI and GBI investigations, the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee will host a film screening – The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till – by filmmaker Keith Beauchamp. Set for 1 p.m., Saturday at the Monroe Community Center, Beauc...

So I will not be there in person, but I just got a telephone call from a producer at WSB TV (channel 2) confirming that they are going to use a question I submitted for the Republican debate between Ralph Reed and Casey Cagle. This debate is going to air Sunday at 5 pm. Ironically I submitted it for the Democratic governor's debate instead, but it applies just as well by Casey and Ralph Now I am not going to ruin the suspense by revealing what I am going to ask them, because that would give them a chance to prepare some textbook response. Suffice to say it is something echoed by many voters besides me and it will add some spice to the usual boring debate queries. It has nothing to do with Abramoff or banking directly.

I consider Watkinsville City Council member Brian Brodrick to be a friend of mine. He devours these blogs quicker than just about anybody, and in his business of working for Jackson-Spalding PR agency he is more sensitive to it. We live in a very small town. Sometimes emotions get carried away on contentious issues such as beer and wine in grocery stores and restaurant, and he wanted to reply to an article I wrote. By most considerations what happend last night was over in a minute and Brodrick basically called out Jim Shearron for berating Kate McDaniel. The entire three-way verbal spat did not last 15 seconds. And so I feel it is appropriate to publish his response to my article written last night: The following was written by Brodrick. 1) The only reason I raised my voice towards Jim is because I felt like he got personal with Kate. I always want debate to be civil at council, and felt like he crossed a line in attacking her. Both made valid points. I have the utmost respect for ...

Good evening everyone. I thought I’d pass along this bit of good news from Lee Becker regarding the county’s stormwater ordinance. My apologies if this is a repeated post. Cheers, Tony Glenn President, Citizens for South Oconee County -----Original Message----- From: Lee Becker [mailto:lbbecker@mindspring.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 9:43 PM Subject: Good News Dear Friends, Yesterday I spoke with Amy Morrison, who is in charge of the stormwater ordinance for the county. She said the overwhelming number of comments coming in to the county are calling for the stormwater ordinance to be rewritten so that the entire county will be required to follow the state standards for control of runoff. As a result, she said, she has changed the ordinance. The version that she posted to the web on July 6 contains language designed, she said, to accomplish this. The key provision is Section 3, part E, which says that the Oconee County Board of Commissioners "shall" compel a land ...