Oconee County, GA Politics

DOUG GROSS Associated Press ATLANTA - Roughly three weeks before the Nov. 7 elections, the state Supreme Court on Monday will hear a challenge to an Athens Senate district redrawn by Republican lawmakers after a Democratic representative announced plans to seek the seat. The redrawing - which was the only major map change by the Legislature this year - divides the Democratic stronghold of Athens into two Republican-dominated districts. State Rep. Jane Kidd, D-Athens, is facing Republican Bill Cowsert to win the seat, which was vacated when incumbent Sen. Brian Kemp, a Republican, left to make an unsuccessful run for state agriculture commissioner. A federal suit, in which Kidd was a plaintiff, has been thrown out. But the state case, filed by constituents in the new district, remains alive on appeal after an Athens Superior Court judge sided with the defendants. Emmet Bondurant, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the lower court judge was wrong when he ruled the Legislature has a lega...

Good evening everyone, Below is a message from Russ Page regarding the Plum Creek and river walk issues. If you have received your Oconee Leader and Oconee Enterprise, you will see related articles in both papers this week. Mark your calendars and try to attend: Planning Commission (again!) on Monday, October 16th (I’m out of town, so do me proud and fight hard to preserve our beautiful south Oconee!) Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, November 7th Both meetings at 7 p.m. in the County Courthouse, Main Street, Watkinsville. Many thanks, Tony _____________________________________________ Here’s the update from Russ: To those following the river walk saga...two significant items on the agenda for Oct 16 Planning Commission meeting. Plum Creek Timberlands 2 rezones are back...I have submitted a Grant Proposal to Plum Creek Foundation, at Plum Creek headquarters in Washington State. I have discussed with Fernando Arias (Plum Creek Timberlands representative for land sales in North Georgia)...

Oconee County Candidate Forum Wednesday, November 1, 2006 Oconee County Library Auditorium 7:00-9:00 p.m. Candidates running for Georgia Senate District 46 (Jane Kidd and Bill Cowsert) and Georgia House District 113 (Becky Vaughn and Bob Smith) will be taking questions from the audience. If you have questions you’d like to ask the candidates, here’s your chance. As of now this is the only question & answer type forum to be held in Oconee County for these two races. To inquire more about this event, contact Lee Becker (lbbecker@mindspring.com) or Tony Glenn (southoconee@yahoo.com). This event is being sponsored by the following organizations: Citizens for Oconee’s Future Citizens for South Oconee County Friends of Barber Creek Friends of the Apalachee Oconee Citizens for Responsible Growth

WE'RE IN HIGH GEAR AND WE NEED YOUR HELP TO KEEP UP THE PACE!!! $10,000 will finish our mail and radio plans. click here to go to our website and contribute today. We're so close, help us reach the finish line. Opportunities coming this weekend: √ Saturday! 10:00 -1:00: We’ll be canvassing in Watkinsville. We’ll meet at Jittery Joe’s and go from there. Let us know if you can come so that we’ll have enough materials. 2:30 – 6:00: Office jobs at 1030 Meriweather Dr.If you missed our previous “stuffing” parties you won’t want to miss this one! Come for all or any part to * Stuff invitations for an Atlanta event next week * Write postcards to your friends (bring your address book!) * General office work: Thank you letters, database entry, etc. …and anything else we can think of between now and then! √ Sunday! 2:00-6:00: We’ll be driving to Atlanta to make use of a wonderful calling system. It skips all of the unanswered , answering machines, and busy signals so that you are spendin...

October City Council Meeting Oconee Living section Athens Banner-Herald October 12, 2006 American clothing company chooses Watkinsville as world headquarters By Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Correspondent Athens Banner-Herald Watkinsville was announced as the world headquarters from the fledging fashion line run by Mynk Corporation, whose American-made clothes have graced the pages of Glamour and been worn by the likes of Kelly Clarkston on the television show The View. Donald Harrison, Jr. told council members at the regular monthly meeting his company’s business shows signs of “tripling or quadrupling” in the very near future. He selected the clothing manufacturer office on 22 Barnett Shoals, running a Southern-themed jeans and other garments line. He will distribute clothes in nearby Winder. His was one of a half dozen businesses approved by the City Council in a relatively brief meeting. John Impeduglia received a pair of approvals for another apparel manufacturer as the t-shi...

Tim is a great guy who works with Community Connection and a lot of other important groups. The following is in no way indictative of any official endorsements, but instead one person's opinion and input of whom I have the highest and utmost amount of respect. I hope it enlightens some of you as to the vagaries of some of the judges' races and referenda: n the non-Commission, non-mayoral nonpartisan races (please note that all opinions are my own and are not on behalf of any organization): David Sweat (incumbent Superior Court judge) is an outstanding public servant. He is highly intelligent and has impeccable integrity. His entire legal career, he donated immeasurable pro-bono work to nonprofit organizations (including incorporation for Community Connection, Athens Area Homeless Shelter, Rape Crisis Center [now Sexual Assault Center], Project Safe, Georgia Options, and others). He continues to participate actively in volunteer work, including Partners for a Prosperous Athens, ...

Sonny Perdue Is Cheap More example of "sonny doo doo"

Attack of the 20 Million Dollar Man com Despite promising Georgians to run a positive campaign, Sonny Perdue launched the first negative attack of the campaign. Ask yourself, why would an incumbent Governor attack his opponent unprovoked? Why would a candidate who is supposedly up in the polls attack first? Why would a Governor tell the voters on Friday that he wants to run a positive campaign, knowing that an attack mailing was going to be arrived in mailboxes on Monday? The answer? He hasn’t been doing his job. He has not been working for you. He has cut more than $1 billion from our schools, $828 per child in every classroom. He has taken healthcare away from pregnant women. He has kicked the elderly out of nursing homes. He has made it harder for children with special needs to receive necessary medical care. This is not an exaggeration of the facts. It’s the truth . No matter how many secret attack mailers Sonny Perdue sends to Georgians, he can’t hide from his dismal record. T...

For Immediate Release – October 4, 2006 Contact: Linton Johnson, 404-285-2453 or http://webmail.bellsouth.net/agent/MobNewMsg?to=linton.johnson@wordexpress.info TWENTY-ONE GEORGIA DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ENDORSE JUSTICE CAROL HUNSTEIN FOR RE-ELECTION ATLANTA – Citing her record of upholding tough penalties for violent criminals, 21 District Attorneys from across the state have endorsed the candidacy of Justice Carol Hunstein for re-election to the Supreme Court of Georgia. The District Attorneys include both Democrats and Republicans, reaffirming Justice Hunstein’s broad support from Georgians of all political viewpoints. The District Attorneys who have formally endorsed Justice Hunstein in the November 7 General Election include: n Fredric Bright of Milledgeville, Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit n John Gray Conger of Columbus, Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit n Daniel Craig, Augusta Judicial Circuit n Tom Durden of Hinesville, Atlantic Judicial Circuit n Denise Fachini, Cordele Judicial Circuit n ...

North Oconee High School 'Gossip' bloggers identified Two 15-year-old girls admit to creating MySpace site By Merritt Melancon juliana.melancon@onlineathens.com Story updated at 2:10 p.m.M on Wednesday, October 4, 2006 WATKINSVILLE — A pair of 15-year-old girls admitted to Oconee County investigators Tuesday that they are behind the MySpace site that disrupted their high school by showcasing the dirty laundry of dozens of other students. The girls, both students at North Oconee High School, will not be identified to the public because they are juveniles and still under investigation for distributing explicit materials to minors, said Oconee County sheriff’s Lt. David Kilpatrick. North Oconee Principal John Osborne asked Kilpatrick, a 10-year veteran of computer-based crimes investigations, to help find the bloggers whose "NOHS Gossip" site on MySpace incited student arguments and generally disrupted an entire school day on Sept. 11. The site, which was poste...

HOST A HOUSE PARTY FOR MARK TAYLOR We are looking for individuals across Georgia to host house parties to helpraise money for Mark Taylor's campaign and spread Mark’s vision of Georgia’sfuture to their friends and family. We are planning several house partiesbetween now and Election Day, four of which will include a conference callwith the Big Guy. The house parties will be held on the following dates: Saturday October 14 12 - 2 PM Tuesday October 17 6 - 8 PM Saturday October 21 12 - 2 PM Thursday October 26 7 - 9 PM If you are unable to host a party on these days, you can host your own eventat your convenience. If you would like to host a party, please visit theHouse Parties for Taylor website( http://www.party2win.com/marktaylorforgovernor/ ) specifically designed toassist you in managing your party. To sign up click on "Host a Party". Whilemany campaigns have house parties just to raise money, we also would like toincorporate volunteer activities into each house party...

STATEWIDE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES Governor: Mark Taylor http://www.marktaylor.com/ Lieutenant Governor: Jim Martin http://www.jimforgeorgia.com/ Secretary of State: Gail Buckner http://www.gailbuckner.com/ Attorney General: Thurbert Baker http://www.thurbertbaker.com/ Commissioner of Agriculture: Tommy Irvin http://www.tommyirvincampaign.com/ Commissioner of Insurance: Guy Drexinger http://www.guyforinsurance.com/ State School Superintendent: Denise Majette http://www.denisemajette.us/ Commissioner of Labor: Michael "Mike" Thurmond http://www.electmikethurmond.com/ Public Service Commissioner: David L. Burgess http://www.davidburgess.us/ Public Service Commissioner: Dawn Randolph http://www.dawnforgeorgia.com MARK TAYLOR'S PLAN FOR GEORGIA - Restore the funds that were cut from Georgia's Public Schools Restore the funds that were cut from Georgia's HOPE scholarships Remove sales tax from over-the-counter medicines Institute PeachKids, which will provide healthcare f...

There will be a celebration to honor Burnell Brown on Sunday, October 22 at 3:00 at Bethel Baptist Church. Many of you know Burnell. He served on the Democratic committee for several years and has stories about Republicans (such as Bob Smith) trying to buy votes through him! Mr. Brown is a real leader and pillar in this community.

Those Never-ending GOP Family Values Republican Commissioner ( of Richland County, Ohio ) David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Republican Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17. Republican Committeeman John R. Curtain was charged with molesting a teenage boy and unlawful sexual contact with a minor. Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth anti-abortion activist who gained fame during the Schiavo media-circus, was convicted of two charges of raping a child in 2002 . Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor. Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl....

Hello all. I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend. Unfortunately I have some indoor responsibilities and can’t take full advantage of the mild temps. On to the business at hand….. I previously emailed you concerning the residential rezone requests by Plum Creek Timberlands (Rezone #5146 and #5147, both A1 to AR5, total of 66 homes on ~365 acres along US441 in the south end of the county). As you know, the Planning Commission recommended approval for the two requests, and the issue now comes before the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night (October 3, 2006; 7:00 p.m.; County Courthouse on Main Street in Watkinsville). This issue is more than just a question of further residential development in the southern region of the county. None of us are opposed to the idea of homes and families as neighbors, but the bigger issue is proper growth at the proper time with the proper infrastructure available to support it. As we all know, the area of the county south of...

Dear Concerned Citizen, I am righting to encourage you to come the next Board of Commissioners meeting October 3rd. Plum Creek Timberlands will be requesting a rezone of 365 acres of timber land from A1 to AR5. We want to send a message to the timber company as well as the BOC that we don’t want to see the South end of the county become a row of subdivisions. This timber land backs up to the Apalachee River and is one of the most exquisitely beautiful and natural area in the county. As a result of state and federal programs the timber company can profit almost as much by putting the land into a trust as it will putting it into houses. We are quickly loosing our natural environment. There are ways to preserve our natural treasure and allow land owners to profit. This piece of land will be a key element in making the River Walk that Mr. Russ Page is working so hard to create. If you want to preserve an historic piece of nature that we as well as our children can enjoy, please come and si...

http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0091.html Diebold Added Secret Patch to Georgia E-Voting Systems in 2002, Whistleblowers Say By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, Atlanta Progressive News (September 28, 2006) (APN) ATLANTA – Top Diebold corporation officials ordered workers to install secret files to Georgia's electronic voting machines shortly before the 2002 Elections, at least two whistleblowers are now asserting, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. Former Diebold official Chris Hood told his story concerning the secret "patch" to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for Kennedy's second article on electronic voting in this week's Rolling Stone Magazine. Hood's claims corroborate a second whistleblower who spoke with Black Box Voting and Wired News in 2003. Whistleblower Accounts "With the primaries looming, [Chief of Diebold's Election Division] Urosevich was personally distributing a 'patch,' a little piece of software designed to correct g...

Republicans really like to violate the sign code ordinances around Watkinsville and Athens. First there is a huge sign in front of Chicken Express for Cowsert that clearly violates the Watkinsville ordinance as it was given to me by Code Enforcement officer Robert Hegge. I just wish he would enforce his codes with equinimity and impartiality. The same would go for the local GOP HQ on Main Street in Watkinsville with the one sign every 10 feet for frontage on the street rule, which the Republicans seem to bask in their ignorance and indifference to, at least from this rather jaded perspective. Then there are all the signs posted on the freeways before football games. Not to mention the exits around the campus at UGA. Do candidates ever get fined for their immense ethical and legal lapses of judgment when it comes to placement of yardsigns? I highly doubt it. As a doctor friend told me yesterday when leaving the highly successful Becky Vaughn fundraiser in Watkinsville, "Republicans...

* The Yard signs are in! Let us know how many you want! * We'll be walking this weekend. Let us know if you can help! * The September 30th financial deadline is looming. Help us look good. Make a donation today at www.beckyvaughn.org * invitation attached-- ****Please note change in location to Jittery Joe's in Watkinsville**** You are invited you to a reception with and a Special “Surprise” Guest Wednesday, September 27 6-8 pm Jittery Joe's (note change in location) 27 Greensboro Hwy Downtown Watkinsville Suggested Contribution $50 Please RSVP to Jenny Vaughn at 706-546-5258 or jenny@beckyvaughn.org Paid for by the Committee to Elect Becky Vaughn www.beckyvaughn.org Becky Vaughn Candidate State House District 113 1030 Meriweather Dr. Bogart, GA 30622 706.354.8785 706.540.9724 (Cell) becky@beckyvaughn.org Becky Believes we deserve a choice Becky Believes we need a change Donate today at www.beckyvaughn.org