Oconee County, GA Politics

Steve Holzman is a good man and is worthy of your support if you are reading this and live inside of the tiny town of North High Shoals. I think he is running against Wade Thomas for the unpaid position. He writes letters to the Editor supporting his town and loves the out of doors. Holzman is an accomplished web master and maintains the real site free of charge for the Oconee County Democratic Committee. He loves Krimson Black's restaurant almost as much as I do, and I think he eats there more oftenn than I do as well.

I do not think he does deserve getting his embezzlement criminal action moved, but he may end up getting one because of his popular support, not acrimony. It will be interesting to see if they do end up wasting tax payer money on moving the trial . The Oconee Veterans monument folks have had a difficult time raising money because of the stench of cronyism and poisoned politics left behind by Ivey. I still think he ought to be sentenced to breaking the bedrock at the Oconee County Community Complex. I hope he gets what he deserves no matter where it is held. I know one thing for sure, I would be struck off the jury pool if selected quicker than anyone else.

According to the fine folks at Georgia Politics Unfiltered , Augusta State Representative Barry Fleming has filed with the FEC to run against Dr. Paul Broun, Jr. for the Republican nomination for the 10th District Congressional seat, the seat once occupied by the late Dr. Charlie Norwood. Fleming was widely rumored to be running last go round but was supplanted by Jim Whitehead, the man who lost to Broun in the special election. If he learned anything from Whitehead, Fleming will be spending a whole lot of time in Clarke County keeping his mouth shut about wanting to blow up UGA. At this point either candidate, Broun or Fleming, will face Bobby Saxon in the November election. Broun showed some degree of political acumen by showing up in Saxon's hometown of Nicholson the week after Saxon's announcement at his home on Water Works Road to field complaints by local business owners about the pitch of the Bypass around that small town. Now can Broun actually make roads move? I kind...

Even if you do not agree with me and my progressive views, I would like to ask for your support and possible vote and or positive comments about an editorial I wrote for the Athens Banner-Herald at You can click on that link or paste this in your browser. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/082607/opinion_entry22.shtml You can vote at the bottom and leave comments but I would ask that you do not use my name in your comments. This column should have been paired with another column they chose to publish as a letter to the editor in last week's newspaper here I have about a third of some of the totals of the other 30 something writers, so obviously I need to get some more votes. I have written for the Banner-Herald for the better part of two decades in sports, features, letters to the Editor, etc. Thanks for your consideration, and if you have any questions, you can leave them here

Ari Fliescher is about to assault us with $15 million worth of lies about our surge and involvement in Iraq, so here is some pre-emptive truth.

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Following is a message from Lee Becker with more detailed information on the points residents along Barber Creek hope to have included in the resolution approving the treatment plant expansion. Charles Baugh Dear Friends, The Oconee County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on Sept. 4 on the upgrade to Rocky Branch sewage plant. I will make a presentation justifying our three requests of the Board. We are asking the Board to: 1. Agree to hold discharge water from the Rocky Branch sewage treatment plant in storage facilities when Barber Creek is flooding or threatening to flood, rather than discharge into the Creek; 2. Treat effluent from the Rocky Branch sewage treatment plant to the highest level possible with the technology available and, at a minimum, to the level of treatment at the Hill Plant in Gwinnett County for water being discharged into Lake Lanier; and 3. Set up a system of independe...

This was at Bobby Saxon's house at Water Works Road in Nicholson, Georgia a week back when he announced he was going to run against Dr. Paul Broun for the United States House of Representatives 10th Congressional District seat once held by Dr. Charlie Norwood. Is this our Heath Shuler? Let me know what you think/

Watkinsville Mayor Jim Luken reversed a previous political retirement announcement by qualifying for office again with a few hours left before today's deadline for his third term as the chief political officer of the Oconee County seat. No opposition was recorded as of 2:30 pm today. Qualifying closed at 4:30 pm Wednesday. Current Mayor Jim Luken changed his mind and will return for another two year go-round as Mayor of the county seat Watkinsville. Two would-be Mayoral candidates apparently backed out at the last second or some 72 hours before the end of qualifying due to personal and residential reasons. One of the mystery would-be candidates was already on the council and the other was a local business owner. Brian Brodrick and John Walsh also re-qualified for their city council seats without apparent opposition. Thank goodness for all of their return to the council and mayoral slots. Watkinsville will continue to have good governance by a diverse and moderate lot. We can contin...

Go to the meeting Tuesday night at the Oconee County Board of Commissioners chamber at the Oconee County Courthouse on Main Street in Watkinsville and put in your two cents worth on this multi-million dollar mortgage of our water drinking future. Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Citizens Following is my review notes on the latest version of the intergovernmental contract the Oconee County Board of Commissioners is, I am afraid, about to enter into with Walton County. The draft is posted to the Oconee County web site. I encourage all to read the contract and would appreciate any feedback, particularly if you do not agree with my assessment of the contract. I know that many did read the first version which was approved by the Walton County Commission and I heard from some of you. The contract is on the BOC agenda for discussion at the Tuesday 8/28 meeting. The Board may take citizen comments on the contract. It would be good if citizens c...

Bobby Saxon and family welcomed us to their Nicholson home Saturday to announce his campaign for Congress in Georgia's 10th district seat currently held by Dr. Paul Broun. Among the several Oconee County residents in attendance at his kick-off was his 1981 high school classmate Paula Nedza of the Oconee County government and chair Becky Vaughn. Also present were candidates for office in Jefferson and elsewhere in Jackson County. More photos can be seen at the Athens Banner-Herald's photoblog Spotted.

I apologize for not getting this out sooner. Below is info on a presentation that will take place this evening on TDRs (transfer of development rights). TDRs are a hot topic with regard to development. Try to attend if possible. Tony ----------------------------------------------- Rick Pruetz Planning Consultant from California and the most noted authority on TDR’s in the country Tonight, Thursday, August 23, 2007 7:00 PM Auditorium at the new North Oconee High School. This program is being sponsored by Oconee County's Joint Comprehensive Plan Development Committee. Transfer of Development Rights is a method that many counties around the country are using to preserve open space and/or historically or environmentally sensitive areas. His talk will be a general discussion of TDR’s, how they work, their benefits, and drawbacks. He has advised many communities on the development of their TDR programs and will be here to finalize the Newton County TDR Ordinance. This TDR pr...

Not sure of what time it is beginning, but announced 10th district Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Saxon's campaign kick-off party is at his house this Saturday at 5905 Water Works Road in Nicholson, Georgia. It's a pretty short drive from Watkinsville.

Andre had this a week ago at Georgia Politics Unfiltered. Georgia Politics Unfiltered: Correction: Bobby Saxon (D) to challenge Paul Broun

A Democratic war veteran living in Jackson County announced he will run against Dr. Paul Broun for the 10th district congressional seat in 2008 . This candidate Bobby Saxon was first revealed to me in the days before Marlow and friends got in the race when it looked like it still looked like it was going to be Republicans Ralph Hudgins versus Barry Fleming for the seat by a reliable source.

Watkinsville was nailed from two different directions with spontaneous summer storms. Some said inline winds, others said tornado, some thought wind shear. The damage to the trees was on both sides of the street in this gullywasher. My neighbor Tom Gwinn said it came in two bursts from different directions right at five o clock Thursday. I came upon a fire department truck working on a house struck by lightning at 1041 Taylor's Drive in Taylors Landing in the subdivision next to mine. Many limbs were down, trampolines blown away and basketball goals knocked over by the wind. Here are some photos.

As Georgia residents suffer through a record heat wave, everyone needs to think about how to cut down on energy usage to prevent brown-outs and to avoid the need for building more power plants. Ordinary light bulbs, for example, waste a lot of energy as heat, and that heat makes our air conditioning work harder. The basic design of the incandescent bulb has changed very little since Thomas Edison’s day. As the need for energy efficiency becomes more urgent because of rising energy costs and the threat of global climate change, one technology is looking especially bright: LED lighting. LED, which stands for light-emitting diode, leapfrogs even compact fluorescents in its efficiency. LED lights are expensive upfront, but they are vastly more efficient, are cooler, contain no mercury, and last up to a whopping 100,000 hours. The Oconee County Democrats are sponsoring a free presentation about this promising new technology on Sunday, August 26, at 7 PM at the Oconee County Library on Exper...

Oconee County residents may have more recreation choices in the near future after YWCO took the tender first steps toward an intended expansion by announcing the purchase of a large tract of property in near Butler's Crossing across from Briarwood Baptist Church on Hog Mountain Road (State Route 53)near Oconee County High School. The property in questions has been the subject of a rezone application before the Oconee County Planning Department before the recent deadline for the next meeting, but has yet to be accepted. The YWCO would like to build a fitness and aquatic center targeting the needs of families and seniors, according to a recent press release. "We have discussed this expansion for several years and believe that our mission and abilities will well serve the need(s) of Oconee County," said Dave Hudgins, YWCO Board President. Many Oconee County residents already utilize the YWCO through its fitness center, summer day camp program, daycare and aquatics program....

Oconee County residents may have more recreation choices in the near future after YWCO took the tender first steps toward an intended expansion by announcing the purchase of a large tract of property in near Butler's Crossing across from Briarwood Baptist Church on Hog Mountain Road near Oconee County High School. The property in questions has been the subject of a rezone application before the Oconee County Planning Department before the recent deadline for the next meeting, but has yet to be accepted. The YWCO would like to build a fitness and aquatic center targeting the needs of families and seniors, according to a recent press release. "We have discussed this expansion for several years and believe that our mission and abilities will well serve the need(s) of Oconee County," said Dave Hudgins, YWCO Board President. Many Oconee County residents already utilize the YWCO through its fitness center, summer day camp program, daycare and aquatics program. Just exactly wh...

In the wake of Dr. Paul Broun's win over Jim Whitehead for Congress, suddenly something seismically changed in the political power structure around here. Within a period of less than a half an hour, I conversed politely with local Republican leaders Melvin Davis (Board of Commissioners chairman) and Jim Luke (Board of Commissioners and former Planning Commission member) and had State Representative Bob Smith shake hands with me and ask me about my soccer playing son in Publix. I was astonished, but they all know we vote as well, sometimes with our noses held, and do occasionally have to vote G.O.P. in dire circumstances. Melvin made some feeble excuse for his vote on the Barnett Shoals rezone about a 30,000 square foot lots adjacent to the development as why he cast the vote to break the tie. Jim Luke, who voted against it, made it clear he is a property rights person "as long as it is reasonable" but also thumped his chest from the planning commission days about sidewalk...

I think we should urge these three folks to run for the Board of Commissioners in the next election, except that I think one of the BOC now staggered terms slots coming up next is Chuck Horton. The following are from emails from Dr. Anthony Glenn, Charles Baugh and Lee Becker, heroes all for attempting to engineer a little opposition to the development stampede so willing to stamp any corner of the county clean of pesky woods, trees, tranquility, clean water, river banks, archeology and historic areas. Morning folks, As many of you know by now, the BOC approved the rezone request for the construction of a 196-lot subdivision next to Creekside Country Club on Old Barnett Shoals Road. There were many solid arguments against this development, and most centered on the reasonable idea that the density of the development was too high for the area. Concerns were even disclosed over whether the bridge crossing the Oconee River on Barnett Shoals Road was structurally sound enough to support t...