Oconee County, GA Politics

These are the results of the 10th Congressional District Democratic Convention delegate selection this morning Chris Horan won on the Clinton female side. Franklin Delano Williams edged out Lowell Greenbaum by 2 votes for the male Clinton Delegate.   jk    I know Ken Dious and Gwen O'Looney won on the Obama side with David Jarrett as the alternate -- Jane Kidd, Chair Democratic Party of Georgia 1100 Spring Street Suite 408 Atlanta, GA 30609 678-278-2008 Jane@georgiademocrat.org * * Please note new email address

 If you are not there by 10:59 am, you are out of luck -------------- Forwarded Message: -------------- From: communications@clarkedemocrats.com To: "CCDC Committee and Advisory Group" <ccdc@clarkedemocrats.com> Cc: "Friends" <ccdc-nm@clarkedemocrats.com> Subject: Caucus hours Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:14:01 +0000 Tomorrow's 10th Congressional District's Democratic Caucus hours are: Doors open at 10:00 AM Caucus begins at 11:00 AM Once the Caucus begins people may not enter. The 10th caucus is set for Clarke Central High School's Mell Auditorium and the Cafeteria. You can reach these rooms by entering through the double glass doors to the right of the front (if facing the front) of the building. There is plenty of parking all around the school. I hope this clarifies things... we had received different information earlier. jpo Jenny Penney Oliver Chair Elect Clarke County Democratic Committee

I do not know anyone who enjoys getting robo-calls. When I got my latest machine generated call from Virginia purporting to be Congressman Paul Broun, Jr., I put the call on speaker phone and let my eight year son answer the questions, and he did better than most spoon-fed numbskulls targeted by this abuse of office. Sometimes I receive two or three letters a day from Congressman Broun's office; now since I send letters and emails to him, I usually will give him the courtesy of reading them before tossing them in the trash. Franking privileges allow Congressmen and women to send mail FOR FREE while wasting our precious paper and trees. Obviously I am not alone in thinking that Congressman Broun is not doing the best he can for our community when he wastes taxpayer's money by inundating us with his political shenanigans.

We would like to remind you one final time about our congressional district delegate elections, this Saturday, April 19. Your vote at the district caucus will help determine who represents Georgia Democrats at this year's Democratic National Convention. Any Georgia Democrat who is registered to vote may vote in their district caucus. All you need to bring is a form of identification. We will accept over 15 forms of identification. For a complete list of acceptable forms of ID, please see the April 19 caucus rules on our resources page. (If you need to know which congressional district you vote in, please click here.) Please note: the polling location where you normally vote is not necessarily the location of Saturday's caucus in your congressional district. Please see below for a list of Saturday's caucus locations! Here's a quick overview of what will happen at your congressional district caucus. * The doors will open at your caucus location an before the cau...

Former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson to speak at UGA The University Union Student Programming Board will present a discussion by author and former United States CIA operations officer Valerie Plame Wilson on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the UGA Chapel. Wilson is author of the book Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, her accounting of the events surrounding her exposure as a CIA spy. For more information, contact Marc LaMotte at 706/542-6396. Cost is $5 for non-students. www.uga.edu

Go to Clarke Central Saturday morning, prove you are a Democrat living in the 10th District, and vote for one of these people depending on who you support: Hillary delegate candidates: Congressional District 10 Female (1) Christine Horan Patty Ann Payne Caroline Hill Howard Jonni Marie Shook Mary Joyce Edsel Male (1) Franklin Delano Williams Lowell Greenbaum Obama delegate candidates: Congressional District 10 Female (1) Gwen O'Looney Nicole Terry Karen Solheim Debra Spencer Rosa Clemons Elaine Roddy Janice Mathis Diedre Hicks Marion Denise Freeman Male (1) Edward Tarver Ivory Dious David Jarrett William Gilyard III Leonard O. Parker, Jr. Alexander Johnson Chad Brock

Bishop Mayor Johnny Pritchett announced he will be seeking the Republican nomination for the Oconee County Board of Commissioners Post 1 currently held by Jim Luke . Since no Democratic candidates have announced or are likely to announce before the end of qualifying May 2 (PLEASE SOMEONE MAKE ME WRONG ON THIS!), it looks like the G.O.P. nod is tantamount to election, which is a horrible tragedy unto itself in a Democracy. Johnny is a good man, a good dad, and grandfather to Matthew, and husband to Carolyn. They are friends of mine, so I endorse them wholeheartedly despite our party differences. I am really surprised no one has yet to announce against Don Norris. Please let me know what you know, intrepid readers, as far as candidates for office here in Oconee County.

I coach in the Oconee County Recreation Department's U10 soccer league. Last night after a particularly awful practice, one of my players wanted to walk from the field we were practicing on in Herman C. Michael Park maybe 150 yards to the north to the new Oconee County Community Complex and the new soccer fields, as his mom may have been watching one of their other children practice soccer on the new park's many fields. The young player asked me if it was OK to cross the highway and I said "NO WAY!" and offered him a ride in my truck across the busy thoroughfare. Luckily for him his mother had driven over herself thus abrogating the need for this lad to take his life into his own hands and those of drivers hauling booty 60 miles per hour plus down State Route 53. Some one will be involved in an accident at this extremely busy intersection if no traffic calming measures are installed quickly. I hope the members of the Board of Commissioners will contact the State Dep...

I whole heartedly endorse Karen Solheim and David Jarrett for Obama delegates and Chad Brock for alternate. Please attend the Congressional District 10 delegate selection meeting 9 am Saturday morning at Clarke Central HS in Athens. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Fellow Obama Supporters, I have met many of you through my work as State Coordinator of Georgia Students for Barack Obama and as Deputy Field Coordinator for the Obama for America Campaign in Georgia. I am a Senior at the University of Georgia and I worked predominately in Athens and Atlanta. I would like to announce my candidacy for Obama Alternate Delegate, representing the 10 Congressional District of Georgia at  the 2008 Democratic Convention. I have worked tirelessly on behalf of the Obama campaign since April of 2007 and if I am elected, I pledge to vote for Senator Obama from the floor of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The 2008 Democratic Convention could very well be the mo...

Esteemed Watkinsville City Council member and public relations professional Brian Brodrick wrote an interesting letter to the Editor of the Athens Banner-Herald earlier this week deriding the tactics employed by Athens FAQ in their battle against the location of NBAF at the intersection of Whitehall and Milledge. He did have a valid point about the proximity of the State Botanical Gardens, and I would hope that they would never be disturbed. For proper perspective, be sure to click on the links to the original letter and the comments, but please ignore the meaningless attacks on Brodrick and his family. They deserve much better than that. A much more damning and downright frightening indictment of the governmental tactics of lies, deceit, distortion, secrecy and clandestine meetings is written by the Associated Press here . My main complaint again is that the infrastructure and roads are not ready for the construction traffic. Have you ever lived down wind from any animal facility ...

I met a man named McGrath who pedaled up to my house the other day to ask for an Obama yard sign. The kids across the street had stolen my last sign (pulling it off the shelves of my carport while using my son's RipStick skateboard), but I gave him a bumper sticker instead. I thought about writing some kind of stinging indictment of the neighborhood scalawags or perhaps the local leadership in either the government or political parties, but instead I will pass on this plea from local activists Pat Priest and Oconee County Democratic Committee chair Becky Vaughn to recruit candidates on their side of the political docket. There are many people in Oconee County who fit the bill and may not be aware of the need to file their candidacy at the end of April. Ask yourself the following: 1. Are you tired of the way the government has been run in Oconee County? 2. Do you think you have time to commit to serving on a public governmental body such as the Board of Education, Board of Commissio...

Note first that the doors open an hour earlier than previously mentioned at Clarke Central. I hope a lot of Athens and Oconee County Democrats turn out to support David Jarrett and Karen Solheim Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Subject: [oconee] 10th District delegate caucus There has been a final revision in the time  schedule  for the 10th district Democratic  Caucus. As a reminder, all Democrats living in the 10th Congressional District are invited to attend the Caucus next Saturday April 19th in the Community Room at Clarke Central High School Doors will open at 9:00 AM and will lock at 10:00AM (Please note this is a change from the last notice) There will be about 45 minutes of speeches from the candidates for election as Delegates to the Democratic National Convention and then we will vote.  There are about 7 candidates for each delegate position. We will elect one male and one female delegate pledged to...

Nancy Schaefer dropped out of the race for the 10th District Congressional race , leaving it to Dr. Paul Broun and Barry Fleming rolling in the mud for the Republicans to decide who will face Bobby Saxon. Lots of rumors of sleaze erupting on the Augusta side, with Fleming facing allegations and whispers for relatives' transgressions . I am sorry for Mrs. Schaefer's husband and I hope he recovers from his surgery, but this is the first smart thing Nancy has done in this race. Esther Porter wants to take Margaret Hale place on the Oconee County Board of Commissioners. I may not agree with Margaret's votes some of the time, but if in some way she loses in the GOP Primary, she is welcome to run as a Democrat. I do not think Hale will lose the primary, but anti-incumbency is at an all-time high around here now, with the possibility of a clean sweep of all current officer holders. Carter Brank is running for the Board of Education Post 3 along with Ashley Hood and Ryan House. I h...

The biggest news out of this story should be that Oconee County Board of Commissioners member Margaret Hale got up and left a budget meeting, but instead it looks like another member of the G.O.P. elite are going to run against G. Melvin Davis for the chairmanship of the Board of Commissioners in Oconee if we are to believe the scuttlebutt at the end of the comments. Always click on the show comments section of Athens Banner-Herald stories online as they often provide hilarity, irony and insight into various goings-on in Oconee County and elsewhere.

I plan to go watch the trapeze action next weekend with the wonderful Canopy folks and thought you should too. The Oconee River is considered the headwaters of the Altamaha River basin. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. ARK is grateful to have the energy and support of friends like Susan Murphy and Janisse Ray whose life long love of the mighty Altamaha inspires their creativity and generosity. Please join Susan and Janisse's efforts to extend our outreach by using your talent and imagination to create ways to help ARK protect our great river system. The Malcom Fraser Foundation is graciously matching all donations made before June 1.  Please support ARK's work with a contribution, its easy, go to our web site : www.altamahariverkeeper.org and link to paypal. Janisse Ray On Nature   Here's the latest installment of On Nature, columns that wrestle with environmental matte...

Okay, this is more capitalism than politics, but hey, they are moving across the street and are one of Watkinsville's longest running businesses and they seem to advertise every where, so I give them my seal of approval. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. All: FYI on Dory's re-opening in Watkinsville later this month. Looks like a nice large new space. http://www.doryshearthandhome.com/   Please share with others who might be interested in what is going on in Watkinsville or in "hearth and home" items. Brian   Subject: April 25th and 26th open house Hey Friends, For those who know me well know that we have been working on this project since November.  We simply out grew our old building.  What we have accomplished far exceeds what we were hoping to do.  All the things needed to operate our family business from parking, warehouse deliveries and pick ups to show room, outside displays and offices. In order to bre...

Don't forget Touch a Truck is this Saturday, April 12, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at Heritage Park off Hwy. 441 South.  Free hands-on event for children to see, touch, and explore their favorite big trucks, heavy equipment, and large vehicles.  Dump trucks, fire trucks, ambulances, helicopters, and the like will be a part of the event! Each vechile will have a trained staff to answer questions.  Lots of fun family activities including face painting, free raffle with great prizes, and much more! Concessions will be availble during the event. For more information please contact Whitney Byce, event coordinator. Herman C. Michael Park PO Box 55 Watkinsville, GA 30677

...except in storms, etc. But I do feel sorry for the folks on Snow's Mill Road who have to endure this double-crossing from the power company . I have no problem with them, but I do think no encroachment should mean no encroachment by anyone.

Here's some information a friend gave me about a workshop coming up May 20: Herb Rainwater Harvesting Workshop What: Rain Harvesting Workshop - This Professional Training is part of the American Rain Catchment System Association's Professional Certification Program (http://www.arcsa.org/). In order to improve water conservation in Northeast Georgia, University of Georgia and Texas A&M University have teamed up to offer this in-depth training to professionals and homeowners. Come join us to learn how to conserve water and save money on your water bill. By attending this training you will learn about designing rain harvest systems - downspouts, cisterns, rainbarrels, water features, filters, pumps, pipes, water quality and irrigation options will all be covered. Where: Oconee County Civic Center, 2661 Hog Mountain Road, Watkinsville, GA 30677 When: May 20, 2008 Cost: $10 (covers lunch, breaks, and print material) Register online: http://www.caes.uga.edu/unit/a...

Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman G. Melvin Davis cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the beer and wine pouring ordinance for restaurants in unincorporated Oconee County yesterday . Conversely former Oconee County Republican party chair Sarah Bell tossed her hat into the ring to run against Davis for the nomination . I wish Ms. Bell the best of luck with her burgeoning trek but so far her campaign has a less than auspicious beginning. I wonder where local G.O.P. wunderkid Jay Hanley comes down on this race; I would imagine with Davis, but it will be interesting to see how the beer and wine issue ferments in the next several months. Her former party leadership position is also where the incumbent Davis started his ascension to the top of Oconee County Board of Commissioners position when a few members of the Republican party decided to purge the nomination of a firefighter and husband of the former Mayor of Bogart almost a decade back. Charles and Robin Hoag along with former...