Oconee County, GA Politics

Today's special guest blog appearance is courtesy of former BOC chair Wendell T. Dawson. Lucy Rowland and Heidi Davidson make a cameo appearance.... 6-21-08 Questions About Melvin Davis’ $ 26 Million Road Project . Rowland also called the circumstances of the special meeting, which quickly was scheduled last week, "strange." ………………………………….. "I don't recall something coming in like this (in the past)," said Rowland, a longtime MACORTS member and current chairwoman of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission.   . June 20, 2008 . Questions About Melvin Davis’ $ 26 Million Road Project . By Wendell Dawson, Editor, AVOC, Inc . Despite Melvin Davis’ claims, this project just recently went public.    There is more to it than has been reported.   Who will benefit from this short, expensive project? . Who was paid $ 6 Million for right of way? ....

Fresh fruit and vegetables! Come and get your chow! Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Hi Everyone-   This Saturday, the market will feature plums, fresh basil (with recipes!), samples of homemade pesto, oregano, thyme, tomatoes, heirloom grey, black zucchini and yellow squash, beans, peas, potatoes, and lots of other summer produce, -banana & zucchini bread , fresh blackberry danish, homemade brownies and peanut butter cookies with organic chocolate and peanuts in them and -boiled and fried peanuts and pork skins  We are in the height of the summer produce season for the next few weeks.  Please come out and enjoy the cool morning with us, and buy your tomatoes locally!   I think I have the fresh-ground coffee brewed just right now, too!   Have a great weekend. Debbie   Debbie Beese www.oconeefarmersmarket.org  and http://www.apvoc.com/ 706-614-9038

I am a yard sign person. Plant a picket with me. The young ruffians in my subdivision and surrounding areas of Watkinsville do not like the growing number of signs in yard. The vandalism has increased from pulling the signs off the metal posts to now bending over the metal support frame. No sign by itself has ever won an election by itself, but signs are a way to energize the supporters and show the increasing popularity of a candidate. Seldom has a local campaign won without signs, but I am sure it has happened somewhere in the recent past. The simpler the sign the better in my humble estimation. Less is more, more or less. Sometimes signs will have only the basics. The most minimalist sign this time around in Oconee County, Georgia has to be the simple green sign of Chuck Toney, running for the Board of Education, post 4 versus Mike Hunter. So far I have not seen a Tom Breedlove or Mike Hunter sign (but I am sure they are there), but the Toney signs simply say TONEY BOE in two decks ...

- Rich Clark is running for the Board of Education post 5. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Pat Priest Member, Oconee Democrats 706/353-8310 "Polling and Politics: Getting Past a Horse Race Mentality and Down to Issues" June 29, 2008 7 PM Oconee County Public Library Georgians have many pressing concerns: the price of gas, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, global climate change, and much more. But what do they feel should be done about these challenges? Public polling - when done well - can provide a voice to citizens so that their concerns and opinions are taken into account when policymakers get down to work in Washington, Atlanta, and Watkinsville. And polling often reveals that Georgians are more thoughtful and more generous in spirit than politicians and the press seem to believe they are. Dr. Rich Clark, an analyst at the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, will speak about "Polling and Politics: Getting...

So the Republican primary coroner's race sure got even more interesting all of the sudden considering they are running to check out a bunch of dead bodies. Deputy Coroner Ed Carson, who is running for the office of chief Coroner, has been fired from his current duties by outgoing Coroner John Simpson. Needless to say, this will not exactly instill a whole lot of confidence in Carson in the minds of Oconee County voters for who will be selecting between Carson, Dr. Cathleen Quillian-Carr and Bill Mayberry. Carson has generated his fair share of chatter, controversy and flack already, much of it as of yet unsubstantiated, but supposedly circulating about huge amounts of child support never paid to an ex-wife and even a call to her to ask her to hush up about it. His behavior at the courthouse has not won him many fans or votes either Simpson hired another deputy coroner in Cathleen Quillian-Carr, who is a doctor. Mayberry has a long road of recovery and as the treasurer of the radi...

BREAKING NEWS   Congress Said To Have Reached FISA Deal   Congress Reaches Deal on FISA Bill - ReWrites Surveillance & Wiretapping Rules   FISA Deal Reached, Aides Say By Tim Starks, CQ Staff  CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS June 19, 2008 – 10:40 a.m. A final deal has been reached on a rewrite of electronic surveillance rules and will be announced Thursday, two congressional aides said. The aides said the House is likely to take up the legislation Friday. The bill would rewrite of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA, PL 95-511). On Wednesday, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D‑Md., had said negotiators were working on a bill that would be “significantly better” than a White House-backed, Senate-passed bill (HR 3773) that has supp...

Please check these out Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. From: aglenn@uga.edu To: aglenn@uga.edu Subject: All candidate forums are now posted for viewing Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:38:03 -0400 Morning everyone,   The season of political forums is now over in Oconee County.  The final set of forums took place Monday and Tuesday night.  If you missed any or all of the events, you are still able to view them through the following two "channels" on the web.   For coverage of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners forums, go to www.vimeo.com/OconeeBOC .   For coverage of the Oconee County Board of Education, Coroner, and State Senate forums, go to www.vimeo.com/OconeeCounty .     I hope you find these videos useful as we approach the July 15 th primary.  I welcome all feedback.   Many thanks to Jerry Price for filming the events.  We greatly appreciate his generous donation of time and ta...

Morning all, Well, after a two week delay, I finally have the video from the June 4th Board of Education candidate forum uploaded to our second Vimeo channel, www.vimeo.com/OconeeCounty. My apologies. Time and technology were both obstacles that had to be overcome. [cue the Rocky theme] The video of the Chamber of Commerce forums (last night and tonight) will be available within a day or two. The learning curve is flattening out. Pass the word along. Regards, Tony Glenn Part 1 of 2: June 4th Candidate Forum for Oconee County Board of Education from Lee Becker on Vimeo . Part 2 of 2: June 4th Candidate Forum for Oconee County Board of Education from Lee Becker on Vimeo .

Campaign kick-off will be 7-10 pm Monday, June 23, 2008 at Athens Cine' theater on 234 W. Hancock Avenue. Suggested donations are $100.00 with reservations at saxonrsvp@gmail.com or call 706-549-2862 or stop by their HQ at Broad and Milledge Avenue on the opposite corner from the Varsity in a beautiful white house. Perhaps this will assuage some of his former employees and critics about his fund raising ability.

Today Monday, June 16, 2008 is the last day to be registered to vote and then be able to vote in the Georgia Democratic or Republican primaries a month from tomorrow. Here is some interesting information and links sent to me on Facebook I believe (I used the Secretary of State link to make sure my dad had not been purged from the rolls): n order to vote in the July 15th Democratic (or Republican) Primary you must be registered to vote by Monday, June 16th. Check your registration online here : http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/polllocator/ Not registered? Need to change your address? No problem... Use our online voter registration application to fill out your form - http://www.registrationbyworkingassets.com/register/?api_key=tRhox1L4JG3wm2bipYNJH4tqkfc Just fill it out, print, sign and mail in! That easy. Make sure you take your Photo ID with you to vote if you're voting in person on July 15th. Voting ID info here - http://sos.georgia.gov/gaphotoid/default.htm Absentee Voting Inf...

Oconee County may account for only 22% of the 46th state senate district , but I wager our turn out will be upwards toward 80% of those eligible to vote will pull the lever or insert the card. Remember the register to vote by Monday if you have not done so already.

More wisdom from Charlie Baugh. I wrote a Letter to the Editor in response to the Oconee Enterprise hatchet job on the Forum, the organizers of the Forum, some political issues and other matters. Dear Oconee Enterprise:    OK, we understand you did not enjoy the recent Forums presented by five community organizations, but methinks thou doth protest too much. What has your newspaper done to advance community political discussion lately? You besmirch Russ Page and gauge his emotional stability as if you are a psychiatrist. Are you upset about the supposed public mugging or the fact that they did not buy advertising in your newspaper? I felt as if you could have offered some better constructive criticism of a first time offer without making petty personal comments about the organizers, but I think you made up your mind before you sat down. Instead of further alienating your shrinking readership you should perhaps gauge public sentiment a little more dispassionately or a...

These are the questions Charlie Baugh would like to ask to the candidates Monday and Tuesday. I hope debate moderator Tim Bryant of NewsTalk 1340 WGAU AM reads this post. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Citizens The Chamber forums are scheduled for the 16th and 17th with the Board of Education and state senate candidates on the 16th and the Board of Commissioners candidates on the 17th.  I am sorry I will be unable to attend but if I were there here are some questions I would like to ask the candidates. Board of Education -Do you think a new administrative building is needed? -What is your position on charter schools?  Single school? system wide? -What is your position on social security for teachers? -Would you raise taxes to ensure system success? -Should prior bond issues be paid off early with SPLOST funds? State Senate -Should property taxes be abolished or severely limited?   If so what source of revenue should replace them? -Do you...

James Holland for Governor 2010 Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:26:00 -0400 From: stewards@altamahariverkeeper.org To: stewards@altamahariverkeeper.org Subject: Oconee River Problems Get Attention ARK is very concerned about recent reports and observations from the Oconee River.  We have included links to the articles here from the Dublin Courier for your review as well as photographs taken by James Holland of fish he caught. Please help ARK support local citizens in their efforts to clean up the Oconee by getting involved and making donations to support ARK's work in the Oconee. We have also attached a recent article on the proposed Plant Washington coal plant near Sandersville.  With plans to withdraw and discharge Oconee River water, this plant can only increase the problems facing the river. ARK plans to hold its annual meeting on the Oconee on August 2, 2008 to help bring attention to the problems and support local effort...

Good job Tony and Tim Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. From: aglenn@uga.edu To: aglenn@uga.edu Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:47:34 -0400 Afternoon everyone,   Thanks again to all that came out to the forums on June 2 nd and 4 th .  If you were unable to attend, no worries since you can still view the video of the forums at www.vimeo.com/OconeeBOC .  The coroner forum is posted at the sister site www.vimeo.com/OconeeCounty .   As you may know, Tim Bryant of WGAU 1340 AM radio has interviewed the 10 candidates for the five seats on the Oconee County BOC (Chair and four Posts).  I've collected below the links to his Newsmakers podcasts so that you can listen to those interviews.  These are podcasts of each entire show, so if you don't want to listen to the whole program, use the scroll feature to search out the candidate interviews.   Note that he also interviewed the candidates for the BOE, but I don't have the ...

Found out about this last night, but needed to wait for independent confirmation before spilling the beans: due to possible violation of the Hatch Act (forbidding federal employees from running for office or getting too involved in political campaigns),GBI agent Carter Brank removed himself from the race for the Oconee County Board of Education Post 3 race, removing the chance for a run-off. I am sure he will have to sign some affidavits to get him off the ballot if they have not been printed or programmed. Probably some absentee ballots have gone out already. There will be no run-off between Ashley Hood and Kim Argo. Brank had ordered some signs but by most accounts he had established himself as the third of the three candidates for the position. I salute Agent Brank for following the letter and spirit of the law and for his service to his state and country as well as caring enough about Oconee County to run for office.

Sounds like an appropriate title to me ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: brookscharles < brookscharles@bellsouth.net > Date: Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 7:36 AM Subject: "Carving up Oconee" To: lowellsdad@gmail.com That's the title of Celestea Sharp's movie about development in this county.  Much of the film is about the work and success of a group of citizens in south Oconee to stop a proposed truck stop. The upcoming election  is mentioned and its consequences for future development.  The film also documents construction of a development inside the town of Bishop.   Charley Brooks

A couple of well written articles in the Athens Banner-Herald today Thursday, June 12, 2008 by red headed correspondent Adam Thompson involving our beloved Oconee County and the economic ramifications of the recent gas price spike for our school system as well as the move to record and disseminate taped meetings of the various agencies of the Board of Commission . I still say Tony Glenn for chairman of the Board of Commissioners, or State Representative, or Congress, or State Senate in 2010.

I do not agree with every word or utterance out of the mouth of Watkinsville Mayor Jim Luken. However the two term Mayor of the County Seat is right on target with his continuing commentary concerning the upcoming Republican primary July 15. "It is terribly important we all pay attention to who gets elected," said Luken during his monthly address at the Watkinsville City Council meeting Wednesday in Watkinsville. He pointed out in attendance at the meeting were Board of Commissioners chair candidate Sarah Bell and current incumbent Chuck Horton were at the gathering. Luken accurately pointed out that the municipalities have been left out of the SPLOST monies puring into the county coffers. 15% of the population of the Oconee County live in inside the city limits of the four towns (Bogart, North High Shoals, Farmington and Watkinsville) yet these towns have been left out of the estimated $24-25 million dollar pie. A 10 day notice is needed to be given by the cities in order to...