Oconee County, GA Politics

So this is being written while flying on AirTran flight en route to an annual get together with a bunch of high school buddies at a lake in far northern Iowa. I am happy to be traveling from Oconee to Okoboji in less than a day and I will probably be comparing and contrasting some of the more comical items of what they do and do not have in an extremely rural part of Iowa with that of what we do have in Oconee County, Georgia. Wind Turbines All along the drive down from Minneapolis to Lake Okoboji I am delighted to see lots of wind turbines generating power for the people of Minnesota. I wish T. Boone Pickens would build a bunch of those near Watkinsville after Georgia spoils the dedication of his new Stillwater, OK stadium for Oklahoma State in about 30 something days. Apparently the winds are not strong enough or consistent enough to support massive wind turbine technology in Georgia, but I was glad to read that there is a Clean Natural Gas station finally opening up in Atlanta tha...

Chairman G. Melvin Davis amongst others wanted and successfully sought a delay in voting on the County Government reshuffling. Some want Oconee reorganization delayed | News | OnlineAthens.com Shared via AddThis

Edwin B. Smith portraiture paintings purchased from the Griffin Collection for Georgia Museum of Art which once hung in Eagle Tavern in Watkinsville depicts the Billups family. Eagle Tavern was donated to the State of Georgia in 1956. We may get to see those in early 2011 with the opening of the new wing of the Georgia Museum of Art on the campus of the University of Georgia. Artdaily.org - The First Art Newspaper on the Net Shared via AddThis

We can pave paradise and put up a parking lot, to paraphrase the old Joni Mitchell ditty as redone by the Counting Crows more recently. But I would offer up a different point of view: we can pave small strips and preserve paradise here in Oconee County. My friend Brian Brodrick, Watkinsville City Council member, responded to my printing the GDOT list of road projects remaining on the approved schedule over the next quarter century. We both travel the scenic route of Simonton Bridge Road/Whitehall Road coming into Watkinsville from the east side of Athens the the south end of Milledge Avenue many times (which survived the cuts to remain on the list of those slated for widening). I have yet to work up the courage and stamina to try and bike up those large rolling hills from the various forks of the Oconee Rivers, but Lord knows it is something I want to do in the next several years. I see many bicyclists daily dallying up and down the shoulders of this access to Oconee County, and s...

I have driven by, but not yet had the pleasure of dining at, this new Italian restaurant in the Oconee Plaza shopping center at the very end opposite Bell's grocery store. I hope they continue to have a successful run at this location, not far from what is known as Butler's Crossing. Don Nelson does a good job of supplying the story with facts and figures, not to mention back story and flavor. Small Biz: Italian roots go deep at eatery | Business | OnlineAthens.com Shared via AddThis

Heritage Park gets another piece to the historical puzzle that is public display village near Farmington. Sharecropper's house to be added to Heritage Park | News | OnlineAthens.com Shared via AddThis

Come at 9 am and join Peggy Holcomb for a stoll around Watkinsville Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:20:19 -0700 From: oconeefm@yahoo.com Subject: Saturday's Market To: oconeefm@yahoo.com Hello,  Hope everyone is well. This week we will have : many different kinds of pound cakes , banana bread , assorted pies, including blueberry, fresh bread/rolls, fresh eggs, fresh milk from Johnston Dairy,  blueberries, peaches, jams , jellies, handmade soaps & lotions, tomatoes (Maryanne Simmons will have lots of tomatoes), eggplant, green onions , sweet onions , cucumbers, lettuce, potatoes, several kinds of squash, green beans , herbs, root vegetables , fresh cut flowers, salsa from Salsa Ya'll, gourds, woolens, among other things! Hope to see you all there! Karl P.S. Check out the Oconee Farmers' Market on Facebook !! Don't forget to tell a friend or co-worker about the Market!   Karl Berg 706-215-7385 www.oconeefarmers...

A fine letter from one of our own, Elaine worked long hours with her husband Carl McGrath to get President Obama elected anbd it is good to see that she is continuing the effort with an effective and rational Letter to the Editor in the Athens Banner-Herald. Elaine Cress: Health care poll debunks writer | Letters | OnlineAthens.com Shared via AddThis

Rare agreement (however futile) between Athens-Clarke and Oconee County in agreeing how many boats will be allowed on Bear Creek Resevoir. They lost the vote, but hey, it's a start of real economic coordination. Bear Creek Reservoir opened up to more boaters | News | OnlineAthens.com Shared via AddThis

Tifosi Optics offers affordable sunglasses at Outdoor Retailer Posted using ShareThis

Simonton Bridge Road is far too narrow (dangerously narrow for bicyclists) already and I am glad that it is included on the MACORTS plan for widening along with Hog Mountain, Mars Hill and Experiment Station sometime in the next quarter century. Some road plans slashed from list | News | OnlineAthens.com Shared via AddThis

STRATEGY PLANNING SESSION AGENDA Location: Ashford Manor Date: July 22, 2009 Time: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Lunch: 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Morning Session: 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Set-up&Coffee 9:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. SPLOST - SPLOST Referendum - Four Approved Areas o Public Safety o Recreational&Park o Roads & Sidewalks o Sewer - Priorities in each area - Funding for each area Time permitting - Council members’ items - City Boundaries/Annexation Afternoon Session: 1:30 p.m. Courthouse, City Options 3:00 p.m. Historic Structures 3:30 p.m. Council members’ items 4:00 p.m. County Roads in City Community Center S.C. Logging Co. Watkinsville Bypass Contact Information Julie Sanders jsanders@cityofwatkinsville.com 706-769-5161 Sponsored by Mayor & Council

Regardless of what you may think about African Americans getting lynched or re-enactments, the Georgia Association of Black Legislators has the right to commemorate the as-of-yet still unsolved last mass lynching in America. Moore's Ford rally set for Saturday | News | OnlineAthens.com Shared via AddThis

Saturday Stroll View more documents from danmatt .

The following was borrowed heavily from The Critter magazine and an article inside from Kathy Bangle, Director of Development at the University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Watkinsville's beautiful jewel of a bed and breakfast Ashford Manor will once again play a gracious hosting role for a wonderful fundraiser for the G.R.A.C.E. Fund with the sixth annual Hawaii Dawg-O 6:30 p.m. Saturday, August 1, hosted by Dean Sheila Allen of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medic and University of Georgia and NFL Hall of Fame football player Charley Trippi will also help raise funds for a new scholarship to a deserving Vet Med student in 2009. Also members of the 1980 National Championship football team will be in attendance. You are advised to call and reserve your tickets now by ringing up Dr. Flynn Nace at 770-483-7225. $100.00 per couple, $300.00 for a table of four, and $500 for a table of eight. Tickets must be purchase before Friday, July 24 2009. Master card ...

The radio news on NewsTalk 1340 WGAU AM led with this brief bit about our new local lodgings expandeded in Oconee County. And they have a new contest there to get Tim Bryant to deliver donuts to your office. Oconee Hotel Opens - WGAU Local News on 1340wgau.com Shared via AddThis

A more newsy follow up to Kate McDaniel's Sunday editorial about the Oconee County BOC killing the Keep Oconee Beautiful Commision Oconee cleanup group's future unclear | News | OnlineAthens.com Shared via AddThis

Full Moon music recording Studio owner Mark Cooper Smith led a group of 28 people on the first of a series of Saturday Strolls though the City of Watkinsville sponsored by the Oconee County Democratic Committee on a beautiful unseasonably cool morning. Organizer Pat Priest called it "almost too much of a success" and was thrilled to raise $135.00 for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a charity of the choice of the owner of the recording studio at First and School Street. He has promoted several years of concerts and softball games for the benefit of a group near and dear to his heart because of his daughter being afflicted with the blood sugar problem. "We had a great turn-out for our first stroll (28) -- in fact, almost too many," wrote Priest in an email to the Oconee Democratic Committe "We raised $135 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Main Street is nosier than I realized when big trucks rumble by, so (her husband Dr.) Neal (Priest) and I ...

The PR campaign for and against the reshuffling of power at the County level continues to boil and fester. Some Oconee employees balking at power shift | News | OnlineAthens.com Shared via AddThis