Merritt left the Banner-Herald to become the Enterprise Editor

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc.
P. O. Box 1301
Watkinsville, GA 30677

Following is the text of a message from Lee Becker, Friends of Barber Creek with follow up information on the meeting with Banner Herald staff.
Charles Baugh


Dear Friends,
About 30 people showed up at the Oconee County library last night to meet with the half dozen editors from the Athens Banner-Herald, who organized the gathering to get citizen input on the paper's coverage of Oconee County.
I was encouraged when Executive Editor Jason Winders told me that the paper will assign a new reporter to cover the County five days a week, rather than the three days that former reporter Merritt Melancon spent on the County. Melancon, who has left the Banner-Herald to become editor of The Oconee Enterprise, did general assignment on Saturdays and Sundays. Her off days were Thursdays and Fridays.
I also was pleased when Editorial Editor Jim Thompson asked me about the pending Georgia Environmental Protection Division decision on the County's request to begin dumping treated sewage water into Barber Creek. Clearly he has been paying some attention to the issue. I've encouraged him in the past to write an editorial or column about the Creek. I'll follow up on his stated interest by asking him again to write about the Creek, even before the EPD decision, which probably will be announced within the next four weeks.
The Banner-Herald has an audited circulation of 27,168 copies daily and 31,606 on Sunday. Winders told me that about 60% of that circulation is outside Clarke County. He did not say how much is in Oconee County, but he said the paper sees Oconee as a growth area.
As the only daily newspaper in the six-county area surrounding and including Clarke, the B-H is an important means of spreading the word about issues of importance to Oconee citizens. I think we do well by communicating our concerns to the editors.
The Oconee Leader, the new, free distribution weekly, goes to all mail addresses in the County. According to the 2000 Census, Oconee County had 5,629 single family, owner-occupied households at that time. The Oconee Enterprise has an unaudited, claimed circulation of 4,000.
I encourage everyone concerned about Barber Creek and Oconee County to write to these papers as well as to WGAU, 1340 on the AM radio dial. WGAU gave good coverage to the December 12, 2006, EPD hearing and has asked me to keep it informed about future developments involving the Creek. WGAU is the only local broadcast outlet doing any news coverage of the County.
Lee
Lee Becker

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