Oconee County, GA Politics

If 40 people (rich, poor, old, young, gay, straight, black, white, Asian, male, female, blonde, brown, gray and bald) can come out in the rain to a house in Jennings Mill to hear an Obama staffer (from Mississippi by way of New Hampshire) talk about canvassing selected precincts with little more than 24 hours notice, then I think we shall see a rousing win for the Senator from Illinois in the Georgia Presidential Preference Primary on Super Duper Tuesday. Please remember to go vote Tuesday. Get out the VOTE!

I did not attend the Oconee County Board of Commissioners' meeting Tuesday, but Athens Banner-Herald writer Adam Thompson did, and here is his article about the goings-on with Chairman G. Melvin Davis attempting to diffuse the extremely palatable anger about some of his decisions in the recent past about water sewage in Barber Creek. The PR spin is on both here and in the Courthouse. Also here is what they called an institutional editorial from the editors - I presume - chastising the Board of Commissioners for their duplicity and closeted dealings. I should also give props to former BOC chair and current attorney Wendell Dawson and his investigative research on some of the more dubious dealings of his replacement at his web site.

Even if you are not the biggest fan of Senator Barack Obama and his campaign to be the President of the United States, I would greatly appreciate your commentary of a Letter to the Editor I wrote appearing in today's - Thursday, January 31, 2008 - edition of the Athens Banner-Herald. So far the reactionary zealots have made me look like a member of Al-Qaeda for supporting Obama. You would think that we could evolve beyond such petty bickering and insubstantial name calling in this day and age. Any help is greatly appreciated. Have a nice day and see you tonight?

7 pm Thursday in the back end of Jennings Mill there will be an organizing meeting for weekend canvassing for Senator Barack Obama at the home of the Bodansky family at 1040 Miller's Lake Landing (just off Jimmy Daniel back entrance of Jennings Mill on the right). Clearly the symbolism of the wealthy white golf and country club suburb folks supporting Obama is an outstanding sign of things yet to come this Tuesday for Georgia and the best hope for real change in Obama for Oconee. There is also an Obama HQ at 116 Sycamore in Athens. Get a sign, vote during the advance period, be brave and vote for the best candidate.

The Moore's Ford Memorial Committee Tri-County Talent Show is always an entertaining showcase of our youth from Walton, Oconee and Clarke counties, demonstrating how horrible lynching deaths 50+ years ago at the Walton-Oconee border can result in an opportunity for education and enlightenment half a century later. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. PLEASE ATTEND FEB. 16 TRI-COUNTY TALENT SHOW/MLK CELEBRATION   Dear Moores Ford members and friends,    At 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 16, the  Moore's Ford Memorial Committee is hosting our Sixth Annual Tri-County Talent Show/Martin Luther King Celebration.    If you have never attended one of these, NOW is the time! They are terrific.       Help us "Live the Dream, Celebrate the Dream, Achieve the Dream" at the Oconee County Civic Center.      PLEASE SUPPORT MOORES FORD SCHOLARSHIPS    These talent shows are our main fund raising events for Moores Ford Memorial Scholarships. If you cannot att

Super blogger Lee Becker has asked Attorney General Lee Becker and another watchdog group to put the Oconee County Board of Commissioners under scrutiny after their shifty dealings with the Rocky Branch water processing. Please attend the meeting Tuesday or at least write your Board of Commissioners and let them know what you think of their repeated pattern of sleaze, lies, secrecy and corruption.

  Please pass this message on to anyone who is interested in open government in Oconee County.   What Is Happening?     The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on 1-29-08 will get an update on bids for design and support for the upgrade of the Rocky Branch sewage plant, which will discharge treated sewage water into Barber Creek.   What Do We Know About the Bids?     Only the names (no addresses) of the nine bidders.   Why Do We Know So Little?     The County closed the bidding process, saying citizen knowledge about the bids will "taint" the bidding process.   That Is Silly. Why Is the County Keeping Us in the Dark?     Because an examination of the bids in the first round showed the County was trying to use a cheaper and less efficient treatment technology.   What Kind of Technology Is Being Used Now?     We don't know, because the County will not let us see the bids.   Who Is Going to Pay for This Upgrade?     Ultimately, all citizens are responsib