Blog Topic: Government

In the Loop: Oconee Commissioner Wants His Own Property Rezoned

By Lee Becker | November 2, 2015 2:45pm

Bubber Wilkes.

The members of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners will be in the uncomfortable position on Tuesday evening of having to decide if a fellow commissioner should be allowed to rezone his agricultural property for commercial development.

The three voting commissioners have good reasons to turn down the request by Commissioner William “Bubber” Wilkes.

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In the Loop: Jody Hice Bucks the Tea Party, Backs Paul Ryan

By Blake Aued | October 28, 2015 3:26pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Jody might want to put some Hice on that when the tea party gets through with him.

Rep. Jody Hice, the Walton County Republican who represents Athens, told the AJC on Tuesday that he intends to support Rep. Paul Ryan for speaker in today's Republican caucus election and Thursday's floor vote.

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In the Loop: Oconee Industrial Authority Gets $850,000 Blank Check

By Lee Becker | October 26, 2015 10:43am

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Oconee County voters cut a nearly blank check for $850,000 to the Oconee County Industrial Development Authority when they approved the 2015 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax last November.

The language on the resolution for the 2015 SPLOST merely said the money should be used for “Economic Development Facilities,” and the voters, probably without giving it much thought, accepted the deal.

At its meeting earlier this month, the IDA decided it was time to give some thought to what it will do with the windfall.

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In the Loop: UGA Officer Exonerated in Alcohol Amnesty Lawsuit

By Blake Aued | October 23, 2015 12:01pm

Jay Park.

A former UGA police officer who claimed he was fired for obeying an alcohol amnesty law hasreached a $325,000 settlement with the Board of Regents.

UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson fired Jay Park last September after Park refused to arrest underage drinkers because they sought medical treatment for alcohol poisoning. Williamson said that Park was fired for insubordination.

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In the Loop: You Can Stop Boiling Your Drinking Water Now

By Blake Aued | October 20, 2015 11:31am

Photo Credit: Jeff Montgomery

Athens-Clarke County lifted a boil-water advisory for western Clarke County Monday night after testing showed that the water is safe to drink.

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In the Loop: Ort Goes to Court, Cleans Up His Carport

By Pete McCommons | October 12, 2015 9:38pm

Photo Credit: Pete McCommons

Ort's carport.

After a somewhat convoluted hearing in Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court Monday afternoon, Judge Leslie Spornberger Jones found William Orten Carlton guilty of two counts of probation violation and ordered that he remain on probation for another month while he finishes cleaning up his property.

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In the Loop: A Grand Jury Is Investigating Paul Broun and Jody Hice

By Blake Aued | October 8, 2015 12:53pm

"Did you really think you'd get away with this?" the lion asked Paul Broun.

A federal grand jury in Macon is looking into whether former Rep. Paul Broun and his successor, Rep. Jody Hice, misused taxpayer funds by mixing official business with their campaigns.

Consultant Brett O’Donnell is facing five years in prison for lying to investigators. Broun’s congressional office paid O’Donnell $43,000 in taxpayer money to prepare Broun for debates when he ran for Senate last year. At the urging of Broun’s chief of staff, David Bowser, O’Donnell initially told investigators that he was a volunteer on Broun’s campaign, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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In the Loop: Commission Puts Food Truck Ordinance on Hold

By Blake Aued | October 7, 2015 2:34pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Atlanta's Mix'd Up Burgers at a downtown Athens food truck festival last month that drew 6,000 people.

A proposal to allow food trucks to set up shop downtown one day a week is on hold after brick-and-mortar restaurant owners complained.

The Athens-Clarke County Commission voted 6–5 Tuesday night to hold the ordinance for 30 days while they hear concerns from restaurant owners. Commissioners Jared Bailey, Diane Bell, Sharyn Dickerson, Harry Sims and Allison Wright and Mayor Nancy Denson voted for the delay; commissioners Andy Herod, Mike Hamby, Jerry NeSmith, Melissa Link and Kelly Girtz voted against it because they wanted to pass the ordinance immediately.

The ordinance would allow six food trucks to park around City Hall on a first-come, first-serve bases on Tuesdays for a $200 fee.

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In the Loop: Ort's Trial Is Monday

By Blake Aued | October 6, 2015 4:57pm

Photo Credit: Blake Aued/file

Well-known local writer, DJ, record collector and beer connoisseur William Orten "Ort" Carlton will go to trial Monday in Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court on charges of having a bunch of crap in his yard.

Ort will face a probation-revocation hearing stemming from citations he received for violating local quality-of-life ordinances last October. He spent a night in jail last month after Judge Leslie Spornberger Jones ruled that he hadn't done enough to clean up his property in the ensuing months, in spite of several extensions.

"Our main goal is compliance," County Attorney Bill Berryman said after a brief hearing this afternoon to set a trial date. "We don't want to punish them [people who are cited by the Community Protection Division]. We want them to fix it."

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In the Loop: Ethics Complaint Filed Against Oconee County Commission Chairman Melvin Davis

By Lee Becker | October 6, 2015 11:12am

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Melvin Davis.

Oconee County Attorney Daniel Haygood has referred to Special Master James C. Warnes an ethics complaint that Sarah Bell has filed against Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis.

Bell contends that Davis violated at least eight sections of the county’s ethics code by “using taxpayer money to pay an employee and to prepare and purchase plans” for the reconnection of Old Mars Hill Road to Mars Hill Road proper “as a special favor for one citizen.”

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