Oconee County News

Mark Wallace's cats may not have cat condos or self-scooping litter boxes, but that doesn't mean they're not pets.

Friday, July 3, 2009 7:50 a.m. The Northeast Health District has confirmed a case of H1N1 influenza, commonly called swine flu, in the Athens area.

The Northeast Health District today confirmed a case of H1N1 influenza, commonly called swine flu, in Barrow County. The patient visited a doctor in Oconee County.

The opening of a QuikTrip gas station on the corner of Daniells Bridge Road and the Oconee Connector-approved by the Oconee County Board of Commissioners on June 2-almost certainly will be the first of a series of major upcoming changes for that busy intersection and Daniells Bridge Road itself.

A third-year student at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine who worked with Russ Page at his cattle embryo facility in Oconee County for three years died June 17 in a traffic accident in his hometown of Hartsville, S.C. The death ended a promising young man's career in the field that he loved since childhood, Page said.

The Oconee County Sheriff's Office reported the following incidents: Damage: On June 18, Sgt.

The community book group sponsored by the Oconee Democrats met to discuss Georgia writer Janisse Ray's critically acclaimed "Ecology of a Cracker Childhood" at their June meeting.

Oconee County resident Red Martin stands at the mouth of a cave he explored with companions June 20 in the Oconee National Forest along a hiking trail in Rabun County not far from the remote community of Tate City.

Parking in downtown Athens, riding a bus and drinking water - among other things - all get more expensive today. Water rates will increase in Oconee County as well.

Oconee County Firefighter John Vangotum sprays down hot spots as firefighters battle one of several small forest fires along the railroad tracks near the Victoria Station subdivision on Tuesday in Watkinsville.

After a few mumbled votes, the Oconee County Board of Commissioners effectively destroyed the Keep Oconee County Beautiful Commission, receiver of multiple awards from national and state organizations that make up Keep America Beautiful.

The Oconee County Commission voted unanimously to approve a $34.5 million 2010 budget Tuesday, cutting some spending and charging higher fees for water and recreational programs.

While most voters in Oconee County get their news about what is going on in the county from newspapers-with The Oconee Enterprise being the top specific source-a number rely on email and other Internet sources for their news.

The Pilot Club of Oconee County recently listened to a program from the staff at Butterfly Dreams Farm that provides special therapy for children who are nonverbal or autistic.

The Rev. Jerry Varnado is preaching at a revival at Ray's United Methodist Church on Sunday.

The Oconee County Library Friends are collecting gently used books for their second annual book sale, scheduled for Sept.

The Oconee County Sheriff's Office reported the following incidents: Complaint: On June 12, an employee of Grand Rental Station on Hog Mountain Road reported that a man rented a limb-chipping machine June 6 and didn't return it later that day as he was scheduled to.

In the 1995 movie "Apollo 13," Ed Harris, playing NASA flight director Gene Kranz, utters the following line after an explosion aboard the moon-bound spacecraft: "Let's work the problem, people.

As the Oconee County Board of Commissioners has struggled to find ways to cut about $5 million from its 2009-2010 budget, the Oconee County Board of Education passed a budget with no fanfare that is slightly larger than the one approved a year ago.

Becky DeLozier Vaughn, two time political office candidate and chair of the Oconee County Democratic Committee, resigned her committee membership unexpectedly at the end of the monthly meeting Thursday at the Oconee Government Annex citing personal reasons.