Oconee County
Reporting about Oconee County, Georgia. Some stories will be republished in The Oconee Enterprise as part of a news-academic partnership with Grady Newsource.
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Grady Newsource Explains: CASA Volunteers
By: Janai James CASA is calling all volunteers in the area. The Athens-Oconee CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) hosted a volunteer orientation Thursday. A CASA is a trained community volunteer who is appointed by a judge to advocate for the best interests of an abused or neglected child who is in…
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Grady Newsource Explains: Emergency Alert Systems
By: Janai James Some Oglethorpe County residents are upset that no alert was sent out during a recent shooting that killed Haley Hill and her unborn child. According to Oglethorpe County Sheriff Mike Smith, the alert system for the county was not activated during the time of the shooting. Oglethorpe County has only had…
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Grady Newsource Explains: Water Quality Indicators
Unacceptably high levels of E. coli bacteria found by volunteers in a Barber Creek tributary has Oconee County residents concerned about the quality of their recreational water. As present, the state Environmental Protection Division’s water quality monitoring of Georgia’s water resources differs from that recommended by the federal Environmental…
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Grady Newsource Explains: Same-Sex Marriage Applications in Northeast Georgia
By Rayleigh Rozier Gender has been removed entirely from the application forms for a marriage license in Georgia following the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling. “We do not track gender at all,” said Deputy Clerk Sarah Cook of the Athens-Clarke Probate Court. While old marriage applications indicated “Bride ” and “Groom”…
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Donor’s Choice Locally
Here are some statistics about how Athens area school systems have been using Donor’s Choice. While Clarke County and Hall County have the largest amount of donations and the greatest amount of people impacted, Oglethorpe County has the highest success rate, followed by Oconee County and Jackson County.
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Today’s Top 5: Sept. 1, 2015
Here are the stories our reporters are following for you today: \t Upper Oconee Watershed Network volunteers are sampling the water at Barber Creek Road following word from the Environmental Protection Division that the water was safe. Reporter Alison Gowens has the story. \t Coach Mark Richt speaks out for the first time…
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Oconee County Courthouse Security Updates
New security changes will take place at the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville, Georgia, effective September 1. Visitors will now be required to enter on the left side of the building due to the X-ray scanning equipment. Because of this new security equipment, the front door entrance will remain locked.…
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Watkinsville Bakery to Supply for Whole Foods
WATKINSVILLE- One local bakery’s products will be seen in stores throughout the southeast. KiKi’s Bakery of Watkinsville will soon have three of its products for sale in Whole Foods stores. Those 33 stores will be in 6 different states: Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama. This news comes…
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Police Consider PepperBalls as Alternative to Lethal Force
WATKINSVILLE — It’s not always clear about how law enforcement officers discern when force is necessary and what type of force is appropriate. With events like Ferguson, Missouri, North Charleston, South Carolina and now Baltimore — where 25-year-old Freddie Gray died after a police officer tackled him, some people continue to…
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No More Graduation Tests for High Schoolers
5:00 PM: A new bill signed into law two weeks ago by Governor Nathan Deal eliminates the requirement for former high school students to have passed the Georgia High School Graduation Test to receive their diploma. The same bill also allows former students to request from the Board of Education their…