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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Use of Death Penalty in Georgia is Declining
Georgia jurors have not handed down a death sentence in the past five years as the prevalence of capital punishment in the state continues to decrease. Not only are juries supporting the death sentence less often, prosecutors aren’t seeking it nearly as much either. Over the past two decades, prosecutors…
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Athens Masonic Association to Host Event to Help Restore Historic Reese Street School
Marvin Nunnally, the chairman of the Athens Masonic Association, is working with the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation to raise money for the restoration of the 105-year-old Reese Street school building. The Athens Masonic Association bought the building in 1968 and uses some rooms in the building to hold meetings. They have…
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Oconee County Community Gathers to Remember Life of Sam Elsner
Prior to last night’s game, the Oconee County High School baseball team held a ceremony to honor former student and second baseman Sam Elsner. Elsner was killed in a car accident on July 12, 2018. He had graduated from OCHS two months earlier. Everything a warrior is supposed to be,…
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Clarke County Crime at 10-Year Low, Still Above National Average
Data analyzed from the Athens-Clarke County crime report webpage reveals that crime has hit an all-time low over the past decade. Since peaking in 2008, overall crime incidents have decreased 42.8 percent in Clarke County. In total, 20,403 crime incidents occurred in 2008, compared to 11,666 in 2018. When adjusted…
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Jury Trials Fade as Plea Bargains Remain The Norm Both Locally and Nationally
The public defender’s office for Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties handles thousands of cases in a given year, but the overwhelming majority of those cases will never see the inside of a courtroom. Most cases are resolved through plea bargaining, a process in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in…
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End of an Era: North Oconee Boys Basketball Coach Retires
David Gascho recorded 55 wins and 131 losses over the course of his 12-year boys basketball coaching career at North Oconee High School, but he created a program that went beyond teaching skills on the basketball court. “Hopefully we taught kids how to work hard, become better men, to realize that…
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Body Cam Shows Oconee County Deputies Stopping DUI Suspect From Jumping Off Bridge
Oconee County deputies are being credited with saving a man’s life after he tried to jump off a 10 Loop bridge on Saturday night. It started as a DUI stop for Deputies Jamie Elder, Shawn Johnston and Quinton NeSmith. When the suspect failed his sobriety tests, Deputy Elder began…
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Newsource at 5 (Feb. 13)
https://www.facebook.com/UGAGradyNewsource/videos/358541311409211/
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Northeast Georgia Athletes Ink Names on National Signing Day
High school athletes around the country signed National Letters of Intent today, cementing the next chapter of their athletic careers at the collegiate level. Clarke Central High School \t Daiquan Brown: Football, Hutchinson Community College \t Edrin Summerour: Football, Hutchinson Community College \t Jacob Dula: Football, Culver-Stockton Community College \t…
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Watkinsville Police Department Seeks Input for Possible Changes
The city of Watkinsville is currently working with its citizens to address concerns about the police department. Homeowners and business owners received a survey earlier in January where they were asked to share their opinion on public safety. One question asked whether there is value in having both the Watkinsville…