About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2017)
Your official newspaper serving Greene, Morgan and Putnam counties in Georgia’s Lake Country \ www.LakeOconeeiiews.us VOL. 19 NO. 35 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2017 75 CENTS GREENE COUNTY Man killed in fight with Greene deputy Dave Brown dave@lakeoconeenews.us A traffic stop in Woodville turned deadly Aug. 25 after Charles David Robinson, who had been in and out of prison for parts of three decades, reportedly attacked Greene County Sheriffs Deputy Conrad Easley. “A physical confrontation occurred between Deputy Easley and Robinson result ing in Robinson being (tased) as well as Deputy Easley discharging his firearm and striking Robinson,” according to the Georgia Bureau of In vestigation report. SEE DEPUTY » A2 Law enforcement officers respond to the scene of an officer involved shooting in Woodville. Contributed MORGAN COUNTY ^HHI % '''-I ML 1 A Guns, drugs seized A month-long joint undercover drug investigation conducted by an ad hoc task force resulted in several arrests Aug. 25. According to Captain Christo pher Bish of the Morgan County Sheriffs Olffice, the task force included investigators from the Morgan County Sheriffs Office, SEE ARRESTS » A2 The task force seized an arsenal of weapons, cash and drugs. Contributed LAKE COUNTRY AAA: Harvey to spike gas prices James Morton james@lakeoconeenews.us Although gas prices continue to rise from Hurricane Harvey, many local residents say they’re not rushing to the pump. Drivers can expect to see higher prices at filling stations, says AAA. This comes after historic Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast this past weekend. “If I got to pay [higher prices], I’ve got to pay it,” said Jay Dell, as he left work in his Dodge 1500. Dell said he lives close to his office and doesn’t drive much, so he isn’t worried about topping his tank. He said he averages around 20 mpg. “I just filled up Saturday,” Dell said. “Gas was $2.17.” Accordingto GasBuddy. com, area stations are ranging from $2.14 per gallon to as high as $2.29 per gallon. The national average is $2.37. “As Hurricane Harvey blasted Texas, gas prices shot up across the country,” said Jeanetee Casselano, AAA spokes person. SEE GAS » A9 index Calendar B4 Churches B7 Classifieds D4 Community B1 Obituaries A6 Opinions A4 Recipes D1 Sports C1 Sports C1 FRIDAY 84/71 Showers Likely WEATHER »D7 0 94922 87855 7 Published by Smith Communications Inc. GREENE COUNTY Lawsuits loom over Rental ordinance Mark Engel engel@lakeoconeenews.us About 250 people squeezed into the Greene County Commission meeting room Tuesday afternoon to sound off at a public hearing on a proposed new ordinance re stricting short term rentals. The Planning and Zoning Commission heard comments with the clear majority of the speakers opposing the proposal, which sets noise, oc cupancy, parking and construction restrictions on homes being rented for 30 days or less. The most stringent part of the or dinance limits home rentals to so- called Short Term Rental Overlay (STRO) Districts. Landlords would be required to get written approval from 80 percent of all property owners in their neighbor hood before they could apply to be a STRO District. Developers that are still active in their communi ties would be able to create smaller STRO districts within their neigh borhoods. It’s the fourth attempt by the county in three years to come up with an ordinance controlling short term rentals. Each time the measure was shot down by public opinion. Property owners, particularly in the gated communities of District 4, have been lining up on both SEE RENTALS » A3 "...about the worst piece of legislation I've seen come out of this body in years." - Lake Country Board of Realtors attorney Richard Schmidt. Mark Engel/ Staff LAKE COUNTRY Three candidates qualify for Madison Mayor Several city council seats on the line in Greene and Morgan T. Michael Stone michael@lakeoconeenews.us Qualifying for municipal elec tions ended last Friday, and most of the cities in Greene and Morgan counties will have contested seats up for grabs. Write-in candidates still have until Sept. 1 to announce their in tentions. The biggest surprise is the race for mayor in Madison where three candidates have qualified. Incum bent mayor Fred Perriman will have to fend off challengers Robert Lanier and Kathi Russell on Nov. 7- Bobby Crawford is not running again for his District 2 seat; Eric Joyce and Jennie S. Newton will vie for his spot on council. The District 5 seat is also on the line with incumbent Chris Hodges opposed by Woody Burriss. The District 3 seat on the Rutledge City Council is the only one with opposition. With Jennifer Buzbee and Brandie Williams Owens vying for that position SEE ELECTION » A9 Wilson - Bryant A company you can TRUST! iviniii 1 biiniibii • 11 bn inoinuus 866 Harmony Rd. Eatonton, GA 706-485-5456 • www.bryant-air.com
