Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by the Oconee Historical Society.
About The Oconee enterprise. (Watkinsville, Oconee County, Ga.) 1887-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 2013)
In Our 129th Year “**‘**********‘** A U TO ** 3 -DIGI T 306 0002016 20 1137 GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT 320 S JACKSON ST MAIN LIBRARY-UGA ATHENS, GA 30602-5002 Serving Oconee County ntrrjiriar 50 CENTS • VOLUME 130 • NUMBER 50 THE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER OF Joe Walter THURSDAY • 12 DECEMBER 2013 Lady Warriors pick up first win Oconee County’s girls defeated East Jackson Friday. Sports, B1 Concrete plant shutting down After 50 years, family firm leaving county. Business, A6 OCAF brings out season’s joy Happy crowd turns out to purchase unique gifts. Lifestyles, A13 Coming next week We will have children’s letters to Santa. Inside TWO SECTIONS 20 PAGES 12 DECEMBER 2013 Business A6 Classifieds B5 Crossword B5 Forum A4 Legals B4 Lifestyles A10 Neighbors B6 Obituaries A8 Police Reports A2 Public Matters A7 Sports B1 This issue was mailed Wednesday, December // from Watkinsville and Athens, GA. Please inform your post office if it arrives late. Hale to seek reelection Regional reservoir building underway by Vinnie Williams Since Gov. Nathan Deal broke ground on Hard Labor Creek Reservoir in October, work has moved into high gear. Tracking the reservoir’s starts and stalls for a decade and more has been The Walton Tribune’s managing editor Robbie Schwartz. At intervals he reports on the progress, or none, of the project. Such a report appeared in the Nov. 28 issue of Walton County’s weekly. Headlines summed up the story: “Significant work taken place on water project recently” and “Committee looking at recre ation options.” Bear Creek Reservoir is men tioned as a guide to recreation. The four-county reservoir (Barrow, Oconee, Jackson, and Athens-Clarke) has established guidelines for recreation on the water, along with types of vehicles allowed on what is essentially drinking water. * Jimmy Parker, vice president of Precision Planning Inc. and proj ect manager of Hard Labor Creek Reservoir, says that work is mov ing ahead as fast as possible. “Cold weather can prevent the pouring of concrete, if we get toward freezing temperatures. Most critical issues, though, are unknown conditions such as rock.” About 99 percent of the land has been acquired for the 2,469-acre project. This includes not only the pool of the reservoir but work on relocating roads and bridges. Presently there are 50-80 work ers on the 1,450-acre construction site, but the impact of the project reaches more than 140 employees. That includes truck drivers bring ing gas to the site. Then there are the workers who cast the 25 con crete beams for the new bridge for Social Circle-Fairplay Road along with other aspects of the water intake part of the structure. Thus far about $77.6 million has been spent or already approved in allocations for the project. That represents about 46 percent of the total budget. Parker says, “The reservoir is on schedule and trending under budget.” Between money spent in years leading up to the project coupled with the $21 million given in low- interest loans by the state last year, plus the bonds issued in 2008 — $59 million by Walton Couinty, $21 million by Oconee—officials don’t expect to return to the bond market to finish the first phase of the reservoir and begin pumping water.The most obvious aspect of the reservoir, at least to the resi dents along Browning Shoals Road, is along the 60 acres where the dam is starting to take shape. It is 1,900 feet long and should get completed by January 2015. see Reservoir page A8 \j t by Blake Giles Margaret Hale is coming back for more. Hale told The Oconee Enterprise that she will run for reelection to the Oconee County Board of Commissioners. “There are some things that I want to finish,” she said. “I always said that the day that I don’t enjoy work ing for the people of Oconee County will be the day that I won’t run. I still enjoy it.” Hale pointed to completing Veterans Park as one of the projects she would like to see through to the finish. “The whole reason I ran was because of the children and the lack of space for recreation for them,” said Hale. She recalled how she and BOC Chairman Melvin Davis latched on to that cause early. “I would like to see it finished,” she said. “Public safety is always an issue with me. There are a couple of fire stations we need to upgrade to provide firefighters what they need to protect the public.” Hale has been a champion for the fire department for years. She is optimistic that the county can con tinue to rely on an all-volunteer fire protection force. “As long as our numbers are good,” Hale said. “The only possible drawback would be if we got a big company in here that had to have a paid fire department to get their insurance costs down. see Hale page A7 Margaret Hale was one of the commissioners who rode in the Christmas Parade Saturday. [Photo by Blake Giles] by Blake Giles A cast of thousands witnessed another grand production as the volunteer-led Watkinsville Christmas Parade marched through Saturday untouched by a drop of rain. There were, however, a few mechanical glitches. Santa Claus learned again the wisdom of trusting in reindeer over mechanical contraptions when the truck that was pulling him broke down on Main Street. At the end of the parade, half a dozen determined souls were pushing the truck, the wagon and Santa to the parade fin ish. One of the tractors in the Montgomery Farms entry had to be pushed to the side of Barnett Shoals Road. It proved of small conse quence for Woodson Montgomery, who took home the prize for best antique tractor. see Parade page A9 Past grand marshal Jim Luken speaks to Joe Walter before the start of the Watkinsville Christmas Parade. Walter was pulled by two Classic City Clydesdales. Above, Massage Envy’s float gives a stuffed Santa a massage. [Photo by Blake Giles] Revamped field house design is unveiled by Michael Prochaska Minutes before the annual Watkinsville tree lighting, Charles Stewart greeted children as they scurried from the warm embrace of Santa Claus straight into his store. There are scores of fascinating riches inside Attic Treasures, though they are likely not the traditional toys subject to earnest supplication before Santa. Dyllan Adams, age 3, had just asked for a dollhouse with dolls already inside. Carson Terrell is all about the new Star Wars Lego set. Further down on his list are books and stuffed ani mals. His younger brother Davis would be content with anything that has the Man of Steel emblem plas tered on it. “It’s been a pleasure to see the Abbi Patterson, Ayden Patterson and Emma Gamboa marvel at the Department 56 village in Watkinsville. [Photo by Michael Prochaska] jubilant families with a Christmas stores, along with the Oconee spirit,” said Stewart. Cultural Arts Foundation Holiday Attic Treasures was one of several Market, open late into the evening “The weather has been a concern, but it looks like it’s going to hold off,” said Amrey Harden, organizer of the Holiday Market. “I think it’s safe to say we had one of the larger crowds,” said Watkinsville Mayor Charles Ivie. “The tree lighting starts Christmas for me.” Hundreds of residents sipped on hot chocolate and cookies provided by Oconee State Bank, as children pressed their noses against the win dows of the Oconee Welcome Center where an impressive collec tion of Department 56 village hous es illuminates the storefront. The whimsical, eternally Yuletide town would be larger than Watkinsville if made to scale. The display is merely a sampling of what donor Maria Caudill has at home. by Michael Prochaska No longer is an elevated glimpse of an Oconee County High touch down limited to the high-reaching home stands. Architectural renderings of an overhauled field house depict a sec ond floor with an overlooking patio. OCS Chief Operations Officer Jake Grant shared those blueprints Monday with the Board of Education, which will vote on the matter next month. If approved, high school athletes will be provided the following enhanced amenities: a larger weight room, female locker rooms, a laun dry and storage facility, a training room and offices for coaches. Spectators can expect swifter admis sion thanks to replacement ticket booths. And students and staff will benefit from a 1,551-squre-foot multi-purpose room directly above The latest design for a field house at Oconee County High shows a two-story structure with a balcony overlooking the football field. [Submitted drawing] the existing facility. “It was a reoccurring theme from the groups that we met with,” said Grant. “They needed a large meet ing space.” Board member Mark Thomas asked if the multi-purpose room could be used for academics, such as testing and guest lecturing. Grant responded that it could be used for just about anything the school has in mind. An earlier draft depicted the spa cious room at ground level, but “the building got so long, it just didn’t look proportional,” said Grant. Grant said additions like the bal cony are not identical to those at North Oconee High School but are comparable. “We hit on every element that we heard throughout all the various groups,” said Grant. One four-window ticket booth will be located between the field house and the concessions building, while the other will sit on the far side of the stadium and will be equipped with two windows. Detailed floor plans that specify square footage and layout are avail able on the school board website in the attachments to the Dec. 9 meet ing. Once the board makes a deci sion in January, bids will go out to subcontracting firms that will essen tially determine the cost of construc tion. Principal Sheila Beckham could not be reached for comment as of press time. Photo Gallery Online www.0coneeEnterprise.com Santa gets help Tree lighting brings families closer
