Lee Shearer

Athens

Contributor at Flagpole Magazine

News and observations from Athens, Ga.

Articles

Judge Upholds Jackson County's Denial of Rock Quarry Rezoning

3 days ago | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

A judge has denied a giant mining company’s request to overturn the Jackson County Board of Commissioners’ denial of a rezoning request that would have allowed a granite quarry in southern Jackson County near the community of Center. The nearly 900-acre tract just off U.S. Highway 441, now mainly forested with some wetlands, borders the North Oconee River, Athens-Clarke County’s primary drinking water source, and is near Athens-Clarke County’s Sandy Creek Park.
New Dog Park at Memorial Park Draws Mixed Reviews

1 month ago | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

There’s a lot to like about the (somewhat) new dog park within Athens’ Memorial Park, said Athens resident Chris Moore, or Cee Mo to friends on the local music scene. First of all, he likes the main thing any owner likes about a dog park: It’s a place where he can take off mixed-breed Cooper’s leash and let him run free for a while—one of the high points in Cooper’s or just about any dog’s life.
New Sewer Plant and Chicken Plant Could Pollute the Broad River

2 months ago | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

Chickens are coming home to roost in a small Franklin County town as angry citizens question its plans for a wastewater treatment plant that could clear the way for a new poultry processing plant sending more than a million gallons of treated wastewater a day into the Broad River.
UGA Economists: Housing Shortage Is Holding Down Athens' Economic Growth

Jan 29, 2025 | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

The U.S. economy will cool this year, according to the University of Georgia Terry College of Business’s Selig Center for Economic Growth, but Georgia’s economy will grow faster than the nation’s, and the Athens economy will grow even more than the state average. The chance of a recession is about 25%, Terry College Dean Ben Ayers told a crowd in Athens’ Classic Center on Jan. 23.
Jackson County Commission Quashes Gravel Quarry Near Athens

Nov 26, 2024 | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners wasted no time Monday night, Nov. 18, in denying a big mining company’s bid to install a granite quarry in a 900-acre tract in the southern part of the county. After a two-hour public hearing, commissioners rejected Vulcan Materials Company’s request for special permits in a series of eight quick 5-1 votes—one vote for each of the eight land parcels that were to be combined for the quarry operation.
Jackson County Planners Deal Proposed Quarry a Setback

Nov 5, 2024 | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

The Jackson County Planning Commission has voted unanimously to deny an Alabama mining company’s proposal to build a granite quarry in southern Jackson County. The vote doesn’t mean the end of Vulcan Materials Co.’s proposal, however. The planning commission’s vote is only a recommendation. The company’s request for a special use permit now goes to the Jackson County Commission, which is set to take up the issue Nov. 18.
A Proposal for a Giant Gravel Quarry Near Athens Wetlands Is Back

Oct 15, 2024 | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

A giant mining company is pressing ahead with plans to create a granite quarry in a 900-acre tract just north of Athens in Jackson County. The site off U.S. Highway 441, near its intersection with Georgia Highway 334 and Old Commerce Road, is about two miles west of the Sandy Creek Park wetlands, and part is adjacent to the North Oconee River, one of Athens-Clarke County’s drinking water sources.
Athens Had No Voter Challenges for the State Elections Board to Investigate

Oct 10, 2024 | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

There was no discussion of the State Election Board’s investigation of Athens-Clarke County’s elections office at the ACC Board of Elections meeting Tuesday. Turns out, there was no investigation. Last month, the State Elections Board directed its executive director, Mike Coan, to investigate elections officials of eight Democratic-leaning counties, including Athens-Clarke, over their dismissals of mass challenges of voter registrations.
ACC Board of Elections Opposes Trump Backers' New State Election Rules

Sep 24, 2024 | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections has joined a number of other county elections boards across the state in asking the state Board of Elections to hold off on making more election rule changes until after November’s presidential election.
UGA Football Is Rolling in Money. Here's Where That Money Goes

Sep 10, 2024 | flagpole.com | Lee Shearer

UGA’s football, basketball and other teams that compete in the NCAA aren’t managed by the university, but by a nonprofit corporation—the 501(c)3 University of Georgia Athletic Association, with its own board of trustees. Although it’s a separate legal entity, it’s a rubber-stamp board ultimately controlled by the UGA president, who is also the UGAA board president. NCAA rules require intercollegiate sports programs to be under “institutional control,” not some outside entity.