On 27 acres, there could come 215 jobs

Oconee County appears close to welcoming a new major employer.  On the agenda of next week’s county council meeting is preliminary approval of a fee-in-place-of tax agreement with an unidentified company that promises to invest $15,400,000 in “economic development property” and create 215 new, full-time jobs.  As part of an inducement agreement, the county determines to sell about 27 acres in the Industry and Technology Park on highway 11, at a price of $10 thousand an acre.  For now, the company is being referred to as “Project Ruby Slipper”—a code name.  For years, reporters have tried to discover any hidden meanings in the code names.  In the case of Ruby Slipper, one tongue-in-cheek guess is something from the “Wizard Oz or something involving a company in Dorothy’s state of Kansas. Or munchkins.  Or flying monkeys.  Or wicked witches.