Author: Dick Mangrum

Westminster City Council wants officials of Music on Main and Apple Festival to be given copies of the state guidelines for events that attract large crowds.  Councilman Reid Adams brought the issue to the table during last night’s meeting and quoted Dr. Billy Campbell, the city’s only physician, as saying he has COVID-19 concerns for event that draw large crowds.  […]

Because of South Carolina coronavirus mandates, any gathering of large crowds has been forbidden.  Consequently, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative took a decidedly different path than had been the norm in the planning and conducting of its 2020 Annual Meeting of Members.   During the three consecutive days of May 19th through 21st, members participated in a drive-through registration process.  As […]

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) Thursday announced 199 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 9 additional deaths. This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 9,379 and those who have died to 416. Six of the nine deaths occurred in elderly individuals from Clarendon (1), Darlington […]

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help today regarding a report of a burglary and vandalism yesterday at an Oconee County church.  The vandalism was reported to the complainant by a parishioner of the church around 8:30am yesterday.   A deputy responded to St. John’s Anglican Church on River Road near Westminster yesterday morning and began an […]

Corps of Engineers officials at Hartwell Lake have closed all access at Singing Pines Recreation Area, including the roadway leading to the boat ramp parking area, in response to repeated trespassing of the adjacent closed day-use area and public safety issues along the park entrance road and the boat ramp parking area. “Closure of the ramp area, immediately adjacent to […]

Prisma Health’s hospital-based COVID-19 drive-through testing sites will be closed Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day. Sites will reopen Tuesday at their usual start times.   Sites are at Greenville Memorial Hospital, Laurens County Hospital, Oconee Memorial Hospital, Richland Hospital and Tuomey Hospital.

A 26-year old Oconee man has been arrested by sheriff’s officers on charges that he burglarized a home near Seneca and took ammunition, a slingshot, and two fishing reels.  The crimes were reported yesterday at a S. Cove Road home.  Deputies say they arrested Anthony Michael Griffin near the house.  According to authorities, deputies found a backpack near the home […]

The chief operating officer for Prisma Health in Oconee, Hunter Kome, says his best advice is for everyone to wear a mask.  Kome fears that if the general public, for whatever reason, won’t wear masks, another shutdown is possible.  So far, however, Oconee hospital test results are encouraging.  He told the chamber of commerce’s JoAnn Johnson that of 900 COVID-19 […]

Approaching 40 million, joblessness across the country has hit unprecedented numbers.  But, once again, first time claims are falling among the Oconee County workforce.  The county’s first-time claimants were reported today at 305, descending downward from the 1,000 levels from the first known weeks of COVID-19.  As counted by the state Department of Employment and Workforce, here’s the picture in […]