Author: Dick Mangrum

A one-vehicle accident around 4 pm yesterday in Long Creek took the life of a Georgia man.  He was 62-year old Tony O. Smith of Blue Ridge, Georgia. State trooper Gary Miller said a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck hit guardrail and went off the right side of the highway and overturned.  At the time, the truck was east bound.  […]

Governor McMaster late this afternoon announced that, effective Monday, May 18, South Carolina will lift restrictions further and allow businesses involved in close contact with customers will be allowed to go back into operations. The lifting also applies to certain recreation and athletic facilities. The close contact businesses that will be allowed to return next week include barbers, hair salons, […]

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced 140 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, and 15 additional deaths. This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 7,792 and those who have died to 346. Eleven of those deaths occurred in elderly individuals in Charleston (1), Clarendon (1), […]

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced that it has identified more than 1,800 contact tracers to support the state’s ongoing COVID-19 response efforts. “With increased testing there will be an increase in the number of positive cases reported,” said Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina State Epidemiologist. “This means we will need to increase the […]

Public safety responders are on their way to what appears to be a serious accident in Long Creek.  According to passersby, it looks like a car may have gone thru guardrail and flipped over.  This accident was reported shortly after 4 o’clock this afternoon.

A handful of South Carolina women, including an Oconeean, are hoping the voters will nominate them next month to hold an office, rarely occupied by members of their gender. It’s believed that no woman has ever been elected to the office of county sheriff in South Carolina, although some women have temporarily occupied the office. The executive director of the […]

Partisan disagreements leave uncertain what form a new stimulus package might take from Washington–whether there will be more relief checks or tax cuts, or both.  But South Carolina Republican Tim Scott says he and at least two Democratic colleagues are behind a proposal to ensure more new parents quickly receive the additional $500 a child benefit from the CARES Act.  […]

Pleasant spring time weather and the re-opening of some Oconee County outdoor attractions brought out crowds over the weekend. The city of Walhalla monitored conditions at the popular Stumphouse Mountain Bike Park.  At the peak on Saturday, there were about 100 vehicles parked on the property, but the city’s Brandon Burton says there were no problems.  The same couldn’t be […]

If you wish to transact business at the counter in the Seneca Post Office, members of the public are told to wear a mask.  Signs are posted on the door entrances to the main lobby. A limit of three people is a requirement inside the small retail section to allow for six-feet social distancing.

Oconee County continues to lag behind both the state and the country when it comes to responding to the federal government’s requests to take part in the 2020 Census.  Over the weekend, the Oconee response rate was reported at 51.6%.  That compares with a state response of 52.2% and nationwide rate of 58.5%.