Author: Dick Mangrum

A 60-year old man was sent to prison for 25 years after an Oconee jury this afternoon found him guilty of first degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.  At the reading of the verdict, defendant Scott Norman Christner sat stoic and stared straight ahead.  The sex offense occurred at a home in Seneca where the victim was a girl […]

Candidates for Westminster City Council in next month’s special election have the chance to speak directly to the public in a pair of forums to be held in their city.  Interested members of the public may attend one or one both.  Westminster Senior Outreach will sponsor a forum on the night of April 4 at the Depot on Main Street. […]

All testimony has been completed at the Oconee Courthouse in South Carolina versus Scott Norman Christner.  Yesterday both sides rested.  The defense called no witnesses.  The remaining trial stages are summations by the attorneys to the jury, the judge’s legal charge to the jury, and the jury’s actual deliberations.  In a trial the started Monday, the prosecution alleged Christner committed […]

Oconee is pushing an 80 thousand population, nearly double what it was 50 years ago.  An at-large member of the county planning commission says too much of the county’s natural advantages are being lost to development.  At the start of this week’s planning commission meeting, Pat Williams declared, “Development is out of control in this county.”  He implored his colleagues […]

As long as supplies last, the Rosa Clark Medical Clinic at Prisma Health Oconee Memorial will distribute at no charge at-home self-tests supplied by the U-S Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Defense Department.  So far, Rosa Clark has provided 1,450 tests to 20 organizations across Oconee County and surrounding the county.

A student-led group at Seneca High is coming to the aid of the region’s shelters for victims of domestic violence.  On Saturday, Seneca’s Emerging Women will sponsor a community fair to benefit Safe Harbor.  From 12 to 4 pm at Seneca High School, the community fair will assemble food trucks, vendors, games, bounce houses, music, along with information about the […]

The S.C. Drought Response Committee, meeting via conference call on March 22, upgraded the drought status to Incipient Drought for 11 South Carolina coastal counties. As designated by the South Carolina Drought Response Act, Incipient is the first level of drought followed by Moderate, Severe, and Extreme. Low streamflow conditions and below-normal top-soil and subsoil moisture were the primary driving […]