Author: Dick Mangrum

The last day of October (the 31st) saw South Carolina DHEC confirm 305 new cases of COVID-19 in the state, including seven in Oconee County.  Statewide, there were 13 new deaths,  including two Pickens County residents.  Of 13,229 test results received and counted on Halloween, the state positivity was 3.8%.

Preliminary work is underway on the Wells Highway property destined to become Seneca’s new middle school.  But, a district administrator says the start of building construction won’t take place until next spring.  Right now, says Steve Hanvey, storm water pipes and other materials are being moved onto the property.  Backside areas of the land are being prepared for a detention […]

November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) would like to remind South Carolinians that healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.   Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. According to the 2021 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures Report, approximately 95,000 South […]

A tree cut yesterday in Westminster led to a small power outage that cut off electricity to two homes on Gaston Circle.  Leigh Baker, utilities director, said the Bradford pear tree landed on a power line and broke a pole, requiring the replacement of the pole and the transformer.  The mishap was reported shortly before 4 o’clock; city crews had […]

Oconee sheriff’s officers have arrested and charged a young Easley man with burglary at a university student apartment complex off 123 near the Norfolk Southern rail tracks.  The sheriff’s office announced a first degree burglary charge against Romelo Tyquan Lydell Dillard, also charged with petty larceny.  The crimes were reported in early October at the EPOCH apartments on Reason Court […]

Retired Oconee Sheriff James Singleton heads tomorrow to the state capital for a ceremony in which he is to be inducted into the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers’ Hall of Fame.  From a childhood near Pendleton, Singleton served the country in Vietnam, where he fought in an important battle, then became a municipal policeman in Oconee County, a county chief […]

A move by Seneca to re-align the makeup of the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority that could award the city, the largest customer, with stronger voting clout met opposition yesterday from those who represent the smaller users, Walhalla and Westminster.  Seneca’s Scott Moulder introduced the idea and, as chairman, entertained a vote that split the commissioners in half.  With Westminster’s […]

Things get done big in Texas, and a developer from Dallas has big things in store for Oconee County, as long as he can secure piped sewer at a fair and reasonable cost.  Brent Little of Fountain Residential Partners, currently at work on the Dockside project in Clemson, wants to extend university apartment living to a pair of large parcels […]

Walhalla water customers no longer need to boil their water before drinking or cooking.  Late yesterday afternoon the city announced the lifting of the advisory, after water samples were taken, analyzed, and found to be safe.  If you have questions, you may call 864/638-4343.