Author: Dick Mangrum

The city administrator says a pre-trial settlement of a lawsuit among parties with Westminster’s electric power supplier means the city will have to raise its retail electric power rates.  Administrator Kevin Bronson made the prediction last night, as the city council approved his recommendation to settle the case of Greer and Rock Hill versus the Piedmont Municipal Power Agency.  The […]

Westminster expects the results this morning of the first set of water samples from yesterday’s tank emptying in the Unity Community off highway 76.  That tank has since been refilled, but the boil advisory for customers in that vicinity remains in place.  With the hope, Kevin Harbin says, of lifting the advisory around mid-day tomorrow.  Harbin, the utilities director, says […]

South Carolina’s junior U-S senator, Tim Scott, spoke in Charleston at Chanukah in the Square in support of Israel and Jewish people and condemned antisemitic, pro-Hamas demonstrations taking place in the U-S, especially at American colleges and universities.  In part, Scott said, “I would say to every student on college campus fomenting hatred and antisemitism and promoting Jewish genocide and […]

Anthony Bernarducci, director of music and vocal studies at Clemson University, debuted “Something Beautiful Remains” with colleagues and students at the fall concert in the Brooks Center.  It was in tribute of a dear friend, Pat Moore, who died in October after a four-year battle with cancer.  Moore was a director of the funeral home Bernarducci worked in alongside her […]

THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER PUBLIC WORKS ADVISES THE RESIDENTS LIVING ON US 76 WEST OF RIVERSONG DR, ALL ROADS OFF OF US 76, INCLUDING UNITY CHURCH RD, COBB BRIDGE RD, NORTH UP HWY 76 ALL THE WAY TO THE WELCOME CHURCH COMMUNITY LOCATED IN OCONEE COUNTY, TO VIGOROUSLY BOIL THEIR WATER FOR AT LEAST (1) FULL MINUTE PRIOR TO DRINKING […]

A Westminster official says an apparent instrument failure caused a complete drain last night of a water tank in the rural Unity Community.  The result is an interruption of service for customers from highway 76 at Riversong Road to the Welcome Church Community.  Those customers are now under a boil advisory, as a precaution to using water prior to drinking […]

Oconee School District’s outside bean counters have pronounced an unmodified, or clean, opinion in their examination of the public schools’ financial records for the government year ended June 30, 2023.  The audit report was presented to the trustees by Don Estep.  Total revenues and expenses for the 12 months ranged in the area of $113 million, when all numbers are […]

Besides a new school at Keowee, long-range Plan A includes another new school building:  this one, to replace Westminster Elementary.  At this point, the district estimates each of the new schools, Keowee and Westminster, will cost $35 million.  Plan A calls for additions at James Brown Elementary and Orchard Park Elementary, along with what’s called “critical maintenance” at several schools […]

One community to receive a new school; a second section of rural Oconee gets to hold onto its school.  A change approved by the county trustees adopted  long-range building Plan A to include the construction of a new Keowee Elementary School.  “They did not approve the consolidation of Keowee and Tamassee-Salem Elementary schools”, according to the district’s official announcement.  At […]