Author: Dick Mangrum

In anticipation of delayed revenues, Seneca will take the borrowing route to recover expenses from the April tornado as well as a drop in revenue resulting from the financial impacts of COVID-19. In last night’s special meeting, the city council gave final approval to a $2.5 million dollar general obligation (taxpayer-backed) bond. City administrator Scott Moulder explained that the general […]

The spokeswoman for Oconee School District says a Walhalla High student who reported testing positive for COVID-19 never entered the building, and there’s no need to quarantine a classroom or even the entire student body.  Spokeswoman Jennifer Dodd says the local district received clarification from the state Department of Education yesterday that these circumstances do not require the district to […]

  A motorist was taken to the hospital early yesterday afternoon after his car crashed into a small storage building at SC 28/the Highlands Highway, and Lake Jemiki Road.  Walhalla fire fighters were among the responders.  Later in the day they provided support to the Salem Fire Department as it tended to a home fire on the Flat Shoals Road.

City of Westminster has scheduled an electric power outage this evening.  From around 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm customers will be affected in the area of North and South Bibb streets, Louise Court, and S. Pew Street.  The outage purpose:  to upgrade the transformers in those areas.

Two city councilmen in Westminster say they will step down December 31 after one year of their four-year terms.  This after, Rusty Cater and Danny Duncan voted in the minority last night on whether to restore a one-sentence provision to the city’s policy against nepotism.  That one-sentence addition will make ineligible immediate members of the family of an elected city […]

At their meeting, Oconee County Parks, Recreation and Tourism commissioners are scheduled to vote on seven different grant applications.  If all of the applicants are eventually approved, a total of more than $50 thousand will have been distributed.  Largest requests are sought by the city of Seneca to advertise the 11th annual Half Marathon and 5K and by Discover Upcountry […]

Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Jeff Duncan, two Republicans seeking re-election in November, have been named guest speakers for an event next week near Seneca.  The event will be a barbecue luncheon arranged by the Oconee Republican Party and the Oconee County Republican Women Thursday, September 3 at the South Cove Park Recreation Building on Lake Keowee.  CDC guidelines for […]

South Carolina DHEC announced 909 new confirmed COVID cases today, along with 18 additional deaths.  Thirty-five of those 909 were Oconee County residents.  There were, however, no additional Oconee deaths.  Individual test results reported to DHEC Monday was 5,226 and the positive rate was 17.4%.

Today, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) shared updated data that shows communities with mask requirement ordinances in place continue to see a slower rate of disease spread compared to communities without mask requirements. “The data continues to reinforce what we’ve already known about proper wearing of masks and their success in helping to stop the […]