Author: Dick Mangrum

Vigils yesterday for a young deputy hospitalized from last week’s officer-involved shooting in the Port Bass Community of Oconee County.  As it has across the Upstate, the wounding of Lucas Watts has touched the church of one of his family members.  And it was at a cross at Earles Grove Baptist Church that people gathered at midafternoon yesterday for prayer.  […]

In the latest reported scam in which a criminal duped an Oconee resident out of money was reported to the county sheriff’s office on Friday. The victim deposited $ 4,500 into a Bitcoin ATM and was duped by someone who called and claimed to be “Sgt. Dale Evans” with the sheriff’s office.  The victim was threatened with a federal ar […]

Greenville sheriff’s investigators say they have warrants charging a 50-year old man with five instances of attempted murder in Oconee County.  They have identified Gregory Wayne Maxwell as the suspect and say he remains in custody at a hospital for injuries in this week’s shootout with Oconee deputies. Maxwell is also being accused of possession of a weapon during a […]

A man who escaped federal custody was spotted late yesterday morning in Sylva, North Carolina.  At the time, according to the FBI, an eyewitness saw Sean Christopher Williams late yesterday morning in the Jackson Plaza shopping area in Jackson County.  At the time of his escape, Williams was being transported from Laurel County, Kentucky to Greenville, Tennessee.  He escaped October […]

Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw says that the Sheriff’s Office Deputy who was shot in the officer-involved shooting yesterday afternoon is in stable but critical condition today. “I have spoken with the family and with their permission, we are releasing the name and the condition of the Deputy who was shot yesterday,” says Sheriff Crenshaw. “He is Corporal Lucas Watts. […]

At least one Highlands car wash has closed to save water, as mandatory restrictions remain in place in the North Carolina mountain town.  We spoke this morning to the man who runs Oconee’s largest water distributor, Bob Faires of Seneca Light and Water.  The lack of rain is a concern, as Faires explained, but the situation locally has not reached […]

“Investigators from the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office are investigating an officer involved shooting which occurred on Thursday, November 16, 2023, in Oconee County.   A deputy with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop at around 12:00 p.m., on Highway 11 in Oconee County. After the driver initially pulled over, he drove away and a pursuit ensued. During the […]

Anderson’s Scotts Bridge Road will be the location of a Smurfit Kappa operation.  The company makes and supplies paper-based packing products.  Governor McMaster’s announcement states it’s going to take over a 259,000 square foot building, create 200 new jobs, and make a $68 million dollar investment.  South Carolina’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits for Smurfit Kappa’s […]

Oconee County Council appears primed to picked fruit from a tree..  At its meeting next week, the council is scheduled to give first and final reading to a resolution of “preliminary approval” for an incentive agreement to attract an economic development investment that, for the time being, is code-named “Project Cherry.”  Preceding the passing of that resolution is a closed-door […]