Author: Dick Mangrum

Chairman Julian Davis of Oconee County Council said before last night’s special meeting, he spent part of the day in conversation with African-American community members.  His take from the talks is a realization that racism is real and there’s need for continued discussions to end it.  As Davis put it, in remarks to his fellow councilmen, round table discussions need […]

On a second reading budget vote, Oconee County Council agreed tonight to defund part of its advertising arrangement with The Journal newspaper in Seneca.  A motion by the Seneca member, Paul Cain, cuts off all ads, except those which are statutorily required. Cain motioned to re-direct the ad money to efforts to cultural diversity training for law enforcement and to […]

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) today announced a record high 687 new cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths. This brings the total number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in South Carolina to 16,441 and those who have died to 588. Ten of the 13 deaths occurred in elderly individuals from […]

Southern Wesleyan University at Central announced its revised fall 2020 schedule today, with a planned full semester of in-person instruction starting on Monday, Aug. 17. Students will complete the semester and all semester exams by Tuesday, Nov. 24, before leaving for Thanksgiving break. This is two weeks earlier than originally scheduled. “We cannot wait to have our students back on […]

The owner of a camper wants to know what happened to his property, and the Oconee Sheriff’s Office has stepped up its investigation by inviting members of the public to report any pertinent information that could lead to a cash reward.  A white 2003 Keystone 29 RLS camper was taken between February 17 and June 4 from a storage facility […]

Monday is the day that, for reasons of safety and traffic movement, traffic lights will be changed at a downtown Seneca intersection.  It’s the one at E. Main and N. Townville, at the east entry to Ramcat Alley.  Riley Johnson, events coordinator, says the existing signals will be changed to flashing stop lights in front of traffic entering the intersection […]

South Carolina is marking an increase of initial claims for unemployment compensation for the claim week that ended June 6.  The number of first-time claims across the state rose by 22, 734.  That’s some 3,700 higher than the previous week.  With parts of the economy re-opening, there’s uncertainty as to why.  According to the Department of Employment and Workforce, “This […]

Julian Davis’s hold on the District Four seat on Oconee County Council appears secure.  Decisions made this morning by the county’s board of canvassers did not, in Joy Scharich’s estimation, change Davis’s winning margin on Tuesday enough for there to be a mandatory recount.  Davis was a spectator at this morning’s meeting; his opponent, Jack Collins, was not present.  This […]