Category: News

What started as an attempt by Oconee deputies to carry out an eviction near Westminster turned into a barricade situation and required the deputies to call for assistance from “SWAT”—the special weapons and tactical unit of the sheriff’s office office.  It ended when the man who barricaded himself inside a bathroom on Sigmon Drive near the Old Seneca Road surrendered […]

Federal funds of $56 million dollars will help South Carolina school districts address challenges faced by vulnerable student populations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Oconee School District will share in the allocation.  A listing announced today by the state Department of Education indicates the Oconee district is in line for nearly $570 thousand through two formula grants.  The money […]

Numbers today from South Carolina DHEC show the 24-hour count recorded on Sunday at 993 new cases of COVID-19 across the state.  Recent, 24-hour case counts have consistently totaled one thousand-plus.  Seventeen of those 993 new cases were Oconee residents. Statewide, there were 26 new deaths, including one Oconeean. Of 16,007 test results received, the positivity was 8.9%.

A chemical that can emit the smell of rotten eggs is at the heart of a complaint made by the state health agency to the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority.  The matter of hydrogen sulfide odor is being addressed with an attempt to correct what’s wrong, according to a recent report made to a committee of the JRSA.  The September […]

During a weekend pageant, West-Oak High School senior Anna Marie Moore was crowned Miss Oktoberfest.  She’s a honor student at her school and the daughter of Sandra and Steve Moore.  She captured the photogenic and casual portions of the the contest.  As Miss Oktoberfest 2021, Anna Marie receives a scholarship worth $500 and will take on duties that include cutting […]

Out of considerations for COVID-19, there will be no community feed of authentic German food this year to help start Walhalla’s Oktoberfest.  It’s traditional that volunteers help dish out the food for lunch under the big tent, just hours before the official start of the Oktoberfest weekend.  But Barbara Justus, Oktoberfest president, says it won’t happen this year, and the […]

The following is a South Carolina DHEC announcement: “The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s (DHEC) most recent data analysis shows that the majority of recent COVID-19 cases, including severe cases, remain among individuals who are not fully vaccinated.   From Aug. 16 through Sept. 15, DHEC reported 149,738 cases among South Carolinians. Among the 1,771 reported cases […]

Mayor Danny Edwards has proclaimed this week Fire Prevention Week in Walhalla.  Fire prevention is a subject that the city fire department feels strongly about.  In 2019 alone, according to the National Fire Protection Association, more than 27-hundred people in the U-S were killed because of house fires.  Fire prevention, proper planning and working smoke detectors can help save lives.  […]

An examination of the way the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority handles money has produced the exact opinion which the agency’s outside auditor says it should have.  That, in the wording of certified public accountant Jason White is an unmodified opinion.  White’s firm conducted the examination of the millions of dollars in revenue and expenses associated with operating Oconee’s system […]

The Westminster police have confirmed a new arrest in the shooting death of a 20-year old woman last month in Westminster.  Previously, Charles Stephon Trapp Jr., was charged with murder in the death of Annalyssa Marie Biondolilo-Rodriguez.  Now a second woman, Maletha Carleta Crista Baker has been arrested on charges of obstructing justice and accessory after the fact to a […]