Waterfall officially named for Sid Ballenger

An agency within the U-S Department of Interior has recognized a late Walhallan by naming a waterfall in his memory.  A letter from Lou Yost, executive secretary for the U-S Board of Geographic Names, states that a 55-foot waterfall in the vicinity of the Chattooga River is now officially “Sid’s Falls.”  The name recognizes the late Sid Ballenger Jr.  The retired Oconee County educator was known for his love of the outdoors.  With two friends—John Danner and Maxie Duke—Ballenger spent a lot of time hiking the Sumter National Forest in Oconee discovering and photographing waterfalls.  The waterfall now named for him is five miles from Hog Mountain at the Shoulder Bone Branch tributary to the wild river.