Author: Dick Mangrum

A 35-year old Easley man is accused in Oconee arrest warrants of luring a teenager from home using sex and illicit drugs as a decoy.  Oconee Sheriff’s Office announces the arrest of Jeremy David Barnes on charges of kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.  According to investigators, the teenager was located this week and is safe.  The […]

A year after they arrived, some 50 refugees from Afghanistan are said to have adjusted well to their new lives in Clemson, according to a statement by Mayor Robert Halfacre.  He says Afghanis have landed well-paying jobs which allow them to support themselves and their families.  Many of the refugees, however, are single men who directly supported U-S operations in […]

The state’s chief justice has opened the way for a Charleston housing court pilot project to all 46 South Carolina counties, and Oconee’s magistrates will consider the possibility.  An order by Chief Justice Donald Beatty noted that the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission recognized the Charleston program for securing additional funds through the Eviction Protection Grant Program of Housing […]

Dollar General stores appear to be everywhere, so why not a remote part of 123 headed west from Westminster?  Work was underway on 123/the Toccoa Highway near Pickens Road this morning at what’s thought to be a new Dollar General.  A Facebook entry suggests the store could be the start of a re-birth of what became a lonely stretch of […]

A “no bull” story was told on Coffee Time this morning on 94.1 The Lake, WSNW Radio.  Mayor Alexander and City Administrator Moulder talked about a bull that got loose yesterday and made it into Cross Creek and nearby Dalton Bend before a police officer is credited with wrestling the bull, perhaps, by grabbing its horns.  

Rep. Jeff Duncan, South Carolina Republican in the 3rd District, believes a bi-partisan vote of 227-203 is a victory toward ending a Biden administration mandate that healthcare workers are required to take the COVID vaccine as a condition of keeping their jobs.  “I began leading the charge”, said Duncan, “against Joe Biden’s authoritarian vaccine mandate in 2021, when the frontline […]

South Carolina’s new boss of public education, Ellen Weaver, gave state lawmakers yesterday her priorities in education spending:  teacher and bus driver pay, literacy instruction, and support for the governor’s school safety initiatives.  And Oconee’s senior member of the House in Columbia, Seneca’s Bill Sandifer, predicts House members are going to debate the creation of a Center for School Safety […]

Please consider the following comments a public service announcement in favor of safe driving.  Barbara and Paul Wilson of Walhalla were out motoring yesterday during some of the early morning hours heaviest fog that our area has experienced in some time, and they were disappointed that some drivers did not display their headlights.  Running lights just weren’t enough during yesterday’s […]

The secretary for U-S Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, labels $810 million in grant awards for 510 projects historic.  The breakdown of the monies to address high-crash sites will reflect money for the city of Clemson, where motorists often complain about highway 123 backups, some of which are caused by car accidents.  The Biden-Harris administration says the infrastructure funding results from bi-partisan […]

As a small town, West Union employs a small police force.  However, should there be an incident that would stretch the department’s workforce, there is support nearby from the Oconee Sheriff’s Office, headquartered in the adjoining municipality of Walhalla.  Sheriff Crenshaw was present last night for the official introduction of West Union’s three-month chief of police, Jeff Richardson.  The two […]