Author: Dick Mangrum

Here are South Carolina DHEC numbers in today’s report that tracks the spread of COVID-19.  New cases:  693; additional deaths:  17.  Also, 17 additional Oconee cases; but no new deaths from the county.  Since the count started, the number of confirmed virus cases in the state has reached 147,800; the death toll now 3.275.  Positivity test percentage was 12.9%.

This just off the press from the Oconee School District: “At a special called board meeting held on October 6th, the School District of Oconee County Board of Trustees voted to solicit applications to fill the current District I vacancy.  The Board will conduct interviews with qualified candidates before appointing someone to the position. Mr. Joe Rukat, acting chairman, said, […]

The policy-making board for the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority has directed its executive director to pass on information to attorneys involving a matter of alleged violation issued by South Carolina DHEC.  Earlier this year the board gave Chris Eleazer, executive director, authority to work out an agreement with a law firm for representation.  There was executive session discussion yesterday […]

The state police and the Pickens Sheriff’s Office are investigating the death yesterday of a 14-year old child in the rural Sunset Community.  Coroner Kandy Kelley says Isaiah Oertel died around 6:30 of blunt force trauma in a fall at the Laurel Fork Falls.  The falls measures some 80 feet and apparently there are two ways to reach the falls:  […]

  The bag of an Oconee mail carrier is likely to have gotten heavier in the last day or two.  Over the weekend, the county elections office put in the mail around six thousand ballots to be filled out and returned to the office in time to be counted for the November General Election.  According to Ryan Nowland, assistant elections […]

The Clemson University police have been chosen to take part in a national project which aims to prevent misconduct, reduce officer mistakes, and promote health and wellness.  It’s called the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement Project, an initiative of the Georgetown University Law Center to build a culture of peer intervention that prevents harm.  The Clemson campus police were among […]

South Carolina DHEC acknowledges an update made in the middle of last month by the Centers for Disease Control and yesterday issued a batch of new recommendations to South Carolinians to further protect against the spread of COVID-19.  “We continue to learn more about how COVID-19 affects South Carolina communities as it spreads across our state,” says Dr. Michael Kacka, […]

Fire broke out early last night in rural Mountain Rest.  The fire destroyed a house on Jerry Creek Road near the Land’s Bridge Road.  No one hurt.  Fire fighters are reported to have remained at the scene of that fire for nearly three hours.

Whether South Carolina voters casting ballots by mail must include a witness’s signature equates to a tennis ball flying from one side of the net to the other.  And it has stark political overtones in this political season.  The Republican National Committee claims victory with a ruling yesterday that it says re-instates the witness requirement for mail-in ballots.  That, says […]

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental has updated its interim guidance on testing and isolation requirements following testing. The update was made after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s September 18, 2020, update of guidance on testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including for those without symptoms of COVID-19. “We continue to learn more about how COVID-19 affects […]