Author: Dick Mangrum

The body of a missing boater was found this morning in Lake Hartwell.  The deceased is a small town Illinois resident, David Dean.  A DNR officer is quoted as saying there are unanswered questions about the death of David Dean, 69 years old.  A search began from the Georgia side of the lake after a pontoon boat rented by Dean […]

A medical helicopter transport was arranged this morning for a motorcyclist involved in an accident in rural Oconee County.  According to the highway patrol, the injuries are considered non-life threatening.  The accident, involving a motorcycle and a pickup truck, was reported shortly after 10 this morning on the Safety Harbor Road in the area of Ebenezer Community.  Lance Corp. Joe […]

In a statement from Washington, U-S Rep. Jeff Duncan says President Trump acted lawfully to take out an Iranian general who had landed on the terrorism list of Republican Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama. Duncan, the South Carolina 3rd District representative, blames House Democrats for passing a resolution that, he says, appeases “their radical, anti-Trump base….” The House passed the […]

A man rented a pontoon boat Wednesday at Lake Hartwell, but never returned. “A call went out Wednesday afternoon about a pontoon boat that was rented from the Hartwell Marina and had not returned,” said Craig Fulghum of the Georgia DNR. “The boat was rented by a 69-year old man from Illinois.” According to Fulghum the boat was located around […]

The Considerate Café’ and the Leaning to Grow Gardens at Oconee’s Hamilton Career Center were jointly-awarded the “Business of the Year” award by the South Carolina Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition. The award was presented in November during the Transition Alliance of South Carolina state conference. At that conference, students in the two career center […]

Late last year the South Carolina Department of Revenue rejected Duke Energy’s appeal of its 2018 tax assessment reflecting the utility’s properties in 22 South Carolina counties, including Oconee, Anderson, and Pickens. For the tax year 2018, Duke was assessed at nearly $400 million, but contested a portion of the assessment amounting to $9.5 million. The state DOR, in evaluating […]

E. coli bacterial levels have returned to normal in the Coneross Creek, according to an announcement by the Joint Regional Sewer Authority in Seneca.  South Carolina DHEC reviewed test results and yesterday approved the removal of the water quality advisory.  That advisory had been in place since December 27 after a release which led to 195 thousand gallons of wastewater […]

An elderly Fair Play man has been arrested and charged with multiple sex offenses in an investigation that the Oconee Sheriff’s Office started October 28. The man arrested has been identified as 81-year old Arthur Vaughn Reynolds. He faces charges of criminal sexual conduct with a minor third degree and criminal sexual conduct with a minor first degree. Reynolds was […]

The police say one of three drivers emerged with injuries in a pileup this morning on 123 Seneca By-Pass. The accident occurred around 8:30 near the traffic lights at Seneca Drive and involved a Honda sedan, a Toyota SUV, and a Ford SUV. The police say the accident occurred in the eastbound lanes when the Honda and Ford slowed down […]

A vote last night by a legislative committee in Columbia will give South Carolinians a second chance to fill four seats on the South Carolina Public Service Commission, which has regulatory authority over utilities doing business in the state. The job pays a salary of about $129 thousand annually. The state’s Public Utilities Review Committee started hearings this week to […]