Author: Dick Mangrum

A voter watchdog group called last night for South Carolina state lawmakers to resist any attempts to manipulate political boundaries that protects one party over another and keeps certain incumbents in power. Addressing the Oconee Legislative Delegation, Sandra Gray of the League of Women Voters spoke out against the practice of gerrymandering and called for the creation of an independent […]

An Oconee leader reminded the county’s state lawmakers that the busy traffic artery of Interstate-85 likely will require widening, to meet volumes of traffic both north and south, along with further commercial development along the federal highway. Oakway resident Julian Davis chairs the county council, but he said he spoke last night as an individual. Davis said he realizes that […]

Have you seen a black 2005 Chrysler Town and Country van with rust on its tire walls? Chances are, if you have, you have seen a car reported stolen this week from a business near Westminster. The Sheriff’s Office is looking for that car. A deputy sheriff quotes the victim as saying he drove the van to work at 7am […]

The newest appointees to the Walhalla Planning Commission are Kelvin Bryant and Regina Orr.  101.7/WGOG NEWS incorrectly reported the appointment of Julia Leopard, as the result of action taken Tuesday by the city council.

A second man is now under arrest in Oconee County, charged in the investigation of wounding of a homeless man in Utica January 13. Justin Patrick Picard, 39, of East Main Street, Seneca was lodged in the county jail late last night. Master Deputy Jimmy Watt says Picard was arrested during a traffic stop near Seneca without incident. The accused […]

South Carolina has attained a new EBT—electronic benefit transfer card to be used by state residents who qualify for a supplemental food program. A special event celebrated the rollout of a new E-WIC—a paperless option for participants to redeem their monthly food benefits. The transition is part of a federal mandate requiring all WIC state agencies to implement electronic benefit […]

Considering the race for the White House this year is highly contentious, Oconeeans and all other Americans have already had it pounded into them that this is the year to elect a President. But there are many other public offices which will be settled by votes in the June primaries and the November General Election. A Presidential year also means […]

Three elementary school students in the Seneca area earned recognition this month from the Seneca Rotary Club.  The Rotarians students of the month for January are Nevaeh Moore of Blue Ridge Elementary, Jeremiah Hunter of Ravenel Elementary, and Linley Hammett of Northside Elementary.

Two of the South’s leading reptile scientists urged South Carolina leaders to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade that is flourishing across South Carolina. Whit Gibbons and Kurt Buhlmann, longtime researchers at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory near Aiken, said South Carolina’s native turtles are among the species that need protection with a stronger state law. […]

David Underwood, chairman of the Walhalla utilities committee, is a happy individual this week. He nearly achieved the lowering of a non-payment fee to $25 dollars. In what’s seen as a compromise, the city council this week approved a $35 dollar fee to those water and sewer customers whose service is cut-off for failure to pay. Underwood’s colleague, Josh Roberts, […]