Author: Dick Mangrum

A homeowner, wounded during the night near Walhalla, died this morning at the Greenville Memorial Hospital. Coroner Karl Addis says Robert Steven McDowell died at 5:57 this morning, and his death is being investigated as a homicide. McDowell was 63 years old and identified in a Sheriff’s Office statement as the homeowner at 498 Quarter Horse Trail. An autopsy is […]

Walhalla has made a milestone in its several-year project to build a new water treatment plant. Scott Parris, utilities superintendent, told the mayor and council, the application to draw water from Lake Keowee was filed late last month with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. That application took two years of work with the city’s engineers and others. Parris thinks it […]

More than 150 children and adults learned chemistry the fun way this morning at the Swain Community Branch Library in the Pickens County town of Liberty. Undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Science’s department of chemistry hosted an outreach event called “Fun with Chemistry.” The library was filled with excitement as kids scrambled from station to station to […]

Two people were wounded by gunfire early today near Walhalla. The Sheriff’s Office identifies one of the wounded as the homeowner, who is believed to have been held at gunpoint. The second wounded person is identified as the suspect in a report of trespassing at the scene—a home on Quarter Horse Trail near the Old House Road. The report of […]

The JROTC Razorback Rifle Team from Walhalla High shot a school record 2,150 and dominated the competition at the 4th Brigade “Best of the Best” Rifle Championships. The 4th brigade takes in competition from five states; Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The top twenty teams are invited to the championships. Walhalla was led by senior Matthew […]

Sheriff Mike Crenshaw was in the audience last night when Oconee County Council debated impact fees as a way for local government to offset the cost of providing services to new or proposed developments. The spread of student housing from Clemson University into parts of eastern Oconee are welcomed by the county from a tax standpoint, but a concern when […]

The utility billing department at Westminster has taken note of high consumption among its residential water accounts, and the city is worried that this winter’s cold has compromised home plumbing systems. Chris Carter, city administrator, says it’s the stress the cold has placed on the pipes. Westminster customers are urged to check for leaks. The city has placed a video […]

During a budget discussion, Oconee County council members found no clear avenue to being able to afford the construction of a new hangar at the airport. There’s now a waiting list of between 60 and 70 airplane owners to park their craft. But the council heard an estimate in the neighborhood of $1 million to build a 10-bay hangar. District […]

In executive session next week, Oconee County Council is scheduled to “receive legal advice regarding potential property purchase at Oconee County Rock Quarry.” That executive session is set at the tail end of council’s next regular meeting—Tuesday night, February 20. Last night worried contractors filled chairs in the meeting room for a meeting of council’s budget, finance and administration committee, […]