Author: Dick Mangrum

“At 8:30 a.m. Sunday, December 3, a series of small explosions will pulverize columns on the first, third and fifth floors of the Clemson House at Clemson University, and what remains of the building will collapse as it succumbs to gravity.”  That’s the start of Clemson’s official announcement that the landmark since 1950 will soon be no more, and the […]

Trial is underway in Stephens County, Georgia for a 37-year old man who is accused of punching the county sheriff, Randy Shirley, in the head.  The jury will decide the charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer, aggravated battery, and felony obstruction of an officer against John Matthew Williams.  Shirley testified yesterday that he and a deputy answered a […]

Susan Ramey, Westminster councilwoman, represented her city during a recent strategic planning meeting of the PMPA, the Piedmont Municipal Power Agency.  The October 18-20 meeting took place in Flat Rock, North Carolina, and Ramey said today, “Westminster benefits from these types of meetings because only an arrangement such as the one with PMPA affords Westminster with the opportunity to have […]

Complaints have accumulated about wild swings in the temperatures inside the Oconee Courthouse.  Now it looks like county leaders are determined to do something about it.  County Administrator Scott Moulder, Clerk of Court Beverly Whitifield, and Lake Julian of County Maintenance brought complaints last evening to a county council committee.  To sum up the problem, Whitifield says it’s either “too […]

A late afternoon fire required the Seneca Fire Department presence at 415 S. Depot Street.  The fire department’s Chris Cartee says everyone got out of the home, and the fire damage was confined to the kitchen.  Investigators are looking into the circumstances of the fire, but Cartee indicates there’s no reason to believe the cause was anything other an accidental.

Authorities say a married couple’s argument turned physical near Seneca , and the husband was arrested. Oconee Sheriff’s Office lists charges of kidnapping and domestic violence first degree against John Christopher West, 40, of the Nix Road. By mid afternoon yesterday, West remained jailed under a $50 thousand surety bond covering the charge of domestic violence.  A circuit judge will […]

The investors in the public-private partnership that is the Oconee Economic Alliance were told yesterday of a continuous upswing of investment in the county’s industry base.  According to Richard Blackwell, the executive director, it’s paying off in job creation and growth to the county’s tax base.  In closing remarks during the annual meeting, vice-chairman Zach Hinton noted that 2017 is […]

A French flag can now fly outside the Oconee Business Center at Brown Square, Walhalla to signify the presence of a European-based company in the incubator center that helps give birth to new businesses. Yesterday the audience for the annual meeting of the Oconee Economic Alliance rang out in applause in welcoming the Vermon Company of Turis, France and its […]