Author: Dick Mangrum

The Oconee County administrator has been given final approval to hire a staff attorney, to be answerable to the administrator.  That approval came last night on a 3-2 vote of the County Council.  With the action, the council relinquishes its annual authority of approving a county attorney.  And two councilmen—Joel Thrift and Reg Dexter—believe that’s a mistake.  Other council members […]

An investigation of an assault early yesterday at West Union led to a traffic stop in Seneca and the eventual arrests of two men.  One of those two men was charged with stealing drugs from a third man.  The Oconee Sheriff’s Office announced charges of common law robbery – strong armed robbery and assault and battery first degree against Gregory […]

Pickens County requested the help of the Salem Fire Department during a fire call late last night at The Reserve, a Lake Keowee home development.  According to Oconee Fire Dispatch, Salem fire fighters were requested to man Pickens County’s Shady Grove Fire Station during a fire that broke out in the clubhouse at the home development.

Members of the Partners for Progress have settled on the answer to a Streetscape question about which there had been doubt.  The Main Street medians, even reduced in size, will still be large enough to support some trees.  Dan Pollock, Partners president, says, “It’s just going to be a case of the smaller medians will have a less number of […]

In the 13th Circuit Court, Greenville and Pickens counties, a public defender was named today to represent a defendant charged with computer crimes.  According to the Solicitor’s Office, Melissa M. Grey is charged with computer crimes related to the sale of fraudulent football tickets involving Clemson, the University of South Carolina and other colleges.

An unexpectedly severe drought joined forces this summer with a relentless heat wave in a one-two punch that is knocking many South Carolina farmers off their feet.  The U-S Department of Agriculture declared 35 counties in the state primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the brutal conditions.  Ten other contiguous counties also qualify.  The USDA […]

Months of reduced rainfall and hot temperatures have landed the Keowee-Toxaway River Basin into Stage 1 drought. The basin is part of the larger Savannah River Basin.  The decision announced today came from the Keowee-Toxaway Drought Management Advisory Group.  Stage 1 is the second of five drought stages outlined in the Keowee-Toxaway Low Water Inflow Protocol.  Voluntary conservation is recommended […]

  The contractor for Streetscape believes a lot was accomplished yesterday.  In projects of this type, there are lessons to be learned.  And today workers are adding a curb of concrete to correct a water run-off problem discovered on the south side of Main Street at the Tugaloo traffic lights.  Across Main, workers are prepping for the pouring of new […]

Once again, the commissioners who set the policy for Tri-County Technical College are returning to Asheville, North Carolina for a workshop meeting.  The workshop will take place over three days this weekend—Friday through Sunday, September 18-20.  The location:  the Hilton Asheville at Biltmore Park.