Author: Dick Mangrum

Plans to renovate Oconee’s Fair-Oak Elementary School were detailed last night to the county school trustees. In a presentation by members of the Columbia architect firm Jumper Carter Sease, the trustees were told they can expect new classrooms, a cafeteria, and a gymnasium to be among the improvements undertaken by Trehel Corporation, the district’s construction management company. Although trustees have […]

Still “up in the air” is the issue of the extent to which Oconee public schools will be required to make-up for class days lost to this winter’s severe weather. During a meeting of county trustees last night, Superintendent Dr. Michael Thorsland relayed a message from Senator Thomas Alexander in which the Oconee-Pickens lawmaker indicated the state likely will take […]

Mercedes-Benz Vans has chosen N. Charleston to be a production plant for its new, full van manufacturing plant in North America. According to the announcement made today by Governor Haley and the state Commerce Department, the car-maker will invest $500 million and, over the next several years, create 1,300 new jobs. On about 200 acres of Palmetto Commerce Parkway, Mercedes-Benz […]

A magistrate has decided the Oconee Grand Jury should hear the State’s case against Kenneth Strother Collins Jr., charged with the stabbing death of Jeremy Lee Little nearly two months ago inside a Walhalla home. Two other people, including the granddaughter of the home owner, are co-defendants in the case. But a Walhalla police officer testified this morning his department […]

 A van full of household goods crashed this morning on I-85 in Oconee County. The accident, shortly before 5:15 this morning, occurred southbound near exit 1. The top side of the trailer and the contents spilled out onto the southbound lanes, leaving only one lane open to traffic. One person was taken for medical treatment. The DOT was requested to […]

A small, bloodied baseball bat was seized as evidence in part of an assault investigation Wednesday near Walhalla. Officers from both the Oconee Sheriff’s Office and the Walhalla police rushed to a trailer home on E. S. Boundary Street near the city limit. They found a young man bleeding from the back of his head.

Two members of the force of Oconee Sheriff’s Office graduate today from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia. They are Colby Mize and Jordei Jameson.

Ahead of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina  is a co-sponsor of a bi-partisan resolution recommending the Postal Service issue a commemorative stamp to honor the three, 1965 civil rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. And today Scott co-leads this year’s Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Selma to mark the 50th anniversary of […]

 A large truck has wrecked on I-85 in Oconee County. This morning’s accident has blocked one of the two southbound lanes near exit 1. One person has been transported for medical treatment. Oconee Dispatch reports the assistance of the DOT has been requested to remove debris from the roadway.

Cadets of the Clemson Army Reserve Training Corps will be tested on leadership and critical thinking skills Saturday during the annual field exercise at the Fant’s Grove training area. Freshman and sophomore university cadets will be put to the test on their ability to develop problem-solving skills and incorporate communication, troop-leading procedures and team-building skills. Fant’s Grove is known for […]