Author: Dick Mangrum

The $50 million estimate to build the new Walhalla High is likely to escalate by an amount yet to be determined. It’s called a guaranteed maximum price, and that figure is to be delivered early next year to the school district from Trehel, the project construction management company at risk. Dr. Michael Thorsland, assistant superintendent for operations, addressed the question […]

For voters in the small town of Salem, this is a special election day. They are choosing between Ray Cameron and Russell Patterson to fill a vacant seat on the four-member town council. Voting runs 7 a-.m to 7 p-m at the Salem Community Center.

Oconee school trustees chose a less form of combativeness to settle a controversy over whether their meetings should begin with an open prayer. They decided last night to begin their meetings with a moment of silence which, according to Chairman Andy Inabinet, will allow anyone in attendance a moment to pray in silence, if he or she so chooses. The […]

A midnight hour weekend traffic stop in Westminster led to drug and stolen vehicle charges against the driver and his passenger. Alerted just after midnight Sunday by the Oconee Sheriff’s Department to a possible drunk driver, Westminster officers Ashe and Hopkins stopped an F-350 pickup truck in the parking lot of a convenience store. According to law enforcement reports, they […]

One of Oconee’s three nuclear reactors remains in a refueling stage, but a Duke Energy spokeswoman says other plants are making up for the loss in electric power generation. Duke’s Sandra Magee says the current Unit One refueling is another in a regularly scheduled series of refuelings. To ensure the job is done, Duke has brought in an additional one […]

After today’s Veterans Day holiday, a four-day term of Oconee General Sessions Court begins tomorrow morning at the courthouse in Walhalla. Atop the prosecutors’ trial list is the case of Bryan A. Powell. The 34-year old man is charged with resisting arrest and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Presiding judge will be the Hon. Alex Macaulay.

Fire heavily damaged a home late Saturday night in the city’s Northside Community. At the the time, according to Capt. Walter Lee of the Seneca Fire Department, no one was home at 320 Mill Road and its cause remains under investigation. Mill Road is a connector road between the Old Salem Highway and S.C. 130/the Rochester Highway. Fire fighters were […]

State Senator Thomas Alexander continues to spread word on what South Carolinians can do to protect them from the cyber attack. If you are an individual who filed a S.C. tax return since 1998 you are potentially a victim of cyber identity theft. To protect taxpayers, the state is providing one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection […]

Fire destroyed a barn Saturday afternoon near Westminster. The fire occurred on the Greenfield Road inside the service territory of the Oakway Volunteer Fire Department. Chief Tracy Sanders said the barn contained hay, a motor vehicle, and miscellaneous items. According to Sanders, the cause of the fire was being investigated as late as yesterday morning.

Saturday’s 4.3 magnitude earthquake  may have been centered in Kentucky but it was felt as far south as Salem, South Carolina. 96.3/WGOG spoke with a Salem resident on Saturday. She reported pots and dishes in her home rattled, but no damage resulted. At least seven other states reported rattling from the quake 10 miles west of Whitesburg, Kentucky–near the Virginia […]