Author: Dick Mangrum

Watching 250 golf balls being dropped from a helicopter hovering above ground is a rare and exciting experience—especially if you own one or three balls closest to the pin worth a hefty cash prize. The Golf Ball Drop is in its second year at the Oconee Medical Center Foundation Annual Golf Classic. The golf classic is set Thursday, October 25 […]

Discretionary grant money from the Federal Highway Administration has been designated for projects statewide, including an effort to protect more than one mile of frontage along Scenic Highway 11 in Pickens County. The S.C. Department of Transportation announces it seeks public comment on the projects and their consideration for the state’s Transportation Improvement Program (STIP.) The Cherokee Foothills Byway Viewshed […]

The South Carolina DOT announces a $1.8 million bus livability grant for the city of Seneca to purchase buses for its rural transit service. By acquiring two fast-charge battery electric buses, Seneca will be able to offer a student transit route. Through a contract with Clemson Area Transit (CAT,) Seneca now provides three fare-free routes. The routes are business and […]

A Westminster representative to the Joint Regional Sewer Authority says the need to create new jobs is reason enough for him to favor a project to sewer the Golden Corner Commerce Park. The authority commissioners hold their regular October meeting Monday night, but it wasn’t clear today whether the commissioners will vote on whether they’ll be part of a three-way […]

Today is the first early dismissal day on the 2012-13 Oconee public school calendar.  According to Assistant Superintendent Michael Thorsland, it means some of the elementary schools will student leave as early as 12:45, while the middle and high schools will wait to 1 o’clock.  Look for the buses and the student pick ups earlier than usual.

Hundreds of thousands of people across South Carolina live in communities where access to supermarkets or large grocery stores is beyond reach. In agricultural terms, such areas are called “food deserts” – communities where healthy, affordable food is difficult to obtain. Dave Lamie chairs the SC Food Policy Council, which co-hosted a meeting where city, charity, retail and education officials […]

Greg Stewart, agent-in-charge of the State Probation, Parole and Pardon office in Oconee County, has issued a reminder that tomorrow is a turn-in day for numerous clients who’ve committed violations by having stopped reporting in. Violators can make amends by reporting to the Turning Point Church of God near Walhalla from 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow. As Stewart’s Anderson County […]

A federal judge accepted the guilty plea of a former municipal judge for the Pickens County town of Central. And now that former municipal judge, Janet Reese, awaits sentencing for the offense of filing false tax returns. According to an announcement today by U-S Attorney Bill Nettles, “Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Reese, who is […]

The College of American Pathologists has given a thumbs-up to Oconee Medical Center’s main laboratory—based on the results of a recent inspection as part of the accreditation programs of the national organization. The OMC facility director, Dr. Janice Lage, was advised of this national recognition and congratulated for the excellence of the services being provided. The federal government recognizes the […]

Seneca’s five reserve police offers fill important needs within the department. And the city council last night, with advice from a labor attorney, found a way to provide some compensation in the form of a bonus for what is volunteer service. Chief John Covington explained the reserve officers can look forward to a bonus at Christmas time. Seneca currently has […]