Author: Dick Mangrum

Meeting Monday, the Oconee Grand Jury returned six indictments charging a former school teacher and coach with sex crimes involving minors. Some of the indictments charging Richard Onley Gardner III contain multiple counts, alleging offenses involving a child under adult legal age. The indictments returned allow the prosecutor’s office to take the cases to the Oconee General Sessions Court. The […]

Oconee Sheriff-elect Mike Crenshaw recently graduated from the Newly-Elected Sheriffs’ School at the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association. Held in conjunction with the state’s Criminal Justice Academy, the week-long school covered subjects such as budget presentation, ethics compliance, employment law, civil liability and risk management. The school is held after every general election, to comply with state law mandating it. Besides the […]

An important vote involving the long-talked about Sanctuary Pointe project in Oconee County is now in the hands of state leaders in Columbia. Action on a state PRT sub-lease with Sanctuary Pointe, LLC is agenda item #10 during tomorrow morning’s meeting of the state Budget and Control Board in Columbia. Private developers seek to be able to get their hands […]

When it comes to public school calendars, Oconee County establishes them a couple of years ahead of time. But it’s likely to take a while longer before Oconee settles on the calendar for 2014-15. The reason is that calendar option #3 includes a three-week break, beginning with Christmas week, followed by New Year’s and, finally, the first week in January. […]

After Susie Cornelius spoke, Oconee School district officials addressed questions as to why work on the new Walhalla High School recently stopped. But Dr. Michael Thorsland, assistant superintendent of operations, said the work stoppage is due to the time of the year, explaining that work on the foundation and actual construction of the new school on highway 11 won’t take […]

The two-year director of the Oconee Chamber of Commerce, Sandra Jones, is announcing she will resign December 31 to accept “another position with an Oconee County organization.” Jones announcement did not specify what that job will be or identify her new employer. Jones said she’s resigning with a great deal of sadness and believes that, despite chamber accomplishments, “there is […]

Though you seem to hear more and more about home invasions, the victims of such crimes are still considered to have been chosen at random, in the estimation of Mike Crenshaw, the Oconee County Sheriff-elect. After his talk to the Walhalla Rotary Club, Crenshaw fielded a question from an audience member concerned about the violence associated with home invasions. The […]

Three weeks before taking office, Oconee Sheriff-elect Mike Crenshaw has revealed his staff of command officers. Five of them were introduced during a meeting last night in South Union of the Voice of Southern Oconee. Appearing together were Chief Deputy Kevin Davis; Capt. Travis Tilson, 911 and communications director; Capt. Greg Reed, who will continue to head criminal investigations; Capt. […]

Campus police at Clemson have arrested a student in connection with three dry-ice bombs that exploded Sunday night in Thornhill Village on campus. A university announcement states that Kaleb Donald Williams, 21-year old junior from Woodruff, was charged with manufacture and use of a destructive device. The crime is a felony. Williams was arrested late Sunday night and released yesterday […]

Sheriff’s investigators in Pickens County arrested three men in the investigation of the home invasion, robbery and murder that occurred Saturday at the Chimney Ridge subdivision in Central. A fourth man is being sought. A 23-year old Clemson student, Steven Gregory Grich, was victim to a fatal gun shot. Charged with murder, armed robbery, burglary first degree and the possession […]