Author: Dick Mangrum

Last evening a serious traffic accident near Walhalla.  Authorities tell 101.7/WGOG NEWS an SUV and a pickup truck collided at SC 11 near Fowler Road.  Three people were sent to the hospital.  One of the vehicles wound up on its side.

A 304-bed hospital near Knoxville, Tennessee seeks to become part of South Carolina-based Prisma Health.  Blount Memorial Hospital at Maryville, Tennessee and Prisma Heath have signed a non-binding letter of intent and are now in a period of negotiations, due diligence, and planning.  The announcement describes the Tennessee hospital this way:  “It has more than 2,700 employees and 200 physicians […]

The board of trustees at Clemson University has set a new budget with which to operate a new year of higher education.  It includes the expansion of the Douthit Hills on-campus housing and the hiring of a new vice president for student affairs.  And the university is highlighting the design and construction of a six-level, around 1,200-space parking facility for […]

Oconee Democrats welcomed their party’s nominee for the available 3rd District congressional seat to a meet-the-candidate event at the county party headquarters in Walhalla.  In all, there’ll be three candidates on the November ballot but, in his talk last night, Democrat Bryon Best focused on the Republican nominee, Sheri Biggs, and declared, “I know I am better than she.”  Best […]

An employee of the Anderson Regional Joint Water System died this morning after apparently electrocuted while working on an air conditioning unit.  He was Tristan Garrett Stone, 25-year-old Anderson resident.  Coroner Greg Shore said Stone was working on an air unit at one of employer’s facilities and apparently cut a live wire, while trying to replace the fan motor in […]

A 40-year-old Pickens County man has been directed  to serve 25-years – the result of his recent drug conviction by a jury in his home county.  The sentence was handed down this afternoon by Judge McIntosh to defendant William Oliver, as part of a day of state grand jury proceedings held at the Oconee County Courthouse.  Oliver was described as […]

A pickup truck belonging to a business on 123 Seneca ByPass caught fire early this afternoon and required the assistance of the fire department to extinguish.  The damage occurred in the parking area in front of Pike’s Seafood in the Golden Corner Plaza shopping center.  Reports from the scene indicate no one hurt and, although there was concern the fire […]

The South Carolina DOT commissioners updated their bridge program today, to reflect an extra $200 million approved in the new state budget.  The current program is $239 million, so the additional state funds increase the total program for bridge replacements and rehabilitation for the coming year to $439 million.  The statewide list shows Oconee County for five bridge projects, four […]

  AQD – Advocates for Quality Development – applaud Oconee’s decision to change the change the county code addressing minimum lot size and maximum lot density.  A large audience was there Tuesday night when the county council, in a 4-0 vote, gave the final OK to ordinance 2024-18.  The AQD’s Gary Owens says, “I think it’s a significant move forward […]