Author: Dick Mangrum

Oconee leaders are devoting more time on whether to recommend new development standards in a county on record respecting individual property rights.  Yet, increasingly, there’s sentiment in the county’s growing population base for new rules that protect one neighbor’s property from another’s.  After hearing from the public, hearing from the county attorney, and lots of questions, the county planning commission […]

Word has been received of the death of the Clemson gradate who lived past 100 years old after surviving the infamous Bataan death march in the Pacific theatre during the Second World War.  Ret. Col. Ben Skardon was 104 years old.  News of his death came as Jeff Duncan, Third South Carolina District U-S representative, pursues an honorary promotion for […]

A one-day Oconee County jury trial ended with the conviction of the defendant and a prison sentence meted out by the presiding judge.  Court officers say Kevin Wayne Mahler was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and sentenced to 10 years in prison, suspended on the service of five years in prison, to be followed by five […]

Employee bonuses of $300 dollars were approved in a vote last night of the Oconee school trustees, and are to be awarded to the district’s workforce next month.  The cost to the district is calculated to be $510 thousand. The trustees granted the bonuses after finance director Gloria Moore estimated that the cost to grant a $100 bonus would be […]

Faculty, staff, and students from Clemson University donated time and expertise to help beautify and make functional a community garden at the Blue Ridge Community Center in Seneca.  The work was the latest development in an ongoing partnership between Clemson and the community center in Seneca’s Perry Hill neighborhood.  Brooke Brittain, registered dietitian, said the workday helped prepare the community […]

A traffic stop around 1:45 in the morning yesterday by an Oconee deputy at Townville turned up a 32-year old man, for whom there were outstanding arrest warrants, including one that he allegedly burglarized a home last June near Seneca. According to the sheriff’s office, Jeremiah Keith Youngblood was taken into custody after a patrol deputy stopped Youngblood’s vehicle on […]

A committee of the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority is recommending that the full board call for mediation to resolve the threat of legal action by member city Seneca.  Walhalla’s Scott Parris made that announcement this morning, in the aftermath of a closed-session yesterday by the JRSA’s finance and administration. What to do about the lawsuit threat as well as […]

Pump prices in the Carolinas are continuing to inch lower as the price of crude oil, which is the primary driver behind prices at the pump, took another step back last week. The price of crude oil surged 12% in October which resulted in the cost of producing gasoline to be raised. During that time, the state average for both […]

The faculty at West-Oak High School is busy helping the seniors take the next step after graduation next spring.  During College Application Month, seniors have completed applications and, a school spokeswoman reports, acceptances are coming in.  Events on campus allowed seniors to meet with college admission counselors from higher institutions such as the University of South Carolina, Francis Marion University, […]

The property near Clemson that once was a large textile plant is now a mixed use development that includes more than 15 stores and restaurants.  Before the Oconee County Council tomorrow night is a request for lease with the Army Corps of Engineers to allow for a public access trail and courtesy dock adjacent to Hartwell Village and Lakeside Lodge.  […]