Author: Dick Mangrum

Deaths, cases, and test positives all dropped during the latest 24-hour accounting from the South Carolina health agency.  Total cases dropped below two thousand to 1,554.  Twenty-four of the cases are Oconeeans. Thirty-two deaths reported statewide, none locally. Of a whopping 25,112 test results received statewide, the positivity fell below 10%, down to 8.8%.  It had been 21.6% on Monday’s […]

On a cold Oconee County night, a camper fire near Seneca.  According to Rural Fire, no one was hurt.  The fire broke out in a camper on the Snow Creek Road.  Rural fire fighters were alerted just before 10:30 pm.

The pandemic has actually worked in favor of Oconee efforts to entice tourists to enjoy the county’s various outdoor attractions.  Ken Sloan, director of Visit Oconee, explains that while the airlines and major U-S destinations have lost vacationers, Oconee County has taken advantage of being a three-hour drive from both Atlanta and Charlotte.  “It’s a three-hour drive to get out […]

The first day of February appears to have been a typical day of late for new COVID-19 cases, as reported by the Oconee public schools.  The district’s virus tracking page registered 13 new cases — three employees and 10 students.  Three more of the district’s early age classes were sent home and given February 9 return dates.

The Blood Connection has a critical need for donations especially the following blood types:  O-positive; O-negative; and B-negative types.  The baseball team Greenville Drive will host a blood drive from 10 am to 6 pm Friday at Fluor Field.  Appointment slots are still available through the Blood Connection website.  All donors receive a $20 VISA card.  You can donate convalescent […]

The complicated issue of how much Oconee’s three largest municipalities pay for wastewater treatment was left unsolved yesterday in a meeting where frustrations mounted as to what’s the fair share  Seneca, Walhalla, and Westminster pay to the county’s wastewater treatment plant at Seneca.  The matter is to be re-addressed in a meeting Friday between Scott Moulder of Seneca, board chairman […]

The state health agency called attention yesterday to a new national report that ranked South Carolina fifth in the country for how quickly the state is getting COVID-19 vaccine into people’s arms.  Becker’s Hospital Review released its daily “States ranked by percentage of COVID-19 vaccines administered” report.  However, the problem that South Carolina and other parts of the country face […]

Fire fighters are on duty this morning in the Utica Community near Seneca.  Shortly after 5:30 this morning, reports came about a single-wide trailer fire on E. Powell Street near Owens Road.

The state of Kentucky wants an Oconee County man to answer to the charges of rape and sodomy, in the first degree.  Last weekend the Oconee Sheriff’s Office, after learning that Kentucky intends to extradite, arrested Carlos Caron, 21-year old man with addresses in both Seneca and Westminster.  Caron Saturday afternoon surrendered at the Oconee Law Enforcement Center and was […]