Author: Dick Mangrum

To the dismay of the South Carolina 3rd District member, the House passed a wide-ranging defense bill, in spite of a veto threat by the president.  Republican Jeff Duncan of Laurens accuses the Democrat-controlled chamber of abandoning bi-partisanship in setting            the next military spending.  Duncan accused House Democrats of failing to protect the Marine Corps […]

BASF is recruiting to fill 65 jobs in the Upstate, including 50 positions at its plant near Seneca.  The company promises a solid career path, pay raises, learning and development opportunities.  Starting pay was recently raised to $18.50 an hour.  Most of the open jobs do not require a college degree and seek applicants with a high school diploma or […]

New COVID testing hours start today at Clemson University.  The university is now offering PCR saliva tests to anyone who registers prior to arrival between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm weekdays thru December 18 and an additional window from 7 am to 10 am Friday. The online registration portal, along with additional information, is available at tig.rs/community-testing.  […]

An abandoned house went up in flames last night near Seneca.  Fire fighters report no injuries in the fire around 8:30 at Goddard Avenue and E. Gammell streets in the Utica Community.

Within hours from the start of investigation, an Oconee deputy arrested a man accused of burglarizing a construction office at Hartwell Village.  The sheriff’s office announces the following charges against Blake Marvin Johnson, 35-year old Maw Bridge Road, Central resident:  first degree burglary, petty larceny, and possession of tools capable of being used in a crime.  Johnson’s arrest was reported […]

The number of Oconee students who’ve been temporarily shuttled from face-to-face to distance learning continues to grow.  The COVID-19 tracking page for the county public schools listed the following classes moved to distance learning: a K-5 Brown Elementary class; a K-4 Fair-Oak Elementary class; one special ed class at Walhalla High; one special ed class at Blue Ridge Elementary; and […]

South Carolina reports an additional 2,115 cases today of COVID-19.  The new number brings to 220,961 the state’s total since the count started.  And with four more deaths, the toll of South Carolina dead from the virus is 4,254 including an elderly Oconeean who died Saturday.  Here are the latest 24-hour new case numbers for the tri-counties:  41 in Oconee, […]

A 400-pound tree hangs over a downtown Seneca intersection, as the latest big splash city government makes into Yuletide decorations.  Bought from a Michigan manufacturer, this tree  above Ramcat Alley and E. Main Street is a reminder of old-time Seneca Christmas decorations.  Many years ago, Christmas trees used to hang over several downtown intersections.  According to Scott Moulder, the city […]

Oconee Sheriff’s Office believes as many as four arrested people play a part in the theft late last month of a 2009 Yamaha TW 200 dual sport dirt bike.  Two of the four were arrested early Monday morning after a deputy made a traffic stop on a box truck that had gone into the Friendship Boat Landing off the Coneross […]