Author: Dick Mangrum

An indication that the COVID-19 spread has become a surge on top of the surge is the following statistic released this afternoon by the South Carolina state health agency.  Of 5,397 test results reported today by DHEC, the positivity was 28.5%.  Translated = nearly three out of ten tests given in South Carolina are positive.  Other COVID numbers from today’s […]

If you drive Walhalla’s Razorback Lane, and crane your neck, you get a good idea of the progress in building the Oconee County memorial to the 9-11 tragedy of the year 2001.  Brandon Shirley, a leader of the citizen committee and someone who has been intricately involved in the project since its conception, rates the contractor’s work at 90% finished […]

Here’s the New Year’s Day week schedule for the operation of Oconee’s manned convenience (recycling) centers, as provided by the county solid waste:  The convenience centers will operate 7 am to 7 pm Thursday, December 31 and close for New Year’s Day, Friday, January 1.  The convenience centers are routinely closed Wednesdays.

The outdoor warning sirens around Oconee Nuclear Station will be tested between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13. The 65 sirens within 10 miles of Oconee Nuclear Station will sound for three minutes. To ensure they are functioning properly, it may be necessary to test some sirens more than once. Testing is performed in cooperation with emergency […]

They are starting to administer a COVID-19 vaccine to front-line workers at the Oconee Memorial Hospital.  According to Prisma Health, the rollout started Wednesday of last week.  First to receive it was a nurse in the hospital intensive care unit.  The vaccine is scheduled to be made available to the general public in the next few months.

A 25-year fixture in Westminster is re-locating soon but he’s confident that, from a planning standpoint, the city is left with a good future.  Wendell Tidwell serves as the long-time chairman of the planning commission, and he’ll preside tomorrow night at his last zoning hearing.  In an interview with 101.7/WGOG NEWS, Tidwell believes his city’s adopted comprehensive plan is a […]

Who says it never snows in these parts on Christmas?  Though it didn’t last long, weather watcher Barbara Wilson in Walhalla notes a dusting of snow on Christmas Day morning.  Most of the precipitation measured.  Between Wednesday and Thursday, December 23 and 24, she measured “right at 2″ of melted precipitation” (rain).

A hiker required a Saturday afternoon rescue in the vicinity of Walhalla’s Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel Park.  According to information received by 101.7/WGOG NEWS, the hiker fell at Isaqueena Falls and required a rescue operation, using ropes, to bring him up so that he could receive the medical attention he required.  That rescue operation took place around the 4 o’clock hour […]

A change in the Westminster zoning map will be considered during a meeting tomorrow night at City Hall.  On the agenda of the planning commission is an application to change the single-family zoning classification that applies to 215 Lucky Street.  The planning commissioners will take public comment on whether to change the zoning to multi-family residential.  The hearing will be […]

South Carolina DHEC yesterday announced COVID-19 cases and deaths recorded by Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  But the cumulative totals and percent positives on the website reflect the latest data reported by Christmas Day.  By Christmas Eve, new confirmed and positive cases statewide:  2,550; deaths, 14.  Among the new cases:  41 Oconeeans.  Of 18,600 individual test results reported statewide, the […]