Author: Dick Mangrum

Fire fighters north of Walhalla yesterday put a stop to a brush fire that threatened three homes on the Oconee Creek Road.  Walhalla fire fighters described the brush fire yesterday afternoon as small.

The retiring director of Oconee elections believes purposes of the office would be served better if it is able to re-locate closer to the middle of  the county.  Yesterday Joy Scharich led the board of registrations and elections in a discussion of how to acquire more room, with the outcome being that a dialogue is needed with the county council […]

  As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to increase at record levels in South Carolina, public health officials today announced the state will change its efforts from containment to community mitigation measures to slow the spread of the virus. South Carolinians are being called on to help by continuing to take actions we know work – wearing a mask […]

Prisma Health is setting up dedicated high-volume community vaccine centers in Greenville and Columbia starting as soon as next week and will further expand vaccine access as more vaccine supply becomes available to South Carolina. With the additional sites in place, Prisma Health expects to administer as many as 10,000 shots per day within the next few weeks.   “We […]

Another Oconeean’s death is reported from COVID-19.  The elderly person died on Tuesday.  The report from the state health agency notes 94 new confirmed cases of the virus in the county, for the latest 24-hour counting period.  Statewide, new cases totaled 4,869; deaths were 18.  Of 18,115 test results received statewide, the positivity was 26.5%.

The new Oconee County Council will reserve executive session time next week to exam the performance of their administrator, Amanda Brock.  A review of the administrator’s performance is one of two items scheduled for the private part of Tuesday night’s council meeting.  Earlier in the night, the council is scheduled to consider whether to request that J-Davis Construction re-assume work […]

Joy Scharich has a few months to go before she retires as the director of Oconee’s Registration and Voter office.  But, in front of her employers, she had a message that she would like to resonate with all who are entrusted with staging fair elections.  The conduct of elections in parts of the U-S came under attack last year, but […]

S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) issued a joint order today expanding the number of medical professionals who may administer COVID-19 vaccine. While the amount of COVID-19 vaccine is currently limited in South Carolina, as it is in all states, the purpose of the order is to ensure […]

Anderson and Greenville saw their county workforces shrink in the last seven days,  According to the state report for January 3-9, a total of 842 Greenville County residents applied for unemployment compensation; 713 in Anderson County.  Numbers for Oconee and Pickens were lower.  There were 173 first time claims from Oconee displaced workers and 324 from Pickens County.