Author: Dick Mangrum

On today’s report from South Carolina DHEC, 686 new cases of COVID-19 were added to the pandemic totals, now nearly 159 and a half thousand since the counting started.  And with 11 new deaths, the toll for COVID dead in the state is 3,487.  No new Oconee deaths reported, but there were 19 new cases.  The total number of test […]

As Seneca High grapples with increasing COVID detections, two classes of Social Studies have been relegated to distance learning.  They’ve been told to remain at home until November 3–the return date for both of those classes.

Although Halloween may look different this year, there are still ways for South Carolinians to celebrate while avoiding the scare of being exposed to or spreading COVID-19. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) recommends outdoor, no-contact events that are low-risk for disease transmission. Drive-through events, one-directional haunted trails, outdoor pumpkin patches and creative methods for handing […]

Through the formation of a large committee and regular meetings, Walhalla has begun to strategize how the city can be a more diverse and inclusive city in which to life, work, and play.  The 18-member committee will meet again tomorrow, as the mayor and council learned in a report last night.

A move by the Walhalla City Council to make changes to the city policy to apply for utility service was tabled last night, as concerns arose about legal questions.  To recover what’s owed when a customer disconnects and leaves without satisfying his final bill, there had been talk of requiring a customer to furnish his social security number on his […]

The Walhalla mayor and council members spent most of their October meeting in a discussion of just how many meetings a month is the proper number.  Councilman Josh Roberts threw out the idea of eliminating the regular first Tuesday meeting of the council in the form of committees, with the idea                               maintaining the third Tuesday as the regular monthly meeting […]

Wayne McCall may be counting down the days till he’s no longer a member of the Oconee County Council, but at Tuesday’s meeting of the Council took notice of McCall’s over 4,300 days in service to the county and his District 2 constituents.   The councilman, who leaves the Council at the end of the year, was presented with a […]

Walhalla fire fighter Justin McAlister and police officer Jessica Sanders are regarded as characteristic of the best the city can offer.  The two were recognized by the city council as their department’s officers of the year.  Thanks to the Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, Sanders and McAlister can look forward to a free meal ticket for a night out.  McAlister has […]

Oconee Sheriff’s Office reports that an incident in which one person passed a key to another person escalated out of control.  The result was the arrest Monday afternoon of Justin Dale Duncan of Salem on multiple charges, including attempted murder.  Warrants allege 24-year old fired a handgun into a car occupied by two people at 117 Stamp Creek Road Saturday […]

    Central, South Carolina resident Kevin Bronson has accepted the offer to serve as interim city administrator in Westminster.  Clerk-Treasurer Jennifer Adams says the interim will cover six months, without a contract.  After then, a review will be in order and, at that point, Bronson and the city council can negotiate a contract.  He is to be compensated at […]