Author: Dick Mangrum

A graduate of a program that provides college campus experience for students with intellectual disabilities has attained honorary deputy status with the Oconee Sheriff’s Office.  A ceremony, led yesterday by Sheriff Crenshaw, accorded Brock Chappelear membership in the sheriff’s office K-9 team.  It means that Chappelear will be part of training the canines that assist regular officers in law enforcement […]

We have an update on the situation involving Walhalla High School football.  The following statement was released by Steve Hanvey, associate superintendent for the Oconee School District: “WHS had an adjunct coach test positive.  He has not been around the players since the middle of last week but was at a coach’s meeting.  Mr. Garrett, in consultation with the nurse […]

A posting on the Walhalla High football twitter page reads:  “Football practice is canceled for the remainder of the week.  We will plan to resume on September 8th after school.”  101.7/WGOG NEWS is attempting to find out the reason.

Today, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) announced 601 new confirmed cases and 45 new probable cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and 26 additional confirmed deaths.  Eleven new Oconee County cases are included in today’s report. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 118,699  and confirmed deaths to 2,652. As of yesterday, a […]

So far, COVID case numbers jumped during the warm weather holiday weekends of Memorial Day and July 4.  With the coming of the Labor Day holiday weekend, a Prisma Health physician urges South Carolinians to avoid large public gatherings, to wear masks, to wash hands, and to social distance.  Prisma Health said the number of in-patients under treatment for the […]

Oconee County officials are optimistic a deal will be completed by early fall that will provide for an existing county industry to expand and add jobs.  They are not identifying the industry by name, but say there will be a hearing for the public to comment on the aspects of the deal for a fee-in-lieu of tax agreement.  So far, […]

The highway patrol reported minor injuries this morning in a traffic accident on Wells Highway near Radio Station Road.  Involved were a 2019 Ford truck pickup truck driven by Daniel Wickizer of Lavonia, Georgia and a 2007 Ford truck driven by Richard Arnold of Seneca.  According to the highway patrol, the 2007 Ford is registered to the city of Seneca.

Walhalla’s new committee tasked with spreading diversity and promoting inclusion throughout the city has held its first meeting.  And the police chief says he has already benefitted.  Chief Brinson told the mayor and council last night that he has adopted the attitude that he can learn from the committee and apply some of it to enhance police officers’ training.

After a closed-door session, a committee of the Walhalla City Council recommended the city offer $9 thousand dollars in material incentives toward a project to build three new homes on Mill Street in the vicinity of the DSS and the offices of Veterans Affairs.  The mayor and council met privately with realtor Cliff Powell and a representative of the home […]

Walhalla’s mask law may be in jeopardy.  Everyone at last evening’s meeting of the city council committees wore face coverings, but two councilmen succeeded in at least pausing enforcement of a law that has been enveloped in controversy in already its second week.  The council passed Keith Pace’s motion to place the mask ordinance on the agenda of the council’s […]