Author: Dick Mangrum

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 584 new confirmed cases and 7 additional confirmed deaths from COVID-19, in its daily report issued this afternoon.  The 584 cases included 36 new Oconee County cases, but no new deaths. This brings the total number of SC confirmed cases to 152,242 and confirmed deaths to 3,355. DHEC received reports […]

Plexi-glass shields are in place to protect from COVID-19, as a jury was chosen today for the first Oconee County General Sessions trial since COVID-19 was declared a world pandemic in March.  Although the jury is in place, testimony won’t start until 9:30 tomorrow morning. The setting is the fourth floor courtroom at the Oconee Courthouse in Walhalla. Solicitor David […]

Community First Bancorporation, Seneca, SC (“Community First”) (OTC: CFOK), the parent company of Community First Bank, and SFB Bancorp, Inc., Elizabethton, Tennessee (“SFB”) (OTC: SFBK), the parent company of Security Federal Bank, jointly announced today the signing of a definitive agreement for Community First to acquire SFB in a cash transaction. The combined company will have approximately $575 million of […]

Galen DeHay, Ph.D., president of Tri-County Technical College, joins leaders from across South Carolina to participate in the Diversity Leaders Initiative  While classes are typically sorted by state geographic region, the fall 2020 class is the first state-wide cohort. The  four-month program will be held virtually due to COVID-19, a pandemic that underscores the need for such a program, said […]

Oconeeans who live in the rural county District One have until noon today to officially make known that they’d like to be considered for the open seat on the board of school trustees.  The office of the district superintendent will cut off the application period at noon today and submit the applications received to be considered during tonight’s board meeting.  […]

Seneca fire fighters rolled their equipment and trucks to a By-Pass 123 restaurant, but there was no fire.  According to the fire department, an electric power problem forced Hardee’s restaurant to close for a couple of hours yesterday morning.

Clemson University has begun a study of food and well being in Oconee in this, the seventh month of the pandemic.  It is hopeful that you will agree to a 30-minute telephone survey.  By completing the survey, you will receive a $10 dollar gift card.  To Oconeeans and Residents of eight other South Carolina counties, answers will be posed by […]

In the first weeks following the devastating tornado that pummeled parts of the Seneca area, the mayor-pro tem remarked that many people in his area would hurt for a long time.  That statement made by Ronnie O’Kelley at a city council meeting apparently is borne out by what we are hearing from the United Way of Oconee.  LaShauna Harrison, United […]

The writing left by vandals on the fellowship hall building of a church near Seneca reads:  “Courtesy….Upstate Church Vandals. Com…..Impeaching Phony ‘Religion’ Always.” Vandals broke doors and windows Friday night at the Reedy Fork Baptist Church, but the acts did not deter the church from holidng services yesterday.  Windows were broken in the lower section of the church building and […]

The South Carolina health agency tallied 716 new cases of COVID-19 on its Sunday report.  Of that number, 26 of the cases were attributed to Oconee County residents.  Two new confirmed deaths appear in yesterday’s report:  elderly residents in Hampton and Richland counties.  So far, in October one Oconee death is reported.  That of a middle-aged county resident on Friday.  […]