Author: Dick Mangrum

A 27-year old Seneca man was sent to prison this afternoon for 25 years to account for the shooting death of a woman with whom he had argued.  A gunshot wound took the life of Mya Lee on May 17, 2018.  Richard Anthony Dunston Jr. was originally charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter as the result of […]

For the first time in October, South Carolina COVID-19 cases have surpassed 1,000 for a 24-hour period.  This afternoon’s DHEC numbers show 1,072.  That’s 372 more than yesterday.  Oconee cases jumped from eight yesterday to 49 today. Statewide deaths were 11.  No deaths, however, in Oconee County.  Total number of test results reported to DHEC statewide yesterday was 8,459; the […]

The president/CEO of Blue Ridge Bank, Kyle Thomas, has been appointed to the board of directors of the South Carolina Bankers Association.  The SCBA is the professional trade association organized to represent the common interests and welfare of the South Carolina banking industry.  Its primary focus is to inform, educate, and advocate in all areas of importance to the industry.  […]

Five employees of the U-S Forest Service from Oconee County have pitched in during the fight against wildfires in the West.  The office of the Andrew Pickens District at Mountain Rest has also deployed a fire engine to the battle scenes.  Ranger Robbie Sitzlar says, “We are doing as much as we can to provide support….”

The Labor Department counted 898,000 additional Americans who filed jobless claims in the last week.  According to the South Carolina unemployment numbers, 84 of them were first-time claim filers from Oconee County.  There were 64 new filers in neighboring Pickens County.

The numbers of murders and aggravated assaults are increasing in South Carolina, according to the state police 2019 crime report.  The rate of South Carolina murders rose by 6.7%.  Aggravated assaults went up 4%.  Those increases prompt Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to say, “I am extremely concerned by the increasing amount of violence in […]

An appeal to the Seneca zoning law will be made during a City Hall hearing at 6 tonight.  The board of appeals gathers to hear the request by Integrity Builders on behalf of property owners Clifton and Lisa Henry.

Five Seneca High student COVID cases are on the school district’s virus tracking page for yesterday, And the Seneca High principal, Felicia LeRoy, says, “We have been working to identify the ‘center’ of the cluster so we can move any student to virtual learning who may have been exposed.”  The current outbreak at the high school has interrupted instruction and […]

Across Upstate South Carolina there is a critical need for persons to donate blood, according to the Blood Connection.  All eligible donors are being asked to step up for their community.  The Blood Connection is the exclusive provider for all Upstate hospitals, include Prisma’s Oconee Memorial.  You are asked to remember that hundreds of people each day in our area […]

At least two items apparently will face Westminster’s elected leaders during an executive session planned at 5:30 this evening in the conference room at City Hall.  According to Mayor Brian Ramey, Councilman Danny Duncan has added the controversial Hall Street property purchase to the agenda and there could be a vote afterward. A second purpose for the meeting is a […]