Category: News

Two Seneca men are under the arrest of the city police on drug charges. Chief John Covington says the arrests of Donnie Ray Clark and Earle Michael Wilkes II are separate cases. In each instance, the arrest warrants allege, Clark and Wilkes are accused of distributing drugs to “a reliable undercover operative working at the directions of the Seneca Police […]

A car banged into the Seneca Bojangles restaurant last night on the 123 By-Pass.  Responders extricated one individual from an SUV and sent the injured person to a Greenville hospital for treatment.  No immediate word on the extent of injuries.  Oconee EMS, along with Seneca police and fire personnel, answered the call shortly after 8:30 pm.

The S.C. Drought Response Committee, meeting via conference call on June 6, upgraded the drought status of all 46 counties in the state. Conditions have deteriorated rapidly over the past 21 days due to extreme heat and little to no precipitation across the state resulting in much of the Upstate, including Oconee, Pickens, Greenville, Anderson, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Union, York, Lancaster […]

A Greenville County man has been jailed in Oconee, charged with theft in Oconee County. Law enforcement records show Simponsville resident Jason Edward Babore was arrested Wednesday and charged with a May 5 theft at Lake Keowee Dodge on the Clemson Boulevard. The arrest warrant accuses 26-year old Babore of taking 70 tires and rims, valued at $25 thousand.

The Army Corps of Engineers announces a revised administrative fee schedule will set the fee for dock and land-based facilities on Lake Hartwell at $835 dollars effective January 2020.  The fee covers costs the corps incurs to issue and re-issue licenses.  Such activities generally involve boat dock anchors, lighting, walkways and steps to improve access to permitted docks.  The new […]

Work to remodel the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority’s administration/operations building in Seneca is in final stages, and yesterday the staff started to occupy their new space. For months, they’ve been confined to temporary trailers brought onto the grounds at Return Church Road. The project, carried out by contractor Hogan Construction of Powdersville, represents the first major work of the […]

A claim by a former water plant operator in Westminster against the city has been dismissed by a federal court with the consent of attorneys for both sides. A filing in the U-S District Court, Anderson Division, shows the dismissal of the case of Fitzgerald Smith versus the city of Westminster. Smith’s claim alleged he lost his job in 2017, […]

Oconee Sheriff’s Office is congratulating eight deputy sheriffs who graduated last week from the Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia.  The eight represent the largest number from Oconee ever to attend the same basic certification class.  One of them, Chris Johnson, received the J-P Strom Award for the student with the highest academic average.  J-P “Pete” Strom served as chief of […]

The Seneca city administrator expects to get answers to questions today when he has a look at a privately-run hydro-power plant near the city limits, from which the city purchases a small amount of electric power. At issue before Seneca’s elected leaders is whether to renew the purchase agreement with the Coneross power station on highway 59. Complicating that arrangement […]

The Walhalla police chief says a recent active shooter drill conducted at the Oconee Department of Social Services on Kenneth Street proved to be a valuable lesson for all who took part. Chief Sean Brinson says his officers frequently receive calls to go to the DSS offices, so the conduct of an exercise in which there was a make-believe shooter […]