Category: News

The Andrew Pickens District of the U-S Forest Service, in cooperation with Clemson University, will conduct a prescribed burn today in the Whetstone Community, and that could mean smoke in the sky above the hamlet of Mountain Rest. The burn is scheduled to start at 11 this morning and involve 400 acres. A spokesman for the Forest Service says this […]

Seneca’s new contract proposal, for now, is unacceptable to Pioneer Rural Water. After a Pioneer board meeting yesterday, General Manager Terry Pruitt said his board will ask Seneca to lower by one-half the base charge for backup connection, from a proposed $4,600 dollars a month to $2,300 dollars. Pioneer is in the process of finishing work on a facility to […]

Agreement came out of a round-the-table meeting by municipal recreation directors for their teams to include games with Fair-Oak Youth Center teams. According to Julian Davis, facilitator for yesterday’s meeting, the games won’t be baseball and softball, but will include other sports. The meeting of the county’s recreation task force brought all sides together for an airing of the issues […]

Veteran Walhalla Police Chief Ronald Wilbanks has stepped down. Word of his departure spread quickly thru the County Seat late yesterday afternoon and was confirmed in an interview with City Administrator Brent Taylor. In charge at least for now is Capt. Paul Harris, second-in-rank at the department. Harris declined comment and referred 101.7/WGOG NEWS to the city administrator. The resignation […]

The Walhalla police chief, Ronald Wilbanks, resigned today, city officials confirmed this afternoon. City administrator Brent Taylor said Wilbanks resigned to him in a meeting this morning. The resignation was sudden, but there are no additional details confirmed by 101.7/WGOG NEWS. Meantime, according to Taylor, officer Paul Harris has taken charge of the department. At this hour, the city council […]

Oconee municipal recreation leaders and Fair-Oak Youth Center officials are sitting at the same table this afternoon, airing out the differences that have prevented Fair-Oak teams from competing with teams from the municipal recreation departments. The recreation directors in Westminster, Seneca, and Walhalla expressed the opinion that the differences can be worked out. However, major impediments are the hurtful comments […]

By this morning, 104 people demonstrated their commitment to a cleaner Oconee by pre-registering for this Saturday’s 2nd Annual Great Oconee Clean Up. The target area this spring is an approximate 13-mile stretch of highway 11, from the Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative office to the Walhalla High School. Janet Hartman of Destination Oconee says the forecast right now is no […]

At some point, it’s going to get warm around here—and stay warm. And the Army Corps of Engineers plans to be ready with its regular fare of outdoor recreation locations. The following Lake Hartwell campgrounds and day-use areas will open for the 2018 season Tuesday, May 1 in Oconee County: Oconee Point Campground, with its 70 waterfront sites; and Coneross […]

In a few days, Timothy Moses Souden will turn 27 years old. Because of crimes against society, the Walhallan will spend his birthday in prison. Officers of the Oconee General Sessions Court say a spree of car break-ins and thefts throughout Oconee County last year were resolved yesterday with Souden’s plea of guilty to 24 charges. Judge Scott Sprouse sentenced […]

Beginning May 1, the Walhalla Fire Department will start testing and flushing more than 200 hydrants in and around the city. This time of year, it’s a common to see fire fighters at work on the hydrants. The maintenance work is necessary to identify any problems and ensure that hydrants produce the needed water during a fire. And the tests […]