Category: News

It’s possible Sheriff Crenshaw will be smiling if Oconee County Council sees fit to add positions to the sheriff’s office.  For a variety of reasons, Crenshaw has had trouble keeping and maintaining adequate numbers of uniformed officers in a growing county.  Of 14 new county jobs recommended, law enforcement would get 11 of them.  That’s the recommendation of Amanda Brock, […]

The workforce of Oconee government is in line for two percent cost of living increases, if the recommendation from the county administrator is approved by the county fathers.  It’s new budget time at the county government offices, and last evening Administrator Brock presented an 87-page draft of what the administration recommends for expenses and projected revenues.  Admitting that she wishes […]

If County Council says yes, Oconee will spend to re-route truck traffic to the C-and-D landfill at Seneca.  An expenditure ($330 thousand) is included in county administration’s draft of a new budget to channel the entrance to the commercial and demolition landfill via the Strawberry Farm Road.  That gets it out of the way of two-lane Wells Highway where, for […]

A prescribed burn of 395 acres is on tap today in Oconee County near the Whetstone Horse Camp.  According to the Andrew Pickens Ranger District, the objectives for the burn are to reduce fuels that can spark wildfires and allow for research monitoring by Clemson University.

A driver on s. highway 11 picked the wrong time to exceed the speed limit.  After spotting the speeding vehicle, a Walhalla police officer stopped the vehicle.  The police conducted a search and say they found marijuana and methamphetamine large enough to be considered for distribution purposes.  A passenger was charged with possession with intent to distribute meth; the driver […]

Results announced by Ryan Nowland of the elections office give Gwen Owens the victory in her bid to fill the seat that her late husband, Dennis, held on the Walhalla City Council.  The tally had Owens at 87 votes; her challenger, Christy Marlow, 45 votes.  Ten write-in votes were counted.  Of those ten, Jessie Bunning received six.  The outcome remains […]

The two-box count tonight in Walhalla gave Gwen Owens 72 votes and Christy Marlow 39.  Still to be factored are a handful of absentee and challenged ballots, but their numbers to not appear enough to possibly change the order of finish.  Results remain unofficial until Thursday when they are to be certified by the board of canvassers.

Julian Davis remains opposed to the idea of building Oconee County’s second roundabout in his home community of Oakway.  The county councilman says he’s not the only one registering opposition to turning SC 24 at 182 and Oak Creek Road into a circular intersection or junction in which traffic flows in one direction around a central island.  In that scenario, […]

  Highway work is the reason that Oconee County’s C-and-D Landfill will remain closed until 11 o’clock tomorrow morning.  The reason: a contractor has begun the re-paving of a section of the Wells Highway, from S. Oak Street to the Friendship Road. Swain Still, solid waste director, says because of the repaving project, traffic headed to the landfill should brace […]

Prisma Health has paused its use of Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine due to today’s recommendation from Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The federal agencies recommended the pause out of abundance of caution related to extremely rare adverse reactions. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) also has […]