Chau Ram, an enhanced outdoor destination

An Oconee park built around a creek and a river may not be well known as the county’s Lake Keowee parks, but it’s a jewel in the county’s business of tourism and recreation.  A host of city, county, and state representatives gathered for a celebration this morning at the county’s Chau Ram Park near Westminster.  An outside contractor, with help from county workers, has completed a major expansion of park facilities—a new office and store and 60 additional parking spots.  According to state and county leaders, those added parking places will accommodate the increasing numbers of people relying on day trips for people who are looking to recreate outdoors.  It took a cooperative effort from the county and the county’s state lawmakers to finance the project.  State Rep. Bill Whitmire has no second thoughts about Chau Ram’s value.  He and his wife, Kathy, are frequent users of the park.  Since its early days as a Westminster town park, Chau Ram has seen incremental expansions and today, according to the PRT’s Phil Shirley, is now a 500-acre park.  Oconeean J-Davis, owner of general contractor J-Davis Construction, said one of the aspects which pleases him is that many of the 100 employees his company devoted to the project live in Oconee County and they spend money in their home county.