Category: News

The Oconee Heritage Center in downtown Walhalla has pledge to commit to excellence.  Museums are institutions that the public has entrusted with its most meaningful objects, information, and memories.  The Oconee Heritage Center does not take this trust lightly and will be increasing its commitment to be the best museum that it can, explains Oconee Heritage Center curator and director […]

Generation Opportunity, a national, non-partisan youth advocacy organization, is announcing its Millennial Jobs Report for July 2013. The data is non-seasonally adjusted and is specific to 18-29 year olds.  The effective unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds, which adjusts for labor force participation by including those who have given up looking for work, is 16.1%. The declining labor force participation rate has created an […]

A charter school in Pickens County has achieved a perfect score.  The South Carolina Department of Education released letter grades for the state’s public schools this week based upon student achievement and improvement in 2012-13. Pickens County’s only charter school, the Youth Leadership Academy is one of 33 schools achieving a perfect score of 100. The letter grades were a key […]

The Center for Emerging Technologies at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) has been recognized for its sustainable building design. The U.S. Green Building Council awarded the Center Gold LEED® certification. LEED®, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, provides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high […]

Clemson University will honor philanthropist and businesswoman Anita Zucker of Charleston with an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities at its summer graduation ceremony on August 9th at 11am in Littlejohn Coliseum. Zucker is chairperson and CEO of The Inter Tech Group Inc. She also owns the Carolina Ice Palace, the South Carolina Stingrays and Tristan restaurant in Charleston. She has served in […]

Debit cards from a bank in Oconee County have been compromised.  About 5% of Community First Bank’s customers had card numbers stolen in June and July.  Officials with the bank report that the thefts occurred during routine merchant transactions. Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are investigating. According to a statement from the bank, the investigation is delving into […]

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office announces that Sergeant Randy Jones, a 15-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, has retired.  His retirement was effective July 31st. Jones began with the Sheriff’s Office as a road patrol officer in 1998 and then moved to judicial services about 4 years later.  Before his time with the Sheriff’s Office, Jones was a businessman in […]

A local organization has made a donation that will help the Oconee County Animal Shelter deal with large animals at the shelter. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office announces that Partners for Animal Shelter Adoption has donated a modular barn, which was delivered to the Animal Shelter on Wednesday.  The barn, according to Lieutenant Mark Lyles of the Sheriff’s Office, cost […]

The Oconee Medical Center Foundation is preparing for its third Annual Golf Ball Drop to be held October 23. Three lucky winners the past two years have walked away with a nice bounty of cash in the Foundation’s newest, and most interesting, fundraiser to date. For a tax-deductible gift of $50, participants receive a numbered golf ball that will be […]

More rain feel in July this year than any other year on record in Oconee County.  U.S. Weather Observer Barbara Wilson gives the month-end rain count. “For July this year we’ve had 15.13 inches, that is a record for July.  The one that was the wettest until now was in 1984 and it was only 13.5 inches.” This summer has […]