Category: News

The City of Westminster has its new Police Chief.  After an extensive search, the City of Westminster hired Dean Awalt to be its new Police Chief.  Westminster City Administrator David Smith gives details.  “We had 26 applications, conducted a number of interviews and finally made our decision that the position will be going to Dean Awalt, who is currently employed […]

December 21, 2012 is the date some claim marks the apocalypse predicted by the Mayan calendar. Judith Storniolo is a professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University. She is also a historical and comparative linguist, who says the ancient Maya measured time cyclically, as opposed to in a linear way and there are other […]

The community is invited to the Oconee Courthouse in Walhalla on Monday, December 31 at 2pm for the swearing-in ceremony for Mike Crenshaw.  The sheriff-elect takes the oath of office New Year’s Eve to begin his four-year term in Oconee County. The ceremony is open to the public. Federal Judge Tim Cain, an Oconee County resident, will administer the oath. […]

A generous donation has been made to an Oconee County organization that strives to lift individuals and their families from generational poverty.  In a ceremony at the Seneca Rotary Club meeting this week, the club gave a donation of $1,595 to Ripple of One. Accepting the donation was Stephanie Enders, founder of the organization that tries to instill habits that […]

For the fourth consecutive month, South Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 8.3% in November from the October estimate of 8.6%.  The unemployment rate has fallen 1.5 percentage points since November of last year. In the tri-county area of Upstate South Carolina unemployment increased.  Oconee County posted 8.6% in November, which is an increase from 8.4% in October.  Similarly, […]

South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan issued the following statement on opposing the ‘Plan B’ fiscal cliff measure: “I came to Washington to fight for all taxpayers – not to give into the politics of division and envy. Conservatives were elected to cut spending and shrink the size and scope of government, not to give politicians more money to spend when […]

For the third time in as many years, Chattooga Belle Farm is featured in the Innova Disc Golf Calendar.  In 2011, Chattooga Belle Farm’s 18th Disc Hole was the cover picture of the calendar, in 2010, the farm’s third hole was the December picture and in 2012, the eighth hole will be the November featured picture. Local Disc Golf promoter […]

Clemson University awarded 1,200 degrees Thursday, including the nation’s first Ph.D. in automotive engineering earned by a woman and an honorary degree to a former astronaut. Ala Qattawi made history when she walked across the stage to receive her doctorate in automotive engineering. Retired General Charles Duke Jr., a former NASA astronaut who was the 10th man to walk on the […]

United States Attorney Bill Nettles announces that 27-year old Shelley Nicole Dillard of Easley pled guilty in federal court in Anderson, to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.  Senior United States District Judge Ross Anderson, Jr.  accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report. Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that law enforcement […]

The Christmas wish lists of some 35 children at Head Start were fulfilled this year by Oconee Medical Center employees. Staff members from Head Start came to Oconee Medical Center with a small bus to pick up the gifts which filled all but one seat and the aisle. Oconee Medical Center employees are active volunteers in many organizations throughout the community, […]