Category: News

Seneca’s Blue Ridge Community Center now has six basketball goals on its newly constructed courts, thanks to 14 volunteers from the local BASF plant’s Veterans Employee team, who dedicated 60 hours over two days last month. The main installation on June 14 featured MegaSlam72, MegaSlam60, and FX 60 basketball goals, attracting community interest. This project coincided with Juneteenth celebrations and […]

Upcountry Fiber and Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative confirmed that a contractor was injured Monday after being electrocuted while deploying broadband internet services in the Townville area. The injury occurred due to an ARC flash from an electrified line. Jim Lovinggood, president and CEO of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, emphasized that safety is their top priority and expressed that their contractors […]

The City of Pickens announced that the City Council voted Monday night to withdraw from the Pickens Joint Regional Water System (PJRWS) to enhance the city’s water infrastructure and resources, allowing greater flexibility and control over local water management. Mayor Isaiah Scipio emphasized that the decision, based on extensive study, aims to ensure a reliable and sustainable water supply more […]

A head on collision on Hwy 11 in Pickens County Wednesday morning not long after 9:00am proved fatal. Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway has more… The Pickens County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Emily Whitten Hafner, 30, of 291 Cross Creek Rd. Salem.

More than four years after an EF-3 tornado hit Seneca, city officials are hopeful that the nearly $8 million in approved FEMA reimbursements will be received this year. Seneca Assistant City Administrator Josh Riches reported that the city is awaiting two sets of funds: $3.4 million, of which $2.4 million has been received, and an additional $4.5 million following arbitration […]

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Jennifer Burns recently pleaded guilty to charges related to drug trafficking for Mexican cartels. Burns, a suspect in the Prison Empire and Las Señoritas investigation, admitted to Conspiracy to Traffick Methamphetamine (400 Grams or More), Trafficking Methamphetamine (400 Grams or More), Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime, […]

A new state proviso will soon restrict student cellphone use to enhance school safety. During the School District of Oconee County’s (SDOC) Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, district leadership discussed Proviso 1.103, which mandates a policy prohibiting personal electronic device use during classroom instruction. Assistant Superintendent Elizabeth McDonald noted that while some may welcome the change, it may be […]

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has arrested 26-year-old Jordan Scott Tilson of Walhalla for voluntary manslaughter in the March 29 jailhouse death of Michael McMahan. The arrest warrant affidavit states that Tilson, in a sudden heat of passion and without malice, struck McMahan on the right side of his head, causing him to fall and hit his head on […]

The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting incident that occurred on Knollview Rd in Central, South Carolina. On Friday, July 20, at approximately 11:25 pm, deputies responded to a 911 call at 186 Knollview Rd and found Thomas Emory Durham, 57, of the residence, with a gunshot wound. The victim was transported to the Greenville Hospital System, where […]

According to Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis, a 61year-old Homestead, Florida man died Friday afternoon after the semi-trailer truck he was operating ran off the road on SC 130 (Whitewater Falls Road) near Salem and overturned down an embankment. He died at the incident location which was near the Cg Roxane Crystal Geyser water plant. He had received a load […]