Area News
Walmart to require masks starting Monday, July 20
Laurens County, South Carolina – Several nationally known companies have decided that beginning Monday, July 20, to require customers to wear masks, regardless of whether or not their local governments require the measure. In a press statement released Wednesday afternoon, Walmart explained that the retail stores will require shoppers to wear face coverings at its more than 5,000…
Read MoreHughes wins District 55 special election
Mike Hughes won a special election Tuesday to fill the vacant district 4 seat on the Laurens County School District 55 Board of Trustees. Hughes, a Laurens District 55 graduate, defeated Betty Ann Neely 200-25 with two write-in votes among the 227 ballots cast. The seat serves the Hickory Tavern area. “I just want to…
Read MoreWhitten Center admin pens letter, COVID cases still on rise
Whitten Center Facility Administrator Randy Davis published a letter on the Friends of Whitten Center Facebook page this past week, outlining the severity of a COVID-19 outbreak that turned the center into a coronavirus hot spot. The residential facility located in Clinton houses and treats mentally and physically disabled persons. The letter, dated July 7,…
Read MoreCOVID-19 testing available in Gray Court, Clinton
Laurens County Emergency Services Director Joey Avery announced free COVID-19 testing sites planned for Wednesday, July 15 and Tuesday, July 21. Testing will be available today from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Gray Court-Owings School in Gray Court. On July 21, testing is scheduled for 8 a.m.-noon at Clinton High School. Testing is also available at…
Read MoreDistricts 55, 56 team up for Virtual Academy
Laurens County School Districts 55 and 56 have agreed to work together on the Laurens County Virtual Academy, an option for students who are unable or unwilling to return to their regular classrooms for the 2020-21 school year. District 55 was to hold a virtual meeting via YouTube Tuesday night to answer questions and give…
Read MoreOpen District 55 trustee seat to be filled in Tuesday special election
On Tuesday, July 14, two candidates from the Hickory Tavern and western Laurens County area of School District 55 will vie for the seat formerly held by Mark Earle, who resigned in February. The Board of Voter Registration and Elections for Laurens County is holding the special election for Seat 4, and polls in four…
Read MoreRegistration, info meeting this week for Dist. 55 Virtual Academy
Update: District 55 has announced the meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, will now be available on YouTube and registration is no longer needed. The link will go live at the beginning of the meeting. Laurens, South Carolina – Laurens County School District #55 (LCSD 55) announced in a press release on Saturday the development…
Read MorePublic invited to line West Main to pay respects as Laurens holds King Dixon Day Friday
LAURENS, S.C. – The City of Laurens will honor the legacy of one of her most respected native sons, Lt. Col. Albert King Dixon II, USMC (retired) on Friday, July 10, 2020, and the public is strongly encouraged to take part in this celebration of Dixon’s life, according to a release by the Mayor’s office…
Read MoreUSC Union, Laurens campus announce fall plans
USC Union will reopen for in-person classes on the Union campus and at the Laurens location on August 20, 2020. Face coverings will be required at both locations and social distancing will be encouraged among members of the campus community. The semester will be offered in an accelerated format, with in-person instruction ending on Nov.…
Read MoreKing Dixon, 83, dies of cancer
• Friends, colleagues remember USC, local legend below King Dixon, former athletic director and football star at the University of South Carolina, retired U.S. Marine Corps officer and the champion of countless local causes, died Monday evening after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 83. “He’s the measure that I’ve sort of judged myself by…
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