Area News

Laurens County Emergency Services will spray for mosquitos in the southwest region of the county for a second time tonight (Oct. 26). The county sprayed in that area, which includes parts of Waterloo and Ware Shoals, after the first confirmed case of West Nile Virus in Laurens County was reported two weeks ago. According to…

Gray Court mail carrier Renea Chappelear says the people on her route are more than numbers on a mailbox; they’re her friends. To Ed Andrews, Chappelear is more than a friend; she’s his hero. “There’s my lifesaver,” Andrews said as Chappelear approached him from his driveway Tuesday afternoon. “I just got thank God for her.”…

The Laurens County School District 55 Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday night after returning from executive session to purchase a tract of land near Ford Elementary School. The initial $200,000 purchase will provide land for a future Early Childhood Development center. The lot is approximately 1.75 acres and is now home to P&T Hardware.…

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-Laurens) won an appointment Tuesday to the House Energy and Commerce Committee where he will join 30 fellow Republicans and 24 Democrats on the body’s oldest standing legislative committee. “Everyone know how passionate I am about energy policy and the importance of creating jobs by getting the government out of the way,”…

A Gray Court man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to manufacturing counterfeit currency. James Edward Cole, 38, was accused of passing the counterfeit currency at several stores throughout the Upstate after manufacturing the currency himself. Video cameras caught Cole passing the counterfeit bills at some retail stores. He also had counterfeit currency in…

The Laurens District High School senior who made threats on social media that he would bring a gun to school is now facing more than a school suspension. Harley Dean Bogar, 17, of Woodruff, was charged with disturbing school Friday and booked into the Johnson Detention Center. As of Tuesday evening, Bogar was still in jail…

A Clinton man, who 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo referred to as a “menace,” was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to a 2016 drug charge. Jeraka Jerome Choice, 37, pleaded guilty to one charge of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Choice was arrested in July of 2016 after…

Cyclists participating in the S.C. Law Enforcement Torch Run rolled through Laurens County on their way to Charleston Monday. The three-day ride is part of a series of law-enforcement-backed fundraisers for Special Olympics. Will Richter, a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office of Greenville County, said the ride, which includes stops in Newberry and Orangeburg before…

The body of a Ninety Six man found in Lake Greenwood Saturday has been identified by the Laurens County Coroner’s Office. Cain Ashley DeYoung, 37, was believe to have died on Thursday, Oct. 12. His body was found in the area of Commodore Drive in Cross Hill. His autopsy was to have been performed today (Oct.…