A Father’s Day outing on Lake Greenwood turned tragic Sunday after a Ninety Six man died after swimming near Twin Rivers Landing. Lionel Benkie James, 30, was pronounced dead at Twin Rivers just after 4 p.m. According to Laurens County Deputy Coroner Vickie Cheek, James and his family and friends rented a pontoon boat at…
Two people died Thursday afternoon in separate vehicle accidents that occurred within two hours of one another. S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Gary Miller responded to both traffic fatalities. Just after 2 p.m., Wesley Chad Robinson, 29, of Laurens was killed when the Kubota tractor he was driving was struck from behind and overturned. Robinson…
A Cross Hill woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash on S.C. Highway 39 between Laurens and Mountville early Saturday morning. Brittney Byrd, 30, died at the scene of the accident and was pronounced at 1:38 a.m., according to Laurens County Deputy Coroner Vickie Cheek. S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Justin Sutherland said a Dodge…
S.C. House District 14 Rep. Mike Pitts (R-Laurens) said Thursday night that he will not re-introduce legislation later this year calling for the consolidation of Laurens County School Districts 55 and 56. “I still believe it is the right thing to do,” Pitts said of the consolidation. It would be pointless for me to…
Jeffrey Carroll barely avoided a runoff in his effort to unseat incumbent County Councilman Keith Tollison in District 5 in Tuesday’s primary election. Meanwhile, in District 1, voters will return to the polls for a June 26 runoff between Kemp Younts and Susan Thackston, who were part of a four-candidate race to take over the…
The driver of a Dodge Van was killed Wednesday evening in a single-vehicle crash at Exit 19 on I-385. The identity of the victim was being withheld by the Laurens County Coroner’s Office pending notification of the family. According to S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Justin Sutherland, the accident occurred when the van, traveling south…
A Ware Shoals man was arrested Monday after investigators from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division and Laurens County Sheriff’s Office discovered a marijuana farm. James Edward Ollis, 42, of Graden Road in Ware Shoals was arrested and charged with trafficking and cultivating marijuana. He has since been released on $15,000 bond. The pot-growing operation was…
Seven candidates are vying for two seats on the Laurens County Council, while a three-way race among Republicans for the District 42 seat in the S.C. House of Representatives will conclude after Tuesday’s primary election. Brooks Carwile, Doug Gilliam and Phillip Russell are vying to replace retiring Rep. Mike Anthony (D-Union) in the District 42…
Laurens County officers from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources received the Zero Tolerance Award for their efforts in keeping Laurens County free from litter. The award was presented to them on Friday afternoon by PalmettoPride Enforcement Program Manager Scott Morgan. Pictured from left, PFC Preston Garner, Lance Cpl. Dan Bridges, PFC Chase Steward, 1st…
Story updated: 9:45 p.m. Laurens County SC – Friday evening’s storm came through much of Laurens County quickly, taking down trees and power lines throughout the county. Trees were down on Laurens’ East Main Street,and City of Laurens crews were clearing trees downtown in the historic downtown areas. Trees were down and power outages were reported in outlying areas…