A Cowpens man is dead after his motorcycle ran off the road early Sunday morning and struck a utility pole guide wire. Robert Lewis Smyre Jr., 45, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 1:50 a.m. accident about 10 miles west of Gaffney. Smyre was traveling west on Tory Trail when his 1997 Harley Davidson motorcycle went off the […]
Gaffney Marine helps with quake relief effort
Gaffney resident Lucas Mathis is among the U.S. Marines who are helping provide emergency relief to survivors of an earthquake last Saturday in Indonesia. Mathis was getting ready to go with his wife to a cookout on his base in Okinawa, Japan, over the Memorial Day weekend when the electrician with the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force received orders to go […]
Graduation events will be Web-cast
Military personnel stationed overseas and out-of-state family members can still watch local high school seniors graduate Tuesday. A live Internet broadcast of the Blacksburg and Gaffney High graduation ceremonies will be available, superintendent Dr. Bill James said. The district will publish a hyperlink on its web site (www.cherokee1.k12.sc.us) that will connect people directly Tuesday to a live video feed of […]
Officials mull budgets
First look for city councilGaffney City Council is expected to approve first reading today of its new spending plan that includes no tax increase for property owners, a big raise for city council members and a small increase in the Christmas bonus for city employees. The proposed $9,849,721 budget contains no across-theboard wage increase for employees, but at last Thursday’s finance committee meeting Gaffney […]
Second reading for county
Cherokee County Council will consider second reading of its new fiscal year budget that includes a modest tax hike and a 3 percent cost-of-living raise for county employees. The budget calls for a .95 tax hike, to 80.35 mills. In the county, 1 mill generates $147,413. A property owner can expect to pay about $4 more in taxes for a […]
Ethics Commission clears Gaffney city councilman of any wrongdoing
A Gaffney City Councilman has been cleared of any wrongdoing in a ruling issued last week by the State Ethics Commission. Councilman Tom Reid was accused of allegedly obtaining an illegal economic interest by participating and voting to repair a drainage problem at the Bethel Baptist Church. Reid serves as a deacon of the church. Several weeks later, council reversed […]
Frank Willis:
Democratic gubernatorial candidate visits Cherokee CountyDemocratic candidate for governor Frank Willis feels it is the governor’s responsibility to bring new jobs to South Carolina. And he’s sure he’s the right man for that duty. “From my perspective, after being mayor of Florence for 10 years, I look at the growth in our city and then look at the state and see what they’ve not done,” […]
Receives grant
The Gaffney Housing Authority has received a $425,022 grant from the HUD Capital Fund program. The money will be used to replace the wood siding at the apartment units at Beltline Courts and Colonial Heights and the exterior doors at Granard Courts and Colonial Heights.
Republican candidates for education superintendent attend rally
State Superintendent of Education candidate Karen Floyd took a break in Gaffney from a running tour Saturday to speak about her plans for improving education. Floyd was in the midst of her “Run for Reform” tour, which started in Charleston on Friday and ended Saturday night in Oconee County. The Spartanburg attorney and businesswoman cited the state’s low SAT scores […]
Ag candidate touts use of alternative fuels
Republican candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture William Bell drove his biodiesel-powered tractor through Gaffney on Friday. And if elected, Bell said he’ll push for your car to be fueled by biodiesel as well. “If I’m elected, I’m going to push the idea of alternative fuels,” Bell said. “The mostasked question I get is, ‘How are you going to break this […]
