The Laurens City Fire Department is reminding residents that there is an ordinance in town that bans outdoor fires. The only exception is for cooking.

For people concerned about getting rid of all the trees and limbs brought down by the storm last week, this can be placed by the street, and the Streets and Sanitation crews will pick it up and dispose of it for city residents. City residents who are becoming impatient about getting a debris pickup are reminded that city crews are making the rounds and will get down your street. It has also been noted that there is also concern for people with health conditions whose power has not been restored. Without air conditioning, they may have their windows open to stay cool and would be subject to hurt from outdoor burning.

Area residents who are not subject to fire bans inside a city are reminded there is also a fire ban for you, as of 6:00 am this past Tuesday. The South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a Burning Ban for 20 counties. Laurens County is in the middle of this 20-county area that covers all of Northwest South Carolina. On the west, includes all counties along the Savannah from Aiken to Oconee. On the East, it includes Lexington-Richland and counties to the north, including York.

A State Forester’s Burning Ban prohibits all outdoor burning, including yard debris burning, in unincorporated areas, as well as burning for forestry, wildlife or agricultural purposes, otherwise known as prescribed, or controlled, burns. The ban does not apply to fires used for the preparation of food or fires used in appropriate enclosures (portable outdoor fireplaces, chimineas, or permanent fire pits constructed of stone, masonry, metal or other noncombustible material that conforms with all applicable South Carolina fire codes).

The burning ban is intended to ease the strain on firefighting personnel and law enforcement officials – from both the Forestry Commission and from local fire departments – many of whom were dispatched to affected areas to assist with road clearing, damage assessment and related cleanup.

South Carolina Forestry Commission Fire Chief Darryl Jones noted, “We understand people may wonder why a burning ban is necessary when more than half of the state has received so much rain,” but he added, “We’re issuing the ban not because of elevated fire danger, but rather because so many of our firefighting and emergency personnel and resources are committed to hurricane-related response.”

This first Friday in October is usually thought of as the start of the Squealin’ on the Square festival in Laurens. After Hurricane Helene came through last week, tearing down trees and power lines, festival organizers decided it best to postpone the event this year.

On the WLBG Morning News Interview this morning, Laurens Main Street Director Craig Sharton said they’ve in contact with local emergency personnel and other community leaders, volunteers, the BBQ teams, bands and others to see who is available for the date selected to have the 2024 Squealin’ on the Square.

The Main Street Laurens Board of Directors will meet October 16th to receive all the feedback and decide when the festival will be held.

An exhibit of Laurens County Wildlife photography at the Laurens County Museum has been delayed. The exhibit from historian and naturalist Gene Ott of Waterloo was to open October 1st. It has been delayed but was expected to be open by October 10t. That’s the date Gene Ott is to give a lecture in the Museum on “Wild Birds of Laurens County.” The lecture starts at 7:00 pm next Thursday, but the Museum is to open at 6:30 that evening to let folks view the “Laurens County Nature and Photography Exhibit” before the lecture.

A disturbance in the Rolling Hills neighborhood was noted with a Sheriff’s Office arrest Tuesday evening. A man had allegedly been screaming profanities and throwing objects such as a chain saw and rabbit hutches, causing multiple people to come out of the residence at that location, and to send children inside the house.  43-year-old Daniel Armando Gaytan of Rolling Hills Road, Gray Court was issued a citation at 6:30 pm accusing him of Public Disorderly Conduct. He was released Wednesday on a $257.50 personal recognizance bond.

A car theft from near Clinton Monday was alleged with a Sheriff’s Office arrest. 18-year-old Jianthony Tyriq McGowan of Wisteria Avenue, Clinton was charged with Grand Larceny on Wednesday. The warrant alleges that on September 30th McGowan took a teal-green 2009 Toyota Camry from a location on US 76 East. This was allegedly without permission and with intent to deprive the owner of the vehicle, valued at between two and ten thousand dollars.

The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office served charges on a man Wednesday (October 2nd) alleging possession of a stolen vehicle. 28-year-old Nicholas Lee Carr of Houghton Court, Fountain Inn was charged with Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, alleging it was valued at between two and ten thousand dollars. The warrant states this possession occurred on Fairview Road, Laurens.

Assaults on two people on Tuesday of this week were described in charges served by the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday. 38-year-old Travion Christeel Anderson of Todd Quarter Road, Waterloo was charged with Assault and Battery 3rd degree on a male victim and 3rd degree Domestic Violence on a female.

Warrants alleged that on October 1st at a location on Lakeview Drive Mr. Anderson intentionally committed battery on the male victim by striking him about the face with his elbow; and that he unlawfully injured the female victim by pulling a necklace that was being worn about her neck. This reportedly caused bruising.

Laurens Police arrested a moped operator on West Main Street this week, citing the tag on his moped. A warrant served on 31-year-old Dan Bailey Gedding of Silo Road, Sumter states that an NCIC check revealed the tag on the moped was reported by the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office as stolen. Dan Gedding was released on a $2,125 personal recognizance bond.

The Laurens County reaction to Hurricane Helene’s impact has now shifted from Rescue to Recovery. Laurens County Administrator Thomas Higgs advised local reporters that the status shifted yesterday afternoon, after he did an ariel assessment of the county by helicopter. He said that since the hurricane hit, the primary emphasis was helping those who were trapped in their homes by fallen trees. As of yesterday afternoon, that focus shifts to recovery from the storm.

In a meeting with local news reporters at 4:00 pm yesterday, Administrator Higgs praised Laurens County employees who have been working tirelessly since the hurricane hit the county, doing more damage than expected. He suggested there’s more damage that Hugo did to Charleston. He said many county employees have been working around the clock and praised the reaction of county staff who, after realizing the severity of what had occurred, asked “How can we help?” When we asked if any employees had been injured, he told of one  employee who’s home was destroyed, with a tress crashing through the house. Higgs said that this employee went back to work, helping check on other people. He said deputies have been on patrol with a chain saw in their vehicles.

Thomas Higgs had praise for the reaction many Laurens County residents have had to the storm. It said that during the recent stressful days, a lot of people have gone to check on their neighbors, looking out for others. He praised the way so many people have been working together to deal with this situation, noting that the response of so many residents “has blown my mind,” with residents showing a sense of community, caring for each other.

In describing his helicopter ariel assessment tour of Laurens County yesterday, Thomas Higgs noted his started checking the situation around Laurens, then flew over other areas across the western portion of the county, before landing at GSP airport There, he met with Representative Duncan. The Congressman and Senator Graham were at the airport, along with Governor McMaster, who met President Joe Biden as he flew in to check on how the hurricane impacted South Carolina. Laurens County Administrator Thomas Higgs then continued his ariel assessment of Laurens County, flying over Clinton, Joanna and other areas on the eastern side of the county.

Laurens County Council had a called meeting at 8:00 Wednesday morning. They approved extending the County “State of Emergency,” which allows Administrator Higgs to take actions needed to address our emergency without specific approval from County Council.

Major General Jeff Jones of the South Carolina National Guard visited Laurens County’s Emergency Operations Center yesterday. We asked him about the support the guard is providing to Laurens County now.

“The support for Laurens County is part of what’s around 1,000 soldiers and airmen right now the South Carolina Army Air Guard, providing support to that area. When we come to provide military support, we work at the direction of the Emergency Management in your county. Currently, your South Carolina Army National Guard is performing engineer/debris clearing operations in Laurens County and we are also providing food and water…site operations. These are our two priorities and where we are weighing most of our efforts right now.”

Major General Jeff Jones said that while debris clearing from roadways is the current priority, at a later date, the guard may assist in removal of that debris.

A Laurens County Supply Distribution program began yesterday with a drive-thru in the parking lot of the county election’s office on Bolt Drive. Items being given out include MREs – Meals Ready to Eat) plus water and tarps.

This distribution line operates daily from 10 am until 7 pm.

To receive these supplies, enter Evelyn Drive from North Harper Street, between the Oaks Center and Walgreens. Follow Evelyn until it makes a 90-degree left turn and becomes Bolt Drive. Enter the Elections Office parking lot, go through the distribution line, then out Bolt Drive to Hillcrest Drive.

This was the first of three “PODs” <Places of Distribution> The second POD opens today in Clinton and is to also operated from 10 am to 7 pm.

Laurens County Administrator Thomas Higgs told local news media yesterday that a third “POD” are to be opened in the Waterloo area at a date to be announced.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety announced a preliminary number of three people killed on South Carolina roadways during this past weekend, from 6 pm Friday to midnight Sunday night. D.P.S. Tuesday also reported highway fatalities for the first nine months of 2024. Through Monday, September 30th, South Carolina has had 689 traffic fatalities for the year, that marks four years straight with fewer fatalities at this point in the year. The state had 875 traffic deaths as of September 30th in 2021, down to 803 in 2022, 770 last year and the 689 for this year.

Laurens Couty’s traffic fatalities as recorded by SCDPS were 15 for this year, down from 20 the same date in 2023. But the drop in fatalities has not been consistent for the past four years. We had and 18 fatalities as of September 30th of 2022 and 14 the same date in 2021.

Comparing Laurens County’s 15 fatalities for the year with our neighboring counties, Newberry had 8, Union had 7, Greenwood had 5, Saluda 4 and Abbeville County had 3. Anderson County had 32, Spartanburg 42 and Greenville County had 61 fatalities as of September 30th.

We got a closer look at storm recovery in the City of Laurens yesterday. We asked Laurens Police Chief Heath Copeland about the response he’s seen to the Hurricane Helene: “We have been working around the clock with all our officers and first responders. We’ve done full assessment checks inside the city. We’ve also helped CPW to retore power, we’ve helped get water out into the community. We’ve helped get information out to the community as we’ve learned each individual piece. I’m really proud of our community that has come tougher. We’ve got firemen that are running chainsaws, police officers running chainsaws, sanitation workers have been helping to clear stuff. We’ve checked every house.”

Chief Copeland asked for folks to be patient during this process. “We do have to block off certain roads, sometimes, to keep traffic off of CPW workers and utility workers who are putting the power up. Getting everybody’s power back. It takes a while. This is the most damage I’ve ever seen in a storm. Please be patient.”  Laurens Police Chief Heath Copeland.

As part of the local response to the needs we have following last week’s storm, Laurens County Emergency Operations has established Public Information Phone Lines. If you need information, you can call one of these three numbers.

The numbers are 864-681-2176, 864-681-2177 and 864-681-2178.

Utility crews from across the South and Midwest have been in Laurens County since last week’s storm ripped down trees and powerlines. Laurens CPW General Manager John Young gave WLBG an update on efforts to restore power in Laurens under difficult circumstances.

“I want to start out by tanking our customers, for being so patient, while we work through this event. We know it’s not been easy for anybody. I’ve been in the electric business for nearly 40 years now. The only thing I can compare this to was when I worked in Charleston during Hurricane Hugo.

At one point Friday morning, last Friday, our whole town was out. And not only out of electricity, but all the communications were down. There was no internet, no cellphone service and it really made for a difficult time to try to get things squared away.”

4,000 of 6,000 customers Restored

John Young gave an overview of the status in Laurens as of yesterday.

“Well we’ve got almost 6,000 electric meters. Currently 4,000 of those have been restored. We’ve got about 2,000 meters left to restore. It’s going to be several more days before we can get all of those back on. We will get big hunks on at a time, but to get all 2,000 of those we’re probably looking later part of this week, perhaps into the first part of next week.”

John Young said the CPW had crews staged last Thursday evening. As soon as the winds allowed, they were out assessing damage. “Once we assessed the damage, were able to decide that we needed additional help. And we needed a lot of additional help.”

As of yesterday, Laurens has crews from Alabama, Missouri, Ohio and Kentucky. “We could probably use more crews, but the problem that we’ve got now is where to house them. When they get here they have to have a place to stay. They have to have food. So, we are coordinating all of that. Right now the housing situation is very difficult.”

Caution on Home Generators

Laurens CPW General Manager John Young had cautions for Laurens residents during storm recovery. “A couple of key things that we want people to understand: First of all, if you have a generator, we ask that you turn the main breaker off if it’s connected to your house, inside. The problem with that is if you don’t turn the main breaker off, when our lineman touch a line that they think is down, and there’s a generator connected, it could electrocute someone. If you’ve got a generator and it’s connected inside your house it needs to have a main breaker switch turned off. Also, if your meter base – the box that houses your meter – if it’s been pulled from your house, we cannot connect power to that house. You have to have an electrician replace that meter box before we can connect power. We don’t have electricians that can repair inside wiring and things like that.”

The Water is Fine

John Young debunked a rumor over the weekend about a water problem. Noting CPW water pumps have generators to keep water flowing during an electrical outage, he said requests for water conservation was to reduce the use of fuel for the water treatment generators. He said the only outage over the weekend was a fire hydrant broken by a contractor working with trees in Doublebrook. Water was shut off there until the fire hydrant was replaced. “And then they were under a boil water advisory, just that neighborhood. And that’s currently been lifted, so everyone in Laurens has all the water they need right now, including Fire and Rescue.”

Say Calm, but Watchful

The CPW General Manager asked for folks to stay positive during these stressful days. “We’ve had some incidents where our linemen have been harassed and some negative things said. You know, we understand people are frustrated, but that doesn’t help the situation any. They’re away from home, most of them don’t have power, either. We’re working 15-hour days trying to get power restored.”

John Young asked that motorists watch out for utility crews at work. “Please pay attention to where the crews are and slow down. We’ve had several near misses where employees were almost hit by people looking at damage and not seeing our workers on the side of the road. We ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers. It’s a very dangerous work that these folks are doing.”

Laurens County is receiving help from the coast in dealing with damage from Hurricane Helene. Laurens County Administration has announced that Charleston Public Safety deployed its Unified Mobile Command Post to Laurens County Monday to assist us in the wake of the recent storm damage.

The National Guard has also been present. These units are to support efforts to assess damage, clear roads, and provide aid to affected citizens. The statement from County Administration said the “mobile command post enhances our ability to coordinate response efforts and deliver timely assistance where it’s needed most. We appreciate the patience and cooperation of all residents as we work together to recover from this event. Thank you, Charleston and National Guard, for your presence and willingness to help.”

Administration added that Laurens County staff continues with damage assessments and seeking assistance. “Life, safety, debris clearing and meeting basic humanitarian needs continue to be priorities.”

An emergency shelter has been established at the Ridge in Laurens, on Exchange Drive. Recreation Director Jason Pridgen told WLBG it was established by the Red Cross and D.S.S. Cots, blankets and some snacks and water were being made available.

Among changes announced since last week’s storm is a delay in an exhibit at the Laurens County Museum. This “Laurens County Nature and Wildlife Photography Exhibit” features photography of historian and naturalist Gene Ott of Waterloo. Described as an “exquisite photography of birds and other wildlife of Laurens County, it was scheduled to open yesterday, October 1st. All the photographs on display are to be available for sale, with proceeds benefitting operation of the Museum.

The revised date when this exhibit will open was not initially decided, except that it should be before October 15th. That’s the date when Gene Ott will be giving a lecture on “Wild Birds of Laurens County.” That presentation is still scheduled, starting at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, October 15th. The Museum will be open that evening at 6:30 for folks to view the exhibit before hearing Mr. Ott’s presentation.

More information is available from the museum at (864) 681-3678, and from the museum’s Facebook page as well as LaurensCountyMuseum.org.

A Laurens man is facing multiple charges following an alleged disturbance in town Saturday. Laurens City Police arrested 53-year-old Andrew Moore of Suber Road, Laurens and charged him with Breach of Peace of a High and Aggravated Nature, Felon in Possession of a Firearm and cited him with a Public Drunk offense.

Mr. Moore is accused of willfully and intentionally committing a Breach of Peace of a High and Aggravated Nature Saturday by discharging five rounds from a Glock 9 mm while in the Marion Street area, this offense occurring in a city neighborhood in a dangerous and disorderly manner. The defendant is accused of being denied the right to be in possession of a firearm due to previous felony convictions on August 3rd of 2005 and August 8th of 2006. A citation from Officer Hill cites Mr. Moore with Public Intoxication at 7:00 pm Saturday on Marion Street.

Cash or Surety bonds were set on the three charges for Andrew Moore totaling $15,232.

Questions about this year’s 24th Annual Squealin’ on the Square Festival, following last Friday’s devastating storm, where answered yesterday. Rather than being held this Friday and Saturday, it’s is being delayed. The Main Street Laurens Board of Directors met yesterday. A statement posted following the meeting states, “In light of some new input, the board decided unanimously to postpone this year’s Squealin’ on the Square.” The statement added that a new date for the 2024 Squealin’ Festival will be announced following the next meeting of the board on October 16th. “At that point, we will have more input from emergency services, our vendors, our downtown businesses and the community.” The statement of Main Street Laurens’ board concluded, “Our goal is to have a great event for our whole community.”