“Have you heard what PRT now stands for? Prosser is rarely there.”

— Rep. Brian White, R-Anderson, in an exchange with Chad Prosser, director of the S.C. Department of Parks Recreation and Tourism, Thursday at a Senate budget hearing. White accused Prosser of not being a visible presence at his agency.

• Dawson vying for GOP’s top post

S.C. Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson will find out todayif he will be the national party’s next chairman.

Air Force officials say about a dozen pilots and their F-16CJ fighter jets were to return Thursday. The pilots and aircraft were stationed at a base in central Iraq.

The Air Force says the remaining 300 members of the 55th Fighter Squadron and the 20th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron are expected to return home this weekend.

One of the primary missions of F-16 pilots is to lure the enemy into firing surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery so the jets can hone in on them with their specialized radars and fire back to destroy them.

Scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory have been monitoring activity round-the-clock since the weekend.

On Thursday, the observatory said: "Seismicity remains above background and largely unchanged with several volcanic earthquakes occurring every hour."

The last time the 10,197-foot peak blew was during a five-month stretch starting in December 1989. It disrupted international air traffic and placed a layer of volcanic dust throughout the Anchorage area.

Volcanoes in Alaska, including Redoubt, typically erupt explosively, shooting ash almost eight miles high. Volcanic ash features small, jagged pieces of rock and glass.

Assistant coach Pete Herrmann will be the interim coach the rest of the season. He takes over a team that is 9-11 and 0-5 in the Southeastern Conference.

"I'm disappointed that things have not worked out better," athletic director Damon Evans at a news conference. "I do think it is in the best interest of our men's basketball program that we move in a new direction. And while this may be unusual timing, I'm convinced it is the right time."

Felton had an 84-91 record and was in his sixth season at Georgia. His team won the SEC tournament last year, but was knocked out of the NCAAs in the first round. He coached five seasons at Western Kentucky before taking the Georgia job in 2003.

Thinking about South Carolina in the upcoming 11 months, what you like to declare as the defining attribute of 2009?

Use the comment form below to finish this sentence:

"I proclaim 2009 in South Carolina to be the Year of . . ."

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