John Vaughn of Greenville, Edythe Dove of North Charleston, John Powell of Walhalla, and William F. Bishop of Leesville were asked to resign from the seven-member board earlier in the week.

The $470 million agency, which cares for 28,000 people with mental retardation and related disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, is reeling from a scathing Legislative Audit Council report that recommended 66 changes in the agency.

The department came under sharp criticism recently for slashing funds to operate an autism program for 3-year-olds, when millions of dollars allocated for the program had gone unused or were rerouted to other uses.

An ad hoc Senate panel was assembled six weeks ago to look into the agency, amid complaints DDSN was unresponsive to clients and that it intimidated family members who raised questions about its operations.

“I find it ironic that the groups opposing the bill are the S.C. Association of School Administrators and the S.C. School Boards Association. We’re going to evaluate their concerns and hope we can work together to not put a price tag on the health of our children.”

— Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Bamberg, on his bill, which would ban sugary and fatty snacks and lunch items from schools, getting kicked out of the House Education Committee back to a subcommittee

S.C. POLITICS

• Clyburn: GOP leaders asked for stimulus

Now it just has to find the money to do the work.

“We finally have an ordinance that will address all dirt roads in Richland County,” Councilman Norman Jackson said after Tuesday’s unanimous council vote. “Finally.”

The county engineer hasn’t reviewed which low-traffic roads among the 201.5 miles of dirt roads would qualify.

Neither has County Council agreed how, or whether, to pay for a program that could cost $63 million.

“If you can’t afford to go to school, all the quality in the world won’t matter a hill of beans.”

— Joel Sawyer, Gov. Mark Sanford’s spokesman, responding to about 100 S.C. college students who rallied at the State House Tuesday to protest cuts in higher education by the state and Sanford’s proposal that colleges cap their tuition rates, a move some students said would limit the quality of S.C. schools.

SCHMOOZING

When and where S.C. lawmakers will eat and drink for free and who’s buying