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Flag Day: American flag etiquette
14 Jun 2011 at 10:33am
Jaye Bennett waves an American flag as she listens to speakers during a Tea Party rally at the State House, Monday, April 18, 2011. - Gerry Melendez, The StateFlag Day stems from several movements to set aside a day to honor the flag, including a leading effort by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a fraternal order dating back to the 19th century. In 1911 the group's governing body made it mandatory that all lodges to observe June 14 as the anniversary of the country's adoption of the 13-star flag.Years later in 1949, then-President Harry Truman, himself an Elk, signed an act of Congress that established the national Flag Day.Tips on how to properly display an American flag:-Flag must be lighted at all times by sunlight or appropriate source. -Must never be "dipped" or nodded to any person or thing. -Flown upside down only as signal of distress. -Must not be used for decoration in general. -Never used in advertising purposes. -Never used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except as inclusion as flag patch. -When lowered, no part must touch the ground or other object; must be received directly into waiting hands or arms. -When weathered, aged or worn out to a point it no longer fitting to fly, flag should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.
Amazon center to open by year’s end
14 Jun 2011 at 10:26am
Online retailer Amazon plans to open its new distribution center near Cayce by Dec. 31 but the exact date is uncertain, company vice-president Paul Misener said this morning.Building the million-square-foot center is proceeding after “we slowed down things a bit” until the Legislature provided a sales tax collection exemption, he told members of the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce.The number of employees that will be hired initially also is unsettled yet, he said.Amazon must have a payroll of 2,000 by the end of 2013 under the deal it made with lawmakers to qualify for the tax break.The company also is “putting down roots” in South Carolina, he said.
Animals moved as SC shelter dispute goes to court
14 Jun 2011 at 8:39am
About 70 animals from a Williamsburg County animal shelter have been taken to Charleston while a court case over the shelter's operations proceeds.The Post and Courier of Charleston reported that a Williamsburg County magistrate allowed the animals to be taken to Charleston earlier this month. But Magistrate William Driggers has set a hearing for next week on whether conditions in the shelter justify getting the dogs and cats back.The shelter board and Williamsburg County have clashed over its operations in the past.The county recently canceled an agreement that allowed the shelter board to set policy and sign up volunteers to work at the shelter.
Ex-SC police officer sues, says was forced to quit
14 Jun 2011 at 8:34am
A former North Myrtle Beach police officer has filed a lawsuit saying he was forced to resign after his bosses accused him of leaking confidential information about the 2009 Horry County wildfire.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported Tuesday that Randy Fisher is seeking an unspecified judgment that would include lost wages, benefits and attorney's fees. No trial date has been scheduledFisher says he was forced to quit Nov. 12. The newspaper reported that in a taped conversation from that day, assistant city manager Steve Thomas accused Fisher of trying to embarrass officials by leaking information on the city's response to the fire that destroyed about 75 homes.Fisher denied the claim and offered to take a lie detector test.City officials wouldn't discuss the lawsuit.
Woman gets 21 years in shooting of Spartanburg man
14 Jun 2011 at 7:59am
A woman has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for the 2008 shooting of a Spartanburg man.Prosecutor Barry Barnette says 38-year-old Wanda Denise Brown of Gaffney was sentenced Monday in Spartanburg. She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter earlier this year, saying she acted in self-defense.Brown originally was charged with murder in the shooting death of 53-year-old Richard Bryant. Authorities said Bryant was shot once in the chest with a .22 caliber rifle and died at the scene.Authorities say Brown told them Bryant was at her home, had tried to choke her and had hit her repeatedly. Investigators say Brown had walked past an exterior door to grab the gun and could have chosen to leave instead of shooting Bryant.
SC electric bus completes $30M investment deal
14 Jun 2011 at 7:49am
An electric bus manufacturer in Greenville says a $30 million investment will allow it to resume hiring.Company president Jeff Granato said Monday the new investment led by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers also allows Proterra LLC to settle with suppliers.Granato said in April that Proterra had signed a document laying out the terms for the cash infusion that would allow it to separate itself from an earlier investor who pleaded guilty in March to fraud and conspiracy. Prosecutors say Francisco Illarramendi transferred money among investment accounts without telling clients and falsified documents to deceive investors.For now, Proterra is building its EcoRide BE35 buses in a temporary facility. Proterra plans to build a permanent facility at Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research.
Charleston County schools cutting 70 jobs
14 Jun 2011 at 7:14am
Charleston County school officials say they will eliminate 70 jobs for the coming school year in order to deal with budget cuts.The school district said Monday that the reductions will save more than $2 million.The jobs being eliminated include 24 instructional coordinators who work as curriculum coaches for teachers. Nineteen mechanics are also being laid off. Other jobs being eliminated include secretaries, technicians and an associate superintendent.Chief Financial Officer Mike Bobby says district leaders worked to find other jobs for the 70 employees and were able to make offers to most of the employees.
Record number of applications for SC gator hunting
14 Jun 2011 at 6:54am
South Carolina wildlife officials say they've received a record number of applications for alligator hunting licenses.The Post and Courier of Charleston reported that the Natural Resources Department said more than 4,000 applications have been received so far. Wednesday is the deadline to pay $10 to apply for a license for this fall's season.Only 1,200 applications will be approved. The agency uses a computer program to select the winners, though the program gives a bonus to those who have applied unsuccessfully in the past.Those selected must pay $100 for the alligator hunting license.South Carolina's month-long alligator hunting season opens Sept. 10.
SC transportation commissioner criticizes meeting
14 Jun 2011 at 6:29am
A member of the governing board of the South Carolina Transportation Department says she will skip a private dinner for the panel this week.The State newspaper reported that Sarah Nuckles of Rock Hill said she will not attend the dinner Wednesday night at Lake Murray at the home of Transportation Secretary Robert St. Onge. The meeting comes the night before the board's meeting.Nuckles says she thinks the gathering violates the state's opening meetings law.DOT Spokesman Pete Poore says St. Onge is paying for the dinner at his home and no business will be conducted.Columbia media attorney Jay Bender says the gathering would violate the Freedom of Information Act unless the agency provides at least 24-hour notice.
Haley decries ‘dysfunctional’ federal government in national TV app...
14 Jun 2011 at 12:04am
Appearing on a national TV panel this morning, Gov. Nikki Haley predicted it will take “deep spending cuts and spending caps going forward” for the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate and President Barack Obama, a Democrat, to reach an agreement to raise the federal debt limit.Haley appeared on a town hall meeting as part of CBS News’ “The Early Show” with fellow Republicans U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, U.S. Rep. Tom Ryan of Wisconsin and U.S. Rep. Allen West of Florida.Haley decried Washington as “just dysfunctional right now,” appealing for fewer federal mandates that require states to spend money on health care for the poor, through Medicaid, or on prescribed educational efforts.“D.C. is -- is totally -- in chaos. And has -- is just-- not doing anything,” Haley said. “The states can’t wait. We have to lead. And so, what I would beg of both the Congress and the Senate ... is give us flexibility. Quit mandating any ... spending down. Medicaid alone is a quarter of South Carolina’s budget. Give us the ability to decide what the health care needs are of our citizens. When it comes to any education mandates, let us decide how to educate our kids. When it comes to any of the health care, let us decide our health care.”Other highlights of Haley’s comments included:
Bachmann enters GOP presidential race
13 Jun 2011 at 11:36pm
Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, an outspoken Republican with close ties to the tea party, announced Monday that she is running for president, a candidacy that could further shake up a volatile fight for the GOP nomination. The first female contender to enter the 2012 race, Bachmann announced her bid during a Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire. The third-term Minnesota congresswoman has been leaning heavily toward a run over the past few months, visiting early primary states, raising money and railing against President Barack Obama. “We cannot risk giving President Obama four more years to dismantle our nation. We must act now,” Bachmann said in a fundraising letter sent within an hour of her entrance. “That’s why I’ve made the decision to get in this race.” She brings high energy, charisma and proven fundraising ability to the race to nominate a Republican challenger to Obama.
Gardner, lead singer for Coasters, dies at 83
13 Jun 2011 at 11:36pm
Carl Gardner, lead singer for the hit-making ’50s vocal act the Coasters, died Sunday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., at age 83, according to reports Monday.Variety magazine’s website said Gardner had been suffering from congestive heart failure and vascular dementia. In 1987, Gardner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the Coasters became the first vocal group drafted by the Cleveland institution, Variety’s website said. Gardner split lead duties with Bobby Nunn on such chart hits as “Yakkety Yak” (a No. 1 pop entry in 1958), “Along Came Jones,” “Poison Ivy” and “Charlie Brown,” Variety reported. The hits dried up for the Coasters in the mid-’60s.
GOP rivals rip Obama at debate
13 Jun 2011 at 11:36pm
Republican White House hopefuls condemned President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy from the opening moments of their first major debate of the campaign season Monday night, and pledged emphatically to repeal his historic year-old health care overhaul. “When 14 million Americans are out of work, we need a new president to end the Obama Depression,” declared former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the first among seven contenders on stage to criticize the president’s economic policies. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, invited as an unannounced contender for the 2012 nomination, upstaged her rivals for a moment, using a nationwide television audience to announce she had filed papers earlier in the day to run — a disclosure in keeping with a feisty style she has employed in a bid to become a favorite of Tea Party voters. (More details, A4)Obama was hundreds of miles away on a day in which he blended a pledge to help companies create jobs in North Carolina with a series of campaign fundraisers in Florida. The New Hampshire event unfolded more than six months before the state hosts the first primary of the 2012 campaign, and the Republicans who shared a stage were plainly more interested in criticizing Obama than one another.
Woman swindled out of $17,000
13 Jun 2011 at 8:26pm
A 71-year-old woman was swindled out of $17,000 last month by scam artists who persuaded her to withdraw money from her credit union account, the Columbia Police Department has reported.The woman met the two suspects on the afternoon of May 24 as she was leaving the Kmart on Fort Jackson Boulevard, the police department reported. A man showed the senior citizen a bag of money and said that it had fallen off a truck. He and the female suspect said they would split the cash with the older woman if she would help pay the taxes on it, the police said.The victim drove the female suspect to a Palmetto Citizens Credit Union on Millwood Avenue where the older woman withdrew $17,000 from her account, police reported. They then drove to a parking lot at a Devine Street business where they were supposed to meet the male suspect. The female suspect said she would go find the male suspect and walked away with the money, the police said.Anyone with information on the suspects should call Crime Stoppers at (888) 274-6372.
Suspect arrested in armed robbery
13 Jun 2011 at 8:24pm
A 22-year-old has been charged in a June 2 armed robbery at a Northeast Richland apartment complex, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced Monday.According to sheriff’s reports, Merellis Dixon Jr. and another suspect, who is still at large, allegedly knocked on the victim’s door at Greenbrier Apartments, on Willow Oak Drive, around 1:15 p.m. When the victim answered the door, the suspects demanded money from him at gunpoint. They then assaulted the victim in the upper body before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of money and a wallet.Dixon was arrested by the Sheriff’s Department’s Fugitive Task Force and faces armed robbery, kidnapping, and burglary charges.Anyone with information about the second suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 274-6372.
Relative: Woman with trail of dead husbands dies
13 Jun 2011 at 7:14pm
An elderly grandmother who left a trail of five dead husbands in five states over decades has died, leaving a longer trail of questions for survivors of her spouses that might never be answered.Betty Neumar, 79, died late Sunday or early Monday in a hospital in Louisiana after an illness, her son-in-law Terry Sanders told The Associated Press."She was tough country girl and fought through a lot of pain," said Sanders, who has been married 38 years to Neumar's daughter.Authorities in North Carolina said they planned to look into her death. She was free on $300,000 bond on three counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder in the 1986 death of her fourth husband, Harold Gentry. Her trial was postponed numerous times since her arrest in 2008."We're going to make sure we examine the death certificate," said Sheriff Rick Burris of Stanly County, N.C.
College of Charleston keeps in-state tuition flat
13 Jun 2011 at 5:24pm
The College of Charleston is opting not to change tuition for in-state students this year.The school says its board of trustees did vote Monday to raise tuition prices for out-of-state students by 5 percent. South Carolina students will pay just under $10,000 this coming year. Out-of-state students will pay more than $24,000.Board chairman Greg Padgett says the school is trying to be sensitive to economic challenges being felt by families around the country. The board meets again June 30 to approve a final budget for the coming academic year.Last year, the college raised in-state tuition by nearly 15 percent and upped out-of-state tuition by 6 percent. College president George Benson said those increases were needed because of big cuts in state funding for the school.
Work begins on turning Confederate sub upright
13 Jun 2011 at 2:39pm
Work begins this week on turning the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley upright to try to find out why it sank off Charleston in 1864.The Hunley is the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship. It has been in a sling on its side at a North Charleston conservation lab since it was raised more than a decade ago.Officials with the Hunley project said Monday the vessel will be raised Wednesday from its tank of water. The process of turning the Hunley upright begins next week.Turning the vessel upright will expose sections of the hull not seen since before the vessel sank. Scientists hope that will help solve the mystery of why the hand-cranked sub sank after sinking a Union blockade ship.
Man wanted in 1996 La. killing arrested in SC
11 Jun 2011 at 6:17pm
A nearly 15-year search for the person who killed a U.S. Marshals Service employee at a Louisiana hotel ended with an arrest in South Carolina, authorities said.Haywood Devonne Bolton III was arrested Friday in Spartanburg County. Marshals said he killed 48-year-old Hiram "Bill" Morrical as he checked into a Bossier City, La., hotel with his wife in October 1996.Several cold case task forces have reviewed the case over the past 14 years. But a group of marshals working with prosecutors and police in Bossier City found information that led to two accomplices in the past week who identified Bolton as the shooter, the Marshals Service said Saturday in a press release."The hard work and dedication of every law enforcement agency handling this case should be commended," said Kelvin Washington, U.S. Marshal for the District of South Carolina.Morrical lived in Pasadena, Texas, and was traveling to Shreveport to install a computer system for the U.S. Marshals office. He worked in information technology and didn't carry a gun or have the power to arrest.
Flag Day: American flag etiquette
14 Jun 2011 at 10:33am
Jaye Bennett waves an American flag as she listens to speakers during a Tea Party rally at the State House, Monday, April 18, 2011. - Gerry Melendez, The StateFlag Day stems from several movements to set aside a day to honor the flag, including a leading effort by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a fraternal order dating back to the 19th century. In 1911 the group's governing body made it mandatory that all lodges to observe June 14 as the anniversary of the country's adoption of the 13-star flag.Years later in 1949, then-President Harry Truman, himself an Elk, signed an act of Congress that established the national Flag Day.Tips on how to properly display an American flag:-Flag must be lighted at all times by sunlight or appropriate source. -Must never be "dipped" or nodded to any person or thing. -Flown upside down only as signal of distress. -Must not be used for decoration in general. -Never used in advertising purposes. -Never used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except as inclusion as flag patch. -When lowered, no part must touch the ground or other object; must be received directly into waiting hands or arms. -When weathered, aged or worn out to a point it no longer fitting to fly, flag should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.
Amazon center to open by year’s end
14 Jun 2011 at 10:26am
Online retailer Amazon plans to open its new distribution center near Cayce by Dec. 31 but the exact date is uncertain, company vice-president Paul Misener said this morning.Building the million-square-foot center is proceeding after “we slowed down things a bit” until the Legislature provided a sales tax collection exemption, he told members of the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce.The number of employees that will be hired initially also is unsettled yet, he said.Amazon must have a payroll of 2,000 by the end of 2013 under the deal it made with lawmakers to qualify for the tax break.The company also is “putting down roots” in South Carolina, he said.
Animals moved as SC shelter dispute goes to court
14 Jun 2011 at 8:39am
About 70 animals from a Williamsburg County animal shelter have been taken to Charleston while a court case over the shelter's operations proceeds.The Post and Courier of Charleston reported that a Williamsburg County magistrate allowed the animals to be taken to Charleston earlier this month. But Magistrate William Driggers has set a hearing for next week on whether conditions in the shelter justify getting the dogs and cats back.The shelter board and Williamsburg County have clashed over its operations in the past.The county recently canceled an agreement that allowed the shelter board to set policy and sign up volunteers to work at the shelter.
Ex-SC police officer sues, says was forced to quit
14 Jun 2011 at 8:34am
A former North Myrtle Beach police officer has filed a lawsuit saying he was forced to resign after his bosses accused him of leaking confidential information about the 2009 Horry County wildfire.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported Tuesday that Randy Fisher is seeking an unspecified judgment that would include lost wages, benefits and attorney's fees. No trial date has been scheduledFisher says he was forced to quit Nov. 12. The newspaper reported that in a taped conversation from that day, assistant city manager Steve Thomas accused Fisher of trying to embarrass officials by leaking information on the city's response to the fire that destroyed about 75 homes.Fisher denied the claim and offered to take a lie detector test.City officials wouldn't discuss the lawsuit.
Woman gets 21 years in shooting of Spartanburg man
14 Jun 2011 at 7:59am
A woman has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for the 2008 shooting of a Spartanburg man.Prosecutor Barry Barnette says 38-year-old Wanda Denise Brown of Gaffney was sentenced Monday in Spartanburg. She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter earlier this year, saying she acted in self-defense.Brown originally was charged with murder in the shooting death of 53-year-old Richard Bryant. Authorities said Bryant was shot once in the chest with a .22 caliber rifle and died at the scene.Authorities say Brown told them Bryant was at her home, had tried to choke her and had hit her repeatedly. Investigators say Brown had walked past an exterior door to grab the gun and could have chosen to leave instead of shooting Bryant.
SC electric bus completes $30M investment deal
14 Jun 2011 at 7:49am
An electric bus manufacturer in Greenville says a $30 million investment will allow it to resume hiring.Company president Jeff Granato said Monday the new investment led by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers also allows Proterra LLC to settle with suppliers.Granato said in April that Proterra had signed a document laying out the terms for the cash infusion that would allow it to separate itself from an earlier investor who pleaded guilty in March to fraud and conspiracy. Prosecutors say Francisco Illarramendi transferred money among investment accounts without telling clients and falsified documents to deceive investors.For now, Proterra is building its EcoRide BE35 buses in a temporary facility. Proterra plans to build a permanent facility at Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research.
Charleston County schools cutting 70 jobs
14 Jun 2011 at 7:14am
Charleston County school officials say they will eliminate 70 jobs for the coming school year in order to deal with budget cuts.The school district said Monday that the reductions will save more than $2 million.The jobs being eliminated include 24 instructional coordinators who work as curriculum coaches for teachers. Nineteen mechanics are also being laid off. Other jobs being eliminated include secretaries, technicians and an associate superintendent.Chief Financial Officer Mike Bobby says district leaders worked to find other jobs for the 70 employees and were able to make offers to most of the employees.
Record number of applications for SC gator hunting
14 Jun 2011 at 6:54am
South Carolina wildlife officials say they've received a record number of applications for alligator hunting licenses.The Post and Courier of Charleston reported that the Natural Resources Department said more than 4,000 applications have been received so far. Wednesday is the deadline to pay $10 to apply for a license for this fall's season.Only 1,200 applications will be approved. The agency uses a computer program to select the winners, though the program gives a bonus to those who have applied unsuccessfully in the past.Those selected must pay $100 for the alligator hunting license.South Carolina's month-long alligator hunting season opens Sept. 10.
SC transportation commissioner criticizes meeting
14 Jun 2011 at 6:29am
A member of the governing board of the South Carolina Transportation Department says she will skip a private dinner for the panel this week.The State newspaper reported that Sarah Nuckles of Rock Hill said she will not attend the dinner Wednesday night at Lake Murray at the home of Transportation Secretary Robert St. Onge. The meeting comes the night before the board's meeting.Nuckles says she thinks the gathering violates the state's opening meetings law.DOT Spokesman Pete Poore says St. Onge is paying for the dinner at his home and no business will be conducted.Columbia media attorney Jay Bender says the gathering would violate the Freedom of Information Act unless the agency provides at least 24-hour notice.
Haley decries ‘dysfunctional’ federal government in national TV app...
14 Jun 2011 at 12:04am
Appearing on a national TV panel this morning, Gov. Nikki Haley predicted it will take “deep spending cuts and spending caps going forward” for the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate and President Barack Obama, a Democrat, to reach an agreement to raise the federal debt limit.Haley appeared on a town hall meeting as part of CBS News’ “The Early Show” with fellow Republicans U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, U.S. Rep. Tom Ryan of Wisconsin and U.S. Rep. Allen West of Florida.Haley decried Washington as “just dysfunctional right now,” appealing for fewer federal mandates that require states to spend money on health care for the poor, through Medicaid, or on prescribed educational efforts.“D.C. is -- is totally -- in chaos. And has -- is just-- not doing anything,” Haley said. “The states can’t wait. We have to lead. And so, what I would beg of both the Congress and the Senate ... is give us flexibility. Quit mandating any ... spending down. Medicaid alone is a quarter of South Carolina’s budget. Give us the ability to decide what the health care needs are of our citizens. When it comes to any education mandates, let us decide how to educate our kids. When it comes to any of the health care, let us decide our health care.”Other highlights of Haley’s comments included:
Bachmann enters GOP presidential race
13 Jun 2011 at 11:36pm
Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, an outspoken Republican with close ties to the tea party, announced Monday that she is running for president, a candidacy that could further shake up a volatile fight for the GOP nomination. The first female contender to enter the 2012 race, Bachmann announced her bid during a Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire. The third-term Minnesota congresswoman has been leaning heavily toward a run over the past few months, visiting early primary states, raising money and railing against President Barack Obama. “We cannot risk giving President Obama four more years to dismantle our nation. We must act now,” Bachmann said in a fundraising letter sent within an hour of her entrance. “That’s why I’ve made the decision to get in this race.” She brings high energy, charisma and proven fundraising ability to the race to nominate a Republican challenger to Obama.
Gardner, lead singer for Coasters, dies at 83
13 Jun 2011 at 11:36pm
Carl Gardner, lead singer for the hit-making ’50s vocal act the Coasters, died Sunday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., at age 83, according to reports Monday.Variety magazine’s website said Gardner had been suffering from congestive heart failure and vascular dementia. In 1987, Gardner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the Coasters became the first vocal group drafted by the Cleveland institution, Variety’s website said. Gardner split lead duties with Bobby Nunn on such chart hits as “Yakkety Yak” (a No. 1 pop entry in 1958), “Along Came Jones,” “Poison Ivy” and “Charlie Brown,” Variety reported. The hits dried up for the Coasters in the mid-’60s.
GOP rivals rip Obama at debate
13 Jun 2011 at 11:36pm
Republican White House hopefuls condemned President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy from the opening moments of their first major debate of the campaign season Monday night, and pledged emphatically to repeal his historic year-old health care overhaul. “When 14 million Americans are out of work, we need a new president to end the Obama Depression,” declared former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the first among seven contenders on stage to criticize the president’s economic policies. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, invited as an unannounced contender for the 2012 nomination, upstaged her rivals for a moment, using a nationwide television audience to announce she had filed papers earlier in the day to run — a disclosure in keeping with a feisty style she has employed in a bid to become a favorite of Tea Party voters. (More details, A4)Obama was hundreds of miles away on a day in which he blended a pledge to help companies create jobs in North Carolina with a series of campaign fundraisers in Florida. The New Hampshire event unfolded more than six months before the state hosts the first primary of the 2012 campaign, and the Republicans who shared a stage were plainly more interested in criticizing Obama than one another.
Woman swindled out of $17,000
13 Jun 2011 at 8:26pm
A 71-year-old woman was swindled out of $17,000 last month by scam artists who persuaded her to withdraw money from her credit union account, the Columbia Police Department has reported.The woman met the two suspects on the afternoon of May 24 as she was leaving the Kmart on Fort Jackson Boulevard, the police department reported. A man showed the senior citizen a bag of money and said that it had fallen off a truck. He and the female suspect said they would split the cash with the older woman if she would help pay the taxes on it, the police said.The victim drove the female suspect to a Palmetto Citizens Credit Union on Millwood Avenue where the older woman withdrew $17,000 from her account, police reported. They then drove to a parking lot at a Devine Street business where they were supposed to meet the male suspect. The female suspect said she would go find the male suspect and walked away with the money, the police said.Anyone with information on the suspects should call Crime Stoppers at (888) 274-6372.
Suspect arrested in armed robbery
13 Jun 2011 at 8:24pm
A 22-year-old has been charged in a June 2 armed robbery at a Northeast Richland apartment complex, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced Monday.According to sheriff’s reports, Merellis Dixon Jr. and another suspect, who is still at large, allegedly knocked on the victim’s door at Greenbrier Apartments, on Willow Oak Drive, around 1:15 p.m. When the victim answered the door, the suspects demanded money from him at gunpoint. They then assaulted the victim in the upper body before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of money and a wallet.Dixon was arrested by the Sheriff’s Department’s Fugitive Task Force and faces armed robbery, kidnapping, and burglary charges.Anyone with information about the second suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 274-6372.
Relative: Woman with trail of dead husbands dies
13 Jun 2011 at 7:14pm
An elderly grandmother who left a trail of five dead husbands in five states over decades has died, leaving a longer trail of questions for survivors of her spouses that might never be answered.Betty Neumar, 79, died late Sunday or early Monday in a hospital in Louisiana after an illness, her son-in-law Terry Sanders told The Associated Press."She was tough country girl and fought through a lot of pain," said Sanders, who has been married 38 years to Neumar's daughter.Authorities in North Carolina said they planned to look into her death. She was free on $300,000 bond on three counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder in the 1986 death of her fourth husband, Harold Gentry. Her trial was postponed numerous times since her arrest in 2008."We're going to make sure we examine the death certificate," said Sheriff Rick Burris of Stanly County, N.C.
College of Charleston keeps in-state tuition flat
13 Jun 2011 at 5:24pm
The College of Charleston is opting not to change tuition for in-state students this year.The school says its board of trustees did vote Monday to raise tuition prices for out-of-state students by 5 percent. South Carolina students will pay just under $10,000 this coming year. Out-of-state students will pay more than $24,000.Board chairman Greg Padgett says the school is trying to be sensitive to economic challenges being felt by families around the country. The board meets again June 30 to approve a final budget for the coming academic year.Last year, the college raised in-state tuition by nearly 15 percent and upped out-of-state tuition by 6 percent. College president George Benson said those increases were needed because of big cuts in state funding for the school.
Work begins on turning Confederate sub upright
13 Jun 2011 at 2:39pm
Work begins this week on turning the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley upright to try to find out why it sank off Charleston in 1864.The Hunley is the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship. It has been in a sling on its side at a North Charleston conservation lab since it was raised more than a decade ago.Officials with the Hunley project said Monday the vessel will be raised Wednesday from its tank of water. The process of turning the Hunley upright begins next week.Turning the vessel upright will expose sections of the hull not seen since before the vessel sank. Scientists hope that will help solve the mystery of why the hand-cranked sub sank after sinking a Union blockade ship.
Man wanted in 1996 La. killing arrested in SC
11 Jun 2011 at 6:17pm
A nearly 15-year search for the person who killed a U.S. Marshals Service employee at a Louisiana hotel ended with an arrest in South Carolina, authorities said.Haywood Devonne Bolton III was arrested Friday in Spartanburg County. Marshals said he killed 48-year-old Hiram "Bill" Morrical as he checked into a Bossier City, La., hotel with his wife in October 1996.Several cold case task forces have reviewed the case over the past 14 years. But a group of marshals working with prosecutors and police in Bossier City found information that led to two accomplices in the past week who identified Bolton as the shooter, the Marshals Service said Saturday in a press release."The hard work and dedication of every law enforcement agency handling this case should be commended," said Kelvin Washington, U.S. Marshal for the District of South Carolina.Morrical lived in Pasadena, Texas, and was traveling to Shreveport to install a computer system for the U.S. Marshals office. He worked in information technology and didn't carry a gun or have the power to arrest.