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Historic Charleston Foundation has salvage sale, 20 yrs after Hugo

September 21, 2009 By

The Historic Charleston Foundation had a different kind of garage sale Saturday. Just before Monday’s 20th year anniversary of the destruction delivered by Hurricane Hugo, the Foundation offered a rare opportunity for the public to purchase damaged materials left by the storm.

Architects, decorators and homeowners flocked in to buy up salvaged materials like doors, windows and shutters, all considered historical property.

The materials were collected by volunteers as the debris was discarded from historic houses and cast to the curb in the days following the 1989 storm. Volunteer students came from USC as well as from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for up to two weeks following Hugo to help with the collection effort.

Leigh Handal withthe Foundation says an important mission of her organization is historic preservation, and she says the architectural elements sale is in keeping with that mission. It’s historical recycling.  “The sale was important because it gave these pieces, remnants, if you will, a chance at a second life.  History shouldn’t be stored beneath glass or out of sight. It should be used as part of today’s life, a bridge between the 20 century and the 18th or 19th century.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Accidents & Disasters, Human Interest, News

Gang-fighting grants coming to SC

September 21, 2009 By

The US Attorney’s office has received grants totaling $226,000 to assist local and state law enforcement in fighting gangs.

Kevin McDonald with the US Attorney’s Office says the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division will receive more than $75,000.  “SLED is using the money for a gang-network conference for the entire state. The Spartanburg Department fo Public Safety will use their $50,000 share to equip a gun-reduction office.” 

The grants are being administered by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Office of Justice Program. Project Ceasefire is South Carolina’s implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national federal initiative designed to reduce gun violence.

McDonald says the largest grant will go to Barnwell County.  “The Barnwell County Sheriff’s Department will receive a grant for more than $97,000 for a program they call G-Force, where they train officers to reduce gang crime.”

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News

Heavy rains cause upstate flooding

September 21, 2009 By

Flooding caused by heavy rain forced officials in the upstate to close approximately 30 roads, and forecasters say residents will have to wait before there will be any relief.

County officials report flooding in Oconee county which sparked voluntary evacuations and delayed the start of school today. One of the biggest concerns was motorists trying to cross flooded roadways.

Eric Lutz,,chief of Emergency Operations for the county siad, “The major concern, often times, is people not being educated on what to do when they come to water, or thinking their vehicle can make it through the water. And unfortunately it doesn’t take that much water flowing across the roadway to move a car off of the roadway and into the flood waters.”

While officials reported no injuries, there were two instances in which people had to be rescued from their homes. One homeowner recalls that she hasn’t seen rain like this in a long time. “The last time we did evacuate and it wasn’t this bad. Maybe we should have this time, but, it’s so hard to leave your home.”

The National Weather Service says nearly 8 and 1/2 inches of rain fell in the Walhalla area of Oconee County in a 24-hour period ending 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Filed Under: Accidents & Disasters, Human Interest, News, Weather

Graham prepared to support Obama on Afghanistan

September 21, 2009 By

Appearing on NBC”s “Meet The Press” Sunday South Carolina U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham stated that in order for the U.S. military to have sustained success in Afghanistan more troops are needed and though it may not be a popular stance among the American people, he is willing to support President Barack Obama if he calls for those troops.

“The key to us leaving with security and honor is to put pressure on the Karsi government. I want to help this president do the things we need to do, stand up to a skeptical public, and I understand why people are skeptical. I will be one republican standing by this president. We will not do to him what they (democrats) did to Bush. This is not Obama ‘s war in Afghanistan, this is America’s war and there is a way to win it according to our commanders.”  
 
Graham says he thought then candidate Obama was right during the presidential when he said that American forces needed to focus not on Iraq, but Afghanistan which he believed is the central front on the war on terror because it is the place where we were attacked. It’s the place we can’t let go bad again.

“We can never let al-Qaida or the Taliban come back because it would destabilize Pakistan. During the campaign when he was trying to say we need to get out of Iraq, he was saying we need to get deeper involved in Afghanistan. He is right now. the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated. His rhetoric during the campaign is just as true then as it is now. I am convinced that a number of coalition forces, with the current state of the Afghan army, can never regain lost momentum.”   

Graham says it is imperative that troop numbers and resources be stepped up in Afghanistan in order to protect America’s security. “Admiral Mullen said we’re losing momentum in Afghanistan. We need more resources. We have a strategy we started in March. It’s the counterinsurgency that has not been properly resourced. I don’t believe it’s possible to turn around Afghanistan without more American combat power somewhere in the area of 40,000 troops.”

Filed Under: Military, News, Politics & Government

Graham says citizens not buying the president’s “hard sell”

September 21, 2009 By

South Carolina U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham appeared on NBC’s “Meet The Press” Sunday morning saying that President Barack Obama’s media blitz selling his health care reform plan is a bit too much. Graham says American citizens are wary of Obama’s plan and are viewing it with a healthy skepticism.

“The president is selling something that the American people are frankly not buying. He’s been on everything but the Food Channel. Last week he was addressing the nation. His problem is when he says the public option want affect your health care choice, people don’t believe that. They think that if the government gets involved in private health care, that the health care they’ve got will be compromised.”

Graham says contrary to what the president says, his plan will add to a rising federal budget deficit. “When he says it won’t add a penny to the deficit then the next sentence out his mouth, “if it does we’ll pull a trigger to stop the spending.” We’ve never pull any triggers on any other bills. When he talks about how you pay it that we’re going get a $300 billion dollar savings from Medicare and Medicaid. We’ve never done that before so the problem with the president is that he’s saying things that the people want to hear, it want add to the deficit, you want be asked to give up your own health care, but when you look at the details it just doesn’t add up.”

Graham says he is glad to see that the President is using a more conciliatory tone now than he did during  his speech to the joint session of Congress, but more substantive debate is needed before a compromise plan can be hammered out. “But this is not about tone, this is about policy. This is not about race, it’s about the president selling something that people inherently believes sounds to good and doesn’t add up.”

Graham said Congressman Joe Wilson’s was wrong in yelling “you lie” at the president, but he disagreed with the House vote to censure him. Graham said Wilson apologized to the White House shortly after the speech and that should have been enough.

Filed Under: Economy, Health & Medicine, News, Politics & Government
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