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Gullah-Geechee Corridor taking its place in history (Audio)

April 12, 2010 By

Last week, the part of the East Coast called the Gullah Geechee Cultural Corridor was represented at the Organization of American History. The corridor is now protected and preserved through the National Park Service.

Of the 40 government-run Heritage Corridors in the United States, this is the first and only one dedicated to preserving the heritage and culture of African Americans. The Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor runs along the coast -from above Wilmington, NC to Jacksonville, Florida.

Now that the corridor is part of the Parks Service, Michael Allen of the Parks Service has to report on how this historical culture is being preserved on the local level.

(Listen to selection of Allen’s interview with SCRN’s Ashley Byrd MP3 3:35)
Listen to selection of Allen’s interview with SCRN’s Ashley Byrd MP3

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government

SC to pursue round two funding for Race to the Top

April 12, 2010 By

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex says that South Carolina will participate in the second round of competition for federal Race to the Top grants. South Carolina was named as one of 16 finalists in the first round. The state’s final scores ranked sixth among those finalists, but only two winners – Delaware and Tennessee – were named as Round 1 winners. The finalists sent teams to Washington in March to make in-person presentations to the judges.

Now, SC will modify its presentation — for the Round 2 cap is $175 million.

“We know from our Round 1 scores – from the fact that we ranked so highly – that we’re on the right track,” Rex says.

Rex says his office is meeting in the coming weeks with teachers, administrators, legislators, business leaders and the Governor’s Office. States must apply for the second round by June 1. Final award announcements are in September.

Rex says that even if South Carolina wins a Round 2 award, the grant funds would be directed at specific initiatives detailed in the state’s application and could not be used to blunt the impact of more than $700 million in budget cuts to public schools over the past 19 months.

Filed Under: Education, News

WWII veterans share excitement about Honor Flight

April 12, 2010 By

The Honor Flight is gearing up for the next trip to take veterans to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.  The memorial honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and those who supported the war effort from home. 

There are 114 veterans and 70 guardians scheduled to be on the next flight from South Carolina on April 21. Richard Morton served in the Navy in the Philippines.  Morton says this trip means a lot.

I think it’s great.  I really do. I met Mr. Dukes out there a while ago. It’s just great seeing them doing this.  Not that we deserve it.  It’s nice, though to get the recognition.  Sure is… it’s great.

The memorial opened to the public in April, six years ago.  Veteran Gordon Leslie from Newberry survived an enemy attack in Japan. 

Suicide plane hit my ship. There were four of us from Newberry that went in together and stayed together.   One on the deck above me got killed, one on the deck below me got killed. The other fella and I were on the deck the plane hit.

Leslie recalls the day he lost his friends.

April the 12th is the day that we got hit at Okinawa.  And the first announcement I heard on the transport ship that I was transported through, was that President Roosevelt died that day.

Gordon Leslie can’t wait to go:

Well, I’d been to Washington a long, long time ago.  But I hadn’t been there since they had the monument up there, and I’m looking forward to it.

Honor Flights began as a small way to show appreciation and to assist the WWII veterans with free flights to visit the memorial.  For more information go online to www.honorflightsc.com

Filed Under: Human Interest, Military, News

Local school districts feeling the pain of state cuts (Audio)

April 12, 2010 By

A large rally will be held at the Statehouse on Wednesday in support of public education funding, which is facing drastic budget cuts. The “Enough is Enough!” rally will bring together at least 14 non-governmental organizations, including school administrators from around the state.

One of those attending will be Kershaw County Superintendent Frank Morgan. The Kershaw school district, which serves the Camden community, has faced great difficulties and the local board has even considered closing a school this year.

Morgan says the district’s budget at the beginning of 2008 was more than $72 million. That dropped in one year to $66 million, and it’s now $62 million. The prediction for next year is $60 million.

(Morgan on budget cuts  MP3  2:15)
Morgan on budget cuts

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Legislature, News

Federal court agrees to hear SC’s Yucca Mountain case

April 12, 2010 By

South Carolina has gained ground in its fight to keep Yucca Mountain open for nuclear waste. President Obama has withdrawn the Department of Energy permit request to open the site to take spent fuel from across the nation.

A federal court of appeals has agreed to fast-track the state’s argument and combine it with others. The briefs are due today. Attorney General Henry McMaster is making the case that states need the site and DOE does not have the power alone to stop it.

The problem is that the president, as we see it, does not have the authority to do that. Now the Congress has the authority to do that because the Congress is the one that passed the law that was signed by several preceding presidents, a bunch of laws that designated Yucca Mountain to be a repository. It’s just nothing but rock and desert. It’s the best place in the country for it.

Now because the DC court will hear the case, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has paused any actions until the court has ruled.

The Attorney General considers that to be promising for the state’s case.

The state has seven nuclear reactors, plus waste generated at the Savannah River Site. The spent fuel rods are safe for now in South Carolina, says McMaster, but says that is not where they are supposed to be stored for the long term.

The state’s arguments are due today at a federal court in Washington DC as South Carolina fights for Yucca Mountain in Nevada to be the national site to store nuclear waste.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, News, Politics & Government
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