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Public charter high school goes online (AUDIO)

July 12, 2010 By

Reported by SCRN’s Joanne Lu

A statewide online public charter high school has completed its first year and is now going year-round. Provost Academy, a state-funded public charter high school that is run completely online, recently graduated 52 students from its senior class. With 1,500 students enrolled the first year–after expecting only 1,000–executive director, Dr. Darrell Johnson is delighted with the school’s success.

AUDIO: Online learning is expanding (:37)

Johnson has served in South Carolina’s public schools for 11 years, including as the Associate Superintendant in Charleston and the Superintendent in Orangeburg Four.

Provost Academy is one of three online high schools in the state. Students are assigned to an academic advisor, who, together with the parents and student, develops an “individualized learning plan.” Students then take courses from both “synchronous instructors,” who have a regular scheduled online class time, and “asynchronous instructors,” who are available from 8 am to 8 pm in an online forum setting. Clubs and regional activities are also organized so that parents, students, teachers, and advisors can have face time with each other.

AUDIO: Students are “technology savvy” (:14)

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, Education, News, Politics & Government

Greene to make first speech at Manning church

July 12, 2010 By

U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Alvin Greene is making his first public speaking appearance since being elected to represent the Democrats in November’s election. Alvin Greene has caused quit a bit of commotion in the Democratic Party after becoming the nominee for the senate race to face Senator Jim DeMint. Greene has been criticized for his demeanor and intelligence since winning the June 8 primary. He’s been invited to the local branch of the NAACP to speak Sunday at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Manning.

South Carolina law enforcement cleared Greene for any wrongdoing related to his campaign finances. Some Democrats wanted to know how he came up with the $10,440 filing fee to run in the primary. Police say they reviewed Greene’s records and think he saved his own money to pay for the filing fee.

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government

DJJ programs have reduced juvenile crime rate (AUDIO)

July 12, 2010 By

(This is the second segment of a two-part story on DJJ)

Even with all the cuts that the Department of Juvenile Justice has faced over the last two years, the agency is seeing success in its mission, mainly due to two programs.

DJJ Director Bill Byars, commonly called “Judge Byars” since he once served as a family court judge, has led the agency for the past seven years. He says the effectiveness of the programs is reflected in the fact that the juvenile crime rate is down 30 percent, nine percent more than the previous year.  He says that has been reflected in a drop in the number of referrals or warrants.

Byars says the Intensive Supervision For Released Offenders program is working wonders, focusing on kids who have been released, to keep them from going back to DJJ or going to prision. He says too many kids were returning and an answer was needed.  Byars says the key to the program are the case workers, who work with the youth intensly, and the families.

AUDIO: Byars on DJJ programs (6:11)

Also, the state’s wilderness camps, run by Clemson University, now house youth whose main issue is that they couldn’t stay in school, so they don’t have to be kept in the tougher lockup facilities.

Byars says his agency will oversee 30 percent or 20,000 fewer juveniles this year than when he took over the agency. Seven years ago there were 90 females in lockup behind razor wire. Now there are only a dozen. The number of youthful offenders locked up now is one-third less than it was a year ago.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News

Police searched for kidnapping suspect in Newberry Co. (AUDIO)

July 12, 2010 By

The vehicle believed to be connected to an Amber Alert issued in Green County, Tennessee Sunday was spotted by authorities on I-26 in Newberry County Monday morning. The suspect is still at learge but the child was later found.

Authorities believe the suspects who kidnapped a 7-month-old boy in East Tennessee were headed in the direction of Georgia or Florida, but the Dodge Intrepid stolen from the child’s mother was found abandoned by a state trooper just after 8 a.m. Monday in South Carolina.

Newberry deputies searched the area, looking for 35-year-old David Jackson, a black male who is 6 feet 2 inches tall, who Tennessee investigators say has a violent criminal history.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News

Physician: Cautious use of diet supplements advised

July 12, 2010 By

The searing summer heat is now in full force, and coupled with heavy humidity, conditions are hardly bearable. Many beat the heat by heading to the beach or swimming pool. And in order to fit into that new swimsuit, adults and teens are turning to diet supplements to help shed those unwanted pounds. Dr. Elizabeth Mack of Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital says these supplements are definitely not for children, and even adults and teens should be very careful using these diet supplements while exercising and out in the heat.

“The herbal teas and weight loss products, many are not regulated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) though we know a lot of them contain stimulants such as caffeine.”

Mack says stimulants like caffeine cause the body to secrete water at a more rapid rate. Especially in the extreme heat, the body becomes dehydrated very quickly, rendering a person more susceptible to heat injuries, including the shutdown of vital organs that could prove fatal.

Mack says because of the stimulants contained in various diet supplements, a number of teens and adults “seeking a buzz” are using the over-the-counter supplements, but not for dieting. “Certainly teenagers use these as recreational drugs, but they have also been used as weight loss supplements intentionally or unintentionally, and this is definitely not safe for the young child and even, depending on the product, possibly the teenager or the adult.”

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, News
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