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Archives for September 2012

New Atlantic Beach mayor ready to “start the healing”

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Councilman Jake Evans is set to take office as mayor of the tiny, troubled town of Atlantic Beach, but that may not be until after Thanksgiving because a handful of lawsuits have to be resolved.

One lawsuit is by a company that says it loaned the town money to avoid bankruptcy. Another is by a former councilwoman’s husband who is employed by the town. There’s even a lawsuit by one of the losers in the mayor’s race, who is appealing the special election. Retha Pierce, a controversial figure in the town’s government, has appealed the outcome to the SC Supreme Court.

Evans calls the suits frivolous and opposes more than $13,000 of taxpayer money spent on them. He says instead it is time for healing in Atlantic Beach.

“There are a lot of serious decisions that need to be made where Atlantic Beach is concerned. You just have to get the people involved and make them feel apart to make such decision. And I know right now that they haven’t been apart for the past year,” says Evans.

Evans says the situation he is inheriting as new mayor is quote “not comfortable” after the lawsuits, cases of arrests of public officials, and a state-supervised special election.

One of the pending lawsuits was filed against Gov. Haley and the State Election Commission for imposing the special election.

“Atlantic Beach needs help. We can’t do this by ourselves. I can’t do this by myself,” says Evans. “I need the county. I need North Myrtle Beach. I need the state. And these are the same people that we’ve condemned.”

Evans wants to eliminate empty or dilapidated buildings from the beach town

Evans says one he will deal with immediately is the face of the beachfront town–which is pocked with abandoned and dilapidated buildings. This week, an empty building frequented by local homeless people burned down. Evan’s says within one year of being mayor there will be none of the eyesore buildings left.

Also, a question to be resolved is whether Atlantic Beach should become part of North Myrtle Beach, which Evans says he will leave that up to the citizens of the beachfront town that’s only point-2 square miles.

Pee Dee/Grand Strand reporter Kathy Andrews contributed to this story.

Another Benedict student arrested in 5 Points attack, USC student for gun violation

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A second man has been arrested accused of being involved in a mob beating in Five Points last weekend. John Cornelius Sumner, 21-years-old, is charged with second degree assault and battery after the Benedict College Campus Police Department located Sumner in an apartment.
   
Another Benedict student, 21-year-old Stanley McBride was arrested earlier this week in the case. Investigators has outstanding assault warrants for Michael Jermel Kendrix of Austell, Georgia, also a student at the Columbia school.

The CPD believes that all three men were involved in a fight with another male early Sunday morning in Five Points.
The suspects are accused of kicking the victim and using their fists to repeatedly punch him in the head area causing lacerations and a broken jaw.  The incident occurred at approximately 2 o’clock in the morning on Harden street Sunday, September 23, 2012.  The incident was recorded by a bystander and posted to the web, stirring more criticism of a rising crime rate in that popular area of the city.

Police says they will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and that more arrests are possible.

Thursday, in an unrelated case, a University of South Carolina student was arrested for unlawfully possessing a handgun and resisting arrest in Five Points. Twenty-year-old Joshua Isaiah Williams was arrested shortly before midnight after a call about a suspicious person in that area.  According to the police report,  they talked with Williams who gave officers consent to search him and they found a loaded .25-caliber handgun on him. Williams did not have a concealed weapons permit, nor is he of legal age to possess such a permit.

Drought officially over in Pee Dee and coastal areas

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A little over 30 percent of South Carolina is officially drought-free, according to state officials. Thanks to significant rainfall during the summer, the state Drought Response Committee has now declared that 14 counties are no longer in a state of drought.

The committee met by conference call Thursday. State climatologist Hope Mizzell says the committee lowered the drought status of 21 counties in all. “The regions that were declared in the no-drought status are primarily in the Pee Dee, as well as the coastal counties,” she told South Carolina Radio Network, “Some of the other counties were downgraded from maybe incipient or moderate.”

The counties that have been removed from drought declaration include Beaufort, Charleston, Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg.

Mizzell says the area hardest hit over the years by drought conditions is the Savannah River basin. However, the committee did see fit to lower the drought status of Abbeville, Aiken, Barnwell, Edgefield and McCormick counties from severe to moderate. Despite the change, Mizzell says the lake levels in that part of the state are still very low. “They’re not out of drought and I wouldn’t say lake levels are improving at all, but the committee decided to downgrade. (They’re) looking at the bigger picture, looking at soil moisture, crop conditions, forest fire threat, as well as the hydrologic conditions.”

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Easley teacher arrested, accused of sex with student

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An Easley High School teacher resigned and turned himself into police after being accused of having sex with a 17-year-old student.

Liberty Police said 31-year-old John Kilgallen turned himself in to the Pickens County Detention Center around 3 p.m. Thursday. A Pickens County School District spokesman said the district was notified of the offense by a parent on Monday afternoon. Kilgallen was put on administrative leave Tuesday morning, but later resigned that same day. The district said it also notified police at that time.

Kilgallen is charged with sexual battery with a student. Investigators said the sexual contact took place at Kilgallen’s home in Liberty. They said it involved a 17-year-old student who used to be in Kilgallen’s class but is no longer, though she still attends the school. Investigators said no coercion was involved and the relationship was mutual.

The penalty for conviction of sexual battery with a student is up to five years in prison.

Friday’s weather

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More sunshine for the Palmetto State for most of your Friday with a few clouds moving in to the Upstate by the afternoon hours. Highs will top in the mid to upper 80s. Overnight lows will be mild in the low to upper 60s.

Weather reports are provided by South Carolina Radio Network staff meteorologist, Tom Crawford (from WCIV-TV, Charleston).

Groups call on House Speaker to make spending records public

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House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R-Charleston) is fighting off criticism this week after his hometown Charleston Post & Courier newspaper questioned why he had reimbursed himself nearly $300,000 from his campaign funds without a full explanation.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell (File)

The newspaper said Harrell had reported receiving himself $325,000 from his campaign since 2008— often with only generic explanations, such as “legislative travel” and “staff Christmas.” However, the Associated Press later reported the amount as being $280,000 (there was no explanation of the discrepancy). The AP’s Seanna Adcox reported that Harrell had shown the news agency a list of receipts and other documents that justified the spending, but would not allow copies to be made.

Much of the costs were related to Harrell’s use of his private plane to fly to conferences and “politically-related travel,” according to his office. The AP report said the documentation the Speaker provided seemed to show that was the case.

It is against state law for a candidate to use campaign funds for their personal economic gain. However, Harrell’s office says the reimbursements were for legitimate expenses.

But several conservative groups now say Harrell should make the receipts public to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. “The Speaker really does need to… let other entities have a look at whether that documentation does indeed show that those were legitimate legislative trips,” South Carolina Policy Council President Ashley Landess told Charleston radio station WTMA Thursday, “And that every dime he paid himself was a straight reimbursement for that travel.” 

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Ghost tours now offered on retired WWII warship

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Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant has a new tour for the public that will show a more spooky side of the retired World War II aircraft carrier Yorktown.

U.S.S. Yorktown (FILE)

The Charleston Post and Courier reports the museum will begin offering ghost tours on the Yorktown this week. 141 sailors died on the ship during World War II and there are reports of unexplained noises, footsteps, and shadowy figures.

Patriots Point officials say it will be a 90-minute guided tour offered year round. It will include a short introductory video with clips from an episode of the show “Ghost Hunters” that featured the Yorktown.

Officials say they are offering the tour because of the public’s interest in the paranormal.  Plus, the ghost tour will give people a chance to see areas of the ship that are normally off-limits.

Tours start Friday evening and cost $25 per person. Advanced three-hour tours are available for experienced ghost hunters at $45 per person.

South Carolina Radio Network’s Tripp Girardeau contributed to this report.

Police officers, firefighters could pay more for pensions

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South Carolina police officers and firefighters will have to pay more towards their retirement under a plan approved by a state agency Wednesday. The Public Employee Benefits Authority (PEBA) voted unanimously to increase the amount that first responders have to contribute towards their pension each year. The proposal still has to be approved by the Budget & Control Board.

The Police Officers Retirement System (PORS) is separate from other state employees. Under a new law passed earlier this year, its retirees are now guaranteed a one percent “cost-of-living” adjustment each year. However, actuaries looking at the system told state officials that the COLA adjustment would cause PORS’s potential debt to exceed state guidelines.

As a result, PEBA voted Wednesday to raise officers’ contribution rates to 7.84 percent from 7.5 percent starting in July 2013. That would average about $126 more per employee. The cities and counties that employ them would also contribute 12.84 percent, rather than 12.5 percent.

One group that represents law enforcement said it had not been expecting the move. “It doesn’t sound like a lot of money. But when you’re talking about somebody that doesn’t make a lot of money, it’s significant,” said Jeff Moore, the executive director of the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association.

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Man arrested, two students sought in Five Points beating

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Updated case information

The Columbia Police Department says that, while overall crime is down, the amount of violent crime reported in the Five Points district has increased by 22 percent this year compared to this same time last year.

The department released the numbers a few days after a particularly violent weekend in the entertainment district near the University of South Carolina campus. That included gunshots and two mob fights. One of those fights was recorded on a cell phone Sunday morning and posted online. The video, which showed a group of black youth attacking a 21-year-old white male and cheering on the attack, led to an uproar in the Columbia community.

One man has been arrested in that incident, 21-year-old Stanley McBride. Police are also looking for two students from nearby Benedict College in relation to the attacks.

“We have to act,” Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott told reporters Tuesday. “We have to change the mindset that you can come to Five Points and victimize people.”

While Columbia police say overall crime has fallen in Five Points by 25 percent since last year, they say the amount of reported violent crime has increased by 22 percent. Sunday’s attack was the latest of several high-profile crimes in the district. It came roughly 15 months after eight black teens brutally assaulted 18-year-old Carter Strange as he jogged through the area.

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State legislator arrested for driving under suspension

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State Rep. Tracy Edge (R-North Myrtle Beach) was arrested early Thursday morning for driving with a suspended license, according to Horry County jail records.

Edge’s booking photo (Courtesy: J. Reuben Long Detention Center)

According to records from the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, Edge was booked at 4:37 a.m. and released on bail within an hour. He was charged with driving under suspension, according to the jail’s website.

Edge has represented the North Myrtle Beach area in the South Carolina House since 1997. He also works as a Vice President with Burroughs & Chapin and as a Managing Partner of Edge Holdings LLC, which owns hotels in the Grand Strand.

According to a North Myrtle Beach Police report, an officer stopped Edge after seeing his SUV leave a northbound lane of Ocean Boulevard and veer into the southbound lane, “almost colliding with my patrol vehicle.” After pulling Edge over, the officer said he discovered that the lawmaker’s license was suspended for failure to pay a traffic ticket. Edge told the officer that he had sent in the money through the mail on Monday, but did not have proof in his possession that he done so.

Edge is running for a ninth term in the House. He will face Democrat Charles Randall in November.