2015 Weekly Newspaper Awards Presentation

WEEKLY & ASSOCIATE MEMBER
AWARDS LUNCHEON
& HALL OF FAME PRESENTATION
Recognizing the best in S.C. newspaper journalism

“As a superb craftsman, he asked of himself and others an unerring accuracy in the journalism of fact. As a
Renaissance thinker, he pursued truth and wisdom with meticulous diligence in the journalism of opinion.”
– Editorial, The Columbia Record, 1977

See page 8 for full NecrologySee page 8 for full Necrology
Remembering Those We’ve Lost...Remembering Those We’ve Lost...
William Magill “Bill” Owens
Mel Derrick
Ken Burger
Henriette Dargan Hampton Morris
Jerry Phifer McGuire

TABLOID PAGE ONE DESIGN PORTFOLIO
OpenDivision
THIRD PLACE:
The Fort Jackson Leader
Wallace McBride
★ POST SCHOOL
WINS NATIONAL
RECOGNITION
— PAGE 3
SOLDIERS TRADE
PUNCHES AT
BOXING SMOKER
— PAGES 12-13
FORT JACKSON
WELCOMES HOME
VIETNAM VETERANS
— PAGE 3

OpenDivision
SECOND PLACE:
Greenville Journal
Whitney Fincannon
GREENVILLEJOURNAL
FOR HOME DELIVERY
CALL 864.679.1200
READ ONLINE AT
GREENVILLE
JOURNAL.COM
$1.00GREENVILLEJOURNAL.COM • Friday, January 23, 2015 • Vol.17, No.4
BEHIND
THE
BARSNearly half of the inmates in
Greenville County need mental
health care, while the state’s
budget has been slashed –
and communities are
looking for solutions
Page 8
Your savings federally insured to at least $250,000
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NCUA©2014, Greenville Federal Credit Union. All rights reserved. Member NCUA.
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2014 saw $100 million in
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in Greenville—how will
downtown change in 2015?
JANUARY 30, 2015 | VOL. 4 ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 19, 2014 | VOL. 3 ISSUE 51
LEADING
THE PACKClemson head coach Dabo Swinney, Furman
president Elizabeth Davis and other Upstate
leaders share the lessons and philosophies that
help them forge winning teams

OpenDivision
FIRST PLACE:
Greenville Journal
Kristy Adair
contest.allentate.com
WinanInsider’sTourof Bank of America Stadium!
No purchase is required. Contest is open to NC and SC residents who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.
Guests must be age 5 or older. Limit one entry per person. Visit contest.allentate.com to see the complete rules.
GREENVILLEJOURNAL.COM • Friday, October 16, 2015 • Vol.17, No.42
GREENVILLEJOURNAL
SOUL MANFriar Patrick Tuttle seeks to strengthen the community that won his heart
Page 8
FOR HOME DELIVERY
CALL 864.679.1200
READ ONLINE AT
GREENVILLE
JOURNAL.COM
$1.00
Legal Extra: Greenville County
Tax Sale Notices included
in this issue
STATE OF SC
COUNTY OF GREENVILLE
INSERT INCLUDED INSIDE
GHS, legislators decide
to keep talking
Page 5
INSIDE THE UBJ
OCTOBER 16, 2015 | VOL. 4 ISSUE 42
For more than 50 years, Barbara League
has led the way for Upstate women
in manufacturing — and the next
generation is on its way up pg 14
WOMEN’S WORK
Focus on women
in manufacturing
WILL CROOKS / CONTRIBUTING
GREENVILLEJOURNAL.COM • Friday, June 26, 2015 • Vol.17, No.26
GREENVILLEJOURNAL
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‘Hate won’t win’
South Carolina, Upstate unite in aftermath of
Charleston church shootings Page 8
FOR HOME DELIVERY
CALL 864.679.1200
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GREENVILLEJOURNAL.COM • Friday, October 9, 2015 • Vol.17, No.41
GREENVILLEJOURNAL
SUNDAY
SURVIVORS
Stories and photos from Cancer Survivors
Park show that the disease can be
“the beginning of a new way of living”
Page 21
PHOTOS BY MARK KIRBY
FOR HOME DELIVERY
CALL 864.679.1200
READ ONLINE AT
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$1.00

CARTOON
OpenDivision
THIRD PLACE:
News-Chronicle
Mike Beckom

ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER/PUBLICATION
Associate&IndividualMemberDivision
SECOND PLACE:
S.C. United
Methodist Advocate
Jessica Brodie and
Matt Brodie

ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER/PUBLICATION
FIRST PLACE:
Charleston Regional
Business Journal
Staff

EVENT MARKETING
FIRST PLACE ONLY:
Charleston Regional
Business Journal
Jane Mattingly
Sponsored by
Honor the
Heroes
Among Us!
Heroes were honored in the
following categories:
Volunteer
Community Outreach
First Responder
Nurse
Physician
Health Care Researcher
Health Care Professional
Service/Therapy Animal
Trident Construction
Health Care Engineer
This event took
place on
Thursday,
November 19, 2015
at the
Francis Marion Hotel
H
ealth Care Heroes honors the everyday heroes who are liv-
ing and working in the Lowcountry with recognition in this
special section, online and during an annual event. Each
year the Charleston Regional Business Journal and its partners holdsl
Health Care Heroes to create a special moment for those who rarely
get thanked for the difficult tasks of keeping our community, families,
employees and businesses safe.
This year’s event honored selfless work in the medical, public
safety and health sectors. Picking winners each year continues to be a
daunting task for the judges because everyone nominated is, in many
ways, deserving of recognition. We present awards in nine categories,
including two honorees and the Health Care Hero in each category.
In the following pages, you will read about all of those honored
and learn what they have done in our community and beyond. Three
judges independently scored nominations in each category: Commu-
nity Outreach, Physician, Nurse, Volunteer, Health Care Professional,
Health Care Researcher, First Responder, Trident Construction Health
Care Engineer, and Service/Therapy Animal.
Nominations were judged on overall impact each individual or
team had on the community and beyond, as well as on difficulty and
challenges beyond the call of duty.
Thank you to our judges: June Bradham of Corporate
DevelopMint; Chappy McKay of Trident Construction; and Andy
Owens of the Charleston Regional Business Journal.
Health Care Heroes Profile Photography by Kim McManus
Presented by THE CHARLESTON REGIONAL BUSINESS JOURNAL

PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAM
FIRST PLACE ONLY:
S.C. Farm Bureau
Federation
Bill Johns
T R AV E L
Save $25 off the front gate price
at Six Flags Over Georgia!
To purchase tickets, please visit:
www.sixflags.com/partnerlogin
User Name: SCFBOG
Password: SixFlags10
(NOTE: Password is case sensitive).
Members save on standard rates at participating CHOICE HOTELS®
locations worldwide. The discounts are available only by making
reservations in advance by booking online at ChoiceHotels.com or by
calling (800) 258-2847. To start saving, follow these easy steps:
1) Visit ChoiceHotels.com and click on “Select Rate” on the top tool bar,
then click on “Special Rate/Corp ID”
2) Enter the SCFB Special Rate ID (00209800) in the assigned field
3) Click “yes” to confirm you are a member and then click “Find Hotel” to
make your reservation!
Choice Privileges® members: make sure you sign in so you can earn
points while you save. If you choose to make your reservation by phone,
be sure to give the agent both the SCFB Special Rate ID (00209800) and
your personal Choice Privileges number.
Save up to 20% off the “best available rate”* at any participating property
within the Wyndham Hotel Group brands. Call the member benefits
hotline (877) 670-7088 and give the agent the SC special discount ID
1000000510 at the time of booking to receive your discount. You can also
make your reservation online by going to www.wyndhamhotelgroup.com,
In the booking widget, click “Special Rates and Codes”. Here enter the
above code into the Corporate Code field and click enter. Fill in your
destination information and then click Find It. Your discount will be pro-
vided at time of booking.
F O R T H E H O M E & FA M I LY
* “Best Available Rate” is defined as the best, non-qualified, unrestricted, pub-
licly available rate on the brand sites for the hotel, date and accommodations
requested. The discount for some properties may be less than 20% off Best
Available Rate. Certain restrictions may apply. To redeem this offer, click our
URL link on Organization’s website or call the phone number above and give
ID at the time of reservation. Offer not valid if hotel is called directly, caller
must use toll free numbers listed above. Advanced reservations are required.
Offer is subject to availability at participating locations and some blackout dates
may apply. Offer cannot be combined with any other discounts, offers, group
rates, or special promotions. Discounted rates vary by location and time of
year. Offer is void where prohibited by law and has no cash value. Dolce
Hotels is not a current participant in the member benefit program.
** See terms and conditions at farmbureaubank.com. Banking services provid-
ed by Farm Bureau Bank, FSB. Farm Bureau, FB and the FB National logo are
registered service marks owned by, and used by Farm Bureau Bank FSB
under license from, the American Farm Bureau Federation.
All member benefits subject to change without notice.
Some restrictions may apply. For additional information
go to www.SCFB.org
Choice Hotel Special Rate ID #00209800
www.choicehotels.com • 800.258.2847
WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP
Farm Bureau Special Discount ID Number: 1000000510
www.wyndhamhotelgroup.com • 877.670.7088
Go to www.scfb.org for the latest
SC Farm Bureau Member Benefits updates.
fresh
savings!
SC Farm
Bureau
members
qualify for
a Free Security
System valued
at not less than $850 and receive a free smoke detector or
keyfob when they become ADT subscribers through PowerLink,
the most tenured ADT dealer in America. Add to that $2 – $5
monthly discounts on monitoring, 40% off additional equpiment
and a $99 installation special.
Not available to current ADT subscribers or anyone
who is within 90 days of terminating an ADT contract.
Call 1.877.289.4070 for more information.
M E R C H A N D I S E D I S C O U N T S
Save 15-40% off catalog
list prices on office
supplies and furnishings
when you order online.
And get FREE SHIPPING for orders over $30.
You must register, order, and pay online. This
program does not apply to store locations. Items
must be shipped directly to members.
Register online at www.scfb.org. Click on Member
Benefits, then Merchandise. It may take a few days
to activate your registration. You won’t be able to
log in to StaplesLink.com until you get an email
confirming your registration (a few days after
submitting the form).
• 10% off all Grainger catalog items
• 35% off farm-duty motors
• up to 55% off MSRP* on Proto hand tools
• up to 48% off MSRP* on DeWalt tools
• up to 45% off MSRP* on Blackhawk tools
• up to 46% off MSRP* on Milwaukee tools
• up to 52% off MSRP* on Stanley hand tools
• up to 60% off MSRP* on Westward tools
• FREE SHIPPING on all internet orders
• SAME DAY SHIPPING on most catalog items
Get your discount by calling Grainger at
(800) 323-0620, www.grainger.com or stopping by
your local Grainger store. You must provide your
SC Farm Bureau Grainger account number
(802160051).
* Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price
H E A LT H C A R E / E N V I R O N M E N TA L
• FREE prescription drug discount card
accepted at over 57,000 pharmacies
• Good for both name-brand
& generic drugs
Cut out the card on the right of this brochure and take it to a participating
pharmacy. Ask them to enter the info into their electronic billing system.
The card is NOT an insurance benefit and will not offer additional savings on
pharmacy discounts offered through insurance plans. To find a local pharmacy or
learn more go to www.scfb.org, click on Member Benefits, then Health Care.
Save up to 50% off the national average cost of
LASIK Eye Surgery!
• CHOICE: Over 800 locations
• QUALITY: 4.5 million procedures performed
• SAVINGS: Farm Bureau members save 40%-50% off the national average
cost of LASIK with flexible financing options available. We also accept
Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts.
Call (866) 979-9212 or visit www.qualsight.com/-SCFB
An emergency medical alert system
provides security, peace of mind
and independence for the ones you love.
• Only $23.95 per month ($6.00 per month discount)
• 30 day money back trial • No long-term contracts
• Cancel anytime with no penalty • Free shipping
Ask about our new mobile system with GPS (works inside & outside the home).
Call (877) 288-4958 any time or visit www.membersmedicalalert.com
Take advantage of the Clear Value Comprehensive Hearing Benefits for
Farm Bureau members and their families.
• Free hearing aid assessment & consultation
• Up to 60% Off MSRP on all Starkey Hearing
Instruments (Starkey, Audibel, NuEar,
AudioSync & MicroTech)
• 60 day trial
• Free batteries (1 case per instrument
with purchase)
Call (888) 497-7447 or visit www.clearvaluehearing.com
F I N A N C I A L S E RV I C E S
An ACCIDENTAL DEATH BENEFIT is included
with each Farm Bureau membership at no extra
cost. The benefit is provided under a policy issued
to the county Farm Bureau by South Carolina Farm
Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, and it provides
coverage in the amount of $1000 on member and
spouse and $500 on each dependent child under 21
residing in the household. Membership dues must
be paid on or before the due date. Please contact
your county Farm Bureau office to make a claim.
FARM BUREAU INSURANCE®
agents offer an extensive
line of insurance products,
including Auto, Home, Life,
Health and Farm Property.
Retirement planning and annu-
ities are also available. Our Customer Service Call
Center is available 24/7 to offer friendly, convenient
service. And our six conveniently located Claims
Service Centers help resolve your claims quickly
and fairly.
(800) 799-7500 or www.scfbins.com
FARM BUREAU
BANK**
offers the
personalized service
you want with the
secure banking products you need, including:
• Checking & money market accounts
• Consumer & business credit cards
• Vehicle & recreational loans
• Farm equipment loans
• Health savings accounts (HSAs)
• Traditional & Roth IRAs
• Residential mortgage loans
Let us help with your financial goals! See your Farm
Bureau agent, or contact Farm Bureau Bank today.
(800) 492-FARM or www.farmbureaubank.com
SAVE 25%! With eLegacyConnect you control
your succession plan, save lots of money, and get
the results you want. eLegacyConnect provides an
action plan, advice from planning experts, and a
library of resources to help you pass the family farm
to the next generation. The site offers succession
planning resources that generate results and a full
complement of professional advisors to answer your
questions and share best practices. Get started
today.
· South Carolina Farm Bureau members may access
eLegacyConnect via the Farm Bureau Member
Advantage! page, or go directly to eLegacyConnect,
and enter the Membership Code: farmbureau.
· Have your Farm Bureau Membership ID number
available.
· Membership (less 25% Farm Bureau discount) is
only $180/annually, or $18.71/monthly. Your mem-
bership begins after the 14-day free trial, and you
may cancel at any time.
$500 Off Your Next
Eligible GM Vehicle
SC Farm Bureau members
can get a $500 private offer
toward the purchase or lease of most new Chevrolet, Buick and GMC
vehicles. This offer can be stacked with one other private offer available to
eligible Farm Bureau members. Only customers who have been active
members of an eligible Farm Bureau for a minimum of 30 days will be
eligible to receive a certificate and must take delivery by 4/1/17. Customers
can obtain certificates at www.fbverify.com/gm. Go to www.SCFB.org,
call your county Farm Bureau office or visit your local Chevrolet, Buick or
GMC dealer for details.
SCFB members now have a better way to buy a new or
used vehicle through the Farm Bureau Auto Buying
Program. It’s easy to use and members have saved an
average of $3,078 off MSRP.* The best part? A $500 GM
incentive for Farm Bureau members is already built into the
system for qualifying vehicles. Get started at
www.fbverify.com/drive. *See site for details.
Get your member discount
from Life Line Screening.
Our mission is to help make
people aware of unrecog-
nized health problems and encourage them to seek follow-up care with their per-
sonal physician. In about an hour, you can be screened with painless, non-inva-
sive ultrasound technology for risk for atherosclerosis, aortic aneurysms, and
other chronic vascular diseases.
To find a screening site nearest you, call(888) 787-2873 or visit
www.lifelinescreening.com/scfb
NATURAL RESOURCE SERVICES, LLC
Save 20% on environmental and regulatory assistance with:
• State agricultural permits • Manure broker permits
• Permit modifications • Transfer of ownership
• On-farm assessments • Construction storm water permits
• Computerized mapping • Hunting/fishing lease agreements
• Spill Prevention, Control & Countermeasure (SPCC) plans
Call (803) 360-3954 or e-mail womcmeekin@gmail.com Use code FB103
SC Farm Bureau Federation
Prescription Savings Card
Bin# 009265
PCN# AG
Group# SCFB
ID# SCFB23202
Name: _________________________________________
Pharmacy
Help Desk:
1-800-847-7147
(pharmacist
only)
THIS IS NOT INSURANCE - DISCOUNTS ONLY
By using this card, the holder agrees to the terms
under which it was issued. Void where prohibited.
Process all prescriptions electronically.
For your next rental, save up to
25% when you mention
AVIS Worldwide Discount (AWD)
#A298840. For reservations,
call AVIS at (800) 331-1212, or visit
www.avis.com/scfb.
AMERIGAS, the nation’s leading marketer of
propane, offers SC Farm Bureau members a 5
cent per gallon discount* on propane deliveries
plus free installation of above ground
cylinders/tanks (excluding pump stations).
Members also receive a free complete system
check and flexible billing and payment options.
To receive your discount, provide your local
AmeriGas supplier with your Farm Bureau
membership number and set up your account
today! To find your nearest AmeriGas location,
call (866) 767-1100 or visit www.amerigas.com.
* Prepaid or price guaranteed programs are not eligible
for discount.
T R A N S P O R TATION
O N T H E FA R M
THE FARM BUREAU PRODUCTS PROGRAM saves you money on:
• Passenger, pickup, medium truck & tractor tires
• Batteries & lubricants
• Baling twines, net wraps & tillage tools
• Disc harrow blades, bearings & roller chains
• Cutting parts for hay equipment or combines
• Agricultural pumps
For more information, or to place an order, call
(800) 849-3778. Or browse all our products at www.scfbproducts.com.
Open 8:00-5:00, Monday through Friday.
CASE IH provides a manufacturer’s incentive
discount of $300–$500 for Farm Bureau
members on the tractor or implement acquired.
Members should negotiate their best deal with
their preferred dealer and then add the incentive discount to the bottom line.
There is no limit to the number of incentive discounts that a Farm Bureau member
may use so long as it’s not more than one per unit acquired and the acquisiton(s)
is/are made for their personal and/or their business use. Membership in Farm
Bureau must be current and must be verified using the American Farm Bureau
Membership Verification System (MVS). Eligible members will print an authoriza-
tion certificate that must be presented to the Case-IH dealer IN ADVANCE of the
delivery of the acquired tractor or implement to receive the incentive discount.
For more information visit, www.SCFB.org
Auto Buying
Program

FLOOD COVERAGE
AllWeeklyDivision
THIRD PLACE:
Coastal Observer
Staff The flood
On a weekend planned for fall festivals, concerts
and the Waccamaw High homecoming, residents instead found
themselves surrounded by what state officials called a “1,000-
year flood.” The Waccamaw Neck was spared the worst of the
storm. “You guys were so close to being pummelled with another
10 inches of rain,” said the chief meteorologist at the National
Weather Service office in Wilmington, N.C. Story, Page 3
Tanya Ackerman/Coastal Observer
Town Administrator Ryan Fabbri watches the
flood waters from the porch of Town Hall.
Pawleys Island sees damage come
from the waves, not the rain
STORY, PAGE 5
Charles Swenson/Coastal Observer
Along with cones, a warning in front of the Lit-
chfield Beach Fish House on Highway 17.
Midway Fire prepared boats
to reach areas cut off by flooding
STORY, PAGE 7
Tanya Ackerman/Coastal Observer
Brad Bellevue heads home through the flood-
water on the South Causeway.
County prepares to deal with
the next deluge: mosquitoes
STORY, PAGE 4
Charles Swenson/Coastal Observer
Girls at Hagley Landing chat with a man going
pig hunting during a break in the storm.
Waccamaw River flooding
brings a flow of contaminants
STORY, PAGE 2

FLOOD COVERAGE
AllWeeklyDivision
SECOND PLACE:
Georgetown Times
Staff Y TY AYLORTT GR RIFFITH
tgriffith@southstrandnews.com
The weekend’s flooding
may have been detrimental
to some people’s homes, but
for others the storm took a
stab at their livelihoods, too,
floodinglocalbusinessesand
causingdamagetoinventory.
As the storm waned on Oct.
5, business owners and asso-
ciations were busy trying to
assess the damage.
“We’re trying to get a full
idea of who is flooded so
we can go and help and get
our small businesses back
in business,” said Lisa Haas,
secretary of the Georgetown
Business Association. “For a
lot of these small businesses,
this is all they have. It takes
every last dollar to operate
on a normal basis, and then
when something like this
happens, it’s detrimental.”
Haas said her store, Green-
beanConsignmentBoutique,
survived the storm, but oth-
ers were not so lucky. Kevin
Jayroe, who owns Bienvenue
Home and Swamp Fox Tours
on Front Street, experienced
heavy flooding.
“We came in Sunday morn-
ing into our store … and we
had about eight to 10 inches
ofwaterthen.Sowespentthe
pasteighthours…onSunday
pumping out the store (and)
getting merchandise up. …
Then we came back (Mon-
day)totheexactsamething,”
he said.
Jayroe said although there
was some loss, “luckily we
didn’t lose very much mer-
chandise because we had
prepared for that.” He said
the cause of his flooding was
rainwater that came through
the back door.
Ed Bell, owner of Bell Le-
gal Group on Ridge Street
in Georgetown, said his
business has suffered large
amounts of damage.
“We had about two feet of
water in the building with
our computers, phone sys-
tem, most of our files – it’s
a major loss. We’re trying to
reconstructourcases,butit’s
prettydifficult.Ihopewecan
capture all of our computer
data,” Bell said. “It’s almost
a million dollars-worth of
damage.”
Michele Overton, president
of the GBA, said she was im-
pressed with the positivity
many business owners por-
Businesses
hit hard
by storm
BY TY AYLORTT GR RIFFITH
tgriffith@southstrandnews.com
For Candice Young and
TreyGray’schildren,theonly
comfort during the evacua-
tion of their home on Oct. 4
was singing “Row, Row, Row
YourBoat”astheyweretaken
to safety.
By boat was the only way to
leavetheirRidgeStreethome
Sunday morning; the water
had risen nearly to the top of
the porch steps when Young
called 911 for help.
“We didn’t want to call 911
because it wasn’t a life-or-
death situation, but eventu-
allywithsixkidsinthehouse,
we thought we better get out
before it gets too bad,” Young
said.
Five of the couple’s seven
children (two of whom were
with their mother in An-
drews) and a friend’s child
were in the house, ranging
in age from 1 to 12 years old.
Young said it was scary how
fast the water rose.
“Trey woke up at 3 a.m. and
checked on the cars (on Sun-
day morning) and the water
wasn’t even over the ditch.
We figured it would be fine.
As waters rose, family needed rescue
When the flood
waters en-
gulfed most of
their vehicles
and came up
to the porch
steps, the Gray
family decided
it was time to
evacuate from
their Ridge
Street home in
Georgetown.
PHOTOS PROVIDED
CandiceYoungsatwithher
youngest children, Gray-
son, left, and Jace Gray in
the back of the firetruck.
PROVIDED
Reader Tiffany Pope took this photo of the washout on Old Pee Dee Road, down the street from her house.
To see moreTT
photos, go to
southstrandnews.
com/photos
DRENCHED!
BY MY AX HRENDA
mhrenda@southstrandnews.com
Although the possibility of
additional flooding lingers,
Georgetown County staffers
havebeguntoassessthedam-
age in the wake of the historic
rain levels and flooding that
began on Friday, Oct. 2.
The National Weather Ser-
vice estimates that, between
midnight on Friday, Oct. 2,
and 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5,
an average of 16.21 inches of
rainfall fell across George-
town County.
In addition to Georgetown
County, the state, as a whole,
was affected by what Gov.
Nikki Haley referred to as a
“1,000-year level of rain” in
an interview with CNN. As-
sociated Press reports indi-
cated 14 South Carolinians
died during the event — eight
from drowning and six from
trafficaccidents—whilemore
than 800 people were staying
in emergency shelters.
No deaths were reported in
Georgetown County, though
Public Information Officer
Jackie Broach said the coun-
ty’semergencyresponseagen-
cies handled 1,204 distress
calls between midnight on
Oct. 2 and 9 a.m. Oct. 6. Ad-
ditionally, Broach said that,
at its peak, 738 homes were
without power as a result of
the flooding.
The city of Georgetown was
the hardest hit area of the
county, Broach said, after ac-
cumulatingabout21.75inches
County
begins
assessing
damage
See COUNTY, Page 2A
See FAMILY, Page 5A
See BUSINESSES, Page 2A

FLOOD COVERAGE
AllWeeklyDivision
FIRST PLACE:
Free Times
Staff

EDITORIAL OR COLUMN IN SUPPORT
OF FOI/OPEN GOVERNMENT ISSUES
AllWeeklyDivision
THIRD PLACE:
CarolinaForestChronicle
Michael Smith
O
ver the weekend, hundreds of
journalists from across the state
convened in Horry County for the
annual S.C. Press Association awards
and annual meeting at the Marina Inn at
Grande Dunes.
As always, the quality of work on display
was second to none. South Carolina has
some of the best journalists in the nation.
It should be that way because S.C. also has
some of the most secretive governments
in the nation.Without journalists acting as
watchdogs over government, taxpayers
would constantly be left in the dark.
Speaking of dark, police reports gener-
ated lately by the Horry County Police De-
partment have been replete with black
bars as officers seem bent on redacting
more and more content from documents.
The incident report appearing below my column is an
actual report from Friday, March 13. It’s hard to tell exactly
what happened since police erased almost all of it from
history.
The report is beyond absurd and I’m struggling with
how it complies with the S.C. Freedom of Information Act,
which is supposed to ensure that police records are public.
In many ways, the report is not much different from the
political cartoon to the right, which uses satire to illustrate
just how out of control police report redaction has gotten
not only in Horry County, but also South Carolina.
In fairness, Horry County as a whole is one of the more
transparent government agencies around South Carolina.
I love how the county posts video of council and com-
mittee meetings online, as well as council documents.
Horry County is also pretty quick to respond to FOIA re-
quests. Most of the time, a formal request isn’t even neces-
sary. An informal email to the appropriate department
head usually results in same-day response and almost al-
ways without a fee.
Where the county and I are at odds, however, is with po-
lice report policy. Specifically, county police has been liber-
ally redacting reports, including the names of victims and
suspects, making it extraordinarily difficult sometimes to
discern who’s who in the narrative.
The cartoon at right satirizes the practice, but not as
much as you might think Police report redaction is a
Policereport
redactionablack
marktoopenness
inHorryCounty
EDITOR’S
PAD
Michael
Smith

AllWeeklyDivision
SECOND PLACE:
Georgetown Times
Mark A. Stevens
EDITORIAL
C
haotic and undisci-
plined are two words
that immediately come
to mind when discussing the
town council in Andrews.
In recent weeks, council
members have held several
meetings, including one in
which some members de-
manded Mayor Rodney Giles
return the town’s financial
books to the new financial
adviser, Chris Anderson.
Anderson has claimed he
can’t do his job without the
town’s financial documents.
That certainly makes sense.
It’shardtoaddnumberswhen
you don’t have any figures. A
town’s finances aren’t on an
algebraic formula, after all.
Anderson claims there is as
much as $75,000 unaccount-
ed for, but no one is saying
who’s to blame or how it hap-
pened. There has been some
finger pointing, but nothing
concrete has been offered as
to how the town has gotten
itself into this mess.
Andersonhassuggestedthat
council ask for law enforce-
ment to review his still-pre-
liminary findings, but what
those findings are the public
doesn’t yet know.
It’snotevenclearifmembers
of council know – or under-
stand.
withmemberscautioningoth-
ers not to say anything out
loud. At one point, members
passed notes to one another,
rather than talking – elimi-
nating the possibility that the
publiccouldgraspthediscus-
sion.
Council members should be
remindedthattheyoperateas
a public body, and, thus, their
deliberationsmustbemadein
public – spoken and deliber-
ate.
Butevenwhencouncilmem-
bersandTownAdministrator
Mauretta Dorsey were asked
foracopyofthetown’sbudget
byaTimesreporter,thenews-
paper was denied a copy. And
that’s a clear violation of state
law.
State law is clear. It’s no
legalese. In fact, it’s easy to
understand. Here’s what the
law says: “A ‘public record’ in-
cludesallbooks,papers,maps,
photographs,cards,tapes,re-
cordings or other documen-
tary materials regardless of
physical form or characteris-
ticsprepared,owned,used,in
the possession of or retained
by a public body.”
That includes the town’s
budget.
The law wasn’t made for
reporters. It was made for
everyone. The law goes on to
When informed that state
law dictates that the bud-
get – and, for that matter, all
documents for the town – are
open to the public, members
initially refused.
Whenaskedwhytherefusal
was made, some members
wouldonlysaythatthebudget
has mistakes and they were
trying to correct items before
it was made public. Council
wants the newspaper – and,
thus, the public – to see the
budgetonlyonceit’scomplete.
Well, that’s not how govern-
ment works.
And, we feel obliged to re-
mind these elected officials,
that is why we have public
meetings in the first place.
Doing the public’s business
– even the unpleasant task of
fixing past mistakes, raising
taxes, cutting services, etc. –
is about being open. It’s been
saidthatmakingsausageisan
ugly business, but, in the end,
you can enjoy the results.
Well, the Town of Andrews
has been in the very ugly busi-
ness of making sausage, and
whatevertheendresultisgoing
to be, the public has a right to
knowhowthebudgetismade.
In the end, the town provid-
edthenewspaperacopyofthe
working budget, and that’s a
step in the right direction.
Andrews council must do
public’s work in plain sight

AllWeeklyDivision
FIRST PLACE:
LaurensCountyAdvertiser
Staff The very public and long-awaited murder trial of
Michael Beaty began this week and while many local
residents anxiously wait to hear the final verdict and
bring some small amount of closure and sense to the
tragic death of Emily Asbill, an unresolved issue related
to this case remains. Approximately one year ago, The
Laurens County Advertiser and Clinton Chronicle, with
assistance from the South Carolina Press Association,
took legal action when Laurens County coroner Nick
Nichols – with consent from Eighth Circuit Solicitor
David Stumbo and defense attorney Charles Grose –
decided to depart from precedent by withholding Ms.
Asbill’s postmortem toxicology report.
To most folks, this may seem a small matter that we
should have dropped months ago. They may believe
that it is not the public’s business to know whether or
not a victim was intoxicated at the time of his or her
death. But they would be wrong – for we believe, and
the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act stipu-
lates – that it is far better for the public to witness the
wheels of justice turn than it is for public officials to
withhold relevant information, no matter how unseemly.
We have continued to make this case editorially and in
court because it is our duty to fight not only for justice
in one particular case but also for the rights of all of
you to see your government and judicial system operate
in the cold, hard light of day where they both belong.
We are most saddened by the lack of attention given
to this particular matter by Circuit Court Judge Eugene
Griffith. With months to do research and prepare a rul-
Doing wrong by
doing nothing

EDITORIAL/OP-ED COLUMN
THIRD PLACE:
Columbia Regional Business Report
James T. Hammond
I
t is human nature to seek some good
in tragic events, and we all did that in
the wake of the murder of nine good
people at Charleston’s Emanuel AME
Church in June.
Gov. Nikki Haley
and most of the
state’s lawmakers
rose to the occa-
sion, hitting the
right notes of lead-
ership, empathy and
shared pain. In fact,
it would be difficult
to find any way Gov.
Haley could have
done more, as she
directed the hunt for
the killer, rejected his hate-filled creed,
and comforted the survivors of the mass
killing. Her strength, her resolute determi-
nation to show the best in us in the face
of almost unbearable grief, bucked up less
resolute officials to banish the hateful sym-
bol of the Confederate flag from our seat
of government.
I say this as one who has frequently
disagreed with and criticized the governor
for her policies. Her actions in the face of
the crisis stand out in the state and nation
in ways that made me very proud. She
and the other state leaders who gathered
around her to act resolutely deserve our
thanks and our praise.
Now, we face the future with the unfin-
ished business of governing a small, poor
state. Will the flashes of strong leadership
we saw in our state’s most recent trauma
be reflected in renewed efforts to address
South Carolina’s nagging challenges in
education, health care, transportation and
public safety?
A good education opens doors to high-
er income, better health and a satisfying
life. Yet, despite many attempts to improve
access to education and performance in
public schools and in college, too many
of our citizens are left out of the growing
prosperity in this small but fast-growing
state.
Students from low-income families are
increasingly priced out of a public univer-
sity education by the state’s ever-shrinking
commitment to those colleges. A state-
funded commitment to free tuition at the
state’s two-year technical colleges would
be a good start to reverse that trend.
Gov. Haley has opposed participation
in the expanded Medicaid option under
theAffordableCareAct.Thatstancedenies
health care to as many as 333,000 people,
a number estimated to rise to 354,000
people by 2020. South Carolina would
experience a net gain in federal funding of
about $11 billion under the ACA expan-
sion, studies have shown. Thousands of
jobs would be created in the process and
the overall economy would expand.
Much of the opposition to the plan is
a deeply embedded dislike for President
Obama and a desire among many Repub-
licans to see him fail at any cost to the
general public. It is time to put aside such
narrow political motives and negotiate
with the federal authorities for a Medicaid
expansion acceptable to Gov. Haley and
Republican lawmakers. South Carolina’s
citizens deserve better treatment than they
have received on this issue.
For several years now, Gov. Haley has
jousted with the General Assembly over
a long-term plan to fix the state’s rapidly
failing transportation network. Roads and
bridges are falling apart while the state’s
leaders dither over the how to pay for
the necessary repairs and improvements.
Motorists are seeing their repair bills rise
year after year due to the growing potholes
in our roads.
How much better would it be to ask
them to increase what they pay in taxes to
fix the roads, and slash those repair bills?
This issue cannot be resolved by slight-
of-hand tax swaps that reduce or eliminate
some other tax in order to provide addi-
tional highway funding. Our state’s needs
are too great. If South Carolina’s dramatic
success at attracting automotive and aero-
space industrial giants is to be sustained,
we must increase spending to make our
transportation system keeps pace with
current and future needs.
When it comes to public safety, all of
the above apply. Better health care and
safer roads will reduce unnecessary deaths
and injuries. But public safety comprises
much, much more.
The Department of Health and Envi-
ronment Control must do a better job of
policing air and water quality and regu-
lation of industrial emissions of toxic
substances. The governor’s office and the
Department of Social Services must find
ways to curb an unacceptably high rate
of child abuse and deaths. And all aspects
of state government must do a better job
of protecting the personal information of
citizens who apply for jobs, file income
tax returns, and the myriad other ways in
which the state comes into possession of
our precious personal identities.
South Carolina witnessed a sense of
common purpose among our leaders in
the aftermath of the horrible murders in
Charleston. It would be a real and lasting
tribute to the late Sen. Clementa Pinckney
and his eight parishioners who died with
him if this unanimity lasts into the coming
legislative session and results in some res-
olution to some of South Carolina’s seem-
ingly intractable problems.
James T. Hammond is the former editor of
the Columbia Regional Business Report.
Reach him by email at jthammond46@
gmail.com.
Viewpoint: Views, perspectives
and readers’ letters
Haley, most lawmakers rose above partisanship amid tragedy
James T.
Hammond

SECOND PLACE:
The Baptist Courier
Rudy Gray
www.baptistcourier.com
DOMESTIC ABUSE IS SIN
BY RUDY GRAY, EditorTHE LAST WORD
DOMESTIC ABUSE IS A SIN, AND IT IS A

FIRST PLACE:
The Catholic Miscellany
Alison Blanchet
MAY 21,2015 COMMENTARY THE CATHOLIC MISCELLANY 15
A
fter months of searching, Jim
and I were ecstatic to find a
house to rent. Living in a one-
bedroom apartment as newlyweds
was romantic, but my shoe collection
and his two drum sets were strug-
gling to coexist peacefully in the
single closet.
I was excited about new appliances
and the original oak floors that
match our eclectic furniture. Jim
was excited about the lawn.
When we moved in February, we
examined the squares of checkered
sod that lay in front of the house.
They were brown and looked more
like debris dropped by a tornado
than anything that had the potential
to take root and grow.
Our neighbor, Steve, came over
to introduce himself. Somewhere
between “where’d y’all move from?”
and “which trash pickup do you
use?”, Jim adopted Steve as his
lawn care guru. The next several
weeks went like this: Steve put out
a sprinkler. Jim went to Lowes to
get a sprinkler. Steve fertilized. Jim
went to Lowes and
spent his Saturday
morning spread-
ing fertilizer. Steve
mowed and Jim fret-
ted about whether
our grass was tall
enough to be mowed
yet.
It had already
exceeded my expec-
tations. The sod had
taken root and turned a deep emer-
ald green. The lawn looked like it
had been growing for years and not
just a few weeks. Our landlord (also
a neighbor) was pleased and compli-
mented Jim on the progress. “I’ve
been watching Steve!” Jim replied.
“Uh, Steve?” He asked. “Do you
know he puts measuring cups under
the sprinkler to be sure it’s distrib-
uting evenly? No one on this street
tries to keep up with him! It’ll just
make you crazy! Don’t go down that
road!”
I had figured it would be cars or
boats or cell phones, but our first
temptation to keep up with the Jone-
ses was grass. It had started out in-
nocently — stalking Steve’s fertilizer
schedule — but Jim realized that at
this point in our lives, he needed to
take a slightly less intense approach
to lawn care so he could pursue
things such as working and sleep.
Six months into the vocation, I’m
realizing that a dizzying reality of
marriage is the daily encourage-
ment we can offer each other in our
pursuit of holiness. I’m also realiz-
ing that I now share my distractions,
idle pursuits and even bad moods
with another. So when I get caught
up in the stress of a bad day at work
or when my spouse is consumed by
the quest for the perfect fertilizer,
we’re both affected.
We do admire the hours Steve
pours into his picturesque lawn, but
we have found ourselves quoting our
landlord’s advice frequently. “Don’t
go down that road!” It’s advice that
is also helpful when we are tempted
to compare ourselves with Facebook,
reality television, self-help books
and even our friends.
When it comes to our souls, the
only normal we can be confident of
is what we see when we look heaven-
wards. There are lots of comparisons
to distract us, but it’s pursuing the
sacraments, prayer and works of
mercy that will leave us fulfilled.
ALISON BLANCHET writeshercolumn,TeamCatholic,
forTheMiscellany.SheisayouthdirectorinPanamaCity
Beach,Fla.
The grass is always greener at the Joneses
ALISON
BLANCHET
Six months into the
vocation, I’m realizing
that a dizzying reality
of marriage is the daily
encouragement we can
offer each other in our
pursuit of holiness.

EDITORIAL WRITING
AllWeeklyDivision
THIRD PLACE:
Georgetown Times
Mark A. Stevens
W
hethertheAndrews
Town Council vio-
lated the South
Carolina open meetings act
is a question of law. There is
no question, however, that
councilmembersviolatedthe
public’s trust when they put
pen to paper and silently en-
dorsed a plan to seek Mayor
Rodney Giles’ resignation.
The town of Andrews gov-
ernmenthasbeeninastateof
flux and confusion for weeks
now,butitallseemedtocome
to a head when five of the six
council members sent the
mayor a letter asking him to
resign.Theproblemisn’tthat
council members have a dis-
agreement with the mayor,
but, rather, that the council
deliberated on the issue out-
side the public’s view.
State law requires elected
officials to conduct busi-
ness in public for all to see
and hear. But a Sept. 4 let-
ter that Mayor Pro Tempore
AngelaAndersonandcouncil
members Eddie Lee, Mattie
McGee, Sudha Patel and Da-
vid Tisdale signed was never
mentioned – let alone dis-
cussed in a public meeting
was, had been asked to step
down – and, most impor-
tantly, why.
But the letter was quietly
signed by council members.
There was no public discus-
sion, and there was certainly
no public acknowledgement
that signatures were being
sought.
State law would say the
councilcannotvoteonamat-
ter without a quorum, but it
certainly never meant to im-
ply that a public body can do
its business behind closed
doors as long as a quorum,
or majority, wasn’t present.
If it were that easy, boards
across South Carolina would
neverneedtomeetotherthan
to cast their votes.
But that’s not how it works.
While such indifference to
the spirit of the state’s open
meetings law would be dis-
turbing in any circumstance,
the council’s action is partic-
ularly troubling, because it
seemsthatthemajorityofthe
counciliseitherpurposelyig-
noringstatelaworisignorant
30-4-70 reads, “No chance
meeting, social meeting, or
electronic communication
may be used in circumven-
tion of the spirit of require-
ments of this chapter to act
upon a matter over which the
public body has supervision,
control, jurisdiction, or advi-
sory power.”
That’s easy to understand.
It’s not legalese. It’s straight-
forward.
It would behoove the Town
of Andrews Council to be
more open and to start con-
ducting all its business in
public. Where’s the harm?
This isn’t personal business.
It’sthepublic’sbusiness.Pub-
lic tax dollars pay council’s
salaries, for the upkeep of
townhall,forthepapermeet-
ing agendas are printed on,
and the list goes on and on.
There may be legitimate
complaints against the may-
or,but,ifthereare,thepublic
must be allowed to see and
hear the discussion.
That’s the very reason for
public meeting and open re-
cords laws, and that’s why
they are, collectively, often
referred to as the “Sunshine
Town council’s action
doesn’t inspire trust
EDITORIAL
I
t’s been two weeks since
the devastating an-
nouncement that nearly
250 workers will lose their
jobs with the closing of the
Georgetown steel mill, and,
unfortunately, we are not
hearing enough out of Co-
lumbia.
Gov. Nikki Haley has made
jobandindustryrecruitment
ahallmarkofheradministra-
tion. She and other state offi-
cials have spent hundreds of
thousands of dollars selling
the Palmetto State to busi-
ness leaders, politicians and
governments not only in the
United States but also across
the globe.
Andthat’sallfineandgood.
You’vegottospendmoney,as
the old saying goes, to make
money.
It’s become routine for the
governor’s office to issue a
press release anytime a busi-
ness seeks to invest, reinvest
or expand in South Caroli-
na, and that’s the governor’s
right.
It’s hard to say if Haley and
her administration can truly
be credited with positive
business growth in South
Carolina, but to the victor
goesthespoils.Agovernoror
a president may not directly
alter the economic climate,
but he or she does get the
credit – and, yes, the blame
– from the public.
Andlotsofgoodthingshave
been happening for South
Carolina. Unemployment is
falling, and businesses are
investing in the state.
And that’s what has made
thegovernor’sabsencesono-
ticeablesinceArcelorMittal’s
surprise announcement May
14 that it would shutter its
Georgetown steel mill – and
with it all those good-paying
jobs.
Haley’s office made no
public announcement about
the loss of jobs and a major
industry. Several days after
ArcelorMittal’s announce-
ment and still with no word
from Haley, the Georgetown
Timesreachedouttothegov-
ernor’s office. The following
day, Haley’s press secretary,
Chaney Adams, issued a far-
too-generic statement that
read, in part, “Gov. Haley
… won’t stop fighting until
every family in Georgetown
County has the opportunity
to achieve their hopes and
dreams.”
Adams also noted that the
governor’s “highest priority
hasbeenrecruitingjobs”and
even touted the recent an-
nouncementthatVolvowould
be bringing 4,000 jobs to the
Lowcountry.
Small comfort, though,
to the Georgetown workers
who, by the end of the third
quarter, will find themselves
without a job.
Haley and her team have
every right to tout good eco-
nomic news, but they also
have the obligation to be
there when the news isn’t so
good – and, in Georgetown’s
case,potentiallydevastating.
It would have behooved Gov.
Haleytonotletherpresssec-
retary speak for her.
In fact, it would have made
quitetheimpressionhadHal-
ey made her way to George-
town to assure workers and
citizens that she’s more than
words in a press release.
The loss of nearly 250 jobs
may not compare to the
4,000jobsVolvowillbringto
Berkeley County, but, for our
local steel mill workers, an
encouraging word from the
state’s top politician – and,
yes, job recruiter – would go
far.
The perception Haley and
her team hope to impart is
that of the governor work-
ing tirelessly to bring jobs
to South Carolina. Erasing
the sting of losing the steel
mill and bringing new, high-
paying jobs to Georgetown
would help prove that Haley
ismorethanwords.Shecould
cement her legacy as a gov-
ernor who not only talks the
talk but also walks the walk,
as well.
Town needs Haley’s attention
T
he Confederate flag
that flapped in the
wind at the South
Carolina Statehouse for
more than half-a-century
was born from racism and
defiance.
One can’t even compare it
to other Confederate flags –
those that fly behind pickup
trucks, those in parades and,
no, not even the one embla-
zonedontopofaTVcarcalled
the General Lee. Those flags
aremanythingstomanypeo-
ple:pop-cultureicon,good-ol’
boydeclaration,apieceofhis-
tory.Theymaycontinuetobe
all those things.
But the Confederate flag
that lawmakers properly
voted to remove from public
property – the Statehouse
grounds – after a 13-hour
debate had not been any of
those things. It has been a
dark, divisive symbol that
had no place outside a mu-
seum.
It was first flown over the
dome of South Carolina’s
Capitol in 1961 to celebrate
the100thanniversaryofthe
Civil War, but it was kept
thereasaprotesttotheCivil
Rightsmovement,onlymov-
ing in 2000 from the dome
to the Confederate Soldier
Monument directly in front
of the Statehouse.
But a flag that was a sym-
bolofawarthatoncetorethe
United States apart should
never have been put back on
government property in the
first place.
TheConfederacylostbadly
and it cost dearly.
It wasn’t pride that put
the flag back up. It was ar-
rogance. It wasn’t pride that
kept it up as a protest to the
civilrightsmovement.Itwas
vindictiveness.
And that has been the
problem all along.
Critics say “liberals” are
therealcauseoftheflag’sre-
moval, but it was Gov. Nikki
Haley – who may be many
things, but liberal is not one
of them – who renewed the
call for its removal. Conser-
vatives and liberals, Repub-
licans and Democrats, and
all races said, “Enough is
enough.”
Haley recognized – in the
aftermath of the shooting of
the “Emanuel Nine” – that
our government could no
longer sanction the Confed-
erateflagonpublicproperty.
Be it noted that the gover-
nor didn’t call for the flag’s
eradication from all walks
of life; corporate America
did that, and it has muddied
an already muddy debate.
But that’s what happens
when something becomes
an anathema to public dis-
course.
The votes from the Sen-
ate and the House were not
unanimous, but they were
overwhelmingly in favor of
the flag’s removal. And that
was proper. Indeed more
than proper.
It sent a message to the
whole world that South
Carolina is capable of mak-
ing the right decision. Will
itbepopularwitheveryone?
No,butitwastherightthing
todo,andthatalonewasrea-
son for doing it.
On Thursday morning,
Haleyissuedthisstatement:
“Today, as the Senate did
before them, the House of
Representatives has served
the State of South Carolina
and her people with great
dignity. I’m grateful for
their service – and their
compassion. It is a new day
in South Carolina, a day we
canallbeproudof,adaythat
trulybringsusalltogetheras
we continue to heal, as one
people and one state.”
It took something terrible
forHaleytofindherplaceon
the right side of history on
such a divisive issue, but she
has handled it bravely and
with care. In the end, she
did what was right, as did
the Senate and the House.
To be sure, there are citi-
zens unhappy with the deci-
sion, but no citizens should
be defined by the Confeder-
ate flag. It hasn’t truly de-
fined people for 150 years.
HereinGeorgetownCoun-
ty, let’s first be South Caro-
linians.Andthen,let’sbepa-
trioticAmericans.Thoseare
labels we can wear proudly.
Let’s be defined by the
future, not the past

EDITORIAL WRITING
AllWeeklyDivision
SECOND PLACE:
Coastal Observer
Charles Swenson
A road plan
with traction
LET’S HEAR FROM RAY CLEARY on roads: “We
have to be innovative, because we don’t
want to be driving on these roads in 10
years.”
That was Dr. Cleary, a dentist and can-
didate for state Senate in 2004. Sen. Cleary
has now proposed a plan that will fix the
roads we’ve been driving on since his elec-
tion. It’s a more realistic plan than the one
proposed by Gov. Nikki Haley that would
leave a $1.7 billion hole in the state budget
while barely scratching the pot-holed surface
of the state’s road needs.
Like the governor, Sen. Cleary has linked
a rise in the gas tax to tax reform. The gov-
ernor wants to eliminate the income tax. The
senator wants to abolish a series of exemp-
tions recommended five years ago by state
Taxation Realignment Commission and end
the tax on small business. The commission
found the state is a low-tax state “by almost
any honest measure,” but not a fair or stable
state.
Like the governor, the senator wants to
change how the Department of Transporta-
tion does business. Sen. Cleary proposes
giving roads and money to the county to trim
the DOT system, one of the largest in the
country. Georgetown County is already a
step ahead, with its new sales tax paying to
repave state roads.
The biggest difference is that Sen. Cleary’s
plan will provide more than twice as much
money as Gov. Haley to actually fix the prob-
lem. It’s a road plan, not a fig leaf to cover a
tax cut. Waccamaw Neck residents know the
road needs, both for our tourist industry and
economic development in the western part of
the county. Sen. Cleary’s plan is the one that
puts us on the right track.
Lesson learned
at lemonade stand
IT IS A TIME OF PROFOUND CHANGE, and that
change comes into sharp focus as we ap-
proach our annual celebration of the truths
that from one generation to the next are held
to be self-evident. We went from “hate won’t
win” to “love wins” in a matter of days; too fast
for serious reflection in a clickable age. So let’s
consider lemonade.
The combination of summer vacation and
90-degree weather makes it hard to avoid. With
the sudden death over the weekend of former
Pawleys Island Police Chief Guy Osborne it
became impossible. Because lemonade tells us
something about the limits of power, the re-
sponsibility of government and of individuals.
The story as he told it went like this: Soon
after he took the job in the summer of 2002,
Chief Osborne was asked what he was going
to do about lemonade stands. Pawleys Island
doesn’t allow commercial ventures except for
the existing inns and the Fourth of July T-shirt
sales at Town Hall. Couched in the question
was an implication that the chief needed to do
something about young scofflaws.
“I have two rules,” he said. “I always stop
when I see a lemonade stand, and I always leave
a good tip.” End of discussion.
He could have dodged the issue; kicked the
lemon peel down the road with a promise to
look into it. “I have two rules.” That wasn’t one
of them.
He didn’t pretend not to see the lemonade
stand because it was inconvenient. “I always
stop.” Not sometimes or when he’s thirsty. It
was a commitment. If a kid takes the time to set
up a stand, he can count on at least one cus-
tomer.
And for those who take initiative and make
the effort, there’s a reward. “I always leave a
good tip.” Never mind what the lemonade tastes
like or if the service is good. He turned it into a
Restore confidence
in evacuations
GOV. NIKKI HALEY SET OFF PANIC and con-
fusion when she told area residents to
“strongly consider evacuation” before High-
ways 17 and 701 were closed by flooding last
week. The roads would be impassible and the
flood waters wouldn’t recede for more than a
week, the governor said.
Local officials were privately seething, but
publicly agreed to move forward once the flood-
ing, road closures and evacuations failed to
materialize. There is still plenty of work to do
recovering from the recent storm that flooded
Georgetown and the rural areas of Georgetown
County and eroded the beaches along Wacca-
maw Neck. The governor will be an important
aid to that process.
What Gov. Haley said the next day was that
coastal residents, who are used to evacuations
needed to be prepared if emergency workers
knocked on their doors. She’s right to worry
about complacency. That’s why she should have
done more to explain how she came to provide
the public with the wrong information in the
first place.
Hurricane preparation has shifted its em-
phasis in recent years from wind damage to
flood damage. This year’s “1,000-year storm”
should improve awareness even in areas such
as the Waccamaw Neck where the rainfall didn’t
reach apocalyptic levels. Much of the flooding
that devastated communities along the Black
River came under clear skies. But telling resi-
dents that Georgetown would flood in 12 hours,
the major highways would close and Pawleys
Island should consider evacuation will only
breed skepticism the next time there is a genu-
ine threat.
It’s telling that phones lit up at local govern-

EDITORIAL WRITING
AllWeeklyDivision
FIRST PLACE:
LaurensCountyAdvertiser
Staff
The very public and long-awaited murder trial of
Michael Beaty began this week and while many local
residents anxiously wait to hear the final verdict and
bring some small amount of closure and sense to the
tragic death of Emily Asbill, an unresolved issue related
to this case remains. Approximately one year ago, The
Laurens County Advertiser and Clinton Chronicle, with
assistance from the South Carolina Press Association,
took legal action when Laurens County coroner Nick
Nichols – with consent from Eighth Circuit Solicitor
David Stumbo and defense attorney Charles Grose –
decided to depart from precedent by withholding Ms.
Asbill’s postmortem toxicology report.
To most folks, this may seem a small matter that we
should have dropped months ago. They may believe
that it is not the public’s business to know whether or
not a victim was intoxicated at the time of his or her
death. But they would be wrong – for we believe, and
the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act stipu-
lates – that it is far better for the public to witness the
wheels of justice turn than it is for public officials to
withhold relevant information, no matter how unseemly.
We have continued to make this case editorially and in
court because it is our duty to fight not only for justice
in one particular case but also for the rights of all of
you to see your government and judicial system operate
in the cold, hard light of day where they both belong.
We are most saddened by the lack of attention given
to this particular matter by Circuit Court Judge Eugene
Griffith. With months to do research and prepare a rul-
ing, it seems he chose instead to do nothing. Frankly,
Judge Griffith, you have treated not only the press but
also the public with contempt in failing to do your job –
either rightly or wrongly. We doubt very much you
were selected to the bench by the South Carolina
General Assembly to figuratively sit on the bench. But
sit on the bench you definitely did in this case – to the
detriment of our entire state. Whether by design or neg-
lect, you have now set a dangerous precedent in our
state that could allow other public officials to withhold
relevant information from the citizens they are sup-
posed to serve. Shame on you, sir. By delaying a year
and doing nothing, you have failed the people and your
profession.
We can only hope going forward that cases like this
one are heard by judges who take all their duties seri-
ously as protectors of the law and defenders of rights –
for all our sakes.
Doing wrong by
doing nothing
South Carolina citizens hopeful of being governed
openly scored a small victory last week when the S.C.
Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance two bills
that will change some less-than-transparent practices
being employed throughout the state and here in
Laurens County.
The first bill will require all public bodies to pro-
vide an agenda for all regularly scheduled meetings
and requires that any additional items cannot be added
to those agendas less than 24 hours before the meeting
except by a two-thirds vote of the body. This new bill
– which was approved 21-0 by the judiciary committee
– closes a legal loophole that allowed public bodies to
keep agenda items hidden from the public until the last
minute.
The other bill that was passed out of the committee
creates a report that coroners must release to the pub-
lic on the cause and manner of death. Laurens County
readers will, of course, note that this should finally put
to rest our ongoing struggle to get Laurens County
Coroner Nick Nichols to release his report on the
cause of death of the late Emily Asbill in advance of
her murder trial just last week.
The bill does allow law enforcement officials the
option to request from a judge that the information
remain closed if the release could jeopardize their
investigation. Wisely, the onus on keeping the report
closed from the public will fall on law enforcement –
not an elected official – so to avoid the stench of polit-
ical favoritism. We also believe it wise that law
enforcement will have to prove in front of a judge that
the report might hinder their investigation instead of
the public having to go to a judge to keep it out in the
open. In light of this development, however, we do
hope that law enforcement officials will use restraint
when seeking injunctions for these reports. We will
always believe that justice is best served when the law
is enforced transparently.
Now that both bills have moved out of committee,
we turn our attention to our legislative delegation and
call on each of them to publicly support and vote for
both pieces of legislation. The bills are sensible,
appropriate and essential to a free society. We see no
Sensible, appropriate
and essential bills
When people accuse the media of making mountains out
of molehills, it is universally intended as an insult. We get
it. The media, indeed, should not create controversy where
there is none or make too much of a small incident. But
here’s the thing about molehills, if we interpret that
metaphor a tad literally. As anyone with a yard can attest,
molehills, though small, are less than desirable, too.
Let us be clear, we are not going to parse Laurens Police
Chief Sonny Ledda’s words at a recent Laurens County Tea
Party meeting and whether he was quoted verbatim in a
release submitted to our newspaper. He is a grown man and
a professional who is more than capable of doing that for
himself. What’s more, we believe he already has done so in
eloquent, appropriate and responsible fashion by address-
ing complaints where they were lodged – on camera with
Greenville news station, WYFF.
Still, there remains this “molehill,” for our part, because
of a choice WYFF made during its reporting on this issue.
During the broadcast last Friday night, a segment of the
story showed the television reporter pulling on the front
door handle of our office building on Laurens Street and
noting that the doors were locked and no one was available
for comment. It is a common on-screen reporting tactic.
While not stating so, outright, the image of a locked door
insinuates that the party inside is hiding. In reality, howev-
er, guess what happens when a television reporter pulls on
our door after business hours on a Friday afternoon? The
same thing you or anyone else gets – a locked door and no
one there to answer. What was left unspoken was whether
a representative from the news channel tried to contact us
during office hours or at any other time for comment on
the Chief Ledda story – and the answer to that is “no.”
Again, not to make more of this than we should – just a
few words to make clear to our readers what wasn’t made
so clear to WYFF’s viewers that night.
We do understand that television is a different, more
dramatic, medium of communication than print. We get
that the “tugging on the locked door” shot was an added
element to the story that made for “exciting” television.
We also understand that television, like the internet, is fer-
tile ground for the types of stories like the one posted
about Chief Ledda – the very trendy “taking offense” sto-
ries we are bombarded with on a daily basis. We, on the
other hand, did not receive a single phone call or email
about the chief’s comments in the published release. And
because our presses roll only twice a week, we have time
to consider thoughtfully whether a complaint is legitimate-
ly of interest to the greater public – or a personal slight
best addressed between the aggrieved party and the person
who spoke in the first place.
N i A d h f ll l hill h
Of molehills and
locked doors

FOOD WRITING
AllWeeklyDivision
THIRD PLACE:
Greenville Journal
April Morris
With a $100,000 USDA grant and plans to expand,
the Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery is at the
front of a local food revolution
SEE STORY ON PAGE 4
GREENVILLE
feeds itself
OCTOBER 23, 2015 | VOL. 4 ISSUE 43
An expanding Swamp Rabbit
Café is part of a system to help
Greenville “feed ourselves”
APRIL A. MORRIS | STAFF
amorris@communityjournals.com
When the Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery opened
in 2011, there weren’t many options for fresh produce
along Pete Hollis Highway – not to mention local pro-
duce. Now the pioneer purveyor of local fresh produce,
milk, meat and baked goods on the GHS Swamp Rabbit
Trail is poised for expansion.
With a $100,000 US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Local Food Promotion Program grant, the
2,600-square-foot café will expand to 6,100 square feet.
Co-owner Jac Oliver said the on-site expansion will al-
low the two kitchens, now one upstairs and one down,
to combine.
More space will also double the size of the produce
room, create a larger pastry display and provide more
cold storage, she said. Oliver and partner Mary Walsh
are matching the grant with $63,000.
“We have close to 150 vendors and we’re constant-
ly finding new products,” said Oliver. “We’ve always
wanted to do more with local farmers.”
The grocery will be able to add about 20 new suppli-
ers, and the cold storage will allow the partners to ac-
cept larger quantities of local milk and meat, she said.
An expanded kitchen area also will offer producers and
farmers a place to create “val-
ue-added” products like pesto,
salsa, jam and ready-to-eat
meals using local ingredients.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
In addition to adding five
employees to their 33 part- and
full-time staff, the location will
offer a farmer-friendly deliv-
ery area, said Oliver. With a
produce coordinator, the gro-
cery can offer items like local
raspberries, produce the staff
didn’t have the bandwidth to
track down this year, she said.
“We will be able to extend our
growing season and reach out
to farmers earlier and later in
the season.”
According to Oliver, the café
and grocery has served as the
first wholesale customer for many new farms and local
food distributors. As Ryan Oates of Tyger River Smart
Farm dropped off a shipment of fresh hydroponic
greens, he told the Journal the Swamp Rabbit Café was
his third customer and has helped market test pack-
aging for his hydroponic lettuce, which is grown in a
greenhouse without soil.
Scott Park, Greenville County’s development services
manager and a local food researcher, said the market’s
expansion offers great access for purchase of local
products in a central space and “translates to a larger
marketplace and more space for our local farmers.”
Park has been working to develop a regional food
hub, Feed and Seed, that will help coordinate between
farmers and markets like the Swamp Rabbit Café. All
contributions help to build an infrastructure for
Growing the local food movement
PHOTOS BY APRIL A. MORRIS
“We have close to 150 vendors
and we’re constantly finding
new products. We’ve always
wanted to do more with
local farmers.”
Co-owner Jac Oliver
«
Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery co-owner Jac Oliver holding son Andrew with grocery manager
Julie McGuire (on right).

FOOD WRITING
AllWeeklyDivision
SECOND PLACE:
Charleston City Paper
Stephanie Burt

FOOD WRITING
AllWeeklyDivision
FIRST PLACE:
Free Times
Eva Moore

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WRITING
AllWeeklyDivision
THIRD PLACE:
Free Times
Jordan Lawrence

AllWeeklyDivision
SECOND PLACE:
Free Times
Jordan Lawrence

AllWeeklyDivision
FIRST PLACE:
Free Times
Dan Cook

REVIEW PORTFOLIO
AllWeeklyDivision
HONORABLE MENTION:
The News-Era
Joseph Garris, Jr.

REVIEW PORTFOLIO
AllWeeklyDivision
THIRD PLACE:
Free Times
Jordan Lawrence

REVIEW PORTFOLIO
AllWeeklyDivision
SECOND PLACE:
Free Times
Tom Mack

REVIEW PORTFOLIO
AllWeeklyDivision
FIRST PLACE:
Greenville Journal
Vincent Harris
Repercussions
With just drums and vocals, Jon Mueller
moved beyond the musical into the spiritual
Concert Review: Jon Mueller at Cabin Floor Records, May 1
One of the few drawbacks of being both
a music fan and a music writer is that it’s
often difficult to achieve complete release
while listening to a great song or watch-
ing a great performance. Even as I enjoy
a genuinely excellent musical moment, it’s
hard to get lost in it because I’m typically
breaking it down, analyzing why I’m en-
joying it and figuring out how to explain
that to others.
But Jon Mueller’s show last Friday at
Cabin Floor Records is something I can
only analyze in retrospect, because it was
a performance so powerful, so spiritual, so
far beyond what can be broken down and
parsed out that it’s daunting to even try.
And yet I feel compelled to do so because
of the experience, which I will attempt to
re-create below.
At around 9:15 p.m., Mueller, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, sits down behind
an Arabic bass drum, which resembled a wooden snare drum turned on its side. At his
feet are pedals that Mueller will use to manipulate, delay and loop the vocals he will
alternately whisper, moan and shout in to the two microphones in front of him.
He begins playing a rhythm on the drum with his left hand; it’s rapid but unhurried,
like an accelerated heartbeat, steady and powerful. He begins chanting into the micro-
phones, so softly at first that I strain to make out the words before it dawns on me that
this is a language I do not understand. Whether it’s simply a series of rhythmic syllables
or a foreign tongue, I’m not sure.
The vocals are louder now, echoing phrases bouncing off one another, off the walls,
off the people standing around me. My eyes are closed, and I’m not thinking about the
style or the exertion or the performer; I am entirely immersed in sound.
The vocals rise higher and higher upon the still-steady rhythm, layer upon layer
upon layer of sound creating a wall of music so intense that I feel I could reach out and
touch it. And then, as suddenly and abruptly as the end of a dream, the vocals stop, and
only the rhythmic drumming remains. It is as if I have walked off of a cliff, but there is
no gravity. My only tether is the ever-pulsing rhythm.
Now Mueller begins playing both sides of the drum, building another cathedral of
vocals over top of his primal foundation. I will later realize that he played somewhere
around 40 minutes without stopping, but in the moment, time loses all definition.
The buildup is faster this time, the chanting more feverish. I feel sweat on my fore-
head, chills down my spine, and a growing dovetailing of exhilaration and tension. In
these seemingly endless minutes, as the drumbeat becomes a polyrhythmic barrage
that combines the purely physical with the purely spiritual, I feel that if anyone touches
me, talks to me, even moves near me, the spell will be broken and the feeling will be so
excruciatingly intense I will have to leave the show.
I am at once outside my body and entirely present in each moment. The music feels
like it is part inside my head and, in some strange, ancient way, always has been. As
the voices and the drum reach upward towards their climax, I find myself on the verge
of tears.
And then, with a final, massive strike to the drum, comes silence. The performance is
over. I open my eyes and see that Mueller’s are closed, his hands clasped as if in prayer
above the drum. The crowd sits silent for 20, 30 seconds, stunned and, perhaps, as
moved as I am. It’s almost as if applauding, or even speaking, will break the spell.
SOUND CHECK
WITH VINCENT HARRIS
The road most traveled
Duo’s new album interprets the view out the van window
Think about the last time you took a
long road trip – about how, as the hours
and the miles clicked by, the outside
world became simply a series of rapid-
fire images, both familiar and unfamiliar.
Through the windshield, you see blurred
snapshots of places you’ve never been,
passing them by almost before you have
time to register their existence.
Now imagine doing that for 11 months.
That’s essentially what Daniel & Lauren
Goans, the Greensboro, N.C., duo called
Lowland Hum, did in 2014, traveling
thousands of miles from show to show to
promote their debut album, Native Air. By
the time they were done, they had the ba-
sis for a series of songs based on their col-
lective feelings of disassociation and dis-
covery. They were, in essence, channeling
the stimuli of an entire country into their
writing.
What they’ve created is one of the most
striking, hypnotic, emotionally affecting
albums I’ve heard this or any other year. The songs on the self-titled Lowland Hum
have an eerie, impressionistic rootlessness to them, layering impassioned, almost des-
perate vocal harmonies over ambience-heavy tracks that build gradually, becoming
more complex and intricate waves of percussion, guitar and keyboards as they evolve,
almost like aural spider webs. It’s music that quietly combines a haunting, dreamlike
stillness with remarkably intuitive playing, all in service of expansive melodies that
stretch slowly outward into an invisible horizon.
“We were taking it all in from the inside of a van,” says singer, guitarist and keyboard
player Daniel Goans of the duo’s journey across America. “It was one of us driving
while the other one sat in the passenger seat looking out the window. We saw so
many things, met so many people… it was an amazing quantity of information. And it
was quite a challenge to try to synthesize all that.”
“I think we’re still processing things about that year of our lives,” says Lauren
Goans, who sings and plays keyboards and percussion on the album. “A lot of it still
remains mysterious to us. I think that gives an impressionistic quality to the songs.”
The songs were the first that the duo worked extensively on together, and they
quickly expanded beyond the range of a two-piece group.
“Our first record was basically one guitar and two voices,” Daniel says, “and these
songs kind of stretched and broke out of that.”
But in his time as a producer, Daniel had met musicians who he thought would
be sympathetic to the material, and he brought in a tight circle of collaborators.
“These were close friends who have really good instincts,” Daniel says. “They wanted
what was best for the songs. It’s kind of rare, but we really all checked our personal
investments at the door.”
Lowland Hum, who will play an in-store show at Horizon Records on Tuesday,
spent most of the summer trying to re-arrange the songs for live performance, taking
them from the band setup back to a duo format.
“I think the instinct when you want to get people’s attention is to play louder, and
what we’ve learned is that dynamics better communicate a story,” Daniel says. “So
that means loud, but it also means quiet. So we’ll pull back at certain point and let
the vocals drift out, then build up the percussion. We worked really hard to create
something we’d be proud to share.”
SOUND CHECK
WITH VINCENT HARRIS
WHAT: Lowland Hum
WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 25th 5 p.m.
WHERE: Horizon Records, 2 W. Stone Ave.
TICKETS: Show is free
INFO: 864-235-7922; blog.horizonrecords.net
GRIFFINHARTDAVIS
The king is gone
– long live the king
It was as inevitable as
it was unthinkable – but
Riley B. King, the King of
the Blues, is gone. Lucille,
King’s beloved black Gib-
son electric, will be heard
no more. The owner of that
guitar, whose voice was the
roar of a wounded lion and
the wail of a wounded lover,
died at 89 after a long battle
with Type 2 diabetes and
various other ailments.
It’s easy enough to discuss
the events of King’s life, and his historical importance. He was born in 1925 in Berclair,
Miss., got his first guitar at the age of 12, and worked as a DJ in his early 20s under the
name “Beale Street Blues Boy,” which became “Blues Boy,” and finally just “B.B.”
He began recording for King Records in 1945 and never looked back, scoring hits
like “3 O’Clock Blues,” “Woke Up This Morning,” “You Upset Me Baby.” He reached
one of many commercial peaks with 1970’s immortal, Grammy-winning “The Thrill
Is Gone,” and worked with artists like U2, Eric Clapton and Tracy Chapman. Along
the way, he was inducted into the Blues and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame, won the Presi-
dential Medal of Freedom and was honored by the Kennedy Center.
But there is more, much more to B.B. King and his music than cold, hard biography.
There is that voice that sounded like a hurricane made of tears, and that guitar that
cried out in an almost human tone, sending slivers of stinging, shivering single-note
anguish and near-ecstatic joy into the air. There is “Live at the Regal,” a 1965 concert
album recorded at the Regal Theater in Chicago. The album is so alive, so vital, and so
essential that one’s life can be divided into before and after hearing it. There is that
fascinating dichotomy between the man who owned the stage like an emperor and
spoke softly offstage like a modest country boy.
There is this writer, barely 22 years old, putting on a copy of “Live at the Regal” for
the first time, and, for the next 34 minutes and 46 seconds, being transported into an-
other world. A sweaty, transcendent, blissfully painful world where King, his guitar,
and his stellar band quite simply tore their audience to pieces with a rapid-fire series
of classics like “Everyday I Have the Blues,” “Sweet Little Angel,” “How Blue Can You
Get,” and more, each song seeming to flow effortlessly into the next.
Women in the audience scream and moan; men hoarsely shout for more, demand
even greater heights of performance, and the band onstage disappoints neither gen-
der. In his view, and in the view of his band, King would insist for decades, it was
merely an average night.
As a lover of music still reeling from the death of a man who somehow went too
soon at almost 90 years of age, I will simply say this: Find, on whatever format you
choose, a copy of B.B. King performing “There Is Always One More Time.”
This astounding song from 1991, one of the last written by legendary songwriter
Doc Pomus, preaches resilience in the face of heartbreak and defeat. The tempo is just
short of a dead stop, and King spends an excruciatingly exquisite 8 ½ minutes ripping
his vocal chords and fingertips to shreds, pulling every conceivable drop of emotion
out of the song and out of his soul, before the song’s slow fade out to the strains of
King’s overpoweringly passionate solo. The joy and commitment and agony that King
summons from within himself is astonishing.
The idea that someone this alive, this indispensable, this influential is gone is al-
most impossible to accept. There was always supposed to be one more time. But the
King of the Blues is gone.
Long live the King.
SOUND CHECK
WITH VINCENT HARRIS

ELECTION/POLITICAL COVERAGE
AllWeeklyDivision
HONORABLE MENTION:
The Moultrie News
Sully Witte
So that there’s no confusion
onelectionday,MountPleas-
ant citizens living in Mount
Pleasant precincts 18 and 19
shouldtakenoteoftheirpoll-
ing location.
Originally relocated due
to the pending sale of the
Trident Academy property,
these precincts polling lo-
cations are moving back to
their original location. The
State Election Commission
will send out new voter reg-
istrationcardsinthenextfew
weeks.TridentAcademyislo-
cated at 1455 Wakendaw Rd.
Precincts
MountPleasant01-Alham-
bra Hall - 131 Middle St
Mount Pleasant 02 - Mount
Pleasant Municipal Complex
- 100 Ann Edwards Lane
Pleasant National Guard
Armory - 245 Mathis Ferry
Road
Mount Pleasant 06 - Moult-
rie Middle School - 645 Cole-
man Blvd.
man Blvd.
man Blvd.
man Blvd.
Mount Pleasant 10 - Old
WhitesidesElementary-1120
Rifle Range Rd.
Rifle Range Rd.
Rifle Range Rd.
Mount Pleasant 13 - The
Palms Of Mount Pleasant -
937 Bowman Rd.
Mount Pleasant 14 - Sweet-
grass Village - 601 Mathis
Ferry Rd.
Pleasant National Guard Ar-
mory - 245 Mathis Ferry Rd.
Pleasant National Guard Ar-
mory - 245 Mathis Ferry Rd.
Mount Pleasant 17 - Sea-
coastChurch-750LongPoint
Rd.
MountPleasant18-Trident
Academy - 1455 Wakendaw
Rd.
Mount Pleasant 19 - Trident
Academy - 1455 Wakendaw
Rd.
Pleasant Waterworks - 1619
Rifle Range Rd.
Pleasant Waterworks - 1619
Rifle Range Rd.
Mount Pleasant 22 - Christ
Church - 2304 N Highway 17
Mount Pleasant 25 - Sea-
coastChurch-750LongPoint
Rd.
Mount Pleasant 26 - Jones
RecreationCenter-391Egypt
Rd.
Mount Pleasant 27 - Belle
Hall Elementary - 385 Egypt
Rd.
Rd.
Rd.
Mount Pleasant 30 - Brick-
yard Community Center -
1100 Brickyard Pkwy.
MountPleasant31-Greater
GoodwillAMEChurch-2818
N Highway 17
N Highway 17
MountPleasant33-Thomas
C.CarioMiddleSchool-3500
Thomas Cario Blvd.
N Highway 17
PleasantParkWestRecCom-
plex - 1251 Park West Blvd.
Mount Pleasant 36 - Brick-
yard Community Center -
1100 Brickyard Pkwy.
Mount Pleasant 37 - East-
bridge Presbyterian Church
- 3058 N Highway 17
MountPleasant38-Wando
High - Center for Advance
Studies - 900 Warrior Way
MountPleasant39-Wando
High - Center for Advance
Studies - 900 Warrior Way
Register to vote
Voter registration is closed
for30dayspriortoeveryelec-
tion.TheMountPleasantgen-
eral election will be held Nov.
3. The last day to register to
vote for a Tuesday election is
always on a Saturday.
Online applications must
be submitted on or before
the deadline to be valid for
any specific election.
Online voter registration
does not “turn off” at the
deadline. Applications sub-
mitted after the deadline will
be processed but will not be
valid for that particular elec-
tion.
Fax and email applications
must be received by the voter
registration office by the
deadline to be valid for a par-
ticular election.
Applications received af-
ter the deadline will be pro-
cessedbutwillnotbevalidfor
that particular election.
Mail-in applications must
be postmarked by the dead-
line.
Mostregistrationdeadlines
fallonaSaturday.Checkwith
yourlocalpostofficeaboutre-
ceivingaSaturdaypostmark.
Visit http://bit.ly/1NobRT7.
Photo ID
When voting in person, you
will be asked to show one of
the following Photo IDs:
Vehicles ID Card
with Photo
Know your polling place for November 3 election
MOULTRIE NEWS.9CWednesday, October 28, 2015 www.moultrienews.com
“Vote in Honor of a Vet-
eran” is a county-wide pro-
gram that offers recognition
of our brave veterans and
provides encouragement to
our citizens to vote in greater
numbers. Charleston County
officials developed the pro-
gram because they believe it
will cause individuals to feel
empoweredthroughthepride
theyfeelforveteransandalso
willencouragethemandoth-
ers to vote.
This program is aimed at
raising awareness about the
importance of voting and
highlighting the bond be-
tween our veterans and de-
mocracy.
The county has partnered-
with the Palmetto Warrior
Connection,theS.C.National
Guard, the Charleston Ex-
change Club and other orga-
nizations to inspire students,
parents, churches, civic
groups and others to partici-
pate in the voting process.
The stories of our military
members are inspirational
and reinforce our message
that their service to our na-
tionhelpsprovideustheright
to vote.
“VoteinHonorofaVeteran”
includes a partnership with
highschools,inordertoreach
our youngest voters.
As part of this pilot pro-
gram, county officials have
partnered with the Charles-
ton Charter School for Math
andScience,wherea16-week
program will be embedded
into the curriculum.
The school program in-
cludes: a visit from a veteran
whowillsharehis/herexperi-
ences serving in the military
andconveytheimportanceof
democracyandvoting;anas-
signment for students based
onthatvisit,andavisitbyour
office that will teach a lesson
onvotingproceduresandgive
students the opportunity to
register to vote and sign up
to be poll workers.
If your school is interest-
ed in having this program,
pleasecontactcountyoffices.
Civic and community
groups interested in request-
ing a veteran speak at one of
their meetings or events can
do so through this website.
Below, you can submit a tes-
timonialdetailingwhyyou’ve
decided to Vote in Honor of a
Veteran.
Once you have made your
submission, you will be
mailed a lapel pin to wear at
the polls.
Testimonials
ELWOOD JOSEPH
READING
MARINE CORPS - 5TH
In Honor of my Great
Grandfather, Elwood Joseph
Reading, USMC. Meuse-
Argonne Offensive Nov 1 to
Nov 14, 1918, March of Allies
ArmiestoRhineRiver,Army
of Occupation Germany Dec
13, 1918 to July 18, 1919.
Submitted by: Amanda
Ramage, Charleston County
Government
JERMAINE HUSSER
ARMY
I want to honor Jermaine
Husser this November with
myvote.Hisstoryofsacrifice
and service are to be com-
mended.Heisatrueheroand
inspiration to all in this great
community.
Submitted by: Isaac Cra-
mer
RICHARD RUSSELL
AIR FORCE
For my Grandfather and
his service with the Army
Air Corps. Also for the many
other members of my family
who have served.
Submitted by: Kevin Lime-
house, Charleston County
ROBERT DONEL
BARBAREE
NAVY - 12TH
I am honoring my grandfa-
ther because of his commit-
ment to serving this country
andbecausehiscommitment
inspiredhisson,hisson’sson,
and my brother to serve as
well.
Submitted by: Brandy
McAllister, DAODAS
ROBERT FREDERICK
UNKEL
NAVY
Served on USS Yorktown
CVS-10 in Tonkin Gulf, Re-
covery Ship for Apollo 8,
Round the Horn & North
Atlantic cruises. USS Inde-
pendence CVA-62 Mediter-
ranean during rescue of Jor-
danian hostages. RD-2 Anti-
Submarine Air Controller &
ElectronicCounter-Measures
Submitted by: Joan Dehne,
League Of Women Voters
To contribute your own tes-
timonial or learn more, visit
http://vote.charlestoncounty.
org/vet-form.php.
Vote in Honor of a Veteran
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James F. Amos, the outgoing commandant of the Marine Corps, salutes the colors during the passage of command ceremony
at Marine Barracks Washington in Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2014. Amos relinquished command of the Marine Corps to Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr.
and retired after 44 years of military service. (DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley, U.S. Coast Guard/Released)

AllWeeklyDivision
THIRD PLACE:
Daniel Island News
Elizabeth Bush thedanielislandnews.com POLTICAL 31Oct. 29 - Nov. 4 The Daniel Island News
Below is a brief description of each can-
didate for Mayor of Charleston. Through-
out the last two months, The Daniel Island
candidates as well as answers that each of
the candidates provided during the May-
oral Forum. You can review that informa-
tion, at www.thedanielislandnews.com.
Additionally, the last two questions and
the candidate’s answers from the Mayoral
Forum appear on the website only. Below
is a brief summary of the candidates.
GINNY DEERIN
Current posi-
tion: Focusing
on campaign
full-time
Work experi-
ence: Founder
of WINGS
for Kids, an
after school
under-served
kids; Cam-
paign Manager
for Mayor Joe
Riley, 2011; leadership and management
consultant.
-
tation, economic development, education,
responsible growth, and transparency.
Website: www.ginnydeerin.com
WILLIAM DUDLEY GREGORIE
Current position: City Councilman,
District 6 (2009-present)
Work experience: Former South Caro-
lina Director of U.S. Housing and Urban
Development.
Campaign
targets:
Responsible
growth and
development,
transporta-
tion, drainage
downtown,
education,
and enhancing
quality of life.
Website:
www.gregorieformayor.com
TOBY SMITH
Current po-
sition: Execu-
tive Director
of Midland
Park Commu-
nity Minis-
tries in North
Charleston
Work ex-
perience: Has
worked for the
Central Intelli-
gence Agency,
Charleston
County School District, and Charleston
Metro Chamber of Commerce (director
of Public Affairs Group). Also served as a
-
caster, and is an ordained minister at Mt.
Olive Baptist Church in North Charleston.
Campaign targets: Revitalization of
West Ashley, focusing on the “edges”
(areas of a high concentration of poverty
with little to no community resources),
-
serving the African American culture in
the City of Charleston.
Website: www.tobysmithformayor.com
LEON STAVRINAKIS
Current
position: Leg-
islator, S.C.
House of Rep-
resentatives
(2007-present);
Attorney.
Work
experience:
Former Chair,
Charleston
County Coun-
cil; former
prosecutor; small
business owner.
Campaign targets: Fiscal responsibility,
and transportation, and advocating for
education.
Website: www.leonformayor.com
JOHN TECKLENBURG
Current
position:
Focusing on
campaign full-
time, but also
is a commer-
cial real estate
agent.
Work expe-
rience: Former
small business
owner, former director of economic devel-
opment for the City of Charleston.
Campaign targets: Livability and quality
of life, transportation and public transit,
economy and jobs, better city services and
stronger neighborhoods.
Website: www.tecklenburgformayor.
com
MAURICE WASHINGTON
Current
position: Presi-
dent/CEO of
Trust Manage-
ment, LLC,
and consult-
ing services
company.
Work expe-
rience: Former
Charleston
City Council-
man (1991-
1999); former
member of the South Carolina State
University Board of Trustees (2001-2008);
appointed to former Governor Mark San-
ford’s transition team in 2002.
Campaign targets: Responsible growth,
affordability, inclusion, education, trans-
Website: www.washington4mayor.com
Who is your choice for Mayor of Charleston?
Ginny Deerin
William Dudley Gregorie
Toby Smith
Leon Stavrinakis
John Tecklenburg
Maurice Washington
photos by Suzanne Detar
VOTE
November 3

AllWeeklyDivision
SECOND PLACE:
TheBerkeleyIndependent
Lindsay Street
BY LINDSAY STREET
The Independent
Filing opens for sheriff special election
Duane Lewis files for sheriff.
Photos by Lindsay Street/Independent
Jerry Merrithew files for sheriff.
Brian Adams files for sheriff.Chad Caldwell files for sheriff.
Adam
Hammons called
the election
... once-in-a-
generation

AllWeeklyDivision
FIRST PLACE:
The Lancaster News
Staff
Beverly Lorenz
For The Lancaster News
INDIAN LAND – Before noon Mon-
day, Aug. 24, cars lined Del Webb
Boulevard as a crowd of several hun-
dred people eagerly awaited Wiscon-
sin Gov. Scott Walker, who was on his
way to the Sun City Carolina Lakes
pavilion, where he would soon speak.
Security was tight as people came
to hear the Republican candidate dis-
cuss the issues of the day and explain
why he was running for U.S. presi-
dent.
Brandon Newton, 5th District Re-
publican Party chairman, welcomed
everyone including S.C. Reps. Debo-
rah Long (R-45), Raye Felder (R-46),
S.C. Republican Party Executive
Committee member Sandy McGarry,
Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile
and Pam Mulvaney, the wife of U.S.
Congressman Mick Mulvaney.
“It is a great privilege and pleasure
to introduce Gov. Scott Walker,” said
S.C. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-York), as
the governor arrived amid applause.
Walker wasted little time in warm-
ing up the already eager crowd.
“I’d love to have your vote,” the
47-year-old father of two said, while
offering countless reasons why and
what he would do to earn that vote.
“Politicians make promises and
don’t keep them,” he said.
Walker mentioned his “Put up or
Walker visits Indian Land
Hundreds
meet GOP
hopeful
in Sun City
JIM LORENZ/FOR THE LANCASTER NEWS
Above, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is seeking the Republican nomina-
tion for president, mingles with a huge crowd of local residents Monday, Aug.
24, after speaking at the Lake House pavilion at Sun City Carolina Lakes. At
right is S.C. Republican Party Executive Committee member Sandy McGarry.
Below, Walker shares his reasons why he is the best GOP presidential candi-
date.
See WALKER I Page 3

GOVERNMENT BEAT REPORTING
AllWeeklyDivision
THIRD PLACE:
LexingtonCountyChronicle&TheDispatchNews
Hal Millard
BY HAL MILLARD
halmillard@gmail.com
The days appear num-
bered for South Carolina's
Confederate Battle Flag.
Calls for the flag's re-
moval from the Statehouse
grounds have reached fever
pitch following the shoot-
ing deaths of nine people at
a black church in Charles-
ton by former Lexington
resident Dylann Roof.
Gov. Nikki Haley on
Monday called for the flag's
removal as she was sur-
rounded by a multi-racial,
bipartisan coalition of state
and federal lawmakers.
“Today, we are here in a
moment of unity in our
state, without ill will, to say
it is time to move the flag
from the Capitol grounds,”
Haley said. “One-hundred
fifty years after the end of
the Civil War — the time
has come.”
Spartanburg GOP Rep.
Doug Brannon said in re-
cent days he planned a bill
this winter to remove the
flag to a muse-
um, but with
Haley's an-
nouncement,
he said mo-
mentum might
help get the
job done now.
"The momentum has
changed overnight," he told
National Public Radio.
The House and Senate
voted Tuesday to begin
debate on the issue some-
time this summer.
Brannon said his constit-
uents are mostly supportive,
but he has heard criticism.
He says he believed remov-
ing the flag is the right thing
to do, especially after the
murder of his friend Sen.
Clementa Pinckney.
"Here's what I'm gonna
do: I'm gonna do my job
until I lose by job," he said
"And if I lose it over this, I
will lose with a smile."
Members of the Lexing-
ton County delegation have
said they plan to vote to re-
move the flag. They include,
so far, Sen. John Courson,
Rep. Nathan Ballentine,
Rep. Kenny Bingham, Sen.
Katrina Shealy and Rep.
Russell Ott. Any vote to re-
move the flag would require
a two-thirds vote of the
General Assembly.
The Confederate Battle
Flag was first placed on the
capitol on April 11, 1961,
and then moved to a me-
morial on the south side of
the Statehouse in 2000.
“Take it down and put it
in a museum,” said Lexing-
ton businesswoman Alysia
Kehoe.
Fellow Lexington resi-
dent, Talbert Black Jr.,
however, said “the outpour-
ing of love and compassion
after the murders in
Charleston demonstrates
that the overwhelming ma-
jority of people in our state
are not racists. We love and
care for each other regard-
less of race, religion, and
political party.
“Taking the flag down
won’t make a racist stop be-
ing racist,” he added. “Keep-
ing it flying won’t make
someone become racist who
isn’t racist. And having it on
the grounds certainly hasn’t
stopped the outpouring of
love and compassion and
unity that we have seen
over the last several days.
Those negative feelings are
symptoms of a bigger prob-
lem than a symbol, regard-
less of how you view it.
“That problem will only
be solved by each of us
continuing to reach out of
our small circle of associ-
ates who are ‘like us,’
which by human nature
we are comfortable with,
and showing friendship,
love, and compassion to
those who we initially per-
ceive as different.
“When we do that, we
soon find they are much
more like us than we first
imagined.”
INSIDE _||__
Page A3.
GGovernor pushes to remove Confederate Battle Flag from Statehouse grounds
Haley

GOVERNMENT BEAT REPORTING
AllWeeklyDivision
SECOND PLACE:
The Summerville
Journal Scene
Monica Kreber MONICA KREBER
mkreber@journalscene.com
‘We think
it’s illegal’Summerville faces legal action from
opponents of boutique hotel
LAWSUIT, 6A

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