TheState.com: Local / Metro

DHEC denies dam permits for Duke Energy

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:01 EDT

After hearing from S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, the board of the state’s environmental protection agency Thursday denied a permit Duke Energy needs to operate hydropower dams along the Catawba River in South Carolina.

The 4-0 vote by board members of the Department of Health and Environmental Control is a temporary setback for the North Carolina-based power company, which can appeal or renegotiate new permit terms and reapply.

But the decision is a big win for McMaster and conservation groups that had appealed a DHEC staff decision to the board.

McMaster said the decision averts a potential roadblock in a U.S. Supreme Court case he has brought against North Carolina over water rights to the Catawba River. In making that case, he took the unusual step of appearing before the DHEC board and challenging Duke, one of the Carolinas’ most influential companies.

“This is an excellent decision,” McMaster said afterward. “I thought the board members listened intently, asked a lot of questions, gave it great consideration, and they did the right thing.

Barrett pulls in more than $500,000

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:01 EDT

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett raised more than $500,000 in the past three months for his 2010 Republican gubernatorial run, according to his campaign.

Barrett’s total outpaced others in the field, as reports began trickling in Thursday. Today is the deadline to file fundraising reports for the quarter ended June 30.

In total, Barrett has raised more than $800,000 since entering the six-way GOP race in early March.

Barrett’s campaign was finalizing its report and could not say how much cash the campaign had on hand, but did say the second quarter totals do not include any funds transferred from his congressional account.

Both Barrett and Attorney General Henry McMaster, who is weighing a run, reported more than $1 million on hand in first quarter reports.

Father of boy who killed brother charged

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:01 EDT

The father of a 13-year-old Kershaw County boy who fatally shot his 10-year-old brother because he took his spot watching TV has been indicted on a federal gun charge.

Gary Travis Roberts, 45, is charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said Thursday.

He was not yet in custody Thursday.

Roberts is accused of illegally possessing the .22-caliber pump-action rifle used in the March 2 killing at the family’s Cassatt home.

He is prohibited from having guns or ammunition because of a 1991 state conviction for involuntary manslaughter.

60 attend ‘Impeach Sanford’ rally

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:17 EDT

About 60 people participated in an “Impeach Sanford” rally Thursday at the State House.

Those who participated acknowledged turnout was low but said they were pleased to have a forum to voice their concerns about Gov. Mark Sanford secretly leaving the state last month to visit his lover in Argentina.

“If anyone else didn’t show up for their job for four days, they would be fired,” said Wanda Barr of Columbia. “I can’t support a governor who has a double standard.”

State Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler, who watched the event but did not help organize it, said the message is out.

“A majority of South Carolinians think the governor should resign,” Fowler said, referring to recent polls. “Whether a big crowd or a little crowd came out today doesn’t change that.”

Proof of need not required at food giveaway

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:01 EDT

Individuals will not have to provide proof of need to participate in a free food giveaway Saturday sponsored by a local church.

“We are just going to let them go with their heart,” the Rev. Eddie Guess, a prominent figure in the city’s evangelical Christian community, said Thursday.

Guess’ congregation, Good News Global Ministries, is sponsoring the event in partnership with a Charlotte minister.

After some initial confusion over who had jurisdiction over the site, Guess obtained permission from the building’s owners to set up for the event.

The city will provide fire and police protection, he said.

Kershaw schools launch war on gangs

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:01 EDT

Kershaw County schools are getting $5.7 million in federal aid to combat gang-related activity.

The four-year plan increases social counseling, puts cameras on 104 school buses and adds two resource officers who will police five of 11 elementary schools.

It’s virtually everything requested by community leaders in the award announced Thursday.

Their plan was developed after a dozen youths were charged in the gang-related death of a high school student in Camden in December 2007.

“We worked together to respond to a challenge and turn a tragedy into something positive,” school superintendent Frank Morgan said.

A solution to Finlay Park crime?

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:01 EDT

Some residents living around Finlay Park say closing the parking lot at the crest of the city’s premier park has eliminated the sleazy behavior that has plagued them for years.

The circular drive along the 90-space parking lot was chained more than a month ago, following a sit-down between some city and neighborhood leaders.

Dan Dennis, president of the Governor’s Hill Homeowners Association, said residents witnessed people having sex in their cars and on their cars, prostitution, drug deals and blaring music from parked cars.

But City Councilman Kirkman Finlay, who only recently found out the parking lot had been closed temporarily, argues that those are problems that should be handled by police.

And, Finlay said, closing a public place because of crime sets a troubling precedent.

Woman to lead Army drill sergeants

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:01 EDT

The first woman chosen by the Army to lead its school for drill sergeants said Thursday she does not expect any trouble commanding the service’s toughest instructors.

“It doesn’t matter if you are male or female,” Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King said in a telephone interview. “I have always found that if you enforce your standards, people will respect you.”

King, 47, said she hopes her selection will inspire other women in the military.

“If I can do it, other female soldiers can,” she said.

Last year, the Army consolidated its three schools for the famously tough instructors at Fort Jackson, the service’s largest training installation.

USC trustee charged with fraud resigns

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:01 EDT

Samuel Foster II, in line to become the first African-American chairman of USC’s board of trustees, has resigned from that panel after being charged with bank fraud by federal authorities in North Carolina.

Foster, 52, had been on the board since 1984.

He resigned July 1, two days after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte filed charges against him for participating in a kickback scheme with a BB&T executive and filing a false federal tax return.

The fraud charge Foster faces carries a maximum fine of $1 million and 30 years in prison or both. Filing a false tax return can bring a fine of up to $100,000, three years in prison or both, plus the cost of prosecution.

In a letter of resignation to the board, Foster, a former track and field standout at USC, made no mention of the charges he faces.

Teen loses hand in blast; man charged

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

ANDERSON — A 22-year-old Easley man has been charged after a bundle of more than 100 sparklers exploded, causing a teen to lose his hand and sustain severe leg injuries.

Robert Stephen Spicer faces up to five years in prison on a felony charge of making an incendiary device.

Authorities said the explosion happened July 2 when more than 100 sparklers were tied together and were ignited.

Injured was 15-year-old Ryan Stancell of Anderson County, who remains in a Greenville hospital.

Spicer’s family has said the explosion was an accident. A bail hearing for Spicer was expected Thursday. It was unclear if he has an attorney.

Shaw commander gets fourth star, new post

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

The commander of the 9th Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base has been nominated for a fourth star, the Defense Department announced Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, a 32-year Air Force veteran and fighter pilot, will move up to the rank of general and assume commander of the Pacific Air Forces headquartered at Hickham Air Force Base, Hawaii.

In his job at Shaw, the 1976 East Carolina University graduate served as commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces, spending much of his time directing the air operations over Iraq and Afghanistan.

A native of Charlottesville, Va., North served two tours at Shaw in the 1980s. His two sons were born at the base hospital.

North’s successor at Shaw has not been named.

Thieves grab diapers, GPS — and sunroof

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

YORK — A sunroof is not an obstacle when there’s a need for diapers.

Thieves got away with a bag of diapers Tuesday night when they detached the sunroof of an SUV and crawled inside, police said.

Dina Vacho, a local interior designer who was painting the inside of a church in downtown York, told police she came back to the parking lot to find the sunroof had been stolen from her Toyota 4-Runner. It was valued at $500, according to a report from the York Police Department.

Also taken was a GPS system, valued at around $250, the report stated.

Vacho told The (Rock Hill) Herald that she was on her way Wednesday afternoon to have the sunroof fixed. In the meantime, she was using a golf umbrella to cover the opening in her vehicle.

This weekends best bets

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:01 EDT

Have you ever had to call 9-1-1? From the person who takes the call to the ambulance driver, each responder makes a difference.

Learn more about — and celebrate — emergency personnel at the second annual Emergency Services Appreciation Day at Village at Sandhill.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 18, members from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the S.C. Highway Patrol and the Columbia Fire Department will display their vehicles and explain the services each department provides to the community.

The Kids Print Team will fingerprint children, and highway patrolmen will conduct child safety seat checks. Visitors can explore the D.A.R.E. truck and ambulance and a city fire truck.

In addition, Carolina Crossfire Cheer will perform and Balloonopolis will entertain, among others.

Lake Murray home destroyed in fire

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

A fire destroyed a home Thursday afternoon on Tom Drafts Point along Lake Murray off U.S. 378, a Lexington County Fire Service news release said.

No one was home at the time of the 2:21 p.m. blaze and the cause was under investigation, the release said.

It took firefighters 45 minutes to get the fire under control, the release said.

4 teens charged in 2 robberies, 1 burglary

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

Four teens have been arrested after an investigation into two robberies and a burglary last month, a Richland County Sheriff’s Department news release said.

Kijuan Goodwin and Michael Fowler, both 17, and two 16-year-olds, whose names have not been released because they are juveniles, face charges including burglary, the release said.

Goodwin and the two juveniles also are charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and grand larceny, the release said.

They were arrested after an investigation into a June 28 robbery a Hard Scrabble Road apartment complex, a June 29 burglary at a Curvewood Road home and a June 29 robbery at a Hard Scrabble Road convenience store, the release said.

Confederate museum is proving popular

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

The South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum says it has seen a 24 percent increase in visitors from the last fiscal year.

Museum officials say attendance from July 2008 to last June was 22,000 people — more than double what the attraction was pulling in before moving five years ago into the Columbia Mills Building on Gervais Street, which it shares with the S. C. State Museum.

Museum director Allen Roberson credits his workers for the increased attendance, saying they have created engaging exhibits and been more effective with marketing and advertising.

The Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum was founded in 1896 and is the oldest museum in Columbia.

Contributing: Staff writer Chuck Crumbo; The Associated Press

New construction slated for fort cemetery

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

The Department of Veterans Affairs is moving ahead with the next phase of construction at the Fort Jackson National Cemetery.

The VA announced Thursday it has awarded a $10.3 million contract to LW Construction of Charleston to install 4,224 in-ground concrete vaults.

The contract also calls for construction of a 2,000-niche columbarium, plus an administration and public information building, a maintenance shelter and two committal service shelters.

The 74-acre development should provide enough burial spaces for the next 10 years. The project should be completed in late 2010 or early 2011.

On 585 acres off Percival Road in Richland County, the cemetery will serve more than 170,000 eligible veterans in South Carolina. The first section, which was opened for burials in January, includes 1,400 full-casket graves and 1,100 in-ground sites for cremated remains.

769 S.C. fugitives caught in crackdown

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

Police searching for fugitive sex offenders, violent criminals and gang members made more than 35,000 arrests nationwide during an annual monthlong crackdown — the most in the roundup’s five-year history and nearly double the number from last year — authorities announced Thursday.

The U.S. Marshals Service said the latest “Operation Falcon” captured 433 murder suspects and 900 gang members.

In South Carolina, 769 fugitives were arrested in June, including 36 sex offenders, a U.S. Marshals news release said.

There were 1,393 warrants served in the state, the release said.

Columbia FALCON team members arrested Candy Mae Vanpelt, serving a 1993 warrant for possession with intent to distribute crystal methamphetamine, the release said.

Forest clear-cutting draws objections

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

PENDLETON — Some Upstate residents are complaining about Clemson University’s clear-cutting of 118 acres of forest at its beef cattle research farm.

Betsy George is a retired school teacher in Pendleton who told The Greenville News she has walked with her husband among the hardwood trees at the Simpson Agriculture Research Station for years.

Clemson University forest manager Knight Cox says the timber is being harvested to provide money for the agriculture station.

Clemson’s Public Service division has seen steep budget cuts in recent years, including nearly $14 million in the current fiscal year.

The Sierra Club has asked Clemson University president Jim Barker to stop the clear-cutting. A school spokeswoman said the cleared land that is not used for cattle operations will be replanted with trees.

Man inside substation fence was electrocuted

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06 EDT

GAFFNEY — Authorities say a man found dead inside a fence at a Gaffney power substation was electrocuted.

Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said Thursday dental records were needed to identify 49-year-old Donald Catoe, who fell 15 feet after coming in contact with the high voltage.

Catoe’s body was found Tuesday by a Gaffney work crew getting ready to mow the grass.

Fowler said Catoe had to climb a 6-foot tall fence topped with barbed wire to get into the substation.

Catoe’s family told the coroner they hadn’t seen him in about six months.