S.C Counties warned about low-level drought
Due to low river flows in nine counties to the west and south of Columbia, the South Carolina Drought Response Committee has declared a low-level drought for those counties, The State reported.
Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton, Edgefield, Hampton, Lexington and Orangeburg counties were told to expect a incipient drought, the least severe of the SCDRC's four drought levels.
The drought is due to, according to the Department of Natural Resources, the low levels of the Edisto and Salkehatchie river basins over the summer.
While the panel indicated a drought, no farmers in those counties have reported serious drought problems.
Officials say rainfall throughout the state has been wide-ranging. Aiken reported less than 9 inches of rain while counties in the Tidewater region reported close to 30 inches of rain over the summer.
Bus driver leaves sick student in neighbor's yard
A school bus driver is unemployed after leaving a sick child on the side of the road and driving off Wednesday, WLTX reported.
The incident happened in the morning when 11-year-old Joe Stone called his mother from the bus complaining of chest pains and saying he couldn't breathe and was going to throw up.
When he told the bus driver, she pulled over at the next stop and left the child in the grass by a neighbor's driveway.
The neighbor, a family friend, called Stone's mother who drove over to pick up her son.
The mother, Victoria Stone, said she found him hunched over by the neighbor's house, feet from the road.
Melissa Robinette, spokeswoman from the Spartanburg District Five School District, said the driver "resigned in lieu of termination" after the incident and that the driver violated district policies.
Stone's parents have also filed a report with the school's resource officer and his case will be assigned to an investigator.
Man sentenced in killing of 23-year-old Clemson student
A ruling has been made in the case involving the stabbing and killing of a Clemson student.
Lester Mosley Jr., 20, was found guilty of murder Wednesday and faces 50 years in prison.
The prosecution argued that Mosley and three other men entered the house of a Clemson student in December 2012, wanting to rob the house because they had heard someone living there had a large quantity of marijuana.
Authorities said that while others searched for the drugs, Mosley pistol-whipped the residents and his gun fired, killing Steven Grich.
Mosley testified in his defense, saying that he was never in the home. The other suspects pleaded guilty and testified in Mosley's trial.