Some Richland residents want to create new county
Some residents of northwest Richland County are hoping to escape the county’s taxes and growth by changing their residences to a county that’s not even on the map — yet.
A plan to create a new county on the north side of Lake Murray is expected to be outlined today, The State reports, but it faces long odds. South Carolina apparently limits its number of counties to the current 46, according to The State.
The proposal is to create “Birch County” by combining part of north Lexington County with northwest Richland County, The State reported.
Little Mountain resident Barbara Judd told The State she is upset about creeping urban development and “being forced to pay for things that benefit downtown Columbia, not us.”
Chapin Mayor Stan Shealy told The State he did not see “how it can ever be a benefit” to create a new county.
— Sarah Ellis, Assistant News Editor
Tanner to be inducted into SC Athletic Hall of Fame
USC Athletics Director Ray Tanner is one of eight state sports figures being inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in May, The Associated Press reports.
Tanner will be joined by late Clemson broadcaster Jim Phillips, former Clemson Athletics Director Bill McLellan, Clemson football’s Homer Jordan, USC baseball’s Hank Small, Furman basketball’s Clyde Mayes, Citadel football’s Travis Jervey and Bamberg-Ehrhardt baseball coach David Horton, according to AP.
Tanner coached USC’s baseball team for 16 years before being named Athletics director in July 2012. He’s a three-time National Coach of the Year and Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year who led the team to national championships in 2010 and 2011. He previously coached for nine years at his alma mater, North Carolina State.
Phillips was the “Voice of the Tigers” for 36 years before his death in 2003.
The Hall of Fame ceremony will be May 13.
_
— Sarah Ellis, Assistant News Editor_
Court upholds district’s ban on Confederate attire
The Stars and Bars still fly in front of the State House, but you can’t wear them on your shirt in one South Carolina school district.
The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Monday the Latta School District’s decision to bar a student from wearing apparel with the Confederate flag on campus, The Associated Press reported.
The district was sued in 2006 by the Southern Legal Resource Center on behalf of a 15-year-old high school sophomore, who had been forced to change clothes and was suspended twice in middle school for wearing Confederate-themed clothing, according to AP.
The student’s attorneys said her free speech rights were violated by the ban, but the appeals court ruled that school officials need to keep order and promote education, AP reported.
“Although students’ expression of their views and opinions is an important part of the educational process and receives some First Amendment protection, the right of students to speak in school is limited by the need for school officials to ensure order, protect the rights of other students and promote the school’s educational mission,” the appeals court wrote.
_
— Sarah Ellis, Assistant News Editor_