Man dies reaching for golf ball
An 86-year-old Hilton Head Island man drowned Sunday after he fell into a golf course pond, The Island Packet reported.
Lawrence Monroe Slovin was reaching into the pond for a golf ball. Slovin had been golfing when he hit his ball onto the fairway from his position near the water hazard, where he saw another ball near the water, a sheriff’s report said.
His playing partner said Slovin tried to hit the ball, lost his balance and fell into the water. The man tried to grab Slovin’s feet, but Slovin was thrashing in the water and went under, according to the sheriff’s report.
About five minutes later, Slovin’s partner found his body and pulled him out of the water. Paramedics pronounced Slovin dead at the scene.
Slovin had just started playing golf again after being in the hospital.
Columbia police chief search begins
Columbia began a national search for a new police chief after more than six months of an interim police chief, The State reported.
Although a investigation of Interim Chief Ruben Santiago and former Capt. Dave Navarro is ongoing, City Manager Teresa Wilson told the newspaper she is moving forward with the search. Wilson had said a few months ago that she would wait for the investigation to conclude after City Council members expressed concern over finding a replacement during it.
Other law enforcement, business leaders, neighborhood association members and hospitality district representatives will provide input in the hiring process.
Wilson said she expects to have a new chief by March.
“I cannot continue to manage the city and expect our city, the public and the officers to not have a clear direction of where the leadership is going to be,” Wilson told The State.
Local veteran awarded Purple Heart 40 years after mission
A Summerville veteran was awarded a Purple Heart last weekend, more than 40 years after he completed his mission, WIS reported.
Army Lt. Col. Joseph Tallon was forced to eject from his plane with his partner, Spc. Daniel Richards, after their plane was hit by a missile. Richards was killed on the scene, but Tallon survived, despite landing in a mine field and being hit with shrapnel.
Tallon said it was not an easy task to prove the two Purple Hearts, which are presented to those wounded or killed while serving in the U.S. military.
“One, the information was classified. And two, it was the very tail end of the way,” Tallon said, according to WIS. “The last day of the ground war and the units went home. Nothing was filed up. Paperwork was let go.”
Richards was awarded the Purple Heart last Saturday. The medal was accepted by his family on his behalf.