Meth problem in Richland Country grows
Richland County officials are worried about public safety as they face a growing discovery of meth labs, The State reported. The number of meth labs discovered by law enforcement officials has more than tripled in the past two years, with seven citations in 2011 and 23 last year.
Sheriff Leon Lott has announced that the Richland County Sheriff’s Department will begin labeling locations where labs have been found with the help of Richland County fire marshals and emergency services personnel. The labels will not be removed until the locations have been cleaned professionally.
Hotel employees and guests are especially at risk, said Lott. Staff members may not realize that they are cleaning up the remnants of a meth lab, and there may be a future possibility of illness or injury since the incident is never reported or professionally cleaned.
Lott asked that citizens report to law enforcement any suspicious in popular locations for meth labs such as hotel rooms, apartments, cars, homes, woods or fields.
—Natalie Pita, Assistant News Editor
Pit bull enthusiasts protest potential restrictions
The monthly Columbia Bully Walk aims to give pit bull owners an opportunity to get together and exercise their dogs, as well as to change the minds of people who are scared of the breed, The State reported. Owners of pit bulls and other bully breeds gathered on South Carolina Statehouse grounds on Sunday to support the dogs and their owner’s rights after the City of Columbia began discussing an ordinance to have bully breed owners pay more for city dog licensing fees.
Councilmen Cameron Runyan and Sam Davis brought up the subject of the city placing special requirements on pit bull owners during a committee meeting on Friday.
Although dog bite statistics may substantiate the pit bull’s reputation as a dangerous dog, many of the owners in the Columbia Bully Walk say that their dogs are gentle. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the key to decreasing aggressiveness in bully breeds is to properly socialize and train a dog and have the dog spayed or neutered. Runyan wants to use the revenue from higher city dog licensing fees to offer free spaying and neutering clinics.
—Natalie Pita, Assistant News Editor
Protestors aim to remove Confederate flag
In 1962, state officials placed the Confederate battle flag on top of the State House dome to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Civil War. But in 2000, following years of protest, lawmakers agreed to move the flag to the Confederate war memorial in front of the State House. Since then, the state has adopted Martin Luther King Day and Confederate Memorial Day as official holidays and erected an African-American history monument on the State House grounds, The State reported.
But this compromise is no longer sufficient. About 1,500 people gathered at the South Carolina State House for the annual King Day at the Dome, a celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. through prayers, speeches and inspirational songs, Monday morning. Yet the focus of the event, which is now in its 15th year, was to press officials to remove the Confederate flag from private property.
“To hell with that flag,” said the Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, during his speech to the crowd.
On Monday, the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers, vice president of the NAACP stakeholder relations, announced a nationwide petition that people could sign to bring down the flag by texting the word “flag” to 62227.
—Natalie Pita, Assistant News Editor