Boil water advisories issued in various neighborhoods
The City of Columbia Water Works issued a boil water advisory Sunday for another Columbia neighborhood after a six inch water main break, according to WLTX.
The water main break could possibly result in bacterial contamination in the Lorick Avenue area. Boil water advisories were lifted for Lakemor Count, West Beltline Blvd and Beltline Blvd just hours before the advisory to Lorick Avenue was sent out, The State reported.
Residents in the afflicted areas were advised to boil water for at least one full minute prior to drinking or cooking in order to rid the water of bacteria. Furthermore, ice made from water that was not boiled was declared unsafe for drinking purposes.
As of Sunday evening, the City of Columbia Water Works was working to correct the problem.
Aiken alpacas don warm wear in winter months
Chiweenie Farms’ youngest furry residents were warm for the winter with the help of another layer this year, the Aiken Standard reported.
After realizing last fall that the farm’s baby alpacas would not yet have ample fleece, farm operators Sherry Forney and Pam Pray went to Aiken’s Goodwill store last October to invest in children’s sweaters.
In order to prepare the sweaters designed for young humans for the young alpacas, Forney and Pray shortened the sleeves to fit the animals’ legs.
“They didn’t give us a hard time at all,” Sherry said. “It was like put one foot in, pull the sweater over the head, put another foot in and then pull the sweater over the back and belly.”
Representatives planning digital privacy law
South Carolina state representatives said they are planning to pass a digital privacy law in 2014 that would deem cellphones as private as private residences, The State reported.
“[Your phone] is more important than [your] house right now. A fire breaks out in your house, the first thing you are going to grab is your cellphone,” said House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland.
Should a privacy law of this nature pass, police would not be able to search a cellphone without a signed search warrant.
According to the State Law Enforcement Division spokeswoman, this kind of privacy law “would affect our ability to get violent offenders off the streets,” because criminals can destroy the evidence in the time it would take to procure a warrant.
A digital privacy law could potentially make way for a ban on texting and driving in the future.