S.C. State president defends lockdown decision
South Carolina State University President Thomas Elzey defended the school’s decision to not lock down the school’s campus immediately after last week’s fatal shooting, The State reported.
In a video message sent to students, Elzey said police had several witnesses report the gunman fled the premises after shooting 20-year-old Brandon Robinson Friday.
Because the shooter immediately left, the university decided that keeping everyone inside was not necessary; however, a lockdown was issued later in the day to ensure the gunman did not return.
Elzey said he is confident there is no further threat to the campus and that the campus is shaken but still strong.
Unemployment rates decrease, work forces grows
Joblessness in South Carolina hit its lowest point since June 2008 at the end of last year, The State reported.
In November, the jobless rate was 7.1 percent before falling to 6.6 percent in December, according to the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce. This was the first month since January 2001 that South Carolina’s rate was lower than the nation’s.
South Carolina’s labor force saw a slight increase last month; it now stands at 2.15 million.
Gov. Nikki Haley credited the falling unemployment rates to leaders across the state, saying in a statement, “The fact that more South Carolinians are working today than since 2008 proves we are moving in the right direction.”
Third grader advocates for state fossil
A South Carolina 8-year-old’s love of fossils has caught statewide attention after she wrote a letter to her state legislators, The State reported.
Oliva McConell, a third grader at Carolina Academy in Lake City, wrote to Rep. Robert Ridgeway and Sen. Kevin Johnson, both Democrats of Clarendon County, with a list of reasons why a state fossil should be adopted. Both lawmakers have filed bills to make the wooly mammoth the official state fossil.
And although she has a big voice in the fight for a state fossil, McConnell knows that the decision goes beyond her.
“We can’t just say we need a state fossil because I like fossils,” she said. “That wouldn’t make sense.”