Carolina Cafe dedicates new location to slain employee
Carolina Cafe is dedicating its new location to the memory of Kelly Hunnewell, a 33-year-old who was murdered during a robbery attempt while working for the Columbia restaurant a year ago, WIS reported.
Hunnewell was a mother of four and had been a baker for the cafe for three years before she was killed in July 2013. Three suspects were arrested in connection to the crime. Their cases are ongoing.
Carolina Cafe owners Max and Lauren Schlueter told reporters that Hunnewell would have been managing the West Columbia baking facility if she were alive today.
Like the downtown Columbia location, the new Carolina Cafe at 2250 Sunset Boulevard will be open seven days a week.
Original Carolina Coliseum seats available for nostalgic fans
The South Carolina Surplus Property Office is selling the Carolina Coliseum’s original seats to fans.
The seats, which were installed in the Coliseum before its opening in 1968, are being removed due to renovations.
The seats come in rows of three and cost $60. Each comes with a letter of authenticity from the South Carolina Budget and Control Board.
The chairs have sentimental value for many fans because they seated audiences for USC men’s and women’s basketball teams until the opening of the Colonial Life Arena in 2002. They also accommodated fans of the Columbia Inferno professional ice hockey team from 2001 until 2008.
Fans can purchase seats by calling the S.C. Surplus Property Office at (803) 896-6880.
*Small town rallies behind police chief allegedly fired due to her sexual orientation
*
A small town rallied behind its police chief of 20 years after the mayor dismissed her, allegedly due to her sexual orientation, The Huffington Post reported.
Latta Police Chief Crystal Moore was the town’s first openly gay police chief and was fired by Mayor Earl Bullard in April.
Bullard famously told local news affiliate WBTW, “I would much rather have someone who drank and drank too much taking care of my child than I had somebody whose lifestyle is questionable around children, because that ain’t the damn way that they’re supposed to be.”
Bullard later denied that Moore’s sexual orientation was the reason for her dismissal.
The people of Latta held a referendum on June 24, in which 69 percent of voters approved of overriding the mayor’s powers — giving the town council a great deal of his authority — and rehiring Moore. Now, the well-loved police chief is back for good.
South Carolina has no statewide provision prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.