COLUMBIA, SC A Columbia-area conservationist died after suffering a snake bite at a Clarendon County wildlife preserve over the weekend. Wayne M. Grooms, a 71-year-old West Columbia resident, was a Lexington County Soil and Water Conservation district commissioner who was locally well regarded for his knowledge of the natural world. A rattlesnake bit Grooms late Sunday afternoon while he was visiting Santee National Wildlife Refuge, according to the Clarendon County Coroner’s Office. Grooms died within 15 minutes of the snake bite, but a cause of death has not been determined. Grooms had a medical condition and an autopsy is to...