Free Republic

Judge Michael Nettles’ decision to tack a biblical assignment onto the sentence of a drunken driver in York County has people from South Carolina to Europe and beyond talking. Cassandra Belle Tolley, 28, pleaded guilty in June to a drunken driving crash in Rock Hill that left two people seriously injured – one had to have rods and screws surgically implanted to support his spinal column, the other has undergone six surgeries and could still lose his left foot. Nettles, a Lake City native and resident judge in the Florence-based 12th Circuit, accepted the plea and sentenced Tolley to eight...

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Two Myrtle Beach senior citizens were arrested Wednesday after police said they caught them having oral sex in a public park. According to a police report, James Colie Harsey, 76, was performing oral sex on Audra Elizabeth Rodriguez, 64, by a bridge in the Balsam Park on Balsam Street around 3 p.m. Both suspects were found to be intoxicated and had several vodka bottles in their possession when arrested, police said. Harsey and Rodriguez are both charged with exposure of private parts in a lewd and lascivious manner.

FLORENCE, SC -- Investigators said an armed robbery victim shot the suspect in the parking lot of a store outside Florence early Thursday night. It happened about 6:45 p.m. at the Dollar General at 2223 E. Howe Springs Road, Florence County Sheriff's Capt. Mike Nunn said in a press release issued Friday afternoon. Investigators said the victim of an armed robbery, while sitting in his vehicle in the store parking lot, shot the suspect, who was wounded and fled from the scene, leaving his handgun behind, Nunn said. The suspect later was found to have been taken to an area...

Authorities have released the identity of a man fatally shot by a S.C. Highway Patrol trooper during a traffic stop Thursday. Jose Escotto, 22, of 114 Sandy Haven Drive, Lot E, Elgin, died at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center about four hours after the incident, which occurred at about 3:15 p.m. near the interchange of I-26 and I-385. Laurens County Coroner Nick Nichols said Escotto died of multiple gunshot wounds. The incident began when the trooper stopped the vehicle Escotto was driving. The trooper called for backup, and a Laurens County deputy responded to the scene, Sheriff Ricky Chastain said Friday....

A radical religious group, mostly known for protesting at military funerals, claims it will be present at the funeral service of a local fallen National Guardsman that will be held Thursday afternoon. Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kan., sent a press release with the time and place of the funeral of Staff Sgt. Willie Harley, 48, of Aiken, stating church members will be there to protest. The church also claims it will be present at the funeral of Spc. Luther Rabon, 32, of Lexington, which is scheduled for Saturday. Both men were killed on Oct. 1 when an improvised...

South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley is launching a new attack-- calling out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for wasting billions of dollars by preventing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository from going online. Haley, whose state contains two nuclear waste processing sites, said $20 billion already has been spent on the facility 100 miles north of Las Vegas, including $1.2 billion from South Carolina.<SNIP> "We are not interested in investing in any more Nevada real estate when we get nothing in return. If the feds want to renege on the promise to keep Yucca open, they must refund the...

DILLON — Dillon County Council Chairman Macio Williamson must appear before a judge after he ordered the county administrator to instruct another official to hire a black person to fill a vacant county position. Williamson has served on Dillon County Council representing District 1 for nearly 29 years and serves as the council’s chairman. The letter was written by Dillon County Administrator David Mobley on Williamson’s behalf Aug. 13. The letter was sent to Dillon County Chief Magistrate Mackie Hayes on a Dillon County Council letterhead and was signed by Mobley. It was sent in response to an employee of...

<Excerpt> Summerville, South Carolina, has just tentatively passed an ordinance that bans illegal immigrants from working and living there. <Snip>....the town needs to "send the message to Washington on immigration reform... The federal government...has dropped the ball..." <Snip>...an ACLU spokesperson says...a lawsuit is inevitable....other towns...have spent a lot of money defending ordinances like this one. <Snip> Summerville is ready for that....At some point...taking a strong stance against criminal behavior became controversial and it shouldn't be...

FLORENCE – A bear that spent much of Friday eluding law enforcement officers from a handful of agencies was finally caught Friday night after leading Florence Police on a final chase through one of Florence’s busiest intersections. A motorist spotted the juvenile bear walking across Darlington Street at about 7:30 p.m. and called police, Florence Police Maj. Carlos Raines said. Police contacted the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, but had to hold the bear at bay until wardens could make it to the scene. The bear walked through All-Star Lanes bowling alley parking lot on Cashua Drive and into...

RUNOFF - 2010 Republican and Democratic PrimarySC Election Commission - Runoff resultsSC Now - Runoff results

FLORENCE - Francis Marion University is offering a limited number of free tickets to the public for a debate featuring the Republican candidates for governor on Tuesday, June 1. The debate, which will be broadcast live on WBTW News 13 is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Chapman Auditorium on the FMU campus. Republican hopefuls Gresham Barrett, Andre Bauer, Nikki Haley and Henry McMaster will take part in the event that will center on job creation and developing long-term economic growth in South Carolina. News 13’s Bob Juback will moderate the debate, which will feature a panel of journalists. Inquiries about...

Earlier this week I attended a Winter Choral Concert at my daughter's public middle school. Some of the songs they performed: - I'm dreaming of a white Christmas - Cantante Domino (Psalm 95) in Latin - Ose Shalom (The one who makes the peace) in Hebrew - Comin' up Christmas time - O Arbol De Navidad (Oh Christmas tree) in Spanish & English I won't post the name of the school or the city I live in just in case someone associated with the ACLU stumbles on this thread.

A former employee of the Smosska company and a job applicant, are expressing their concerns when it comes to the company and its legitimacy. Smosska officials say the company makes medical identification cards. The company held a job fair in Florence in July, and charged applicants a $40.00 fee for an assessment test. Smosska officials said the fee covered things like background and drug testing. Smosska officials said they planned to eventually employ up to 3,000 people in the Florence area and were renovating a large facility. The company was working out of a temporary office on Hoffmeyer Road in...

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A pair of rallies outside Greenville's Bi-Lo Center on Friday evening had groups with opposing viewpoints in close proximity at the same time. Greenville's Young Republicans sponsored what they called a "Post Tax Day Tea Party" in the plaza beside the downtown Greenville arena. The 6 p.m. event was held to protest to what sponsors call excessive government spending, specifically the $700 billion stimulus package championed by President Barack Obama and passed in February by the Democrat-controlled Congress. The other event was sponsored by radio station 107.3 Jamz and Greenville Democrats, who are called their rally "Save...

FLORENCE — Pee Dee area school superintendents are speaking out against Gov. Mark Sanford’s efforts to use $700 million in federal stimulus money to pay off state debt when school districts across the state are facing major budget cuts and job losses. Superintendents from Chesterfield County School District, Florence School Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4 as well as Marion School Districts 1, 2 and 7, met Friday during a press conference held at Florence 1’s district office to paint a picture of what the future of public education in the Pee Dee and the state will be like without...

In this trailer released by WB, Dumbledore narrates the story of Tom Riddle. We see glimpses of the inferi, more orphanage footage, the gates of Hogwarts as Harry and Luna travel up to them, Harry under his invisibility cloak on the train, Dumbledore grabbing a chain from the cave, a close shot of Narcissa, Draco working on the wardrobe, explosions in Diagon Alley and fire at the Burrow, Harry battling off the Inferi, Fenrir Greyback, Harry shouting at Snape, the bridge collapsing, and another "Once again, I must ask too much of you, Harry."

Henry Kissinger might have been right when he said that power was “the ultimate aphrodisiac.” (How else could he have dated Gina Lollobrigida or Jill St. John?) But what Kissinger didn’t say was that power is very, very expensive, a lesson that South Carolina is continuing to learn. And power will only get more expensive, according to research presented to Senate and House leaders, as the world moves into a 15-year period of rising energy costs. Billions of state and ratepayer dollars are currently being lined up across the state to launch new coal-burning and nuclear power-generating plants, as the...

Compared with typical photovoltaic systems requiring large and costly panels and mirrors, Cool Earth Solar's inflated solar concentrators are shaped like balloons and are primarily made of inexpensive or free materials. The company estimates that one solar power plant using its unconventional design and covering 150 square miles could generate enough power to meet all the electrical needs of the United States through 2030. And it could do so at a cost of $1 per watt, compared with rooftop photovoltaic systems that can run up to $8 per watt. (Photo Courtesy: Cool Earth Solar) The system works like a conventional...

The House and Senate have finally reached an agreement on an illegal immigration reform bill, and Governor Mark Sanford has indicated he will sign it into law. The Senate has given its final approval to the deal, so it now goes to the House, which is expected to go along. State Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, has been pushing the bill for years and has been working on the compromise. “It means that all people who are competing in the workforce for jobs will be on a level playing field, that no one will have a competitive advantage by breaking the...

Jenerette Campaign: It’s Amazing Old Man Brown Can Feed Himself We got a look this morning at the official press announcement on Katherine Jenerette’s run for Congressman Henry Brown’s District 1 seat and noticed a bit of a theme for this challenge to her fellow Republican: “… announced her bid for the Republican nomination for the 1st District US Congressional Seat, currently held by 72-year old Rep. Henry Brown of Hanahan.” “… we needed ‘new-blood’ and a new aggressive conservative congressman to represent the 1st District in Congress.” “…our district here in South Carolina has changed tremendously over the years.”...