Folly Beach Surfer Says Shark Bit His Surfboard in Half

FOLLY BEACH, S.C., June 8 (UPI) -- A South Carolina surfer said his board was snapped in half by a bite from a shark he estimated to measure up to 8 feet long.

Jack O'Neil poses with the surfboard he says was destroyed by a shark attack off Folly Beach, S.C. Photo by Ocean Surf Shop/FacebookThe Ocean Surf Shop in Folly Beach shared photos on its Facebook page of the broken surfboard brought in by Jack O'Neil, 27, who also brought his harrowing tale of a shark encounter in the waves.

"He estimated the shark at 8 feet, and it knocked him off the board as he was paddling for a wave," the Facebook post said."The board snapped as it bounced to the beach after he pulled his leash off and escaped the shark. You never know what's lurking..."

O'Neil said he caught a brief glimpse of the shark and its teeth before he was thrown from the board.

"It felt like somebody had put on the emergency brake. It felt like you had hit a rock" he told The Post and Courier newspaper. "The board just wobbled. It peeled off a shank of my board, peeled off the complete bottom down to the stringer."

Arnold Postell, South Carolina Aquarium senior biologist, said the animal was likely a sandbar shark or a black tipped shark. He said the shark likely lost interest in the board after a single bite.

"Sharks here don't hunt on the surface for large creatures. It was mistaken identification, just random luck," he said. "Luckily it was a board instead of a person. The shark got a bad taste of the surfboard and that discouraged him from hunting there any longer."

Josh Wilson, a surfer of 33 years, was among the locals calling the authenticity of O'Neil's story into question.

"Looks like a board that's been hit and buckled and then pulled. You know, pulled apart, but definitely not a shark bite," he told WCIV-TV. "I've never in the 33 years I've been surfing seen anything that looks like that nor has anybody that we surf with on a daily basis."

Bates Hagood, general manager of the Ocean Surf Shop, defended O'Neil from allegations of falsifying his story on Facebook.

"Jack is legit. He's not the kind of guy to fictionalize a story like this. We're just glad he is OK," he wrote.

Haley Oks Borrowing Money for Roads; Anderson to Get $1.7M

Gov. Nikki Haley has signed legislation designed to jump-start improvements to South Carolina's deteriorating roads through borrowing, and some of the money will make its way to Anderson County.

Approximately $1.7 million dollars will go for work on state secondary roads in Anderson County, according to Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns.

Haley reluctantly signed the law Wednesday, calling it a better option than nothing.

She says the law provides a step forward in highway funding and marginal improvements to the Department of Transportation's governance.

The bill allows for $2.2 billion in borrowing over 10 years for infrastructure, funded with $200 million annually in existing fees and vehicle sales taxes.

Opponents of increasing gas taxes, including Haley, insisted on first restructuring the DOT.

The law includes leadership changes, but Haley says they're "little more than window dressing."

It removes her ability to appoint the agency's secretary and keeps a commission she wanted abolished. While it gives her input into the commissioners, legislators will approve them.

Research: Those with Mental Illness Rarely Violent

Despite media reference to people accused of committing violent crimes having mental illnesses, most people with the type of psychological conditions the reports mention are not generally violent, according to a recent study.

Researchers at John Hopkins University found in a review a large sample of two decades worth of media reports on mental health and mass shootings that the reports rarely talked about successful treatment of patients, in addition to linking mental health to violence far more often than appears to be necessary.

The negative stories have added to fears of people with mental illness and reinforce social fears about people who have depression, schizophrenia, anxiety or other conditions.

If more media reports included references to successful treatment of patients and depictions of patients were more realistic, the researchers suggest misperceptions about these patients may be reduced. They point out, however, that it's easy to classify a violent criminal, whether the crime was a mass murder or somebody beaten on a street corner, as mentally unstable because most people do not commit such acts.

"Anyone who kills people is not mentally healthy. We can all agree on that," Dr. Emma McGinty, an assistant professor of health policy and management, and mental health, at the Johns Hopkins University, said in a press release. "But it's not necessarily true that they have a diagnosable illness. They may have anger or emotional issues, which can be clinically separate from a diagnosis of mental illness. Violence may stem from alcohol or drug use, issues related to poverty or childhood abuse. But these elements are rarely discussed. And as a result, coverage is skewed toward assuming mental illness first."

For the study, published in the journal Health Affairs, researchers reviewed 400 randomly selected news articles about mental illness published between 1995 and 2014.

Overall, 55 percent articles linked violence to mental health conditions, with 38 percent referring to violence against other people and 29 percent mentioning suicide. Just under half the articles -- 47 percent -- mention treatment of mental health conditions, but only 14 percent describe treatment or recovery of patients.

The problem appeared to get worse during the course of the study period as 1 percent of articles in between 1994 and 2005 linked violence and mental illness, while 18 percent did so between 2005 and 2014.

In terms of mass shootings, the number of which appear to have increased based on news reports -- the FBI reports the overall number of such crimes has been steady in the last two decades -- the researchers found 9 percent of all the articles in the first decade linked such events to mental health issues. During the second decade of the study, that number more than doubled to 22 percent.

The researchers suggest media coverage is reinforcing fear of mental illness and people who have it, while also discouraging people who need treatment from getting it because of the social stigma connected to psychological treatment.

"Most people with mental illness are not violent toward others and most violence is not caused by mental illness, but you would never know that by looking at media coverage of incidents," McGinty said. "Despite all of the work that has been done to reduce stigma associated with mental health issues, this portrayal of mental illness as closely linked with violence exacerbates a false perception about people with these illnesses, many of whom live healthy, productive lives."

Council Looks for Budget Answers, Approves Dog Park Land

Anderson County Council on Tuesday night approved leasing land near the Anderson County Library for a new downtown dog park, and also looked at the fiscal year 2017 budget and forward to issues which the county will face as it addresses future budgets.  

The dog park property will be leased to the city for $1 per year for a finite period of time (to be determined) and the costs for the equipment, construction and maintenance of the park will fall to the non-profit group working for the park.

But most Tuesday night’s meeting involved the budget. 

Anderson County took an $8 million cut in funding as a result of decisions made a decade ago by the South Carolina Legislature, said Anderson County Councilman Francis Crowder, chairman of the finance committee.

Crowder said tax relief and rollback in automobile taxes were mostly to blame for the cuts.

“Meanwhile, $7 million of services we provide are state mandated,” Crowder said.

Crowder said that coupled with rising employee insurance and retirement plan costs, the state has left the county with limited options for addressing the issue of funding.  

“We have tried to be good servants of the taxpayers dollars,” Crowder said. “But now we are faced with calamities, and the state is faced with calamities.

He said S.C. state government has adopted a philosophy of putting off key issues, such as paving roads. 

Crowder said citizens want Anderson’s 1,399 miles of county roads paved and maintained. Other critical needs such as plans for a new detention center, funding the Anderson County Sports and Entertainment Complex, and expanding and improving recreational facilities will also require additional sources of revue.

 “The legislature says they have given us a tool to address the problem by passing a road fee,” Crowder said, adding that many other counties in the state were already using road fees to maintain and repair roads.

“The second thing they said is that we could pass a sales tax,” Crowder said. 

He said a third option for raising much needed funds would be through a countywide hospitality tax.

“Every city in the county already has a hospitality tax,”  Crowder said. “The only place that does not have a hospitality tax is in the incorporated part of the county.” 

“We have to address the budget or just kick the bucket down the road. There needs to be a mechanism in place to find a way to achieve the things we want to achieve. We want the whole county to be a part of this process. The problem is, people will not come down here and get involved in government.” 

“Input of citizens vital and important to this council.”

Anderson County Councilwoman Gracie Floyd agreed on the need for a countywide hospitality tax.

“You are paying for it anyway,” Floyd said. “Only the city is getting it. For two or three years I have been begging council to pass a hospitality tax.”

Meanwhile Floyd challenged another potential move of $10,000 from District 2’s recreation account to fund the Homeland Park bus route.

A pair of community citizens also shared her concern, including community leader Horace Alexander, who expressed concern over cutting funds for recreation. 

“We put a lot of time and effort working with our community and our youth,” Alexander said. “The alphabet street community is our focus this year. “It would be a disservice if we pull funding from recreation for transportation.”

Alexander said he lives in the Governors community off S.C. 81, but that he has a business in, and grew up in District 2. 

“If we aren’t careful, the issues that plague District 2 will flow over to your districts too,” Alexander said.

Study: Women More Prone to Anxiety

Struggling with anxiety? Then odds are you're a woman and you live in either North America or Western Europe.

That's the conclusion of a new British study that found that women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety as men.

Moreover, people in North America and Western Europe are more prone to anxiety disorders than those from other parts of the world. In North America, nearly eight of 100 people suffer from anxiety -- the most in the world. In East Asia, it's fewer than three in 100 -- the lowest, the review authors noted.

"Anxiety is important and shouldn't be overlooked," said lead researcher Olivia Remes, who's with the department of public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge's Strangeways Research Laboratory. "Sometimes people think that anxiety is just a part of their personality or that there's nothing they can do about it, but there is."

Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive worry, fear and avoidance of potentially stressful situations, such as social gatherings.

The study findings were published in the June issue of the journal Brain and Behavior.

For more about anxiety, visit the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

Study: S.C. Economy Ranks 27th Nationally

An analysis by Wallet Hub of the economies of all 50 states and Washington, D.C. ranks South Carolina’s economy as 27th. North Carolina’s ranks 18th, while Georgia’s is 17th. Utah ranks number 1 overall, followed by Washington state, California, Massachusetts, and Colorado. The five worst economies are in New Mexico, Maine, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

Analysts looked at things like a state’s gross domestic product, unemployment rate, median household income, and business start-up activity. South Carolina ranks 4th for exports per capita, but 47th for number of “knowledge workers” moving here from other countries. The report also looked at the migration of “knowledge workers” from other states.

South Carolina Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Ted Pitts says of the overall ranking of 27th, “It puts us in the middle of the pack, but I don’t think it shows us how we’re a state on the rise. I mean, the activity in South Carolina is up. One thing I also would say the report probably doesn’t accurately reflect is that I think we do have an influx of entrepreneurs that are moving to South Carolina. You go to Charleston, you see a community that’s developing there that’s going to rival Austin or San Francisco or other places.”

Pitts says one way South Carolina could rise in the rankings is to improve its business taxes. “Industry goes to a place where they can make money, so I think South Carolina’s tax code, we need to continue to look at how we simplify and deal with the tax code here in South Carolina.” He says the state also needs to continue efforts, in the K-12 education system as well as technical colleges and four-year colleges and universities, to provide well-educated and well-trained employees.

Complete Wallet Hub story here.

Japan Dumping Nuclear Waste in S.C.

A shipment of plutonium from Japan has arrived at a South Carolina nuclear site, despite Gov. Nikki Haley's objections.

The National Nuclear Security Administration confirmed Monday that 331 kilograms of plutonium had arrived at the Savannah River Site. A shipment of highly enriched uranium has also been transferred to the Y-12 National Security Complex near Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Haley has long spoken out against the storage of spent nuclear materials in South Carolina. Earlier this year, she demanded that U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz stop or reroute the shipment.

In March, she claimed victory when Moniz told her 6 metric tons of plutonium stored at the site would ultimately be sent to a New Mexico facility. The shipment that arrived Monday is part of that amount. 

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP. Read more of her work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/meg-kinnard/

Tropical Storm Watch for S.C. Coast

The National Hurricane Center has posted a tropical storm watch for the lower South Carolina coast as Tropical Storm Colin spins in the Gulf of Mexico.

The watch is in effect from near McClellanville southwest along the coast to near Brunswick, Georgia.

A watch means that tropical storm conditions with winds of more than 39 mph are possible in the watch area in the next 36 to 48 hours.

The latest forecast for Colin calls for the storm to make landfall near the Big Bend area of Florida, move across the Florida peninsula into Georgia and then move along or just off the South Carolina coast before heading out to sea.

Between 4 and 8 inches of rain is possible in the area.

Tropical Storm Watch for S.C. Coast

The National Hurricane Center has posted a tropical storm watch for the lower South Carolina coast as Tropical Storm Colin spins in the Gulf of Mexico.

The watch is in effect from near McClellanville southwest along the coast to near Brunswick, Georgia.

A watch means that tropical storm conditions with winds of more than 39 mph are possible in the watch area in the next 36 to 48 hours.

The latest forecast for Colin calls for the storm to make landfall near the Big Bend area of Florida, move across the Florida peninsula into Georgia and then move along or just off the South Carolina coast before heading out to sea.

Between 4 and 8 inches of rain is possible in the area.

WHNS: Clemson, Toyota Create Concept Car

Toyota’s newest concept car, which was designed, engineered and built by graduate students at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville, will be on display at Toyota of Greenville Monday evening.

Toyota said the uBox vehicle is the result of a two-year collaboration with ICAR students through the Deep Orange project.

"Deep Orange gives students’ hands-on experience with the entire vehicle development process, from identifying the market opportunity through the vehicle build," says Johnell Brooks, an associate professor in Clemson's graduate engineering program. "It's like automotive boot camp for the real world, and it wouldn’t happen without industry partners like Toyota." 
 
The end result, the uBox is aimed at Generation Z drivers who will be seeking a vehicle for recreation on the weekend that can also offer office space or other career-centric or lifestyle uses during the week.
 
Toyota listed some of the uBox’s unique features in a news release:

• A bold, youthful and distinctive exterior design that aligns with generation Z's personality trait to stand out, embodying a muscular stance that looks like it's sprung forward in motion, even when standing still.
• A versatile interior that can be rearranged for various activities, from working or operating a business, to hauling bulky cargo. A low floor allows for reconfigurable, removable seats on sliding tracks that can be nested.
• Vents, dashboard display bezels and door trim that can be personalized and made with 3-D printing technology, and an online community for owners where they can share design ideas.
• A compact, dual-purpose, all-electric powertrain providing a fun driving experience and emission-free stationary energy to power consumer electronics, power tools or other devices through various 110-volt sockets located throughout the interior and exterior.

Toyota said one feature in particular—a unique pultrusion technique developed by the students that allows composite carbon fiber rails bonded with aluminum to support a curved glass roof—caught the attention of Toyota Executive Program Manager Craig Payne.
 
“The roof pultrusion was something unexpected and very interesting when they first started talking about the concept,” said Payne. “The fact that they were able to achieve an industry-first manufacturing technique as students speaks volumes for this program.”

The uBox will be on display at the Toyota of Greenville dealership on Laurens Road from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Ali Transcended All Sports

The death of Muhammad Ali, the former heavyweight champion known as much for his political activism as his boxing brilliance, triggered a worldwide outpouring of affection and admiration for one of the best-known figures of the 20th century.

Ali, who had long suffered from Parkinson's syndrome which impaired his speech and made the once-graceful athlete almost a prisoner in his own body, died on Friday at age 74.

The cause of death was septic shock due to unspecified natural causes, a family spokesman said on Saturday. Ali was admitted to a Phoenix-area hospital, HonorHealth, with a respiratory ailment on Monday.

"He’ll be remembered as a man of the world who spoke his mind and wasn’t afraid to take a chance and went out of his way to be a kind, benevolent individual that really changed the world," the family spokesman, Bob Gunnell, said at a news conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Despite Ali's failing health, his youthful proclamation that he was "the greatest" rang true until the end for millions of people around the world who respected him for his courage both inside and outside the ring.

Along with a fearsome reputation as a fighter, Ali spoke out against racism, war and religious intolerance, while projecting an unshakeable confidence that became a model for African-Americans at the height of the civil rights era and beyond.

Stripped of his world boxing crown for refusing to join the U.S. Army and fight in Vietnam, Ali returned in triumph by recapturing the title and starring in some of the sport's most unforgettable bouts.

"I think when you talk about Muhammad Ali, as great an athlete, as great a boxer as he was, he was the greatest boxer of all time, he means so much more to the United States and the world," said Ali's long-time friend, boxing promoter Bob Arum.

"He was a transformative figure in our society."

Bursting onto the boxing scene in the 1960s with a brashness that threatened many whites, Ali would come to be embraced by Americans of all races for his grace, integrity and disarming sense of humor.

"In the end, he went from being reviled to being revered," civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson told CNN on Saturday.

Pam Dorrough, a tourist in New York's Times Square, admired Ali's refusal to apologize for what he believed.

"The confidence - and I know everybody thought it was an arrogance about him - he always projected a confidence," she said. "And he stood by that."

President Barack Obama, the first African-American to reach the White House, said Ali was "a man who fought for us" and placed him in the pantheon of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela.

Council to Review 2016-17 Budget Tuesday

Anderson County Council will hear a report on the 2016-17 budget as part of Tuesday 6:30 p.m. meeting in the historic courthouse downtown.

Full Agenda Here

County to Perform Smoke Tests on Powdersville Sewer Lines

Anderson County Wastewater Management will be performing a smoke test on sewer lines throughout the Powdersville area, the streets affected are as follows:

Highway 81, Benton Park, Sandlewood, Circle Road, Powdersville Main, Piedmont Road, Carmen Drive, Annex Way, Cotton Gin, Spring Hill Farm, Claiborne Road, Calumet Ct., Cely Lane, Charles Drive, Ellie Drive, Kennedy Lane, River Road, Heatherstone, Boone Hall Drive, Pawleys Drive, Manigualt Drive, Wampee Drive, Laurel Hill Drive, Musscreek Drive, Snee Farm Drive, Granville Drive, Heritage Trace II 

Smoke may be seen escaping from sewer lines, service lines and plumbing roof vents on structures during the test.  The smoke testing will begin on Tuesday and run through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m.-3 p.m.  The smoke is harmless, and is being applied to determine the need for preventative maintenance. 

For more information, call (864) 260-4023 between the hours of 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday – Friday.