Carey Announces Bid for County Council District 1

Liz Carey, former vice president of the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, announced today her intention to run for Anderson County Council, District 1. 

Carey, who currently serves as executive director for Pints for the People, as well as president of HCSP Marketing and PR, filed yesterday, to run for the seat currently held by Frances Crowder. 

“For several years, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to work to make Anderson County a better place to live, work and play in, and to help my community thrive and grow,” Carey said. “Now, after being asked to run by friends and family, I am in a position where I feel I can make a difference. I am committed to helping in whatever way I can to make sure that Anderson County continues to flourish and grow, while maintaining a high quality of life for all of our residents.” 

Running as a Democrat, Carey will face Republican candidate Craig Wooten who is also seeking the seat.

Carey said she would run on a platform of fiscal responsibility with Anderson County’s economic growth and qualify of life in mind.

Formerly a reporter, Carey now owns her own marketing business, and works as a freelance writer. As executive director for Pints for the People, she and a group of volunteers has for the past four years put on several events in Anderson County, including the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a chef cook-off to benefit Good Neighbor Cupboard, the Electric City Zombie Pub Crawl and the Cotton Ball, a New Year’s Eve black tie masquerade ball that benefits four different charities. 

Carey is a member of Rotary of Anderson and Progressive Women of Anderson. A graduate of Leadership Anderson, she was named one of Anderson’s 15 Over 50 in February. She has been married to her husband, Mason, for 21 years, and is the mother of two children, both high school students in Anderson School District 5.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time with many of the children of this county,” she said. “I want to make Anderson a place these children will want to stay in to work and raise their own families in.” 

President Says Addiction Health Issue, Not Criminal Problem

Barack Obama committed Tuesday to take on America’s growing heroin and prescription opioid epidemic by devoting resources to prevention and treatment, rather than to the “war on drugs” policies of the last few decades.

“For too long we’ve viewed drug addiction through the lens of criminal justice,” Obama said at a conference in Atlanta. “The most important thing to do is reduce demand. And the only way to do that is to provide treatment – to see it as a public health problem and not a criminal problem.”

The president said he hoped his participation in the panel – part of the “National Prescription Drug Abuse Heroin Summit” this week – would draw attention to the shift in approach, exemplified by a series of efforts aiming $116m at treatment that the administration laid out earlier in the day.

“When I show up, usually cameras do too,” Obama said. “My hope is that it provides a greater spotlight to help solve this problem.”

Full Story Here

Iva Businessman to Seek County Council Seat

Anderson County Councilman Mitchell Cole will have competition for his District 3 seat during the June primary.

Iva businessman Ray Graham will compete for the seat in the Republican primary in June. Graham, owner of Cam's Cafe, hopes to draw more attention to the Iva area.

Former Anderson County Councilman Eddie Moore is also seeking to regain the seat.

No Democrats have announced plans to run for the seat.

Currently no other Anderson County Council seats face opposition. Craig Wooten is seeking the district 1 seat which will be vacated by Francis Crowder, while the other council members currently face no opposition. Yet.

The deadline for filing for elected offices in South Carolina is noon tomorrow.

First Flight Alliance Chosen NYC Marathon Charity

First Flight Alliance has been chosen an Official Charity Partner of the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon, scheduled for Nov. 6.  

“First Flight Alliance is thrilled to partner with the TCS New York City Marathon as an official charity partner,” said Alison Youngblood, director of First Flight Alliance in Anderson. “The TCS New York City Marathon provides a dynamic platform for our dedicated charity runners to raise significant funds and increase awareness for important causes that are special to them.”

Approximately 340 official charity partners will be part of the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon. 

First Flight’s #RunthistownBigApple team will consists of five runners.  These runners will be raising funds for First Flight’s, Operation Active Kids, O.A.K scholarship fund. The mission of the O.A.K. scholarship program is to provide funding to children in the community who want to play sports and other recreational activities.

For more information, visit here.

Solar Lights to Be Installed on East-West Parkway

New lighting is being installed on the East-West Parkway.

Anderson County Councilman Francis Crowder said seven solar-powered lights are being installed near each of the benches along the parkway.

S.C. Residents Pay 9th Lowest Tax Rate

Filing your taxes may still be a pain, but at least South Carolina taxpayers pay the ninth lowest tax rate in the country, according to a new analysis by WalletHub..

The median South Carolinian household pays an effective total state and local tax rate of 8.8 percent. The tax burden on the median South Carolina household this year comes up to $4,009. That’s in addition to the average $5,700 each taxpayer pays in federal taxes, yearly, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and almost 18 percent less than the national average, according to the analysis by personal finance site WalletHub that uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Its 2015 study similarly found that South Carolina is the fifth best state for low-income earners, when the cost of living is taken into account.

Tax rates in the most expensive states, like New York, Connecticut and Illinois, are up to three times higher than those in the least expensive states like Delaware, Wyoming and Montana. When adjusted for cost of living, Delaware has the lowest tax rate with just over 6 percent – a 44 percent difference from the national average.

Unsurprisingly, New York tops the list with the highest tax rate at 13.4 percent. The report found that taxes are 10 percent higher in blue states than in red states.

Another reason why living in the Palmetto State is good news for taxpayers: it has the third cheapest gas tax per gallon after Alaska and New Jersey. South Carolina also has the sixth lowest real estate tax rate (1.87 percent), and 14th lowest sales and excise taxes.

Full Story Here 

Farmers Market Gets AgSouth Grant for Promotion

The Anderson County Farmers Market has been chosen to receive a $1,000 AgSouth Farm AgSouth’s "Think Outside the Store^®" farmers market grant. The farmers market will use the money for advertising and in promotion.

Additionally, the market will receive 100 reusable AgSouth-branded "Think Outside the Store" bags to distribute to market shoppers

"We are very thankful to have been selected to receive this grant," said Anderson County Farmers Market Coordinator Sharon Nicometo. "We think it will go a long way in helping us promote the market and in encouraging our community to think ‘farm fresh’ when planning their meals.” 

The Anderson County Farmers Market is open Saturdays only from 10 am–2 pm in May. The regular market season runs June 2-November 22, when hours expand to 8 a.m.-1 p.m. 

S.C. Could Benefit from Business with Cuba

In July 2003, a South Carolina shipping company’s barge made history as the first vessel under a U.S. flag to carry cargo to Cuba in more than 42 years. A year later, a South Carolina trade delegation had a three-hour meeting with Fidel Castro that resulted in a $10 million export deal to sell the state’s goods to the island. 

“The day your barge came to Cuba, the news traveled all over the world,” Castro told Charleston trade entrepreneur Jack Maybank Sr., whose company sent the vessel, at the time. 

Maybank saw Cuba as the “development opportunity of the century,” with an educated population of 11 million that was hungry for U.S. commodities – a promising environment for business partnerships with South Carolina and other states. 

THE MOST IMPORTANT AND ADVANTAGE IN TRADE SOUTH CAROLINA BRINGS IS ITS PEOPLE. WE ARE VERY MUCH LIKE THE CUBANS IN CUBA TODAY. YOU FIRST BUILD A FRIENDSHIP, WHICH THEN BRINGS TRUST, WHICH THEN BRINGS BUSINESS, AND THAT IS THE WAY CUBANS AND SOUTH CAROLINIANS ARE VERY UNIQUE. Jack Maybank Jr., whose late father shipped cargo to Cuba

Thirteen years later, South Carolina should be in a great position to profit from trade with the island nation. It has both the ports and the exports – poultry, soybeans and car parts – that are coveted on the island. It also has a geographic advantage to ship to Cuba – close but without the politics of doing business with the former Cold War rival that the Cuban-American-heavy communities in South Florida have. 

Despite the Palmetto State’s ground-breaking early ventures, however, the continuing U.S. trade embargo has made it difficult to capitalize on that advantage. While U.S. companies have been able to sell food to Cuba since 2000, the restrictions on extending credit and government export assistance give businesses in other countries the upper hand. The embargo can’t be lifted without congressional action, which is unlikely to happen in an election year.

Full Story Here

Historic Rains Have S.C. Facing Early Mosquito Season

Six months after historic rains and floods left the ground saturated, South Carolina is preparing for an early onset of mosquito season. People may be scratching through the spring with above-normal rainfall expected during the next three months.

Crews in some counties hard-hit by last October's rains have been out earlier than usual treating ditches to kill mosquito larvae.

The ground is still soggy in some areas after as much as 2 feet of rain fell last fall. Because it was late in the year, there was little warm weather to help evaporate the standing water, and trees were dormant so they didn't absorb the extra water through their roots.

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center forecasts a 40 percent chance of above-average rainfall through June.

Bryant Named Head of S.C. Jail Administrator Group

Anderson County Jail Administrator Major Garry Bryant was sworn in this morning as president of the South Carolina Jail Administrators Association. Bryant, a 27-year veteran of law enforcement, heads the Sheriff's Judicial Services Division where he serves as Anderson County's Jail Administrator. Bryant had served the last two years as vice-president of the association after serving several years as Sergeant at Arms.

"I am honored to be entrusted by my peers to lead this great association," Bryant said. "The jail administrators and the men and women who serve in our jails and detention centers across the state are some of the most dedicated individuals in the criminal justice system. I will work diligently in this capacity to continue the great work of those who have served before me."

The S.C. Jail Administrators Association serves to promote professionalism through training, promote unity, address jail issues, and promote fellowship and good will among those who serve within the Criminal Justice System.

Clemson to Host Color Run for Charity

The Color Run Tropicolor World Tour makes a stop in Clemson on April 2, for a 5-kilometer run where participants are doused from head to toe in colors, followed by a finish-line celebration. 

2016 marks the fifth anniversary of The Color Run, and to celebrate they are revamping the event to include island-style themes, featuring tropical décor and music. Runners are encouraged to wear white so that colors are vibrant and noticeable. 

Runners can register for the event at www.thecolorrun.com. 

Podcast March 25, 2016:Great Expectations, Playground and Politics

S.C. Senate Bill Holds Churches Liable for Helping Refugees

The South Carolina Senate on Thursday passed a controversial bill targeting refugees in the state, prompting concern that it may portend a wave of anti-refugee legislation around the country, particularly in the tense climate following the terrorist attacks in Brussels.

The bill, if passed by the South Carolina House and signed into law by Gov. Nikki Haley, would require refugees’ sponsors to register them in a database maintained by the state’s Department of Social Services. It would also impose strict liability on a refugee’s sponsor if the refugee, at some point in the future, commits a terrorist or criminal act.

“I fear this may be the start of similar nationwide legislation,” said Jenny Yang, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, an evangelical humanitarian nonprofit group that helps resettle refugees who have been vetted and approved under a federal program run by the State Department.

Although World Relief and many evangelicals in the state have opposed the legislation, many of its Senate supporters belong to evangelical churches, highlighting a growing split within evangelicalism over immigration and refugee issues.

Alan Cross, a Southern Baptist minister opposed to the bill, noted that six of the bill’s eight co-sponsors are Southern Baptists. The bill’s evangelical opponents have charged it violates their religious freedom.

Yang called the bill “wrongheaded,” “grotesque” and “anti-faith” and said World Relief worries that if passed, the bill would “infringe on our ability to carry out our mission, which is a matter of carrying out our faith and practicing our religion, to help people who are vulnerable.”

William Dieckmann, director of missions for the Columbia Metro Baptist Association, which represents about 100 Southern Baptist churches, said his group had expressed concerns about the bill to its Senate sponsors. He said he hoped that the bill would undergo further changes in the House and that it could ultimately strike a balance between safety and the ability of religious groups to carry out their mandate.

Full Story Here