Belton Middle School Student Investigated for List of Names

The Belton Police Department were called to Belton Middle School regarding a list of names that had allegedly been written on a piece of notebook paper.  The Belton Police Department immediately responded to the Belton Middle School and initiated an investigation.  The police have spoken with the child - and the parent of the child - who had allegedly written the names.  The parent is co-operating with the Police Department and has complied with law enforcement requests, and said the issue was related to bullying.
 
To clarify; the list only contains names with no other information.  

Tenn. VW Plant Considers Alternative to UAW Union

Employees at the Volkswagen AG auto plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are attempting to form a union that will include hourly and salaried workers as a counter to the United Auto Workers Local 42 established last month, a leading anti-UAW worker said on Tuesday.

Mike Burton, who helped anti-UAW workers defeat the UAW’s effort to represent VW Chattanooga hourly workers six months ago, told Reuters he hopes the new union will force VW to hold another vote to determine which one is favored by hourly employees.

Burton said the proposed union local at Chattanooga will be the first chapter of what will be called the American Council of Employees. The new union will operate differently than the UAW, which he says hurts the competitiveness of unionized US automakers.

Burton claims that since the February vote when the UAW lost by a 712-626 count, Volkswagen has drawn closer to that union, which is one of the main reasons he wants to create an alternative.

Burton said attorneys who helped him with an anti-UAW worker group called Southern Momentum during the February election at Chattanooga might help him with the ACE, but he did not elaborate.

Gary Casteel, secretary-treasurer of the UAW, told Reuters on Tuesday he does not see how Burton’s union stands much of a chance because VW and the UAW “have a consensus” that the company will recognize Local 42.

Casteel said it is up to VW whether it will recognize the new union if Burton is successful in creating one at the VW plant, which has about 1,500 hourly workers.

Full Story Here

Burger King Faces Backlash on Tax Dodge Move

Burger King's decision to acquire the Tim Horton's doughnut chain and move its headquarters to Canada has caused blowback among consumers online and politicians on Capitol Hill.

So far, members of Congress and the public have discussed boycotting the burger chain, or potentially changing corporate tax rules so that fewer companies flee the U.S. It remains to be seen, however, whether the negative reaction is strong enough to move a dysfunctional Congress or motivate Burger King to change its strategy.

"If this merger goes through, there could well be a strong public reaction against Burger King that could more than offset any tax benefit it receives from a tax avoidance move," Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said in a statement released Monday.

The controversy over the merger stems from the fact that it includes an "inversion," a legal move that lets a company shift profits overseas to avoid paying domestic tax rates. The statutory U.S. corporate tax rate in the U.S. is 35 percent, the highest in the world, although effective tax rates are much lower. Canada's nominal tax rate is about 15 percent.

The feedback from customers online has been harsh. Commenters on Facebook have left a deluge of posts on the Burger King page, calling the company "tax cheats" and "traitors." One comment with thousands of "likes" reads, "If you attempt to buy Tim Horton's for the purposes of evading US Taxes, I will NEVER step foot in another Burger King again...Don't do it."

MoveOn.org has started a petition online that reads, "Burger King benefits enormously from being an American company and should pay its fair share of taxes here in America. Don't even attempt this whopper tax dodge or we will boycott Burger King."

Public outrage over such deals has in the past influenced companies to change course. After groups against Walgreen's potential inversion gathered more than 300,000 signatures online, the company decided against moving to Switzerland. Walgreen CEO Greg Wasson said the move was "not the right course of action" in part because it could have led to "potential consumer backlash and political ramifications."

House Returns to Columbia for One-Day Veto Session

Members of the S.C. House of Representatives will get a free trip to Columbia on Wednesday, on the eve of USC’s season-opening football game.

Representatives return for a one-day session starting at 2 p.m. to take up two bills vetoed by Republican Gov. Nikki Haley.

If all 124 representatives return to Columbia, one-day session would cost state taxpayers nearly $34,000. That includes about $175 per representative for hotel-and-food costs and mileage, paid at a rate of 56 cents per mile.

The first bill the GOP-controlled House will take up, deciding whether to override Haley’s veto, would give libraries more legal muscle to ban disruptive patrons. Haley says the proposed law was too vague. The second bill would allow for a tax increase in parts of Horry and Georgetown counties for a fire district.

Overriding the governor’s veto on the bills, which the state Senate already has done, will take the support of two-thirds of House members.

Eyes also will be on House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, who is facing allegations that he misused campaign money, used his House position to help his private pharmaceutical business and improperly appointed his brother to a panel that reviews candidates who want to be judges.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/08/26/3641563_sc-house-returns-for-one-day-veto.html?sp=/99/132/312/169/&rh=1#storylink=cp

Burger King Canadian Chain Buy Looks Like Tax Dodge

Burger King is joining a growing list of unpatriotic U.S. corporations by moving its headquarters to Canada.  Burger King is trying to buy Tim Hortons, the legendary Canadian donut chain, in order to dodge paying its fair share of corporate taxes here in the United States.

This is part of a recent pattern of "tax inversion" among US corporations. Tax inversion is done solely to avoid taxes. Companies like Burger King buy a foreign company with the deal structured in such a way that the foreign corporation seems to be buying the American company. The new combined entity is headquartered in the foreign country and incorporated as a foreign company, enabling the former American Company to dodge millions of dollars in US taxes.

Burger King is not the first US company to pull this sleazy tax dodge. Walgreens tried the same thing several months ago. The immediate threats of a consumer boycott caused them drop the idea very quickly.

When Daniel Schwartz took over as chief executive of Burger King last year, he set about pinching pennies.

Mr. Schwartz, 33, had little affinity for traditional corporate luxuries. So he sold the company jet, ended an annual $1 million party held at an Italian villa and moved executives at the company’s Miami headquarters from posh offices employees called Mahogany Row to an open floor plan full of cubicles.

Mr. Schwartz further reduced expenses by selling more restaurants to franchise owners, reducing the amount of money and employees needed to run the business.

This continued a strategy Mr. Schwartz began in 2010, when he led the buyout of Burger King by 3G Capital, a Brazilian investment firm. And it seemed to work. Since Burger King went public in 2012, the company’s value has more than doubled.

But after years of cutting costs at Burger King, Mr. Schwartz and 3G are now prepared to spend big money on the brand. Burger King is in advanced talks to buy Tim Hortons, a Canadian chain of coffee-and-doughnut shops, for more than $8 billion, in what would be the largest-ever acquisition of a restaurant chain. According to a person briefed on the matter, the billionaire Warren E. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will provide a little less than 25 percent of the deal financing by taking preferred shares.

If completed, the deal would provide several clear benefits for Burger King and 3G Capital, which would remain the majority owner. But the deal would also steer the company into perilous territory for fast-food restaurants by bringing together multiple brands under one roof.

Previous attempts at consolidation in the restaurant industry have sputtered. Wendy’s and Arby’s combined in 2008 but split just three years later. Wendy’s also once owned Tim Hortons, but sold it in 2006.

Presher Road to Close Sept. 2-Oct. 30

Anderson County Roads & Bridges Department will close the Centerville Road end of Presher Road on Sept. 2, to begin replacing two large metal culverts with a pre-cast concrete box culvert.  Weather permitting, the project should be completed by Oct. 30.

Currently, the 250 acres of storm drainage from SC 187 east to Centerville Road flows to the damaged 48-inch double barrel metal culvert pipes.  The new concrete box culvert will be 8-feet wide and 5-feet high.  All of the construction will be completed by Roads & Bridges crews using county general funds.

The signed detour route will follow from Centerville Road (S-04-0071) at Presher Road (C-04-0086) north to SC 187, then south on SC 187 to the west end of Presher Road.  Only adjacent residents and delivery vehicles will be permitted within the road closure area.

Students Invent Nail Polish to Prevent Date Rape

Four college students have used their scientific training to come up with an unusual solution to an all-too-common problem on college campuses and beyond. They are developing a nail polish that changes color when it is exposed to date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol, Xanax and GHB, to help women detect if the colorless, odorless compounds have been slipped into their drinks.

A woman wearing the experimental nail polish would be able to tell if her drink had been drugged by simply dipping her finger into the drink and giving it a stir. The product is still being tested and is not available for purchase at the moment.

The students, four young men majoring in Materials Science & Engineering at North Carolina State University, have named the nail polish line "Undercover Colors" and are promoting the project as "The First Fashion Company Empowering Women to Prevent Sexual Assault."

"While date rape drugs are often used to facilitate sexual assault, very little science exists for their detection," the students wrote on the Facebook page devoted to the product. "Our goal is to invent technologies that empower women to protect themselves from this heinous and quietly pervasive crime."

Ankesh Madan, one of the students behind the project, told Higher Education Works that his team is planning to take the nail polish line to market. But right now they are still focused on developing and testing the product, he said.

The project won the Lulu eGames competition at North Carolina State University this spring, which is sponsored by NC State's Entrepreneurship Initiative to encourage students to come up with working solutions to real-world problems.

The students are now raising money to continue developing the product.

Full Story Here

S.C. Law Enforcement has Received Military Equipment

Anderson City Police and the Anderson County Sheriff's Department has received military equipment. The Travelers Rest Police Department has a Humvee. The Oconee County Sheriff's Office has a helicopter and an armored personnel carrier. The Pickens and Spartanburg County Sheriff's Offices both have MRAPS, Mine-resistant, Ambush-protected vehicles.

Why?

"The bad guys we're dealing with nowadays are becoming increasingly more militarized," said Travelers Rest Police Chief Lance Crowe.

Crowe's agency is one of many across the country that receives surplus military equipment through the U.S. Defense Department's 1033 program. By paying an annual "membership fee," police departments become eligible to receive surplus equipment free of charge, which means it doesn't cost taxpayers.

"We've received $200,000 worth of things through the 1033 program in the few short years we've been a part of it," Crowe said. "This is $200,000 the City of Travelers Rest did not have to pitch in to our operational budget."

Travelers Rest is not alone. In the last two years, police agencies across South Carolina have amassed nearly $24 million in surplus military equipment, according to records obtained by WYFF News 4 Investigates.

Upstate police agencies that participate in the 1033 program include the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, Anderson City Police Department, Greenville County Sheriff's Office, Wellford Police Department, Travelers Rest Police Department, Seneca Police Department, Greenwood County Sheriff's Office, Pickens County Sheriff's Office, Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, Union Department of Public Safety, Seneca Police Department, Westminster Police Department, Williamston Police Department, Campobello Police Department, Lyman Police Department, Mauldin Police Department, Oconee County Sheriff's Office and West Union Police Department.

President Obama has ordered a review of the program to see if local police agencies are properly trained to use military weapons. The review stems from outrage over photos and videos of police in Ferguson, Missouri using military-style weapons in the face of protesters.

When asked if police are becoming too militarized, Crowe gave a resounding"no."

"The criminals at Columbine, they were fairly militaristic. The shooting in Abbeville where officers were killed a few years back, that required a militaristic response. Certain situations require a stepped up response," Crowe said.

Rubio Heckled on Immigration Reform at Anderson Event

Confronted several times by hecklers demanding immigration reform, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio told attendees at a Republican fundraising barbecue that no country has been more generous to people from elsewhere than the United States.

"I'll start on that topic, how's that?" Rubio said, just moments into his presentation. "I actually sympathize with what they're saying."

Rubio, whose parents left Cuba in the 1950s, mentioned his childhood as part of a family of immigrants during his keynote address at the fourth annual "Faith and Freedom BBQ" fundraiser hosted by U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C.

The event in Anderson, has become a go-to stop for Republicans with strong national profiles and potential presidential contenders. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., headlined last year's event. 

Other previous speakers include U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and his predecessor, Jim DeMint, whose endorsement was influential in Rubio's Senate win.

Rubio has been trying to recover from his failed push for an immigration law overhaul, now seen as a political misstep. He helped write the bipartisan immigration overhaul that passed the Senate but stalled in the House as some Republicans balked. Conservatives grew wary of the measure, and the Republican-led House signaled that the comprehensive Senate plan would go nowhere. 

The Florida Republican, who has not said whether he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, also stressed the importance of innovative educational programs, saying a four-year college degree isn't necessary for middle class success. 

"I don't know why we have stigmatized vocational and career education," Rubio said. "We need more programs that help people graduate from high school and get ready to go into one of these professions." 

On foreign policy, Rubio echoed previous comments by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., deploring cuts to the American military.

"When America steps back from the national stage, it is chaos," Rubio said, adding that international conflicts need reasoned intervention. "Does that mean that we should be involved in every conflict? Of course not. ... Only America can play that role. In the absence of us playing that role, no one does, and crisis ensues."

GNews: Online Schools Growing in Upstate

As thousands of Upstate children hopped in big yellow school buses and headed off to big brick schoolhouses last week, the state's virtual schools hit the "on" button and booted up another year of cyber education.

South Carolina was ahead of the curve six years ago when its first three online schools went into operation through the statewide Charter School District. The state attracted national attention from the North American Council for Online Learning for its "virtual big bang."

The virtual schools started in 2008 with 2,175 students. This year, there are twice as many virtual schools and more than four times as many students enrolled in them.

The results have been mixed.

For some students, like Jonathan Sessions, a seventh-grader who is starting his seventh year in the South Carolina Virtual Charter School, it's been great, according to his mother, Karen.

"He's learning much more in the virtual school," she said during a start-of-year "school social" at Cleveland Park late late week. "Having older children that went to a traditional school, I can see a big difference – much more learning taking place."

She put Jonathan and his older brother, Nick, now a student at Greenville Tech Charter High, in the virtual school so they could go at their own pace, she said.

Jonathan says he doesn't mind not going to a regular school every day like most kids.

"I haven't been bothered by it because I've done a lot of other stuff like at the YMCA," he said. "But I've also met other students and gotten to know them."

Full Story Here

Proctecting S.C. Veterans a Top Priority

By U.S. Sen. Tim Scott

The brave men and women who have worn our nation’s uniform deserve our honor and our kept promises. South Carolina’s approximately 400,000 veterans rely on the services provided by the William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia, Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston and the 11 community-based outpatient facilities around the state.

That is why this spring when news reports of widespread mismanagement problems and “secret” waiting lists at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical facilities broke, I, like, so many Americans, was extremely troubled.

The exposure of mismanagement prompted me to lead a group of 24 Senate colleagues in asking for an immediate, independent investigation. Following that request, I wanted to hear directly from Palmetto State veterans, so in June, I hosted veteran listening sessions and office hours across South Carolina to learn first-hand the problems veterans are experiencing.

I have long fought to end the VA claims backlog, voted against veterans’ pensions cuts and had staff working to assist veterans navigating through, but hearing from so many veterans, sharing similar experiences, prompted me to go directly to the VA Secretary to demand answers.

And after the Obama Administration did not respond to my initial request for answers about the 13 South Carolina facilities, I went directly to the local leadership of both Dorn and Johnson to get answers. After talking with both leaders, they both discussed how locally, it seems we are making improvements on wait times. We still have work that needs to be done, but the good news is that at least in this state we have a collaborative effort to improve the quality of care experienced by our veterans.

Building on that hope to move this process forward, in late July, I voted for the bi-partisan Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act, which overwhelmingly passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives and was signed into law by President Barack Obama earlier this month.

The new law will allow our veterans access to care outside of the VA system, if they are unable to get an appointment at a VA medical facility within 30 days or live more than 40 miles away from their nearest VA medical facility. It also allows the VA to open 27 new clinics across the country and hire more doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to serve our veterans.

At the same time, it increases accountability by empowering the secretary to fire or discipline employees for misconduct or poor performance. It also eliminated bonuses for VA officials this year in light of all the agency’s troubles.

That same week, I, along with all my other colleagues, voted to confirm former Procter & Gamble executive Robert McDonald to become our nation’s secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs. McDonald brings a fresh perspective to the challenges facing the VA.

Both of these votes, I believe, are steps in the right direction for our veterans and VA. Combined, they provide the agency a real opportunity to provide better access to health care for our deserving veterans and to provide more flexibility to modernize our veterans health care system.

The problems at the VA nationally or Dorn and Johnson VA here in South Carolina are by no means solved, but the VA is moving in the right direction. I will continue to press for answers, accountability and access for the veterans who have worn our nation’s uniform, because they deserve nothing less.

Republican Tim Scott represents South Carolina in the U.S. Senate; email him from scott.senate.gov/contact.

Charter Restores Internet After Outtage

After a day that left many without internet, Charter Communications customers are once again connected to the world wide web.

Charter spokeswoman Kim Haas said services have been restored following an internet outage on Saturday and part of Sunday. Haas said technical teams are monitoring the network closely and continue to investigate what may have caused the outage.

The outage affected multiple markets across its operating area.

Social media users posted complaints on the company's Twitter and Facebook pages. The company did not immediately respond on either site. Numerous calls to the company's customer support number rang busy.

Greenville Deputy Placed on Leave after Walmart Incident

A Greenville County deputy has been placed on administrative leave after witnesses filmed him striking a man who was being held on the floor of the Walmart on White Horse Road, authorities said Sunday.

Sheriff's Office spokesman Jonathan Smith said the deputy's use of force while making the arrest Saturday is under investigation internally. He also said he wouldn't comment on the videos shared on social media that show a man being punched repeatedly in the head.

Warrants identified the man as Sandon Matthew Sierad, 32, of 6 Cotton St., Greenville, who was charged with resisting arrest, assault and battery third degree and public disorderly conduct.

The man had been inside the store for 30 minutes before authorities were called to Walmart about a disturbance just after 1 p.m., Smith said.

He said the man showed "erratic behavior" based on discussions with employees and the man's own call to 9-1-1 in which he told dispatchers his truck was missing while standing next to it.

Full Story at Greenvile News Here