Lancaster County, SC | featured news

State officials have closed their investigation into last July’s drowning of Jerrell White, but his relatives are still looking for answers about what happened before his death, a family spokeswoman said Friday.
The S.C. Law Enforcement Division “explained what happened and apologized for how things leaked out before they had a chance to talk to us first,” said Pastor Altheresa Goode-Howard of Master’s Next Dimension Church.
White’s family attends the church. He had played drums and keyboards there.

Travis Jenkins
Landmark News Service

Gov. Henry McMaster this week launched a campaign to educate the public about the state’s opioid epidemic.
The campaign will use television and web-based advertisements in hopes of mitigating a crisis that McMaster has called the “silent hurricane.”
The announcement comes about a month after the governor declared a state health emergency over opioids, following a similar national declaration by President Trump.

The notorious Pressley’s Recycling Center property in Indian Land has a new owner following the completion of a yearlong tax-sale grace period that ended last month.
According to Lancaster County property records, the sale to retired Chester businessman Bill Mullis during a tax sale in Lancaster last year was finalized Dec. 15.
The sole bidder, Mullis paid $88,000 for the property during the auction, an amount that covered $87,776 in outstanding taxes owed by Ron Olsen of Charlotte and his company Crisis Hill Inc., the recycling center’s parent company.

KERSHAW – Huge smiles are breaking out in the southern end of the county, as officials anticipate a $27 million economic infusion aimed at the new Kershaw Commerce Park.
Officials are staying tight-lipped about the particulars until the official announcement from the industrial prospect, but they can barely conceal their glee.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on in this little town,” said Kershaw Mayor Mark Dorman. “I can’t say what it is at this point, but I can tell you right now that everything is a go.”

The city of Lancaster is hosting its largest-ever Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade this Saturday.
“It’s the largest and longest parade we’ve thrown from the past five years,” said Joe Timmons, the city’s events and promotions manager.
There will be about 90 floats in the parade, with 76 companies, organizations and charities sponsoring entries.
“It’s a sign that we’re growing, and that’s great,” Timmons said.

Springs Memorial Hospital on Thursday initiated flu-season limitations on its visitation policy because of the high number of flu cases in the area.
Since the beginning of October, there have been 12 flu admissions to the hospital. On average these patients stayed about two or three days.
“Usually patients go home to recover after seeing their doctor, but these cases are so bad that these patients required admission to the hospital,” said Ashley Shannon, director of community relations for Springs Memorial.