Lancaster County, SC | featured news

HEATH SPRINGS – To avoid the cost of runoff elections, the county’s smallest town is moving toward holding majority elections rather than the current plurality-based system.

Town council voted unanimously Tuesday night to make the switch. Council will consider the final reading of the plurality-voting ordinance at its December meeting. 

HOPE in Lancaster is kicking off its annual Ward Faulkenberry Sr. Christmas Basket Fund today and will collect items and monetary donations through December.

Former American Legion Post 31 Commander Ward Faulkenberry Sr. founded the Christmas basket drive in 1959. HOPE began leading the fundraiser in 2008, after the Red Cross chapter that was heading it moved out of Lancaster County.

The U.S. Postal Service, which ditched its first idea for locating the new Indian Land post office after an outcry from nearby residents, is rolling out another suggestion.

The new site is near the intersection of U.S. 521 and S.C. 160 on a parcel immediately west of Lowes Home Improvement, said USPS real estate specialist Kurtis Bullard.

“We want to let everybody know we’ve listened to their concerns,” Bullard said. “I think this location is going to be much better.”

Tammy and Mitch Boone were inside Home Depot on S.C. 9 Bypass by 6:15 a.m.

Propelled entirely by high-dollar Indian Land jobs, Lancaster County’s per-capita income jumped 6.5 percent in the past year, continuing the eye-popping growth that has totaled 79 percent since 2011. 

But that indicator of prosperity actually creates an economic-development obstacle in lower-wage parts of the county such as Kershaw and Heath Springs, officials say.

Bekah Clawson and Jan Blainey might be the

Law enforcement officers swarmed the Northwest Apartments off West Meeting Street overnight Tuesday during a seven-hour standoff that ended with no charges.
Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Doug Barfield said the incident began about 9:45 p.m. when a deputy responded to the apartment concerning a report of shots fired.

The S.C. Supreme Court has reversed its 2014 order that the legislature address the poor quality of education in rural school districts across the state, ending a 24-year legal battle over the issue.
The 3-2 ruling Nov. 17 dismissed the lawsuit Abbeville School District v. the State of South Carolina. The 2014 ruling was criticized at the time as judicial intrusion into the General Assembly’s and governor’s responsibilities, and the high court, with two new members since the earlier decision, took that side this month.

KERSHAW – The town of Kershaw will kick off the 2017 yuletide season at 3 p.m. Sunday with its annual Christmas parade, which this year includes more than 100 entries.
“The Christmas season is upon us, and the annual parade is something the entire town enjoys,” said Kershaw Mayor Mark Dorman. “We’d like to encourage everyone to come out and join us for some holiday fun.”
The year’s theme is “A Child is Born.” The parade will be broadcast live on LearnTV’s YouTube channel.