TheSunNews.com: Local

New life coming to former Waccamaw Pottery near Myrtle Beach

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:38 EST

An investment group has bought the property known as Waccamaw Pottery with plans to revive the former shopping hub by cleaning up the area and luring new stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and other tenants.

The property off U.S. 501 at Fantasy Harbour, once slated for demolition before the recession to make way for new development, is getting new life under the new owners, 3W LLC, a firm registered in New Jersey that is made up of Chinese and American investors. The firm bought the 52.29 acres from General Electric Credit Equities for $7.5 million, closing the deal on Dec. 30, according to Horry County property records.

“We will gradually bring this thing back to life,” property manager Martin Durham said, sitting in an office in one of the mall buildings. “We are hoping to, over time, open everything back up.”

Conway to remain pocked by doughnut holes

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:37 EST

A 2-year-old plan to convince owners of unincorporated property surrounded by Conway city limits to become part of the city has produced few if any takers.

The new plan, said city administrator Bill Graham, is to wait until owners of the unincorporated property known as doughnut holes request water and sewer service or, for those who already have it, until ownership changes. The city would require annexation in return for new or continued service, Graham said.

City Councilwoman Jean Timbes isn’t surprised at the lack of enthusiasm from the owners of the doughnut hole property.

Horry County Notebook | Harrelson Boulevard exposes everyone to airport expansion

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:03 EST

Now that the Harrelson Boulevard extension is finished and open, drivers crossing from Kings Highway to the U.S. 17 Bypass via that highway can see a sight they probably couldn’t have before -- the terminal expansion project at Myrtle Beach International Airport.

And that $118 million expansion continues to move ever closer toward its January 2013 opening date.

Lauren Morris, marketing director for Horry County Airports, said the work remains on budget and moving along. Both Harrelson Boulevard and the aircraft rescue and firefighting facility are finished, with the 27,000 square-foot ARFF building coming in at a budget of $4.2 million. It is adjacent to the existing airport terminal.

Police investigate homicide in Horry County

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:31 EST

Detectives with the Horry County Police Department are investigating the area’s second homicide in a week, after a fatal shooting Thursday on JC Drive in the Longs section of the county, said Sgt. Robert Kegler.

The shooting was reported just before 4 p.m. on a dirt road in the rural community.

The Longs’ area man, who Horry County Deputy Coroner Darris Fowler declined to identify until his relatives were notified, was shot in the leg, said Kegler.

Things to do in the Myrtle Beach area on Feb. 10

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:05 EST

Catch a showing of ‘Citizen Kane’

The fifth annual “Friday Night at the Movies Classic Film Festival” continues with Orson Welles’ epic film “Citizen Kane,” from 1942. David Zinman, host, will share some background, then afterward, lead a discussion among the audience. Details at 545-3623.

• Details | 7 p.m. at Georgetown County Library’s Waccamaw Neck branch, 24 Commerce Lane, Pawleys Island, west of U.S. 17; free.

Issac J. Bailey | There’s nothing like a man’s voice

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:55 EST

There’s something about the power of an adult male voice, particularly in the ears of a young man.

It resonates in a way no other voice can.

Maybe it’s biological or sociological or just something we’ll never fully grasp.

Horry County bloodhound team arrests Myrtle Beach area man on attempted murder charge

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:17 EST

Horry County police arrested a 27-year-old man on an attempted murder charge after using the department’s bloodhound tracking team to search for him in a wooded area early Thursday, Sgt. Robert Kegler said.

Kendrick Walter Dorell Green, 27, of Myrtle Beach, was charged with attempted murder and is being held at J. Reuben Long Detention Center pending a bond hearing, Kegler said.

Officers went to Secrets Nightclub about 2:45 a.m. Thursday for a wanted person at the bar, Kegler said. Green ran out of the club and into a wooded area, so officers set up a perimeter and used the department’s bloodhound tracking team to search the area and Green was located about 10 minutes later.

Police | Conway man accused of threatening to kill his family

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:18 EST

POLICE

CONWAY

Georgetown County moves forward with recreation upgrades

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:01 EST

A project several years in the making is finally coming to fruition in Georgetown County.

Beth Goodale, with Georgetown County Parks and Recreation, said she will have eight open projects within the next 60 days.

It’s all part of the $31.5 million dollar master plan to improve recreation in the county.

S.C. wants part of cities’ parking fines, fees

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:21 EST

You may have to pay more money to park in city-owned parking spaces because of a proposal lawmakers inserted into the state budget on Thursday.

The proposal, sponsored by state Rep. Chip Limehouse, R-Charleston, would require S.C. cities to give 35 percent of the money that they collect from parking tickets and meters on state-owned roads to the state government.

If it passes, the proposal would transfer almost $2 million a year that now goes to South Carolina’s two largest cities to the state.

Survey: Stress, lack of exercise, poor diet prevalent in S.C.

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:22 EST

Nearly one-third of South Carolinians don’t get any regular exercise and nearly one-third of the state’s population feels stressed, but the two conditions aren’t necessarily related.

Those are among the results from health-related questions in the latest Winthrop Poll, which for the most part backed what state health officials have been saying for years. Despite some recent improvements, South Carolina has too many physically inactive people, too many who don’t eat right and too many who don’t get care when they’re sick.

For instance, 68.5 percent of the poll respondents said they had done strenuous exercise in the past month, including 29.4 percent who exercise two of fewer times a week, 25.9 percent who exercise three to five times a week and 11.6 who exercise more than five times a week. That’s all good, but 31.2 percent said they hadn’t exercised in the previous month.

DeMint gets hero’s welcome

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:46 EST

Sen. Jim DeMint kicked off a three-day gathering of conservative activists Thursday, telling thousands of cheering supporters that the divided Republican presidential contest is good for the party and will produce a stronger nominee to take on President Obama.

In a TV interview before his opening speech to CPAC’s annual convention in Washington, DeMint said the GOP race could go all the way to the Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay, Fla., in August.

That prospect could lead to delegates choosing the GOP nominee at a brokered convention for the first time since 1948.

Haley announces job training initiative with ACT

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:54 EST

South Carolina is entering a partnership with a company known for its college admission test to better match unemployed workers with the businesses who need them, Gov. Nikki Haley announced Thursday.

South Carolina is among four states where ACT is launching its Certified Work Ready Communities Academy this month. ACT is developing the pilot program in the state over the next year, with the intention of spreading it nationwide. The other states to pilot the program are Kentucky, Oregon and Missouri, according to the independent, not-for-profit company.

Details of how it will work are in the developing stage.

Myrtle Beach area man charged in fatal shooting released on $85,000 bail

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:27 EST

A Myrtle Beach area man charged with murder in connection with a November shooting has been released on $85,000 bail from J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Kelly Jerome McNeil, 42, was released at 10:48 a.m. Wednesday from the jail, according to jail records.

Myrtle Beach police charged McNeil with murder in connection with the shooting death of 43-year-old Joe James of Conway, according to police.

Conway man dies after vehicle accident

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:17 EST

One man is dead after an accident on U.S. 501 at Savannah Bluff Road.

Brent Kelly, with South Carolina Highway Patrol, said the accident happened at 6:22 p.m. Wednesday night when a vehicle hit a pedestrian.

A man driving a 2002 Chevy Tahoe was headed south on U.S. 501 when he hit the pedestrian. Kelly said the pedestrian was illegally in the roadway when he was hit.

One person wounded during store robbery in Horry County

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:14 EST

One person was shot this morning during a store robbery in Horry County, police said.

The robbery occurred at 5 a.m. at the Kangaroo convenience store on S.C. 90 in the Wampee community, said Sgt. Robert Kegler, police spokesman.

Three men wearing masks showed weapons when they entered the store and demanded money from the clerk, Kegler said.

HGTC culinary arts’ accreditation renewed

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:14 EST

CONWAY HGTC’s Culinary Arts Program was recently reaccredited by the Culinary Arts Federation Education Foundation, marking 33 straight years the school has held the distinction.

“Our strength is our staff,” said Phil Render, associate vice president for academic services at Horry-Georgetown Technical College, the position from which he oversees culinary arts. “Accreditations are tools to affirm the program.”

Render said the accreditation renewal lets officials know the Culinary Arts Program is in a strong position as the college embarks on a major expansion of it. Plans are being finalized for a new, $8 million to $10 million culinary arts building on the Grand Strand Campus that will be accompanied by a doubling of the teaching staff and the enrollment to 300 to 400 students.

Socastee postal worker honored after pulling woman to safety, construction workers nominated for award

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:49 EST

Andrew Federovitch doesn’t think he’s a hero.

But, the U.S. Postmaster General feels differently.

Federovitch, originally from Long Island, N.Y., has worked for the postal service for four and a half years. On Dec. 20, he helped a woman out of her car after she had driven into a tree. He’s received the “hero recognition” from the postmaster general for his actions that day.

Things to do in the Myrtle Beach area on Feb. 9

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:49 EST

See what port was like in 1900s

The S.C. Maritime Museum opens its first temporary exhibit with a reception for “Lumber Schooners,” a photographic display from the port of Georgetown at the beginning of the 20th century: 26 enlarged photographs, charts and maps that have been reproduced, courtesy of the Maine Maritime Museum and the Georgetown County Digital Library. The show will continue into the summer. Details at 520-0111 or www.scmaritimemuseum.org.

• Details | 5-7 p.m. (museum open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays) at 729 Front St., Georgetown; free.

Poll: Personal finances, economy improving in South Carolina

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:44 EST

Most South Carolinians think their financial situation is fair to good and getting better, according to the latest Winthrop Poll, released Wednesday.

The economy, jobs and the budget are the top concerns facing the state, according to those polled. But those concerns are easing slightly and, for the most part, those polled were not stressed out about the issues.

“We’re in the fourth year of a lackluster recovery,” said Frank Hefner, an economist at the College of Charleston. “Either everyone’s getting immune to the news and has just accepted this is the way things are now, or there is an increase in confidence. That’s certainly better than a decrease in confidence.”