News from around The Carolinas

South Carolina

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

AG’s office reviewing nonprofit

The South Carolina attorney general’s office is reviewing a Hilton Head Island nonprofit that ceased operations New Year’s Eve.

The Beaufort Gazette reports that the office of the state’s chief prosecutor has asked the former leader of Strive to Excel for financial and governing information. The nonprofit mentoring group at Hilton Head Island High School shuttered Dec. 31.

Board secretary Tom Gardo says the board will file an overdue federal tax return for 2010 and a return for 2011 before legally dissolving.

Newspapers reported in August that the group’s board of directors hadn’t regularly met in years, and its president’s pay increased by about $41,000 in a single year without approval. Gardo said he did not know about any inquiry.

SPARTANBURG

Textile mill to be demolished

A 124-year-old textile mill is being demolished after years of legal and financial battles over the fate of the Spartanburg landmark.

The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg reports that Clifton Mill No. 2 is set for demolition.

But county officials say the site could become a nature preserve with trails, campsites and river access.

Foreclosure of the property was completed in 2009, after the former owner’s failed attempts to start a sand-mining operation and to turn the mill into apartments or condos. The 240,000-square-foot mill and 39 acres of riverfront property was bought at public auction for $500 and then sold to a developer from Louisiana for $325,000.

Clifton Manufacturing was founded in 1880. Clifton Mill No. 2 was built in 1888 and expanded in 1957. Operations ceased in the 1990s.

North Carolina

WILMINGTON

Visitors can see ‘hidden’ battleship

A behind-the-scenes tour of unrestored areas of the Battleship North Carolina will be offered on Saturday.

The tour will include the bow, third deck, brig, storage rooms, engineer’s office and engine room.

The tour is limited to ages 12 and older and limited to 40 participants per time slot. It is not appropriate for those who have difficulty climbing narrow ladders or stepping over knee-high hatches.

Participants should wear warm, comfortable, washable clothing and sturdy, rubber-soled shoes and bring a camera. The morning tour is from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The afternoon tour is 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Registration and payment are due Thursday. The cost is $45 and $35 for Friends of the Battleship or active-duty military.

Call 251-5797 for reservations. The Battleship North Carolina is at the junction of U.S. 17-74-76-421 on the Cape Fear River.

The next Hidden Battleship tour will be Oct. 13.

RALEIGH

Attorney confirms errors in Easley order

The North Carolina State Bar will clarify the disciplinary order that suspended the law license of former Gov. Mike Easley through November.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that the bar’s lawyer confirmed that the agreement outlining reasons for the lesser punishment contains mistakes.

Katherine Jean says she’ll ask the Disciplinary Hearing Commission to correct the inadvertent errors concerning when Easley was governor and when reports were filed.

The disciplinary panel for lawyers stopped short of disbarring the two-term Democrat, saying there was no evidence he knew the contents of a document that served as the basis for the felony.

From wire reports