High-paid Myrtle Beach leader keeps job. TV show set in beach town: Top stories
From a contentious city manager contract renewal to a beloved college president’s retirement, Tuesday brought a busy news day along the Grand Strand.
Here’s a roundup of the headlines you may have missed.
– Myrtle Beach City Council voted Tuesday to renew the contracts of city manager Jonathan Simons and city attorney William Bryan Jr. for another year without raises. Mayor Mark Kruea and Councilman Bill McClure voted against the renewals. Kruea and McClure objected to the lack of a formal evaluation process, noting that City Council has never completed a formal review of Simons since he became city manager in 2021. Kruea said he’ll continue pushing members to establish an evaluation system.
– HGTV’s “Battle on the Beach” filmed its new season in Garden City and will premiere with a two-hour episode at 9 p.m. on June 1. The show features three teams of renovators competing to transform beachfront vacation properties. Over seven weeks, the teams will work with $100,000 budgets to overhaul the homes, with the winning duo claiming a cash prize of at least $50,000. HGTV stars Sarah Baeumler, Mika Kleinschmidt and Ty Pennington serve as mentors.
– Marilyn “Murph” Fore, president of Horry Georgetown Technical College, will retire at the end of July after 51 years at the school. She has served as president since 2017 and began her career there as a faculty member. During Fore’s tenure, the college grew in enrollment, expanded workforce development initiatives and strengthened transfer partnerships. The Area Commission has formed a search committee to find her successor.
– Former Horry County Schools Board member Howard Barnard, 81, has died after resigning his District 5 seat in April due to a cancer diagnosis. He had been in remission from bladder cancer for more than four years before it returned. Barnard, a retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and colonel, served on the school board for more than five years and previously served two terms on Horry County Council. The board must fill his vacant seat by the end of June.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
