TheSunNews.com: Local

HOA foreclosures high in Myrtle Beach area as dues fall behind

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:13 EST

John Fritzsch knew he was behind on his payments to his homeowners association, but he was still floored when he learned those late payments had led the association to foreclose on his condominium in Myrtle Beach.

"It wasn't something that I expected," he said, adding that he didn't know the association had the power to foreclose on him.

Fritzsch, of Brick, N.J., was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after buying the condo in 2005, a setback that forced him to stop working and that brought mounds of medical bills - which made him fallbehind on his HOA payments.

Senate health debate to begin

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:04 EST

The Senate voted 60-39 Saturday to clear the way for consideration of historic legislation to overhaul the nation's health-care system, but reluctant Democratic moderates sent strong signals that the bill has an uncertain future.

Saturday's test vote was about whether to cut off a Republican-led filibuster and begin formal debate on the Senate Democrats' proposed $848 billion, 2,074-page health care plan.

Democrats control 60 of the Senate's 100 seats, and all 60 voted to proceed with the bill, while 39 of the 40 Republicans voted no. Ohio Republican George Voinovich didn't vote, while the last Democratic holdouts, Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, agreed Saturday afternoon to vote with their party.

Wither Swash plan gathers input in Myrtle Beach

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:16 EST

Consultants working on plans for revitalizing Withers Swash got a surprise at their recent public meetings.

"We did not anticipate the kind of enthusiasm and support we've gotten," said Michael Guthrie, an architect with Inform Studio. He and his colleagues are working for and with Myrtle Beach to develop a conceptual plan that will guide the rejuvenation and redevelopment efforts not only in the swash itself, but in the basin surrounding it.

"This has ballooned way beyond our original scope," Guthrie said. "The city came to us for a park, but it's important to us to deal with the area in a comprehensive way."

Life story | Respected entrepreneur left mark on Grand Strand life, business

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:15 EST

Don Herring built businesses.

Sometimes it was his strategic business sense that built or directed many businesses to thrive along the Grand Strand.

Other times it was his actual manpower.

Police seeking armed suspect in Horry County slaying

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:15 EST

Marty Teel said he didn't know until he got home from work Friday night that his nearest neighbor was dead and that Horry County police were investigating the death as a homicide.

He didn't know until late Saturday afternoon that Horry County Coroner Robert Edge had ruled that 28-year-old David J. Lane died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Police discovered the body inside Lane's singlewide mobile home at 1125 Oscar Road when they went there to investigate a 5 p.m. call that shots had been fired. Lane's body was found on the floor of the home. Edge wouldn't say where the fatal bullets entered Lane's body.

Police | Man assaulted in bar parking lot in Myrtle Beach

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:17 EST

Police

MYRTLE BEACH

Man assaulted in bar parking lot

Chemist's 'fake weed' leaves the laboratory

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

Clemson University chemistry professor John Huffman was amused the first time someone called to talk about people smoking one of his lab projects to get high.

It's not so funny anymore.

As the use of K2, Spice and other drugs that are considered "fake weed" spreads across the country, Huffman is fielding more calls from police agencies, media and even from people who want instructions on how to make it.

Evidence to be tested again in woman's death

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

Everyone agrees Melissa Huntley Motz was shot and killed in the passenger seat of her husband's blue Thunderbird eight years ago.

But police, prosecutors and the woman's family still cannot agree on who pulled the trigger in the parking lot of the couple's Rock Hill apartment Feb. 16, 2001, barely an hour after the two had argued at a Charlotte strip club.

Then-York County Coroner Doug McKown initially ruled the case a suicide. But he later changed his mind, saying he couldn't determine why the 35-year-old woman was shot.

Holiday Closings

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

The following agencies will be closed in obervance of Thanksgiving:

Town Halls

Andrews | Nov. 26 and 27

Despite federal guidance, sheriffs still deport for misdemeanors

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

The federal government said it was revamping its deportation agreements with local sheriffs to focus on ridding the country of dangerous felons. But some North Carolina sheriffs who signed the agreements have not changed their practices.

Lawyers and advocates say the controversial program, which allows sheriff's departments to help identify illegal immigrants and begin deportation proceedings, is operating virtually unchanged - resulting in the deportation of people charged with offenses as minor as disorderly conduct and driving without a license.

A month after the new agreements took effect, Wake County is still putting more illegal immigrants into deportation proceedings who were arrested for misdemeanors than those detained for felonies.

Syphilis cases resurge across North Carolina

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

As health departments battle the H1N1 flu virus, health workers worry that another epidemic may be brewing - one for a sexually transmitted disease that had almost disappeared from North Carolina 10 years ago.

Cases of syphilis in the state have nearly doubled in the past year: 684 in the first nine months of this year, compared with 359 cases for the same period a year earlier.

Numbers are up across almost all age and racial groups, including teenage girls and African-Americans - groups already disproportionately affected by STDs.

Formerly low-key legislator steps into spotlight to take on Sanford

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

Until this year, state Rep. Greg Delleney was known mainly for his stances against abortion, video poker and the state lottery. Which is to say, he wasn't a high-profile figure beyond groups involved in those issues.

But Gov. Mark Sanford has shaken up South Carolina's political landscape over the past six months, and a small town lawyer from Chester has emerged as a key player in the conflict over Sanford's fate.

Outraged by the governor's secret trip to Argentina and what he called the dereliction of duty it represented, Delleney moved for quick action. He introduced an impeachment bill and will serve on a House subcommittee that most likely would handle Sanford's impeachment hearings.

Barefoot man keeps septic tanks going

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

Stately live oaks and salt marshes aside, the rural Lowcountry owes much of its outward charm to a dirty little secret underground.

Facilitating the movement away from the outhouse in the second half of the 20th century, this device has meant that the pervading odor outdoors is the musky bouquet of pluff mud at low tide.

Today, we praise the septic tank.

County ponders hike in Daufuskie ferry fee

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

Beaufort County will continue to subsidize ferry service for people traveling to and from Daufuskie Island under a contract approved last month, but users of the service might have to pay more after the new year, officials said.

The county pays private firms to take travelers with special ID cards, such as property owners and residents, to Daufuskie, which is accessible only by boat, from two locations on Hilton Head Island.

The county recoups some of its expenses through fees, which range from $2 per trip for students or seniors to $7 for people who own property on Daufuskie but don't live there.

Trooper fired after hat fib wants back in

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

A North Carolina state trooper who said he was fired because he lied about the fate of his $45 hat is fighting his dismissal.

Thomas C. Wetherington, 22, told The News & Observer of Raleigh that losing his job in a misunderstanding about his hat is especially galling considering the kind of misconduct other troopers have committed without getting fired.

"Look, we've got guys having sex in patrol cars just about every day," said Wetherington, a trooper since 2007. "Why did I get dismissed when other guys get slaps on the wrist?"

Coyotes move to Charlotte

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

One coyote lounged on a Myers Park front porch. Another was spotted walking near rush-hour traffic in broad daylight.

Urban coyotes don't seem particularly afraid of people. But some Charlotte residents fear for their small children and pets.

They're also discovering county animal control doesn't respond to coyote calls, referring residents to state officials and private contractors who trap wildlife for a fee.

Doubt hangs over stimulus figures

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

There's no need to go to Washington to hear the increasingly shrill arguments over phantom congressional districts and the number of jobs created by the $787 billion economic-stimulus plan.

That dispute is raging across South Carolina among private-sector recipients of stimulus money and among state government officials tracking the funds and their impact.

Ethics panel narrows its scope

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:23 EST

The agency that polices ethics in North Carolina's government has decided not to watch two advisory boards and is considering removing at least one more from its oversight.

The N.C. State Ethics Commission is finishing a long review of all the boards and agencies in state government. Last week, the commission decided not to scrutinize the Governor's Crime Commission and the Economic Development Board.

Those panels only give advice, and the state's ethics law says the Ethics Commission doesn't have oversight over advisory boards.

The Carolinas news

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:57 EST

South Carolina

GREENVILLE

Sara Lee to close bakery, lay off workers

Historic health care bill nears key Senate vote

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:17 EST

Democratic leaders secured the last two votes to move ahead on historic health care legislation, clearing the way for a Saturday night showdown on President Barack Obama's top domestic initiative.

In long-awaited speeches, centrist Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana said they would stand with their party and vote "yes" on the crucial test vote despite deep reservations with elements of the 2,074-page bill to remake the nation's health care system.

"The truth is this issue is very complex. There is no easy fix and it's imperative that we build on what's already working in health care in America," Lincoln told her Senate colleagues.