Eau Claire High students and faculty welcomed the new year with another bomb threat, but the incident had signicant differences from previous threats and the school was not closed, nor even delayed.Someone called in the threat before 8 a.m., unlike previous cases in October and November where suspicious packages were left on the school steps, Richland District 1 spokeswoman Karen York said.Columbi...

Jasper County’s first charter school is set to open in August, and its founders urge parents interested in sending their children there — whether they live in the county or not — to apply soon.The Royal Live Oaks Academy of the Arts and Sciences is expected to accommodate 396 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, according to Karen Wicks, one of the school’s fo...

For the second time, a holiday bomb scare has shut down Eau Claire High School.Custodians arriving to work this morning saw a suspicious package near the front of the school and called authorities, prompting a two-hour delayed start that eventually became an outright cancellation of classes.“After additional conversations with law enforcement about the length of time they would need to comp...

Despite days of intense coverage about allegations of sexual harassment, presidential hopeful Herman Cain is still the top pick of likely S.C. Republican primary voters, leading former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 10 percentage points.A new Rasmussen poll conducted Tuesday -- two days after unsubstantiated allegations surfaced that Cain had harassed sexually two women -- shows the Georgia bus...

The parents of a 16-year-old student with Asperger's Syndrome killed by a school police officer at a Myrtle Beach high school nearly two years ago say they didn't sue the officer and Horry County schools out of vengeance.Instead, Tom and Karen Varinecz want to make sure the school system treats children with disabilities better and law enforcement officers in schools are better trained to deal wit...

Verizon Wireless customers in the Upstate of South Carolina couldn't use their phones and other devices for a few hours.The company said the outage Wednesday afternoon in areas along Interstate 85 was caused by what it called connectivity issues.Verizon spokeswoman Karen Schultz says engineers restored service after a few hours.Several Verizon stores reported crowds showing up because their cell p...

A school principal described as very caring and attentive to her students was killed Wednesday in an apparent homicide at a private school and a 17-year-old student was taken into custody, police said.Officers said the body of Suzette York, 49, was discovered in a classroom by a teacher shortly after 11 a.m. at Memphis Junior Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist Church-affiliated school in east Memphi...

The Army's largest training installation is celebrating its 94th birthday by inviting the community to a kid-friendly celebration.Army spokeswoman Karen Soule says Friday's event will involve children's activities such as cake decorating, inflatables for playtime as well as door prize contests and a candy buffet.While the post trains more than 36,000 soldiers in basic training, it is also home to ...

Real estate agents on Hilton Head Island say a proposed town tax increase of almost 7 percent will hurt the embattled housing industry.The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports a home valued at $350,000 would be taxed an additional $11 a year under the plan. Supporters of the increase say more money is needed to improve the island's tourist and recreational areas.Mayor Drew Laughlin says comments f...

Laurens County sheriff's deputies have detained a man they say was driving a car belonging to a Greer woman found dead in her home.Greenville County officials say 64-year-old Karen Hughes was found late Monday morning after they were called to the home by a neighbor who hadn't seen the woman since Friday.Laurens County Sheriff's Lt. Judy Stiles says a deputy found the woman's car at a convenience ...

Verizon is adding 135 jobs to its call center in Greenville.The Greenville News reported that Verizon plans to add the jobs in the next two months to help with customer service and technical support calls.The telecommunications company already employs about 1,200 people at a complex off Interstate 385.Verizon spokeswoman Karen Schulz says a growing customer base and product line prompted the decis...

Lexington’s transformation from small town to booming suburb is a change that Karen Wooten and Edie Harmon never imagined.Its metamorphosis is both applauded and mourned by residents, as the community begins its 150th birthday celebration. Wooten, 34, is happy with a pace that is busier than it was when she was a youngster, but not overwhelming.The arrival of local outlets of several national...

Lexington High School's principal for the last 9 years is retiring. According to a release from Lexington County School District One superintendent Karen Woodward, Principal B. Creig Tyler plans to retire at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. Creig began his career in public education in 1970 as a teacher and coach at Spring Valley High School. He taught and coached at other local high schools ...

Fort Jackson soldiers have spent the day training in and around their barracks because of bad road conditions on the post, said spokeswoman Karen Soule. The fort's offices and schools were closed and a decision is expected soon on whether or not they will open Tuesday.And, some of the entrances into the post on the outskirts of Columbia have been closed, Soule said.

S.C. Republican Party chairman Karen Floyd will not seek a second term, according to Republican sources.Floyd has called an afternoon press conference.During Floyd’s two-year term Republicans captured all nine statewide constitutional offices, won a Congressional seat held by Democrats for two decades and built the largest Republican majority in the history of the S.C. House of Representative...

State Republican Party staff members eavesdropped on a conference call organized by party activists to strategize ways to convince GOP candidates to adopt more of the party platform, according to several people who participated in the meeting.Republican activists have been critical of chairman Karen Floyd’s tenure, arguing the party is spending too much money on consultants at the expense of ...

State Republican Party staff members eavesdropped on a conference call organized by party activists to strategize ways to convince GOP candidates adopt more of the party platform, according to several people who participated in the meeting.Republican activists have been critical of chairman Karen Floyd’s tenure, arguing the party is spending too much money on consultants at the expense of pr...

It seems so obvious – be very careful with every e-mail message you send, every thought you post on Facebook, every blog entry you write.But once again, an online joke meant for just a couple of friends has gone viral, bringing embarrassment and a host of new questions about Internet privacy.In this day of YouTube, blogs and 24-hour news networks with 1,440 minutes of airtime to fill a day...

She landed with a splat in a South Carolina creek after a fall from a freeway bridge.The kitten has been named "Splat the Cat" by the woman who rescued her.The Post and Courier of Charleston reported that Karen Griffin Allen and her husband were on their boat along Clouter Creek on Sunday when she saw something fly off the Mark Clark Expressway bridge.Karen Allen says she watched as the cat tried ...

State Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, used the word, "raghead" to describe Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Rep. Nikki Haley, also of Lexington County, and President Barack Obama during an online political talk show Thursday evening. Haley is of Indian descent. Obama, who is bi-racial, has an African father and white mother. Knotts, who supports Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in the Republican primary ba...

Motorcyclists are heading home from an annual bike rally on the South Carolina coast that has seen attendance drop over the past two years.The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported the Harley-Davidson Cruisin' the Coast spring bike rally wraps up Monday.The city of Myrtle Beach two years ago approved ordinances to cut down on bike rally activities, which the city says make the area less attractive to ...

South Carolina's Republicans have won initial approval to keep their first-in-the-South presidential preference primary.State GOP Chairman Karen Floyd said a Republican National Committee panel recommended keeping early contests in South Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.South Carolina has held the first presidential primary in the South since 1980 and the party notes no one has won the GOP...

Daydreams of beach sunsets have been replaced by anxious Internet checks for many vacationers headed to the Gulf Coast, while hotel clerks there are busy answering calls about a massive oil spill and whether - just maybe - there's a shot at a refund. The answer is typically no.Meanwhile, the phones are also steadily ringing for tourism officials hundreds of miles away at Atlantic Coast beaches lik...

Clouds of smoke over Columbia today are coming from a controlled burn at Fort Jackson, interim Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said.The burning is occurring on about 48 acres of undeveloped land at the fort near Percival Road.?It is drifting into the city,? Jenkins said of the smoke. ?We?ve gotten several calls on it.?But Jenkins said the fire is being managed and ?is not out of control.??The burning ha...