Search Results for "Horry County Council"

Community Violence Meetings Next Week

Horry County’s Community Violence Subcommittee is scheduled to meet again next week, hopefully to move forward on a plan to address crime problems in neighborhoods.

For its first four months of existence, the subcommittee has been stuck on compiling statistics comparing Horry County to counties in neighboring states.

I suppose that’s an approach. In the meantime, Horry County is experiencing approximately 20 deaths per month from heroin overdoses, according to local media reports, and violent crimes are on the rise.

All of the violence in our local communities can’t be tied directly to an increasing heroin epidemic that officials are beginning to acknowledge exists in Horry County. Poverty and lack of opportunities to rise above it play their parts also.

Interestingly, the Myrtle Beach Police Department is hosting a forum called “Facing the Heroin Epidemic Head On” at the Recreation Center on the former Air Force Base Tuesday August 16th beginning at 6:30 p.m.

When local community activists went before Myrtle Beach City Council nearly six months ago asking for help in combating community violence, Mayor John Rhodes blamed the activists for the problems and said crime was decreasing in Myrtle Beach.

The activists were also told they were ‘hurting tourism’ by focusing on community violence problems.

A raging heroin epidemic will hurt tourism a lot more. Maybe that’s why the Myrtle Beach forum will address the problem next week.

While local governments have begun to address the community violence problem, at least acknowledging it exists, a local group of pastors has been holding meetings in various communities around the county. This seems to be the most intelligent approach. It does seem logical to learn about community violence problems from those most affected by them.

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Enjoying the CLEAC Cookout

Let me give you a first-hand account of the fabulous Saturday we had at the Cook-Out themed “Connecting Cops, Kids and the Community” sponsored by CLEAC.

Over 500 guests from the communities, Sheriff & Police Officers, Fire Fighters and First Responders enjoyed thrill of the kids interacting, with the Fire-Sheriff-Police and politicians, at the magnificent North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex.

Everyone had a fun time and played sports and games assembled by the efficient personnel staff from the NMB Recreation department. Sheriff Phil Thompson, with an assist from Chief Deputy Sheriff Tom Fox at their booth, greeting everyone who came by plus the Sheriff’s staff handed out silver Junior Sheriff badges to the many kids who came by to say ” Hi Sheriff”.

Horry Police Deputy Chief Maurice Jones and Capt Bob Carr went around greeting and getting to know the people of the community and children. Carr went one step further throwing and competing with the kids at bean ball, and fishing at a simulator provided by DHEC.

Public safety Director Jay Fernandez standing by the new Fire Rig, with its ladder soaring high above the truck, looked quite happy at the many people who came by to where he greeted them with a big smile. Director Jay and the Fire personnel guided the kids to the Fire truck to blare the fire siren, shoot the water cannon, receive red fire hats, and run through water sprinklers.

The Myrtle Beach P D brought along their K-9 unit and SWAT team..naturally the kids and adults adored the German Shepard, a big gorgeous looking dog. The Shepard was calm, friendly and beautiful and was unfazed by the petting, kisses and of the huge attention it was getting.

The weather was perfect for a cook-out. There were plenty of games, sports activities. The looks on the happy faces of the kids showed their delight.

What was as joyful was to see Chairman Mark Lazarus playing football with the young future stars, with Councilman Harold Worley as an impartial spectator looking at the action.

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Vote for Reese Boyd in Senate District 34

The right choice to represent the people in Senate District 34 unquestionably is REESE BOYD.

Reese is a fair-minded, no nonsense politician. He is a leader who will vote for the best interests of his constituents, not for the Columbia BOSSES and special interests who line campaign coffers of his opponent.

Reese Boyd was born in Conway, graduated from Davidson College & University of S C School of Law. He is a member of the: Horry County GOP, South Strand Republican Club, the Grand Strand Opera Workshop, Palmetto Family Council. Reese lives in Murrells Inlet with his wife Lee, and two children Leila & Reese IV.

Despite what you have heard from his opponent and third party PACs who support his opponent, Reese Boyd is the true AND ONLY Conservative in the runoff election for Senate District 34.

Reese Boyd supports:

Term limits
Less government bureaucracy and interference in people’s lives
The Southern Evacuation Lifeline
Overhaul of Medicaid in the state
A real plan to fix the state’s roads
Fixing the erroneous FEMA flood plain maps
Protecting our beaches
During this campaign, Reese has been subjected to vicious attacks by his opponent and his opponent’s supporters, all of which are untrue. His opponent’s campaign is a classic example of – if you have nothing good to say about yourself, attack your opponent.

In this election, you have a clear choice between Reese Boyd, a conservative who will look out for the interests of his constituents, and his opponent who only looks out for himself.

I URGE YOU, to GO to the polls on Tuesday June 28th and vote again for REESE BOYD. He is an honest, true blue champion of the people, a person you can trust and the right man to be our NEW Senator.

Thank you for your consideration.

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General Assembly Extends Tourism Tax

The SC General Assembly extended the tourism tax enabling legislation allowing for the extension of the tax on local residents and visitors through 2029.

Both the SC House and SC Senate overwhelmingly overrode the veto of Gov. Nikki Haley on House Bill 5011 making the extension of the tourism tax a virtual guarantee.

The very best part of the tax extension, for the business interests that want it, is that once again the tax can be imposed by a supermajority vote of Myrtle Beach City Council and the citizens will have no say in the process.

There is a provision in the bill that allows for a voter referendum on the question of extending the tax, instead of a vote by city council, but that’s merely window dressing. Myrtle Beach City Council doesn’t let those kinds of decisions go to the voters and it doesn’t say no to the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber will be guaranteed hundreds of millions more public tax dollars to use in “out-of-area” marketing. I wonder how much of that is being used in China?

The hotel and golf course owners who control the Chamber board get to keep marketing dollars in their pocket while transferring those expenses to the taxpayer.

And we can hear 10 more years of “Oh yeah, it’s working” ads.

You have to give credit where it is due. This extension was slickly handled and was really never in doubt. So far, there have not even been whispers of how many, if any, sequentially numbered cashier’s checks, from those “like minded” individuals, were needed this time around to get the job done.

We are told free market capitalism is a wonderful thing. Maybe we can even experience it in Myrtle Beach, Horry County and South Carolina someday.

Until then, all those “anti-tax Republicans” we supposedly send to Columbia can continue to forget their campaign promises while continuing to practice crony capitalism and corporate welfare with our tax dollars.

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Community Violence Subcommittee Update

The Community Violence Subcommittee was given specific goals and objectives earlier this week by Al Allen, Chairman of the Horry County Public Safety Committee.

Allen told the committee that he had been too vague when he first appointed the subcommittee and he wanted to clarify its mission.

Allen named the following six persons as committee members: council member Jimmy Washington, chairman, school board member Holly Heniford, vice chairman, Rev. George Payton, spokesperson, HCPD Chief Saundra Rhodes or designee, HC Sheriff Chief Deputy Tom Fox or designee and Van Washington, community leader.

These six members are charged with meeting once a month at the county council conference room where meetings will be broadcast, livestreamed and taped.

In addition, Allen requested subcommittee members to identify the causes and influences that lead to violence in the community as well as visit with all public, private and church groups presently operating to reduce violence and crime in Horry County to rank their effectiveness.

Allen tasked the subcommittee with making a progress report to the Public Safety Committee in September 2016 and to be prepared to present a final report with findings and recommendations to full council in early 2017.

The subcommittee evolved from a request by community activist Benny Swans to the Public Safety Committee.

Swans asked the committee to help in establishing a series of community forums open to all citizens where problems, concerns, and eyewitness accounts of violence could be heard as well as discussions about possible solutions to the growing problem of violent personal and property crimes throughout the county.

Swans stressed the high murder rates, especially among young people, that have occurred in the last several years. Swans stressed that this effort was important to help save the lives of our children.

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Vote for Reese Boyd III for SC Senate District 34

Tired of “Business as usual” in the South Carolina Legislature?

On June 14th, 2016 South Carolina residents living along a large stretch of the coastline will vote for the Republican candidate to replace the retiring Ray Cleary in SC Senate District 34.

This is an important election in that it will send a signal to the SC legislature on whether SC residents are happy with the current status quo of tax and spend Republicans, or similar to the national presidential contest, want to see meaningful change in SC politics.

The current Republican controlled SC House and Senate have failed the taxpayers of South Carolina.

Roads – they have voted for a gas tax increase, yet the DOT has already received more money than it had in 2012 – their budget has grown by $708 million. Most people close to this issue know that the roads will not improve by giving the politicians more money. What is needed is a restructuring of the SCDOT and taking the road improvement prioritization process out of the hands of politicians.
Economy – The most recent U.S. unemployment rate was 5.1%. Horry County’s rate was 7.4% and Georgetown County’s unemployment rate was 8.3%. Reese will work to reform our tax code and bring about economic growth.
Taxes – South Carolina government is growing – at a rapid pace. You won’t hear a lot about increase in taxes, except for the Gas Tax, but the number of taxes and the additional burden on individuals and businesses are growing each year. Reese will fight efforts to raise our taxes, and push for tax simplification and tax relief for working South Carolina families.
Second Amendment Rights. The legislature tried unsuccessfully to pass “constitutional carry” in South Carolina. Currently there are 23 States planning to introduce “constitutional carry”. We need to vote for someone who truly supports the 2nd

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Reese Boyd Announces for Senate District 34

Local attorney Reese Boyd, III announced last week that he is a Republican candidate for SC Senate District 34 in the upcoming June primary.

“I believe the voters of District 34 deserve a conservative choice in this election,” said Boyd in his announcement speech. “I am that conservative choice and I ask for your support.”

A native of Conway, Boyd graduated from Davidson College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law.

After earning his law degree, Boyd began his political education as an attorney on Gov. Carroll Campbell’s staff. Boyd was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by Campbell for his work.

When Campbell left office in January 1995, he was named Chairman of the American Council of Life Insurers in Washington, D.C. Campbell took Boyd with him as legal counsel.

“I got a close up look at working with the federal government in that job,” said Boyd.

In 1999, Boyd accepted a position as vice president and counsel to a large asset management, insurance and financial services firm in Boston.

“It was a great opportunity and I enjoyed Boston except for the winters,” said Boyd.

In 2001, Boyd decided to return to his native Horry County with a view toward seeking political office in the future.

“I had been interested in running for political office and I felt my opportunities were better at home than they were in Massachusetts,” he said. “I was also too thin-skinned for the cold weather in Boston.”

After returning to Horry County, Boyd entered private practice. He is currently a partner in Davis Boyd, LLC. The main focus if his practice is general civil litigation while also handling business formations and corporate legal matters, estate planning, as well as aviation law and consulting.

Boyd currently lives in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, with his wife Lee and their two children. He is active in community and volunteer activities, and is an Elder of Surfside Presbyterian Church, PCA, where he serves as Clerk of the Church Session.

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Myrtle Beach Needs to Show Citizens More Respect

The harsh words between Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes and community activist Tim McCray at last week’s city council meeting demonstrate how little respect city council has for the citizens it supposedly represents.

Rhodes had only recently returned from a 16 day trip to China from which he brought back expectations of a soon to come $100 million investment in the area by a Chinese group.

“We’re doing whatever we can to try and improve things and, in order to do that, you have to talk to potential investors,” Rhodes said in speaking about the trip.

Since Rhodes first ran for mayor in 2005, he has said the number one job of the mayor is to be an ambassador for Myrtle Beach.

What seems to have been forgotten in the intervening 10 years is that the mayor of Myrtle Beach also has responsibilities at home.

It’s wonderful, I guess, to go on 16 day junkets to China promoting the city. (Personally I have always preferred Europe or South America to Asia.)

But, if the city is torn by crime and disparate treatment among neighborhoods, as it obviously is, what is said overseas is just so much hot air.

Unfortunately, hot air is also what is being offered when a community comes to city council asking for help. And, to make things worse, being attacked in an arrogant, aggressive tone by the mayor.

Several community leaders, including McCray, went to city council asking the city to help in conducting a series of public forums with a view to promulgating a comprehensive plan to address crime and lack of work opportunities for Myrtle Beach community residents.

It ended with Rhodes verbally attacking and finger pointing at McCray and a visibly upset McCray retorting Rhodes’ comments were lies.

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Changes Needed From City Elections

City elections in three local municipalities could bring much needed changes to the way those communities work for their citizens.

Those three communities are Conway, Atlantic Beach and Myrtle Beach.

Below, we have highlighted the candidates we believe are most likely to bring new ideas that will lead to much needed positive change for those municipalities.

Conway

Mayor and three council seats up for election.
City council member Barbara Blain-Bellamy is continuing to build momentum in her attempt to unseat incumbent Mayor Alys Lawson.
Blain-Bellamy is well known to Conway voters. She has been elected to city council three times and has led the ticket each time. This is not an outsider attempting to unseat an incumbent mayor.

Blain-Bellamy’s message of finding new ways to ward off the influence of gangs and crime in Conway’s neighborhoods and listening to the concerns of citizens throughout the city highlight her message.

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International Drive Stalemate

A recent meeting between residents in the SC 90 area and representatives of the Coastal Conservation League highlighted the International Drive stalemate.

According to sources familiar with the meeting, homeowners in the area want the road built and the environmentalists won’t give in unless they get their way.

Their way is to add millions of dollars to the cost of the project for bear tunnels, electronic warning signals, higher fencing and additional mitigation not needed for the project at the cost of a $1.6 million payment to The Nature Conservancy.

In other words, the environmentalist tactic is to delay the project for as long as possible and to add as much additional cost as possible in the hope the road project will be abandoned.

And I don’t believe these delaying tactics are about bears in the area at all.

Fifteen years ago, the Horry County Solid Waste Authority board discussed using authority funds to pave International Drive as a means of reducing garbage truck traffic on SC 90.

The environmentalists were never heard from during these discussions.

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