Union Daily Times - Local News, Sports, Classifieds & Businesses in the Union, South Carolina area.

News

Derik Vanderford|Daily Times

One of the first Palmetto College students, D.J. Bron, left, cuts a ribbon on a gift-wrapped laptop held by Palmetto College Chancellor Susan Elkins, center, as University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides, right, looks on.

USC launches ‘Palmetto College’
COLUMBIA — The University of South Carolina now offers an opportunity for students to earn a four-year degree any time, anywhere through the new South Carolina Palmetto College. Government officials, representatives from the university’s senior and regional campuses, and some of the first Palmetto College students gathered at the South Carolina State House Thursday morning for the official launch of enrollment. USC President Harris Pastid...
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Charles Warner|Daily Times
These woods off the Deepwater Road is the site of the latest fire in the Southside area of Union County. The fire and 10 others are being investigated by the Union County Sheriff's Office and the S.C. Forestry Commission.

Fire burns three acres of woods
SOUTHSIDE — A fire that burned more than three acres of woods Wednesday afternoon is being investigated by both the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the S.C. Forestry Commission. Roger Bailey, public information officer for the Southside Fire Department, said firefighters were called to 340 Deepwater Road, Union, in reference to a woods fire. The department also called in the S.C. Forestry Service for assistance in containing the blaze. ...
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Crime Report
The Union County Sheriff’s Office reported the following arrests : — Angela Lynn Haney, 37, of 110 Christopher Lane, Union, was charged with driving under the influence around 11:31 p.m. on April 17. — Bryse Michael Rankin, 24, of 211 Pine St., Union, was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia around 4:18 p.m. on April 17. The Union County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incident...
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Health Fair/Wellness Workshop this Saturday
UNION — Residents interested in getting information about available health care services and related matters are invited to attend the Health Fair/Wellness Workshop 2013 this Saturday at McBeth Baptist Church. The annual fair/workshop is the third the church has sponsored during the past three years and Co-Facilitator Savtri Parham said it is designed to meet the need in the community for health care information. “This our third year doin...
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Photo courtesy of Foster Park Elementary School

Academic Challenge

The Union County School District Academic Challenge Meet was hosted by Lockhart School. Teams from each school in the district competed in a bracket-format tournament. The tournament was separated into two categories — Elementary (grades 3-5) and Middle (grade 6). In the first round of the elementary competition, Buffalo Elementary defeated Monarch Elementary, and Jonesville Elementary defeated Lockhart. In the second round, Foster Park defeated Jonesville. Foster Park then defeated Buffalo in the third and final round, winning a first-place trophy. This is Foster Park’s third year winning the academic challenge. Mrs. Palmer, principal, commented, “We are so proud of our team and their coach, Mrs. Inman. They worked hard and demonstrated respect not only for their team, but for their opponents, as well. I am so proud of this display of great character. They are an amazing group of students.” Pictured are (front row, kneeling) Devin Cribbs, Holeigh Harris (second row) Ethan Balkum, Anna Rose Sawyer, JaQuan Boyd, Abby Goodfellow, Hunter Senn, Trey Best, Zachary Cooper, William Gibbs (back row) Mrs. Sally Inman (Academic Challenge Coach), Kaleb Small, Dallis Pierce, Kylie Lawson, Talia Glenn, Leah Cody, Arianna Whitmire, Justin Pettit, Katie Wagner.

Community Calendar
Thursday, April 18 • Good Neighbors Garden Club meets at Andy’s at 1 p.m. Anyone who is interested in joining the club is welcome to join. Saturday, April 20 • The Corinth Baptist Church RFL Team holds a Yard Sale & Fish Sandwich Sale at 7 a.m. “until they sell out” in the Union County Stadium. For information contact Emma Garner at 429-8845. • McBeth Baptist Church sponsors Health Fair/Wellness Workshop 2013. There will be free h...
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Photos courtesy of Union County Carnegie Library

The Union County Carnegie Library recently held a personalized candy jar class. Caron Clark works on her jar

Library Notes
Library Hours Monday – Friday 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday – 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Browsing Sections Did you know? The library has hardback and paperback browsing sections. Please ask at the circulation desk and they will direct you to those sections. Upcoming Events Book Signing Danny Reginald Pearson, author of “Victorious Spirit,” will be at the library to sign his book, April 20, from 1-3 p.m. Book Sale Another fant...
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Two city council candidates facing fines
UNION — Two of the three candidates in Union’s upcoming city council election face fines for failing to file the proper paperwork by the deadline. The Union City Council District 3 seat has been vacant since the death of councilman Keith Henderson on January 27. Henderson was serving his third term on city council at the time of his death. Three people — Vicki Morgan, Robin Price, and Yates Giles — have filed to run in the special electio...
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Derik Vanderford|Daily Times

Scot “Taba” Ward stops for a photo inside the Union County Fairgrounds in December while spending time in Union during his hike of the Palmetto Trail.

Experiencing the ‘ultimate freedom’
UNION COUNTY — A hiker who completed the entire 472-mile Palmetto Trail in January has now released a manual showing others how to do the same. At 3 p.m. on January 8, Scot “Taba” Ward finished hiking the entire length of the Palmetto Trail — including Union — across South Carolina. Although the trail is 472 miles, the total distance of Ward’s journey included 950 miles of hiking, 1,000 miles of bicycling and 500 miles of skateboarding — eq...
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Jonesville man wins $1 million playing lottery
JONESVILLE — A Jonesville man called his wife Tuesday morning with exciting news. “I just won $1 million,” he told her. The S.C. Education Lottery announced Wednesday that the Jonesville resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, purchased the ticket at the Around the Clock BP on Highway 34 in Newberry. The press release states that the Jonesville man stopped at the store Tuesday morning for a soda and a lottery ticket. He scratched off th...
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Agreement to generate revenue for county
UNION COUNTY — The regional nature of economic development and the efforts of Union County to benefit from it is continuing with the approval of the county’s newest multi-county industrial park agreement. Since 1993, Union County has entered into approximately a dozen multi-county industrial park agreements with Spartanburg County. Many of them have covered firms locating in Spartanburg County such as BMW and American Yungcheng, but several...
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UCAC to show youth art from grades K-5
UNION — The Union County Arts Council’s annual Youth Art Show, part two, will be open for viewing from April 22 through May 10. The art is from students from grades K-5 in the Union County School District. This is the second installment of the two-part Youth Art Show, with the show for grades 6-12 just ending. “The first part of the Youth Art Show was a big success,” said UCAC coordinator Jackie Senn. “We had more people at the awards recep...
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Photo by Wm. Harold Senn
The Union County Arts Council is currently accepting entries for its 2013 Photography Contest.

Arts Council accepting photo contest entries
UNION — The Union County Arts Council is now accepting entries for the 2013 Photography Contest. Photographs will be accepted for entry into three categories: People, Places and Things with a first, second and third cash prize awarded for each category. There will also be a People’s Choice cash award. That winner will be chosen from votes cast by the attendees of the contest’s awards reception on May 30. All entries must be received befor...
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Crime Report
The Union County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents : — A resident of Drugstore Street, Buffalo, reported on April 16, that several items were missing from her home when she returned from work on April 14. Missing items included a Seinheiser 380 microphone and cord valued at $540, an Ibanez guitar valued at $200, and a cordless Skill drill valued at $90. — A resident of Elmira Road, Carlisle, reported on April 15 that se...
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City issues permits for more than $400,000 in repairs, new construction
UNION — The City of Union Planning Department issued a total of 78 building and other permits in February and March, collecting nearly $2,500 in fees. In February, the department issued 47 permits and collected $1,645.25 in fees on projects with a combined value of $291,678. In March, the department issued 31 permits and collected $845 in fees on projects with a combined value of $126,588. Projects permitted during the two-month period had ...
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Union native honored for recovery of abducted child
HAMPTON COUNTY — Union native Sgt. Chris Patterson of the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office was recently recognized at the National Criminal Enforcement Association’s Annual Awards Banquet held in Tulsa, Oklahoma for his assistance in the rescue of a child who had been abducted. In the summer of last year, Sgt. Patterson stopped a vehicle for speeding on Interstate 95 in Hampton County. Patterson observed a woman driving the vehicle along wit...
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Photo courtesy of Foster Park Elementary School

Cast in 'Seussical: The Musical'

Union County High School Drama Club, under the guidance of Mr. Ralph Lawson, promoted a “Guest Who” contest for their upcoming musical production of Seussical: The Musical. The musical is based on the writings of Dr. Seuss; the primary story is Horton Hears A Who , but many other Seuss books are referenced in the show. In an effort to include elementary school students, the contest was held at each elementary school. Foster Park Elementary students were eligible to enter the contest based on their good behavior record. UCHS drama students came to the school to draw the winning names. Nyla Hill and Zaporia Thompson won the contest at Foster Park. The two students are excited to be a part of this musical production at Union County High School.

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City seeking $469,084 infrastructure grant
UNION — The City of Union will provide at least $129,000 as a match for a state grant to help fund water and sewer infrastructure improvements in the Monarch community. Union City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution authorizing a local cash match of $129,000 for a $469,084 Community Development Block Grant. The grant and matching funds will be used to address the problem of dilapidated sanitary sewer lines and water li...
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Charles Warner|Daily Times
Patrons make use of the computers and Internet access at the Union County Carnegie Library. The library has computers for use by all age groups. The computers are used by patrons for a variety of purposes including homework and submitted resumes.

Carnegie staying busy during National Library Week
UNION COUNTY — National Library Week 2013 finds the Union County Carnegie Library busy providing the public with traditional services such as books and magazines and new information age offerings such as computers and Internet access. National Library Week is celebrated the second full week of April. It is sponsored by the American Library Association and libraries across the United States. The week celebrates libraries and their importance...
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Job fair this Thursday at SCWorks
UNION — Applications will be accepted and qualified applicants offered interviews with a Gray Court company during a job fair in Union this Thursday. Katherine Pendergrass, business services consultant for SCWorks Union, announced Tuesday that a job fair will be held at the SCWorks office at 103 W. Main St., Union, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday. Pendergrass said the job is being sponsored by HTI Jobs, a Greenville-based employment service, a...
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Charles Warner|Daily Times
This area in the 200 block of Bird Street burned Tuesday morning. It was one of two suspicious fires extinguished by the Southside Fire Department and being investigated by the Union County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff’s office investigating two fires
SOUTHSIDE — The Union County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two grass fires that occurred within three hours on Tuesday. Roger Bailey, public information officer for the Southside Fire Department, said his department had asked the sheriff’s office to investigate the fires after firefighters were unable to determine their cause. “This morning around 10 o’clock we had a grass fire on the 200 block of Byrd Street off Sardis Road,” Bailey ...
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Crime Report
The Union Public Safety Department reported the following arrests : — John Anthony Tucker, 33, of 440 Joe Walker Road, Union, was charged with petit larceny, trespassing, and four counts of financial card fraud around 4:35 p.m. on April 15. According to arrest warrants, Tucker took $250 from a purse and a Playstation 3 worth $215 from someone on April 5 while at an address on Tillman Street in Union for which he was already under trespas...
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Whitmire man charged with murder in girl’s death
WHITMIRE — A Whitmire man is being charged with murder in the death of the teenage girl with whom he had a child. Douglas Eugene Inman, 21, 920 Central Avenue, Whitmire, is charged by the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office with murder in the death of Allyson Taylor Greenway, 17, of 1309 Broome Street in Whitmire. The investigation into Greenway’s death began Monday when law enforcement personnel were called to her home just after 5 p.m. Mon...
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Charles Warner|Daily Times
The proof of the promise
As important as Christmas is, without Easter it would be practically meaningless. Christ came not only to be born but also to die, die for our sins and triumph over death, hell, and the grave. The promise of that first Christmas was that that child born that silent night would grow up to be the Messiah that would deliver humanity from clutches of Satan. The resurrection of Christ on that first Easter was the proof of that promise, a promise that continues to be proved true in the lives of those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Church Calendar
Saturday, April 20 8 a.m.-Noon: Life Changing Ministry, 501 Hart St., Union, holds a Clothes Give-Away. There will be shoes and clothes all sizes for men, women, and children as well as pocketbooks and toys. There will be free hot dogs and a drink. Everyone is welcome. Pastor John F. Henderson. 10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Pacolet River Baptist Association hosts the Woman’s Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina Annual D...
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Photo courtesy of the University of South Carolina
Sara Mearns, a Columbia native and a member of NYC Ballet, will perform in ‘Ballet Stars of New York’ at the Koger Center in Columbia on April 19.

USC Theatre and Dance presents ‘Ballet Stars of New York’
COLUMBIA — Six of the world’s top ballet performers are set to bring Columbia audiences to their feet for the eighth annual “Ballet Stars of New York” gala at 7 p.m., Friday, April 19 at the Koger Center. The show is presented by the University of South Carolina’s Department of Theatre and Dance. Six principal dancers from the New York City Ballet and the USC Dance Company will perform works by George Balanchine, the founder of the New Yo...
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Image by The Princeton Review

‘Princeton Review Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2013’

Clemson University featured in ‘Guide to 322 Green Colleges’
CLEMSON — Clemson University is one of the 322 most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S. and Canada, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company known for its test prep programs and college rankings, ratings and guidebooks, profiles Clemson in the fourth annual edition of its free downloadable book, “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges.” The Princeton Review chose the schools for this guide b...
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