The Opinion Blog

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes



Wednesday’s editorial encourages support for CASA’s upcoming high-heeled fundraiser:

Walk A Mile in Her Shoes has been a successful fundraiser for Citizens Against Spouse Abuse, and the nonprofit is expanding the number of walkers to 24 for the third annual charity walk May 12 at Market Common on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.

JoAnne Patterson, executive director of CASA, says she is “still looking for a half-dozen walkers” – men who are willing to walk a mile wearing high heels. Now’s the time to sign up so the walkers have some time to learn how to walk in heels and, more importantly, to line up $1,000. That’s the main reason for the advance registration, although a little practice in the heels probably is not a bad idea. The charity walk raised $14,000 the first year with 17 participants and last year netted $11,000. Patterson is hoping to increase the amount with more walkers and each raising $1,000 from supporters.

Legacies to Learn From



Saturday’s editorial looks at some of the lesser known, but still important people that the Strand lost this year:

The year 2011 has come to a close, and as we enter 2012, we do so having lost the assistance of some giants in our community. Tireless Grand Strand promoters and area leaders David Brittain and Woody Crosby died far too early. One of the driving forces behind Coastal Carolina University, Joseph Kenyon East, also passed away, as did former CCU Chancellor Dick Singleton. Both left an indelible imprint on the school they helped foster to its current success.

Other notable losses included Archie Dargan, whose construction company built many of the local landmarks residents and visitors pass every day, and Sister Peterkin, an unyielding advocate for Murrells Inlet, author, activist and the fishing village’s unofficial mayor. The loss of these well-known leaders – and more we don’t have room to list – will be keenly felt in the coming year.

Together Under One Roof



Thursday’s editorial applauds the Myrtle Beach City Council on its adoption of an official city policy on homelessness and seeks to explain some of why it’s needed:

We’re lucky enough to live on the beach, in a warm climate, in an area with plenty of resources and advantages. Millions visit each year, and many others would love to live here, so it should be no surprise that the region also attracts those who have no home. The homeless population in Myrtle Beach is growing, with the latest count in 2009 putting the total at around 900. One in five of those were under the age of 17. The question before us is, what’s the proper response? Myrtle Beach City Council took on that question Tuesday, and came to a couple of conclusions.

A Chance for EOC to Start Anew



Tuesday’s editorial:

The striking thing about the Waccamaw Economic Opportunity Council’s moves Thursday to dismiss its chairman and his successor from the board was not so much that the agency board finally took action after years of mismanagment and chaos, but that the action was open, transparent and followed agency rules.

The Bumpy Road to Wellville



Friday’s editorial:

It was just a few weeks ago that we were feeling optimistic about the future of the Waccamaw Economic Opportunity Council. The state had removed the agency’s high-risk status, the board’s chairman had stepped down, and the new executive director was off to an encouraging start.

Our optimism has waned somewhat in the past days, though we’re still hopeful that they’re moving in the right direction. As reporter Steve Jones has chronicled this week, the agency’s demon’s have come back to haunt them, notably the Head Start center being built in Choppee and a history of violating open meetings laws.

Trafficked No Longer



Thursday’s editorial highlights the efforts of the local group battling human trafficking and their efforts to get a more robust law on the subject passed.

It seems a bit surreal as we approach the 150th anniversary of the Civil War to still be talking about the trade in human lives. But 148 years after the Emancipation Proclamation the abomination continues.

In December, a 20-year-old woman in North Charleston told police she was smuggled into the state from Mexico, held against her will and forced to have sex. Others are smuggled in and forced into labor on farms or as household servants. In Myrtle Beach in 2009, police arrested Jorge Flores-Rojas, who operated a sex ring that stretched from the Carolinas up to Washington, D.C.

Teens, not Moms



Thursday’s editorial applauds a new initiative to combat teen pregnancy in Horry County:

Over the past decade Horry County, and South Carolina as a whole, has managed to reduce its rate of teenage pregnancy, particularly among younger teens. In 1997, 44.1 out of every 1,000 teenage girls in Horry County became pregnant. By 2007, that rate had dropped to 37.5 out of 1,000.

The rate is still too high, however, and now a new effort has begun to reduce that number even further. Last year, the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy received a federal grant of nearly $1.5 million per year for the next five years, which will allow the campaign to expand its efforts in Horry and Spartanburg counties, two counties whose teen birth rates are higher than both the state and national averages.

Investing in Horry



Friday’s editorial celebrates the work that the community development group has been doing in Horry County, urges municipalities to expedite some of its projects and points out that the program is a paragon of open government, an example others in government could follow:

Diana Seydlorsky is hoping for good weather next week.

Seydlorsky, the community development director for Horry County, is holding a public hearing Wednesday to gather input on how to allocate the county’s $1.5 million in federal community development block grant funds in the coming year.

Keep the Giving Spirit Going



Friday’s editorial urges readers to make volunteering in the community a priority in the coming year.

The recent announcement that ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” will be stopping in Beaufort revives memories of the strong sense of community and spirit of volunteerism that accompanied the show’s two local tapings.

Thousands of residents turned out to help build two new homes for families in dire need of them. That same generosity and altruism has been on display throughout the holidays. Many of you no doubt bought toys for needy children, contributed to red kettles or helped serve the underprivileged a Christmas dinner.

Overdue for an Explanation



Thursday’s editorial calls for a criminal probe of the Waccamaw EOC, after it has repeatedly flouted the state’s open meetings law.

What, exactly, will it take to get the Waccamaw Economic Opportunity Council to stop breaking the law?

We don’t know what all goes on behind the closed doors of their frequent secret sessions, or their pre-meeting meetings. But what we do know is that these sessions appear to be illegal on their face, and that several people much closer to the situation than we are have said so in no uncertain terms.