North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years

By Ruben Lowman Horry County Schools announced on Monday, Aug. 31, that all schools will begin the 2020-21 academic year utilizing hybrid learning, which means that students will attend class in-person two times a week and utilize online learning for the rest of their coursework over the week. The expectation over the past month has been that the hybrid option would be selected, based on the disease activity reports that have been released by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The decision for which particular educational plan was selected came down to the incidence rate of coronavirus …

By Ruben Lowman Horry County Voters Registration & Elections announced this week that they will be creating new in-person voting sites for individuals who are planning on filling out absentee ballots for the upcoming election. County officials felt the inclusion of offering absentee voting in-person was necessary in order to compensate for an expected surge in demand given the current coronavirus restrictions that have become commonplace over the past several months. There will be three voting sites set up in strategic locations throughout the county to effectively process what is presumed to be a significant increase in voters filing absentee …

By Mary Templeton There were smiles galore as members of Yaupon Garden Club met Tuesday, Sept. 1, for their first meeting of the year. Social distancing at McLean Park was made possible through the generosity of the city of North Myrtle Beach. President Graceann Phillips welcomed everyone as they enjoyed a picnic lunch. She recognized Lou Haywood who introduced the speaker, Jim Grainger, grounds superintendent for the city of North Myrtle Beach. He gave an update on the progress at the sports park as well as other recreational areas throughout the city. President Phillips congratulated the club on the 20 …

By Annie Rigby After months of meetings to discuss and plan for the 41st Loris Bog-Off Festival the Loris Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors prepared and submitted their proposed plan to the South Carolina Department of Commerce (SCDC). Any event anticipating 250 or more people “must be able to comply with social distancing guidelines and best practices;” and requires the approval from the SCDC. The plan included following the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to host this year’s festival. Generally the SCDC responds within five …

By Annie Rigby The NCUSSSA 10U and 12U tournaments were held on Saturday, Sept. 5, beginning at 3 p.m. and ending at 2 a.m. at the Loris Sports Complex. Each team played two full games. Depending on how the teams score they are placed in a bracket. A bracket is where they place in rank; if they lose one game they go home if they continue they will go to the championship which began at 11:30 p.m. Normally the tournaments begin at 8 to 9 a.m. however this was a night tournament. The Vipers are 8 to 10 years old …

By Ruben Lowman North Myrtle Beach City Council met on Monday, Aug. 31, and passed a resolution approving the city to join a lawsuit against Horry County over the collection of the hospitality tax, as well as extending the emergency ordinance mandating the wearing of facial coverings while inside most establishments. City council approved the resolution which directs city manager Mike Mahaney to sign a Settlement Agreement in Principle and join nearly every other municipality in the area in a lawsuit brought against the county by the city of Myrtle Beach in March 2019. Myrtle Beach city officials stated that …

By Annie Rigby Horry County Schools (HCS) will open to students on Tuesday, Sept. 8, with the main goal to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for all students and staff with instruction delivered in the most effective way. Students were provided two choices to attend school. Option one is for face-to-face in school learning and option two is to attend online classes. The online instruction has limited subject choices and has been suggested that the student follow up with their guidance counselor for assistance. HCS created the HCS Re-Opening Task Force and formulated a comprehensive plan utilizing the …

By Annie Rigby Elementary and Middle schools across Horry County opened for the LEAP Days program from Thursday, Aug. 20, to Wednesday, Aug. 26, for the five day assessment Learn, Evaluate, Analyze and Prepare program (LEAP). This includes Loris Elementary, Daisy Elementary and Loris Middle School. Daisy Elementary began the school year with Leap Days welcoming students to the classrooms on Thursday, Aug. 20. Josh Todd, principal, and Sandy Carland, assistant principal, created an instructional information video to help parents and students understand what to expect as school begins each day at 7:30 a.m. The video can be viewed on …

By Pat Dowling The North Myrtle Beach City Council met on Aug. 17 at City Hall for a 6:30 p.m. executive session and a 7 p.m. meeting. During the executive session, City Council discussed the appointment of three new members to the Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee and received a legal briefing regarding the lawsuit between the City of Myrtle Beach and Horry County concerning local accommodations and hospitality taxes. City Council took no action. During the meeting, Coast RTA General Manager/CEO Brian Piascik offered City Council an overview of the company’s status. He said that Coast RTA ridership increased by …

McLeod Health Seacoast and McLeod Health Loris have received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver Plus Award as well as the Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke Bronze. The Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver Plus Award recognizes each hospitals commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. McLeod Health Seacoast and McLeod Health Loris earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include …