Loris

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 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 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 …

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 …

By Annie Rigby The Loris Police Department (LPD) held their participation in the National Night Out event on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 7 p.m. in the Fox Bay community beginning at 329 Ross Road and walked through the neighborhood. Lt. Larry Williams said, “This is a community building campaign that forms police and community partnerships to show support both ways.” Williams stated every agency chooses how they celebrate the program to say, “We are here for you and how can we make your lives a little easier, safer and vice versa”. He said, “Before the coronavirus we were able to …

By Annie Rigby Vandals damaged one of the baseball fields and stole the first base at Green Sea Floyds (GSF) Recreation Center on Saturday, Aug. 1. Will Dunn, a member of the board of directors for the department, stated someone determined to enter the fields damaged a fence with an attempt to tip it over, stole the first base and drove doughnuts on one of the fields. Video footage is being reviewed and tire tracks left behind will determine who the responsible party is for the vandalism and damage to the baseball field. Dunn said, “The department is a volunteer …

By Annie Rigby The Loris City Council and mayor met in executive session on Monday, July 20, at 6:16 p.m. to discuss personnel issues.When council returned to the special council meeting Mayor Todd Harrelson announced the decision made in executive session and offered the position of interim city administrator to Brandon Harrelson. Harrelson accepted the position on Tuesday, July 21. He said, “I think I can bring the same attitude and desire to push Loris in the right direction as I have tried to do since my employment in Loris.” He has been with the city for three years and …

By Ruben Lowman Horry County officials have announced major alterations to the county’s hurricane emergency management plans and protocol that have already been heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Horry County Council discussed hurricane planning, mitigation and recovery logistics during a council meeting last Tuesday, July 14, amidst an increasing level of nervousness among county officials about the potential mix of COVID-19 and major storms as the hurricane season moves into its most active months. August, September and October have the highest frequencies of tropical storms and hurricanes along the east coast every year. Randy Webster, the county’s assistant administrator …