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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 …

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 Izzy West “Due to the continued uncertainty that surrounds the COVID-19 pandemic, the Little River Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center has chosen to cancel the World Famous Blue Crab Festival that was combined with the Little River ShrimpFest scheduled for October 10-11, 2020,” says Jennifer Walters, president /CEO of the Little River Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center. “We have continuously monitored the guidance of local, state and national officials and agencies and researched all viable options. There is just too much ambiguity to try to plan and execute a successful event for October.” The decision did not …

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 Coast RTA has partnered with North Myrtle Beach to bring a new public bus route into the city, one of the few remaining municipalities in Horry County without public transportation. The new route is expected to start October 1 and will connect North Myrtle Beach to Myrtle Beach by way of International Drive in the Carolina Forest area, according to Coast RTA spokesperson Lauren Morris. “We have not finalized the exact route, but the route will originate at the Ivory Wilson Transit Center, next to Myrtle Beach City Hall,” said Coast RTA’s CEO and GM Brian Piascik. …

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 …

By Annie Rigby Loris Fire Department (LFD) Chief Jerry Hardee addressed the city council on Monday, July 20, in a special council meeting of the department’s need for the a new fire apparatus light rescue truck. Hardee said the vehicle that is used to respond to a fire call is 24 years old. He said, “If you have 20 years with a fire apparatus you’ve done good.” He continued, “We need something more dependable and reliable to respond to a call.” Questions were raised regarding the bidding process versus state approved agencies to purchase the light rescue truck. Hardee explained …