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Housing market continues to grow
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Lafayette Drive bridge construction continues
BY JOE KEPLER joe@theitem.com The statewide housing market remains on an encouraging trend, as South Carolina Realtors released its September market numbers Wednesday for the state. The Clarendon, Lee and Sumter tri-county region saw continued, albeit modest, growth from 2013 comparisons. The tri-county region sold 113 residential homes, condos and villas in September 2014, up from 105 in August 2013. That increase of 7.6 percent is on par with the statewide total, which is at 7.3 percent after 398 homes were sold across South Carolina last month. Among all counties that had more than 200 homes sold, the greater Greenville area saw a major boost of 20.7 percent in sales from 2013. Across the 16 regions categorized by the South Carolina Realtors, only Hilton Head saw negative sales when compared to 2013. In the year to date, home sales in the state are up 3.1 percent. The median price of homes sold in the tri-county area took a significant hit in year-to-year comparisons, dropping from $137,000 to $120,000, but the median price is up from August’s number of $116,500. The region is one of six
SEE HOUSING, PAGE A8
State network could deal with Ebola patients CHARLESTON (AP) — South Carolina’s top health official said Thursday that the state is creating a statewide network linking health workers and facilities that may have to deal with Ebola. Officials also are in touch with MORE ON U.S. Customs to get a THE DISEASE better idea of whether residents or visitors have recently As Ebola toll traveled in West Africlimbs, U.S. ca. response Department of to disease questioned. A5 Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine In opinion: Templeton also said Ebola vs. civil Medical University liberties. A11 of South Carolina has agreed to provide ongoing care for any Ebola patients in the state. She expects trauma centers in Greenville and Columbia to announce in the coming days that they will also provide such care. A look at the latest developments as South Carolina prepares to deal with any potential Ebola cases:
KEEPING IN TOUCH The DHEC board issued a public health order establishing a network directing essential emails and other communications to a database of people and facilities that will be at the center of dealing with any Ebola cases. Templeton said it’s the first time such a network has been set up
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Work continues on the Lafayette Drive bridge with northbound traffic being detoured to Brooklyn Street and the southbound traffic being directed to Harvin Street for nearly two months now. If reconstruction goes according to schedule, the bridge is set to reopen in November 2015. Other bridges being worked on by the South Carolina Department of Transportation between now and June 2015 include those on Tearcoat Bridge Road, Westbury Mill Road, Dubose Siding Road and Bell Road. Last year in Sumter County, six projects were completed using in-house crews and equipment.
Shaw chaplains serve military, higher power New head chaplain counsels families
Shaw Air Force Base has three chaplains. Besides meeting the spiritual needs of military members through church services, counseling is a major part of their mission.
BY JOE KEPLER joe@theitem.com On the surface, Chaplain David W. Kelley is no different than any other “man of the cloth,” coming to you with a warm smile, a firm handshake and a noticeably calming influence. It is the camouflaged cloth that Kelley wears, though, that tells you something else about the man. Kelley is of a special breed, a military chaplain whose calling by God and country has taken him around the world. Kelley is the new head chaplain of 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, tasked with helping to meet the spiritual needs of all its airmen and their families. Though he is a commissioned officer who holds the rank of lieutenant colonel, Kelley is
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addressed only as chaplain by those he serves. The biggest part of his job is counseling and unit engagement. That involves Religious Support Teams, made up of a chaplain and a chaplain’s assistant, going out and engaging firsthand with airmen and soldiers. “We talk to airmen and get out to where they are to find out how
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they’re doing, thank them for their service and engage with them so they know who we are and that we’re there for them if they ever need us,” Kelley said. “It’s a privilege for me to go out there and pat them on the back and say, ‘you’ve done a great job.’” “It is definitely (my) favorite part
SEE CHAPLAINS, PAGE A8
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