Editorials

Getting HCSWA Under Control

When Horry County Council tabled a resolution to sign a contract with the Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA) it took the first step to get an out of control agency under control.

This was a much needed and long overdue step, but only the first of what must be many steps.

In refusing to sign the contract, the county is now in the ridiculous position of paying higher tipping fees at its own landfill than Waste Industries, which has signed a contract.

A private hauler getting better rates at the county owned landfill than the county?

And for anyone who doesn’t believe the landfill is owned by the county, one only has to refer to the many statements by HCSWA director Danny Knight in which he said the landfill was owned by all the citizens of the county.

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The Questionable Legacy of Barack Obama

There is no question that President Barack Obama is thinking about what his legacy will be when he leaves the Oval Office at the end of his second term.

However, is he doing so by playing games and making threats against Syria and jeopardizing U.S. foreign policy?

Is President Obama thinking about his legacy at the cost of alienating America’s biggest ally in the region – Israel – and our biggest ally in the world – Britain?

President Obama has already said that if Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad used poison gas on the rebels, America would act. After all, there was a “red line in the sand,” which Obama had drawn.

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Horry County Adult Entertainment

Altering the Adult Entertainment Game

Horry County Council will consider third reading of the new adult entertainment ordinances Tuesday night.

Expect the ordinances to pass by a fairly wide margin.

By passing the new ordinances, all strip clubs and adult bookstores/novelty shops in the unincorporated areas of the county will be out of compliance and subject to closure.

Does this mean the end of strip clubs and adult retail businesses in the county area? NO!

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More HCSWA Smoke and Mirrors

Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA) Executive Director Danny Knight was quoted in a local media outlet Thursday attempting to give justifications why the authority form of governance should not be changed.

Knight was talking about the grandiose plan the HCSWA has for horse and walking trails, ball fields and other recreational facilities on its landfill site after the landfill closes in 2035. His theme was if the county council decides to change the form of governance of the HCSWA from the present authority to a committee or commission, all will be lost for the citizens of Horry County.

To this we have one thing to say – bullsheisse!

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HCSWA Laying Low

For the past several months, officials at the Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA) have been pushing changes with the agency’s by-laws so that HCSWA would not have to file a Form 990 with the IRS.

All of a sudden those changes are not a priority anymore because the Horry County Infrastructure and Regulation Committee is taking a closer look at the form of its oversight of the HCSWA.

Actually, oversight is a misnomer as Horry County Council has done little oversight of this agency for the past decade.

We won’t get into the specifics of the reasons for the changes. Suffice it to say the HCSWA does not want to explain to the IRS why it has $37 million in the bank – $22 million in questionable future expense reserves and $15 million excess reserves.

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Brenda Christy: “Superlative Soul or Nefarious Soul”

I have heard many good things about the new book, “Superlative Soul or Nefarious Soul” by retired Myrtle Beach police officer Brenda Christie.

The book is a memoir by Christie describing her experiences within the clique ridden Myrtle Beach Police Department and about how she rediscovered herself through a series of adversities connected to her employment.

“The book tells the truth about the dirtiness within the Myrtle Beach Police Department,” said one source, who worked with the department for a number of years and just completed the book. “It uncovers a lot of the stuff that has been swept under the rug for many years.”

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Illegal Candidates in SC Senate District 42?

The filing for SC Senate District 42 in the Charleston area has 6 of the 9 candidates in violation not only of the law that got over 200 candidates removed from the ballot in May of 2012, but also in violation of the amendments to the law passed June 2013.

The Republican and Democratic parties received the filings and certified candidates in violation of S.C. Election Law.

Apparently the South Carolina Ethics reform known as Equal Access to the ballot or ACT 61 was just a Photo Op for the Governor and propaganda for the Legislature. Ethics in government continue to be just a campaign issue.

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Where is Fourth of July Spirit?

In case you forgot, today is the Fourth of July, which is also known as Independence Day.
You remember that holiday, don’t you? It’s the day when Libertarians, Democrats, Republicans and Independents all shoot off fireworks, beat our chests about how we are devout lovers of the Declaration of Independence and talk about all the great works that our Founding Fathers did in 1775 and 1776 to put a new country on the path to being great.

However, this July 4th, I have to admit, I feel more like Frederick Douglass did in 1852 when he spoke about what July 4th means to the Negro in Rochester, New York, than I do of a proud American. I know, I shouldn’t find myself asking questions like: “Is this the land your Fathers loved, The freedom which they toiled to win? Is this the earth whereon they moved? Are these the graves they slumber in?”

I know I shouldn’t be wondering what to the American slave is your Fourth of July. I know I should be jumping for joy that (at least in the minds of a few), America is the super power nation that doesn’t take any crap from anyone, including one of its own citizens who released information.

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Rand Paul in 2016

While the 2016 election is another three and one-half years away, pundits are serving up verbal lap dances of every candidate under the sun on both sides of the aisle. But, Sen. Rand Paul is the one man that stands out from the crowd.

Sen. Paul is dead-on when he says this government needs a remediation. Sen. Paul is dead on when he says that for 100 years, power has been moving toward the executive branch.

He is dead on with his aggressive, unapologetic counterattacks against both Democrats and Republicans who are willing to sacrifice liberty for theoretical safety.

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Our Other Left

Those of you who have had the pleasure of going through basic training in the military can probably remember, as I do, the comic relief invariably provided by ‘our other left’ while learning how to drill.

Inevitably one or two members of a company will forget that you step out on your left foot and will be out of step while a drill instructor is running alongside yelling ‘NO, your other left idiot, your other left’, or something to that effect.

Some people just seem to be born with two left feet.

We are having a similar problem in South Carolina with local and state government. We seem to be suffering from two left wings.

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