Best Moving Company in Columbia

OPINION AND COMMENTARY

Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters.

A few months after a vague new rule allowed the state to remove books with descriptions of sexual conduct from its public schools regardless of grade level, the South Carolina Board of Education has banned its first seven.

The board decided unanimously Tuesday — without being required to read them — that the books Elana K. Arnold’s “Damsel,” Colleen Hoover’s “Ugly Love,” Sally Rooney’s “Normal People” and four popular fantasy novels by Sarah J. Maas are too dangerous for teenagers that the state licenses to drive.

No one had lodged a new complaint about any of these books. Rather, the chair of the Board of Education’s Instructional Materials Review Committee had asked state officials for a list of books that could be challenged or considered controversial.

Three of 11 works the committee reviewed won’t be banned. They are classics: George Orwell’s “1984,” Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” and William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

Among the books the committee considered, only one’s fate was postponed to a later date: “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins is a 2004 YA novel based on her daughter about a teenager addicted to crystal meth. It is required reading in some high schools and the 38th most banned book of the 2010s.

The staff of the Department of Education had recommended the board ban “Crank” from K-12 school libraries and classrooms, but the board’s panel chose to delay a final recommendation on it, after the committee chair, family doctor Christian Hanley, said he had received an email before the meeting from someone saying that the book had helped their family deal with drug use.

Turns out that “Crank” is actually something parents should encourage their children to read.

Foes may say the book glorifies and glamorizes drug use and sex. In fact, it does the opposite.

One oft-cited passage of the narrator’s stream of consciousness reads, “Off came my shorts. Down went his zipper. I realized I was in serious trouble. ‘I’ll scream.’ Go ahead. No one can hear but skunks and coyotes. Still, as I opened my mouth, his hand slapped down on it. Those sublime muscles hardened. Just relax. You’ll love it. My brand-new Victoria’s Secrets shredded, and I felt the worst of Brendan pause, savoring my terror. They all love it.”

Hopkins responded to those banning her book in 2022, writing, “There’s nothing pornographic about it. Pornography is meant to titillate, and if that scene turns you on, you’ve got a problem. It’s painful. You want the character to be okay, to make it through, to please stop using. The vast majority of readers never want to find themselves there.”

In her own essay last year, Washington, D.C., children’s librarian Aryssa Damron called “Crank” “a lesson in why you should never do drugs” that young people need to read. She wrote that Hopkins identified the book’s message as “choices you make as young adults will affect you for the rest of your life.” She also noted poignantly that many of the first teenagers who took that message from “Crank” have kids of their own now.

The book is barely more suggestive than this:

How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.

That’s Song of Solomon 7:6-10 from the King James Version of the Bible, and it’s about as sexually depictive as “Crank.”

The bottom line is books like “Crank” are neither pornography nor material that should be kept from high schoolers who could benefit from it. The state puts teens at risk by taking away a space where they could safely learn about the perils of drugs and priorities like consent.

High schoolers need help and often don’t know how to ask for it. Books, then, can be boons. Also, every parent knows it’s hard to get teens to read anything other than TikTok, and everyone should realize that a book rightly kept from elementary schoolers may be OK for teenagers who can drive or even vote. We should be encouraging older teens to read the books so many of their peers have read. And we should be leery of K-12 book bans and arbitrarily deciding classics are OK on one side but new YA books are not on the other.

I’d like my high schooler to have the choice to read a book or not, and talk to me about it. If parents disagree or don’t think their kids are ready for a particular book, they could ask a school librarian to keep it from them. They could also talk to their kids about it, too.

Send me 250-word letters to the editor here, 650-word guest essays here and email here. Say hi on X anytime.

This story was originally published November 6, 2024, 5:00 AM.

Voters in Lexington-Richland 5 had two big decisions to make on Election Day. They had to decide the makeup of the school board for the next two years, and whether they want the school district to bond for $240 million worth of school projects.

On the Lexington County side of the district, USC professor Scott Herring led in unofficial results Tuesday with 34% of the vote, followed closely behind by board incumbent Catherine Huddle who was only 13 votes behind. Former board member Ken Loveless trailed at 31%. The top two vote-getters in that district will win seats on the school board.

In Richland County, Jason Baynham had a narrow lead over Mike Ward, 50% to 49%, with all precincts reporting Tuesday. That’s a 351-vote difference.

Ken Loveless had served on the board from 2018 to 2022, when he fell short of re-election by 12 votes.. Huddle had served on the board since 2020. Herring was an unsuccessful candidate for the board in 2022. Current board chair Rebecca Blackburn Hines declined to seek re-election from Lexington County.

In Richland County, board vice chair Matt Hogan also decided not to run for another term.

Voters across the district were giving the go-ahead to a $240 million bond issue, which had around 70% voting yes.

The $240 million bond issue would lead to the construction of a new school and the expansion or additions of several others. Increasing capacity at existing schools will also lessen the need for rezoning in the Chapin-Irmo district.

The district’s previous major bond issue in 2008 was the subject of controversy, including the purchase of a $1.2 million site for a school that was never built after it was determined the site didn’t have proper road access for school day traffic.

Lexington-Richland 5 later commissioned an outside audit of its 2008 bond spending, which was disputed by a construction firm criticized in the report, questioned by a state inspector general’s report and resulted in a lawsuit from a former superintendent.

This story was originally published November 5, 2024, 9:09 PM.

Deputies continue to investigate after several people reported being drugged at a local bar.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — On three separate occasions, Richland County deputies have been notified of people having been drugged at a local bar.

Sheriff Leon Lott is warning Columbia college students about the incidents at TLC Sports Bar and Grill on Stadium Road, also known as "The Loose Cockaboose."

“It’s happened three times now, and so again, that should be a warning to people," said Lott. “Its basically a college bar. USC students are probably the main ones to go there, and we’ve had three incents now that we’ve had three females that have been drugged without their knowledge, so its something I’m concerned about, the community should be concerned about.”

Lott tells News 19 that deputies are currently running tests and looking at video footage to try to piece together how this happened.

The incidents took place on September 13th, October 31st and November 1st.

Dr. William Richardson is an emergency medicine physician with Prisma Health.

“So if you’re drinking alcohol, ethanol, and all of a sudden you’re having more issues with memory or coordination or maybe you’ve only had one drink but you think you’re very intoxicated or feeling a lot more than you expect, then that’s kind of when you would be suspicious that something like this had happened because the symptoms are very similar to even alcohol," said Richardson. "It can be mild dizziness, confusion but often more memory loss or an exaggerated response where someone feels they might be very intoxicated and maybe they’ve only had one drink.”

Richardson adds that bar goers need to pay attention to their drinks.

“When you’re at a bar, you’re at a restaurant, you need to be really careful where your drinks are coming from and who you’re around, that you know the people and trust the people that you’re around, you’re not getting drinks from strangers and you’re not sitting your drink on the end of the bar walking away and coming back," Richardson said. "This is something that quite often can be prevented if you are careful with those sorts of approaches when you’re out at restaurants and bars.”

Sheriff Lott warns the public that this could have been a lot worse.

“We’ve being lucky so far, but it can be worse," said Lott. "These things happen for a reason. Somebody puts the drug in somebody’s drink, and then usually someone ends up being sexually assaulted, that’s what we’re trying to avoid.”

News19 reached out to TLC Sports Bar and Grill for a comment but none was made.

The investigation is still ongoing.

Voters in Lexington County elected 18 school board candidates on Nov. 5 to fill open seats in the county's five districts.

More than 140,000 ballots were cast in Lexington County. Here's a look at the school board results:

Lexington One

The central Lexington school district had four open seats to fill and two incumbents on the ballot. The winners were Kathy Henson, Mike Anderson, McKenzie Flashnick and Nicholas Pizzuti.

Mike Anderson (Incumbent) — 11 percent, 15,933 votes

Mckenzie Flashnick — 12 percent, 17,462 votes

Adriannah Greyson — 4 percent, 6,804 votes

Kathy Henson (Incumbent) — 15 percent, 21,741 votes

Dana Homesley — 10 percent, 14,460 votes

Nicholas Pizzuti — 11 percent, 16,465 votes

Mariel Taylor — 8 percent, 11,529 votes

David Terry — 8 percent, 11,541 votes

Scott Whetstone — 8 percent, 12,270 votes

Shelton Yonce — 10 percent, 14,512 votes

Lexington Two

The Cayce and West Columbia area school district had four at-large seats available. Two incumbents sought reelection. The winners were Craig Aull, Abbott Tre Bray, Mary Burkett and Liz Chitty Castles.

Craig Aull — 13 percent, 6,845 votes

Barry Bolen — 9 percent, 4,830 votes

Abbott Tre Bray (Incumbent) — 13 percent, 6,572 votes

Mary Burkett — 17 percent, 8,498 votes

Liz Chitty Castles (Incumbent) — 14 percent, 7,117 votes

Ivan Earle — 5 percent, 2,671 votes

Brian Habing — 6 percent, 3,089 votes

Allen Knotts — 8 percent, 3,951 votes

Cliff Springs — 10 percent, 5,231 votes

Lexington Three

The Batesburg-Leesville area district serves the western part of Lexington County. Three incumbents defended their seats. The winners were Cynthia Etheredge, Stacey Derrick, Craig Caughman and Sonya Winstead Cary.

Burgundy Barr — 11 percent, 1,194 votes

Sonya Winstead Cary (Incumbent) — 18 percent, 1,921 votes

Craig Caughman (Incumbent) — 20 percent, 2,142 votes

Stacey Derrick (Incumbent) — 21 percent, 2,196 votes

Cynthia Etheredge — 27 percent, 2,809 votes

Lexington Four

The Gaston and Swansea area district had six candidates on the ballot. The winners were Lynne Fallaw, Sadie Wannamaker, Dennis Wilson and Cindy Dibble.

Tina Brantley — 13 percent, 1,472 votes

Cindy Dibble — 15 percent, 1,689 votes

Lynne Fallaw (Incumbent) — 22 percent, 2,395 votes

Mark Hardenbrook — 11 percent, 1,219 votes

Sadie Wannamaker (Incumbent) — 17 percent, 1,846 votes

Dennis Wilson — 16 percent, 1,756 votes

Lexington-Richland Five

The Irmo and Chapin area district, which lies in both Lexington and Richland counties, chose from two candidates in Richland and three candidates in Lexington.

Voters also decided whether they want the district to issue $240 million in bonds to be used on school building projects.

In Lexington County, the winners were Catherine Huddle and Scott Herring.

Richland County (39 percent reporting as of 10:35 p.m.)

Jason Baynham — 50 percent, 7,979 votes

Mike Ward — 49 percent, 7,870 votes

Lexington County

Scott Herring — 34 percent, 12,141 votes

Catherine Huddle (incumbent) — 34 percent, 12,043 votes

Ken Loveless — 30 percent, 10,947 votes

Lexington-Richland Five bond referendum (39 percent of Richland County reporting at 11 p.m.)

Yes — 70 percent, 34,483 votes

No — 29 percent, 14,702 votes

Bond referendum results include the entire district, both Richland and Lexington counties.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Early results from Election Day in Richland County indicate that voters approve of funding the county’s penny tax program, a 1% sales tax increase.

At around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, results from Election Day showed that a majority of voters approved of the transportation program that funds the county’s public transit system, COMET. That was with more than 60% of the vote in.

The results have not yet been certified.

The penny tax program, approved by voters in 2012 to fund transportation projects until 2026, faced scrutiny from the South Carolina Department of Revenue after an audit found that $32 million of funds from the program were misspent.

The program would collect $4.5 billion over the next 25 years, or until that number is reached. Voters this time around are asking for more transparency.

Richland County disagreed with the findings in the 2020 state audit, and the case went to court, where a settlement was reached between the state and the county. Richland County agreed to invest $15.5 million into transportation projects.

An independent audit, presented by County Administrator Leonardo Brown on Oct. 15, found that current penny tax spending is compliant with state law. However, the county has not responded to a request for comment when WIS News asked to provide a copy of that audit.

There’s been an aggressive public campaign for voters to approve the tax.

Richland County Council Chair Jesica Mackey says to earn voters' confidence, council has taken steps to make the process more transparent by engaging with the public at every step of the way, including through its new website and these town hall meetings.

Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter, and download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.

Copyright 2024 WIS. All rights reserved.