Best Moving Company in Greenville, SC

FLORENCE, S.C. —

Four people have been arrested in connection with child abuse at a day care in South Carolina.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation involves Maranantha Christian School located on West Palmetto Street in Florence.

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The Florence County Sheriff’s Office said Laurin B. Boyce, 73, a day care worker at the school, is accused of intentionally and repeatedly assaulting a child by slamming the head of the child into the crib, covering the child’s head with a blanket, pressing down on the child’s head for a length of time and also dragging the child out of the room.

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Investigators say Boyce is also accused of approaching a child on the playground, knocking the child over, picking the child up and carrying the child by the arm and leg before intentionally dropping the child from waist height on to the child’s head.

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Two other employees at the school have also been charged with failing to report child abuse and or neglect, the sheriff's office said.

Florence County Detention Center

Boyce, Patrick, Elmore, Kirven

Investigators say that Jessica Anngeline Elmore, 33, and Dawn Denise Kirven, 42, were notified of the abuse and were lawfully required to report the abuse to law enforcement and did not do so.

Investigators said Lee B. Patrick, 54, was in a position of trust at the school and lawfully required to report the abuse to law enforcement after becoming aware and did not do so.

All suspects are being held at the Florence County Detention Center while awaiting a bond hearing. This investigation is ongoing.

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Greenville Hurricanes Preview

https://youtu.be/6WedFEQyRJ4?si=drt5tE3p2K0kMty3

PROGRAM INFORMATION

HIGH SCHOOL NAME Greenville Hurricanes

MASCOT Hurricanes

CLASSIFICATION Independent

REGION Tri-State Independent League

HEAD COACH Mac Cavin

TWITTER @BaseballHCanes

INSTAGRAM @gvl_canes_baseball

HOME FIELD: Conestee Park/Shoeless Joe Jackson Field

PROGRAM HISTORY

PROGRAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Tri-State Independent League Championship - 2024

PREVIEWING 2025

PRESEASON EVENT: Woodruff (scrimmage - 2/24, 6:30pm @ Woodruff high)

Fountain Inn Invitational (Tourn. - 3/5 - 3/8)

STARTERS RETURNING: 7

RETURNING PITCHERS: 3

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Expected Team Strength - This year's group is returning 3 of our 4 starting infielders, and the core of our lineup with 7 starting position players returning. I'm expecting big things from our defense.. last year our identity was found in how we limited mistakes in the field. We would bounce back after an error, or bounce back after a miscommunication in the field.. but, for this group, I'm expecting sound defense. Clean games.

Offensively, we preach attacking early.. Early and often is the goal. Start the game strong in the early innings, and WIN in the end.

QUOTE FROM THE COACH:

Excited to build off of the ground that was laid last year with a league championship, and return to success through a tough non-conference schedule, and repeating in our league with this Spring '25 group.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Owen Giles, OF, 2025, USC Salk Signee - Returning Starting CF, speedy, strong arm, high average middle of the order guy.

Trey Jacobs, 1B/RHP, 2026 - Captain, Returning all-conference 1B, RBI machine in the heart of the order.

Crash Martin, RHP/UTIL, 2026 - Returning Starting 3B/P, should anchor the pitching staff.

Daniel Wackerhagen, SS, 2026 - Captain, Returning Starting MIF, good hands, strong build, high potential.

Drake Martin, OF/C, 2026 - Returning Starter, speedy, strong arm, power from the left at the plate.

James Blackburn, OF, 2027 - Speedy, long, athletic, pop at the plate.

GREENVILLE

Greenville News

The South Carolina Board of Education voted on Tuesday, Feb. 4, to add four more books to its state-sanctioned book ban list.

This brings the number of books banned in S.C. schools to 11.

Copies of the four books are to be removed from all public libraries in the state.

Here's the books and why the SBE voted to ban them in schools.

What books did the SBE ban on Tuesday?

∎ "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson

∎ "Flamer" by Mike Curato

∎ "Push" by Sapphire

∎ "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky

Information detailing why the books were called into question can be found here.

Why did the SBE vote to ban these books?

Under state superintendent Ellen Weaver's Regulation 43-170, which passed on July 26, 2024, local educators and boards may ban material in schools that are not (1) age and developmentally appropriate and (2) educationally suitable and aligned with the purpose of S.C.'s instructional program, according to the S.C. Department of Education website. The regulation creates a uniform process for local school boards to review and hold public hearings on complaints raised within its district, establishing an appellate process to the SBE.

What books were allowed to be retained in schools?

∎ "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes

∎ "House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros

What books were banned in SC schools last year?

∎ "A Court of Frost and Starlight" by Sarah J. Maas

∎ "A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas

∎ "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas

∎ "A Court of Wings and Ruin" by Sarah J. Maas

∎ "Damsel" by Elana Arnold

∎ "Normal People" by Sally Rooney

∎ "Ugly Love" by Colleen Hoover

What classics were allowed to stay on SC school shelves last year?

∎ "1984" by George Orwell

∎ "Romeo & Juliet" by William Shakespeare

∎ "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

Nina Tran covers trending topics for The Greenville News. Reach her via email at [email protected].

GREENVILLE — An Upstate private equity fund is accused of defrauding more than a thousand investors to the tune of $1 billion, according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC accuses Greenville-based Broad Street Global Management and its leaders of making numerous false statements to investors and using “deceptive schemes” to raise funding.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 29 in the U.S. District Court in south Florida, alleges that $170 million of the $1 billion in investments were subsequently rerouted to companies that top executives personally controlled.

Company leaders Joseph and Steven Baldassarra, both of Simpsonville, as well as David Feingold, who lives in Florida, are named in the complaint.

In a statement, a lawyer for BSG Management dismissed the allegations and accused the SEC of wrongly pursuing the company.

“Broad Street is strong as one of the largest private equity developers in the USA and when it has its opportunity to file its position in court next week, I think people are going to be shocked and disappointed with this government agency,” wrote Lorne Berkely, a Florida attorney.

BSG Management sued the SEC in 2024, claiming the agency’s two-year investigation into the company’s conduct was unfairly targeted, retaliatory and illegal. It dismissed any of the regulatory agency’s potential allegations, calling it “a massive fishing expedition.”

The company told the court that if the SEC was allowed to proceed, it could cause housing projects to lose funding, thousands of people to lose jobs and the housing market to fall into “chaos.”

The company’s preemptive lawsuit was dismissed.

Broadstreet and its associated companies invest in everything from building homes and hotels to crypto mining and land banking, according to its website. It has worked with companies such as Marriott Hotels, D.R. Horton and Culver’s.

The firm claims to have had a total economic impact of more than $10 billion across the Carolinas, creating tens of thousands of homes in the Southeast.

But in its lawsuit, the SEC says that BSG Management made numerous false statements to investors to raise funds — statements on finances, profitability, tax incentives and record keeping.

BSG also told its investors it would follow certain practices to protect their investments. Then, it changed its practices and significantly increased investors’ risk, the SEC claims.

These false statements helped raise $1 billion, the SEC says. Roughly $170 million of that money was transferred to the Baldassarras and to entities under the control of Feingold or the Baldassarras.

Josephbenjamin Inc., owned and controlled by Joseph Baldassarra, received approximately $65.7 million in payments from BSG bank accounts from at least Jan. 1, 2020, through at least Oct. 31, 2024, according to the lawsuit.

Just A Nice Day Inc., owned and controlled by Steven Baldassarra, received about $53.2 million in payments from Jan. 1, 2020, through Oct. 31, 2024.

The Baldassarras have no legitimate claim to those funds, and they must be returned to investors and the BSG Fund, the SEC says.

In its preemptive lawsuit, BSG Management criticized the SEC’s tactics, saying that the company fails to understand the complexities of the business and refused to allow BSG to explain.

“The government does not take kindly to being sued,” the company’s lawyer said in a written statement to The Post and Courier. “Of course they are going to react aggressively and sue back.”

The SEC is asking the court to freeze the company’s assets and appoint someone to oversee the firm’s conduct for the foreseeable future. It also asks the court to fine the defendants, force them to return the funds and stop them from further misconduct.

An Upstate restaurant has been recognized on a national scale.

Bobby’s BBQ, which opened on the edge of downtown Fountain Inn in 2018, was named South Carolina’s most charming small-town restaurant by Food Network.

“While many barbecue joints are run by a pitmaster with decades of experience, Bobby’s is special because its owner, “Tay” Nelson, is self-taught; he mastered the art of barbecue simply by watching YouTube videos,” Food Network writer Ni’Kesia Pannell wrote. “And while that may make one shy away from ordering up a slab, rest assured that Bobby’s is now one of the best barbecue spots in the state.”

Owner Octavius "Tay" Nelson didn’t even know his restaurant was in the running for such an accolade, he admitted. His wife, Sarah, had to call and let him know she’d seen a post.

“It is humbling and means the world to us,” Nelson said.

And yet, Nelson said, the recognition doesn’t change anything except the drive to work harder. And he has big plans. More immediately, Nelson has started doing whole hog barbecue with hash and rice on the first Saturday of each month, honoring a longstanding South Carolina tradition.

He is also focused on growing sales of his proprietary spice blends and sauces. Down the road, he would love to open another restaurant and perhaps be on television.

But everything is a process, he said. Nelson knows this well. His restaurant was the culmination of a decade of dreaming and working towards a goal.

Bobby’s BBQ is named in honor of Nelson’s father, Bobby Sr., and brother, Bobby Jr.

Growing up, Nelson’s father owned a restaurant and the younger Nelson learned the business at his father's side, but swore he’d never work in one.

But after Bobby Sr. passed away in 2008 and Bobby Jr. died in 2009, Nelson changed his mindset. He saw food as a way to connect with the people he loved and his community.

He had been playing with his father’s seasoning blend and developed a proprietary recipe that is perfect on pretty much anything.

At the same time, Nelson had gotten very interested in barbecue, particularly the central Texas style of cooking brisket in wood-burning smokers. He began experimenting, learning from YouTube videos and watching pitmasters like Aaron Franklin.

The learning, the passion and the family history culminated in the opening of Bobby’s BBQ in October 2018.

Moving forward, Nelson will continue his monthly first Saturday whole hog barbecues, and plans to continue to perfect his craft. He’s even toying with some new menu ideas.

“You are always learning,” he said. “You never get to the point where you know it all. If you do then you’re not going to grow anymore.”

See Food Network’s full list of top small-town restaurants here. And check out more about Bobby’s BBQ here. The next whole hog roast will be March 1 at the restaurant, 1301 N. Main St., Fountain Inn.