Some leglislators have said they will turn down the increase and have until Monday to declare their intentions.

S.C. Rep. Blake Sanders, Dist. 9, and S.C. Rep. Don Chapman, Dist. 8, have announced plans to use the additional funds to award grants in their respective districts.

Anderson County Council moved ahead with the proposed $292 million 2025-2026 fiscal year budget on Tuesday, which will include funding for Tri-County Technical College, 13 positions for the new detention center, raises for law enforcement and a likely three-percent raise for all county employees.

The budget is still a work in progress and will be revised before the final vote to approve. The current proposed budget does not include a county millage increase.

The United Way’s “Teaming For Teens Anderson County” is a group which represents agencies - law enforcement, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Social Services, the 10th Circuit Solicitor's Office, non-profits, the faith community, and the education community - most familiar with the challenge to find solutions, many of which are centered around undiagnosed mental health issues and poverty and their impact on some families. The group is now working on a short-term strategy to put in place this year and a long-term strategy to meet some of the challenges over the next five years.

The $64 million project could have a profound impact on the area and facilitate both commercial/industrial economic development and residential growth. The county, and the Pendleton area in particular, have witnessed exponential growth in the past decade, growth which shows no signs of slowing, and Clemson expects their population to double in the next decade.

The new facility is expected to offer state-of-the-art technology, improving reliability and operational efficiency for the next 10 years and beyond. The work is on schedule and expected to be complete by August of 2026.

The purpose of a library board is not to appease the political dogma of an individual, but to help the librarians provide a superior collection at the public library for all members of the community, which includes those who do not share their current own beliefs or line up with their agenda.

Building a solid collection of materials is the heart of any library system, and should be taken both seriously and with consideration toward all community citizens. The current approach seems to be aimed at books dealing with sexual identity, or books that explore racial themes, particularly those that depict the experiences of people of color, are the chief target of criticism.

The Metzdorfs, who could have chosen any city in America to call home, chose Honea Path because of the beauty of the area and “the people.”

The couple is the recipient of a new house built by Homes for Our Troops, a national non-profit organization that builds and donates specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 Veterans, to enable them to rebuild their lives. The Honea Path home was built by Glenn Construction of Anderson, and the Metzdorfs could not say enough good things about the Glenn family and their work on the new home.

Anderson County Council Districts 2 and 3, in conjunction with Anderson County Planning & Community Development will host a zoning informational meeting Monday at 6 p.m., at Neal's Creek Baptist Church Family Life Center, 3204 Amity Rd, Anderson.

Recently 15 percent of residents petitioned a zoning request for the Neals Creek Voting Precinct.

The totally renovated 4,000-square-foot space that formerly housed the fire department features an open layout, more room for books and computers, study rooms, a large meeting room for community use, and plans for expanded programming.

A fiscal year budget with no millage increase, Anderson County’s population grows past 218,000 with the labor force topping 100,000 for the first time, new events at civic center and updates on various projects countywide top this month’s interview with Administrator Rusty Burns.

County council is currently working on a FY budget of nearly $300,000 million, which includes increases for law enforcement and potential raises for employees.

In SC, 28% of listings in March were considered affordable for “moderate income” buyers

A new state law lets cities set their own rules for where and when golf carts can be driven on South Carolina’s roadways but requires a new rule for passengers: Children under 12 must buckle up.

As initially proposed, the bill authorized any county to pass an ordinance allowing golf carts with headlights and rear lights to be driven at night. The purpose was to expand on permission that a 2016 law gave only to certain barrier islands.

The rain forced the celebration inside, but Honea Path continued the town’s long tradition of honoring those who fell in service to the country with the annual Memorial Day Service on Monday.

A salute to those who died, with their names read one-by-one, a children’s choir, and a history of the Memorial Day celebration were part of the event held indoors at the Honea Path Watkins Community Center.

Today is Memorial Day, a time set aside to honor those soldiers who gave their lives in service to our country.

I was once among those calendar fundamentalists who made a loud and pointed distinction between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but a couple of friendships decades ago changed my mind.

World War I: Robert Latham, Morge Hayes

World War II: Jerome Simpson, Melvin J. Green, James Martin, Loyd W. Watkins, James W. Loftis, Fred M. Newton, Theron J. Brown, James Carlisle Bryant, Lawton W. Smith, Walter T. Davis, Fred H. Werner, Aubrey J. Mcgill, Ira Eugene Wiles

Korean War: James W. Dunn, Bobby J. Smith

Vietnam War: Horace Jones, Clyde T. Martin, Melvin Bowman

The Cold War: Albert Glenn Dunse

Three local teams finished in the top 10: Emmanuel University’s Levi Seagraves Scooter Ligon finished fourth, Lander University’s Cole Taylor Clay Taylor came in seventh and Erskine College Lane Clark Tallis Morrison finished tenth.

Four ceremonies are set in Anderson County to remember the men and women who served this country in uniform and who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Services are set Sunday night at the memorial on the square in Iva at 6:30 p.m., and Monday at Richard Campbell Veterans Nursing Home’s Dolly Cooper Cemetery Pavillion at 11 a.m., in downtown Honea Path at 10 a.m. and Pendleton at 10 a.m. at Veterans Park.

South Carolina’s traditional K-12 public schools will receive a bigger share of new money in the coming school year under a compromise approved this week.

An adjustment in calculations ultimately shifted nearly $10 million of a $112 million sum from charter schools to traditional public schools, according to data provided by the state Department of Education. That’s part of roughly $4.5 billion total the budget sends to K-12 public schools.

Also included in the $14.7 billion spending plan advanced Wednesday is more than $500 million to fund projects at the state’s public colleges, plus a continued guarantee that tuition rates will remain frozen for in-state students.

The new Iva Branch of the Anderson County Library has relocated to a new, modern facility at 622 East Front St., directly across from the gazebo on the town square, and will hold its grand opening May 30 at 10 a.m. The totally renovated 4,000-square-foot space features an open layout, more room for books and computers, a large meeting room for community use, and plans for expanded programs like vocational training.

Noticed rapid growth in West Pelzer, Belton and Iva? One study has.

Anderson County has the three among the top 15 fastest-appreciating real estate markets, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House early Thursday approved the “big, beautiful bill” that Republican leaders spent months negotiating with centrists and far-right members of the party — two distinct factions that hold vastly different policy goals — over intense opposition from Democrats.

All six of South Carolina’s Republicans voted for the bill. The state’s lone Democrat, Rep. Jim Clyburn, voted “no.”

The 215-214 vote ships the package to the Senate, where GOP lawmakers are expected to rewrite much of it, before sending it back across the Capitol for final approval, a process likely to stretch through the summer.