Letter-to-the-Editor: Don’t bother others’ campaign yard signs

As a resident of Socastee for over 20 years, I would like to express how I feel about some of the people of our area who are running for public office. I voted for state Rep. Thad Viers for the past eight years. He has carried out every promise he made for District 68 that I am aware of, and he will get my vote again this year. I write this not because of him. I travel Forestbrook Road often and I am appalled at what I am seeing. Campaign signs are being taken from the yards of private property in an attempt to hinder the competition. I know it is legal to put your campaign signs on private property. I also have one in my yard and I dare catch someone trying to remove it. Let us all act like real honest Americans and be fair about this upcoming election. Leave the signs alone, and better yet get your own.

Dot McCracken
Socastee

Please Support Operation First Response

We are having our fundraiser for Operation First Response at the Cooper House by the Socastee Swing Bridge this Saturday from 12 – 2. People are invited to come, eat a hamburger and donate to this cause. Operation First Response donates money to the families of wounded soldiers. Here is the invite:

Please Join Representative Thad Viers

For

 

A Fundraiser Benefiting Operation First Response

 

“Nationally known non-profit Operation first Repsonse sends families of wounded soldiers to their hospital bedsides around the world and 98% of donations goes to the families.”

 

Thad is Donating Burgers, Hot Dogs & More
Stop by and Help a Wounded Solider

 

The Old Cooper House
At The Ssocastee Swing Bridge
Saturday, April 26th 12pm ’til 2pm

Panel backs immigration rules: S.C. bill would restrict private employers

COLUMBIA –House negotiators on Wednesday agreed to Senate demands that private employers be held accountable in a proposed immigration bill.

Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, said sentiment has changed since the House passed its version of the bill two months ago.

Constituents have been calling and e-mailing with demands that all employers be required to comply with the law, said Viers, a member of the conference committee on the bill.

The House bill provided penalties only for people with state or local government contracts.

The three House members on the panel trying to work out differences in the versions also want to remove a Senate provision allowing employers to be excused from mistakes in hiring if they use the I-9 form. They want everyone to use the newer online Everify system or see a state driver’s license.

People say the I-9, which is simply kept on file by the employer, is “a huge loophole,” Viers said.

That could be hard for the Senate to swallow, said Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg.

The panel also dickered over the details of a provision allowing people to sue and recover damages if they are fired and replaced with an illegal immigrant.

The House wants broader rights to sue but narrower damages than the Senate proposed.

Ritchie asked that House members of the panel put the compromise up for a vote, and if it passes the Senate, they will then try to persuade members to pass the bill.

A time for a House vote on it has not been set.

Myrtle Beach Sun News
By Zane Wilson
4/17/08

SC bill removing statue of racist ex-governor stalls

COLUMBIA, S.C. –A statue of “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman should be removed from Statehouse grounds unless it includes the truth about the former governor’s role in South Carolina’s racist history, a legislator told a House panel on Thursday.

Rep. Todd Rutherford said he is worried that school children visiting the Statehouse will get a “whitewashed” view of the former governor whose white supremacy policies, written into South Carolina’s 1895 Constitution, created the Jim Crow-era South.

“He was not a guy who should be beloved by most South Carolinians,” the Columbia Democrat said of the state’s governor from 1890 to 1894.

History would become a lot more interesting to students if they were told the truth, Rutherford said.

But Rutherford’s bill is likely dead for the year. The subcommittee did not vote on it and the panel’s chairman said he doesn’t support it or plan to have another meeting on it.

Tillman moved on to the U.S. Senate in 1895, unapologetically defending until his death in 1918 his post-Reconstruction tactics to restore white rule in the then-majority-black state by killing any black who tried to vote.

“The purpose of our visit was to strike terror,” he said in the Senate in 1900 about the so-called Hamburg Massacre of 1876, where his militia killed black Republicans, and which boosted his political career. “And the next morning when the Negroes who had fled to the swamp returned to the town the ghastly sight which met their gaze of seven dead Negroes lying stark and stiff certainly had its effect.”

A group of school children reading the plaques on Tillman’s statue Thursday learned he founded Winthrop and Clemson universities. “He was the friend and leader of the common people,” they read aloud, while taking his picture and marking him off their educational “scavenger hunt” list. Parents acknowledged they knew nothing of Tillman’s racist side.

Kim Gamble of Gilbert, who home schools her second- and third-graders, said she wasn’t surprised there was more to Tillman’s tale and wants her children to learn the full context of history.

“If it represents something we don’t agree in, we should take it down, and put somebody more respectable in his place,” she said.

After Thursday’s meeting, subcommittee chairman Rep. Greg Delleney said he doesn’t plan to discuss the Tillman statue again because he sees no benefit in rehashing the past.

“He was honored by the people of his time,” the Chester Republican said. “I’m not going to go back and rewrite history.”

But Rutherford argued the monument, dedicated in 1940, revised history.

“If Ben Tillman were still alive, he wouldn’t want that statue to read the way it does. He was known for saying exactly what he thought,” Rutherford said. “He was not secret about being a racist. Why are we now cleaning it up to make it politically correct?”

He plans to reintroduce the bill next year and hopes it sparks positive discussions on race in this state.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Harrison said his colleague sponsored the bill “for all the right reasons.” But he also questioned where it would lead. The Columbia Republican noted he’s reading a book on President Abraham Lincoln and discovered he issued the Emancipation Proclamation as a military tactic but was actually “somewhat of a white supremacist.”

“If we embark on this road, how far do we go?” Harrison asked. “Do we take this to Washington” and put a new plaque on the Lincoln Memorial?

Lonnie Randolph, president of the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Tillman’s racist legacy continues today, since no black has been elected to a statewide office since his 1895 constitution.

The Statehouse grounds honor a slew of “mean, cruel and evil people.” If South Carolina started removing monuments from the capitol grounds that honor white supremacists, there wouldn’t be any monuments, said Randolph, who didn’t want to take a position on whether Tillman’s statue should be removed or added to until meeting with the NAACP executive committee this weekend.

“South Carolina likes to sanitize things the way no other state does,” Randolph said. “The truth does hurt. People don’t like to hear it.”

Rep. Thad Viers said he would support a new plaque with Tillman’s own words – a quote from one of his recorded tirades – to put him in correct context.

But the Myrtle Beach Republican said he doesn’t want this to lead to “political correctness fascism” of every few years, a monument or portrait of a slave owning state founder being taken down.

“This was put up in different times. We’re moving forward,” Viers said. “We need to proceed with caution.”

Myrtle Beach Sun News
Seanna Adcox
4/10/08

THAD VIERS: Accomplishments outweigh failings

What must it be like to be Rep. Thad Viers? As his constituent, I am familiar with his remarkable record of accomplishments, I know exactly where he stands on the issues and I approve.

This outspoken young leader has never wavered from the conservative principles he promised to uphold during his first election. He has led the fight to keep taxes low, voted to sustain almost all of Gov. Mark Sanford’s wasteful-spending vetoes, almost single-handedly taken on the immigration issue and achieved positions of leadership that prove we sent the right person to Columbia.

Thad has represented his constituents the way we elected him to do. I cannot believe that the people in District 68 will remove him because he made one mistake. Thad has grown in office and I have every confidence that one day Thad will represent us in Washington, D.C.

Missy Patterson
Myrtle Beach

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/opinion/story/415180.html

S.C. bill may block college for illegal immigrants

Myrtle Beach Sun News
By Robert Morris
4/6/08

For participants in the state’s immigration reform effort, the upcoming ban on illegal immigrants in public colleges is a logical step.

It makes no sense, they say, for South Carolina to educate people who cannot legally work here. It merely encourages them to stay.

But for Dayana Rodrigues – who was brought to the United States illegally as a child, then learned English and graduated from Myrtle Beach High School in the top 5 percent of her class – such a proposal would crush her dreams before they really begin.

“Every single window will be closed for me because the door is already closed,” Rodrigues said.

A year into a college program for nursing, Rodrigues knows finding a job without legal citizenship will be extremely difficult, even though there is a nursing shortage across the country.

READ MORE->

Around Town: Viers Wins “Man of the Year” Award

Myrtle Beach Herald
4/3/08

On March 20, Miss Myrtle Beach 2008, Brooke Eaves, attended the Grand Strand Optimist Club luncheon at the Greek Convention Center.

Barry Heller, president of the Club introduced Brooke to the members and also presented her with flowers.

Brooke has become a new member of the club. She is very excited about becoming an Optimist.

Brooke spoke to the members about her platform, Backpack Buddies, that is feeding hungry children while promoting healthy eating habits.

Brooke is also holding the title of Miss Clemson where she is a freshman.

She is the daughter of Tammy and Ronnie Eaves of Myrtle Beach.

Anyone wishing to assist Brooke with her Backpack Buddies can call 449.8945.

The American Heart Association held an Invitation Only Party for the volunteers who worked on the Heart Ball. It was held at the new Hard Rock Park.

Charlie Myrick, senior area director of corporate relations, introduced the committee and thanked them for all their hard work.

The food was delicious.

The group was given a tour around the park, showing the different restaurants and other attractions that are being finished.

The park has a little bit of everything for all ages.

On March 28, the South Strand Republican Club held a dinner/dance to present the Woman of the Year Award, Man of the Year Award and the Terry B. Cooper Eagle Award.

The affair began with a welcome from the president, John Bonsignor, who introduced the special guests.
U.S. Rep. Henry Brown talked to the guests via cell phone. Pamela Blankenship sang “God Bless America” with her powerful voice.

The winners of the awards were Darlene Hyman, Woman of the Year; state Rep. Thad Viers, Man of the Year; and Sen. Raymond Cleary was presented the Terry B. Cooper Eagle award.

Until next time, I’ll see you around town.

Immigration bill closer to vote

Myrtle Beach Sun News
By Zane Wilson
3/5/08

COLUMBIA –
House and Senate members trying to reach a compromise on their different versions of an immigration bill said Tuesday they think they can reach an agreement next week.

“I think we’re all in agreement we’d like to see something passed before we go home this year,” said Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Columbia.

The panel of three House and three Senate members took no official action, but went over a list of how their two bills differ.

Many of the differences are technical or in specific wording. The staff of the two houses was asked to review and recommend how to put the two bills in agreement.

The portions of the bills that are most in debate are the provisions the Senate added to require all employers to verify immigration status. The House bill required only those with public contracts to do so.

Another area of disagreement is how to enforce a ban on harboring an illegal immigrant. The exceptions, such as for charitable organizations, differ in the two bills.

READ MORE->

Lawmakers question air base closure board

Mrytle Beach Sun News
By Zane Wilson
3/14/08

COLUMBIA, SC -Horry County’s lawmakers said they wonder why they are still appointing people to the Myrtle Beach Air Base Redevelopment Authority 15 years after the base closed.

The legislative delegation gathered Wednesday at a breakfast meeting in a capital city hotel to deal with appointments to boards and to dole out recreation funds.

One of the appointments was to the base redevelopment board. The base closed March 31, 1993.

Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, said the board overseeing the closure of the Charleston Naval Base dissolved long ago.

The Navy base closed two years after Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, and its closure authority shut down about five years later.

Pat Howle, chief executive officer of Horry Electric Co-op, was at the delegation meeting because the electric co-ops paid for the breakfast. He is a member of the base redevelopment authority.

READ MORE->

Viers’ campaign asks for $30 donations

Myrtle Beach Sun News
“In Our Towns”

Viers’ campaign asks for $30 donations

State Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, kicked off his campaign for re-election Thursday, his 30th birthday, with a “30 for 30″ drive asking for $30 donations.

Viers is seeking a fourth two-year term. He said in a release that he is not taking campaign donations from special interests but looking for help from the voters.

He also said he has a new Web site, www.thadviers.com.

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