Yahoo Movies How SC health experts are handling omicron + It looks like hundreds of Horry virtual students are failing. Are they?
Happy Friday! It’s Chase Karacostas.
No headline made me giggle more this week than this one: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Shane Beamer recruiting for the Gamecocks! Beamer, USC’s football coach, spent part of this week trying to lure new players to the school via helicopter. The State’s Augusta Stone wrote about why.
Here’s the rest of this week’s news — from the ground — in South Carolina.
1. How are SC health experts keeping themselves safe as omicron surges? Here’s their advice
It’s becoming more and more difficult to navigate South Carolina’s coronavirus outbreak, The Island Packet’s Sam Ogozalek reports.
Is your sniffle really just a sniffle, or is it omicron? What kind of masks work best? Is it a good idea to eat dinner at a crowded restaurant right now? Here are some of the tips from three of SC’s top health experts on how they navigate the ever-changing pandemic landscape.
Wear a surgical mask for general use when out in public. For those who are more worried about catching or spreading COVID, or might be in a confined space with others, put on a properly fitted KN95 or N95.
Symptoms to watch out for? Head cold: sneezing, runny nose and a bit of congestion. The omicron variant often presents like a common cold, with less effect on taste and smell than previous strains and less fever and shortness of breath. However, omicron can still be dangerous and end up in hospitalization, especially for people who are not vaccinated.
Going out to eat? Might not be the best idea right now. Consider opting for takeout and a nice movie at home.
Visitors? Dinner parties? Limit the circle to vaccinated friends and family. You can also ask all visitors to put on a surgical mask when they come in.
Ogozalek asked plenty of more questions, from the safety of outdoor sporting events to flying. Read to see their answers.
2. Shoddy stats? Horry teachers dispute failure rate used to recommend axing virtual school
On Monday, leaders of Horry County’s school district presented the school board with a shocking discovery:
42% of all virtual students are failing at least one class this school year. That includes 59% of all high school students and 46% of all seniors.
The failing grades led district officials to recommend the school board end the virtual school program and requiring nearly 700 students to return to in-person classes.
However, The Sun News’ David Weissman and Mary Norkol quickly discovered the data the district pointed to might have been seriously flawed.
The grades were pulled on Dec. 6, while the semester didn’t end until Jan. 13. Teachers involved in the virtual program said high schoolers in particular wait until the last minute to turn in assignments.
One teacher said her grades picked up significantly by the time the semester ended. Only had 13% of her students failed, which is right in line with the district-wide average.
Will the district still ax the virtual program? Read Weissman’s and Norkol’s to find out what happened.
3. Expanding nature trails in South Carolina
Members of a new group pushing for more mountain bike trails in the Beaufort area say the Beaufort County-owned Pineview Preserve on Lady’s Island would be ideal — but the county doesn’t think so, The Island Packet’s Karl Puckett reports.
“Mountain biking is a thrill,” says Joe Mac, owner of University Bikes on Beaufort’s Boundary Street and a member of Beaufort Trailblazers. “It’s good exercise. It’s good for you.”
Mac would like to see a local mountain bike trail system similar to the well-designed and popular Whitemarsh Preserve in Savannah. That 145-acre park features 6 miles of singletrack trails.
However, the county said it isn’t going to consider adding improved mountain bike trails to Pineview, which is a passive park, meaning it’s less developed. However, the county might consider adding trails to more developed parks at some point in the future.
Speaking of the great outdoors, check out this story from The Herald’s John Marks about the next step in the expansion of the Carolina Thread Trail. Last month, officials announced a five-year fundraising plan to add another 200 miles of trail.
4. Cute and mysterious aquatic critters in Myrtle Beach
This week, I had the absolute joy of writing two stories about aquatic animals in the Grand Strand.
First, five baby river otters were born at Brookgreen Gardens’ Lowcountry Zoo in Georgetown. They are the most adorable “water doggies,” as my brother called them, that I have ever seen. They’ll spend the next few weeks bonding with their mother, John, before getting introduced to the river otter exhibit at Brookgreen.
Ever seen an octopus swimming around a tide pool? It’s an experience that even the local malacologist — a person who studies octopuses and other mollusks — I interviewed has yet to have.
Yet, Longs resident Heather Leon was just that lucky last week. On a warm Thursday afternoon, she and her mother ran across a virbant red Octopus vulgaris — the common Atlantic octopus. Its name might be common but seeing one that close to shore during the winter is quite rare. Here’s why, plus more fun octopus facts I learned.
5. The popular Okatie ‘U Pick’ daffodil farm is set to open this weekend
Bright yellow flowers at Okatie’s U-Pick Daffodils are starting to bloom and will be ready for picking this weekend.
Visiting the farm has become a spring ritual for those in the Lowcountry, and the Merrick family takes pride in continuing a tradition that started more than 50 years ago.
Diane Merrick said there are loyal customers who return every year — some traveling from as far away as Myrtle Beach, Florida, and even Massachusetts — and locals who now bring their kids and grandkids to share the experience. The family expanded parking at the farm this year and planted “a lot more” daffodils than last season, Chuck Merrick said.
“We planted almost double the amount of daffodils this year,” Chuck Merrick said. “Last year we ran out of flowers, so we put some more in.”
The family farm will open at 9 a.m. Sunday, weather dependent, and close at 4 p.m. or when blooms sell out. The fields are located at 48 Calhoun Plantation Road, just off Pinckney Colony Road.
The farm’s co-owners, Chuck and Diane Merrick, open and close the fields depending on the weather and the number of blooms available, so watch the farm’s Facebook page or website for the most up-to-date hours.
What I’m reading
Lexington-Richland 5 school district
to look for new headquarters, but finding one won't be cheap, The State's Bristow Marchant reports.
Taejon Manning, a recruit at the Parris Island Marine Corps Training Depot, will be extradited to Nevada after police in Las Vegas accused him of sexually assaulting at least one child under 14 years old, The Island Packet’s Sofia Sanchez reported this week.
York County nonprofits can now apply for thousands of dollars in grants to help with utility and rent payments, The Herald’s Tobie Nell Perkins reports. Here’s how.
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