Posted on Sat, May. 27, 2006

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New law to protect heirs property

Heirs property passed down for generations without a will will get an added layer of protection from the auction block under a bill signed by Gov. Mark Sanford.

Sponsored by Sen. Clementa Pinckney, D-Jasper, and Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, the bill gives joint heirs the “right of first refusal” in partition suits in which one heir wants to sell the family land.

Courts can force the sale based on the wishes of one heir. The new law gives joint heirs the right to purchase the property at its appraised value before the judicial partition.

Heirs property in South Carolina often involves land previously owned by former slaves after emancipation and passed down through the years.

• Tourism growth expected this summer

High gas prices and worries about the economy have America’s tourism industry expecting a flat summer season. But not so in South Carolina, where the state’s largest industry may show continued modest growth.

Last week, the Travel Industry Association of America predicted travel would increase less than 1 percent nationwide.

But during the first quarter of this year, hotel room occupancy in South Carolina was up 4.3 percent compared to 2005, said Marion Edmonds, a spokesman for the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Nationally, occupancy was up about 3 percent while the figure for the Southeast was flat.

RICHLAND COUNTY

• County budget hearing rescheduled

Richland County Council will hold a second public hearing on its 2006-07 budget because a quorum of council members did not attend the May 18 hearing, said county spokeswoman Kendall Johnson.

Of the 11 members on council, Damon Jeter, Joe McEachern, Tony Mizzell, Mike Montgomery and Greg Pearce attended the hearing.

The next hearing will be at 6 p.m. June 15 at 2020 Hampton St. County Council is scheduled to take second reading on the budget following the hearing, and a third reading is scheduled for June 22.

• Dowling recovering after tumor removal

Interim Lexington-Richland 5 Superintendent TEC Dowling underwent successful surgery Friday to remove a tumor near his brain. A District 5 spokesman said Dowling’s family reported that doctors are initially encouraged that he will make a full recovery and will know more after getting results from routine postoperative tests.

Dowling’s contract with the Irmo-Chapin school system will expire June 30. Scott Andersen, currently superintendent of the Longmeadow, Mass., public school system, succeeds him July 1.

FORT JACKSON

• Burn scheduled today at Fort Jackson

Residents living near Fort Jackson might see some smoke today, but they should not be alarmed.

The smoke will be the result of a “prescribed burn” of undergrowth on 3,000 to 3,500 acres in the middle of the fort. The burn should reduce chances of wildfires during the summer and improve the natural habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker which lives on the post.

Contributing: Staff writers Roddie Burris, Chuck Crumbo, Lisa Michals, Bill Robinson and The Associated Press.