STATE NEWS IN BRIEF

WASHINGTON

Poll shows Clark has Democratic lead in state

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark has taken the lead in South Carolina, bumping Sen. John Edwards from the top spot in the state with a Feb. 3 Democratic presidential primary, according to a poll out Friday.

Clark had the support of 17 percent, while Edwards had the backing of 10 percent in the poll by the American Research Group of Manchester, N.H. More than one-third, 36 percent, were undecided.

Clark was scheduled to make his first campaign stop in Columbia on Friday afternoon.

Edwards led among S.C. voters in this same poll in September, with the backing of 16 percent, 9 points ahead of his closest competitors.

Edwards, a Seneca native who now lives in North Carolina, is counting on a strong showing in South Carolina and has spent more than $600,000 on campaign ads in this state.

Clark, a former NATO commander, entered the race in mid-September, hoping to build support in states with Feb. 3 contest including South Carolina, which has a strong military tradition.

Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut senator, was at 8 percent, while Dick Gephardt, a Missouri congressman, and Howard Dean, former Vermont governor, had the backing of 7 percent each. The Rev. Al Sharpton and Carol Moseley Braun were at 5 percent each. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry was at 4 percent, and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich was at 1 percent.

The poll of 600 voters who said they definitely would vote in the Democratic primary was conducted Oct. 26-30 and has a margin of sampling error of 4 percentage points.

NORTH AUGUSTA

Area soldier dies while serving in Iraq

A 36-year-old soldier from North Augusta has died while serving in Iraq, family members say.

Spc. Algernon "Al" Adams, a member of the 122nd Engineer Battalion, died Tuesday at an operating base near Fallujah of a gunshot wound, his mother Ann Brown said.

Adams' battalion was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, said Lt. Col. Pete Brooks, a spokesman for the S.C. Army National Guard.

Brooks referred questions about details of the shooting to U.S. Central Command, which referred questions to the Army Public Affairs Office.

A spokesman at the public affairs office said he could not confirm the death until it is posted on a Department of Defense Web site.

Brown said she learned of her son's death when soldiers from Fort Gordon, Ga., called her at work and asked her to come home.

"He was just a good son," Brown said. "He went and did his duty, and he was there for his country."

Adams graduated from Butler High School in Augusta, Ga., and had served in the Guard for about 17 years, his mother said.

Adams is survived by his wife, Lisa.

"My thoughts and prayers go out to his family in this time of deep sorrow," U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., said Wednesday.

MOUNT PLEASANT

Bridge construction snag backs up traffic

Thousands of motorists were stuck Friday as construction on the most expensive bridge project in S.C. history hit a snag, backing up traffic for miles east of the Cooper River.

Crews ran into a problem fitting together two steel girders on the $632 million Ravenel Bridge, said Bobby Clair, the state Department of Transportation engineer overseeing the project.

The connection was being made where the new bridge crosses the existing John Grace Bridge - the older of the two existing spans linking Mount Pleasant and Charleston.

The Grace bridge, which has two lanes inbound to Charleston, was closed Thursday night and was to have reopened at 5:30 a.m. Friday for the morning rush hour.

But the snag delayed the reopening; and during the morning rush, only a single lane on Pearman Bridge, the other existing bridge into Charleston, carried motorists from Mount Pleasant.

Making matters worse, traffic was backed also up on Interstate 526 because of a wreck.

The interstate is an alternate route from Mount Pleasant to Charleston, although motorists must travel more than 20 miles through North Charleston to get there.

Clair said it could be that crews didn't start early enough Thursday night so there would be a time cushion in the event of a snag.

The girders are 125 feet long, 8 feet tall and weigh 26 tons.

Between the girders centered on the piers, a third girder is attached, called a drop-in girder. The Friday problem resulted from a snag in lining up one of those drop-in girders, Clair said.

FLORENCE

Husband charged in administrator's death

The husband of a Johnsonville administrator gunned down as she walked to her car to go to work has been charged in her death.

David Hanna, 32, was arrested Thursday along with his 23-year-old brother, Derry Hanna. Both have been charged with murder.

Johnsonville Assistant City Manager Teresa Hanna, 33, was shot several times Aug. 15.

A family member found her body near her car, sheriff's Capt. Todd Tucker said.

Tucker would not give a motive for the slaying but said all the evidence pointed toward the husband and brother.

"Of particular importance to us at this stage is finding out who else in the community had knowledge of the Hannas' involvement," Tucker said.

The arrests came as a relief to Johnsonville Mayor Tom Redmond.

"It's really had this city in an uproar since she was killed," he said. "Ladies were scared, wondering if there was a serial killer was on the loose."