roofer in Westcott, SC

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Two weeks of no-excuse-needed early voting kicks off Oct. 24 at more than 100 locations statewide, giving South Carolinians more options than ever for casting a ballot with hopefully little to no wait.

It’s South Carolina’s first general election under a Statehouse law signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in May which directed each county to open up to seven early voting sites for 12 days through the Saturday before Election Day.

All locations must open to voters from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in all 46 counties from the coast to the mountains.

The exception is Oct. 30, as the law forbids Sunday voting.

Early voters can choose whatever site is most convenient for them within the county where they’re registered, whether that’s close to home, work or shopping. They aren’t limited by their home address.

“Early voting is a big deal for South Carolina,” state Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said. “It gives a lot more access, more options for busy people to go vote. That’s the biggest benefit.”

It also should reduce stress on poll workers and give them more time to fix problems as they arise, which in turn also benefits voters, he said.

“Whatever line you’ve had before will be better,” Whitmire said.

The 111 early voting sites statewide represent a 35 percent increase from the total that opened before the June primaries, when election officers had less than three weeks to put the new rules into practice.

Nineteen of South Carolina’s rural counties are still offering a single location, usually at their main election office.

Some of the most-populous counties are providing several additional options. For example, Lexington went from one to five. Charleston County, which also offered a single site in June, is among three counties opening the maximum seven.

Greenville and Horry counties are the other two with seven.

Voting sites for every county can be found on the S.C. Election Commission website at scvotes.gov/voters/early-voting. By law, each county election office must also post local locations on its own website.

Voting absentee by mail is also underway. Those who qualify include people who are 65 and older, have physical disabilities, or work a job that doesn’t allow them to vote in person during the two-week early voting window. Applications must be in by Oct. 28. People returning a mailed ballot in person must show identification.

Charleston County, which has opened satellite offices since 2016 under prior law that required an excuse for voting early, has planned since January to open seven once the legislation passed. But when the final version didn’t allow for mobile sites as intended, the county reverted to one, but only for the primaries, said Isaac Cramer, director of the Charleston County Board of Elections.

Local sites for this election include four libraries and two churches spread out from Hollywood to Mount Pleasant, with the largest site being the North Charleston Convention Center. That was a popular spot for voters in November 2020, Cramer said.

Amid the pandemic, legislators passed a temporary law allowing no-excuse-needed in-person absentee voting for that election only. One problem was that access varied widely across the state. Even so, it marked the first time that more South Carolinians voted early than on Election Day.

Two years later under the new law requiring options with standardized hours, Charleston County has added sites on James Island, Johns Island and Hollywood.

“We wanted to expand to areas with population growth and rural areas so people across the county would have shorter distances to travel,” Cramer said.

The more than 150 additional workers hired specifically for early voting began weeklong training sessions Oct. 17. They’re prepared for busy, 12-hour days. They’ll stay on through Election Day at $15 an hour, which becomes $22.50 hourly for required overtime, he said.

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) on Friday declared results for both Class XII, which saw a pass percentage of 96.47% in the state, and Class X with 98.72%.

Ranchi/Jamshedpur: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) on Friday declared results for both Class XII, which saw a pass percentage of 96.47% in the state, and Class X with 98.72%. Chief executive and secretary of the council Gerry Arathoon said 10,427 students from 94 schools in Jharkhandappeared for ICSE examination while 4,193 students from 49 schools appeared for ISC exams.He said, "Of the 10,427 students (in ICSE), 10,294 have passed, and in ISC, 4045 have passed," he added. The results have been announced two weeks earlier than previous years as the council for the first time used Live Ink Character Recognition (LICR) technology, which helped in fast compilation of results. Of the total candidates who appeared in class 10th examination 5,553 (53.26%) were boys while 4,874 (46.74%) were girls. In ISC 2,028 (48.37%) were boys and 2,165 (51.63%) were girls. The council informed that the state wide pass percentage was better among girls in both ICSE and ISC examination. While 99.16% girls passed in ICSE examination against 98.34% boys, in ISC 97.09% girls passed against 95.81% boys. Kumar Sambhaw of St Francis School in Deoghar became the state topper in ICSE with 98.6% marks. He scored 100 in Mathematics and Social Science and 99 in science. His total was 493, which included English plus four best subjects. The second position is shared by Ashish Sharma of Church School, Prarthana Das of Sacred Heart Convent School and Piyush Agarwal of DBMS English School, all in Jamshedpur, who scored 98.4% marks. The topper of the Class X exam in Ranchi was Sayani Mallik and Aditi Ananya of Bishop Westcott Girls' School, Doranda. In ICSE, 293 scheduled caste (SC) candidates appeared in the examination of which 96.93% passed. Likewise 1456 scheduled tribe (ST) and 2171 candidates of other backward classes (OBC) appeared of whom 97.05% and 98.76% passed respectively. In ISC, out of the 90 SC students who appeared, 96.67% passed. Similarly, 88.07% of 545 ST students and 96.96% of 460 OBC students passed ISC. While the stream-wise break up for ISC was unavailable, Ashutosh Kumar of Narbheram English School Jamshedpur became the state topper of class 12 with 98.5% marks. Prakhar Sinha or Tagore Academy Jamshedpur bagged the second position in ISC with 98.25% marks while Ashutosh Bharadwaj of Little Flower School, Jamshedpur was third in the state with 98% marks.

A new luxury apartment development in Houston’s Rice Military area near Memorial Park is now open to tenants.

The 11-story, 315-unit apartment complex at 929 Westcott St., dubbed The Westcott, was constructed via a partnership between South Carolina-based Greystar and J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives.

“The Westcott’s location, amenities and white-glove service speak for themselves,” said Brian Herwald, managing director of development at Greystar. “What makes it unique, though, is that we’ve found a way to offer a luxury experience while honoring the old-world character reflected in Houston’s history. It isn’t your typical grayscale design that many have come to expect out of modern apartments. The Westcott is for those who are looking to enjoy a new level of relaxation without sacrificing personality.”

The 746,206-square-foot development cost about $94 million to build and was designed by Atlanta-based Niles Bolton Associates, according to records filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Units in The Westcott come in 29 different one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans, ranging from 788 square feet to 3,235 square feet on the penthouse level. Rent for a one-bedroom unit starts at $2,250 and go up to as much as $11,725 for a penthouse, according to The Westcott's website.

Select penthouses include unique layouts that feature gallery entries, primary suites with large sitting rooms, a study and a wine cellar.

The Westcott’s amenities include a fitness club, a ride-share lounge, a conference center, a library-style coworking space, guest suites for housing visitors, and an 11th-floor sky deck with a wine bar and piano lounge.

A concierge is available on-site to help residents book a personal trainer, dinner reservations, tee times and pet-grooming appointments, among other services.

Additionally, The Westcott offers dry cleaning and package concierge services.

Greystar is offering special benefits to the first 40 tenants who sign leases at The Westcott, including branded gifts, experience-related offerings and exclusive services.

The building itself was designed in a traditional Southern style incorporating leather upholstery, detailed millwork and jewel-toned accent walls.

“The Westcott offers a charm that is rare when paired with the caliber of the community’s services and amenities,” said Mai Olaussen, director of development at Greystar. “There’s something special about every square inch of this property.”

Greystar is the largest residential property management firm in the Houston area, according to Houston Business Journal research. Across the Bayou City, the company had 54,038 apartment units under management in 2021.

One of the largest local properties managed by the company is the former SkyHouse site in downtown Houston, which rebranded as SoDo on Main in December.

The property, at 1625 and 1725 Main St., consists of two 24-story towers with 674 apartment units and 10,173 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Atlanta-based Novare Group Inc. developed the towers. SkyHouse Houston opened in 2014, and SkyHouse Main opened in 2016.

OUTER BANKS, N.C. — As we celebrate Black History Month, Spectrum News 1 has been looking back on life-changing people, events and movements in North Carolina’s history.

This week, we’re honoring the heroic actions of the crew members of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station, with the help of Zachary Lemhouse, staff historian for the Culture and Heritage Museums of York County, South Carolina.

What You Need To Know

From 1874 to 1878, a chain of 18 lifesaving stations were built 15 miles along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, in an area referred to as “The Graveyard of the Atlantic.”

The Pea Island Lifesaving Station became the first lifesaving station in the country to have an entirely African-American crew, including their commander, Richard Etheridge.

“Etheridge was born into slavery in North Carolina in 1842. His enslaver was a commercial fishing operator, and Etheridge learned to navigate the shallow waters off of North Carolina’s coast,” Lemhouse explained. “He joined the Union army (36^th Colored Regiment) during the American Civil War. Following the war, he was appointed keeper of the lifesaving station on Pea Island.”

Lemhouse says Etheridge developed a series of rigorous life-saving drills to help prepare his crew for emergency operations.

“These drills paid off — on Oct. 11, 1896, a schooner called the E.S. Newman ran aground during a hurricane two miles south of the Pea Island Station,” Lemhouse said.

Etheridge's crew saw the distress flare from the E.S. Newman and sprang into action.

“The Pea Island crew risked their lives during a four-hour rescue operation to save the nine crewmen aboard, including the captain’s wife and 3-year-old son,” Lemhouse said.

In 1996, the Coast Guard posthumously awarded the gold lifesaving medal to members of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station:

For more information about Pea Island Life-Saving Station, visit the Pea Island Preservation Society website.

Lemhouse also helps to organize a series of Black History Month events at Historic Brattonsville. To learn more about them, click here.