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Horry County Census Response Rate is Disturbingly Low

As of today, less than 40% of Myrtle Beach residents have responded to the 2020 Census.

Across Horry County, the response is under 57%. Response rates in Horry County towns and cities include:

  • Atlantic Beach 15.7%
  • Aynor 56.6%
  • Briarcliff Acres: 71%
  • Conway 55.6%
  • Loris 56.3%
  • North Myrtle Beach 24.8%
  • Myrtle Beach 38.9%
  • Surfside Beach 34.7%

Billions of dollars in federal, state, county and local government are allocated based on census results. Congressional and legislative seats are also drawn using census data. As a result of the last census in 2010, the coastal area and Pee Dee gained a congressional seat.

It’s not too late to respond. You can still complete the questionnaire yourself  online at 2020census.gov, by calling  844-330-2020, or by returning the paper form you received in the mail.  Respond using the address where you were living on April 1, 2020 and include anyone who was living with you at the time. 

 

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Santee Cooper Extends Executive Contracts And Sponsors Golf Tournament Amid Financial Disaster

Featured Image: The State

As debt continues to pile up for Santee Cooper, lawmakers still remain halted at their decision for the future of the state-owned utility company. After lawmakers were forced to take a break earlier this year due to COVID-19, the utility’s fate will linger even longer. 

With the decision to sell still on the table, Santee Cooper in an attempt to continue reform plans is spending more ratepayer money on extending high-paying contracts to executives and on golf tournament sponsorships. 

The company recently announced that they will be extending contracts to Mark Bonsall, the CEO, and Charles Duckworth, the deputy CEO who were both brought on last year after former CEO, Lonnie Carter retired from the company when the utility’s debt began making headlines. Carter left with an initial payout and an annual retirement salary of $800,000 for 20 years, that Santee Cooper customers are still paying for. 

Last year we reported that Bonsall was guaranteed $1.1 million over the next 18 months in addition to bonuses, exceeding Carter’s previous salary of $541,000, while Duckworth made a reported $560,000 annual salary. All of which the utility’s direct serve and electric cooperative customers pay for, and it doesn’t look like it’ll be changing anytime soon. The two will remain with the company until July 2021 and will continue to oversee all political and legal challenges. Bonsall and Duckworth will even have the opportunity to earn bonuses, pending their performance. 

Lawmakers have been debating the future of the company for the past three years since it undertook $4 billion in debt from the failed V.C. Summer project. Because of this, Santee Cooper has been under scrutiny with where they spend their money since the company’s debt is nearly $7 billion, has no Public Service Commission Oversight and its ratepayers are the only ones responsible for past bad financial decisions. Many, therefore, are not happy that the state-owned company decided to sponsor the Heritage Golf Tournament for yet another year. The tournament which was played 2 months later due to the coronavirus pandemic and without fans, was a large investment. This large expenditure is seen as unnecessary by many and has resulted in another level of concern with taxpayers and ratepayers.

As customers are left holding the bill for the interim and Santee Cooper fails to acknowledge the long term burden on them, they also fail to stop spending large sums of money that will only add to the already existing and growing debt. For some, a sale of the public utility “dinosaur” cannot come soon enough.  

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10 Things You Didn’t Know About Myrtle Beach

Planning a trip to Myrtle Beach? Here are a few fun Myrtle Beach facts you might not know!

1. Myrtle Beach is an island! It was man made and has been separated from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway since 1936.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Sunset Birds Eye View of the Iconic Coastline in Myrtle Beach! #myrtlebeach #myrtlebeachsc #paradise #vacation #vacationmode #landscapephotography

A post shared by MyrtleBeach.com (@officialmyrtlebeach) on Dec 20, 2019 at 5:35pm PST

2. The area has more than 100 golf courses, claiming to be the “golf capital of the world.”

3. Myrtle Beach is also the “mini-golf capital of the world” with more mini-golf courses per square mile than anywhere else in the world.

4. Sports Illustrated was founded in Myrtle Beach in 1954.

5. Myrtle Beach State Park was the first state park in South Carolina.

6. Myrtle Beach is home to one of the tallest ferris wheels in the country, the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel.

 

 

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Thanks Nichole for sharing this #FanPhotoFriday capture! ☀️ ? ? . . . . . #MyMyrtleBeach #Escape #TravelMore #Skywheel #IGTravel

A post shared by Visit Myrtle Beach (@mymyrtlebeach) on Aug 2, 2019 at 5:48am PDT


 

7. The popular swing dance known as the “Shag” was born along these beaches in the 1940s.

8. Myrtle Beach is one of America’s top vacation destinations.

 

 

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Nothing finer than a beach day in January! #myrtlebeach #beachday #amazingweather #paradise

A post shared by MyrtleBeach.com (@officialmyrtlebeach) on Jan 3, 2020 at 11:50am PST


 

9. The beach town is named after the Sweet Myrtle Tree, a native tree to the area.

10. The Waccamaw and Winyah American Indian tribes were the first people to live in the area.

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