The State from Columbia, South Carolina • A6

6A THURSDAY JULY 9 2020News THESTATE.COM Family-Owned. Because family matters to us all. 7600 Trenholm Road Ext. 5202 Colonial Drive 803.754.6290 ShivesFuneralHome.com Randolph and Bill Shives officers. He added that law- makers have to the so that good officers are protected, while making cities and departments more respon- sible for the culture they have created in their po- lice agencies.

However, Scott added, Democrats cannot play politics in a presidential year if something is to get done this year. they come to the table with that type of concessions made, that means more in- terested in winning elec- tions than they are in- putting police Scott said. Joseph Bustos: 803-771-8450, FROM PAGE 1A REFORM and subdivisions for six months while it weighed plans for how to best man- age its recent growth spurt. In June, the morato- rium was extended for another 45 days. Street is an impor- tant economic corridor and a welcoming point to our Cayce Mayor Elise Partin said in the press release.

mixed-use village will give our residents and visitors another great place to dine, shop, and be enter- tained. It already embod- ies the same traits of ex- cellence that we have intentionally included in the growth of our city. The team has been great to work with, and we look forward to their breaking The Simpson Organiza- tion is a real estate in- vestment banking firm founded in the late 1980s by Simpson. The company is headquartered in Atlan- ta, with offices in Orlando, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Roanoke and Hampton Roads. Jeff Wilkinson: FROM PAGE 1A DEVELOPMENT tured a heavy police pres- ence and barricades sep- arating opposing groups of protesters.

The permitting system for groups using the State House grounds was established after duel- ing rallies were organized by the Ku Klux Klan and a group affiliated with the New Black Panther Party in 2015 after the removal. For three years in a row from 2016 to 2018, the flag was flown with much fanfare from a temporary pole on the anniversary by the S.C. Secessionist Party, a now-defunct group that advocated for South Carolina to secede from the union. That legacy will be con- tinue on Saturday, when Flags Across the South will host another flag-raising at the site. plan to carry on as we have in the past, with the flag and with guest said organizer Braxton Spivey, who held a similar event last year on the Saturday following the anniversary in hopes of attracting more flag sup- porters on a weekend.

Spivey said his event would also seek to main- tain social distance during the flag raising and any subsequent speeches, but the wearing of face masks would be optional for attendees. The city of Columbia currently man- dates wearing face masks in situations where people are unable to maintain a six-foot distance from other people. The pandemic may dampen turnout at a time when racial issues are otherwise at the forefront of discourse across the country. Columbia hosted weeks of protests against systemic racism and police brutality after George Floyd was killed in Min- neapolis police custody on May 25. Some of those protests ended in violent clashes with local police and a series of arrests.

This rally also follows another setback for the rebel banner. Last month, the Mississippi legislature voted to re- move a Confederate em- blem from the Mississippi state flag, the last flag in the South to officially incorporate the symbol. Bristow Marchant: 803-771-8405, FROM PAGE 3A FLAG Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a national security aide who played a central role in Presi- dent Donald impeachment case, an- nounced his retirement from the Army on Wednesday in a scathing statement that accused the president of running a of bullying, intimidation, and retal- The statement from attorney David Press- man said Vindman was leaving the Army after more than 21 years after it had been made clear his future within the institution he has dutifully served will forever be ASSOCIATED PRESS Vindman retires from Army, blasts Trump The Justice Department is plowing ahead with its plan to resume federal executions next week for the first time in more than 15 years, despite the coronavirus pandemic and stagnating national support for the death penalty.

Three people are scheduled to die by lethal injection in one week at an Indiana prison, begin- ning Monday. Bureau of Prisons officials insist they will be able to con- duct the executions safely and have been holding practice drills for months. Family members of the victims and the inmates will be able to attend but will be required to wear face masks. ASSOCIATED PRESS Feds proceed with execution plan next week The auction that will determine the fate of McClatchy the na- second largest local news company, has been delayed by one day to give potential buyers time to work through details of their bids. The auction was originally scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

Wednesday. McClatchy said the delay would not affect the sale timeline. Among the bidders is largest cred- itor, the hedge fund Chatham Asset Manage- ment. A report published Monday by NiemanLab, a journalism trade publi- cation, identified Alden Capital Group, a Colorado-based hedge fund, as a second bidder. McClatchy auction pushed back one day Work crews have taken down the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors stat- ue, the sixth Confederate monument to be removed in Richmond amid na- tional protests against police brutality and sym- bols many see as racist icons.

Crews arrived at about 7 a.m. Wednesday in the Libby Hill neigh- borhood to take down the monument, which was installed in 1894. It de- picts a Confederate sol- dier standing atop a pil- lar. The phrases and IT were recently painted on the pavement that sur- rounds it, NBC 12 report- ed. ASSOCIATED PRESS Richmond takes Confederate statue down South Carolina will send a food-purchasing card to thousands of K-12 stu- dents, including every child in the Richland 1 school district, to help offset the cost of school meals that were lost during the pandemic.

A one-time Electronic Benefits Transfer, or EBT, card worth $330 will be mailed to South Carolina students who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch at their schools between March 16 and June 3, when schools were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the S.C. De- partment of Social Serv- ices. Some 467,000 stu- dents are expected to re- ceive the one-time funds. Every child who attends a Community Eligibility Pro- vision school, regardless of their income, will receive an EBT card. Stu- dents at these schools all receive free lunch regularly due to their large population of low-income students.

This applies to every school in the Richland 1 school district, which has a high overall poverty rate, as well as to a number of individual schools within otherMidlands school dis- tricts. Each of themore than 23,000 students in Rich- land 1 will receive the funds. The funding for the Pandemic EBT program comes from the U.S. De- partment of Agriculture to help supplement food costs amid the pan- demic school closures. South Carolina is one of 47 states to accept the fund- ing, according to DSS.

Extended school clo- sures during the pandemic have con- cerns about food and financial security dur- ing this the state social services agency said in a recent news release. child in South Car- olina should have to go State Superin- tendent of Education Molly Spearman said in the re- lease. Pandemic EBT program will help ensure our most vulnerable stu- dents and their families have the resources needed to put food on the table during the summer so they are healthy and ready to learn when schools re-start in the The Pandemic EBT funding is available to students at both public and private schools that partici- pate in the National School Lunch Program. The cards are not a replacement for any regular sum- mer feeding programs. The amount of money on the EBT cards is equal to the daily school meal rate for each child $5.70 by the num- ber of days schools were closed this spring, a total of 58 days.

If a student be- came eligible for free or reduced lunch at some point in the middle of those 58 days, they will receive a prorated amount on their Pandemic EBT card. The cards are expected to be mailed between July 20-24. They will be sent to home addresses that are on file with their school districts. For students whose families already receive supplemental nutrition assistance, or SNAP bene- fits, their one-time pan- demic meal funding will be added to their regular EBT card for July, rather than mailed as a separate card. Recipients will have one year to use the funds on the Pandemic EBT card.

The funds cannot be trans- ferred to anyone else and should not be used by anyone outside of the stu- household. If a fam- ily chooses not to use the Pandemic EBT card, they should destroy it, accord- ing to the social services agency. The agency published a list of frequently asked questions at dss.sc.gov, as well as a list of schools and the number of children who are eligible to receive the Pandemic EBT cards. Families who qualify for a Pandemic EBT benefit but do not receive a card in the mail by Aug. 15 should email PEBTBene- SC students to receive card for pandemic food aid BY SARAH ELLIS COLUMBIA, SC Three Midlands cities passed a requirement Tuesday that residents wear face masks in many public situations to com- bat the spread of coro- navirus, joining a growing list of S.C.

cities mandat- ing face coverings. Municipal councils in Cayce, Irmo and West Columbia approved the requirements on Tuesday. ordinance re- quires all residents, vis- itors and business employ- ees wear face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The vote of the five-person council was unanimous. Individuals violating the ordinance are subject to a civil infraction and $25 fine, while businesses are subject to a $100 penalty.

The city will provide free masks, while supplies last and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Cayce residents can receive up to two masks per person or five masks per family. Residents that have the ability to purchase their own masks are encour- aged to do so. virus is not dead despite what we read in social Mayor Elise Partin said. we want to save lives as well as grow the economy and avoid new shutdowns, we must do the things we know that reduce The ordinance will take effect Friday to give busi- ness owners a chance to put up signs.

It will last for 60 days, Partin said. West city council later approved their own measure, after a plea from Lexington Med- ical Center CEO Tod Augsburger. Augsburger urged council members to at least recommend, if not mandate, residents wear masks. can be a little Augsburger said of face masks, is it too much of a price to pay to keep someone from going to the hospital, or God forbid, Augsburger said he worries about the impact on hospital operations if case numbers continue to rise, and warns even if a COVID-19 patient recov- ers, the long-term impacts of the disease remain largely unknown. Council members ap- proved the mandate for a 60-day period in retail and restaurant establish- ments, as well as grocery stores, pharmacies, barber shops and salons, and offices.

Other Midlands cities are also considering a mask mandate. Arcadia Lakes, a town of about 900 northeast of Colum- bia, adopted an ordinance modeled on Richland on Tuesday. The town of Irmo also ap- proved a mask require- ment on Tuesday to re- quire residents to wear masks inside most busi- nesses. Multiple cities across South Carolina have adopted requirements for masks to be warn in pub- lic, something that public health experts say can help stop the spread of the coronavirus as case counts in the Palmetto State con- tinue to climb. citywide mask requirement went into effect on June 26.

Forest Acres City Council approved their own version on Thursday, the town of Lexington has added its own requirement the same day. Richland County also adopted a countywide mask requirement, the second county in the state to do so along with Dor- chester County. The new requirements come as cases of CO- VID-19 continue to climb. Thousands of new cases have been reported in recent days, and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced a record number of hospitalizations on Tuesday.

Experts have said they fear a renewed spike in cases after the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Bristow Marchant: 803-771-8405, Cayce, Irmo, West Columbia pass face mask requirements BY BRISTOW MARCHANT AND JEFF WILKINSON Mask ordinances These cities in South Carolina have passed laws requiring face masks, according to the S.C. Commission for Minority Affairs and local news reports: A Andrews A Arcadia Lakes A Bluffton A Clemson A Greenville A Goose Creek A Spartanburg A Town of Central A Camden A Columbia A Cayce A Forest Acres A Lexington A Irmo A West Columbia A Newberry A North A Sumter A Hartsville A Lake City A Orangeburg A Beaufort A Charleston A Edisto Beach A Florence A James Island A Folly Beach A Hanahan A Hilton Head A Isle of Palms A Kiawah Island A Seabrook Island A St. George A Island A Summerville A Mount Pleasant A Moncks Corner A Myrtle Beach A North Myrtle Beach A Ridgeville A Walterboro.