he also tells me that orangeburg county and bamberg county are working together to figure out if all these similar crimes are related. today a judge denied bond for two men facing charges in an attempted murder investigation. orangeburg county deputies say christopher pressley and derrick james are responsible for a crime spree that started at the beginning of january. they are charged with armed robbery and four counts of attempted murder and one count of armed robbery. today the judge denied bond saying the men are a danger to the community. inside the state house, a new effort to beef up paychecks for state employees. a bipartisan group of senators is leading a charge to boost pay for state workers by five per cent. supporters of the measure say it will cost $75 million dollars---but they say that because of an unusually large budget surplus. the state's 35-thousand employees have gotten pay hikes in only two of the last seven years. i think we're in the best shape we've been in the last three decades. the economy's improving dramatically, unemployment has dropped. we're one of the

county and bamberg county are working together to figure out if all these similar crimes are related. two armed robbery suspects are behind bars in orangeburg county and a third is still on the loose. tyrone stevenson and dondre givens were arrested and charged with first-degree burglary and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. when deputies responded to an armed robbery call at the campus corner apartments on campus drive, three men ran away. stevenson and givens were immediately caught. they were both denied bond in court wednesday. anyone with information on a third unidentified suspect should call crimestoppers at 1-888- crime-sc. inside the state house, a new effort to beef up paychecks for state employees. a bipartisan group of senators is leading a charge to boost pay for state workers by five per cent. supporters of the measure say it will cost $75 million dollars---but they say that money is available because of an unusually large budget surplus. the state's 35-thousand employees have gotten pay hikes in only two of the last seven years. we've been in the last three

a new company is creating almost 60 new jobs in bamberg county. black water barrels makes barrels for aging bourbon and other spirits. it's investing 3 point 6 million dollars into a new facility. they'll start hiring in april and plan to be fully operational late this year. clear and very cold this morning with temperatures in the lower 20s with a few areas in the teens! look for a mostly sunny day with a few clouds by mid-afternoon highs upper 40s. due to a few more clouds and winds turning to the southwest, not as cold tonight, lows middle 30s. increasing clouds thursday, much warmer, high in the upper 50s. morning with temperatures in the lower 20s with a few areas in the teens! look for a mostly sunny day with a few clouds by mid-afternoon highs upper 40s. due to a few more clouds and winds turning to the southwest, not as cold tonight, lows middle 30s. high in the upper 50s. more clouds for friday with periods of rain likely, warmer with highs in the lowers 60s. saturday now looks a little wet and sunday drier, this is a change from yesterda

three churches in bamberg county were also struck just days ago. deputies have increased patrols of the county's churches as they search for a suspect or suspects. meanwhile, orangeburg county continues to investigate nine separate church burglaries. we're expecting an update today we'll bring it to you as soon as we have it on air and online. there are just a few tickets left for tonight's vince gill concert in which all proceeds will benefit the win anyway foundation in support of kids fighting cancer. win anyway co-founder & usc head baseball coach chad holbrook is hoping the concert at the township will ultimately be a complete sellout. marco's pizza bought most of the remaining tickets to hand out for free thursday and all 400 were gone in less than 15 minutes. if you still want to buy a ticket, we've put a link to ticketmaster under the big red 10. the concert starts at 7pm. jenny gill and patrick davis this morning an area of low pressure has moved out of the gulf of mexico. the low will cross through the state later today and deliver 1" rai

a company that makes barrels for aging bourbon is setting up shop in bamberg county. the company announced earlier today it will invest $4 million in the plant. organizers say it's slated to ep 0 this spring. >>> bottoms up, columbia. the world beer festival returns this month. all about beer magazine will host the annual event, january 23rd at the columbia metropolitan convention center. tickets are $40 in advance, $50 the day of the festival. >>> the start of the new year means the return of free fridays to riverbank zoo. every fray through february, the zoo will offer free admission to all richland and lexington county residents. if you want to take advantage, the zoo asks you bring your driver's license, property tax always fun to go to the zoo. >> i believe they've broken ground on the upcoming seal exhibit or see lions back -- sea lions back. >> a great place for the family and kids to enjoy the zoo for free. >>> coming up next, chief meteorologist john farley has your forecast. >> all next on abc columbia live from main and gervais. >>> welcome back. we had a n

chosen a rural south carolina county to fill the need, investing $3.6 million in little bamberg. grace joyal takes us there. >> grace: for years it was the home of an american icon. >> the chevy. >> i'm excited about taking something and preserving this building and the heritage that's been here all this time. >> grace: soon the former ziegler chevy dealership will become home to barrels made to hold another american favorite -- bourbon. >> revitalizing bam berg. >> grace: black water barrels chose bamberg after talking to counties in three states. >> they are very few places in the united states you can go and see an actual barrel being made into the old school cooperage form. >> grace: quiet now, but in the next few weeks, the place will start buzzing, as president greg pierce coordinates an expansion, machinery installation, and renovation. june 1st they'll be making 53, 60, and 30-glarch barrels for bourbon, whiskey, craft distillers, craft brewers, winemakers, and cider makers. pierce hopped over to the cooperage business from the liquor kiss abuse one. >> i was constantly g

county. showers moving out of bamberg orangeburg. outside of that our mild this morning. winnsboro to lexington, down to 51 in sumter, 47 bishopville, degrees and here in columbia 49 degrees. no rain is falling yet, a lot of call coverage and the winds .com. what we've got is an area of low pressure in north carolina and a conference over the upstate. this will be making its way through and rain chances on and off throughout the day today. throughout the morning we will have some light scattered showers and then a little bit of a break by midday. as we get into the early afternoon, more rain will start coming in, light at best with a little bit of spring was overnight tomorrow morning and into tomorrow afternoon. we will not be dealing with the half. as far as afternoon into friday this afternoon, when the kids get out of school, 53 degrees, showers are likely. mild temperatures will continue throughout the midlands for highs generally in the middle to upper -- upper 50s. -- upper 30s. area of high pressure will start moving and we will have cooling temperatures to start

county to fill the need... investing 3-point-6 million dollars in little bamberg. 33 and your heard grace say... black water barrels is bringing 57-jobs to bamberg. from mechanics, to laborers and machine operators, they're looking for employees of all skill levels, who are ready to learn. you can find the email to get in touch with them in the online version of this story at abc-columbia- dot-com.33 still to come... we're seeing how things stand in south carolina. what we can expect from tonight's "state of the state" address. from main and gervais. what you can expect for the remainder of todays forecast... lets turn things kennedy. 33 we want to give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. here are some trouble spots that you might encounter. south carolina highway patrol is intersection of i-77 and shop road. this is going to be in the northbound lanes... and of course we will continue to keep our eyes on the road and update you if anything else pops up for that morning commute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day. we have a quick rundown of your t

bamberg wants to change this by prohibiting law enforcement agencies in the state from setting traffic ticket quotas... or evaluating officers by the number of citations they write. a companion bill would prohibit cities and counties from approving budgets that depend on future revenue from traffic fines. and speaking of the policing system... the horry county police department is facing an investigation following a lawsuit... that's right... court records show the state law enforcement division is investigating the department after a georgetown county woman sued them last month. detective from the horry county department sexually assaulted her after she reported being raped in 20-13. the lawsuit says sled is investigating reports that the former detective sexually assaulted multiple women while working as an investigator for the county. and the woman suspected in jewelry store robberies across the south..is behind bars this morning... the f-b-i zeroed in on 24-year-old... abigail lee kemp...by analyzing records from cellphone towers near the robberies... and also seeing posts from suspicious friends on social media. after some investigating... f-b-i agents found that one phone number with a north georgia area cod

a company that makes barrels for aging bourbon is setting up shop in bamberg county. the company announced earlier today it will invest $4 million in the plant. organizers say it's slated to ep 0 this spring. >>> bottoms up, columbia. the world beer festival returns this month. all about beer magazine will host the annual event, january 23rd at the columbia metropolitan convention center. tickets are $40 in advance, $50 the day of the festival. >>> the start of the new year