the richland one and two school districts will face off against each other... in a charity basketball game tonight. the nothing for net event... will take place at 6pm... at the keenananigh school gym. that's located on pisgah church road. tickets are $5. all proceeds will go to the palmetto health breast center through the palmetto health foundation walk for life/race for life. 3 and today is the last day to take part in the annual grinding of ththgreens.there are several drop off locations--- they are on our website at wltx-dot-com.then mulch will be available for pickup on saturday at seven oaks park... and the state farmers market.while supplies last. 3 the south carolina chamber of commerce announced our state's infrastructure is their top concern this year. the group outlined their 2016 agenda at the state house yesterday.it's compiled and prioritized by the board based on the concerns of chamber members.this year... the chamber is asking for lawmakers to diversify the revenue stream... and give the state transportation department $600 million dollars a ye

all were arrested and transported to the richland county jail. the indictments were sealed by court order until the defendants could be arrested.this case began with investigation by richland deputies into allegations that female victims were being trafficked for money. 3 south carolina state university interim board of trustees spent the day working on a state mandated report on their requested finances.this report is the first step school leaders must take in order to request state funds for next year budget. university officials will meet with and present the report to legislators of the house ways and means higher education budget subcommittee on tuesday. 3 the senate transportation committee has approved appointing christy hall to run the department of transportation.hall has been the interim director of the state road agencies since last year.lawmakers gave her high marks for handling the massive damage to state roads and bridges caused by october's floods.hall's nomination now moves to the full senate.hall says "morale" is increasing at kno

for brian stann, daniel customerier and the rest of us, -- right now richland county deputies have a suspect, this man behind bars tonight. in the shooting of a teenager, thank you for joining us i'm dana fulton. officials believe young woman, 19-year-old yonder roach was fatally shot by her ex- boyfriend. deputies are still looking into what happened. >> he has a criminal past, he is being charged with armed robbery.>> reporter: interview lee junior is behind bars, girlfriend, ex-girlfriend dion jordan brooch. >> this dirt road leads into the wood line area.>> reporter: deputies found her lying unresponsive next to her vehicle down the stair road, deputies also found her with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. >> ems arrived and pronounced are dead at the scene, and we went into mode, had the crime scene come out, forensics. >> reporter: after speaking with family and friends, deputies led to heatley. >> he was found using the victims debit card. >> reporter: which led to his arrest, officials are still investigating, there will be bond for heatley later this afternoon. it was nei

welcome the richland library from six to eight p-m. and also within the school district... teachers in richland one and two are organizing a "pastries and policies" legislative reception and forum today. teachers want their elected officials to know what important issues they are facing in the classroom... before the state legislature begins its 20-16 session. this meeting will take place from five to northeast high school. 33 we're 33 checking out what will be making headlines later today. here's crysty vaughan with your "look ahead." community members are asking for more information about the brooklanandevelopment and the after the west columbia city council delayed a vote on sealing the deal for the development last tuesday. the development is slated for the four acre site at the intersection of meeting and state streets. the developer, estates and companies, are meeting with the neighborhood association tonight at seven. this will take place at reeves community park, at 752 b avenue in west columbia. and it's a call to action from some of our nation's mayors. columbia ma

the disaster recovery center at the richland maine library will close at 6 p.m. tomorrow, but survivors of the flood can still get help by calling the fema helpline from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week. >>> if you were affected by the floods, you floods, you are invited to an input meeting that will help richland county plan for future natural disasters for the community input and recovery project is a series of six meetings. . the meetings are scheduled for january 19-23rd throughout richland county. county. the meetings will include interactive mapping stations, questionnaires and opportunities for you to submit comments and share information you are encouraged to bring photographs to document any recent, as well as recurrent flooding in your community. >>> floodwater plundered their dance studio back in october. heading back to the stage has the group of columbia artists in full swing right now. news 19 g&a shows us how they are recovering and moving forward. >>reporter:perfectly pointed toes and gracefully stretched arms. worn by members of the columbia

but services will still be available through the fema helpline.disaster recovery center at the richland main library on assembly street... will close at 6pm today. survivors of the flood can get help by calling the fema helpline from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. 3 3 the undefeated mens basketball team plays today. they travel to alabama to face the crimson tide. the men moved up in the polls after a win against vanderbilt over the weekend.the team is now ranked as 15 in the usa todays coaches poll and 19 in the a-p poll.they are 15 and oh on the season and two and oh in the s-e-c.tip off for tonight's game is at 9pm. 3 meanwhile the women's team are also on the road this week. they take on kentucky both the men and women are a combined 30-0 this season.tip off for their game is at 7pm. kinds of items come their way. but for one store in houston, texas... workers were stunned by what they found. it's a highly sought after peice of clothing worn only by those who can 'master' the game of golf. 3 chat3 3 still to come... can you guess the top favorite food in south carolina? how ab

the richland county sheriff also hold a press conference today at 3:00 p.m. to address efforts in bringing those offenders to justice. >>> usc hosted the annual breakfast this morning at the one state setor was a featurur speaker at the event. he is an attorney who represents charleston and dorchester county. he was a vice chair of the state democratic party and advocated for scholarships for african american students to to the medical university of south carolina. he spoke to news19 about his message today. >> dr. kingwood want us to respond to the tragic events of last year in a proactive way. first of all, alththgh time is -- this time is very sensitive, we need to make sure that we conduct ourselves in a nonviolent manner. but more importantly, be productive. >> this morning's breakfast was the first in a number of mlk events being held this week. officials said the university began the annual celebrations of the life of dr. martin luther king jr. more than 30 years ago and was one of the first major investigating g the death h an inmate in the york county

this morning's session was held at the northeast branch of richland library. "the boys need it. there is a need for boys to learn about what manhood is about. not necessarily manhood from a black man's persepective but manhood in general. there are a lot of boys that don't have a father and they need someone to fill the gap." the next mentoring session will be held february 27. to sign up visit wistv.com and the big red 10. some shoppers were out and about this morning in columbia, hoping to get their hands on some deals. several stores on devine street were open for a 'winter sidewalk sale.' dozens of businesses had marked-down items on their shelves. some stores even opted to showcase some of their merchandise outside. many merchants say they appreciate customers swinging by even if it is just to window shop. "it's good for them just to get out and stroll the street and see what's in these stores and what makes devine street and floods going on here in columbia it is very important to support your local merchants." the devine street sidewalk sale is held twice a year. the next

the group 'hopkins and lower richland citizens united' is fiercely against the project. members have also filed a lawsuit against the county over it. their question --- why was the 9-1-1 system being used for that purpose? "we expect that system to be used for emergencies..jailbreaks... criminals on the loss..anythign to inform the community of any crimes or anything that might be going on..or any emergency flooding or something the sheriff's department says it sent out the 9-1-1 call at the request of the richland county council. officials there say the purpose was to remind people the connection deadline was approaching --- not telling people they had to connect. opponents of the sewer project say more people have signed on --- since the call went out. irmo fire crews say food left on the stove sent a home in flames this morning. firefighters battled a fire at the home on canterbury court just before 7. crews from columbia and lexington county helped out too because homes in the neighborhood are so close together. they were able to quickly contain the fire to the kitch

those leaders are part of the transporation ad hoc committee. richland county council chairman torrey rush tells wis -- councilman kelvin washington, who was arrested just weeks ago on tax charges has been removed from the committee. councilman norman jackson has been removed as well. the committee oversees projects related to the county's transportation penny, which is still under the microscope after a department of revenue audit found discrepancies. councilman seth rose has been added to the committee as one of the replacements. weeks ago he proposed several changes in an effort to bring more transparency to the penny program. "well, i've taken an active role by sponsoring the motions that i think will be a major start in the the penny program, and i wanted to be a part of the committee, so i could help advocate for these motions and other measures that i think will be very important going forward." when asked why he removed the two councilmen, rush said all committees are re- appointed at the beginning of the year, so he decided to reshuffle the comm

still ahead -- a head start on black history month inside the richland library. black history month begins on opened everyone for an early celebration. story time kicked off the day with the nia company's production of br'er rabbit's small table teaching kids the importance of financial responsibility through a little fun. the black history monon fair followed with a reptile presentation, african drummer the owners of 2 fat 2 fly sharing what it took to start their own business. richland library called it a celebration of the richness of african- american culture. "i think people need to come in and be entertained as well as learn. and that's the really important thing here. learn freely." if you missed out today, there are other ways to join the library to celebrate black history month with trivia, performances and community forums. for a full list, visit our website wis tv dot com and the link is in this story. 'makings of a man foundation," a mentoring organization in columbia is trying to keep young men on the right path. they partnered with the richland count

officials at the f-b-i field office in columbia are aware of the scam... and richland county officials are now warning if you receive this type of suspicious call to be cautious... this isn't 33 the only scam circulating. officials say there are also scammers posing as law enforcement officials. if you believe you are receiving a scam phone call... again, you are advised to take the advice just mentioned from department.still to 33 come... we're learning more about where our state stands... and taking a look at the hot button topics in last nights state of the state gervais. what you can expect for the remainder of the day... lets turn things over to 33 we want to give you a quick traffic update as you about this and good news... there are no trouble spots to report out on the roads in or around the capital city. but of course, we'll be sure to keep an eye out on the roads and keep you updated for your morning commute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day. we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. we're learning more about where our state s

the roof. there are no reports of any injuries. a richland county fire marshal is investigating the cause. >>> a live fire simulation will take place at newberry college this afternoon at 2 pm. the fire department will set up two rooms they will be set on fire in order to show the importance of sprinklers in working fire alarms. the event is open to the public and on monday, the orangeburg county sheriff's office will be conducting bomb squad training they will be detonating explosives at the facility. it is about 8 les east of bowman. if you honey loud noises, do not be alarmed. >>> the three remaining disaster recovery centers will close today. they are at the richland county public library on garners ferry road, they are at the richland county public c brary on garners ferry road, central carolina college, and one in williamsburg county it will close it xpm. many services -- at p.m. p.m. lines are open until 7 am until 10 pm. that number can be found on our website at wtlx.com. >>> the house ways chairman brian white is proposing a plan th

all were arrested and taken to the richland county jail. the indictments were sealed by court order until defendants could be arrested.this case began with an investigation by richland county sheriff department deputies into allegations that female victims were being trafficked for money. 3 awareness is one of the most important things we can do. 3 the indicments say the trafficking happened in richland, lexington, orangeburg, and aiken counties. 3 the chapin police chief will be returning to the job after being suspended for three days without pay.karen owens, a spokeswoman for the town, didn't give specifics but says chief troy crump was suspended for a personnel matter and a violation of job standards. back in november chief crump stepped down as chief and took a community policing position. the town has been in the process of searching for a new chief.in the mean time captain ray craig is stepping in during the suspension.the chief is expected to be back on the job tomorrow. 3 3 a reminder to all drivers. the department of transportation

the county fire marshal's office is looking into what caused the fire. richland county authorities are trying to figure out what killed a man found outside a home in columbia 34-year-old mario kelly was found dead this morning on the front porch of a relative's house on queen street. the coroner says kelly died from a deep cut in his head...but it's unclear how it happened. the richland county sheriff's department says new dna technology led to two arrests for a man's murder in northeast richland county. handle--sheriff were able to track down two suspects believed to be behind the murder at the spinx gas station on lee road on december 13th. investigators say ryan alston and ibn gadson of eutawville were arrested and charged after testing through the richland county crime lab. both men face charges of murder, armed robbery, and kidnapping the lexington one school board has narrowed its list for superintendent down to three finalists after a nationwide search. tonight, the board has announced greg little, "lonnie" luce, and jeffrey salters as the three choices. t

another shot of chilly air moves two men from eutawville have the richland county sheriffs department says dna evidence two men from eutawville have been charged with murder in connection with the man at a columbia gas station last month. back on december 13th 20 year old jeremy davis was killed during an armed robbery gone wrong. the richland county sheriffs department says dna evidence played a huge roll in finding suspects. wiss mike desumma is live at the department now with the latest details. mike. just spoke with curtis wilson- he says that the rcsd press conference at 10am today will be in regards to the murder at the spinx gas station . apparently the dna lab played a significant role in the arrests in this murder and the sheriff is going to go into wanted for a deadly assault in in jail on several charges including murder, armed robbery and kidnapping. deputies say they assaulted two other men who were sitting inside their vehicle at the spinx gas station on lee road 10 days a second victim suffered non-life threatening injuries. "this is a what you call a who-done-it. we ha

if you recognize these people, please call the richland county sheriff's office or cpr. >> ben: a year long investigation in newberry led to three arrests and a carb of drugs, money and guns. sheriff lee foster says yesterday his officers served a search warrant at a home on taylor street. inside they say they found several handguns. deputies say they've made undercover drug buys from the residence over the last few months, building their case. >> ben: one person killed in an

tests will be conducted at the richland county voter registration and elections office on hampton street in columbia. we're also following the tag team of republican sarah palin. palin is endorsing trump for president, but he's not the only republican going after nbc's tracie potts has more on

more than 80 people filled the progressive church of our lord in columbia thursday night...hearing om richland deputies on what they can do in the event of an active shooter. "just be prepared. don't think it can't happen. we saw that in charleston and who would've ever thought what happened down there could happen on a wednesday night. so it can happen any place any time. we don't want people to be in denial. it could happen at my church it could happen at my work. so we have to take steps, we have to get educated and we have to get prepared." sheriff leon lott says they have been holding these training sessions for years, but since tragic shooting at mother emanuel in charleston last june, they have ramped up their outreach.deputy chris mastrianni spoke to the congregation...with three main points to take away. "avoid, deny, defend. that's the three main topics we talked about today. avoid it if you can, meaning getting away from the situation, deny it by locking doors, shut lights off and then defend. if you have no other way out defend yourself you can."deputy mastrianni explained that it

if you know where breeland is call the richland county sheriff's department. state police say they are investigating the death of a man shot during a confrontation will a dillon county sheriff's deputy. according to officials... 27-year-old john wesley smith was shot by officers... after his family called 9-1-1. officers arrived on the scene to speak with smith... who locked himself in a bedroom. family members say, a short time later... they heard gunfire. it is not clear at this time... whether smith had a weapon or what led up to the shooting. out of the state house... state senators have made christy hall the permanent director of the department of transportation. the governor's selection was unanimously approved yesterday. hall steered the department through the flood as its interim director. and lawmakers are hoping the state house will soon be a nearly 200 people have committed to participate in a state house program that includes healthier eating options, more physical activity, and health screenings. area hospitals, d-hec, and the tourism department ar

>> reporter: the richland county sheriff's department said the suspect was working on a car when they moved in. >> the suspect opened fire first and officers returned fire. >> reporter: it is unclear who fired the fatal shot but no officers involved were injured. >> trying to determine was it our gunfire or self-inflicted. >> reporter: residents were shaken up. >> it was scary more orless. when we heard -- or less. when we heard everything we locked on l our door -- locked all our doors. >> reporter: she works at shop and saw what happened. >> 8 cop cars pulled up and there was a lady that was in between her car. she was trapped inside and so two cops went and got her and took her to their vehicle. >> reporter: she heard six gun >> i saw somebody rolled out on the stretcher and after that maybe like 10 more minutes or so theyeyind of -- the cops were moving in. >> reporter: officers were on the scene. >> reporter: the details of the case with the suspect's identity will be released tomorrow morning. the chland county sheriffs are investigating the case. i reached out to the houston po

the richland county fire marshall's office is investigating. we're awaiting autopsy results on a man killed in a motorcycle crash in north augusta last night. emergency crews pronounced 32-year-old anthony ramirez dead at the scene on pisgah road. authorities say the cause of the crash may have been a significant road defect. out. toxicology tests are underway as well. office has requested the help of an anthropologist to identify human remains. they were found sunday in a wooded area off highway 153. there for months and there's no way to determine the age, gender or race right now. sled is also helping investigators. authorities are investigating after back- to-back crashes killed a woman whose body ended up in lake marion. the clarendon county coroner says michelle hickson of florence was involved in a crash on i-95 near the orangeburg county line. they say she then got out of her car and was hit by another car and fell into the lake. a dnr dive team pulled her body from the lake monday. sumtetepolice say they've received a phone call from a

her 9-year-old is in fourth grade in the richland two school district. the mom says another student showed her daughter graphic sexual images. she believes the school needs to have stronger internet filters. district officials say they do have filters but content can slip through. "these are 9-year-olds and 10-year-olds we're talking the risk factor for these children to come to school and possibly see something graphic or pornographic is not something i feel comfortable sending my daughter to school with that risk." "don't put too much trust in the automated filtering. it's very, very difficult to just say 'i want to keep out all the good stuff on the internet." the district says students and parents have to sign 'appropriate internet use' forms at the start of each school year. right now, the richland county sheriff's office is looking for two people wanted for kidnapping and armed robbery. the victim, has special needs, he was dropped off at the corner of tyeu trail and bakersfield road after they beat and robbed him. the suspects also stole the man's

and able to help lift up that idea. >> the top 15 ideas with the most public "likes" will go before a group for one to be picked in richland county and lexington county. the goal is to have it up and running by june. >> it is important that it go from drawing board to finished project so the next round encourages more ideas. more investment and more community involvement. >> reporter: colby gallagher, news 19 wltx. >> ideas are accepted through february 6. if you have a great idea for what should be next in our city, you can go to our website www.wltx.com and find out how to submit your idea. >>> parents depending on where student get get their associate degree for free. news 19's janae frazier explains how it works and how you can take advantage. >> i want to be a person the kids look up to. >> reporter: she is a senior at camden high school and has dreams of being a teacher. >> i am really excited and proud of myself i got this far -- got this far. >> reporter: her parents moved here from mexico when she was a toddler. in may she will be the first person in her family to graduated from high school. [ indiscernible ] >> r

the time will be reduced to six months after he pays nearly $11,000 in taxes owed and court costs. in a statement richland county council chairman torrey rush says the matter is being dealt with by authorities and 'if there is any required action by richland county council, we are prepared to call a meeting and act accordingly.' those arrests are putting the richland county penny tax program back under the one county council man, seth rose, says rebuilding confidence in the penny tax program is a top priority and that changes need to take place. rose has proposed three motions included giving added power to the citizens oversight committee and a revamp of the process used to approve companies selected for carrying out penny projects. his plans also include dollars spent on an effort aimed at engaging small business. >> penny proceeds should only be used for penny projects. although this is a noble cause, the county needs to fund this small local business enterprise out of our general fund and not penny proceeds. >> rochelle: rose's motion will be on the council's january 12th agenda, when it will be refer

so if anyone has any information about threats or a prior incident, we ask that they also call the richland county sheriff's department and let us know." if you were driving a dark colored sedan -- possibly the one seen in this video, around 2:50 a-m on sunday, january third, call crimestoppers. isenhoward says there are leads in the case but no arrests have been made yet. i'm told investigators are still questioning silva's motorcycle club members and others. if you have any information that might help solve this case, call 1-888-crime-sc. six people are facing charges tonight for human trafficking across four midlands counties. the suspects are all under the age of 25 and are accused of selling young victims for sex. they face charges ranging from trafficking and criminal sexual conduct with a minor, to conspiracy to commit trafficking. lott and south carolina attorney general a an wilson say the arrests are the result of a state grand jury investigation. they say this is the first set of state grand jury indictments for human trafficking across county lines. "it allows one law enforcemen

jack kuenzie is at the richland county judicial center with the latest. dawndy and charles---the former city council member wasted no time resolving problems. a bond hearing this morning----and a guilty plea this afternoon. newman pleaded guilty to failing to file state tax returns for the years 2012 and 2013. he toto a judge he thought t 'd filed for those years. his admission involved back taxes totalling a little more than $98 hundred dollars which he has agreed to pay along with prosecution costs of an additional thousand dollars. these charges came about as the state department of revenue was looking into the backgrounds of people connected to the penny tax effort----but in to make it clear his issues were personal and have nothing to do with tax revenues. "he's not involved in the sales tax investigation. he pled straight up to two counts of failure to file taxes and what it's telling us is that there's no plea agreement that he was involved in some conspiracy that they were still investigating that there would be a plea agreement that would have pr

. >> reporter: the richland county coroner believes it was this gunshot that claims james life. >> he was hit by other bullets but the contact wound to the head is the fatal wound. >> reporter: local law enforcement officials applaud the swift action of the u.s. marshall task force. >> bob: they. >> they contained a very volatile situation. >> these are folks that are evading justice that do not want and often times and, unfortunately, they do everything that they can to not be apprehended. >> reporter: the investigation into the incident is ongoing. rcsd says they are looking into why james was in the midlands. we will have details as they become available on our website, abccolumbia.com. >> alicia: thank you so much. a man was not as sick as he was letting on. 45-year-old dennis paulson was convicted of scamming federal agencies out of more than $1.5 million. he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and discharged from the navy in the early 1990s. he claimed that he couldn't use his hands and feet and he was wheelchair bound. but he continued to leadadn active lifestyle playing spor

breaking new, the richland county sheriff's office has arrested a suspect after a woman was found shot to death near blythewood. deputies were calald to farrow road, just south of blythewood around 5 friday. when investigators arrived they say they found an "unreponsive" woman next to her vehicle. lieutenant curtis wilson says law enforcement definitely suspects foul play. at this point, we're still waiting on the victim's identification from the coroner's office. stay tuned to wis on air and online for udpates. also new this morning -- richland county deputies have found a missing teen safe and sound. kaila stukes was found on two notch road after she went missing thursday morning. she had last been seen on harbison boulevard near hilpine road and was believed to be in the rock hill area. deputies were concerned becausese stukes has a curtis wilson tells us she has been checked out and appears to be in good health. the confessed charleston church shooter will not be making his next appearance in federal court. today dydyn roof's lawyers filed a waiver church shooter will not be making

the richland county fire marshall's office is investigating. what's your story of being hit by last year's floods? up next, midlands leaders want to her from you and "see" what you had to deal with. could be a tall, and expensive, order for workers in the midlands. and we start your first alert he was rated a+ by the nra. not for his promises, but for defending the second amendment... he's a man of deep faith, who fought time and again for the right to life. he laid out a plan to destroy isis months before paris. he'll strengthen our border and use conservative principles to put washington's broken fiscal house back in order. jeb bush. he's the conservative you can trust, to fight for our beliefs. right to rise usa is responsible richland county leaders want homeowners and business owners to know they're not alone in the richland county leaders want homeowners and business owners to know they're not alone in the recovery process from octobers flood. this week, michal higdon reports they're trying to pull together, and head off future problems.

the richland county fire marshal is looking into an early morning fire. columbia fire crews say they found smoke and flames showing when they got to the hunters ridge apartments on springhouse drive...around 4-30 this morning. 2 families are now without a south carolina outdoorsmen can now get new, faster help for their outdoor sports and hobbies. today the south carolina department of natural resources opened an express office at the state farmers market in west columbia. it offers a place to renew hunting and fishing licenses, permits and tags, and watercraft registrations. the dnr and state agriculture leaders hope regional service office will lead to shorter wait times and ample parking. will the big change in our weather stick around for your weekend? the forecast is coming up in the news at four. and prosecutors want the notorious "affluenza teenager" to face justice in grown-up jail. and usc is on a "historic" rescue mission... for the marines! your first alert traffic starts i'm judi gatson in the wis alert center ... one of the three inmates who c

. >> well, from those making the laws to those accused of breaking them. richland county sheriff leon lott says human trafficking is a growing problem happening right here in the midlands. >> disturbing story, the richland county sheriff's department says the most recent case invnvves 22-year-old daytron hoefer. hoefer has been arrested and now faces multiple charges including human trafficking. this is after allegedly kidnapping a 16-year-old girl and forcing her to sell her body for sex. authorities say they found the teen back in december. officials say that she was being held in a two notch road hotel during an undercover sting. deputies say that teen has since been evaluated and reunited with their family. and governor nikki haley has declared january national slavery and human trafficking prevention month. richland county has its own task force leading the charge to raise awareness about it. officials say it's something that south carolinaians cannot turn a blind eye to. >> if you see something, say something. you cannot leave all of law enforcement to law en

the issue now moves to the full senate for consideration. officials in richland county want to use october's historic flooding as a learning tool. they're hoping you can help. >> that's right. it's all a part of the community input and recovery project. a series of six meetings will be residents and use that information to develop a mitigation study of lower richland, the gills creek watersheds. a complete list of locations and times are on our website at abccolumbia.com. and time is running out for small businesses seeking help following the historic flooding. the small business administration says it's closing its business recovery centers at the close of b biness today. officials with the s.b.a. say they are ceasing operations because of a steady decrease in activity. well, education also took center stage during last night's state of the state address. >> yeah, governor nikki haley focusing on issues such as crumbling facilities and a teacher retention issue in rural parts of the state. >> i have seen the disparities and i won't stand by and allow them to con

the 23... throughout richland county. the meetings will include interactive mapping stations, questionnaires and opportunities for residents to submit comments and share information about their experiences. residents are encouraged to bring photographs and other information to document recent, as well as recurrent, flooding in their communities 3 flood water plundered their dance studio last year....but getting back to the stage has a group of columbia artists in full swing.. news 19 ... janae frazier... shows us how they are recovering and moving forward 3 **nats** pointed toes stretched arms worn by columbia classical is a sight to *nats** dancers from world preparing for show in a typical dance studio mall. artistic columbia ballet 30 we had 8 feet of water inside, all of the doors through the glass, they were busted, went in they and the fish swimming inside the company was forced out of their studio-- ballet school in forest acres.. pavlovich... is still coming to terms with the devastation... 02:30 i e never seen any

and speaking of the richland penny program... they're hoping to make moving around the midlands a little easier... and safer. they're set to hold a public meeting on this year's bikeway projects. that's going to be at the lourie center... tonight starting at six. the south carolina department of corrections is looking for information that could lead to the capture of an inmate they say escaped from a rock hill prison. officals are looking for zachary lee reaves. officials say reaves escaped last night around nine o'clock. reaves is facing burglary charges. he was last seen wearing the s-c- uniform. if you have any information... call (877) 349- 2130 we have an update this morning... on the citadel cadets... caught on camera... wearing pillowcases on their heads... similar to ku- klux-klan garb. the citadel military college s suspending 14-cadets following that incident. after the photo surfaced on social media last month... the cadets claimed they were trying to dress as ghosts of christmas past. but citadel president lieutenant g

a disaster recovery center at the richland main library will close at 6 p.m. today. survivors of the flood can get help by calling the hotline, from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week. >>> chick-fil-a is opening a brand-new location tomorrow, it is located at 405 killian road and you want to keep that in mind because get this, the owner will award a free one year supply of chick-fil-a males to the first 100 adult -- meals to the first 100 adults in line. a healthier option added to their menu they are calling at the superfood side, the fast food chain describes it as a blend of hand copped jail and a vinaigrette dressing topped it is served with roasted nuts, customers can begin ordering these next monday, the side only has 140 calories for a small portion, and 170 calories in a larger portion. >>> it is time for our mom of the day. and today melanie porter is our mom of the day. she was nominated by her daughter, ava, she tells us that her mother volunteers to help out those in need, and she participates in breast cancer walks. she is a beautiful person inside an

the richland county sheriff is asking for the community's help in locating two suspects wanted for kidnapping and armed robbery. the two suspects forced a man walking down broad river road into a vehicle at gunpoint. they then drove the victim to tyeu trail and bakersfiled road, where they left him after they beat him and robbed him. the victim was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injures. anyone with information is asked to call crimestoppers at one triple eight crime sc. south carolina's department of transportation is under fire this afternoon, accused of not paying its contractors... for years. today the state house oversight legislative committee heard a long list of concerns laid out in a special public hearing. people testified over issues like the dot's infrastructure banking ...transportation for the poor. and accusations of the dot not for their work. donnie and ronnie hoffman says they were hired as contractors for dot 10 years ago and have yet to receive full payment. they say they are short nearly "yes, the money is important because it's the way we paid our bills, t

we are learning more today about the tax case against a richland county councilman. kelvin washington is one of two midlands civic leaders hit with tax charges as a result of a department of revenue investigation. jack kuenzie is in the newsroom with details. dawndy---as we've reported, councilman washington and former columbia city council member brian newman were accused of failing to file state retuus. both turned themselves in and yesterday for a short period of time, ended up detained together at the newman moved quickly to resolve his case---getting a hearing a few hours later in general sessions court and pleading guilty to failing to file state returns two years in a row. he has paid his almost $11 thousand dollars in back taxes and court costs and his attorneys say he is not likely to be back before a judge on personal tax-related matters---though as an attorney himself, he might have to deal with a suspended law license. washington has not yet had that day in court----and one of his attorneys told us today his case is in a "holding pattern." his situation is

the richland county sheriff's >> alicia: welcome back. thanks for staying with us tonight. the richland county sheriff's department is investigating an armed robbery that happened at the video express in the 2700 block of two notch road. investigators say the suspect entered the store and demanded according to deputies, the suspect shot the victim in the lower body, causing non-life-threatening injuries. >> ben: a suspect was killed while engaged in a chase with a lexington county sheriff's department. investigators with the state highway patrol say just after 5:00 this morning, the suspect lost control and hit a tree on harvey berry road. deputies with the sheriff's department say the suspects in the car were wanted in connection with two early morning robberies at area truck stops. the driver of the car died at the scene. the passenger was taken into custody. >> alicia: how low will they go? according to gas buddy.com, talking about gas prices, and here in the midlands, they have dropped 4 cents in the past week, bringing the average to $1.67 a gallon. experts say the dro

the richland county sheriff's department needs your help finding a missing person. kaila stukes was last seen on harbison bouelvard near hillpine road on thursday morning. police say she may be in the rock hill area and she suffers from a medical condition. if you have any information, call crimestoppers at 1- 888-crimesc. a sunny and warm day across the midlands as we take a look at a bright downtown columbia through the wis skycam. von gaskin is in the first alert weather center with more on who this is shaping up to be a fantastic weekend. von? a warming trend will begin today. a ridge of high pressure will move into the area from the west. the ridge will shift the winds temperatures to warm up to the 60s through the weekend. early next week with a southwesterly wind, daytime high temperatures will soar to the lower and middle 70s. our average high this time of year is in the upper 50s, so enjoy the unseasonably weather. the next chance of rain will arrive midweek. a warming trend will begin today. a ridge of high pressure will move into the area from the west. th

washington represents the majority of the lower richland area. back to you. >> thank you so much. the counsel chairman released a saying: richland county will continue to cooperate fully with south carolina department of revenue and law enforcement with their investigations and provide any assistance they may need. it is in the best interest of the public that all parties involved act expeditiously to get to the bottom of this, so again, as we have asked before, we reiterate our call for dor and law enforcement to provide us with any information needed to protect the taxpayers of richland county. >>> now the midlands most accurate forecast with chief meteorologist jim gandy. >> a chilly day outside and already it is getting cold. our skies are clear right now. the temperature 40 degrees. we have a wind out of the east, northeast at 6 miles per hour producing a wind chill of 36 degrees. temperature of 24. tomorrow partly cloudy skies temperature of 49 degrees. as we head towards the end of the week increasing clouds thursday with showers on friday. we will look that forecast in a mo

the homeless totals." in kershaw county, allie spillyards, wis news 10. a richland two school counselor is headed to washington d.c. to represent the palmetto state at the white house. leroy york loves his job of interacting with students as the director of counseling at kelly mill middle school in blythewood. that's why coworker nominated him as south carolina's middle school counselor of the year. thursday he'll join top counselors from the other 49 states, meet the president and first lady and celebrate at a black tie gala. "when i first started out in education 17 years ago, one of my aspirations was to be a school counselor. started off as a teacher and then went to counseling, so to actually get to the point where i'm acknowledged as a state career of my choice, that's really big for me." to see york and the others be recognized, you can watch the white house stream live on wis tv dot com at 11 on thursday morning. the time is now 4:-- thanks for starting your day we'll have the latest on the investigation ahead. donald trump makes a return visit to the palmet

richards in the richland county jail ... the officer was not injured. 3 3 it has been a great start to the weekend. we enjoyed a lot of sunshine and temperatures in the middle 60s. here are our current temperatures across the state. it is satellite radar 3 composite shows the sunny skies with just a few clouds out there.for tonight look for mostly clear skies and lows in the upper 30s.tomorrow will be warmer than today. we're expecting highs in the lower 70s.tomorrow night look for partly cloudy skies with lows look at the seven day forecast coming up in just a few minutes. mary. 3 a lawsuit filed by a greenville businessman... says the state is paying millions of dollars each year in claims for damage caused by our state's poor roads.the greenville news requested all of the d-o-t claims. in a six-year period... the state's insurance reserve fund paid out more than $30-million dollars for claims... made against the state department allege damage to vehicles... but also claim damaged roads led to injury and even death in some

. >> reporter: she is the election coordinator for richland county. >> it is a lot of work that we put into it. >> reporter: the office is testing democratic presidential primary. on election night -- >> we produce these flashcards here that will go out into the play syncs inside the voting machine. >> reporter: when the flashcards come back the county then reports those votes to the state. >> we have to account for them. >> reporter: in richland county 70% of 70% of residents are registered to vote. >> it is disappointing when we get the results back on election night and we had over 200,000 voters in we don't have 10% of those coming out to vote. >> reporter: their hope is that those voters make it out to vote. >> sometimes if you wait the person you want to vote for may not be in the general election. you want to make your voice heard. >> reporter: to vote on what >> it is a personal preference, we just want people to vote. the busier we are the happier we are. >> absentee voters can vote at the richland county office now for the primary. if you are a registered voter the deadline t

the richland county coroner says 76-year-old johnnie newton died from carbon monoxide poisoning. we'll bring you the latest on that as it develops. to the low country where police say someone tried to burn down the old home of former north charleston police officer michael slager. police say a neighbor put out a small fire in slager's former home friday night. slager charged in the shooting death of walter scott has been out on bond since last monday. his trial is set for october 31st. we're over a little more than a month away from the state's first in the south primary and spotlight. >> absolutely. seven of the republicans gunning for the party's presidential nomination spebt the weekend right here in the capital city. the kemp forum on expxpding opportunity poverty summit was moderated by house speaker paul ryan and south carolina senator tim scott. jeb bush, ben carson, chris christie, carly fiorina, mike huckabee, john kasich and marco rubio all took part. speaker ryan says the fight against poverty should start in our own backyards. >> it should be a life saving exercise and

live at the richland county sheriff's department, mike desumma, wis news 10. sued the town's mayor for defamation two years ago--will get 150 thousand dollars as part of a settlement. newly-released documents show settlement was reached last september...after adrienne thompson filed the lawsuit in may 2014 against mayor skip wilson. thompson was town clerk for 13 years before wilson terminated her. a sled investigation requested by mayor wilson also came back in december with no evidence of wrongdoing within the town administration. richland county's transportation penny program could soon be more closelywatched. at a special meeting next tuesday, the county council is scheduled to consider changes to the program. the program came under fire when a state investigation revealed some penny tax money meant for roads, was spent on other programs one suggestion n r reforming it would give members of an advisory committee authority to along with that would come a new name--the citizens' transportation advisory and oversight committee. just three days out from the national title game--the tig

the push for more oversight of richland county's controversial penny tax program is back on the table. coming up -- details of the possible modifications ahead. most of your saturday will feature patchy drizzle and isolated light showers. saturday evening/night a few moderate/ heavy showers will area, therefore we will carry a 60% chance of rain overnight. during the day highs will settle in the haley has a once-in-a- the union address. it's a calculated move by the gop to provide viewers with a fresh look at its youngest governor---a groundbreaking figure as the state's first woman and first minority chief executive. while haley won't command national attention nearly as long as the president, she has an option to use that time to do more than re-hash the same old republican opposition to almost everything he stands for. haley led her state in a year that saw the strength, resolve and faith of south carolinians tested to their limits and then some. a shocking mass shooting---and the uplifting response of the victims' families and community around them. she demonstrated true empathy--

the c-and-d landfill... or lower richland drop-off center. since october's historic flooding, we've been feeling south carolina strong. and d that's the message a new, interactive public art display in downtown columbia hopes to convey. be sure to stop by the "s-c strong board" at lady and main, to write down your positive thoughts about our state, as we continue on the long road to recovery. turning to the crime beat... the investigation continues this morning after a motorcycle crash victim was found shot. a motorist spotted the wreck early yesterday morning.... at long green parkway at churchland drive. richland county deputies say they discovered the crash victim had a bullet wound to the upper body. if you know anything about this case, call crimestoppers at 1-888-crime-s-c. also out of richland county... three men are facing multiple charges this morning following a stabbing over the weekend. deputies say they responded to the incident at the title max in the three-thousand block of broad river road saturday night. they say they found th

sentencing will take place in the next few weeks. >>> richland up at his age up 35-year-old matthew, deputies say he shoplifted electrical tools from three different home improvement stores. they say he stole two junkets from the home depot at the village at sandhill. if you know his whereabouts call crime stoppers 888-crime-sc >>> we now have the name of the homicide suspect who died in a shooting monday near the va hospital in columbia. 42-year-old damon james was wanted for murdering his back in 2014. the coroner says it looks like he died from a self-inflicted this case is still under investigation and we do not know what led him to the midlanan or to byron >>> happening today, child safety seat check taking place in lexington. you can go to the town of lexington municipal complex it starts in a little more than a half an hour at 7:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. people will be there to make sure your child safety seat is installed the right way. it is free to attend and you do appointment. >>> a rally for school choice this morning at 10 o'clock on the statehouse steps. it's a continuati

today is the last day the richland main library is holding their "disaster recovery center"... questions about fefe and other flood related issues will be answered... the disaster recover center closes at six tonight. for more flood related services... you can get answers at the fema helpline... which is active seven days of the week from seven a-m to 10 at night. still to 33 come... many of you may have lotto-fever for tonights big drawing... and we've caught up with a few locals to see what they'd do with all the money... stay with us. gervais. 33 the 33 question on the minds of insanity stop after tonights big drawing? that's right.... the jackpot is now up to 1-point-5 billion dollars. and your odds of hitting the jackpot on a single ticket are one in 292-point-2 million. still.. many of you say... you can't win.. if you don't play the game. we caught up with some locamidlands residentntto see what they'd do with all of that money... financial 33 advisors say there are a couple of things you should do.. if you win tonight's jackpot. first.... protect your privacy.. and don't