Hardwood Flooring in Columbia, SC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A pair of bills impacting education in South Carolina have been signed into law.

Gov. Henry McMaster signed both the Education Scholarship Trust Fund Act and the Educator Assistance Act on Wednesday.

“Empowering parents and teachers with choice, for their children or for their careers, is another great step toward securing future prosperity for all South Carolinians,” the governor said in a statement. “I look forward to celebrating these two new laws with a public bill signing in the near future.”

The Education Scholarship Trust Fund Act passed the South Carolina House of Representatives last week after a compromise was made between state lawmakers. The law would allow public money to fund private school tuition in South Carolina through scholarships.

The compromise noted that the plan should be funded however the state legislature chooses from year to year, meaning lottery funds or the general fund.

It’s also expected to face legal challenges. A similar law was struck down by the South Carolina Supreme Court last September.

Meanwhile, the Education Assistance Act reduces the amount of paperwork and administrative burdens teachers are required to complete, including by creating automatic recertification for active teachers. It’s also set to reform the contract process for teachers in South Carolina.

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A search is underway for a missing South Carolina man whose safety could be at risk.

Kelvin Corbin was publicly reported missing by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department Wednesday. The 61-year-old has not been seen for more than a week, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

Corbin was last seen April 29, on Liliana Drive, according to the release. That’s in Columbia, near North Brickyard Road, not far from Two Notch Road.

There was no word if Corbin was alone when he was last seen. The sheriff’s department did not say if foul play was suspected in Corbin’s disappearance.

Corbin has not been in touch with family members for days, which is out of character for him, according to the release.

“Therefore, investigators are concerned for his safety,” the sheriff’s department said.

Corbin was last seen driving his dark-colored pickup truck, which has an “Air Force” sticker on the back, left window, according to the release.

Anyone who has seen Corbin, or has information about him, is asked to call the sheriff’s department at 803-576-3000, CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.

In the case of an emergency, always call 911.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

COLUMBIA — Attempting to sell insurance policies, trying to break into real estate and working a short stint at McDonald's.

Those have been some of former Richland County analyst Tim Duerr’s efforts to regain stability after he was fired — a move a jury in January found was discriminatory. Duerr was fired after taking medical leave, which violated the disabled man's rights under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), The Post and Courier previously reported.

Duerr, 55, worked nearly a year with Pickens County’s economic development office, but his declining quality of life caught up to him. He struggled to afford his apartment there and the one he shared in Columbia with his daughter, who was studying at the University of South Carolina.

"I've got a termination for cause of action on my resume and a gap in employment," said Duerr, who had sold his house and car after he lost his job in Richland County where he worked for over 20 years. "And they're red flags for anybody that's looking to hire someone."

Plus, "nobody wants to hire somebody that's going to be litigious," he said.

Duerr now lives with his daughter at her fiancé's house in Gilbert, after previously staying in a camper on his father’s property. He also got divorced from his wife, saying the "financial burden" became too much.

Duerr was awarded $1.19 million in a March 31 court order, with Richland County responsible for the damages and 4.1 percent post-judgment interest.

Even so, he doesn’t expect the money soon, with the county able to appeal the decision. A county spokesperson, asked by email about a possible appeal, repeated a previous statement that officials don’t comment on “personnel matters.”

In response to Duerr’s lawsuit, Richland County argued in court filings that he failed to show a link between his termination and his ADA accommodation requests or COVID-19 era workers’ compensation claim, and that officials would have made the same decisions regardless of his disabilities.

In July 2019, Duerr tore a tendon in his right arm while helping his supervisor, economic development director Jeff Ruble, install a monitor to a wall in his office, according to a complaint filed in a Richland County court. The accident caused him to lose about a third of the muscle in his right arm, he said. It also left him with a four-inch scar from the surgery.

Duerr filed a workers' compensation claim and reached a settlement the following summer.

The fall after COVID-19 reached the U.S. in early 2020, Ruble instructed staff to return to the office, Duerr told The Post and Courier.

"I've heard from Jeff on multiple occasions that he doesn't feel you're productive unless you're in the office, in your chair," Duerr said. "And then if he wants to talk to you, he wants to walk down the hall and talk to you."

At the time, health officials warned that people with preexisting conditions faced a much higher risk of severe illness or death.

Duerr requested to work from home as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, which the county’s human resources department approved, the complaint said.

And in January 2021, Duerr and his family contracted COVID-19. He received a doctor’s note for two weeks of medical leave. He resumed working remotely later that month.

A week after returning from medical leave, Ruble and a county HR representative told Duerr in a Zoom meeting that his role was being replaced by a marketing position, the complaint said. The county said they would pay him for 30 days, said Duerr's attorneys, who argued the meeting amounted to a termination.

After filing the lawsuit, attorneys found the position wasn’t posted until after Duerr was reinstated with marketing duties and later fired over Zoom in another meeting in February 2021, said Chance Sturup, one of Duerr’s attorneys. That time, he was fired for accusing the county of violating his rights during the initial Zoom meeting and a later meeting where he was repeatedly told to be “open and candid,” Sturup said.

Duerr added: "I spoke emphatically about how I felt that I was being treated and retaliated against because of my disabilities."

"I mean, my livelihood was on the line."

Since losing his job, where he earned $86,700 a year, Duerr said he has applied for hundreds of openings. His stint at McDonald's lasted only about two weeks.

"I've sat behind a computer desk for the last 22 years," said Duerr, who also obtained a real estate license after his termination. "Admittedly, I'm soft and, with my health conditions, standing over a fryer and grill for 10 hours a day, I honestly, admittedly, was physically incapable of doing it."

If he receives the award, he said he would invest most of it for retirement, buy "reliable transportation" and repay those he borrowed from, including his father, who helped support him and his daughter while she studies to become a physician assistant.

Still, he said, filing the lawsuit was worth it.

"It's a very difficult decision to weigh out your future over standing up for your rights, but I can tell you this — I sleep difficult, but I sleep soundly," Duerr said. "I know I did the right thing, but there is always going to be a cost for doing the right thing."

"No good deed goes unpunished," he continued. "And so you have to be willing to make a whole bunch of sacrifices if you stand up for yourself, but it's still the right thing to do."

Columbia will get more time to deal with a demand from the state Attorney General to repeal an ordinance banning conversion therapy for minors.

In April, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson wrote to Columbia leaders ordering that they repeal a city law that prohibits conversion therapy, a controversial practice that is largely opposed by the medical community.

The practice seeks to change a person’s sexuality or gender identity, and leading health and psychology organizations have deemed it ineffective and harmful.

Wilson’s office previously threatened legal action if the city did not walk back the ban, saying it violates state law and the First Amendment. The city responded to Wilson’s request by saying it would give it “proper attention.”

“As you are probably aware, any action taken to repeal or amend our ordinances requires two public readings. Council is fully prepared to provide proper attention to your request. However, we request 30-60 days in order to provide the required public notice and calendar the item,” the city’s letter to the Attorney General’s office, dated May 5, reads.

The Attorney General’s Office is granting the city the extension, but expects to hear an update from Columbia leaders by July 7, according to a letter from the office sent to the city.

It is not immediately clear how Columbia leaders plan to respond when the conversation therapy ban comes before the city council. Mayor Daniel Rickenmann was not available for an interview Wednesday because he was in Washington D.C., according to an aid. He previously voted against the ordinance, saying he believed it was a family decision.

But when the Attorney General’s letter hit the city’s desk in late April, Rickenmann raised an eyebrow, saying, “This hasn’t been an issue for four years. … Is it just a reminder or ... is it political season?”

Attorney General Wilson is a likely candidate for governor in 2026.

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April 23, 2025 11:10 AM

Just a few days after the city sent its letter to the Attorney General’s Office, the city council heard testimony from over half a dozen people, and received a letter signed by hundreds more urging the city to stand behind the ordinance passed in 2021, at Tuesday night’s regularly scheduled council meeting.

“Conversion/reparative practices are not only ineffective, but cause severe trauma to individuals and their families. These are practices that every major medical and mental health organization opposes,” that letter reads. “Repealing this ordinance tells our youth, and subsequently our adults, that Columbia knows the harm ‘conversion therapy’ causes, and is bending to specific ideology regardless of the extreme risk it poses to the lives of those in our community who are forced to endure it.”

The ACLU of South Carolina, Reformation Lutheran Church and over half a dozen other organizations signed that letter, along with 429 members of the public.

Matthew Butler, a representative for the ACLU who spoke before the city council Tuesday, reiterated that message, saying he is proud that Columbia was the first city in South Carolina to have a law against conversion therapy for minors.

“Do not retreat,” he said, “Do not abandon the children in the community your ordinance was written to sheath.”

Others who spoke included members of Reformation Lutheran Church, mental health clinicians and members of the LGBTQ community who said they have have witnessed or experienced first-hand the fallout of conversion therapy practices.

Actress and member of Reformation Lutheran Church RaéVen Kelly Dinwoodie gave a passionate plea to council, saying, “Please, Mr. Mayor and council members, make the kind, the loving and the Christ-like decision to send a message to the world. Back here in Columbia, we protect all of our residents.”

The ordinance first passed in a 4-3 council vote in June 2021, with Rickenmann and former Mayor Steve Benjamin both voting against it at the time. The other no vote was Councilman Rev. Ed McDowell, who along with Rickenmann has remained on the council since that vote.

Of the four council members who voted in favor of the conversion therapy ban in 2021, just Will Brennan is still on the council.

Brennan declined to comment when reached by The State Wednesday.

The ordinance restricts any licensed healthcare or mental health provider in Columbia from providing conversion therapy, and promises a fine of up to $500 per violation.

Rickenmann previously said no fines have been issued since the ordinance was passed. The policy came from conversations with LGBTQ members of the public and therapy practitioners who specifically asked for it.

“We believe that it’s protecting people who are most marginalized, who need the protection,” said Dylan Gunnells, President of SC Pride, adding that even if the ordinance has not yet been used by the city, it is still an important guardrail.

This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 1:33 PM.

Someone who recently bought a Powerball ticket at a gas station in Columbia didn’t win Saturday’s regular drawing, but they were just one number shy of capturing the grand prize in the night’s Double Play drawing, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said Monday in a news release.

For coming so close in the Double Play event, the ticket buyer will be rewarded with a $50,000 Powerball prize, according to the release.

Now the search is underway for the winner.

The five-figure winning Powerball game was sold at the Simba Express gas station/convenience store at 2932 Alpine Road, officials said. That’s in Columbia, near the Cardinal Newman School and the junction of Interstate 77 and Interstate 20.

For an additional dollar, players can add Double Play to their Powerball ticket for another chance to match their Powerball numbers in a separate drawing, with a $10 million grand prize at stake, according to the release. Double Play drawings are held after the Powerball drawings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, officials said.

The winning numbers in Saturday’s Double Play drawing were 14, 23, 33, 38, 60 and Powerball: 3.

The odds of matching four white numbers and the red Powerball number are 1-in-913,129, officials said.

The winner has 180 days to claim the prize, according to lottery officials.

The winner will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.

“Sign the back of your ticket and put it in a safe location until you’re ready to come forward to claim the prize,” lottery officials said.

For complete information on claiming prizes, go to sceducationlottery.com.

When the ticket is claimed, the Simba Express is expected to receive a commission for selling the winning game.

With no grand prize winner, the jackpot for Monday night’s Powerball drawing has increased to $54 million, officials said.

Anyone looking to buy a ticket must make a purchase by 9:59 p.m. Monday for the 10:59 p.m. drawing. Tickets are $2, and could cost more with additional options.

The odds of winning Powerball’s grand prize are 1-in-293 million.