Nondenominational Church in Georgetown, SC

Comedian and actor Tom Arnold will kick off the 17th installment of Horry-Georgetown Technical College’s Addiction and Recovery Lecture Series on Jan. 25.

Arnold, perhaps best known for his role alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1994 blockbuster film “True Lies” and his work with then-wife Roseanne Barr on the popular ABC sitcom “Roseanne,” will share his recovery story at the college’s Burroughs & Chapin Auditorium in Conway.

“I just love being alive,” said Arnold, who has been attending 12-step meetings for 35 years. “I’m so grateful for today, and going to Dave and Buster’s with my kids. It’s a great life, and I don’t take it for granted.”

HGTC Physics Professor Casey King launched the recovery series in 2008, systematically growing the event into a Who’s Who of featured celebrity speakers including actors Louis Gossett Jr., Todd Bridges, Craig T. Nelson, Everclear frontman Art Alexakis, television’s Dr. Drew Pinsky and many more, including “Machete” star Danny Trejo, whose appearance became the biggest on-campus event in the college’s history.

King got sober in 2005 and he seeks to reduce the stigma placed on those in recovery. He said the key to the series’ success is the diversity of its speakers.

“I strive for diversity in all walks of life and all types of people,” he said. “I want to show that this crosses all socioeconomic boundaries, and it’s one of the goals of the series.”

King credits a man named Hubert Rose as instrumental in helping him secure top names for the series.

“When I got Lou Gossett here [in 2016], Hubert came as his assistant and we stayed friends,” King said. “Hubert connected me with a lot of other people, and I had an entrée into the recovery community at the celebrity level. He’s just one degree of separation away from many of these speakers.”

King took a different approach with Arnold, originally messaging him a few years back. Arnold didn’t respond at that time, but King tried again.

“What happens is that they look over your mutual friends – and when they see mutual friends who are also celebrities, they accept you a little more readily,” King said. “Tom accepted my friendship and then I went to his website to connect with him.”

Arnold has been candid about his experience with addiction, relapse, health scares and child sexual abuse. It’s likely that he will be discussing these things and more.

“Depending on how much time Casey wants, I’ll do a good version of my story, the ups and downs. I’ll just share honestly about my experience, strength and hope – and whatever comes with that,” Arnold said. “We’re ridiculous, alcoholics and addicts. We go through some ridiculous things – what we put ourselves through and put other people through.”

Arnold said he can’t remember the first time he visited Myrtle Beach, but he recalled coming here once for an event at the bygone Planet Hollywood at Broadway at the Beach.

“Everybody’s been to Myrtle Beach a few times,” he said. “It’s a beautiful place.”

The HGTC Addiction and Recovery Lecture Series runs on consecutive Thursdays from Jan. 25 through Feb 15. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.hgtc.edu/recovery.

This report was updated as of 8 p.m. Jan. 9.

MYRTLE BEACH — A strong storm system swept through the Grand Strand Jan. 9, knocking down power lines and trees and ripping the roof off a home in Georgetown, authorities said.

But despite several tornado warnings, the area did not see the severe damage that some parts of the Carolinas did.

As of 7:30 p.m., local utilities reported that nearly 4,700 customers were without power. More than 4,100 of those were in Georgetown County.

“We did have one home that sustained damage in the city of Georgetown,” Georgetown County Emergency Services Director Brandon Ellis said. “The roof was ripped off of a mobile home in the city. ... The city of Georgetown Fire Department responded around there and they took care of the resident and are also coordinating with the Red Cross.”

Ellis said there were downed trees throughout the county and power outages in various areas. Electric crews are working to get power restored.

“Other than that, [there are] really no significant issues that we’ve experienced,” Ellis said.

Forecasters had worried the storm could bring strong tornadoes. Around 3 p.m., a tornado warning was issued for northeastern Horry County, including North Myrtle Beach and Little River. The warning was effective until 3:45 p.m.

An earlier tornado warning issued for northeastern Georgetown County and south central Horry County ended as of 2:45 p.m.

The National Weather Service reported that Tuesday afternoon and evening would bring the greatest potential for severe weather, with the storm moving off the coast by 10 p.m.

Local schools cancel classes Tuesday, delay them Wednesday

Schools in Horry and Georgetown counties closed Jan. 9 as district officials braced for the storm. Both school districts will operate on a two-hour delay Jan. 10.

In Horry County, schools shifted to remote learning for the day. That means all schools were closed but the district offered virtual education. School staff members provided directions for students regarding learning for that day. All extracurricular activities, including sports, planned for Jan. 9 will be rescheduled.

HCS officials said the virtual learning day will not have to be made up.

In Georgetown County, schools closed Jan. 9 and extracurricular activities were canceled or postponed. However, the district did not offer eLearning day on this day.

“Instead, eLearning will be held on Tuesday, February 20, one of the district’s scheduled eLearning/Inclement Weather makeup days,” the Georgetown County School District said in a news release. “GCSD district administration will continue to monitor conditions across our county. We expect a return to normal operations on Wednesday, January 10, 2024.”

Parents are encouraged to monitor the HCS and GCSD websites or visit the districts’ social media pages for updates.

Meanwhile, Horry-Georgetown Technical College closed its offices Jan. 9 and will reopen at 10 a.m. Jan. 10.

Coastal Carolina University also canceled classes Jan. 9. The university is scheduled to resume normal operations Jan. 10, pending an assessment of the campus, according to CCU officials.

City, county offices set to reopen

In Myrtle Beach, city offices are scheduled to reopen at 8 a.m. Jan. 10.

Horry and Georgetown county officials also plan to reopen their facilities Jan. 10.

In Conway, city offices, buildings and facilities closed Jan. 9 but will resume normal operations Jan. 10. City officials said that solid waste collection routes for this week will be collected one day later than the normal schedule, which means Tuesday’s routes will be collected on Wednesday and so on.

Surfside Beach offices will reopen at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Also, Surfside Beach Town Council canceled its Jan. 9 meeting.

Georgetown County Council meeting postponed

Georgetown County Council postponed its Tuesday council meeting until Thursday, Jan. 11.

The meeting is now scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Howard Auditorium, 1610 Hawkins St.

Georgetown County’s Capital Project Sales Tax Commission, which had been scheduled to meet Jan. 11 at Howard Auditorium, has been canceled.

GEORGETOWN — Georgetown County landowners will have a few more weeks to pay their property taxes.

County officials said they received an extension from the S.C. Department of Revenue to mail out property tax notices. Taxpayers now have until Feb. 15 to pay their 2023 real estate taxes.

“Property tax bills are already available online and can be paid there any time for those who are trying to get payments in before the end of the year for tax purposes,” county spokeswoman Jackie Broach said. “Residents do not have to wait to receive the paper bill to make a payment.”

County Auditor Ken Baker said the delay in sending the notices stems from printing errors and software problems.

When Baker’s office received tax notice proofs from a contracted vendor, his staff saw that roughly 7,200 accounts had incorrect bills.

State law requires that property values be reassessed every five years, but the law puts a 15 percent cap on how much a property’s assessment can increase. That cap was not factored into the bills of those 7,200 accounts.

“It’s not a lot when you think compared to the entire 56,000 or so tax notices sent out, but we still wanted to be correct,” Baker said.

Another challenge was that the county switched from an old computer system to a Windows-based one. There were conversion and compatibility issues.

“The old system we were using was outdated,” Baker said. “It had its own limitations. We basically had one staff member of Management Information Services who could really administer the (older software) and he wants to retire. Over the last couple of years, we have been trying to make it work. It’s not that we don’t want this system, but we had to move forward.”

Baker said the system has since been updated and is running smoothly. Tax notices are online and county officials have been collecting payments since the end of November.

“When it didn’t look like we were going to mail them out in time by the Dec. 15 deadline, I reached out to DOR a few days before and talked to people in some of the governmental services because I wanted to make sure we are following the law,” Baker said. “It’s our job to make sure we are doing that.”

A replica of the flagship of Magellan-Elcano’s expedition that led to the first circumnavigation of the globe

Georgetown, November 30th 2023.- The Nao Trinidad will arrive in Georgetown, SC on December 4th. She will dock at Georgetown Landing Marina, Georgetown, SC.

After visiting Crisfield and Charleston, where she received more than 8000 visitants, she continues her path to Charleston expecting to keep spreading the maritime heritage.

The Nao Trinidad was the flagship of what was called Armada del Maluco (1519-1522), captained by Ferdinand Magellan. Five ships (Naos) departed from Sevilla, but only two made it to the Spice Islands, Nao Trinidad was one of them.

This beautiful replica weights 150Tn, 93ft in length, and has a 26ft beam, three masts and a bowsprit. The height of the mainmast is more than 82 feet, five sails and five decks, built with an exquisite work in Iroko (African hardwood) and pinewood. This ship has sailed to many different ports across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic European Coast as a training vessel and floating museum.

The Naos have this unique and original design that made them the most advanced in naval engineering, used first as cargo ships in Spain and then taking the lead as exploring vessels. She is a full-scale replica, faithful on her design and dimensions. More than a hundred artisans of the sea worked on her construction: such as ship carpenters, rope masters or naval engineers.

The visitors will be able to tour four decks, to feel how the life was like onboard at the time and how it is to live today on an historical ship of these characteristics. They will be able to learn about the maneuvering, the rigging and interact with the crew, who have the most amazing experiences on their long voyages.

About the Nao Victoria Foundation

The Nao Victoria Foundation is a non-profit entity that specializes in sharing the maritime heritage, researching for the recovery, construction and promotion of historical ships, sailing to ports around the world allowing guests to meet history.

The NV Foundation is constantly looking for the historical accuracy combined with innovative techniques in the ship building sector, always following the current international regulations. This represents a massive advance in terms of environmental impact, costs, durability and maintenance of the ships, without affecting their historical aspect, navigability or maneuver.

Tickets Info:

Date: December 5th – December 10th

Location: Georgetown Landing Marina, Georgetown, SC

Opening times: 10 am – 5pm; Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10am – 7pm Tickets: tickets.velacuadra.es

A replica of the flagship of Magellan-Elcano’s expedition that led to the first circumnavigation of the globe

Georgetown, November 30th 2023.- The Nao Trinidad will arrive in Georgetown, SC on December 4th. She will dock at Georgetown Landing Marina, Georgetown, SC.

After visiting Crisfield and Charleston, where she received more than 8000 visitants, she continues her path to Charleston expecting to keep spreading the maritime heritage.

The Nao Trinidad was the flagship of what was called Armada del Maluco (1519-1522), captained by Ferdinand Magellan. Five ships (Naos) departed from Sevilla, but only two made it to the Spice Islands, Nao Trinidad was one of them.

This beautiful replica weights 150Tn, 93ft in length, and has a 26ft beam, three masts and a bowsprit. The height of the mainmast is more than 82 feet, five sails and five decks, built with an exquisite work in Iroko (African hardwood) and pinewood. This ship has sailed to many different ports across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic European Coast as a training vessel and floating museum.

The Naos have this unique and original design that made them the most advanced in naval engineering, used first as cargo ships in Spain and then taking the lead as exploring vessels. She is a full-scale replica, faithful on her design and dimensions. More than a hundred artisans of the sea worked on her construction: such as ship carpenters, rope masters or naval engineers.

The visitors will be able to tour four decks, to feel how the life was like onboard at the time and how it is to live today on an historical ship of these characteristics. They will be able to learn about the maneuvering, the rigging and interact with the crew, who have the most amazing experiences on their long voyages.

About the Nao Victoria Foundation

The Nao Victoria Foundation is a non-profit entity that specializes in sharing the maritime heritage, researching for the recovery, construction and promotion of historical ships, sailing to ports around the world allowing guests to meet history.

The NV Foundation is constantly looking for the historical accuracy combined with innovative techniques in the ship building sector, always following the current international regulations. This represents a massive advance in terms of environmental impact, costs, durability and maintenance of the ships, without affecting their historical aspect, navigability or maneuver.

Tickets Info:

Date: December 5th – December 10th

Location: Georgetown Landing Marina, Georgetown, SC

Opening times: 10 am – 5pm; Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10am – 7pm Tickets: tickets.velacuadra.es