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This Hour: Latest South Carolina news, sports, business and entertainment

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SC STATE PRESIDENT

Divided SC State trustees OK president's $330K pay

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina State University trustees have offered new president Thomas Elzey a salary of $330,000 a year, but several trustees say that is too much money.

The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg reports trustees voted 6-4 on Tuesday to offer the contract to Elzey, a vice president at The Citadel set to take over the Orangeburg school on June 15.

Trustees opposed to the plan felt Elzey is being paid too much. The last president made about $250,000. They also didn't like that his contract runs through the end of 2014.

3 of the six trustees that supported the contract will be leaving this summer after they were voted off the board.

The newspaper says the university also refused to release Elzey's full contract until it is signed.

INMATE DEATH

Convicted murderer on death row found dead in cell

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (AP) - A 46-year-old man on death row for killing a fellow inmate has been found dead in his cell.

Authorities said Kenneth Justus died Tuesday night at the maximum security Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville. Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nisbet says an autopsy was planned for Wednesday and he will release more details including how Justus died after he gets the results.

Justus was serving a life sentence for two killings in Oconee County when he stabbed fellow inmate Justin Bregenzer a dozen times with a homemade knife in 2005. Justus pleaded guilty to 22-year-old Bregenzer's killing and asked to die as punishment.

Bregenzer was originally in prison for breaking into cars, but ended up in maximum security after walking away from a trash pickup detail.

SUPCO-SEX OFFENDER MONITORING

SC court: Some can challenge lifetime monitoring

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina's highest court says some sex offenders should have the chance to challenge a ruling ordering them to be electronically monitored for life.

The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that those convicted of abusing a child are entitled to appeal that monitoring decision.

The court decided the case of Jennifer Dykes, who was ruled a sex offender after she was convicted of a lewd act on a child charge stemming from her relationship with a 14-year-old girl in Greenville County.

Dykes was found to be at low risk to re-offend but was ordered wear an electronic ankle bracelet for life after violating her probation.

In a dissent, two justices said they would eliminate lifetime electronic monitoring altogether. This was the second time the court has considered the case.

SC BUDGET

Senators advance bill extending current budget

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Senators have advanced a measure to keep government running at current levels if legislators can't finish a budget before the fiscal year starts July 1.

The Senate Finance Committee met Wednesday specifically to send the continuing resolution to the floor.

The Senate is in its second week of debating a $6.3 billion spending plan for state taxes. Much of the debate has centered on funding road construction and buying more school buses. The regular legislative session ends June 6.

If the Senate can wrap up budget arguments Thursday, that leaves two weeks for the House and Senate to hash out their differences.

Last year, a continuing resolution kept government running following a weeks-long budget stalemate between the chambers. It bridged a 5-day gap until the current budget took effect.

DUKE LAKE LICENSE

Duke Energy's SC lakes plan in gets public airing

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - Duke Energy is airing the deals the country's largest electric company has made with local groups to gain South Carolina support for a new dams operating license

The Greenville News reports that Duke Energy is sharing details of its agreements as the utility seeks to extend its license to operate the dams on lakes Keowee (KEE-ah-wee) and Jocassee (jo-CASS-ee) for up to 50 more years. The current operating license expires in 2016.

The draft agreement is subject to change after a public open house Wednesday at Clemson University's Madren Center.

The deals include forests preservation and lays out who gets to take how much water and under what circumstances. Oconee Nuclear Station on Lake Keowee will be modified to operate on lower lake levels during droughts.

NEWLYWED KILLED

Service set after man dies day after wedding

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A memorial service is this weekend for a newly married Detroit-area youth minister who was killed in a traffic accident as he and his wife were en route to their honeymoon in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The service for 21-year-old Jordan Costa is 11 a.m. Saturday at Connection Church in Canton Township, Mich.

Costa was pronounced dead at the scene of Sunday's rollover crash in eastern Ohio's Tuscarawas County. Twenty-1-year-old Heather Favazza-Costa suffered minor injuries.

The Costas were married last Saturday at Connection Church, where both were involved in the youth ministry and she was a lifelong member.

Costa, who originally is from the Boston area, came to Michigan about 18 months ago to work in the church.

FUGITIVE ARRESTED

NH man arrested as fugitive in South Carolina

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The U.S. Marshals say a New Hampshire man wanted on an outstanding warrant has been found and arrested in South Carolina.

The marshals' Fugitive Task Force says the Merrimack County Superior Court had issued a warrant for 36-year-old Brien Cutting of Pittsfield last year.

The arrest warrant was for probation violations stemming from Cutting's original conviction and sentence for being a felon in possession of a dangerous weapon, witness tampering and burglary.

Cutting was the task force's "Fugitive of the Week" on Oct. 25.

He was arrested without incident Tuesday in Inman, S.C.

FOOD ECONOMY-APPALACHIA

W.Va.'s local-food movement a model for Appalachia

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - With eight in 10 farmers making less than $10,000 a year, West Virginia will never rival big Midwestern factory farms in producing food.

But creative collaborations with entrepreneurs are seeding a new local-foods economy that federal officials say could become a model for 12 other Appalachian states.

Officials with the Appalachian Regional Commission and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education are meeting with nearly two dozen groups across West Virginia this week as part of an Appalachian Foodways Tour.

It began in North Carolina and continues next month in Ohio and New York.

Co-Chair Earl Gohl says ARC has funded foodways activities in every Appalachian state, investing $7.6 million since 2001.

But he wants to learn about the opportunities and obstacles in using food as an economic development tool.

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