By Mike Stansky, Jud Kuhn Chevrolet

North Myrtle Beach, SC May 10, 2008--Jud Kuhn Chevrolet in North Myrtle Beach, SC is pleased to announce the arrival of the limited-production model Corvette 427 Limited Edition Z06.

The 427 Limited Edition Z06 refers to the cubic-inch displacement of the Z06’s 7.0L LS7 small-block engine.  It features Crystal Red Tintcoat paint with graphics on the hood and fascia and unique “427” badges. Each is numbered and signed by Will Cooksey the Corvette assembly plant manager, with a certificate of authenticity.

Only 427 will be offered in North America, and only 1 in 4 Chevy dealers nationwide will receive one.

Features include: 3LZ premium equipment package.  Exclusive, new chrome wheels –Body color rear spoiler and door handles -Exclusive dark titanium custom leather wrapped interior -Special Crystal Red Interior trim -Console armrest signed and numbered -“427” embroidered seats and floor mats -“Z06”sill plates.  Navigation is the only option available.

The 505 HP engine with 6-speed manual transmission is rated at 0-60 mph in 3.7 sec in first gear, ¼ mile times of 11.7 sec @ 125 mph & top speed of 198 mph.

This vehicle can be viewed in the Jud Kuhn Chevrolet showroom located at 3740 Hwy. 9 East in Little River (North Myrtle Beach), SC.

It will sell for $99,945 plus taxes and fees.  To arrange a personal appointment, please call Mike Stansky, Internet Sales manager, at (866) 611-5364.  He can also be reached at www.JudKuhnChevrolet.com.

By Jim Hulen, NorthMyrtleBeachOnline.com

North Myrtle Beach, SC May 7, 2008—Robert Edge was first elected as Horry County Coroner in 1988, taking office in 1989.  That year is also noted by residents and tourists as when Hurricane Hugo came to visit.
 
Edge remarked, “That was a hectic year.  Lots of property damage but no deaths due to Hurricane Hugo.  This community had been very fortunate, as no deaths have ever occurred in the past twenty years due to a hurricane.”

The County Coroner's main job is to investigate all unexplained or unattended deaths, including homicides, suicides and accidents. The coroner, who serves a four-year term, also signs death certificates and determines the time, cause and manner of death. In Horry County, the coroner also issues burial transport permits and cremation permits.

When Edge was first elected, Horry County had 144,000 residents and the coroner’s office handled 426 calls (about 3 per 1000 residents) in that year. Now, Horry County boast a population estimated to be over 250,000 people and the coroner’s office handled 1204 calls (5 per 1000 residents) in 2007 –almost 70% increase in calls per 1000 residents.

Explaining, Edge said, “The increase is driven by several factors: population expansion, tourism growth and changing demographics. In 1989, autopsies were conducted on people dying as a result mostly of heart attacks, homicides, suicides and car accidents.  Now with the growth in tourism and more young people coming to the beach, we see more deaths due to overdoses, drug problems and additional homicides and suicides related to drugs.  That is where the big increase has come from. Unfortunately, about 1/3 of the calls involve visitors.”

The changing profile of the types of calls also drives the amount of staff needed to attend to each case. It takes about ten to twelve times as much staff time to process a homicide or suicide than other types of calls.

The Horry County Coroner’s office also has not escaped the rapidly increasing medical costs. Since there are not enough autopsies required to justify a full time medical doctor, the Coroner’s office contracts with Dr. Edward Proctor, a certified forensic physician at Grand Strand Regional Hospital, to conduct the autopsies.
 
In 1989 an autopsy would cost $300; now it is over $1,000 and if Dr. Proctor is not available the autopsy must be conducted at Charleston for a cost of $1,200 to $1,500.  Today, over 40% of the Coroner’s budget goes to autopsy expenses, while in 1989 it was closer to 30%.
 
“Another major change is the demands for staff time to respond to media inquiries about deaths,” said Edge.  “In 1989 there was one daily newspaper, one weekly and two television stations. Now, added to that environment is 5 more biweekly news papers and, in some cases, attention from national media.  Cases like the Stephen Stanko’s murder trial had the national TV networks and associated press wanting time with the Coroner’s Office.”

By Jim Hulen, NorthMyrtleBeachOnline.com

North Myrtle Beach, May 7, 2008—On May 7, 1968, the SC Legislature passed legislation incorporating the four towns of Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive Beach, Crescent Beach and Windy Hill into one city – the City of North Myrtle Beach.  

A large crowd, estimated to be around 100 people or more, attended a ceremony at City Hall today to celebrate the anniversary and share memories.

Mayor Marilyn Hatley reminded the crowd that the population of the city at the time of its founding was less than 1,900 people and the tourist season was the summer months and most businesses opened in May and closed after Labor Day.  After Golf was firmly established, a shoulder season was created and businesses stayed open longer.

Hatley recalled that for many years, North Myrtle Beach was the spring break destination for thousands of college students.  Smiling, she looked at the crowd and observed that many of those college kids moved into the area, married, raised their own children and was among those in attendance.

“In 1985, the big, hottest issue was whether the beaches should be open to driving. Dick Blackburn was the Co-Chairman leading the effort to keep the beaches available for citizens and visitors to drive their vehicles on the beach. The referendum was turned down by the voters and driving vehicles on the beach was prohibited,” Hatley remarked.

“When we got the first McDonalds, that was a big thing,” said Hatley.

Doug Wendel, first North Myrtle Beach City Manager and retired CEO of Burroughs and Chapin, spoke of the early days of the city and the challenges of bringing together the four different communities and forging one.

“I flew in for an interview in a prop plane and there was no terminal. The first questions I was asked was ‘Mr. Wendel are you a Christian?’ I replied that I was and the follow-up question was what denomination?  When I replied Catholic, that was followed with ‘Oh, that’s OK.’ And I guess it was because they hired me,” recalled Wendel.

“The first phone call I received was from C.D. Nixon, former Mayor of Cherry Grove. He said to me ‘I hear you are from Maryland.’ I replied yep and he said ‘I wish you would go back’ and hung up,” said Wendel.  “That gave me the hint that people still were not ready to come together as one city.” 

By Jim Hulen, NorthMyrtleBeachOnline.com

North Myrtle Beach, SC May 06, 2008—Mayors Hatley, Rhodes and Deaton along with city managers John Smithson and Tom Leath representing the Coastal Alliance went to Washington last week with two purposes.  

“The meeting had been scheduled for some time to continue to emphasize the funding needs for storm water management along the coast of our areas,” said John Smithson. “We had been successful in getting the authorization of funds in the Water Resources Development Act and were scheduled to meet to encourage that the necessary appropriations be enacted this year.”

The Water Resources Act, which is a broad based act covering reservoirs, drinking water, sewage and pollution and water-based recreation and tourism.  The process involved in Federal funding requires two steps – authorization legislation which structures the boundaries within which monies are to be spend and appropriations legislations which allocate specific amounts to an authorized purpose.  

“We also took the opportunity to request our federal delegations’ support to join us in our request to have the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to delay their scheduled start for beach renourishment,” said Smithson.

“The last we heard, the Corps would start beach renourishment on July 5th in North Myrtle Beach and move south at about a 1000 feet a day,” added Smithson. “We are working to get the Corps to move the project by at least 6 weeks.”

In January, the Corps’ contractor did Surfside Beach and then an adjacent section of County Beach.  Then, because of the flooding in the Mississippi River area, the contractor was diverted to that emergency.  

Mayor Marilyn Hatley called the series of meetings with Senators Graham and DeMint and Representative Brown very successful.  But Hatley called upon the business community to email each of the three expressing their concerns about the Corps schedule.

“Please do not write.  That will take several days to get through the House and Senate security systems,” Hatley said.

By Joe Derus –NorthMyrtleBeachOnline.com

Longs, SC May 1, 2008--Just a short drive from route 17 in North Myrtle Beach on route 9 heading west you’ll come to Colonial Charters development and the entrance to Palmetto Greens Golf & Country Club.  Its official address is 301 Charter Drive Longs SC (843-399-4653).  

Our arrangements to play Palmetto Greens were through courtesy of Myrtle Beach Golf Directors.  

Palmetto Greens is a brand spanking new course in the North Myrtle Beach area. It opened to the public on April 14th.

Well…it’s not quite “spanking new” – it is a redesign of the Colonial Charters Golf Course. While not complete just yet, its potential is off the charts. The people at Palmetto Green told us they are aware that fine tuning still needs to be done, and they have very definite plans to upgrade this course to a premium one.

First of all five waterfalls are nearly complete and a couple we saw are very impressive. What’s unique about them is they do not come into view until your second shot.

The fairways right now are in good condition and will be seeded in early spring with gn1 Bermuda grass.

Even though most of the greens are new, they are in very good condition right now, and will not need a lot of work to make them outstanding.  The cart paths are not finished, and yardage markers need to be installed on the fairways.  Our goal was to evaluate the “layout”.  It’s with these thoughts in mind we “preview” this course.

This course has some memorable features on its layout.