Palmetto Report

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – Developing muscle and getting stronger and faster is something that can be challenging for many Winthrop University athletes who are trying to compete at the division one level. Winthrop head strength coach Ben Abbott says he understands the challenges athletes face and takes it upon himself to give them the best chance to develop and compete at a high level. The Palmetto Report's Joey Tepper, who is a member of the Winthrop baseball team, spoke with Abbott about training student athletes.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Rock Hill’s Miracle Park baseball league, which invites people of all abilities and ages to play, opened play Oct. 9. The Palmetto Report's JaKayla Cornish speaks with Terry Hagen, programmer for Miracle Park, about the opening of the park and its baseball league.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — Winthrop University hosted the 23rd annual U.S. Disc Golf Championship (USDGC) Oct. 6-9, which is one of the most prestigious events in the sport. Jacob Cullum speaks with USDGC tournament director Jonathan Poole about the event.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – Winthrop University’s campus programming board, the DiGiorgio Student Union (DSU), celebrated Hispanic Heritage month -- Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 -- by hosting two back-to-back events highlighting Hispanic culture. Hispanic students make up about 5% of the student body at Winthrop, but in recent years, some students have said they've felt underrepresented on campus. The Palmetto Report's Abigail Helm speaks with Willie Bush, Winthrop’s assistant for campus programming, about what the university is doing to promote Hispanic heritage.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- The annual ghost tours of Tillman Hall on the Winthrop University campus are planned for Oct. 22-23 from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. However, Tillman isn’t the only building on campus that is reportedly haunted. Margret Nance, Johnson Hall and the Little Chapel are also said to be haunted, according to many current and former students, staff and alumni. Why do ghost stories arise and what do they mean? The Palmetto Report’s Christian Smith speaks with Sean McCloud, a religious studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, to learn more about the evolution of ghost stories.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – During the height of the pandemic in August 2020, the Mercantile, located on in Rock Hill, came up with a way to help those in need by starting the "Rock Hill Community Fridge." The fridge is available 24 hours a day for individuals to pick up, but also drop off food items, as needed. The Palmetto Report's Kevin Seabrook speaks with Brittany Kelly, owner of The Mercantile, about the project.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Jeuel Bannister Esmacher was a junior at Winthrop University -- known then as Winthrop College -- in 1943 when the military took over Bancroft Hall to set up classes and living space for the Army Air Corps Cadet Training Program. It was at that time, during the height of World War II, when Esmacher, now 97, was first introduced to cryptology. Esmacher -- who currently lives in Anderson, but grew up in Starr, S.C. -- was one of 10,000 women who worked for the Army and Navy as codebreakers during World War II. Her story was unknown, until it was featured in the 2017 award-winning and New York Times best-selling book, "Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II," which interviewed several women about their secret work during the war. The Palmetto Report's Audrey Burriss speaks with Esmacher about her experience as a codebreaker.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Winthrop University's first in-person commencement ceremony since December 2019 is set to take place with five separate ceremonies that will span three days from May 6-8. Each ceremony will have a capacity of about 1,400 people in the Winthrop Coliseum, with an allotment of four guests per graduate. The Palmetto Report's Kristal Herrin speaks with Tim Drueke -- assistant provost for curriculum and program support at Winthrop and chair of the commencement committee -- about the plans for the ceremonies and his role in leading their execution.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- The Winthrop University Office of Student Activities held its annual leadership conference, which is intended to educate students on leadership skills, provide networking opportunities and create self-awareness. The LIFT Conference -- short for Leadership Institute for First-Timers -- is a student led, one-day professional development seminar held every spring semester for undergraduate and graduate students. The Palmetto Report's Da’Vette Peoples speaks with Calvin Joyner, assistant director for student organizations and leadership at Winthrop, about the conference.

(Blacksburg, S.C.) -- The Kings Mountain National Military Park is conducting a series of controlled burns this spring, which are intended to reduce the risk of wildfires and improve the habit of wildlife. The Palmetto Report's Kevin Seabrook speaks with Jennifer Schafer, an assistant professor of biology at Winthrop University, about the importance of prescribed fires to maintain a healthy environment.

(York County, S.C.) -- Many groups throughout York County are working together to combat homelessness, by implementing programs, such as rent assistance and providing temporary housing, to help the homeless in the county. The Palmetto Report’s Savannah Scott speaks with Leslie Starnes, executive director of Family Promise of York County, about the group's efforts to help families and end generational homelessness.

(Fort Mill, S.C.) -- As LaJoyce Jones was nearing graduation from Winthrop University in 2018, with a master of business administration degree, things seemed to be going well, as she had just found a job and moved into a new apartment. However, Jones was struggling mentally and emotionally and her closest family was three hours away in her hometown of Charleston, S.C. The Palmetto Report’s Shardai Figgures speaks with Jones about Always and Forever, a group she launched in 2019 that helps connect college students with mental health resources.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, pet adoption rates have soared across the country, as many adoption centers have reported an increase in people wanting some form of companionship, due to an increased amount of isolation that people have been experiencing. The Palmetto Report's Alex Romano speaks with Katie Harrelson, manager of the Mac Tabby Cat Café in Charlotte, N.C., about how the pandemic has impacted the number of adoptions at the café.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has started a virtual class for viewers globally with its ongoing paleontology series "Old News: What’s New in Paleontology." The series began in January of 2019 and goes live on YouTube once a month. The Palmetto Report's Taylor James speaks with outreach specialist Laura Beth Speer and Christian Kammerer, research curator of paleontology, from the Museum of Natural Sciences, about the web series.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- One year ago Winthrop University fans stormed the court at the Winthrop Coliseum in celebration of the men's basketball program's 11th Big South Conference Championship. Those celebrations were short lived as COVID-19 spread across the U.S. and the world, changing how fans could support their teams. The Palmetto Report's Collins Janus speaks with Winthrop student and fan Mark Laming about how he has followed the team during the pandemic.

(Tega Cay, S.C.) – Mr. Putty’s Fun Park in Tega Cay recently opened its first haunted house, which features a cast of Winthrop University students and alumni. The attraction called the "Frightmare on Dam Road" opened Oct. 2 and organizers say it's the only haunted house in York County. The Palmetto Report's Emily Hildebrand speaks with Robert Casatelli, the general manager and designer of the haunted house, about the attraction.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- While the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the lives of most everyone, one group has been particularly affected: musicians. Performing live has become the way that the overwhelming majority of musicians make money and many of them are feeling the financial and artistic consequences of being forced off of the road. Rock Hill, S.C.-based producer and musician Sam Booth, who performs with Texas-based Christian band The Gladsome Light and up-and-coming country artist Kameron Marlowe, said some of his tour dates were abruptly cancelled right as the lockdowns started. The Palmetto Report's Matt Thrift speaks with Booth about the music scene post COVID-19.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Many have called drug addiction an epidemic in the U.S., which is affecting communities at city, state and national levels. According to the United Health Foundation, drug deaths have increased by 34 percent in South Carolina over the last three years. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates 20 million people in the United States have a substance use disorder. "Addiction is a disease, but it's manageable, it's treatable and it's something that people can recover from and still have an awesome life. So we want to shatter that stigma in any way we can," said Alex Greenawalt, prevention director at Keystone Substance Abuse Services in Rock Hill.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- Earlier this year, Winthrop University student Nathan Crunkilton started an online petition calling for the resignation of the school's board of trustees. The petition on Change.org also called for a "vote of no confidence" after what Crunkilton called "alarming and disappointing actions" associated with the hiring of interim President George Hynd. The petition has caught the attention of many in the Winthrop community, collecting more than 1,600 signatures, as of May 6. Crunkilton, who was a guest on the Palmetto Report podcast, said he and many others within the student body felt left in dark about the board's handling of the change in leadership.

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – The Winthrop University softball team is one of countless collegiate sports teams across the country that saw their seasons end early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA announced the cancelation of all spring championships on March 12, but with the fate of regular season games and conference championships in the hands of conference commissioners, many athletes still hoped their seasons were not completely over. Ashley Westbrooks, a senior on Winthrop’s softball team, said she and her teammates tried to remain positive when they first heard the news. “The whole time we were sitting there (telling ourselves) ‘We’re going to come back – they’re just going to let this week happen or however long it is and then you’re going to come back soon,’” said Westbrooks, who appeared on the Palmetto Report podcast. “It just never happened.”