Across South Carolina

Officials fight drunken driving on Halloween

COLUMBIA - The state Department of Public Safety is working with local law enforcement at checkpoints throughout the state on Halloween to prevent people from driving drunk.

"Sadly, Halloween has become a holiday for young adults, often leading to drinking and driving," said James Schweitzer, the department's director. "When you couple that with child pedestrians, that can be a volatile mix on our roadways and in our neighborhoods."

Authorities can test drivers' blood-alcohol levels at the checkpoints

The state Highway Patrol began a special enforcement effort in Greenville that will run through Dec. 31. Greenville leads the state in fatalities this year with 74, compared with 53 at this time last year.

$3 million donation is college's largest ever

CHARLESTON - A former president of KEMET Corp. has donated $3 million to the College of Charleston's School of Education, the largest single gift ever given to the school.

Charles and Andrea Volpe say they made the donation so the college can help future educators learn to motivate and shape young minds.

"With education, you can eliminate all of the woes of the world," Mrs. Volpe said.

The college will rename a renovated wing in the Education Center in their honor.

Mr. Volpe was president and chief operating officer of KEMET Corp. in Greenville. Mrs. Volpe is part of several boards, including the College of Charleston's School of Education Advisory Board.

Previously, the Volpes have funded education graduate assistantships worth $10,000 each.

Whale carcass found washed up on beach

HILTON HEAD ISLAND - A 7-foot whale carcass was discovered washed up on Folly Field Beach on Saturday.

The pygmy sperm whale or a dwarf sperm whale was thought to have washed ashore from the Atlantic Ocean during the night.

The dwarf sperm whale is one of three species of whale in the sperm whale family. The whales are not often sighted at sea, and most understanding of the creatures comes from the study of washed-up specimens.

Waddell Mariculture Center in Bluffton, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's Marine Mammal Stranding Network, was alerted.

Members of NOAA and the state Department of Natural Resources responded to Folly Field Beach, where a necropsy was performed. It is not known what caused the whale's death or when it died.

According to NOAA, the whale could have washed ashore because of disease, parasite infestation, algal blooms, injuries from ship strikes or fishery entanglements, pollution, trauma or starvation.

- Edited from wire reports