Across South Carolina

Textile service firm to close by end of year

GREENVILLE --- The president of a South Carolina textile service company says its Greenville facility will close Dec. 31, leaving 190 people jobless.

WYFF-TV reports that employees of John D. Hollingsworth on Wheels Inc. learned of the closing Friday. The company tests, repairs and makes textile equipment.

President and CEO William Henderson said the disappearance of textile customers due to the industry's continued U.S. decline made the difficult decision necessary. Workers will receive severance pay.

The Greenville-based company was founded in the late 1800s by Pinckney Hollingsworth as a one-man operation. He traveled to cotton mills in the Carolinas with a machine shop on a mule-drawn wagon to repair textile machinery.

Clemson city official suspended by Sanford

CLEMSON --- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has suspended a city councilwoman accused of falsely claiming her daughter had cancer to solicit money.

Multiple media outlets report Clemson City Council member Elouise James was removed from her post Friday. She has said none of the allegations are true, and the case is a farce.

Ms. James was arrested in September on charges including exploitation of a vulnerable adult and obtaining goods by false pretenses.

Prosecutors say she lied about her daughter to get her out of legal trouble. Prosecutors say she even forged a letter from a cancer center in an unsuccessful attempt to keep authorities from pursuing forgery charges. She's also accused of using a power of attorney to get a reverse mortgage on her mother's home.