The year 2020 wrapped with hospitals in Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union Counties at or near capacity due to the number of admitted COVID-19 patients.
As of Thursday afternoon, Cherokee Medical Center in Gaffney was at 100% capacity, with zero beds available, according to data posted on DHEC’s website. Spartanburg’s hospitals are currently at 97.5% capacity with only 14 beds available.
And at Union Medical Center, in Union County, three beds are available.
Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System manages hospitals in all three of these counties. As of Thursday evening, hours before the clock struck midnight ringing in the start of 2021, there were nearly 200 COVID-19 patients being treated for care across the hospital system.
Joann Burriss sits inside her quiet room when two pharmacists suddenly enter.
They wear gloves, a protective vest, a face shield and masks. They push a cart carrying syringes and vials of a clear liquid.
The 87-year-old knows why they’re here.
“I ve read a lot about this, Burriss says, as the pharmacist from Walgreens prepares her upper arm for an injection. This is for that bug that’s been going around,”
Burriss was among the first residents at Summit Hills senior living community in Spartanburg to receive the COVID-19 vaccination Wednesday morning. Other residents, and employees, will get a dose of the shot on Monday.
City of Spartanburg firefighters earn a starting salary of $33,350.
City Manager Chris Story told the Herald-Journal that the issue is on the city’s radar, and several council members agreed that the matter should be looked into.
Improvements to downtown s western gateway
Allen Smith, the CEO and President of One Spartanburg Inc., told the Herald-Journal in November that the western entrance into downtown Spartanburg leaves a lot to be desired.
On the other side of the relatively new AC Hotel, across the railroad tracks, there are a number of code issues, Smith pointed out.
“There s all kinds of cosmetic improvements that need to be done, Smith said. We re seeing a lot of interest there. But the appearance and these code violations are not helping as it relates to bringing potential investors that have never done a project in Spartanburg before.
City of Spartanburg firefighters are pushing for better pay following a council vote that awarded raises to police officers.
With the raise for police officers approved on Dec. 21, their starting salary jumped from $36,300 to $40,500. The starting salary for city firefighters: $33,350.
“The pay structure (for firefighters) was way behind the police department before the new (pay raise) proposal,” Heath Henderson, a retired city firefighter, told the council before they gave final approval to the police raise. “And now there’s an even larger gap.”
He noted that the $40,500 earned by newly hired police officers with no prior experience is equal to what an experienced fire lieutenant earns. He said that the fire department has also historically struggled with retention, recruitment and vacancies as a result of pay reasons given for the police raise.
Another deli-type restaurant is slated to move into the Monster Subs spot across from City Hall.
Monster Subs owner Pete Gambino said that the dwindling revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to close two of his restaurants, one on Wall Street in downtown Spartanburg and another in Greenville.
Gambino said in January he will move out of his location on E. Blackstock Road where he s been since 2013, and relocate to a smaller space on Highway 29 across from IHOP.
The move will allow him to pay less in rent for a space with more parking, he said.
“We are just going to concentrate on the one store,” Gambino told the Herald-Journal. I ll be able to cut my rent in half, and that s the name of the game right now.