South Carolina Peach Festival Starts Today

Shown below: 'The Peachoid,' a symbol of what was once South Carolina's largest cash crop, the peach. The Peachoid is found along I-85 in Cherokee County near the town of Gaffney, home of the South Carolina Peach Festival, which is underway now until June 29.

The northwestern South Carolina town of Gaffney in Cherokee County comes alive each year at this time as multiple thousands of people gather for the annual South Carolina Peach Festival.

Now in it's 32nd year, the Festival is being held in downtown Gaffney near the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce office and on the campus of Limestone College.

There will be plenty of food, entertainment, sporting events, dancing, and a tribute to local military personnel.

For more information, click here:
http://www.scpeachfestival.org/

For more information about 'the peachoid,' click here:
http://www.gaffney-sc.com/Waterpeach.htm

UPDATE on Beth Hawkins TB Scare in S.C.

Gaffney, SC (TLS). Good news was delivered today to USC-Aiken student Beth Hawkins and the other students who were on the same flight as 'TB Andy' Speaker from Atlanta to Paris.

Hawkins and her fellow travelers from the University of South Carolina's Aiken campus are TB-free...so far.

They will need to be tested again in eight weeks.

The South Carolina students were on a class trip to Europe when they discovered upon their return home that they had been on one of the same flights that Andrew Speaker of Atlanta took when he flew to Europe for his wedding and honeymoon. Speaker is now being treated for the rare and deadly form of TB in Denver, Colorado.

So far, the news is good for Andy Speaker and all of those who were in close proximity to him. His sputum shows no signs of the disease, and he remains symptom-free. Blood tests, however, show that he has been exposed to the deadly virus at some point in the past. Speaker will remain in Denver to be monitored for two months.

As for Beth Hawkins and her classmates, there is a collective sigh of relief as their initial test was negative.

S.C. Student Gets TB Test Results Today

Gaffney, SC (TLS). Gaffney, South Carolina resident and USC-Aiken student Beth Hawkins will get her TB test results today at the Cherokee County Health Department in Gaffney.

Hawkins is one of the students from the University of South Carolina at Aiken who was aboard the flight from Atlanta to Paris, the same flight on which the infamous 'TB Andy' Speaker was a passenger.

TB Andy is now in Denver being treated for his extremely dangerous and extremely rare form of TB, which is resistant to drug therapy. Medical personnel believe, however, that the risk of infection from the patient is extremely low due to the fact that to date he has exhibited no symptoms of the disease whatsoever.

Nonetheless, those who were in close vicinity of Speaker while he traveled Europe are understandably concerned. Although Beth Hawkins has not been notified that she and her fellow students sat in close proximity to Speaker on the flight, she and her friends decided to be tested for TB to be on the safe side.

Hawkins is due to get her test results today in Gaffney.

The Liberty Sphere will provide you with pertinent updates....

South Carolina Students Involved in Atlanta TB Scare

Gaffney, SC (TLS). Beth Hawkins of Gaffney, South Carolina was on the flight from Atlanta to Paris that carried the Atlanta man who is now under a federal isolation order for carrying a deadly strain of TB. Hawkins and a group of students from the University of South Carolina, Aiken Campus, were flying to Europe for a week and a half.

Hawkins found out about the TB scare after returning home to Gaffney from Europe, when a family member saw on television the flight number that CDC officials had identified as one of the flights the Atlanta man had taken.

Although officials from the World Health Organization have not contacted Hawkins as one of those within the rows of seats most vulnerable on the flight, Hawkins was taking no chances. She went to the Cherokee County Health Department first thing Wednesday morning to have the first of a series of TB skin tests.

Hawkins also contacted her classmates who were on the flight with her to Europe, and each of these students will also be tested.

As of yet there is no reason to believe that any of the students are in any danger. Yet they state they prefer to err on the side of caution.

The Atlanta man who started it all is now in isolation at Grady Memorial Medical Center in Atlanta, awaiting to be transported to Denver for the remainder of his treatment. So far the man has had no symptoms whatsoever, and his level of infection appears at this point to be non-active, which is good news for those with whom he came into contact.

The man's wife has tested negative for TB as well--another good sign.

As for the South Carolina students who were on the initial flight with the man, the only thing they can do now is wait for their test results and hope and pray for the best.