THE WHITMIRE NEWS

The Whitmire News, a publication in Whitmire, South Carolina has a storied history in Newberry County. Established in 1934, it served as a vital source of local news and information for the community. The newspaper went through two main periods of operation: The first from 1934 to 1936, and the second from 1949 to 1989. During its run, The Whitmire News was instrumental in chronicling the local events, societal changes, and economic developments of Whitmire and the surrounding areas. It was an essential read for connecting residents and building a sense of community. Although the specific editors and key personnel from its early years remain less documented, the newspaper's longevity highlights its significance.

After The Whitmire News ceased publication in 1989, it was succeeded by other local publications, such as The Whitmire Courier which began in 1992 under the editorship of Tarla Godfrey Meier. The Whitmire Courier continued the tradition of local journalism, ensuring that the voices of Whitmire residents were heard and their stories told​. The transition from The Whitmire News to The Whitmire Courier marked a new chapter in the town’s journalistic history, reflecting both continuity and change within the community’s media landscape. This evolution highlights the persistent need for local news outlets in maintaining community ties and informing residents about important local and regional issues.

The exact end date of The Whitmire Courier remains unclear but it eventually ceased publication, leaving the town without a dedicated local newspaper. The absence of a local news source has had significant implications for the community. Without a newspaper, residents have faced challenges in staying informed about local governance, community events, and other critical issues. The loss of local journalism has meant fewer opportunities for community members to connect over shared stories and concerns with  a lack of a platform to voice their opinions and needs. 

Welcome, thanks for stopping by. You'll find articles about the community and the great people of Whitmire published weekly on this digital platform along with  news and information from The Town of Whitmire and Newberry County. The Whitmire News is not funded, endorsed or maintained by The Town of Whitmire or it's representatives and is not under the managerial or editorial control of any town entity. Any/all articles published are the sole opinion and scope of the content team. All operations are managed by the editor. 

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The web platform is an easily navigated source for information and tools you can use to solve problems, get answers and make the town, county and state work for YOU. 

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The Whitmire News will also unveil it's Classified portal in a few months that will provide residents with a way to communicate, buy and sell locally with other residents. Employers will also be able to post job listings that will benefit local residents and hopefully help those who are looking find work locally. 

"It all depends on who you ask". That seems to be the prevailing response when looking into why the long standing Party in the Pines was cancelled for 2025 and a new community event planned in its' place. 

While the Whitmire Jaycees have been the organizer of the PITP, much of the community are involved in some way or another. As is with any public event there are hurdles and things that MUST be taken care of to ensure continuity. For 2025 the blame for who dropped the ball goes back and forth from Mayor Billy Hollingsworth and the Town Council to the Whitmire Jaycees. With neither side accepting "blame" (if there is any at all) the only thing that the community gets are vague answers on private facebook pages. The Town of Whitmire released a statement on March 14, 2025, it read as follows:

 "The  Town of Whitmire was made aware that the Party in the Pines would not  happen this year from the Whitmire Jaycees President Katie Worthy. The  Town has been in contact with Katie and the owner of the ride company to  see if there is a remedy to the concerns and miss communications. If  there is no remedy there will be another festival planned with date to  be determined. We are hoping to get the issues resolved so that it will  go on as planned. Anymore information will be posted as an update."

Based on overwhelming community response this statement is thought to be a false or misleading narrative. There's no way to muddle through the "he said/she said" and verify how things played out, but people around town are equally upset that PITP was cancelled. It is a long standing tradition that won't continue in 2025 and there is no indication that the new event will be as important to the people of Whitmire as the PITP has been for so long.  Many people are waiting and hoping for more answers from The Town of Whitmire OR The Whitmire Jaycess so that the necessary steps can be taken to ensure The Party in the Pines returns in 2026. 

In January  of 2020 the COVID-19 virus began to take hold of the people and the economy of the United States. No town, big or small would survive the onslaught of financial ruin that this (then unknown) pandemic would cause. Even the government was wondering if there was a solution from a medical social or economic standpoint. In April 2020 the Federal Government working in conjunction with state economic developers, put what was known as PPP loans in place to help ease the burden of loss of payroll to companies due to closings and sickness of employees resulting from COVID-19.

From the very beginning, it was apparent that the PPP loan system was very vulnerable to fraud and misuse. In the state of South Carolina alone businesses received more than $9 billion worth of loans and at least 15% of those loans were fraudulent or misused by companies created for the sole purpose of receiving the PPP loans.

During a detailed research of the PPP loans distributed in South Carolina it was determined that the tiny little town of Whitmire, South Carolina with less than a dozen actual businesses received nearly $1.23M  in PPP loans. Of those loans 42 went to numerous businesses and business entities that were either fraudulently structured or fake businesses and LLC’s set up for the sole purpose of defrauding the government. One has to ask where did the money go because it surely did not trickle down into the towns economy. According to public information, there are fourteen LLC‘s that operate as hair salons or barbershops in Whitmire, four professional music studios operating under LLC’s, three tech companies operating under LLC‘s, four manufacturing companies working under LLC’s and 3 multi-level distribution trucking companies operating under LLC's - all in Whitmire, South Carolina.  Anyone who drives through the town or spends just the minimal amount of time talking with people and analyzing the economy and infrastructure of Whitmire can tell you that this just simply isn’t possible.

 This article does not delve into the specifics and include names of companies or loan amounts but they do exist. Public information is just that, public information. It is there so that anyone with a computer, the Internet and a little spare time can learn all of the information that they need to learn themselves. 

This article simply raises the question where did more than $1.2M in PPP loans to Whitmire businesses go?