CLINIC CAUSES NO PROBLEMS

Board was right to let methadone facility open

From the what-were-we-so-het-up-about files comes word that the much
reviled Center of Hope methadone clinic in Fantasy Harbour has wrought
neither the crime nor the junkie loitering so many folks predicted
last winter, when a local governing body bucked public opinion and
allowed it to open. Since it opened shortly before the first of the
year, the clinic has treated about 200 local folks addicted to
OxyContin and other opiates, sparing them the need to drive to
Wilmington, N.C., or Charleston to get the help they need.

The absence of controversy validates the judgment of the Horry County
Board of Adjustments and Zoning Appeals, which, despite pressure and
retaliation threats from a coalition of the frenzied assembled by S.C.
Rep. Thad Viers, R-Socastee, in December upheld an earlier decision to
allow the clinic to open. This has proved to be courageous
decision-making at its finest.