WCBD-TV 2 reports that with the FBI may still be investigating the Orangeburg Massacre, which took place 40 years ago, and the source is none other than FBI chief Robert Mueller himself.
But when Mueller was asked Friday about the FBI’s reasons for not reopening the investigation, he said, “I do know that this is the anniversary, the 40th anniversary, of that tremendously tragic, horrible incident. It was looked at some time ago by the Bureau and federal authorities here, as I’m sure you’re well aware. And it has not been totally resolved. My understanding is that (the) Justice (Department) is still looking at what possibilities may remain for bringing additional persons to justice.”
While the recent sugar refinery blast in Savannah is surely of significance for many in the Charleston area —there’s no doubt that some folks have friends and family in that town or perhaps know one of the deceased or injured — there’s a right way to localize the tragedy and a wrong way.
ABC News 4 opts to take a broad look at similar facilities in the Lowcountry. It’s strictly informative.
Last nights explosion near Savannah serves as a reminder of just how dangerous industrial properties can be. Charleston County is home to many properties considered to have hazardous materials on site. Manufacturers like Rhodia, a chemical plant, take safety very seriously.
In Charleston County alone several industrial sites are so close to neighborhoods and other populated areas, the companies often work with the communities to make sure everyone knows what to do when something goes wrong.
WCBD-TV 2 opts for a tackier approach, exploiting the pain of a mother who still grieves over the loss of her son in a similar explosion 16 years ago.
The explosion hundreds of miles away in Georgia has some local residents reliving a local blast from their past.
For Barbara Chubb, a grave site is the closest she can get to her son Timmy.
“’That’s my job, that was his favorite song,” she explained.
But, it was his job which cost him his life.
“He was a hard worker, a good boy,” Chubb said. “He was just doing his job. It is not fair to go and do the best they can do, all they know to do, and get killed like that….”
[Later in the report]
“The pain is still there it doesn’t go away. It gets easier to bear but it doesn’t go away,” said Chubb, who still thinks about the last time she saw her 22-year-old, when she served him dinner and told him good night. “I relieve that night over and over again: what I could have done. I could have grabbed him and hugged him and told him how much I loved him.”
In other localization news, Live 5 does a commendable job, as well as, of taking a recent tragedy — in this case the city council shooting in St. Louis — and using it, in a tasteful way, to address the security at Charleston City Council meetings.
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