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.