Wedding & Event Venue Near Greenwood, SC.

GREENWOOD, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A new agency will soon be in charge of making sure your food is safe.

So FOX Carolina Investigates is looking at how inspections can improve because -- as one Upstate family found out -- they can be the difference between life and death.

Sept. 19, 2020

On September 19, 2020, John Laughlin picked up food from International Café in Greenwood, according to a lawsuit. Laughlin ordered fried rice and chicken wings for him, his wife and sister-in-law to share.

Hours later, all three were sick.

The next day, Laughlin was dead.

We filed a Freedom of Information Act request and uncovered that 19 complaints were filed with the state about International Café and customers getting sick.

The first was filed on March 29, 2020, and another in August 2020.

Then, in September 2020, 15 were filed, including nine on September 19, the same day Laughlin ordered from the restaurant.

According to a lawsuit filed by Laughlin’s wife against International Café, the rice Laughlin ordered had “been left sitting at room temperature for far too long and was contaminated with a bacteria” that can cause food poisoning.

Earlier this year, International Café settled the lawsuit for $825,000.

“We hope no one else will lose a loved one due to the failure to follow basic food procedures,” said Tombo Hite and Heather Hite Stone, Laughlin’s attorneys, in a statement.

We reached out to the attorneys who represented International Café in the lawsuit. Richard Simmons II, who worked the case, said they are pleased a settlement was reached.

“This settlement is fair for all the parties involved and satisfactorily resolves this matter,” Simmons said. “We wish the Laughlin Family all the best in the future.”

However, inspections from the Department of Health and Environmental Control show there were more issues at International Café.

In June 2022, another person reported getting sick after eating there. The following day DHEC inspected and found handwashing violations. Still, the restaurant got an A grade.

In April this year, another person reported getting sick, DHEC inspected and found managers lacked proper certification for handling food. They also noted issues with handwashing, citing it as a repeated violation.

Again, the restaurant got an A that stayed in place until they permanently closed in September, according to business filings.

On July 1, 2024, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture will take over food safety, which includes restaurant inspections.

“There’s a lot policies and practices and standard operating procedures that we’re going to address to try to make some of the decision making at the frontline level as opposed to having to go up the chain so to speak,” said Derek Underwood, the assistant commissioner for consumer protection with SCDA.

We asked Underwood if the department would be changing grading guidelines and implementing stricter penalties.

Underwood said they can’t comment on that yet but told us they’ll be taking a look at giving inspectors more power in the field.

“We’ll have a lot of policies and procedures in place that will assist our food safety officers in the field to be able to make determinations and take actions that now it might take a little bit longer to go through the chain of command of the process,” Underwood said.

Copyright 2023 WHNS. All rights reserved.

Daily Covid-19 admissions in the Greenwood County area

About the data

Data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalization data is a daily average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Greenwood County, an area which may be larger than Greenwood County itself.

The number of daily hospital admissions shows how many patients tested positive for Covid in hospitals and is one of the most reliably reported indicators of Covid’s impact on a community.

Total population

Ages 65 and up

Total population

Ages 65 and up

An updated vaccine is recommended for adults and most children. Statewide, 7% of vaccinations did not specify a home county.

Nearby hospitals

Share of I.C.U. beds occupied

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: The hospitals map shows the average I.C.U. occupancy at nearby hospitals in the most recent week with data reported. The data is self-reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by individual hospitals. It excludes counts from hospitals operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service. Numbers for hospitalized patients are based on inpatient beds and include I.C.U. beds. Hospitalized Covid-19 patients include both confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023.

How trends have changed in Greenwood County

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: Weekly county death data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. Hospitalization data is a weekly average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Greenwood County. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government.

Historical trends in Greenwood County

The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated.

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated. Weekly county case data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023. Test positivity data is based only on test results reported to the federal government and is a seven-day average.

By Jon Huang, Samuel Jacoby, Jasmine C. Lee, John-Michael Murphy, Charlie Smart and Albert Sun. Additional reporting by Sarah Cahalan, Lisa Waananen Jones, Amy Schoenfeld Walker and Josh Williams. See a full list of contributors to The Times’s Covid-19 data reporting here.

About the data

Data on this page is reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Population and demographic data is from the U.S. Census Bureau. Hospitalization data is reported by individual hospitals to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and it includes confirmed and suspected adult and pediatric patients. The C.D.C. does not provide complete vaccinations data for some counties and caps its vaccination rate figures at 95 percent.

The C.D.C. may make historical updates as more data is reported.

The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on Covid cases in May 2023.

GREENWOOD, S.C. —

A company in South Carolina announced Friday it will hire hundreds of people during the holiday.

(Above video is the Friday morning headlines for 11/10/23.)

Officials at FUJIFILM North America Corporation’s Personalized Photo Products said they're looking for up to 600 seasonal employees for production jobs at the Greenwood.

The news comes as the company enters its busiest production season of the year, according to officials.

For more news, weather 24 hours a day- Download the WYFF News 4 app: Apple | Google Play

In July of 2021, the company announced it would consolidate at the Greenwood production plant, eliminating more than 400 jobs but kept 300 positions. Read more about that here.

Officials said the Greenwood plant now provides a wide variety of custom photo products ranging from photo books, prints and cards to ornaments, textiles, wall décor, and drinkware.

"The holiday season comprises our busiest time of the year at Fujifilm’s Personalized Photo Products Group," said Dwain Parrish, senior director of operations at FUJIFILM North America Corporation’s plant in Greenwood. "During this busy season, we rely on our seasonal workers to produce top quality personalized photo products that will delight our customers as they share photos with loved ones and friends."

The positions offer flexible work hours and shifts, "ideal for working parents, college students, or anyone looking for seasonal work," officials said.

The news comes just a day after another company that makes Cup Noodles and Top Ramen announced it will create 300 jobs in Upstate.

Primary job responsibilities for the available roles include the printing, cutting, assembly, and shipping of personalized photo products. Workers in these positions will produce a variety of images for personalized photo products from customer-submitted images via analog, digital and internet sources.

"It’s a source of pride for our team that these products are made right here in Greenwood," Parrish said. "These seasonal roles allow workers to become part of people’s holiday memories, creating personalized products that will carry memories for years to come. We think that’s pretty special, and we invite interested people 18+ in the Greenwood area to be a part of it and apply for an open role."

Other news: Police looking for man who spied on woman using bathroom at Upstate restaurant, official says

Fujifilm's seasonal roles are being filled through Effex Management Solutions, an employment agency in Greenwood.

For more information and to apply, click here.

GREENWOOD, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Family, friends, and supporters of Tiffany Carroll are coming together to call for the release of the mother of five.

The Greenwood native is serving a 15-year sentence in the 2017 death of her abusive boyfriend.

“We’re calling for the release and exoneration of Tiffany Carroll,” said Rep. John McCravy.

For three and a half years, Carroll’s family has been hoping she can come home.

“My family grieves every day. We are in pain and sorrow,” said her sister Brenda McCullough.

In 2019, Carroll pleaded guilty but mentally ill to manslaughter in the death of William Jamal Johnson.

Carroll stabbed Johnson while the two were fighting.

After her arrest, a licensed clinical psychologist reported Carroll was in a “cycle of violence” and diagnosed her with Battered Woman Syndrome.

“We can’t say enough times that Tiffany was a victim of domestic violence,” said Meg’s House Executive Director Alice Hodges.

Carroll’s former second-grade teacher Mary Ann Wingard reconnected in recent years with Carroll and brought her case to the attention of Rep. McCravy.

“I noticed she looked very sad and very tired, but she was the same sweet person that I had known as a student,” said Wingard.

“The more I looked at it, the more I became convinced that the only way justice could be served is to free Tiffany from prison,” added McCravy.

McCravy is applying for a pardon for Carroll and says he has spoken with the eighth circuit solicitor, who reportedly told him he has no objections to a pardon and would even write a letter of support.

“She was not herself, she was not the (Tiffany) that we know, and we want her home, and she should be home with her family,” said McCullough.

McCravy says he could file the pardon paperwork as soon as next week. According to the SCDPPPS, it typically takes 7-9 months after pardon applications are submitted for a hearing date to be scheduled.

Carroll is also eligible for parole, and McCravy says she will have a hearing later this year.

Copyright 2023 WHNS. All rights reserved.

Armed suspect incident in Henderson County resolved

Updated: 1 hour ago

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The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is giving the all clear after a situation involving an armed suspect Sunday night.

Road in Mauldin to temporarily close

Updated: 1 hour ago

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Jenkins Street in Mauldin will be closed for a almost a month.

Woman arrested following deadly shooting in Anderson

Updated: 9 hours ago

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Andreana Shanice Ware, 34, was arrested in connection to a shooting that left 1 person dead Saturday night.

Deputies searching for person of interest in homicide investigation

Updated: 9 hours ago

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37-year-old Juan Canino Tobon is wanted by the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.

Deadly crash kills 1 in Pickens Co.

Updated: 9 hours ago

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Officials responded to a deadly crash on US 178 after a vehicle hit a tree and then caught on fire, troopers say.

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