The Greenville News 01/02/2012

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Upstateeconomypoised toimprove

Entering the new year,an improving economicoutlook has the Upstatepoised to lead SouthCaro-lina’s growth.“That unemployed

person out there shouldtake every opportunity toimprove skills tomeet thedemands of the market-place, dust off the resumeand start prospecting,”said Bruce Yandle, deanemeritus of ClemsonUni-versity’s College of Busi-ness and Behavioral Sci-ence.Jobs are being created

even though the rate isn’tfast enough for many.Hank Hyatt, Green-

ville Chamber vice presi-dent of economic devel-opment, agreed that 2012prospects for economicgrowth are improving.“Manufacturing is

leading the way,” he said.“Folks we deal with arepretty optimistic.”Sujit CanagaRetna,

senior analyst with theCouncil of State Govern-ments, said he expects2012 tobeayearsimilar to

2011 but with a highergrowth rate.The renewed strength

of the auto industry willbe a major plus for theUpstate, he said, and sup-pliers coming into thestate, suchas tiremakers,are a “real positive.”If the Upstate is driv-

ing the state economynow, it was in the back ofthe bus from 2000 until2008. The coastal regionled the state in growthduring that time, Yandlesaid, primarily becausethemanufacturing sectorwas slowing. That sectoris a major component ofthe Upstate economicfabric.“Greenville County

paired with Spartanburgrepresents the main en-gine pulling the Upstate’seconomy,” he said. “An-derson also is a prettygood engine.”From 2000 to 2008,

YorkCounty ranked fifth,the in the state in employ-ment growth, the Up-state’s highest rank, hesaid. Greenville, secondstrongest in the Upstateduring that period,ranked 10th statewide.While well-known

companies, including Mi-chelin, General Electric,BMWand Fluor, are help-ing to lead the region intoa brighter 2012, smaller

By JennyMunroStaff Writerjmunro@greenvillenews.com

See ECONOMY, Page 3A

Greenville,South CarolinaG r e e n v i l l e O n l i n e . c o m

MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 2012FINAL EDITION K1

Greenville,South Carolina

High: 46°Weather, 5A

Abby....................................................10AArea news............................................4ABridge .................................................10AClassifieds.............................................4BComics.................................................11ACrossword .........................................10ACryptoquote......................................10AHoroscope .........................................10A

Lifestyle............................................... 9AObituaries......................................... 12ASports.....................................................1BTelevision ..........................................10ATheaters ...............................................7AU.S. /World ..........................................2AVoices....................................................6AWeather...............................................5A

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LIFESTYLE / 9A

Area concertscene makessome noisethis winter

USC VS. NEBRASKA TODAY

ONE HURDLE TOMAKE HISTORY

UPSTATE / 4A

MEET YEAR’SFIRST BABY

Michele Bachmann andRick Perry are bringingtheir presidential cam-paigns to South Carolina onWednesday rather thanjoining the majority of theRepublican candidates in

New Hampshire followingTuesday’s caucuses inIowa.Bothplan to visitGreen-

ville ahead of the weekenddebates in New Hamp-shire, representatives fortheir campaigns toldGreenvilleOnline.comSun-day.With former Massachu-

setts Gov. Mitt Romneyheavily favored in NewHampshire, Texas Gov.Perry and Minnesota Rep.Bachmann are hoping topick up ground in the criti-cal Jan. 21 South Carolinaprimary.“Gov. Perry is going to

be all over the state ofSouth Carolina like whiteon rice,” said Katon Daw-son, Perry’s chief cam-paign aide here and the for-

mer state GOP chairman.“The complete agenda

is not set yet,” Dawson saidlate Sunday, but “we’re go-ing to spend tremendoustime in theUpstateanda lotin Greenville.”Bachmann also will ap-

pear in Greenville, but herschedule has not been seteither, her spokeman, Wes-ley Donehue, told Green-

Both look to state to gain on field

By Clark BrooksStaff Writercabrooks@greenvilleonline.com

Bachmann, Perry to head south after Iowa

See GOP, Page 7A

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INSIDEIOWA STILL DECIDING ASCAUCUSES LOOM. 7A

BACHMANN LEANS ON HERFAITH. 13A

ROMNEY ADDS VETERANPOLITICIANS TO SOUTHCAROLINA TEAM. 13A

OBAMA SEEKS RIGHT TONE ASECONOMY IMPROVES. 13A

Welcoming new year with cool dip

The PolarBear Plunge

brings acrowd of

hardy soulsto Paris

MountainState Park on

Sunday tokick off 2012

with a splash.See a videoand morephotos atGreenville

Online.comPATRICK

COLLARD/STAFF

While flu seasonmay befar fromthe thoughtsofva-cationing South Carolinacollege students wrappingup a season of holiday par-ties and family gatherings,the contagious virus maybe lurking nearby, healthexperts warn.The flu typically hits in

January, when college stu-dents return to campus,said George Clay, directorof Clemson University’sRedfern Health Center.

The unwelcome campusvisitor can travel at thespeed of an Internet virus,infecting scores, even hun-dreds, of students living inclose quarters in campusresidence halls and off-campus apartment com-plexes.“Any time that you bring

people together in closequarters for several hours aday, there is the potential tospread the flu virus,” saidJimBeasley of the stateDe-partment of Health and En-vironmental Control.Numbers indicate the flu

spreadsquicklyamongchil-

dren and young people—anage group that spends a lotof time in group settingssuch as classrooms, collegedorms and dining halls.Last season, more than

43 percent of the lab-con-firmed cases in the statewere in five to 24-year-olds,Beasley said.

“Keep in mind thatthe virus is typicallytransmitted by dropletsfrom a cough or sneeze.The droplets can travelseveral feet, makinganyone nearby vulnera-ble,” Beasley said.DHEC reports 236

confirmed cases of flu,12 flu-related hospital-izations and no flu-relat-ed deaths in South Caro-lina this seasonasofDec.24, the most recent dataavailable.DHEC reports only

lab-confirmed cases.“We should expect thatthere are many uncon-firmed cases since noteveryone with the flu

Flu danger lurks on campusesOutbreak anticipated whenstudents return after holidaysBy Anna SimonClemson bureauasimon@greenvillenews.com

See FLU, Page 3A

“Any time thatyou bring peopletogether in closequarters ... thereis the potential tospread the flu.”JIM BEASLEY, stateDepartment of Health andEnvironmental Control

Note to readersToday’s Lifestyle pages begin on Page 9A, with Puz-

zles and Comics on Pages 10A and 11A.

Region takeslead in statejob growth

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