Columbia
Editor’s note: We caught up with the most interesting people we wrote about in 2018. Learn what’s new with each this week.
The troubles Crystal Simmons faced when Hurricane Florence blasted eastern South Carolina haven’t eased up since the powerful storm three months ago.
The State newspaper introduced readers to Simmons in September after the storm left her and her two children without water, power, telephone service and a road to their home in Marlboro County.
Since then, highway crews have worked furiously to fix her broken road and neighbors have given her emotional support. But she spent weeks driving a detour that cost her extra money for gasoline. And Simmons’ daughter, 18, had her hours reduced at her job in a local general store, leaving even less money for the family.
Then, two days before Thanksgiving, Simmons lost her job at the Hardee’s restaurant in Cheraw. Now, the Wallace resident is struggling mightily during the holiday season.
“It’s just an ongoing thing right now,’’ she said of her troubles. “It feels like the storm is still here.’’
Simmons, 51, is among the less fortunate smacked by Hurricane Florence. The hurricane did plenty of damage along South Carolina’s affluent beaches, but poor people in the state’s interior felt the storm more acutely.
Many didn’t have the money to make costly repairs to their houses and trailers. Others had to stay home, rather than move to hotels or leave the area until conditions eased up.
Simmons knows all that firsthand, but she said losing her job as shift manager at Hardees left her at a loss for what to do next.
She said the fast-food chain fired her after she asked for a raise from the $9 per hour she was making. Restaurant officials said her departure was not the result of seeking a pay raise, but they declined comment on the circumstances.
Today, Simmons is surviving on the small, $7.50-per-hour paycheck her 18-year-old daughter brings in from working part-time at the local Dollar General store.
Simmons, a former Charleston area resident familiar with hurricanes, spent part of the holidays looking for a new job, instead of buying Christmas presents for her daughter and 13-year-old son.
The presents she wanted to buy were things like a bed for her son, who sleeps on the floor of the family’s small house in rural Marlboro County.
“I don’t have gas money to get to the corner store right now,’’ she said. “But I’ve got hope something good is going to happen.’’
This story was originally published December 28, 2018 5:00 AM.