NO. 43

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

The Senate assembled at 11:00 A.M., the hour to which it stood adjourned, and was called to order by the ACTING PRESIDENT, Senator GRAHAM. (This is a Statewide Session day established under the provisions of Senate Rule 1B. Members not having scheduled committee or subcommittee meetings may be in their home districts without effect on their session attendance record.)

The following remarks by Senator MASSEY were ordered printed in the Journal of March 12, 2026:

Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT. Good morning everybody. Mr. PRESIDENT, December 6, 2025, was a really special day in Edgefield County. Just a few weeks ago, you joined me in recognizing the Johnston Edgefield Trenton (JET) mock trial team that won a major competition. I mentioned then the competition that day in the championship round was Merryweather Middle School. About ten minutes after that state championship round ended, we were in the courthouse in Lexington and the crowd erupted when news broke that the Strom Thurmond High School football team had won the state championship in Orangeburg. It was just a great day.

And today is another great day, because we have the Rebel football team here with us. They are taking up two-thirds or more of the gallery, and I'm glad they were able to come. Coach Andrew Webb is here over in the corner with the entire coaching team. They do a terrific job. I think the team was asleep for the first three quarters of that game. They were down twenty to nothing, and then something lit a fire under them, because they came back and won the game! I'll just mention that in the playoffs, they had the team from Chesterfield. I don't think it was a pleasant experience for the visitors that day. Then we took a tour through Senate District 17. The Rebels dispatched Liberty High School. Then they went through Chester High School. Then they defeated Fairfield Central. I'm going to tell y'all -- that was probably the best high school football game I've ever seen. They prevailed in that game and went on to the state championship game against Hampton County. We had a good night. Then it was a really good day on December 6th for the whole county. I was so proud of this team. This was our first state championship in twenty years. They really made the county proud and made everybody who's affiliated with Strom Thurmond High School proud.

I want to mention one more thing, Mr. PRESIDENT. Because of all the success Edgefield County schools had that day, there was a celebration held in the town square a week or so before Christmas. We had probably a couple hundred people come out in the square that night to celebrate the football team and to celebrate the middle schools as well. And when it came time for recognition of the football team, Coach Webb went up and he introduced some of the players and he told the crowd that sometimes during practice, he has something he calls story time. And he brings all the players and all the coaches together and said that on this night -- on this celebratory night -- he was going to have story time. I tell you this because story time that night consisted of Coach Webb reading the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke -- in a public setting, with a lot of school kids around. That just doesn't happen everywhere. I was extremely proud of Coach Webb. And I'll tell you, we were in this public setting, we were outside -- it's very loud and suddenly everything goes quiet. I was proud not only of Coach Webb, but also of the school and of our entire community for this public display.

I had some people ask me what the PCCW on the players' jerseys meant. It stands for Pride, Class, Courage and the Will to win. Coach Webb and his team have set a great example for these young men. Guys, you all are going to be our next leaders -- not just in football. I hope some of you do go on to play. But the success that you've had, the championship that you've won, is something that you're always going to remember. And I encourage you to take the lessons you have learned under Coach Webb and his coaching team and your teachers and apply these to whatever the future holds for you. You can be leaders and set examples for the little boys coming behind you. I'm very proud of you. I know the entire county is proud of you. I'm glad you were able to come up today so we could recognize you and celebrate you and the championship that you've won. So, Mr. PRESIDENT, I'd like to ask if the Strom Thurmond High School AAA students would stand to be recognized. Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT.

The following remarks by Senator BENNETT were ordered printed in the Journal of March 19, 2026:

Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT. While we're talking birthdays, I think that's a nice segue to what I'd like to share with you today. Imagine that it is March 15, 1782. It's the final stretch of the American Revolution and patriot resistance remains alive and active in the very shadow of British power. Francis Marion, the famed Swamp Fox, leads a swift militia raid near Middleton Place which is now in current day Dorchester County, just outside of British held Charleston. In a quick and calculated strike, Marion's men kill three loyalists and capture another before slipping back into the lowcountry terrain just like he has so many times during the war. The brief encounter, however, was part of a much larger story.

Just two years earlier, after defeats in the north at the Battle of Saratoga, the British captured Charleston securing what they believe to be the anchor of their southern strategy. From this stronghold they aimed to restore royal authority, to rally loyalist support, and to roll up the rebellion from the south. But raids like Marion's told a different story. Rather than pacifying the region, British occupation sparked relentless resistance; patriot militias operated with speed and precision disrupting loyalist activity and keeping constant pressure on the British controlled areas. Even near Charleston, the crown jewel of British control at the time. But there was no true peace.

By March of 1782, the outcome was becoming very clear. The British could hold the city, but they could not hold the countryside. And without the countryside, they could not win the south. And without the south, they could not win the war. Less than ten months later the British evacuated Charleston on December 14, 1782. And, as you know, less than a year later the war ended with the Treaty of Paris on September 3rd
of 1783. So, I say that to say, happy birthday Senator CHAPLAIN, but on this 250th anniversary of this country, happy birthday to us and our forefathers and what brought us here today and allows us to meet every day in self-government. The thing that we strive for; the thing that Francis Marion fought for back in the 1700s. Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT.

At 11:04 A.M., on motion of Senator JACKSON, the Senate adjourned to meet next Tuesday, March 31 , 2026, at 12:00 P.M.

This web page was last updated on Friday, March 27, 2026 at 10:53 A.M.