Latest news with #Simmer
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Simmer Rugby Club completes sweep against Edenvale Wasps
The Simmer Rugby Club remains on a winning streak. Another celebration was in the cards as both the first and second teams secured victories over the Edenvale Wasps during an action-packed weekend—showcasing skill, grit, and undeniable team spirit. First team stages comeback In a gripping encounter, the Simmer first team overcame a rocky start to secure a memorable 33–24 win against a strong Wasps side. ALSO READ: Simmer Rugby sweeps Scorpions in triple win The first half proved challenging, with Simmer struggling to find rhythm and losing key battles at the breakdown. However, momentum shifted just before halftime when Clayton Gindan powered through the defence to score a spectacular try, reigniting the team's belief. The second half saw a revitalised Simmer squad take control. With fast-paced play and improved cohesion, they dominated possession and executed their game plan with precision. Gindan delivered an outstanding performance, adding two more tries to complete his hat-trick and cement his status as one of the team's standout forwards played a pivotal role in the turnaround, with JP Loots leading the pack. ALSO READ: Elsburg Rugby Club recruits young players His dominance in the lineouts and relentless ball-carrying kept Simmer on the front foot, paving the way for attacking opportunities. His leadership and tenacity earned him the Man of the Match award. Other try scorers included Nolo Molefe, DJ Malatji, and Siphamandla Ndaba. Ruan Botha added three conversions, while Bertie Erasmus slotted another to seal the result. Second team cruises to victory Earlier in the day, the Simmer second team set the tone with a dominant 31–17 victory over the Wasps. From the outset, the team looked sharp, scoring four tries in the first half alone. ALSO READ: Vryburger High starts rugby team for girls The forwards were relentless at the scrum, efficient in the lineouts, and clinical at the rucks—providing the backline with a strong platform. Marius Stallenberg and Boeboe Perries led the charge, with Perries delivering a show-stopping performance. He scored two tries and added a conversion, while his pinpoint tactical kicking shifted the game's momentum. His all-round effort earned him the Man of the Match accolade. The second half saw Perries add another try, while Belvine made an instant impact, crossing the line just five minutes after coming on. ALSO READ: Vryburger celebrates rugby victories Nolo Molefe converted key tries, ensuring the Wasps had no chance of a comeback. Despite a few areas for improvement, the 2nd team's performance was a clear statement of intent for the rest of the season. Both Simmer teams showcased heart, unity, and exceptional skill—delivering a clean sweep against a tough opponent. These results reflect the hard work being put in on and off the field. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
SC Senate panel rejects governor's pick to lead public health department over COVID-19 concerns
Dr. Edward Simmer, interim director of the Department of Public Health, answers questions from senators during his confirmation hearing on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream) COLUMBIA — A Senate committee on Thursday rejected the governor's pick to lead the state's public health agency over criticisms of the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After running the Department of Health and Environmental Control for three years, Dr. Edward Simmer was Gov. Henry McMaster's nominee to run the newly created Department of Public Health. The second day of Simmer's confirmation hearing brought a bigger, louder crowd that several times prompted Chairman Danny Verdin to call for decorum, as he both reminded a freshman senator of Senate rules and warned the audience he would clear the room. The opposition centered around the state's rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccinations were in beginning stages when Simmer took over the department in February 2021. The 17-member Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted 5-12 against recommending that the Senate confirm Simmer. But that doesn't automatically reject Simmer's nomination. It's essentially on pause indefinitely. The full Senate could decide to take up his confirmation and vote, despite the committee's disapproval, which is what McMaster is encouraging. Simmer will remain interim director of the department for the time being. 'I remain resolute in my support of Dr. Ed Simmer and am hopeful that the full Senate will see through the falsehoods and mistruths being spread about his service to our state and nation,' McMaster said in a statement posted to X soon after the vote. Odds appear to be against Simmer if the full Senate, which has a Republican supermajority, decides to take a vote on his confirmation. Only one of the committee's 13 Republicans voted in favor of his confirmation Thursday. 'Outrageously false': Nominated SC health director defends COVID response over opponents' claims 'There's just no way I can sugar coat it,' said Senate Finance Chairman Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, before voting against advancing Simmer's nomination. 'I'm not telling you something you don't already know. Your confirmation is facing an uphill battle.' Unless a nominee has a glaring issue in their background, senators traditionally give the governor deference in confirming Cabinet nominees, said Sen. Tom Davis, the only Republican to join the panel's four Democrats in a favorable vote. 'At the end of the day, do you truly think that the governor is in clear error?' the Beaufort Republican said to his fellow senators. 'Do you think that he truly has put forward somebody who is unfit? Who is not qualified? Who doesn't have the competency?' This is not the first time the Senate has rejected one of McMaster's nominees to a Cabinet position. In 2020, the full Senate voted 41-2 to reject McMaster's nominee to run the Department on Aging over accusations that he made derogatory comments to women and minorities, which he denied. The year before, another Senate committee gave an unfavorable report for McMaster's pick to lead the board of state-run utility Santee Cooper, citing a lack of experience working for utilities. Other Cabinet nominees over the years have withdrawn from consideration, knowing they either wouldn't legally be able to take the role or didn't have the votes. Among them were McMaster's 2020 nominees to lead state departments overseeing veterans' affairs and public safety, as well as former Gov. Nikki Haley's choice to run DHEC in 2015. Simmer sailed through the confirmation process in 2021, when senators voted 40-1 to confirm him. When he took the agency's helm, it had been without a permanent director for eight months. In his opening statement two weeks ago, and again in answers Thursday, he said his detractors were spreading lies about him and pointed to his accomplishments aside from the COVID-19 pandemic. 'There have been a lot of falsehoods said about me,' Simmer said Thursday. 'I think, in the end, the results speak clearly.' Senators didn't ask about his background, and they asked little about other problems the state health department addresses, except to compliment the agency's work. Instead, senators Thursday took aim primarily at the state's COVID-19 vaccine rollout. 'To be clear, what's being scrutinized is not your ability to lead the Department of Public Health during ordinary times but during extraordinary times, should another pandemic arise,' said Sen. Richard Cash, R-Piedmont. Trying to encourage more people to get vaccinated, DHEC deployed mobile vaccination units, set up vaccine booths at events across the state and offered perks such as free beer to people willing to get the jab. In each case, people getting vaccinated were advised of the possible rare side effects of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, Simmer said. He never required people to get vaccinated, nor did he support businesses mandating employees and visitors be vaccinated, he said. What Simmer did was encourage people to get the vaccine if they chose, based on the information he had about it at the time, he said. 'No one forced anyone to get a vaccine,' he said. 'I've never mandated anyone to get a vaccine.' What Simmer described as encouragement, Verdin said he and other senators saw as a different sort of mandate, which they opposed. Some senators repeated debunked claims that the COVID-19 vaccine contains harmful strands of DNA and questioned whether it was wise to offer the shot to children, despite its federal approval for that purpose. Those concerns demonstrate a larger issue, Verdin said. Following the pandemic, public trust in the state's health care system — and, by extension, Simmer — frayed. Senators are looking for a nominee who can rebuild that confidence among the state's residents, Verdin said. 'We need to enjoy a greater level of trust than we enjoy now, and that's where I'm going to be putting all my energy and efforts,' the Laurens Republican said. At issue was not whether Simmer was qualified, Verdin said. Simmer spent three decades in the Navy, including overseeing Tricare Health Plan, the military's massive health system for care outside military hospitals. As the head of DHEC, outside of pandemic response, he was very capable and accessible to legislators, Verdin said. As a naval doctor, Simmer worked in psychiatry, which prompted Peeler to ask whether he might be interested in working instead at the Department of Mental Health, though Peeler didn't clarify what role he had in mind. Simmer said he'd leave that decision up to the governor and his wife.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nominee for South Carolina's top doctor toppled by lingering COVID anger
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina Senate committee rejected the Republican governor's nominee to be the state's top doctor after hours of hearings dominated by the state's response to the COVID pandemic. Just one of 13 Republicans on the Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted for Dr. Edward Simmer 's nomination to lead the new Department of Public Health — in contrast to the Republican-dominated Senate's overwhelming endorsement of Simmer in 2001 as head of the state's old public health and environmental agency. Thursday's vote reflected lingering anger over his handling of South Carolina's response to the pandemic. Simmer recommended people get the COVID vaccine, and he often wore masks well after the worst of the pandemic had passed, saying he wanted to protect his wife, who has a compromised immune system. Simmer defended his record, pointing out that in two years under his leadership of the old agency, South Carolina improved from 45th to 37th among U.S. states in overall public health measures and that COVID now takes up only a tiny percentage of his time. 'Sometimes a small amount of people can make a lot of noise. I think that's what we're seeing here," Simmer said. 'But I also hope you can look at my overall record, where we are going as a state." The Department of Public Health was created last year, and Gov. Henry McMaster nominated Simmer, a retired U.S. Navy psychiatrist, to run it. But the governor's support came with a backhanded knock on the federal government's COVID response 'He's not a Dr. Fauci,' McMaster said, referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who advised Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden on the pandemic. Several Republicans aggressively questioned Simmer, reading aloud excerpts from his email in which he strongly encouraged people in 2021 to get the COVID vaccine and wear masks. Simmer said he was only following the best science at the time and said he never thought anyone should be required to be vaccinated. Sen. Matt Leber asked why Simmer didn't push back on schools buying Plexiglas barriers or grocery stores putting arrows on floors to encourage one-way traffic up aisles. 'Sometimes where there is chaos there is a vacuum of leadership,' Leber said. Simmer's critics both at the Statehouse and on social media have derisively called him a 'double masker' for wearing two face masks even after he explained that his wife has underlying medical conditions that make COVID especially dangerous for her. He was maskless for hearings both last month and on Thursday but said he 'will wear a mask again without hesitation if that is what it takes to protect the woman I love.' The lone Republican to vote for Simmer asked his colleagues to go back to 2020 and 2021 when many of them also organized COVID testing and made sure their constituents could find places with COVID vaccines. Sen. Tom Davis said punishing Simmer for what could only be known at the time was a terrible precedent. 'If he's guilty of some dereliction of duty in that regard, then I am derelict as well,' Davis said. The Senate's longest serving member, Republican Harvey Peeler, asked if Simmer would be willing to run the state Department of Mental Health if his nomination failed. 'Fauci blew up. You got hit by the shrapnel,' said Peeler, a senator since 1981. 'You talk to my constituents. They see you, they think Dr. Fauci.' The vote doesn't kill Simmer's nomination. But the full Senate, dominated by Republicans, would have to vote to pull it out of committee and send it to the floor. The only real mention of anything other than COVID during the hearing came from Democrats. One questioned him about how South Carolina was monitoring measles outbreaks in other states. A second asked about a mobile maternity care center set to hit the road in 2026. South Carolina is near the bottom in the nation in infant and maternity deaths and has a number of poorer counties where getting to the nearest obstetrician can involve at least a 50-mile (80-kilometer) drive.
The Independent
03-04-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Nominee for South Carolina's top doctor toppled by lingering COVID anger
A South Carolina Senate committee rejected the Republican governor's nominee to be the state's top doctor after hours of hearings dominated by the state's response to the COVID pandemic. Just one of 13 Republicans on the Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted for Dr. Edward Simmer 's nomination to lead the new Department of Public Health — in contrast to the Republican-dominated Senate's overwhelming endorsement of Simmer in 2001 as head of the state's old public health and environmental agency. Thursday's vote reflected lingering anger over his handling of South Carolina's response to the pandemic. Simmer recommended people get the COVID vaccine, and he often wore masks well after the worst of the pandemic had passed, saying he wanted to protect his wife, who has a compromised immune system. Simmer defended his record, pointing out that in two years under his leadership of the old agency, South Carolina improved from 45th to 37th among U.S. states in overall public health measures and that COVID now takes up only a tiny percentage of his time. 'Sometimes a small amount of people can make a lot of noise. I think that's what we're seeing here," Simmer said. 'But I also hope you can look at my overall record, where we are going as a state." The Department of Public Health was created last year, and Gov. Henry McMaster nominated Simmer, a retired U.S. Navy psychiatrist, to run it. But the governor's support came with a backhanded knock on the federal government's COVID response 'He's not a Dr. Fauci,' McMaster said, referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who advised Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden on the pandemic. Several Republicans aggressively questioned Simmer, reading aloud excerpts from his email in which he strongly encouraged people in 2021 to get the COVID vaccine and wear masks. Simmer said he was only following the best science at the time and said he never thought anyone should be required to be vaccinated. Sen. Matt Leber asked why Simmer didn't push back on schools buying Plexiglas barriers or grocery stores putting arrows on floors to encourage one-way traffic up aisles. 'Sometimes where there is chaos there is a vacuum of leadership,' Leber said. Simmer's critics both at the Statehouse and on social media have derisively called him a 'double masker' for wearing two face masks even after he explained that his wife has underlying medical conditions that make COVID especially dangerous for her. He was maskless for hearings both last month and on Thursday but said he 'will wear a mask again without hesitation if that is what it takes to protect the woman I love.' The lone Republican to vote for Simmer asked his colleagues to go back to 2020 and 2021 when many of them also organized COVID testing and made sure their constituents could find places with COVID vaccines. Sen. Tom Davis said punishing Simmer for what could only be known at the time was a terrible precedent. 'If he's guilty of some dereliction of duty in that regard, then I am derelict as well,' Davis said. The Senate's longest serving member, Republican Harvey Peeler, asked if Simmer would be willing to run the state Department of Mental Health if his nomination failed. 'Fauci blew up. You got hit by the shrapnel,' said Peeler, a senator since 1981. 'You talk to my constituents. They see you, they think Dr. Fauci.' The vote doesn't kill Simmer's nomination. But the full Senate, dominated by Republicans, would have to vote to pull it out of committee and send it to the floor. The only real mention of anything other than COVID during the hearing came from Democrats. One questioned him about how South Carolina was monitoring measles outbreaks in other states. A second asked about a mobile maternity care center set to hit the road in 2026. South Carolina is near the bottom in the nation in infant and maternity deaths and has a number of poorer counties where getting to the nearest obstetrician can involve at least a 50-mile (80-kilometer) drive.
Associated Press
03-04-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Nominee for South Carolina's top doctor toppled by lingering COVID anger
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina Senate committee rejected the Republican governor's nominee to be the state's top doctor after hours of hearings dominated by the state's response to the COVID pandemic. Just one of 13 Republicans on the Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted for Dr. Edward Simmer 's nomination to lead the new Department of Public Health — in contrast to the Republican-dominated Senate's overwhelming endorsement of Simmer in 2001 as head of the state's old public health and environmental agency. Thursday's vote reflected lingering anger over his handling of South Carolina's response to the pandemic. Simmer recommended people get the COVID vaccine, and he often wore masks well after the worst of the pandemic had passed, saying he wanted to protect his wife, who has a compromised immune system. Simmer defended his record, pointing out that in two years under his leadership of the old agency, South Carolina improved from 45th to 37th among U.S. states in overall public health measures and that COVID now takes up only a tiny percentage of his time. 'Sometimes a small amount of people can make a lot of noise. I think that's what we're seeing here,' Simmer said. 'But I also hope you can look at my overall record, where we are going as a state.' The Department of Public Health was created last year, and Gov. Henry McMaster nominated Simmer, a retired U.S. Navy psychiatrist, to run it. But the governor's support came with a backhanded knock on the federal government's COVID response 'He's not a Dr. Fauci,' McMaster said, referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who advised Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden on the pandemic. Several Republicans aggressively questioned Simmer, reading aloud excerpts from his email in which he strongly encouraged people in 2021 to get the COVID vaccine and wear masks. Simmer said he was only following the best science at the time and said he never thought anyone should be required to be vaccinated. Sen. Matt Leber asked why Simmer didn't push back on schools buying Plexiglas barriers or grocery stores putting arrows on floors to encourage one-way traffic up aisles. 'Sometimes where there is chaos there is a vacuum of leadership,' Leber said. Simmer's critics both at the Statehouse and on social media have derisively called him a 'double masker' for wearing two face masks even after he explained that his wife has underlying medical conditions that make COVID especially dangerous for her. He was maskless for hearings both last month and on Thursday but said he 'will wear a mask again without hesitation if that is what it takes to protect the woman I love.' The lone Republican to vote for Simmer asked his colleagues to go back to 2020 and 2021 when many of them also organized COVID testing and made sure their constituents could find places with COVID vaccines. Sen. Tom Davis said punishing Simmer for what could only be known at the time was a terrible precedent. 'If he's guilty of some dereliction of duty in that regard, then I am derelict as well,' Davis said. The Senate's longest serving member, Republican Harvey Peeler, asked if Simmer would be willing to run the state Department of Mental Health if his nomination failed. 'Fauci blew up. You got hit by the shrapnel,' said Peeler, a senator since 1981. 'You talk to my constituents. They see you, they think Dr. Fauci.' The vote doesn't kill Simmer's nomination. But the full Senate, dominated by Republicans, would have to vote to pull it out of committee and send it to the floor. The only real mention of anything other than COVID during the hearing came from Democrats. One questioned him about how South Carolina was monitoring measles outbreaks in other states. A second asked about a mobile maternity care center set to hit the road in 2026. South Carolina is near the bottom in the nation in infant and maternity deaths and has a number of poorer counties where getting to the nearest obstetrician can involve at least a 50-mile (80-kilometer) drive.
