MINUTES FROM RIGHT NOW. MEMORIAL DAY MARKS THE UNOFFICIAL START TO THE SUMMER SEASON. AND AS WE HEAD OUT TO THE BEACHES AND THE POOLS THIS SUMMER, WE MIGHT SEE FEWER LIFEGUARDS THAN WE’RE USED TO. OUR JAMYA REED JOINS US LIVE FROM GREENVILLE THIS MORNING TO EXPLAIN WHY THE COUNTRY AND THE UPSTATE IS FACING A CRITICAL LIFEGUARD SHORTAGE. MEAN GOOD MORNING. WELL, HERE AT THE KROC CENTER, THE RECREATIONAL POOL IS RUNNING UNDER AN ALTERNATE SCHEDULE WHILE THEY HIRE LIFEGUARDS. ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN LIFEGUARD ASSOCIATION, THE COUNTRY IS CURRENTLY FACING A CRITICAL LIFEGUARD SHORTAGE. THEY SAY HALF OF THE NATION’S POOLS AND PARKS HAVE HAD TO CLOSE OR REDUCE HOURS DUE TO STAFFING. THE ASSOCIATION SAYS IT’S A PROBLEM THAT STARTED A FEW YEARS AGO AND JUST KEPT GROWING. WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT. THAT HIT US HARD THAT ACTUALLY ELIMINATE EVERYTHING. ALL STOP WE COULDN’T DO UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL TRAINING. AND I THINK A LOT OF YOUNG INDIVIDUALS KIND OF GRAVITATED TOWARDS THE RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL AS WELL AS INFLUENCERS. AND THEY NEVER CAME BACK TO LIFEGUARDING BECAUSE THERE’S NO INTEREST. WE’VE HAD GUARDS IN THE PAST, SO IT’S GREAT. WE’VE HAD WE’VE BEEN REALLY, REALLY LUCKY. WE’VE HAD GREAT GUARDS COME BACK, BUT IN THE PROCESS OF FINDING OTHER GUARD, IT HAS BEEN SLOW. SO WE’RE JUST USING ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT MARKETING IDEAS AND WAYS TO REACH PEOPLE. KAREN NEELY WITH ON GUARD POOL MANAGEMENT SAYS THEY CURRENTLY HAVE FOUR OPENINGS FOR LIFEGUARDS. THE KROC CENTER SAYS THEY HAVE HIRED AN ADDITIONAL LIFEGUARDS. AND WE’LL BE BACK TO A FULL SCHEDULE SOON. LIVE IN GREENVILLE COUNTY, JIMMY REED, WYFF NEWS FOUR. THIS WEEKEND’S WEATHER MADE IT A ROUGH START FOR MYRTLE BEACH TOURISM SEASON. SWIMMERS WEREN’T ALLOWED IN THE WATER TO START THE MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND DUE TO HEAVY RAIN AND WIND GUSTS WHICH MADE FOR DANGEROUS SWIMMING CONDITIONS. SUMMERTIME RULES ARE NOW IN PLACE THROUGH LABOR DAY AT MYRTLE, WHICH MEANS ONLY CIRCULAR UMBRELLAS UP TO 7.5FT IN DIAMETER ARE ALLOWED IN LINE WITH OR BEHIND THE UMBRELLA LINE ON THE BEACH. YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO USE TENTS OR OTHER DEVICES BIGGER THAN THAT. THE ONLY EXCEPTION IS SMALLER TENTS FOR INFANTS. IN ADDITION TO MEMORIAL DAY YESTERDAY WAS NATIONAL 5 TO 9 DAY. IT MEANS ANY BABIES BORN IN SOUTH CAROLINA ON MAY 29TH ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE PALMETTO BABY GRANT FOR THEIR COLLEGE EDUCATION. IT’S 529 529 GRANT FROM THE SOUTH CAROLINA FUTURE SCHOLAR. 529 COLLEGE SAVINGS PLAN FOR 11 YEAR STATE TREASURER CURTIS LOFTIS, PARTNER WITH HOSPITALS ACROSS THE STATE. IT’S ALL TO PROMOTE SAVING FOR COLLEGE PARENTS OF BABIES BORN YESTERDAY HAVING UNTIL AUGUST 31ST TO COMPLETE THE GRANT APPLICATION AND OPEN A FUTURE SCHOLAR ACCOUNT. THE BEAUTY OF SOUTH CAROLINA’S TEN UPSTATE COUNTIES IS A BIG REASON WHY SO MANY PEOPLE WANT TO MOVE HERE. AND FOR 25 YEARS NOW, UPSTATE FOREVER HAS BEEN DEDICATED TO PROTECTING THE AREA’S NATURAL RESOURCES WHILE BALANCING THAT GROWTH. NOW, AS A NONPROFIT CONSERVATION GROUP CELEBRATES ITS SILVER ANNIVERSARY, IT CONTINUES ITS FORWARD THINKING POLICIES TO ADDRESS THE ASTRONOMICAL GROWTH THAT’S COMING IN THE NEXT 25 YEARS. IT’S PROJECTED THAT WE’LL HAVE 340,000 NEW RESIDENTS COMING TO THE UPSTATE BY 2040, AND THAT IS A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE. SO WE NEED TO KEEP PACE WITH GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AND CARVE OUT OUR MOST IMPORTANT NATURAL PLACES AND AREAS WHILE WE STILL HAVE TIME. HOW DO WE ACCOMMODATE THAT GROWTH WITHOUT BECOMING A HUGE, SPRAWLING MESS LIKE ATLANTA OR HOUSTON OR LOS ANGELES? SO THAT’S THE BIG CHALLENGE THAT WE FACE. AND WHILE WE’VE DONE REALLY WELL OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS, WE’VE TAKEN BIG POSITIVE STEPS TOWARDS ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE OF GROWTH. WE HAVE A LOT MORE WORK TO DO. BRAD WYCHE LEFT A SUCCESSFUL LAW PRACTICE TO FOUND UPSTATE FOREVER. HIS VERY FIRST CONSERVATION PROJECT WAS THE SWAMP RABBIT TRAIL. THE TRAIL IS WILDLY POPULAR AND IT’S STILL EXPANDING. UPSTATE FOREVER HOLDS CONSERVATION EASEMENTS ON MORE THAN 30,000 ACRES IN THE UPSTATE, INCLUDING STUMP HOUSE, MOUNTAIN AND NATURE PRESERVE. ALSO FARMLAND AND EXPANSION