3 3 students at airport high schol are set to go back to class this morning after a fire broke out in one of the buildings yesterday. Firefighters say the fire started in an hvac unit on top of the vocational building in the back. The students were taken next door to fulmar middle while they waited to be picked up or taken home. One parent who had just picked her daughter up says she was told about the situation early and was happy with the response. Lexington two superintendent dr. Bill james thanked his staff for their organized evacuation. 3 Vicki Johnson they really have things under control. In the midst of mayhem, theyre usually pretty good at getting the kids to safety so i feel like my kids are safe here. Dr. Bill james our folks did an exceptional job with the training that they couldve been a tragedy. 3 School Officials say the eletricity had to be cut off to the building in order for firefighters to work. 3 3 the South Carolina republican primary is just nine days away. And the democratic primary is the week after, but the polls are open now if you are voting absentee. News 19s loren thomas has all you need to know if you have to vote before the big day. 3 we are ready to go. Its crunch time for the Richland CountyVoter Registration and elections office. Our machines ve been checked and rechecked, they are being delivered as we speak, our poll workers are being trained, everything is in order. Elections director samuel selph says they are looking forward to a smooth primary election is february 20th, the decratic primary is the 27th, but you can only vote in one of the two. From now until the day before the primaries you can vote absentee in person or by mail. You know you just have to have one of the five photo ids ready and well get you in and out in no time. But you can only vote absentee if you have a valid excuse. According to the sc votes website. There are 16 excuses. Including people in the armed forces currently serving overseas, a person who is physically disabled or over the age of 65. And Students Attending School outside of their county of residence. Like usc junior stan smith. Im two and a half hours away from home so its better if i just do absentee, than just drive all the way back home. Smith and thousands of his fellow gamecocks are first time voters. And they admit that deciding on the best candidate can be a bit much. Its just kind of hard to really keep up with all of the candidates because we have a lot of school work at the same time. Theres so many candidates and going through the registration process is not something that a lot of schools go into detail about. So when you turn 18 during high school and you just get thrown into the election world, its just a little overwhelming. But while the deciding on a candidate may be difficult task. Polling stations around the midlands are trying to make the voting process easy. We hope to have you in and out. In 3 3 you can vote absentee for the republican and democratic primary elections by mail or in person. You can vote in Richland County monday through friday from 830 am to 5 pm and saturday from 9 am to 12. 33 several gop presidenenal candidates are in the state today. Marco rubio has Campaign Stops in hilton head and myrtle beach. Meanwhile. Former Florida GovernorJeb Bush Bush has two Campaign Stops. Hell be at bakers sweets in sumter at 3 30. And then hes holding a town hall meeting at senates end here in columbia at 6 30. Texas senator ted cruz is scheduled to campaign in rock hill today. The Kasich Campaign is riding high after a second Campaign Stops in georgetown, florence. 3 looking at the democrats. New hampshire winner Bernie Sanders does not have any Campaign Stops planned for South Carolina this week. Hillary Clintons Campaign will be in denmark tomorrow. Even with a loss in New Hampshire recent polls show clinton with a large lead over sanders in South Carolina. 3 and speaking of hillary clinton. Her husband. Forme r president bill clinton will hold a Campaign Rally this saturday at Francis Marion university in florence. 3 to help you keep track of all the candidates stops in the midlands you can head to our website wltx dot com where you can find everything related to the primaries. This saturday night the republican candidates will meet in greeville for a president ial debate. The 90 minute debate will feature only 5 candidates. Marco rubio. Ted cruz. John kasich. Jeb bush and donald trump. You can watch that entire debate right here on news19. And leading up to the debate we will have a political special previewing the event which airs from 7 to 3 3 a hearing is scheduled in charleston today for dylann roof. Police say roof confessed to killing 9 people attending a bible study at Mother Emanuel Ame Church back in june of last year. Back in decemeber a federal judge delayed his trial after his attorneys said they still needed more time to review evidence in the case. Roof will not appear in court for todays hearingmeanwhile. The states case against roof continues. That trial is set for july. 3 meanwhile. Dylann roofs friend joey meek, is also scheduled for a hearing today to discuss the status of his case. Last week a federal judge granted a delay in meeks trial. Authorities say that 21yearold meek failed to tell investigators all he knew about dylann roofs plans to shoot churchgoers at Emanuel Ame Church last june. 3 Heart Disease symptoms in women are often undiagnosed. Thats why tonight a Palmetto Health specialist will speak to women about their risk of take place at palemetto baptists parkridge location on Palmetto Health parkway at six. The American Heart Association reports cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death worldwide. 3 today, if you see some smoke near the peachtree rock preserve in lexington dont be alarmed. Were told a controlled burn is taking place and is expected to begin around 11 a. M. , with the fire reaching peak intensity in the late afternoon. About 12 to 15 Fire Fighters will be onsite guiding the fire. Visitors to the preserve will notice a blackened burn area for approximately four weeks after the fire 3 scrimmages continue at Founders Park this week for South Carolina baseball. Todays scrimmage will start at three fortyfive pm. Fridays scrimmage is at four p. M. Scrimmages are free and open to the public. 3 after a loss to uconn. The usc Womens Basketball team will be back out on the court today. The team will play host to florida at the Colonial Life arena. The gamecocks are record tying 10th win against a ranked opponent this season. Meanwhile, the gators will attempt thier first win over the gamecocks since 2011. Tip of is set for 7pm. 3 3 a bet comes with an element of risk. And a houston Radio Station producer learned that the hard way. He ended up with a unique tattoo of houston, texas icon mattress mack. Khous sherry 3 williams was there when it 3 3 chat3 3 raising the state minimum wage. The lawmaker trying to make it happen and how much it could be. Plus, valentines day is the holiday of love, but it could break the bank. How much the average person is paying for their sweetheart. 3 and if youre heading out the door in a few minutes, grab afante will explain what else youll need to stay warm in your forecast. If youre doing everything right but find it harder and harder to get by, youre not alone. While our people work longer hours for lower wages, almost all new income goes to the top 1 . My plan make wall street banks and the ultrarich pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, ensure equal pay for women. Im Bernie Sanders. I approve this message because together, we can make a Political Revolution 3 chat 3 3 common items for valentines day can add up fast. How much valentines day could end up costing you. 3 burger king is looking for a new crown hot dog king. Starting later this month, the fast food chain will sell hot dogs at all of its u. S locations. A leading food blogger recently tasted them. He called them small and otherwise gave them a positive 3 review. Chat3 3 3 how much will you be spending on your valentine this year . According to a new study by bankrate. Com, the average cost of a traditional Valentine Day is 512. They researched the average cost of commonly purchased Valentine Day items to see what love costs for most americans. The chocolates for 15, 3 diamond earrings for 323, a dozen roses for 41 dinner for two for 80 and a bottle of champagne for 51. 54. We want to know what you want for 3 valentines day. Be sure to tweet at us. Chat 3 just in time for valentines day a special love story. A 93yearold world war ii veteran from virginia finally reunited with his wartime girlfriend in australia yesterday. After dating and internet helped bring the two o together after they spent 7 decades apart. 93yearold Norwood Thomas and 88yearold joyce morris reconnected over skype late last year after one of joyces sons found norwood in an online article about dday. 3 3 joyce is now divorced and norwood is a widower. Norwood and his son will be in australia for two weeks. No 3 a role of life 3 time for johnny depp . Maybe not but the actor recently played donald trump for fun. The oscarnominated actor teamed up with comedy website funny or die in a secretly filmed biopic parody about the republican president ial candidate. Donald trumps the art of the deal the movie was actually filmed last year and kept under wraps. There are several cameos in the 50 minute flick. Ron howard plays himself, Patton Oswalt appears as merv griffin and Henry Winkler pops up as threeterm 3 3 tough questions for the dot. What state senators what to know before making a plan to fix South Carolina roadadplus. Columbia Police Working to solve a 4yearold murder. The new clues they have to help find a killer when news 19 she spent a lifetime making a difference for people. Winning healthcare for 8 million children. Benefits for families of reservists and the national guard. Standing strong around the world for human rights and womens rights. Hillary clinton. Shell raise the minimum wage. Take on the Drug Companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs. And give everyone the opportunity to go to College Without going into debt. Shell get the job done. For us. 3 3 3 3 3 3 in columbia. Police are asking for the publics help solving a Fatal Shooting that happened 4 years ago. Back in 2012, the body of 46 year old Warren Nelson was found at 901 colleston street. Police believe he was shot at around 3am. Investigators say nelson was talking to a man inside a borrowed gold, 4door Buick Century moments before he was killed. They believe the man is someone nelson knew. A motive for the shooting is unclear, but police say it was have any information about who shot nelson, contact crimestoppers at 1triple8 crime sc. 3 also in Columbia Police say they seized almost four dozen Marijuana Plants from a home. That they say was an indoor marijuana growings operation. 45 plants were discovered at a home on caroline drive in south columbia. They say at least two bedrooms were set up with equipment used to grow marijuana indoors. 32 year old Justin Andrew helps has been charged with manufacturing marijuana. Police say the plants have an estimated street value of more than 164 thousand dollars. 3. Police in columbia also need your help finding who is responsible for stealing a trailer filled with 30 thousand worth of flooring equipment. Police say it happened around 6 monday morning on candi lane. The trailer has an advertisement for Magnus Anderson floor restoration on the side. But police say the sign could have been removed by now. The van is described as multicolored dodge with a white top, black passengers side and gray drivers side doors. If you know who is responsible, call crimestoppers at 1triple8 crimesc. 3 a Richland County councilman is sentenced to probation and a fine for not paying his taxes over a three year period. Councilman kelvin washington plead guilty to the charges yesterday afternoon. The judge sentenced him to three years probation and a fine of over 2 thousand dollars. According to the judge. When washington pays the fine the other part of the sentence will be thrown out. Prosecutors say the errors they found were with washingtons personal finances, and not any misuse of public funds. According to the department of revenue, washington failed to file individual tax returns in 2012, 2013, and 2014. 3 3 legislation moving through the house. Could save farmers devastated by last falls flooding. Yesterday the house ways and Means Committee voted 210 to approve in disasterdeclared counties to apply for grants of up to 100,000 each. The grants could cover 20 percent of a farmers total loss. The flood destroyed crops and kept farmers from planting winter crops. The ag commissioner has said more than 330million dollars worth of crops were destroyed. 3 state senators working on a plan to fix our roads. Had some tough questions for the people who decide which roads get priority. Senators questioned the dot secretary. And the current and former chairs of the Infrastructure Bank board which provides funding for major projects. Senator Harvey Peeler is upset because smaller roads are getting funding before others. 3 its obvious to me that a major highway like interstate 85 should receive priority before we have a secondary road in a rural area being funded by Something Like the Infrastructure Bank. 3 one of the main parts of the roads plan. Is to possibly the Infrastructure Bank. So youll have a better idea of where your tax dollars are going and why. 3 a state lawmaker is fighting to raise the minimum wage to 10. 10 an hour and she brought it to the labor commerce subcommittee. Dawn logg takes us to the state house. To introduce us to a single mother struggling to make ends meet. 3 Rachel Nelson is a single mother from charleston making nine dollars an hour at hardees but she says that not enough. sot 11 Rachel Nelson single mother of three s a single mom of three children, it is hard for me to provide 3 for them just basic necessities. I struggle each and every day. Elson is calling state representatives to raise the state minimum wage and pass representative gilda cobbhunter bill. sot 05 Rachel Nelson single mother of three his bill would be so wonderful for us, because it would be a stepping stone for us. F passed the bill will raise the state minimum wage hour to ten dollars and ten cents an hour. sot 08 rep. Gilda cobbhunter d orangeburg et show families that we honor and respect them, by paying them a decent wage. standup 17 dawn logg s the creator of this bill representative cobbhunter has been known to be a huge advocate for raising minimum wage in South Carolina, but a few representatives are apprehensisi to the idea of going against the federal wage, even though 29 other states pictured here in green, have already done it. sot 06 rep. Gilda cobb hunter dorangeburg here are a lot of people in the Business Community who are opposed to it because they think it will increase cost. Obbhunter believes it wont increase cost because if the minimum wage is raised taxpayers won have to pay for the social consequences on the back end of the issue. She says taxpayers will pay one way or another so she prefers to see that money go toward hihier wages for people like nelson to support their families. sot 04 Rachel Nelson single mother of three es i may not have gone to college, but i feel this is what i deserve. N columbia dawn logg minimum wage to 15 dollars an hour but representative cobbhunter feels tenten an hour is a realistic goal for the state. 3 your next president will be in South Carolina. What the upcoming primaries mean for the nomination. Plus, some midlands dance students getting one on one learning from the pros. The two things they say is helping them get better. 3 we are waking up to freezing temperatures this morning. Meteorologist efran afante has the things youll 3 Teena GoodingLaw Enforcement torch run. Along with local Special Olympics programs invite the local community, businesses, celebrities and sponsors to brave the freezing cold waters during their respective polar plunge. Events. This event raises funds for local Special Olympics programs and raises awareness about the power of Special Olympics through all fun. Gamecock 3 polar blunge monday february 22nd. Maxcy gregg pool 3 6pmplunge registration includes a free tshirt and is only 50 to jump 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 dance students at Irmo High School are getting the opportunity to learn from professional dancers for almost two weeks, members of the Charlotte Ballet Company have been teaching dance students technique and choreography. Today. Students had a private show and were able to see members of the Ballet Company perform. The professional dancers and the irmo high students both say theyve learned so much from each other. 3 thel moore iii 57 32 i learned that the smallest thing is never really small to someone else because coming out to these schools these aren our normal large performances, but to someone sitting out there it really big to them, 57 43 so there always something that means something to someone else and i think that the biggest thing to learn. Allyssa haygoodtaylor, senior 2831 it been amazing especially as a dancer, and trying to dance at a collegiate level being able to work with professional artists and kind of have the gist of how to act in a and how to definitely like put yourself new people like that. 2845 3 the company will finish up their residency at Irmo High School on friday. 3 it looks like disneys frozen wont be letting their popularity go any time soon. The characters will soon be on broadway. Were told the musical adaptation of the disney mega hit will open in the spring of 2018. Casting and broadway dates will be named at a later time. And were told there will be some new songs. 3 ben stiller and owen wilson have a valentine for the fashion industry. Zoolander 2 arrives in theaters tomorrow, and Suzanne Marques tells us how the stars feel about this 3 chat 3 chat donkey sound elephant sound theres a big difference between making noise, tapping sound and making sense. elephant sound donkey sound when it comes to Social Security, we need more than lip service. Our next president needs a real plan to keep Social Security strong. elephant noise hey candidates. Enough talk. If youre doing everything right but find it harder and harder to get by, youre not alone. While our people work longer hours for lower wages, almost all new income goes to the top 1 . My plan make wall street banks and the ultrarich pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, ensure equal pay for women. Im Bernie Sanders. I approve this message because together, we can make a Political Revolution and create an economy and democracy that works for all and not just the powerful few. Coming up, we are in for a slight warmup. Evan fonte all tell us how warm. And students returned to return to class after a fire at airport high school. And if youre planning to