Former Hartsville Messenger editor dies of COVID-19
From Staff Reports
Kent Mahoney, former editor of the Hartsville Messenger and currently editor of the Walterboro Press and Standard, has died of COVID-19, the Florence Morning News is reporting, citing statements by his family. Mahoney died Wednesday, Oct. 21, the newspaper reports. The story cites a post by Mahoney’s daughter on his Facebook page indicating he’d been on a ventilator for nine days. “He was always fair, always honest, and always real,” said Audrey Childers, public information officer for the Darlington County School District, which Mahoney covered along with longtime Messenger reporter Jim Faile, who became acting editor after Mahoney left. Faile died, apparently from pre-existing medical problems, shortly before the pandemic struck the country full-force.
