Today's Features

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a fan of Girl Scout cookies. Not that I eat them (that much); gastric bypass took care of any affinity for sweets that I have several years ago.

But I am a fan. Imagine the surprise when I recently walked in and found two boxes on my desk, wrapped together with a bow, along with a note from Cherie Ellis, community development manager for the Mountains to Midlands division of the Girl Scouts of South Carolina.

The Peanut Butter Patties were placed on the newsroom alter, where they almost immediately disappeared.

After 100 years, Mildred Caskey McWaters continues to grow in the kind of grace refined by fire.

No, it’s not the kind of fire that emanated from the birthday cake she enjoyed during the celebration of her 100th birthday on Feb. 16 at White Oak Manor.

McWaters’ grace comes from family flames that spark when one your four children accidentally sets the car shed ablaze and fire trucks show up, sirens blaring, in front of your home on West Gay Street.

These days, you want the most for your money. Now that you’ve clipped all the coupons and recipes, finished the crossword puzzle and gleaned every valuable nugget of information from the previous edition of The Lancaster News, what do you do with what’s left? Here are a few green suggestions on how to reuse and recycle your newspaper.

1. Compost

When I walked into the Buford Little General Store one day earlier this month, co-owner Missy West handed me a cupcake.

“Try it,” she said. Never one to argue, I did.

“This is pretty good,” I said. “Did you make these?”

Missy wasted little time with a reply.

“Yep,” she said. “Now it’s your turn,” before handing me a Ziploc bag of something resembling pancake batter and a cake recipe for Amish Friendship Bread.

“First Day, Feb. 7,” was written on the bag.