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Today's News

  • Floyd and Rhonda Cauthen's blended yard earns high marks

    Many family traditions get passed down from one generation to the next.

    Could the love of flowers be one of those? Rhonda Cauthen believes so.Although she was only a youngster, Cauthen still recalls strolling through her grandmother’s garden, which was frequently visited by the neighborhood ladies.

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  • Teams tackle scrimmages

    County high school football coaches say they will have a better assessment of their respective teams following scrimmages today.All four county teams will launch their scrimmage schedules away from home.Andrew Jackson and Buford will travel to Richburg for a four-way scrimmage with the host Lions and Ridge Spring-Monetta.Lancaster, which returned from four days of camp at Summerton’s Camp Bob Cooper, travels to Chesterfield to face the Rams and Class AAAA foe Marlboro County.Indian Land is also on the road as the Warriors will venture t

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  • We care every day, not just at the top of the hour

    It was 6 a.m. I was groggy, coffee-deprived, as I stood on the grass behind the Lancaster County Courthouse, watching as firefighters and law enforcement officers worked the scene of a fire at 6th Circuit Solicitor Doug Barfield’s office.

    But then a question woke me up.

    “And where is the courthouse?” a TV news reporter asked, as we stood in the shadow of Lancaster’s charred but beloved building.

    WHAT?

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  • Kershaw fundraiser blossoms into Heart of Summer Festival

    KERSHAW – What started as a fundraising idea for a Kershaw business destroyed by fire is turning into one of the biggest festivals hosted by the town.

    The Heart of Summer Festival will take place Saturday in downtown Kershaw.

    Resident Ann Marie Dwyer, owner of Virginia's Dream in Kershaw, conceived the idea.

    "I grew up in Louisiana and festivals down there are a whole lot different than they are here," she said. "They're a whole lot bigger. So I decided to try and bring a little of that flavor to Kershaw."

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  • Two centuries of history lost in courtroom fire

    When someone’s house burns down, often the greatest loss people experience deals with items, on face value, would be worthless: old letters, photographs, remnants of childhood.

    Actually these little things represent far more than monetary worth. They are priceless. When a building, such as the Lancaster County Courthouse is lost, nearly two centuries of history and pride is taken leaving little for future generations to appreciate and respect.

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  • Security tightened after second fire downtown

    Reacting to two deliberately set fires at two government buildings in one week, security around government buildings in Lancaster was tightened Thursday.

    Lancaster County Clerk of Court Jeff Hammond said he expected the "whole nine yards" – the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, Lancaster Police Department and S.C. State Guard – to watch over government buildings Thursday night.

    Lancaster Police Chief Hugh White said his department was planning increased patrols, with extra officers called in to work the night shift.

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  • Lancaster citizens can salvage county courthouse

    The Lancaster County Courthouse, designed by Robert Mills, is one of the most historically important buildings left in Lancaster County today. I use the word is because I firmly believe that Lancaster County, its citizens and surrounding businesses, can still salvage and rebuild this monument.

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  • Preston Blackmon's seat to be filled in November

    The Lancaster City Council seat vacated by Preston Blackmon's death will be available for filing later this month.

    Blackmon, who died Saturday at age 82, served as the District 1 councilman for 31 years. Part of the last two years, he was absent from most meetings while battling illness.

    Filing for that seat will open at noon Aug. 22 and will close at noon Sept. 4, said Lancaster County election official Cassie Stump.

    About two years remain in Blackmon's term.

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  • Kershaw's only woman mayor 'an inspiration'

    KERSHAW – Pauline Phillips Bailey was Kershaw's only woman mayor, a town councilwoman and business woman.

    Her children say her resume was not her priority. It was something else.

    "I think it's her family," said Bailey's daughter, JoAnna Shepard.

    "Her family," daughter Paula Adams agreed.

    "Her family and religion," said her son, Huel "Buddy" Bailey Jr.

    Bailey died July 30 in Rock Hill. She was 78.

    Her funeral was Aug. 1 at First Baptist Church in Kershaw.

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  • Why didn't county courthouse have a security system?

    How was somebody able to enter the Lancaster County Courthouse and start a massive fire? Why didn't officials know about the blaze until a passerby called?

    The answers to those questions and more may lie in the security measures that were in place.

    County Administrator Steve Willis said the courthouse didn't have an alarm system, surveillance cameras, smoke detectors or water sprinklers.

    The building was built before those devices became mandatory, Willis said.

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