Columns

Memories of 9/11 take me back to the summer of 2001, a couple months prior to that tragic September day in our nation’s history.
The week of July Fourth our family vacation took us to New York City.
In the years before, we had opted for the annual family beach trip, but that summer we took a train north.
Turns out it was a good decision because a tornado hit the Grand Strand that week. We were stunned with the news that most likely we would have been in the storm’s path.

If there is one thing many of us have unfortunately gotten used to over the past three years, it’s bad news about the economy. Layoffs, higher unemployment and lower expectations have become almost the norm.
And while we know firsthand that this news is real, it isn’t the only side of the story. In fact, there is some good news out there as well. Exports, for example, are one place where things are looking much better. 
Each year, more and more people around the world are buying products from South Carolina.

Last month the Humane Society of Lancaster SC spent about $1,100 buying eight tons of dog food so we could help feed the needy pets of our county.
Pets that might otherwise end up in the county animal shelter because their owners are having a very hard time financially and cannot feed them.
One of our main goals is to help as many pets as we can in whatever way is needed and by providing them with food.

Latin meaning “guardian at law,” a guardian ad litem is a person appointed by a family court judge to advocate for a child in a court case.
This term isn’t commonly used in the daily vocabulary of most people. Because of confidentiality laws, most residents don’t have any idea how many child abuse and neglect cases that fill the docket of Lancaster County Family Court.
However, for one group of Lancaster volunteers, knowing these children is a way of life.