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Columns

  • Freedom hard to get, easy to lose

    On Independence Day we celebrate the gift of freedom given to us 239 years ago by the founders of our great nation. Freedom is as precious as life itself.However, its true value is rarely appreciated unless it is either threatened or lost.

    July Fourth isn’t just a day off. It’s more than barbecues and parties. The Fourth of July is a time to renew your gratitude for your good fortune to be living in the greatest country in the world.

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  • Writer takes issue with hiring requirement

    This letter is in response to the June 3 article regarding the first reading of the Lancaster County budget for the 2015-2016 budget year.

    To put it mildly, I was taken aback by council member Charlene McGriff’s request and Bob Bundy’s agreement that a qualified minority be considered for the part-time position in the voter registration office.

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  • IL not likely to get post office

    I enjoyed William Chick’s recent letter about the absence of a post office in Indian Land. I thought it would be appropriate to respond here.

    As a resident of Indian Land myself, I suppose it would be nice to have a post office here. However, there are a couple of reasons why our community isn’t likely to be getting one anytime soon.

    For starters, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), quite simply, is broke. The service is currently $15 billion in debt. You read that right – $15 billion.

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  • Can’t we just get along?

    “I’m Doity.” He stood right in front of me at Zaxby’s, while I sat in one of three seats facing the counter and waited on my order.

    His bright brown eyes matched his skin tone and the fact that I was almost six decades older and white did not seem to concern him at all.

    Me either.

    Uninvited, he sat down right beside me and repeated, “I’m Doity.”

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  • Parents should have been told about graduation lock-out rules

    I am one of more than 20 parents whom were robbed of the milestone of seeing my only son walk across the stage at graduation. His father is deceased and the only other relatives were locked out of the ceremony. Imagine how my son felt when he he got the diploma and looked in that chair for me, and it was empty. Shame on you Buford School.

    Tickets in hand as I went through the door, I informed the girl I was expecting a relative and needed to get the ticket to her. She tore my floor ticket in half and said I could get back in with that half.

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  • With legislature ending, lawmakers consider cuts

    After six months of meaningless resolutions, behind-the-scenes negotiations with lobbyists, lengthy “debates” over bills that don’t matter to anyone, and early adjournments to attend receptions hosted by multibillion-dollar corporations, lawmakers have finally noticed that the state budget contains things that shouldn’t be in the state budget.

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  • Tax paying now more convenient

    In the Lancaster County Treasurer’s Office, we pride ourselves on providing quality customer service. While no one enjoys paying taxes, one of our top priorities is to make paying your taxes simple and easy.

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  • Roads, ethics, more top legislative agenda

    As the S.C. General Assembly approaches the end of the first year of the two-year session, much remains to be done. Finding additional funding for our roads, overhauling ethics laws and strengthening penalties for criminal domestic violence are the issues receiving the most attention.

    To date, though, resolution has yet to be reached on any. What follows will bring you up to speed on those issues as well as some others legislators are debating this year.

    Roads, roads, roads

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  • Noble column: Fix higher education so grads can dream big

    Back many years ago when I graduated from high school, my father made me a promise that changed my life and we should make the same promise to all of our children in South Carolina.
    As a callow youth with my brand-spanking-new diploma in hand, I was simply excited about graduating and looking forward to celebrating with my friends. But before things got too far out of hand, my father pulled me aside, looked me straight in the eye and made me a serious and solemn promise.

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  • Wilt column: Revised budget better, but it still has problems

    The fiscal year 2015-16 Lancaster County budget version 6 (second reading) has been finalized with a 1.8 mill tax increase, using $1.3 million from the fund balance to cover what would ordinarily be a 4.6 mill additional tax increase. This allows council to claim that taxes have not been raised the maximum amount (2.8 mills), while actually spending 6.4 mills worth of tax money (228 percent of the maximum tax increase). More to the point, it camouflages County Council’s serious difficulty in living within its means.

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