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Features

  •
    Get creative with convenient cake...

     There’s a time and a place for a cake mix. When you’re in a pinch, a boxed mix gets dessert on the table fast, and allows you to check one more thing off your list.

    But beyond cake, use these convenient mixes for cookies too. Home cook Sherry Symmonds includes cream cheese for flavor and to keep her cake mix cookies moist. She also suggests getting imaginative with mixes and add-ins – any favorite combination will do.

  •
    Walking to Arizona

    Most people would probably admit to daydreaming about a great adventure, perhaps one that takes off into the wild blue yonder with no set travel rules, only a destination to be reached. 

    On July 19, two Lancaster natives set out on just such an adventure, backpacking down the southeast coast and across the deep south to Phoenix, Ariz.

  • How to reduce the threat of runaway...

     Televised images of roaring infernos devastating forests and destroying entire communities in western states have been unsettling. 

    Having experienced frightening grass fires at Cedarleaf, I cannot imagine the terror of landowners facing the recent mega-fires.

    Because superfires are becoming more common, the American Forest Foundation just devoted a large section of its new magazine, “Woodland,” to this topic. 

  •
    Graduate and mother both receive...

     From release

    Danielle Amanda Miller, a 2013 Lancaster High School graduate, is a foster child. 

    Each year, a ceremony for all graduating foster children in South Carolina is held in Columbia. This 2013 event was June 14 at the Columbia Conference Center. 

    Part of the program includes an essay contest for the “My Guiding Light Award.” 

  •
    Dicksons' yard is a...

     Sherry Archie

    For The Lancaster News

    Two and a half years ago when Debbie and Wayne Dickson married, they began finding ways to blend the belongings each had accumulated over the years. Both having been married previously and lost their spouses after many years of marriage, they each had a house filled with furniture as well as yards full of plants that had special meanings. Debbie’s house was in Chesterfield and Wayne’s home was in Lancaster.

  • Galls on trees are caused by insects

     While walking to the mailbox one sunny morning, I saw odd-looking spheres hanging from one of the young white oaks. 

    About the size of golf balls, they were white with a few brown spots and fuzzy.

    Several days later I saw more on another tree. Having no idea what they were, I made a note to ask our S.C. Forestry Commission Project Forester Roy Boyd to take a look on his upcoming visit.

  •
    A trip with friends through the N.C...

    The Rev. Harriss Ricks, pastor at Douglas Presbyterian Church, is a good friend of mine – and everyone else, for that matter. He has a very nice family home just off Lousiana Street in Montreat, N.C. He invited all of his friends and church members to go up to Montreat for a day on June 11.

  •
    Proper mulching techniques important

    While driving along a busy street in a nearby city, I noticed ornamental trees in the median standing in what are called mulch volcanoes.

    Shredded mulch had been piled in circles almost a foot deep at the edges and nearly two feet high against the trunks.

    It never ceases to amaze me that people (in this case, taxpayers) actually spend money to have this kind of  landscaping done because it is a major no-no for tree care.

  • Gospel festival to take place in...

    Calling all churches and nonprofit community organizations – you are invited to participate in the first Lancaster Community Gospel-Fest, a two-day festival set to take place Aug. 9 and 10 at the Hope on the Hill facilities, located at 610 Old Barr St. in Lancaster.

    The Gospel-Fest Event promotion manager and founder, Ollie Alexander, has organized several expos and events in the past.
    The focus of this festival is unity and the strengthening of local families and the community as a whole, she said.

  • Magnolia trees are icons of the...

    Psychologists have long delved into people’s memories trying to identify early events that influenced later behavior or choices.

    I clearly remember attending a birthday party when I was four years old.

    Several games were played and when I won one, the prize was a very small pocket-sized book about trees. All of the pictures were in full color and I spent hours turning the pages, amazed to see flowering trees.

    My favorite was one with big white flowers that I now realize was a Southern Magnolia.

  •
    Catawba woman celebrates 100th...

    Bertha Harris of Catawba will turn 100 years old on Saturday, June 29. On her birthday, devoted family members and loving friends and neighbors from her church community will gather for a day of celebration in her honor from 10 a.m. to noon at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1989 Reservation Road, Rock Hill. The public is invited to attend the gathering.

  •
    Tiny graduates celebrate last day...

    Michele Roberts
    For The Lancaster News
    Carolina Christian Academy celebrated the graduation of 19 kindergarten students in a ceremony held on Tuesday, May 28.
    The students were taught by K-5 teacher Cassy Pittman, who said she couldn’t be prouder of the tiny graduates.

  • Oldest trees on earth are amazing

    A recent email from an old friend reminded me of a trip I took in the summer of 1991. It was a pilgrimage to see the oldest trees on Earth.

    That journey required flying across the continent and then traveling winding, steep, scary roads high into the White Mountains of California’s Eastern Sierras. Finally reaching the part of Inyo National Forest known as the Ancient Bristlecone Forest was like arriving on a moonscape.

  • Protecting our local watersheds

    As a part of Lancaster County for more than 60 years, the Lancaster Soil and Water Conservation District wants to remind the community that everyone has a connection to natural resources. The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) celebrated the 58th year of Stewardship Week April 28-May 5. The 2013 Stewardship Week was themed “Where Does Your Water Shed?”  

  • ‘Stoney’ may get second chance

    Nancy Parsons
    Landmark News Service
    GREAT FALLS – Two years ago, a piece of history was uncovered in Great Falls.
    “Stoney Lonesome,” the old town jail, was unearthed. But now the brick building sits abandoned with weeds and bushes growing up around it.
    Great Falls Mayor Don Camp says he has not abandoned the historical project. He said the weather has prevented plans to spruce up the area and make the piece of history a place people would want to visit.

  •
    Home, tweet home

    From simple wooden boxes to complex systems made for an entire flock of birds, birdhouses come in all shapes and sizes.
    However, one Lancaster resident has turned them into works of art.

    John R. “Cornbread” Collins Jr., 75, started building regular birdhouses back in 2004, after retiring as a truck driver in 2001.
    Collins said he sold about 1,200 of the birdhouses in one year, mainly on eBay, but also out of the back of his truck.

    David Poston, who lives in Rock Hill, saw the birdhouses and ordered 150 of them, Collins said.

  •
    Driving home character

    For Jimmy Fox, school bus driving was a mission field.

    A retired Baptist minister, Fox has stepped down as a bus driver for Indian Land schools, where for a decade he greeted each child by name, sent them birthday and Christmas cards and encouraged them to do their best.

    “I love relating to the students more than driving the bus,” said Fox, 73, a Van Wyck native. “If kids were having trouble with a lesson, I would help them with it. I tried to teach them politeness, manners and how to treat others.”

  • Unleash the power of age

    Every year since 1963, May has been the month to appreciate and celebrate the vitality and aspirations of older adults and their contributions and achievements.

    It is a proud tradition that shows our nation’s commitment to honor the value that elders continue to contribute to our communities.
    This year, the theme of Older Americans Month is “Unleash the Power of Age!,” which emphasizes the important role of older adults. This May, communities across the nation will recognize older Americans as productive, active and influential members of society.

  •
    Living proof: exercise promotes...

    The belief that regular exercise can help prolong life and contribute to overall wellness is widely accepted among all age groups.

    Lancaster resident Joyce Deese has been putting that theory to the test as an exercise instructor for the past 25 years. Now at the age of 67, Deese is still going strong.

    “Exercise is a commitment to your body, a way of life,” Deese said. “It’s something you have to be serious about or you won’t see any results.

    What you eat matters; it’s not just about dieting.

  • Avoid these new scams that target...

    While we are all taught to use good manners when answering the telephone, not everyone who calls you necessarily has good intentions.

    According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a recent spate of lottery scams or advance fee frauds originating in Jamaica are targeting seniors and other Americans by telephone.

    While the Jamaican and U.S. governments have teamed to tighten laws and combat the problem, it’s important to guard against becoming the next victim.