Opinion

Five Lancaster County Schools recently produced shining moments. Three schools - Buford and Indian Land high schools along with Clinton Elementary - received the prestigious Palmetto Gold Award.

The Discovery School and Erwin Elementary earned the Palmetto Silver Award.

The prestigious awards are presented for academic excellence, the major purpose in education.

The S.C. Education Oversight Committee developed the award criteria based on absolute and improvement ratings given to each school on the state's 2007 report cards.

Veteran police officer Tim Witherspoon is leaving the Lancaster Police Department, but not some of the duties he’s performed in 25 years of an outstanding career in law enforcement.

Witherspoon, 45, retired from the Lancaster Police Department earlier this month, but he’s likely to be spotted in his police uniform. Chances are you will find him working at Lancaster High School.

He is now a resource officer at LHS, the county’s largest high school.

Having Witherspoon around, no matter what duties he performs, can only be viewed as a plus.

Most people in Lancaster County probably have never seen a live Carolina heelsplitter before. Most people probably never even heard of them until the rare mussel became a threat to development in the booming Indian Land area.

But in the last year, these creatures have flexed their muscles, thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which have given them a voice. We've been told that since these mussels are protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, we must take precautionary measures to ensure they are protected in Lancaster County.

I am writing to voice my disbelief at the attitude of the Lancaster County Water and Sewer District.

My husband and I received our bill in December for $48, having used 2,000 gallons. We decided that with the ongoing drought, we could reduce our water usage by recycling the water from the shower by using it to flush our toilets and water our plants.

Barbara Rutledge's column, "Community journalism remains focus," in the Jan. 11 edition of The Lancaster News just about said it all about the heart and soul of our community newspaper.

Having been fortunate to work with the news staff on a part-time basis for a few years, I want to add my few cents to the dialogue.

The Lancaster News began informing the citizens of Lancaster nine years before the War Between the States or the Civil War, according to one's perspective.

He was 53 and had worked there for 27 years.

"What am I going to do?" he said.

He said it as if he were thinking out loud more than asking a question.

The Lancaster News and the S.C. Employment Security Commission were sponsoring a job fair. The irony is the day before the job fair, Springs Global announced its closing of the Grace Complex, where he worked.

Do you have pet peeves? I know I do. My two biggest pet peeves are based on the inconsideration of people who leave shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot and people who don't use turn signals.

It's our turn. Every four years since 1980, South Carolina has had its time in the national spotlight during the presidential primary season.

For most of those 28 years, South Carolina's Republican presidential primary has enjoyed that glaring light. And it's become the barometer state for GOP candidates hoping to get to the White House.

Several years ago, I participated in a job fair for graduating journalists at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Representatives from media outlets across the nation – newspapers, broadcast, television and public relation firms – also were there.

We were there interviewing and touting our businesses to the future graduates. I was there representing The Lancaster News and our parent company, Landmark Community Newspapers Inc. (LCNI.) As the day wore on, folks from the different businesses began to wander around the concourse talking to reps at their booths.