Former commander of the S.C. Highway Patrol passes away at 85 By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Almost everyone from South Carolina has a Colonel Joseph H. “Red” Lanier story. My late father knew him, though not well, but often spoke of Col. Lanier with great respect and admiration. My bossContinue Reading
The Basilica of St. Peter’s Catholic Church will host it’s 35th Annual Free Easter Banquet on Easter Sunday, April 4, for the poor, homeless and elderly. The church is located at 1529 Assembly Street in downtown Columbia and organizers are asking that the public please use the back entrance dueContinue Reading
Irmo High School varsity basketball coach Tim Whipple has been named by his peers as the 2021 South Carolina Co-Region 4A Coach of the Year. Whipple will share the honor with A.C. Flora coach Josh Staley. “It is always an honor to receive recognition from your peers. Even more soContinue Reading
The Capital City/Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board will have the 2021 Taste of Lake Murray, presented by Lexington Medical Center, on May 6th, 2021. The event will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 6pm. Limited space is available but tickets are on sale and can be purchasedContinue Reading
Maintaining the Integrity of our Elections This week, I voted in favor of legislation (H.3444) regarding our state’s election laws. This legislation has two goals: one, to maintain the integrity of each and every vote cast, and two, to ensure elections are run consistently across the state. After the electionsContinue Reading
Columbia City Ballet will be performing Cinderella at the Koger Center March 26 and 27. The 2019-2020 season was cut short because of the initial COVID-19 lockdown measures, days before Columbia City Ballet was scheduled to perform Cinderella at the Koger Center in Columbia. This upcoming will be the firstContinue Reading
A Lexington-Richland School District Five teacher has been selected as the Lexington Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8738 Teacher of the Year. Dutch Fork High School teacher Kelly Eckstrom was nominated for the prestigious award by her peers for promoting citizenship education in her classroom and school. The groupContinue Reading
A Lexington-Richland School District Five veteran educator has been named the President-Elect of the South Carolina Music Educators Association (SCMEA). Colleen Marcou is the orchestra director at Irmo High School International School for the Arts and the district orchestra coordinator, with a 24 year career in School District Five. SheContinue Reading
By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Active and retired Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) deputies and others gathered at the RCSD Region 3 headquarters and RCSD training facility – the cafeteria-auditorium of the former Denny Terrace Elementary School – for the 23rd annual RCSD Retirees Luncheon, Mon. Mar. 8. Sheriff LeonContinue Reading
POWERPLANTSC tree planting event to aid in far reaching effort By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Trees are a critically important, life-sustaining component of our global environment. Trees provide oxygen. They absorb carbon. They stabilize the soil. They provide nesting for birds and animals, as well as fruit and other nourishmentContinue Reading
A review of artist Dawn Buskard Faber’s “Love Lifted Me” By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Art is a journey. Sounds vague, even cliché. But it’s true. And like music and poetry, visual physical hand-formed works of art are also subjective in terms of their sensory appeal. Though the clearly masterfulContinue Reading