Jeff Merck is one of those lucky people whose hobby is also his livelihood. He builds guitars for a living. You might think he’s a pretty happy guy, easy going and content with his world, and you’d be right. Merck grew up listening to his father pick guitar from time to time. His first exposure to music was like many, […]
Vicious Bikers roam the streets before daybreak
Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 5:45 am, around 15 “middle- aged” men wearing spandex and maybe a woman or two meet at a gas station to cycle around Columbia. They are the Vicious Bikers, a group of Columbia cyclists who have trained and raced together for many years. In 2000, Leighton Lord and Matt MacGillivray decided to take the […]
Five Points Wheels Transportation Program gets moving
Much needed transportation for seniors and disabled adults is becoming available through the new Five Points Wheels Transportation Program. The program’s boundary is Huger St., River Road, Beltline, and Rosewood Ave. The program will operate six days a week approximately six hours per day. The service will be offered to clientele prequalified through a membership mechanism. Pick up and destinations […]
Fan the Heat
Help Columbia residents stay cool and become a part of the Fan the Heat program by donating a fan or air conditioner this summer. Fan the Heat is, “designed to help Columbia’s seniors and families who have children living with physical challenges,” Chief Dean Crisp said. Donated fans and air conditioners are accepted throughout the year, but the program kicks […]
Richland School District One inducts four into Hall of Fame
Four prominent community members who have distinguished themselves at the local, state, and national levels in the fields of education, law, politics, and business will be inducted into the Richland One Hall of Fame this year. This year’s Hall of Fame inductees will be • Dr. Alma W. Byrd, an educator who served in the South Carolina House of Representatives […]
Celebrate Jubilee: Festival of Heritage Saturday, August 25
Celebrate the life and legacy of Celia Mann, one of South Carolina’s most celebrated free black women as Historic Columbia Foundation hosts its award- winning Jubilee: Festival of Heritage on Saturday, August 25, from 10 am- 6 pm at the Mann- Simons Cottage, 1403 Richland Street. This year’s event will feature tours, artists’ demonstrations, hands- on educational activities for children, […]
Lovely to look at; better to adopt
Five kittens and a momma kitty were all saved from a drainage ditch two weeks ago when the weather was 100 plus degrees. Absolutely not feral. These cats were thrown out of a home, most likely when momma turned up pregnant. Momma was very skinny but has filled out nicely in the last few weeks. All six are happy and […]
Briefs
Bridges S.C. has 1,300 bridges under the name “structurally deficient” given the collapsed interstate bridge in Minneapolis, killing 13 people. S.C. might have to spend $3 billion, or $150 million a year for the next 20 years, to fix or replace them. Intracoastal Waterway The federal government has relaxed its own requirement to keep the Intracoastal Waterway at least 12 […]
Keep Five Points, Five Points!
Photo and Story By John Temple Ligon Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com The city’s planning department was the host at King Park for a Five Points planning session Monday night, August 20. Property owners were out in force, as were the shopkeepers and the restaurateurs. There were some politicians, to include active elected officials and declared candidates and even a few latent types about to […]
Star Profile
Janelle Beamer of Southern Wesleyan UniversityJanelle Beamer is a public relations professional. Beamer maintains and enhances the public’s impressions of Christian- based Southern Wesleyan University, which is headquartered in Central, S.C. SWU also has campuses in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and North Augusta, where the branch campuses teach mostly business management at the upper levels. Dr. and Mrs. Beamer, moved to Columbia in 1959. Beamer’s father, […]
