If Smokey could have chosen his future and controlled his destiny, he would still be living a charmed life in the only home he has ever known. Smokey, an ov e rwe i ght seven year old German Shepherd, basked in the love and care of his human family. But in only a few short weeks, his circumstances changed, and […]
Pawmetto Lifeline to open new shelter in September
In the Columbia area, a unique and urgently needed service for homeless animals is getting a new breath of life as Pawmetto Lifeline, formally Project Pet, continues its construction on its new state of the art animal shelter scheduled to open in September of this year. The core purpose of Pawmetto Lifeline is to promote and practice the principle that […]
CIU graduate ministers to soldiers in Afghanistan
Chaplain Navy Lt. Stephen DiCenso, featured in the following story, says, “My connection to Columbia is Columbia International University (CIU) and Park Street Baptist Church. We lived there five years while attending seminary. My wife and I consider Columbia, S. C. home because in the five years we were there during my seminary we really enjoyed it. One day after […]
Travel to Uganda with Caroline Burns
Editor’s note: Caroline Burns attended Satchel Ford Elementary, Crayton Middle, and A. C. Flora High School (2006) and the College of Charleston (2010). She is the recipient of a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship and is spending a year in Uganda. Keep up with her adventure at carolinekburns.blogspot.com
Famously Hot Historically cool for 225 years
Columbia’s first newspaper, The Gazette, was founded in 1791. The First Presbyterian Church was the first religious organization to hire a pastor, the Rev. David E. Dunlap. Mail service between Columbia and Charleston began in 1797. Columbia’s first postmaster was 17-year-old James Sanders Guignard. The Columbia Academy was created by the state legislature in 1792 to establish free schools in […]
Rock to the Top adds to bureaucracy not to teaching
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently announced another round of “Race to the Top,” a federal program that offers quick, one-time cash infusions to state and district administrative offices. In exchange for these dollars, “winning” states dance to Washington’s tune on education. When the music stops and the money is exhausted, states will be left on the dance floor […]
Quirky Crimes in the Capital City
Forest Acres tForest Drive, 3000 block: Police were called to a department store at 11 a.m. Monday after a security guard reported a shoplifter getting away with $2,000 worth of merchandise. The guard told officers that the thief was in an area displaying designer T-shirts. He appeared to be comparing colors and sizes, but all of a sudden he whipped […]
Comptroller General, interim commander of the SC State Guard
I was recently honored to be selected as interim commander of the South Carolina State Guard succeeding Major General Nelson C. Lacy, who is retiring. The State Guard was formally established by state law in 1941 as a division of the South Carolina Military Department. It’s also referred to as the South Carolina Defense Force and supports the National Guard, […]
Dreher Class of 1961, you are invited
Can you believe how fast time flies? It’s been 50 years since we graduated from high school. We have all changed. Some changed hairstyles, some changed jobs, some changed spouses, some changed waistlines but we still share a common bond with our classmates. We are all on the back side of 60 now and can look back on a very […]
Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church
Places of worshipFor 53 years Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church has served the southeastern neighborhood of Columbia from its strategic spot on Leesburg Road near Sumter Highway. Organization day was June 29, 1958, when 52 Methodists pledged their membership to the new congregation at a meeting held in Hampton Park. The new congregation held services in Annie Burnside School. By the end […]
