Are there effective gun control laws in place for persons with mental illness? Mark W. Binkley, General Counsel for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, was the invited speaker for NAMI Mid-Carolina’s June education meeting Tuesday June 11, in the dining room of Trenholm Road United Meth-odist Church. Binkley’s presentation entitled “Gun Laws and Persons with Mental Illness” included […]
Star writers win Bob Ford Excellence Awards
For the past two years, the staff and writers of The Columbia Star have honored the late Bob Ford by presenting a writer with the Bob Ford Excellence Award. On June 6, a luncheon was held at Villa Tronco, 1213 Blanding Street, to remember Bob and to present the awards. Warner Mont-gomery gave an overview of Bob’s accomplishments before the […]
CASA Quarterbacks keep children safe
On the football field, a quarterback is reassured that his team has his best interests and is working to protect him. Children in the Richland County court system have the same assurances. But this time it’s the quarterbacks who are protecting them. According to its mission statement, National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (CASA), “supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy […]
Quirky Crimes in the Capital City
Forest Acres tTrenholm Road: A woman called police at 1:30 p.m. Sunday to ask them to go to her father’s home and trespass a 20-year-old woman from the premises. The 47-year-old woman told the officers she had asked the 20-year-old to stay away from her 78-yearold father as she believed the young woman was trying to take advantage of her […]
The Columbia Curmudgeons
One works and the other seven watch Dear Curmudgeons, Why does it take eight government employees to fix one section of sidewalk or anything else? You always see one working and the rest standing around watching. And don’t tell me that’s just the bureaucracy. I’m sick of that excuse. -Sick of Excuses Dear Sick- One does the work, and the […]
Historic Columbia
Since the industrialization of America, kitchen gardens have become a thing of the past, but at historic Columbia the horticultural staff is working to recreate and maintain the legacy of the kitchen garden. Tucked behind the west flanker at the Robert Mills House are many heirloom vegetables grown in historical kitchen gardens, which typically contained vegetables, herbs, and specialty plants […]
Reader comments on Breedin’s story
I read Brent Breedin’s interesting story on Harvard and Southern roots. It would have been good to note Drew Gilpin Faust (Ph.D., history) did major research at USC’s South Caroliniana Library for some of her books, most notably her biography of James Henry Hammond. She was doing research at USC as far back as the 1970s when I was in […]
Is your child ready to stay home alone?
What age should a child be allowed to stay at home alone? This is a challenging decision for parents, especially when the school year ends. The age for leaving a child at home varies greatly from child to child because of a number of factors including the child’s maturity and ability to handle responsibility. According to Dr. Deborah Greenhouse, Palmetto […]
Ordinary fathers do extraordinary things
I’m just saying...Sometimes ordinary people can lead extraordinary lives. We all know them and probably don’t think about them all that much because, since they never make the news in negative ways, they aren’t usually the topic of conversations. A lot of them are called “fathers.” My dad, Ray Rogers, was an ordinary man. So was my father-in-law, Jimmy Hook. My husband, […]
