Led by Barbara Harrell and Annette Boette, the community has been honoring the Columbia Police Department K-9 Unit for five years with gifts and canine vests for the 11 teams. Sgt. P. J. Blendowski said, “Our dogs are trained locally and are used to locate drugs and lost people. They are used to inspect buildings and for tracking. The dogs […]
Operation Spread the Joy
The sixth annual “Operation Spread the Joy” project has been collecting items to distribute Christmas Eve morning to downtown Columbia’s homeless. The idea for the project was first imagined in 2011 by Irmo neighbors Heather Malovic and Maeghan Edge, who initially began the operation from inside their homes. Driven by a desire to share the holiday spirit with Columbia’s neediest […]
Christmas gifts of times gone by
Object HighlightAs a graduate assistant at Historic Columbia, I have grown attached to a trove of old treasures. I recently lifted one object out of its case for our holiday exhibit: a doll whose delicate frame has somehow managed to stand the test of time. Her dark hair and rosy cheeks remind us the houses of the past were home not […]
Quirky Crimes in the Capital City
West Columbia Twelfth Street: A man called police headquarters at noon Friday to report he had “shot him.” When officers got to the scene, they found a distraught man outside who kept saying he had “shot” someone. The officers then went into the home to find another man wi th blood on his shirt, and he told them he been […]
ASK US AT THE STAR
What are the similarities and differences in Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa celebrations?Christian Christmas is celebrated December 25, Jewish Hanukkah December 25–January 1, and Kwanzaa December 26–January 1. While Hanukkah and Christmas are ancient, Kwanzaa originated in 1966. Yet, all three are December celebrations with variations on the Judeo-Christian spiritual tradition and represent three different ways to bond with one’s family and community. A description of all can be found on the […]
The Mannequin Challenge
It’s not a criticism; It’s an observationOn Thanksgiving Day, the posse I’m associated with was sitting around stifling yawns with our pants unfastened when one of the newer additions decided we needed to try the Mannequin Challenge. In case you are over 50 and remain disconnected from the hip, outside world, the Mannequin Challenge is a new thing sweeping the internet where people, usually movie stars, […]
Everyday Miracles
I’m just saying...I want to tell you a story. It’s not your standard holiday story but to me, it’s one I think will leave you with a warm fuzzy glow that will make you smile, and isn’t that what this holiday is about? We have a friend named Ronny who has been my husband Marty’s best friend for more than 30 years. […]
A Christmas Story: Outsourcing and Green Mavericks
40–SomethingI’ve had some interesting experiences with the jolly old elf over the years. There was the time I was lying in my bed late on Christmas Eve in 1978 trying desperately to fall asleep, when I heard my mother down the hall in the living room plainly remark, “Hey, this Luke Skywalker action figure was made in Japan!” At the […]
Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands helped me heal
I freaked out when my mom said she wanted to tell our story for Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands. It’s terrifying to think there may be some piece of information in here that would blow my cover. One of the things I’ve learned is that you can’t take this story back after it has been shared. Every time I’ve […]
