3 Local Sites to Host Wreaths Across America to Honor Veterans

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Three area sites will join in wreath-laying ceremonies Dec. 18 on "National Wreaths Across America Day," a day to remember, honor and teach those in the community about the contributions of veterans, both during the event and throughout the year. 

Wreaths Across America coordinates wreath­-laying ceremonies at more than 2,500 locations across the United States, at sea and abroad. To sponsor, donate or volunteer locally:

• M.J. Dolly Cooper Veterans Cemetery
• Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Easley
• New Prospect Baptist Church in Anderson

For more information about the national organization, visit here.

Shopping Locally for Holidays a Gift to Community

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

The Anderson Observer, in partnership with Anderson County wants you to shop locally this holiday season.

There are gifts for all ages right here in Anderson County, and more than 60 percent of money spent and locally owned businesses goes directly back into the community. Many franchises of chain stores owned by local citizens puts about 16 percent of profits back into the community.

If every family in the Anderson County area spent just $10 a month with a locally-owned, independent business instead of a national chain, over $6.5 million would be directly returned to the Anderson community. This translates into better schools, better roads, more support for police, fire and rescue departments and stronger local economies.

Purchases made at locally owned businesses have both an immediate impact on the local economy, and a long-term benefit for the community.

Shopping for Christmas gifts at local stores keeps them open and thriving, allowing them to stock more products and draw increasingly larger crowds. Such success inspires more small business owners to open stores, cafes, yoga studios, and other local businesses. Such growth catches the eye of people who don’t live in town, and is an important element of economic development, spurring the growth of hotels, gas stations, and restaurants. Such growth contibutes to a thriving community, more tax money is brought in, and everyone benefits.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the Observer will feature some local business owners joining the effort to encourage the shop locally effort for the holidays.

Donna LeBrun, owner of City Seed at the Station, has her business ready for the holidays. The also offer online shopping.

Council to Consider Splash Pad as Part of Kid Venture Expansion

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Anderson County Council will consider bids to expand the proposed rennovation of Kid Venture to include a splashpad and other additions as part of the regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the historic courthouse downtown.

Council will also consider a series of rezoning proposals and tax incentives for expanding businesses as part of the meeting.

At the 6 p.m. honors and awards meeting, council will recognize Welfare Baptist Church Pastor Dr. Ankoma Anderson and Youth World Champion NBHA Pressely Green.

Full agenda here.

Market Theatre "Spelling Bee" is F-U-N

Paul Hyde/Anderson Observer

Everyone wins in The Market Theatre’s high-spirited production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

It’s a winning cast, winning production and winning experience for the audience.Please: Escobar Photography

Drew Whitley’s staging of “Spelling Bee,” a musical about the tribulations of awkward adolescence, is brimful of boisterous energy.

Jared Fricks is responsible for the tight music direction. 

And where else can you learn how to spell such dandy words as “capybara,” “acouchi,” “phylactery” and, of course, “vug.” (You never know when those might come in handy.)

The show, running only through Monday, is set in a school gymnasium where six middle-schoolers, along with a few people selected from the audience, compete in a spelling bee. They’re all desperate to win, but the show is really about young brainiac oddballs struggling with all the geeky emotional melodramas of the early teen years.

Among those youthful challenges: self-doubt, speech impediments, parental neglect and the enormous pressure to win.

Whitley’s direction and Mary Haley Thompson’s peppy choreography make this “Spelling Bee” a rambunctious affair. The musical, with music and lyrics by William Finn, offers a glimpse of the frantic energy that seethes underneath the organized proceedings of a spelling bee.

No surprise, then, that one of the big numbers is called “Pandemonium.”

All of the actors enthusiastically inhabit their roles. This is an ensemble show, but each actor gets a moment to shine.

DeAnna Gregory does a fine job as the lisping Logainne, who has to deal not only with a speech impediment but two bickering dads (or “dadths,” as she says). Gregory has one of the show’s funniest moments as she makes a plea (apparently off-script) for freeing Britney Spears from her conservatorship. 

Isha Pattanaik is poignant as the unloved Olive, whose parents are far away, physically or emotionally.

Christina Boothe nicely conveys the woes of the relentless overachiever Marcy.

Jonathan “Thor” Raines plays Leaf with the right amount of self-doubt, which Leaf tries to cover by being loud.

Matthew Quattlebaum is engaging as William, who spells with his “magic foot.” 

Noah Taylor is sympathetic as Chip, with his unfortunate attack of raging hormones. Taylor, the Market Theatre’s executive artistic director, is returning to the stage after a 10-year break.  

There are three adult characters in the show as well. DeBryant Johnson plays Mitch, a man helping at the spelling bee as a part of his court-ordered community service. Johnson is the show’s secret weapon, unleashing a soaring voice in “Prayer of the Comfort Counselor.”

Paige Whitman (as Rona) and Mark Cawood (as Vice Principal Panch) offer fine contributions as the adults trying to maintain order at the spelling bee.

One quibble: At Friday night’s performance, some of the words, particularly in the songs, were unclear. It’s uncertain whether that was a problem of diction, amplification or the venue. 

Theatergoers should note: The show contains some adult content, earning it a PG-13 rating.

For tickets to “Spelling Bee,” call 864-729-2999 or visit the website markettheatre.org.

Paul Hyde, a longtime Upstate journalist and English professor, writes about the arts for the Anderson Observer.

S.C. Has $1B Surplus after Boom Economic Year

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The amount of money in South Carolina's state bank accounts continues to grow thanks to a quick recovery from the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and people spending money much faster than experts predict.

The latest estimate released Wednesday said South Carolina lawmakers will have nearly $1 billion more to spend this budget year, according to the state Board of Economic Advisers.

That boosts the money that the General Assembly has control over to nearly $11 billion and doesn't count at the roughly $3 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money coming to South Carolina.

It also doesn't count about a $1 billion surplus after the state closed the books on the fiscal year that ended June 30. Predictions that economic growth would slow because supply chain issues, consumers slowing their spending or dwindling federal stimulus money didn't come true.

The 13.2 percent growth in the 2020-21 fiscal year budget was the largest in at least 40 years, the board said.

South Carolina sales tax collections continue to soar, growing by $500 million to $3.8 billion in the past fiscal year. Corporate tax revenues have also risen sharply thanks to retailers benefiting from all that extra money being spent.

The state's economic experts still think the rapid rise in revenue can't continue. They predict the budget for next fiscal year starting on July 1 will also be about $10.9 billion.

But the board acknowledged being wrong before and said its prediction was more volatile than usual.

The experts also warned revenues could crash if U.S. lawmakers fail to increase the federal debt ceiling in December causing an unprecedented default that could decimated the economy.

All the extra money likely means plenty of debate in the South Carolina General Assembly on pay raises for state employees and helping out rural school districts that don't have a big local tax base. There also will likely be lots of discussion about spending on infrastructure items, like crumbling, crowded roads, decades-old water and sewer systems or old buildings at state colleges and universities.

Anderson Christmas Lights Returns with New Additions

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

The annual Anderson Christmas Lights returns in 2021 with light displays (and the return of some old favorites not seen in a while), new additions to the holiday village and other surprises beginning Thanksgiving Day.

Co-Founder Ben Phillips talked about this year's event in this interview with the Anderson Observer.

 

City of Anderson Approves E-Scooters for Downtown

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Anderson City Council approved Monday, on first reading, a resolution to all E-scooters in the City of Anderson.

Between 20-25 scooters, operated by Bird Rides, Inc., should arrive for use downtown by mid-December, with the fleet growing to 60-70 by Spring 2022. E-scooters will be governed by the same rules applying to bicycles and must stay to the right of street lanes and offer the right-of-way to bicycles in bike lanes, bike paths, and multi-use paths, and users of the scooters must be 18 years old or older. Bird will provide videos and signage to promote safe and courteous riding and parking, which will be allowed to operate between 4 a.m. and midnight. The scooters must be parked and staged in areas outside of pedestrian walkways or roadways and must not contribute to visual clutter or obstruct travel.

Council also approved, on first reading, a resolution to provide certification as provided by the South Carolina Abandoned Building’s Revitalization Act of 2013 (S.C. Code Section 12-67-100 Et. Seq) for a pair of downtown buildings, on at 401 N. Main Street, the other at 122 West Whitner Street.

The 401 N. Main Street property was built in 1909 as a post office, until Sullivan-King Mortuary moved into the building in 1941. The building later served as Sosebee Mortuary, but has not been empty after plans for a mini-mall fell through in 2019.

The 122 West Whitner property, next to the now-closed "The Meeting Place" restauratn, has been empty for some time.

110-year-old building that they're now calling the Historic Postmark building was built in 1909 as a post office, according to city records. Beginning in 1941, the building served as a mortuary for about 70 years. Then it stayed empty for many years.

Council said the city is expected to benefit at both sides by their move.

Also on Monday night, city council:

Gave final approval to a request to annex and zone to PDD, Planned Development District, approximately 203 acres located off East River Street/Belton Highway.

Approved details establishing the April 2022 Municipal General Election.

Approved, on first reading, a plan to rezone approximately 28 acres located off Crowther Road and US 29 bypass from HI, Heavy Industrial to PDD, Planned Development District.

S.C. Senate Redistricting Maps Ready; House Maps by Midweek

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina voters should have an idea by the end of this week what both their state Senate and House districts will look like when they go to the polls next year.

The House committee handling redistricting plans to meet Wednesday and will likely release its map for its redrawn 124 districts based on population growth and changes in the 2020 U.S. Census.

A Senate committee released a proposed map of that chamber's 46 districts last Thursday and plans a public hearing this Friday.

Both chambers have suggested they will hold early December special sessions to approve the state House and Senate maps, as well as a U.S. House map they will collaborate on.

The biggest change for the Senate districts was taking the district currently represented by Democratic Sen. Dick Harpootlian of Columbia and moving it to Charleston.

The move was the conclusion of a cascade of tweaks to the maps as many rural and more Democratic districts in the rural areas between Charleston and Columbia either lost population or grew slower than the state as a whole from 2010 to 2020.

South Carolina added nearly 500,000 people over the decade, its population growing 10.7% to more than 5.1 million, according to the new U.S. Census population count.

But that growth was concentrated in areas like Horry County, Charleston and the rest of the coast, York and northern Lancaster County near Charlotte, North Carolina, and around Greenville and Spartanburg.

The House map will likely have several new districts in those areas.

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Vaccine Mandate

Wire Reports

A federal appeals court temporarily blocked the Biden administration's new vaccine rules that could apply to larger employers, certain health care workers and federal contractors.

In the brief order, a three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said that the petitioners in the case -- Republican-led states and private businesses -- "give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate."

The court asked the government to respond by 5 p.m. on Monday and said it would expedite the case. The court did not specify whether its order would have nationwide effect or would only apply to the states under its jurisdiction.

The Biden administration had announced earlier this week that its vaccine rules applying to private businesses with 100 or more employees, certain health care workers and federal contractors will take effect January 4.

The rules, released in a statement Thursday, stipulate that employees who fall into those groups will need to have received the necessary shots to be fully vaccinated, either two doses of Pfizer or Moderna's vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, by January 4.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster took to Twitter to respond to the court issues stay. 

The OSHA rule does allow for employees to remain unvaccinated if they so choose, but the employee must provide a verified negative test to their employer on at least a weekly basis and must wear face masks in the workplace.

High School Football Playoff Scores

T.L. Hanna 41, Dorman 35 OT

Clinton 77, Palmetto 14

Wren 45, Fairfield Central 14

Westside 24, Greer 21

Powdersville 45, Broome 44

Crescent 68, Chesnee 35

Chamber Downtown Christmas Cookie Crawl Set for Dec. 3

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

The Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce is doing their part to kick off the Christmas season on Dec. 3 with cookies throughout downtown and a visit from Santa.

The Christams Cookie Crawl event begins at 4 p.m. and will continue until after the official lighting of the Anderson County Christmas tree on the square set to begin at 6 p.m. Participating downtown businesses will open their doors to welcome shoppers and hand out Christmas cookies throughout the afternoon into the evening. . 

“We are excited to welcome families into downtown Anderson and encourage them to shop our local merchants and dine in our local restaurants.” said Pam Christopher, President and CEO of the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce “We expect Santa to make a stop at the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce office.  So, bring your children by our office so they can tell Santa what they want for Christmas.  We look forward to a Merry Christmas and this is a great way to celebrate the season.”

There are wine crawls and bar crawls throughout the Upstate, but few crawls have families and children in mind. That changes next month. The Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the County’s first-ever Christmas Cookie Crawl. On Friday, December 3rd, just before the annual tree lighting ceremony, participating downtown businesses will open their doors to welcome shoppers and hand out Christmas cookies to visiting families. 

“We are excited to welcome families into downtown Anderson and encourage them to shop our local merchants and dine in our local restaurants,” said Pam Christopher, President and CEO of the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, “and, we expect Santa to make a stop at the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce office.  So, bring your children by our office so they can tell Santa what they want for Christmas.  We look forward to a Merry Christmas and this is a great way to celebrate the season!”

For more information - andersonscchamber.com

Pendleton Elects Two New Town Council Members

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Pendleton has two new town council members after Tuesday night's municipal elections in Anderson County. Here are the unofficial results:

Belton

Mark Spence, Town Council Ward 1, ran unopposed. In the vacant Ward 3 seat, Brandy Vaughn took 86 percent of the vote to defeat Tammy A. Kay. In Ward 5 incumbent Lynda McCoy took 93.93 percent of the vote to defeat Heather Adams, who had 6 percent of the vote.

Honea Path incumbents unopposed. 

In town council Ward 1 A. Earle Ashley, Ward 3’s Jean Perrett, and Ward 5’s Dorothy Dot Evans ran unopposed. 

Iva incumbents stay in office.

Mayor Bobby Gentry, Town Council Ward 1 Elmer Powell, Ward 2 Dwayne Kelley, Ward 3 Mary Forrester and Ward 4 Paul Hart, all incumbents were voted back in for another term.

Pendleton has two new town council members. 

Incumbent Mayor Frank Crenshaw ran unopposed. 

Town Council Ward 1 Lyn Merchant received just over 60 percent of the vote defeating incumbent Bruce Salley, Town Council Ward 3, Vince Gaulin received almost 68 percent of the vote to defeat incumbent M. Denise Jackson. 

Pelzer fills two town council seats.

Incumbent Mayor Will Ragland ran unopposed. 

Donna Idle took 30 percent of the vote, followed by incumbent Mike Matthews with 26.92 percent, to fill the two vacant town council seats. 

West Pelzer 

Jeff Lee took 52 percent of the vote to defeat Johnny Rogers Sr. to win the town council seat.

Here are the details of these elections.

AnMed Offering Pediatric COVID Clinics at North Campus

Anderson Observer

AnMed Health now offers the pediatric COVID vaccine for ages 5-11 in its vaccine clinic in the Healthy Futures Room located at the North Campus.

AnMed Health individual/group medical practices are not offering the pediatric vaccine at this time. Clinic hours are Thursday and Friday from 2-6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m, and appointments are required can . be scheduled through MyChart or by calling 864-512-2897.