Today 
Friday, September 24, 2021 at 5:51AM A community event to officially open the new Anderson County Airport Terminal is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 11:03PM COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a state law preventing anyone from moving a Confederate monument or changing the historical name of a street or building without the Legislature's permission is legal.
But in the same ruling, the justices struck down a requirement that two-thirds of the General Assembly must approve a move or name change.
The unanimous decision keeps intact South Carolina's Heritage Act, which has stopped colleges and local governments from removing statues honoring Civil War soldiers or segregationists even as other areas of the South took them down after protests sparked by the killing of African American George Floyd last year by white police officers in Minnesota.
The law was passed in 2000 as part of a compromise to remove the Confederate flag from atop the South Carolina Statehouse dome. The rebel banner was moved to a pole on the capitol lawn, where it flew until 2015 when lawmakers removed it after nine Black church members were killed in a racist massacre at a Charleston church.
One of the people who sued lawmakers over the Heritage Act is the widow of state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor at Emanuel AME church in Charleston who died in the attack.
The law specifically protects monuments from 10 wars — from the Revolutionary War to the Persian Gulf War. It also protects monuments honoring African Americans and Native Americans as well as a catchall phrase of “any historic figure or historic event.”
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 11:41PM Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Anderson County Council Vice Chairman Brett Sanders recaps the county council meeting held Tuesday night.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 9:00AM Observer Reports
For the second consecutive year, Anderson University is among the highest-achieving institutions of higher learning in the United States in terms of employee satisfaction, based on a report by "Great Colleges to Work For®."
AU is one of 42 institutions in the United States named to the program’s prestigious Honor Roll for 2021.
“Anderson University is a great place to work because we change lives—the lives of our students, and the lives they will touch as graduates,” said President Evans P. Whitaker. “Anderson is forward-thinking and entrepreneurial. We have increased enrollment nearly 150 percent over the last 15 years as a result of dedicated faculty at the heart of our work, and administrators and staff who are committed to continuous improvement. We have created a rigorous learning environment in a culture of friendliness and hospitality, and the highest ideals of professionalism and civility.”
The program is one of the largest workplace recognition programs for colleges and universities in the nation, recognizing institutions that get top ratings from their employees regarding workplace practices and policies.
Monday, September 20, 2021 at 12:56AM Observer Reports
What if, instead of just eating candy on Halloween, you helped make it possible for hundreds of families to have food to eat? You can this holiday by Trick or Treating for canned goods rather than candy.
You can help stock the food pantry at AIM during the Halloween season, a key time of year heading into the holiday season. Each month AIM assists hundreds of families with their food needs, and families needing to ask for help to make ends meet. And the need is growing.
During the annual food collection effort, canned goods and non-perishable items are collected to stock AIM's Fishes and Loaves Food Pantry. This event helps jump-start the busy holiday season and AIM is asking the entire community to join.
Any class/group/club or individual can particiapte. There are many ways to become involved: forming a team to collect in neighborhoods, collect within your church, school organization or bring your own creative ideas to help. AIM offers any materials you might need along with lots of support, while you provide the volunteer power and enthusiasm during the last two weeks of October.
All non-perishable food is welcome. (Avoid glass items. Please do not include items which will crush, such as bread.) Soups, canned vegetables, canned meats, rice, beans, peanut butter, pasta are among the most requested items.
Perisable items need to be brought directly to the AIM offices. For more information, call 864-965-9077, email angie.shaw@aimcharity.org or visit https://www.aimcharity.org
Sunday, September 19, 2021 at 9:53PM Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Anderson County Council will vote on a measure to fine tune the new countywide EMS system, consider a series of zoning requests and vote on economic incentives for new and expanding businesses as part of Tuesdsay's meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the historic courthouse downtown.
At a 6 p.m. honors and awards meeting of council, the late former County Council Chariman Francis M. Crowder, Sr. will be recognized for his work in the community.
Sunday, September 19, 2021 at 6:03PM Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
The new police chief in West Pelzer is no stranger to law enforcement in Anderson County.
Chief Scott Stoller has been involved in such public service for decades, but has found a home in leading in a small town. 
Stoller is also bringing innovation, with a new program aimed at preparing law enforcement officers to respond when a call involves someone with autism
The West Pelzer Police Department Autism Responder Alert Program. The program will provide training, introduction of officers to those with autism in the community and the distribution of Responder Alert stickers for families to place on the doors to alter officers and other public safety officials arriving on the scene
Stoller said the purpose of this program is to foster greater awareness by our officers for dealing with those individuals on the autism spectrum to ensure that their actions or reactions are not misinterpreted, and to meet with families. Stoller said he does not want the first meeting to be during a crisis.
Those on the autism spectrum sometimes require a slightly different approach, if we know that we are possibly encountering an individual on the spectrum, it will help us adjust quicker and provide better service, Stoller said.
Participation of the community is voluntary, but the training for West Pelzer officers is mandatory.
Those interested in participating or for more information, call 864-947-6297 or email or email chief@westpelzer.com
Stoller talks about the program and his experience in law enforcement in this interview with the Anderson Observer.
Sunday, September 19, 2021 at 7:05AM Observer Reports
The South Carolina Botanical Garden Fall Plant Sales returns to an in-person event beginning Saturday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
All sales will be held in the Botanical Garden operations section, located at 154 Lacecap Loop off Perimeter Road in Clemson.
“Our semi-annual plant sales each fall and spring are a major source of revenue for the South Carolina Botanical Garden,” said Misty Shealy, nursery manager of the garden. “Proceeds are used for special projects that would not be possible without income generated by the plant sales. We welcome everyone back to the Garden.”
The plant sales include trees, shrubs, fruits and berries, grasses, bog plants, perennials and ferns prepared by garden volunteers and staff. Native plants and landscape plants will be available for purchase.
People shopping this year’s sales are asked to follow a few simple instructions. Signs will be posted at each Garden entrance. People are asked to follow these signs to the nursery and park outside the gate. Staff will direct parking. Once inside, Shealy said people are free to start shopping.
“There are a limited number of carts available but everyone is welcome to bring their own,” she said. “Volunteers at the checkout tents will gladly hold purchases while shoppers continue to shop.”
Once shoppers are finished shopping, volunteers at the checkout tent will give them a ticket to take to the cashier, where cash, check and credit cards are accepted.
“People can then drive their cars to the checkout tent where volunteers will load their plants for them,” Shealy said.
A catalog of plant material is available at https://www.clemson.edu/public/scbg/plant-sale/f2021catalog.pdf. This catalog also will be available at the gate.
For more information, contact Misty Shealy at scbgnursery@clemson.edu.
Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 7:26PM Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
A new exhibit focused on the history and evolution of the Future Farmers of America [FFA] opens at the Bart Garrison Agricultural Museum of South Carolina Saturday and will remain on display in the weeks ahead.
The collection includes photographs and other memorabilia dedicated to the education of young farmers in Pendleton and all over the country. BGAMSC features the FFA’s milestone achievements such as its establishment in 1928, the integration of members of color in 1965, and the addition of women to the organization in 1969.
Pendleton High School Educator and Club Advisor Blake Berry helped gather the decades of Future Palmetto Farmers and FFA awards, photos, and documents for the display.
Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 4:56PM COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Senators are asking the public to submit proposed maps on new districts in South Carolina based on the 2020 U.S. Census as a special House committee wraps up a series of public meetings on redistricting across the state.
Lawmakers are using the Census data to draw maps for the 46 state Senate districts, 124 state House districts and seven U.S. House districts.
A Senate subcommittee on Friday approved criteria for drawing the districts, turning aside proposals from Sen. Dick Harpootlian to make districts as equal in population as possible instead of within 5% and to make protecting incumbents the least important priority.
"Whether we get back or not is up to how we represent our constituency, not how we drew our districts," the Columbia Democrat said before his proposals failed to come up for a vote Friday.
The Senate called a special session starting Oct. 12 to deal in part with redistricting, but Senate Judiciary Chairman Luke Rankin told the subcommittee members the full maps might not be ready by then. The subcommittee set an Oct. 8 deadline for maps submitted by the public.
The House is still hearing from the public about what they should emphasize when drawing districts.
A House ad-hoc committee will hold its last three meetings outside Columbia this week. The committee has five Republicans and three Democrats.
Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 12:16PM COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate won’t meet in special session next month after all.
Senate President Harvey Peeler sent a letter Friday to senators canceling the special session set to begin Oct. 12. They were supposed to debate how to spend billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief money and redistricting.
But a subcommittee working on new state Senate districts as well as U.S. House and South Carolina House districts said it won’t be finished with the new maps by mid-October, Peeler wrote.
Leaders of the South Carolina House also said this week that they would not come back to take up the relief spending bills, so Peeler wrote it was unnecessary to spend the money on a special session and “have these bills languish in the House until January.”
One thing not mentioned in Peeler’s letter or House leadership comments after a closed-door meeting this week were masks in schools.
The House put a provision in the budget passed in June that prevented school districts from requiring masks and the Senate did not remove it. Back then, the state was seeing about 150 new COVID-19 cases a day. South Carolina has been seeing several thousand new cases daily for nearly the past two months.
Democrats in the House and Senate called for a special session on Aug. 17 to do something about the rapid spread of COVID-19, especially in schools. They noted in a statement this week that in the 36 days since, 1,500 people have died in the pandemic and 163,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported.
“It’s unfortunate that the House Republican Caucus has the time to meet in Columbia for lunch, but not to convene to address the ongoing and prolonged coronavirus pandemic,” Democratic Rep. Russell Ott wrote. “Children in South Carolina continue to be put in harm’s way while our Governor and legislative leadership sit on the sidelines and do nothing.”
Masks were not an item mentioned for a possible special session in the June resolution ending the Legislature’s regular meetings. It would require a two-thirds vote to add masks which would likely be a hard hurdle to get over in the Republican-dominated House and Senate.
House Republicans held a closed-door meeting Wednesday and afterward, Speaker Jay Lucas called the discussions “productive and spirited,” but said he has no plans to call a special session because of the limitations of the session-ending resolution.
House Majority Leader Gary Simrill said there may be a special session in December for redistricting, which would leave about four months to handle legal challenges to the new maps before filing is scheduled to begin for the 2022 elections.
Friday, September 17, 2021 at 6:36AM When Dr. Anthony Guiseppi-Elie joined Anderson University as the founding dean of the new College of Engineering last year, he had a vision for a program that helped students dive straight in to the practical side of the discipline.
Guiseppi-Elie, who also serves, as vice president for industry relations and University distinguished professor, came to AU from the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Professor of Engineering in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University.
AU started the program on a limited basis this fall, and will launch the full program in 2022.
The dean talked about the plans and goals in this interview with the Anderson Observer.
Thursday, September 16, 2021 at 8:32PM COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina senators plan to return to the Statehouse next month for a special session on spending federal COVID-19 relief money and redistricting.
But one thing not on the agenda at the moment for the Oct. 12 session is any discussion of mask rules.
Senate President Harvey Peeler wrote in a letter to senators Thursday that he wants to limit debate to matters in the resolution when the regular session adjourned in May.
Drawing new lines for state House and Senate and U.S. House districts were on the list along with spending billions of dollars in federal pandemic funds and from a settlement with the federal government over radioactive material stored past a deadline at the Savannah River Site.
Masks were not in that resolution. The House put a provision in the budget passed in June that prevented school districts from requiring masks and the Senate did not remove it. Back then, the state was seeing about 150 new COVID-19 cases a day. Now it is an average of well over 4,000 new cases each day.
The Senate can take up matters not in its session-ending resolution, but that requires a two-thirds vote in a chamber with 30 Republicans and 16 Democrats. Peeler is a Republican from Gaffney.
House leaders have not said whether they plan to have a special session this fall.