All Is Huge at Haile Gold Mine

Quenton Johnston

Economic behemoth churning away near Kershaw

By Mandy Catoe, February 26, 2017

The first impression you get touring the Haile Gold Mine site is how immense everything seems.

It covers 5,700 acres, or 8.5 square miles. That’s 30 percent bigger than the city of Lancaster. It has 19-foot-tall dump trucks that cost $2.5 million apiece. One tire can cost $40,000.

The main pit is 700 feet deep. Workers can extract, crush and process 65,000 tons of rock per day. For every 20 tons of rock, they will produce one precious ounce of gold.

OceanaGold officials opened the Haile Gold Mine gates last week to two dozen visitors, mostly public officials.

Five white, heavy-duty Ford pickups with crew cabs were followed by a 12-passenger van through a web of bumpy roads. The sightseers twisted and turned, taking in the expansive industrial complex.

The tourists included County Council members Steve Harper and Jack Estridge, County Administrator Steve Willis, Kershaw Town Administrator Mitch Lucas, Kershaw town council members, S.C. Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell, S.C. Sens. Vincent Sheheen and Greg Gregory and S.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority representatives.

The mine poured its first bar of gold a little over a month ago and is planning on full production beginning by summer.

Process Manager Quenton Johnston welcomed the guests and delivered opening remarks in his native Australian accent.

“In 366 days, we have gone from a concrete pad to an operating plant,” Johnston said.

Estridge, whose district includes the gold mine, was excited about the startup.

“It’s really more than I imagined it would be,” Estridge said. “I think we will soon see some real economic changes in this area.”

Norrell noticed a positive economic impact on her drive to the gold mine.

“Before I got there, I stopped at a nearby gas station and asked how they were doing,” she said. “They told me they have been very, very busy because of the mine.”

Norrell called it a very encouraging sign that the mine is already bringing economic prosperity to the area. She said she has several friends from her youth who found jobs at the mine after their previous employers left town.

“These are very hopeful signs that things are looking up,” Norrell said. “It’s a very exciting time economically for the area.”

courtesy of HAILE GOLD MINE

Giant trucks and loaders excavate rock and dirt at Haile Gold Mine.

Economic impact
Bumpy roads filled with giant earth-moving equipment and excited chatter from walkie-talkies make clear that modern prospecting is under way in the nearly 200-year-old mine discovered by Benjamin Haile in 1827.
In the late 1800s, the mine was the most productive and profitable east of the Mississippi River. It’s now gearing up to be one of the most productive mines on the East Coast.
OceanaGold has invested $660 million in the Haile Gold Mine project, with $380 million in capital costs to build the modern facility. It is also spending $3 million each month in the local economy for goods and services.
Individual spending by the company’s employees puts $70 million a year into the local economy, according to the company.
OceanaGold expects to produce 150,000 to 170,000 ounces of gold in 2017 at costs between $500 and $550 an ounce. Gold was trading Friday at $1,257 an ounce on the commodities market.

Blasting daily
Dirt roads snake through the huge site, connecting the mine pits, processing facility, water treatment plants, storage ponds, power facility and an office building under construction.
The visitors’ caravan stopped at three wooden viewing platforms overlooking the tailings storage facility, processing plant, and the active mine pit.
“We are blasting now once a day,” said Jeff Jackson, security superintendent and van driver. “We can’t hear it in our office, which is about a mile an a half from the blasting site.”
The first stop was the tailings storage facility, a 324-acre lake that will be expanded to 500 acres in the next three years. A hard, seamless plastic liner about an eighth of an  inch thick lies beneath the water containing slurry, the byproduct of ore processing.
The water is recycled and pumped back to the processing plant through huge black pipes running parallel to the dirt roads. When mining is completed, another liner will sandwich over the top layer of sand and remain “in perpetuity.” The permitting agreement binds the company to that.
The dam holding back the tailings-storage water is built to withstand a category 5 hurricane or a 7.2-magnitude earthquake.

Processing plant
Next stop was the processing plant.
“This is where the money hits the ground,” Johnston said.
A front-end loader was feeding huge rocks into a 45-ton bin which were then fed through a succession of crushers linked by conveyor belts.
The rocks are ground down to smaller and smaller particles until they become powder, as fine as flour. A special oil causes the gold to separate from the powder. The gold then goes to large grey tanks filled with cyanide, where it is separated, washed and made ready to pour into bars.
“One 600-ounce bar each day is poured,” Johnston said. “That’s about 50 pounds.”
The third stop was at the Millzone mining pit, which has a depth of about 700 feet. Five concentric levels descend like giant steps to the expansive base. Shades of grey, purple and brown bleed into the clay-colored walls, which resemble the canyons of the American West. Wide roads allow huge equipment to travel safely to and from the bottom of the pit.
From the viewing platform, the cavernous clay hole looks like a miniature world. Huge trucks appear to be matchbox toys, and the men look like busy ants in excavators, loaders, bulldozers and dump trucks.
Three drills are making holes, ranging from 4 to almost 7 inches wide, where explosives will be placed. The tap-tap-tap of the drills can barely be heard from the distance.
The Millzone pit was mined by Piedmont Mining in the1980s and ‘90s. In 12 years, the company found 87,000 ounces of gold. Haile Gold Mine will produce that much in about six months.

17 million tons
Since April 2015, 17 million tons of rock have been removed from the Millzone Pit.
A million tons have been taken out just since December. Mining is nearing completion here. The next mining pit, Snake, is being developed. Its exposed surface can be seen on the distant horizon.
Twelve 100-ton trucks and three 150-ton trucks hauled rocks and ore from the pit. The giant dump trucks with an overall height of 19 feet have attached ladders for operators to climb into the cab.
Mine employee Chris Baldwin broke down the cost of the mammoth machines. The trucks cost $2.5 million, and one tire costs about $15,000. The giant loaders have tires that cost about $40,000 each. The bull dozers moving dirt around run about $1 million apiece.
“These guys are moving about 65,000 tons a day,” Baldwin said. “It takes 20 tons of rock to produce an ounce of gold.”
The earth is drilled like a pin cushion to find ore. The results are entered into a computer, which then predicts the location of the gold. Those high-yielding pockets are then carefully mined.

600 workers

David Thomas

Currently, nearly 600 workers are on site, including 200 contractors. The company website says nearly 90 percent are local residents. More than 300 are full time OceanaGold employees.
Last fall, employment spiked with 1,400 workers preparing the mine for production. The website, Hailegoldmine.com, is filled with information and includes a link to apply for employment.
The mine is expected to be in operation for 13 years and produce 2 million ounces of gold. It will continue operation if new reserves are discovered.
General Manager David Thomas was unable to tour with the visitors, but said he is very proud of the team that made the first gold pour possible.
“We will endeavor to ensure the Haile project remains a showcase for the community and the state,” he said.

Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or contact her at (803) 283-1152.

Road Crew Stands as Honor Guard

Machines silent during funeral, workers line up to salute family

By Mandy Catoe

Friday, February 24, 2017

White Street has often been a clattering, steaming, confusing mess in front of Lancaster Funeral Home during the past few weeks of road resurfacing.
Wednesday was one of those days.
Owner Hazel Cauthen alerted the road-builders that the funeral procession for Ricky McManus Sr. would be leaving about 2:30 p.m. on its way to Lancaster Memorial Park. He hoped the workers might stop for a minute or two so the line of cars could leave his parking lot easily.
The crew from Lynches River Contracting did far more than that.
They shut down their loud machines during the entire chapel service. And when the procession came by, more than a dozen workers lined up, took off their caps and stood respectfully, like an honor guard.
“I was very touched by it,” said McManus’ son Jason, expressing the family’s appreciation. “They didn’t have to do it. They could have just taken a break, but instead they stood in a line with hands crossed behind their backs.”
Cauthen said he appreciated the workers’ show of respect for McManus, a veteran.
“It kind of makes me proud to be a citizen of a small town like Lancaster, and to be an American,” he said.

Catawba potter’s exhibit opens at NASC

By Mandy Catoe

Wednesday, February 15, 2017  

 

 

Photo supplied

Catawba artist Keith Brown will open an exhibit of his pottery at the Native American Studies Center with a reception and gallery talk from 1-3 p.m. Friday.
The exhibition, “Clay Pit to Fire Pit: From the Beginning to the End,” includes work from the four-month artist-in-residence program Brown completed in December. It will be showcased in the center’s Rose Gallery until Feb. 1, 2018.

“Catawba pottery is dominated by women, so this exhibit is a little different,” said Chris Judge, assistant director of the Native American Studies Center. “Additionally, Keith makes more traditional forms and looks to archaeologically recovered pottery for some of his inspirations.”
Brown learned the art of native pottery from his grandmother nearly 50 years ago. Like all Catawbas before him, he molds the pieces by hand without a potter’s wheel.

He begins by digging the clay from the earth, processing it, shaping it, and carving designs on it. Finally, he places the pottery in the fire. The flames turn part of it black, giving the finished piece a distinctive black and terra cotta coloring.
“His work is symbolic of Catawba continuity and survival,” said Dr. Brooke Bauer, assistant professor of Native American studies at USC Lancaster. “The knowledge and skills are passed down from generation to generation.”

Dr. Stephen Criswell, director of the Native American Studies Center, explained how Brown incorporates the past into his pottery.
“He uses sherds, broken pieces of pottery, that are thousands of years old, to imprint patterns onto his current piece,” Criswell said. “It not only has the same look of an ancient piece, but also has the connection because it was made by using pottery from one of his ancestors.”
The S.C. Arts Commission helps fund the residency initiative that brings artists to the Native American Studies Center galleries to lecture and demonstrate their work for the public. Brown’s residency was the third at the center.
The center is at 119 S. Main St. in Lancaster. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, go to http://usclancaster.sc.edu/nas/ or call (803) 313-7172.

MANDY CATOE/The Lancaster News

NASC curator Brittany Taylor-Driggers assembles the pottery exhibit on Tuesday. The exhibit will be open through Feb. 1, 2018.

Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or contact her at (803) 283-1152.

Beating Back Every "No"

Adorable smile, snappy comebacks make Alyssa No. 1 in cookie sales

By Mandy Catoe

Sunday, February 12, 2017

It’s hard to say no to 9-year-old Alyssa Mangum.

Last year, she amassed hundreds of yeses in three months.
Alyssa was the No. 1 Girl Scout cookie seller in Lancaster County. The Heath Springs fourth grader sold 1,005 boxes of cookies, most in the sparsely populated southeastern end of the county.
The 2017 cookie campaign has begun, and Alyssa is going strong. She has already sold 200 boxes and has about six weeks remaining.
Her sales numbers prove her skills in what has become the largest entrepreneurial training program in the world for girls.
Strategic marketing seems to be her forte, backed up by a killer smile and a soft Southern drawl.
“I go to my daddy’s shop and set up on the day they get paid,” Alyssa said, smiling. “Mama drops me off and I set up to sell.”
Her dad, Tracy Bowers, works at Brandy Baker’s Soggy Bottom Logging Co. Alyssa has realized that men are easier targets for cookie sales.
“They don’t really diet,” Alyssa said.
In Lancaster County, Girl Scouts averaged selling 171 boxes of cookies last year. Alyssa’s 1,005 put her at the top locally. Lancaster is one of 22 counties in the Midlands to Mountains region, which has 6,782 Girl Scouts. Alyssa ranked in the top 100, according to Karen Kelly, director of marketing for the region.
Alyssa, now 9, has learned a lot since her first attempt at cookie sales four years ago, when she joined the Girl Scouts as a 5-year-old.
“She would just hand the brochure to them,” said Sarah Bowers, her mom and troop leader, who accompanies Alyssa on door-to-door trips around Heath Springs.
She now has a polished presentation with a smooth comeback for every imaginable “no.” Her routine is as tried and true as the cookies she is peddling.
It begins with a smile and the scripted spiel, “Hey, my name is Alyssa. I’m a Girl Scout with Troop 2381. Would you like to buy some cookies?”
From there, if she doesn’t get an immediate sale, she improvises. She has a comeback for whatever objection the customer throws at her.

MANDY CATOE/mcatoe@thelancasternews.com

Alyssa Mangum was the No. 1 Girl Scout cookie seller in Lancaster County. The Heath Springs fourth grader sold 1,005 boxes of cookies, most in the sparsely populated southeastern end of the county.

Instant responses

She has heard them all.
“I don’t like cookies,” someone says.
“It would be good to have some on hand for visitors,” she responds instantly.
“I’m on a diet,” says someone else.
“You could let your kids eat them,” Alyssa answers, with a big smile.
“I’m allergic,” says another person, thinking she’s off the hook.
“We have gluten-free cookies,” Alyssa says without blinking.
Some people see her and pretend they’re talking on their cell phones. She doesn’t waste time on them.
Once Alyssa realizes she is up against a solid no, she plays her final card: “You can order a box for the soldiers, and we will ship the cookies to them.”
Then she holds that gorgeous smile of hers for as long as it takes. Last year, her troop sent 50 boxes to servicemen and women overseas. Her troop of four is small in number, but mighty in mission.
“Even if they can’t send notes back about the cookies,” Alyssa said of the soldiers, “I know they are still pretty happy to get them to snack on.”
When she can’t close the sale, she thanks the non-customers for their time and wishes them a good day.
The crackerjack sales lady has learned something valuable. If a door-to-door customer hesitates before saying no, Alyssa follows up with a second visit to offer another opportunity.
“I wait a few days and go back to ask them, and they usually say ‘yes,’” she said, smiling again.
The cookie campaign begins in early January with individual pre-orders for later delivery. Troops begin booth sales in mid-February. They set up outside local businesses with cookies on-hand for quick sales offering immediate gratification. The troop will divide the booth sales equally among the individual members.
Alyssa’s sales’ goal for 2017 is “around 800” – well above the national average of 185 and the Midlands to Mountain average of 239. She explained that she lost a few customers to the Girl Scout she trained last year.
“I’ll just find new people,” she said. “I have family in Vermont, Georgia and South Carolina.”
Clearly, Alyssa gets a lot of yeses. When asked how the yays compare to the nays, she said, “Pretty much, most of the time, people say yes.”
She said it is easier to sell when she is part of the group rather than when she is alone.
“At the booth, they can see the cookies and I don’t have to name every single cookie.”
In addition to the high standards Alyssa sets and achieves in cookie sales, she adheres to the higher principle of humility.
“We don’t allow bragging,” Alyssa said. “Like if I sell 20 boxes and my friend doesn’t sell any boxes, I don’t brag.”
Alyssa’s troop meets on Tuesday nights at Salem Methodist Church in Heath Springs. Despite having only four members, Troop 2381 has already placed orders for 900 boxes.


Little Heath Springs

“We have to work hard because we are a small troop out here in little ol’ Heath Springs,” said Troop Leader Bowers, who stepped in to lead when the former chief moved away.
She welcomes more members and invites anyone wishing to join the troop to call her at (803) 246-2793. Bowers, an outdoor enthusiast, takes the troop on many natural expeditions. She said she runs the troop the way she parents, with an expectation of independence and the realization that every moment offers an opportunity to learn.
Alyssa nodded and quickly confirmed that, “When we go places and come back, she asks us what we learned there.”
The troop uses proceeds from cookie sales to fund field trips and buy badges and supplies.
“We get bigger field trips because we are a small troop,” Alyssa said.
Past field trips include the Heath Springs Pizzeria, Aww Shucks, and Horseplay Farm. Future plans include trips to the zoo and the home of Girl Scout founder Juliette Low in Savannah, Ga.


Alyssa dreams of future Girl Scout rewards, including scholarships and grants for travel abroad.
“When you are a cadet, you can go to Paris,” she said with little emotion.
Then she lit up, leaned forward, and said, “I want to go to where they have kangaroos and koalas.”
Alyssa loves all animals and hopes to become a veterinarian. She and her family have one horse, five dogs, two cats, and a bearded dragon lizard. And she has a little brother, Trace, who is 4.
The cookie sales teach the girls five essential skills – goal setting, decision making, money management, communication and business ethics.
Alyssa said her cookie experience will come in handy later if gets a retail job to help pay for college.
“It’s the same as selling cookies,” she said, “but I would just be selling different things.”

Girl Scout cookies by the numbers
◆ 175 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies are sold annually in the United States for a total revenue of $656 million.
◆ Baking and transporting the cookies makes up 27 percent of the cost, 21 percent goes straight back to the troop and the rest goes to local and national councils.
◆ The bakers licensed by the organization may change from year to year, though this is not common. Current licensed companies are Little Brownie Bakers, a subsidiary of Keebler, which is owned by Kellogg’s; and ABC Bakers, a subsidiary of Interbake Foods, which is owned by George Weston Limited. With the exception of Thin Mints,™ each bakery uses a different name for the cookie varieties.
◆ There are 28 total cookie varieties. The five most popular are Thin Mints,™ Samoas or Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties or Tagalongs, Peanut Butter Sandwich or Do-si-dos and Shortbread or Trefoils. These five account for 77 percent of total sales.

These facts appear courtesy of Wikipedia.com and statisticsbrain.com

Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or contact her at (803) 283-1152.

30 % More Shelter Kennels - Thank you LASS

By Mandy Catoe

Sunday, February 5, 2017

An Indian Land-based animal-rescue group has raised more than three-fourths of the money it needs to expand the county animal shelter’s capacity for dogs by 30 percent.
Lancaster Area Shelter Supporters are just $3,000 short of their goal of $17,500 for a portable, climate-controlled kennel that will be placed on a county-laid concrete pad at the shelter at 118 Kennel Lane.
“Since the building is self-contained, it can be moved when – not if – Lancaster County builds a new animal shelter,” said LASS member Diane Rashall.
LASS and other animal-support groups have been a constant presence at county council meetings over the past year urging members to address the overcrowded shelter.
“As a county, we have to do better than we have done,” said county council member Larry Honeycutt.
He expressed admiration for LASS’s dedication and energy and believes the county is moving in a positive direction to make improvements. He hopes the county will soon build a new shelter.
The 12- by 26-foot unit will have seven dog kennels. Currently, the county has 24 kennels, but often six of those are occupied by dogs being held in court-related cases, reducing the number of available kennels for adoptable dogs.
The kennel expansion, which should save an additional 100 dogs each year, is a joint effort between LASS, county council, shelter staff and volunteers.
The county will pour the concrete pad and provide the utilities.
“These are living creatures and we need to put them at the top of the priority list,” Honeycutt said. “I will do my very best with my remaining time on council to improve the housing for these animals.
“LASS does a wonderful job and the current council is dedicated to helping them out,” Honeycutt said.
More information can be found on the Facebook page Maddie’s LC Dogs. LASS is a certified nonprofit, so all contributions are tax-deductible. Donations can be sent to LASS, 51037 Arrieta Court, Indian Land, SC 29707. Call Diane Rashall at (704) 576-5674 with any questions.

LASS plans to purchase a portable kennel like this one that will provide living space for seven more adoptable dogs at the county animal shelter.

Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or contact her at (803) 283-1152.

Love and Support Go a Long Way

Saving a daughter from mental illness

By Mandy Catoe

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Sometimes a mother just knows something is wrong.
“It was like the world stood still in that moment,” Lena Wallace said, recalling two days in June 2015.
Her daughter, 33-year-old Amanda Wallace, was not answering her phone. She had a history of depression and was 1,200 miles away in Austin, Texas.
Lena finally called Amanda’s best friend in Austin, who ran to check on her. After several minutes of loud door-banging, Amanda answered. She was in a very dark place.
“My plan was to take my gun and go out behind my apartment complex into the woods and blow my head off,” she recalled recently. “Seriously, that was my plan. I had even written out a goodbye letter.”
Amanda’s parents flew to Austin that day, rented a car and a U-Haul trailer there and brought their daughter home to Lancaster.
It was the beginning of a frustrating journey through South Carolina’s underfunded mental health system, which ranks 43rd-worst among the states.
After a week in a hospital, Amanda faced months-long waiting lists for state mental-health programs. That’s when the Wallaces learned about the nonprofit National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Amanda says NAMI support groups were a vital part of her recovery.
“Meeting people going through the exact same thing will make you feel less alone,” she says.
“I just threw myself into the support groups,” Lena recalls. “That was my lifeline. I could say anything there, and my feelings were validated.”
In less than a year, Amanda got back on her feet. She lives in Charlotte now and works as a web designer and graphic artist. She has a supportive boyfriend, and her dogs give her much joy.
She glows when she talks about life now. She manages her illness with medication and therapy and has structured her work to support her recovery. And she no longer has that gun.
“Love and support go a very long way,” Amanda said.
She found a healthy balance through her NAMI connections. Her mom found a cause to champion. Lena worked hard on bringing NAMI to Lancaster for the first time, and it started local meetings in December.

 

Early troubles
Amanda was born and raised in Lancaster to Lena and William Wallace, who own Wallace Construction. She has an older sister.
“Amanda was a very shy child,” Lena said. “We thought it was just her personality, but looking back at it, I think she was depressed.”
When Amanda was 14, she was rebellious and unhappy.
“We sought help, but her pediatrician dismissed it,” Lena said. “That was 20 years ago.”
Lena knew it was more than teenage angst and persisted in finding relief for Amanda. At The Saluda Center in Rock Hill, Amanda was diagnosed with depression. She was prescribed Paxil to balance her brain chemistry.
Amanda graduated from Buford High School in 2000 and headed to USC in Columbia to study graphic arts. She shunned counseling, but saw her doctor periodically to get medication.
She graduated in 2004 and for the next 11 years, she worked in Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. Growing up, she had told her mom that she wanted to live in a big city far from Lancaster.
When Amanda returned home to visit, she was often tired, slept a lot and secluded herself in her room.
“She struggled with work and deadlines,” her mother recalls, “but didn’t want us to know how bad it was.”
During the times Amanda was far from home, her mom was hearing stories about adult children of friends who were falling through the cracks of the mental health system. One friend’s 24-year-old son hanged himself.


Crisis in Austin
Amanda enjoyed her longest stretch of stability in Austin. She managed her depression with medication and therapy, but long work hours began to wear her down.
As she felt her grip loosening, her anxiety skyrocketed. She found herself exhausted and immobilized by the depression.
She was laid off from her job, and her bills were piling up. She had just turned 33.
“I didn’t want to ask my parents for help,” Amanda recalls. “Asking for help and moving back home meant that I was a failure.”
The first couple of months after Amanda returned to Lancaster were hard. Her mother searched for help her uninsured daughter, who was being sucked further and further into depression.
She reached out to Catawba Mental Health, the state-funded regional outpatient facility, but was told there was a three-month waiting list. Amanda needed immediate attention.
“Someone suggested we take her to a hospital because they can’t turn you down,” Lena said.
Amanda was admitted to the Behavioral Unit of Charlotte’s Presbyterian Medical Center. She was diagnosed with anxiety and Bipolar Type 2, which is characterized by frequent depressive periods and shorter intervals of well-being or hypomania.
The hospital stabilized and medicated her, and sent her home with a referral to Catawba Mental Health, which still had its waiting list.
The next few months were challenging for the Wallace family. Amanda was back in her childhood home, feeling like a failure despite a successful 10-year career as a graphic artist and web designer.
Everyone was trying to adjust. Her mom was balancing Amanda’s care with running the family business. Amanda’s two dogs were trying to get along with her parents’ two dogs.
“Everyone walked on eggshells, afraid to say anything,” Lena said.

‘Fog began lifting’
Lena found comfort and guidance in NAMI support groups. She traveled to Rock Hill to attend the closest available meetings. She reached out to the Piedmont NAMI branch president, Betsy O’Brien, who recommended she find Amanda a therapist and a psychiatrist.
The support of her family, medication and therapy enabled Amanda to move into her parents’ rental property in October 2015.
Life continued to improve. She began doing freelance graphic and web design work. She met Miguel Donneys and fell in love. In May 2016, they moved into an apartment in Charlotte’s Steele Creek neighborhood.
Mother and daughter attended a NAMI conference in Columbia last August and learned of a cutting-edge technology called Genomind that analyzes the patient’s DNA to recommend which medications might be most effective.
“Within a week of being prescribed the Genomind-recommended medication, the fog began lifting,” Amanda says.
She now handles her illness by attending weekly hypnotherapy sessions, working out and using breath control to calm herself during anxious moments.
“I’ve also found that eating healthier and drinking more water has helped my mental well being,” she said.

Help from NAMI
NAMI made such a difference for the Wallace family that Lena spearheaded the movement to bring the support groups to Lancaster. She is now a trained support group facilitator and educator.
NAMI’s support groups are similar in structure to Alcoholics Anonymous and Alanon. AA is for the alcoholic, while Alanon is for the alcoholic’s loved ones.
The volunteer-run NAMI offers free, confidential support groups. It also provides free education sessions to law enforcement, schools and civic groups.
NAMI was founded in 1977 and now has more than 1,000 chapters across the United States. One of its major goals is to remove the stigma of mental illness, making it easier for those needing help to seek it. NAMI believes mental illness is a biological disease in need of treatment just like diabetes or cancer.
NAMI Connections and Family Support groups meet at 6:15 p.m. the first Monday and third Thursday each month at First Presbyterian Church, 700 North Main St., Lancaster. For more information, Lena Wallace can be reached at (803) 283-7437.
Indian Land offers NAMI groups for family, friends and caregivers at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at Transformation Church, 8978 Charlotte Highway, Indian Land. For more information, call Sue Korn at (704) 575-5928.
“NAMI is the local champion for people with mental illness in our communities,” said Dan Anderson, director of business development at Rebound Behavioral Health. “They don’t provide treatment, but do provide education and support.”
South Carolina is ranked 43rd nationally for access to mental health services, according to Mental Health America. The state has very few inpatient centers. It has 17 outpatient mental health centers including Catawba Mental Health, which serves Lancaster, Chester and York counties.
Amanda said the education her parents received through NAMI has made a huge difference in their lives.
“My parents were the light in my very, very dark existence,” Amanda said. “They kept me going, and I’m forever grateful for them.”

Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or contact her at (803) 283-1152.

Addiction

From Feb 3, 2014


I found myself awake at 3 a.m. last night tossing and turning with a troubled heart.  As bad as it was, it wasn't because of the super bowl.  It was because of the heartless, ignorant and shameful things being said about Philip Seymour Hoffman and the way he died.

Do you think he wanted to die with a needle in his arm?  Do you think he wanted to be found in his underwear on the floor?  Do you think he wanted us to be talking about that today?  Yes, one day he chose to use, but his using became a prison.  Then using became necessary for him to function and almost feel normal.  t wasn't moral failure. It was addiction. He could not break free. Except in that final release.  That final lonely sad moment.

Dr. Patrick MacAfee said the following about the addict’s liberation, “Drug use traps the addict in a place of hopelessness. But when the lie of maintaining the addiction becomes more painful than the using, the addict faces himself and his use. It is this inescapable accountability that is both powerful and hopeful when he comes face-to-face with his reality. This incomprehensible demoralization is the dark before the dawn, the place where the addict chooses between life and death – the place where he can liberate himself.”

Libby Cataldi, author of 'Stay Close: A Mother's Story of Her Son's Addiction' said, "The addict is trapped inside the prison of addiction. What was once a party becomes his personal hell. I have great respect for those who are able to fight this battle and find their recovery. Peace and wisdom are on the other side."

Who knows what demons Hoffman was trying to silence within his soul?  He fell short of finding the skills in recovery.  His dawn never came.  Some of the hateful comments I have seen would shame me back to dark alleys to find a release.  Addiction is addiction whether the drugs are bought in a back alley in a dirty brown bag or at the corner CVS and carried in a little pristine white bag. Ever notice pharmaceutical drug reps and drug dealers drive similar cars and dress in similar fashion? Addicts look like Gia (from Gia) and addicts look like Violet Weston from August: Osage County. Some addicts look homeless. Some look just like me. And some like you.  I have known addicts and loved addicts. Addicts are among us and some hide it as long as they can.  Many died from it and we never knew.  Careful because what you say can keep them locked in their own hell.

Love leaves an open door.  Hope leaves an open door.  I have seen some break free and some not.  All of them are human.  Most of them are loving and beautiful and creative.  Shame keeps them down.  Forgiveness and understanding help turn the key to their breaking free.

Addiction is the most selfish path I have ever seen.  The addict only thinks of himself during his active addiction.  Try to remember the addict is human and deserves our love.  Remember them and not the ravaged shell you see before you.  Every time we look away and avoid eye contact, we rob ourselves and them a chance of redemption.  If we are not here for each other, then why are we here?
It's a thin line between the categories of use/abuse/addiction.  If love the sinner, hate the sin ever applies, it does here.  I encourage anyone struggling with a loved one's addiction to read Libby Cataldi's book "Stay Close."  She captured the balance of tough love and love.  Her son is recovering. Also, go to Alanon.  And if you are caught in someone else's web of addiction and feel it has taken your freedom, read anything by Melody Beattie.   My hat is off to my friend, Deirdre Ballard Cato and her post is attached to this one.  Thanks for offering hope and not judgment.  I can only go back to what I was taught as a child - "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.  Maybe that is why facebook doesn't have a "dislike" button.  Facebook creator Mark Zuckerman is a little ahead of the game.

From Deirdre Ballard Cato :  Too many deaths. If you are battling addiction, seek help. We have 2 free inpatient facilities at Vocational Rehabilitation of South Carolina. Contact your closest VR office for more information. If you need immediate detox, contact a local facility. In our area, that would be Keystone of Rock Hill. 803-324-0404 The number to VR in Lancaster is 803-285-6909.
Dede Deirdre Ballard Cato

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx4RsCfL_fA&autoplay=1

Proposed IL rec center’s $14.7M cost stuns council

By Mandy Catoe

Wednesday, February 1, 2017 

The Lancaster County Council has gotten its first look at a proposed new Indian Land recreation center occupying 10 acres donated by Avondale’s developers, but the jaw-dropping $14.7 million price tag sent the plan back to the drawing board.
For comparison, the 100-acre mega sports complex that the county hopes to build at a central location just north of Lancaster using hospitality-tax revenues is expected to cost $17 million.
Reacting to the sticker shock among council members at the Jan. 23 meeting, County Attorney John Weaver laughed and said: “I have not checked the pulse of any of the council members here tonight. I am sure $14 million was far beyond their expectations.”
Council member Charlene McGriff responded, “You are correct.”
The county paid Horry County-based architectural firm Pike, McFarland and Hall Associates $6,000 to draw up the plans based on a needs assessment from county Recreation Director Hal Hiott. The company gave council an elaborate 20-minute presentation.
The proposed recreation center would be near the 179-acre Avondale mixed-use development off Harrisburg Road. The developer, Charlotte-based Sinacori Builders, gave the county 10 acres as part of their development agreement in November.
“The county hopes to put a very updated, modern and useful recreation facility there,” Weaver told council members. The county attorney, who worked with Horry County before coming to Lancaster in 2014, had recommended the architectural firm.
The plan features a 50,000-square-foot building with 4,700 square feet of meeting space for the Lancaster County Council on Aging, additional space for county recreation department offices and two full-size basketball courts. An elevated walking trail would be inside the facility.
The balance of the land will include two multipurpose athletic fields and parking for 300 vehicles.
Joe Pike, a partner in the firm, told council members: “We understand you don’t have $14.7 million. We are willing to work with Hal and county staff to figure out what they don’t need to reduce that cost. We can take your budget and work backwards.”
The firm opened the floor for questions after the 20-minute presentation. Weaver spoke first in defense of the ambitious plan.
“I thought it was important for the public and the council to see what would be wonderful for the residents of Indian Land if there were no restrictions put on what Hal wanted and what the recreation department wanted.”
McGriff called Hiott to the lectern and asked him,”Is this your $14.7 million dream?”
“It is what we need,” Hiott said. “We’ve outgrown what we have up there.”
“But $14.7 million?” McGriffin asked again, incredulous.
“I didn’t dream $14.7 million,” Hiott said. “I was asked to put down on paper what we need.
“My suggestion is to come up with a budget and whittle this down,” Hiott said.
McGriff said she thought the budget would have been the first step and then determining what could be built based on the available funds.
“To serve the people of Indian Land, I do envision a center that big eventually, whether it is built in phases or not,” Hiott said.
McGriff pointed out that the cost of this project was just a couple of million dollars short of the expected expense of the centrally located county complex 10 times as large.
Council chair Steve Harper passed the project on to the Infrastructure and Regulations Committee with the recommendation they meet with the Recreation Department to whittle the plan and budget down for a new facility and report back by June.
The county hopes to sell the outgrown, old recreation center at 8286 Charlotte Highway. It has been appraised, but is not yet up for sale, according to Weaver.
“There is a tremendous need for recreational facilities in the Indian Land area,” Weaver said. “What we have up there is antiquated and very insufficient.”
The existing 9.62-acre property, with improvements including the recreation center and EMS building, were appraised in May 2015 for $3.7 million. The land value was $2.4 million and improvements were $1.3 million. Last July, the appraisal on just the land had increased to $2.8 million.
Follow reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or contact her at (803) 283-1152.