Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Don't commit 'crepe murder'

 Bad pruning sets crape myrtles back for years

Mandy Catoe
mcatoe@thelancasternews.com

Paul Thompson photo
Spring is in the air and pruners are in hand.
Crape myrtles look a bit scraggly with last year's growth, but before you commit what one local landscaper calls "crape murder," please proceed with caution.
Crape myrtles, a landscaping staple across the South, were introduced to the Palmetto State in the late 1700s by the French botanist Andre' Michaux. The multi-trunked trees have smooth bark and produce a canopy of crepe-like petals in pink, white or purple. They have a long summer blooming period.
David Steele, owner of Landscape Carolina, with over 30 years of landscape experience, witnesses this seasonal slaughter each spring.
"Everyone whacks the top off of 'em every year," he said. "In my trade, we call that crape murder."
Steele said it takes years for the tree to recover and get back into proper shape.
The practice of drastic heading is very stressful and a shock to the plant according to Paul Thompson, regional horticultural expert with the Clemson University Extension Service. It requires a lot of energy for it to recover and regrow.
MURDER!
Correct way
"Topping off is a common, and improper pruning method applied to many trees," Thompson said.
"But you don't see anything that is as brutalized as the crape myrtles."
He said cutting the tops off results in a loss of control over the growth of the tree. The pruning causes an emergency response by the tree. Numerous sprouts, or sucker growth, come back sporadically, depending on where the sunlight shines on the bark.
These long, skinny shoots are very weakly attached to the trunk and will produce a very large flower head at their end. The weight of the flower head creates a droopy limb – a weeping effect.
The risk is that eventually the tree will run out of energy and die. Each drastic pruning demands hard work by the tree to produce new wood and leaves to absorb energy.
If that doesn't do the tree in, the Asian ambrosia beetle just might, Thompson said. The wounded wood creates alcohol compounds that attract the beetles. They introduce a fungus into the tree which kills it down to the ground, he said.
Late winter or early spring is the best time to prune for the finest summer blooms. First, remove any sprouting growth from the ground. Then cut side branches to about a third or halfway up the height of the tree. This is called "limbing up."
Next, cut any dead or crossing branches that detract from the flowing shape of the tree. Cut long branches back to where they are no less than a half inch in diameter. Thinner than that will result in drooping limbs unable to bear the weight of the blooms.
The goal of pruning is to thin out and open up the natural canopy to allow in more sunlight, which will produce more flowers.
Often homeowners struggle with the wrong type of crape myrtle for their needs.
"The first thing to realize is that there are a thousand varieties that will fit just about any space you have in the landscape," Thompson said.
"If you are tired of fighting a tree that wants to grow to 40 feet tall and you are trying to get it down to below 10 feet tall, then it might just be time to get rid of that crape myrtle and get one that you won't have to prune much at all," he said.
For more information on the many varieties of crepe myrtles, contact a local landscaper or call, Thompson, the local county extension agent at 803-684-9919.

In need of pruning. P. Thompson
After correct pruning. P Thompson



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

TLN wins 31 S.C. press awards

Judge: 'Never a dull moment in Lancaster this year'

Staff reports

The Lancaster News brought home 31 awards, and its three sister newspapers another 27, from Saturday's S.C. Press Association annual meeting in Columbia.
Among the Lancaster News staff's first-place honors were best election and political coverage, best special edition for its Honoring Veterans section, and best reporting-in-depth for coverage marking the death and legacy of Mayor Joe Shaw.
"There was never a dull moment in Lancaster this year," a contest judge wrote, "from the death of a longtime mayor to charges of plagiarism against a local candidate. Fortunately for Lancaster residents, The Lancaster News had exhaustive coverage of these things and a myriad of other local and national political issues."
Publisher Susan Rowell congratulated the news staff for an outstanding year. "I am extremely proud of the quality of community journalism we provide our readers," Rowell said. "Being recognized by the SCPA is much-deserved praise for the entire news team's hard work."
The newspaper won third place for general excellence, competing in the 2016 contest against other papers that publish two to three times a week.
Nine Lancaster News staffers won Individual awards.
Mandy Catoe, in her first year at the newspaper, won two first-place awards for beat reporting – government and business – and a third place for faith reporting.
Athena Redmond, the paper's lead designer, won first places for photo-page design and inside-page design and third places for her portfolio of front-page designs and a single feature-page design. Kyle Camp won both second- and third-place design awards for his business and education pages, as well as a writing award – second place for best short story.
Other visual awards went to Reece Murphy, whose photo of firefighters at a massive Indian Land house fire won first place for spot-news photo, and Greg Summers, who won second place in general news photography for his image from a candlelight vigil for murder victim Yusuf Abdus-Salaam.
Murphy also won a first-place writing award for his coverage of the courts beat. And Summers won three writing awards – second place in enterprise reporting for stories about the local shortage of volunteer firefighters, and second place for both government and faith-beat reporting.
Sports editor Robert Howey won three awards, including first place in sports features for his story about Buford High School track athlete John Elliott. Howey won second place for spot sports story for his account of the Buford softball team's state championship. And he won third place for column writing.
Chris Sardelli, who left the paper last spring after eight years, won four writing awards.  "The Challenge of a Lifetime," his week-long look at Buford resident Wesley Dry's  Appalachian Trail journey, won first place for a series of articles. He also won second place for investigative reporting, second place for education-beat reporting and third place for profile writing.
Summer intern Kayland Hagwood, a junior at the University of South Carolina, earned  third place for police-beat reporting.
Editor Brian Melton won first place in short-story writing for his memories of Christmas eves at his grandmother-in-law's house, and third place for opinion-page columns and for feature headlines.

Other Landmark newspapers

Carolina Gateway, which covers Lancaster County's Panhandle, won four awards.
Chris Sardelli won first place in investigative reporting for his coverage of the county's economic development conflicts.
Editor Jane Alford won third place for sports page design portfolio. Freelancer Julie Graham won third place for feature photo. The Gateway staff won third place in entertainment sections for the Indian Land Fall Festival.
The Chester News & Reporter won 19 awards.
For the second year in a row, Editor Travis Jenkins took home one of the SCPA's top honors, the Montgomery/Shurr Freedom of Information Award, for coverage of a Senate candidate's SLED investigation and the dismissal of the county school superintendent. Jenkins also won first place for sports enterprise reporting, second place for sports columns and food writing, and third place for investigative reporting.
Jenkins and James McBee shared first and third place honors for sports videos.
Jenkins and Brian Garner shared second place for reporting-in-depth, and Garner won third place for series of articles and both second and third place for humorous photo.
Nancy Parsons won second place for her community-beat reporting and for her lifestyle-feature writing. She won second place for online photo gallery and third place for photo story.
Freelancer Bill Marion won third-place awards for sports action photo and personality portrait.
The News & Reporter also won third place awards for its opinion page and political coverage.
The Pageland Progressive won four awards.
Editor Kimberly Harrington won third place for features page design, and she and reporter Vanessa Brewer-Tyson won third place for breaking-news reporting.
Freelance photographer Kevin Smith won second place for general news photo and third for humorous photo.






 

Monday, March 20, 2017

Helping towns rediscover their spark



Sims Foundation brings in partner with track record of helping communities

Mandy Catoe
mcatoe@thelancasternews.com

March 19, 2017

More than 150 local leaders gathered Wednesday at USC Lancaster to explore a new idea for bringing pride and growth back to the towns in Lancaster and Chester counties.
The J. Marion Sims Foundation announced a partnership with the Vermont-based Orton Family Foundation, which has created  Community Heart & Soul, a field-tested process for helping small, rural towns rediscover their spark.
"I see heart and soul at every table," said Susan DeVenny, president of the Sims Foundation, as she
Susan DeVenny
 scanned the audience of movers and shakers.
 Last year, the Sims Foundation began engaging the community in conversations and discovered that what mattered most to 1,400 respondents was the "small-town feel" and strong faith community here. Now it's time to begin turning those valued attributes into action, DeVenny said.
This process is a new strategic approach by the foundation, she said. Rather than only awarding individual, unrelated grants, the foundation will fund efforts that work together to create and support a strong, thriving community.
"We began working on unlocking the assets of the region with our survey last year," DeVenny said. "This takes us deeper….
We will be an embedded partner in the community and build things with the community."
Wednesday's workshop was an introduction to the Orton Family Foundation's community-building method.
The Orton Foundation was established in 1995 by Lyman Orton, owner of Vermont Country Store, and Noel Fritzinger, as a resource for small cities and towns struggling with change and looking for answers.
Over the past dozen years, Orton has developed a model that has helped 12 small towns in the Northeast and Midwest. This is their first venture in the Southeast.
"We passionately believe in the promise and the power of small-town America, and this is our way to help," said David Leckey, executive director of the Orton Family Foundation.

Up to 3 communities
The two foundations will support up to three communities in Lancaster and Chester counties to receive grants for a coordinator, community coaches, training and technical assistance to guide and support community engagement activities.
Orton also provides them with a network of Heart & Soul communities – linking them to leaders in similar towns.
Sally Sherrin and Mayor Howard
Leckey said the two foundations share "mutual optimism" and he has no doubt they can work together to help towns in our counties.
"The Lancaster area has strong people who have a sense of pride and place, and love where they live," Leckey said. "They have a strong work ethic and sense of community."
The two-year community development process reconnects residents with what they love about their hometown and turns that into the community's North Star or guiding principle.


Power of storytelling
Orton's theory is that data and statistics about poverty or crime fail to inspire change and involvement. Emotional sharing, on the other hand, delivers hard truths in gentle ways. When poverty has a face, people begin to care and apathy often turns into activism.
At Wednesday's workshop, Great Falls elementary teacher Alison Howe talked about why she loves teaching 3K children in rural Chester County.
"Everyone comes in and says how cute my kids are," she began. "I look at their lives every day, how they come in and are sometimes hungry and dirty and they are not looked after. It's not that their parents don't love them, because all parents love their children. They just don't know how."
Alison Howe
She went on to tell of the joy the children feel in the mornings when they tell her about going out for pizza or shopping at the Dollar General with their moms.
"Now to the playground," Howe said. "My playground is safe and they go out there and have the best time ever…. They run and play and scream with joy."
After a pause, she swallowed hard and continued.
"There are a lot of places in Great Falls where they can't do that. I want you to see these kids, their faces…. They are all in my heart every day…. I worry about these kids, and I want them to grow up like my kids grew up."
"I want you to see where I make a difference every day in their lives," she said. The room erupted in applause.

Off to good start
The group of 150 was one of the largest ever at an introductory Heart & Soul workshop, said Sara Lightner of the Orton Family Foundation.
"This is a great size group, and after just one storytelling episode, you could see the people coming together," she said.
The Community Heart & Soul method involves the participation of all interested citizens through accessible forums and town meetings that allow residents to tell their stories.
The sessions get people talking and listening to each other. People who normally don't talk to each other develop relationships and discover a common love for the place they call home.
The data from the storytelling informs and guides town leaders as they write or revise a comprehensive plan. It can help reel in haphazard growth and keep the community's focus on what matters most.
Leckey said the process unlocks "the deep emotional connection people have to where they live and the unique character of each place…."
"Community Heart & Soul creates a roadmap for towns based on what truly matters most to residents, and that leads to towns that are stronger, healthier and more economically vibrant,” he said.

Similar town
Leckey shared the success of a former mill town in Maine very similar to our area. Biddeford was struggling to redefine itself after its factories closed and the downtown dried up.
Biddeford, a mill town with a population of more than 21,000, is located on the coast in southeast Maine. It went through the Heart & Soul process from 2008-10 and has now turned its 35-acre mill district into a booming downtown. Its last mill closed in 2009.
Prior to Heart & Soul, only 400,000 square feet of 1.6 million square feet of mill space was being used. After going through the revitalization, only 400,000 square feet is vacant. The rest is filled with with restaurants, shops, retail stores, art studios and apartments. A hotel is being constructed now.  
Local high school students and retired millworkers came together to preserve history while making something new. They turned one of the factories into a museum.
In a Heart & Soul video, Daniel Stevenson, Biddeford's economic development director, said $78 million in new investments came about after going through the process.
For more information on Heart & Soul towns, visit www.orton.org. To watch videos of the individual towns, visit the youtube channel Community Heart & Soul.

What's next?
A one-hour informational webinar at 3 p.m. April 19 will explain eligibility criteria and the application process. After that, interested towns and cities in Chester and Lancaster counties will send a representative to a full-day workshop at USCL on May 16. You can sign up for the webinar at https://heartsoulwithjmarionsims.eventbrite.com.

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

Friday, March 17, 2017

Bombarding county with requests for information


Gary Holland gets his own handler – Weaver

By Mandy Catoe

mcatoe@thelancasternews.com

July 7, 2016

Gary Holland
Indian Land activist Gary Holland has become a burr under the saddle of Lancaster County officials, who have singled him out for special handling by the county attorney because of his “countless” requests for information on Panhandle development projects.
The Lancaster County website, www.mylancastersc.org, sets out the procedure for filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests: “Please email the Clerk to Council at dhardin@lancastercountysc.net or mail your request to County of Lancaster: Attention: Clerk to Council.”
It is clear that council clerk Debbie Hardin is the contact person for information requests to the county, except for Holland, who was told in May to file his another way.
Last Sept. 15, County Administrator Steve Willis sent an email to Hardin advising her that he had appointed County Attorney John Weaver as the “contact person for all Gary Holland's FOIA requests, regardless of department.”
The day before and apparently as a result of his conversation with Willis, Weaver sent an email advising other county officials that he would be the contact person for Holland. He notified Human Resources Director Lisa Robinson and Planning Director Penelope Karagounis.
Weaver’s email also said, “In an effort to get some continuity in our countless questions from Mr. Holland… Steve has assigned that task to me. Hopefully it will give him a specific contact point and conversely will make sure Lancaster County speaks with one voice.”
Weaver went on to advise the officials to send the requests to him without any response on their part to Holland.
Holland contends he had only sent FOIA requests to Hardin and Willis prior to being required to send them to Weaver, but says he has asked other questions of 15 different departments.
Asked why Holland’s FOIAs should be funneled through the county attorney, Willis acknowledged the process is a bit unusual.
“Mr. Holland, by himself, is just under 50 percent of our total FOIA requests,” Willis said. “Most of his are fairly complex and so since John has to review all of them anyway, it is easier to let him handle these because it is such a larger number.”
Willis said Holland’s requests are detailed, with sections and sub-sections, and need to go to various departments, so Weaver, as Holland’s contact, can sort through them and figure out where the information is.
“We are getting so many in so many areas from Holland that we need to have a single point of contact,” Willis said.
“All the FOIAs are reviewed by John to be sure we are on firm legal ground – are we releasing what we should and are we withholding what we should? That kind of thing,” Willis said.
Hardin said that between Jan. 1 and July 5 of this year, Lancaster County has received 75 FOIA requests. Thirty-three were from Holland.
Jay Bender, former attorney for the S.C. Press Association and the state’s best-known FOIA advocate, said he sees nothing wrong with this process. 
“If the county is responding in a timely fashion, and not trying to charge for the attorney’s time, I don't see a problem with this arrangement,” he said.
But Bender cautioned that government agencies sometimes send sensitive communications through their attorneys in an effort to cloak them in attorney-client privilege.
“The FOIA provides an exemption for records covered by the attorney-client privilege, but many public bodies abuse that exemption by claiming it applies to all records touched by the body's attorney,” he said. “The privilege only applies to confidential information, which has not been shared with anyone outside the scope of the representation.”
It is clear that Lancaster County officials have been aware of the attorney-client issue in some cases involving Holland. 
 Earlier this year, Holland asked the county for information about the Ansley Park subdivision, suspecting that development might be in violation of federal rules protecting the endangered Carolina heelsplitter.
He requested correspondence between endangered-species biologist Morgan Wolf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Lancaster County planner Elaine Boone. The county sent Holland an email between Boone and someone else.
Weaver then sent Holland a copy of an email he sent to Joshua Vann and Jeff Morris, attorneys for the developers of property near Six Mile Creek, dated Jan. 27, 2016.
The subject of the email was “Report of ongoing violations along Six Mile Creek/Collins Road PDD-26.” Weaver also forwarded Holland’s emails to the attorneys. Holland’s emails were allegations of environmental violations at Six Mile Creek.
Twenty-four minutes before Weaver sent his email to the developers’ attorneys, Willis sent an email to Councilman Jack Estridge, Council Chairman Bob Bundy and Weaver regarding ongoing violations along Six Mile Creek/Collins Road PDD-26.  Willis advised them to talk with Weaver regarding the matter from that point forward because “he is familiar with this case, but his communications are protected whereas mine are not.”
Willis confirmed Thursday that he was referring to the attorney/client privilege.
“More than likely, litigation was inevitable on this,” Willis said. “One of the things we learned early on is if you are talking about potential litigation, then my e-mails are public record and John’s are not. His are protected because of attorney/client privilege.”
Holland doesn’t like being singled out for different treatment than other taxpayers.
“I don’t have a problem if Mr. Willis wants to appoint Mr. Weaver the FOIA clerk duties, as long as it is the same person for every citizen,” Holland said.
Willis confirmed Thursday that the point of contact for the general public is still Hardin. But he stressed that Weaver is still part of the process for all FOIA requests, reviewing information before it is released.
But Hardin said simple or routine requests do not have to get Weaver’s review.
“For example, if someone requests a copy of a policy from human resources, the director knows she can release that without having to run that by Weaver,” Hardin said.
Holland says that even questions he sends to the Human Resources Department about dates of employment and job descriptions have been forwarded to Weaver, as well as questions he has for Willis.
“Those questions were for the administrator, not his employee,” Holland said. 
Other Indian Land activists feel Holland is being singled out because he is competent and thorough with his research. Indian Land Action Council (ILAC) President Jane Tanner felt the treatment was so unfair she called a meeting with Bundy to discuss the issues July 6. Tanner said Holland was present, along with ILAC members Waylon Wilson and Melvin Stroble.
Tanner says ILAC depends on Holland to provide it with information and the county is limiting that. Holland is entitled to an apology from Weaver, Tanner said.
“I want Mr. Weaver to send a personal note to Gary Holland apologizing for discrimination against him,” she said. “I also want Weaver to go to all the county departments withdrawing his statement that Holland has to go directly to him.”
“If you see the email from Weaver to Holland advising him to go through him first and only him, then you can’t see this as anything other than discrimination,” Wilson said. “That’s black and white.”
He said the county government is not used to this kind of scrutiny and questioning. 
Holland claims the county takes his questions, turns them into FOIA requests, then often uses FOIA laws to tell him the question cannot be answered.
Holland gave an example of that from an April 19 request. He asked Willis to place Weaver’s opinion online regarding why a motion to rescind the Planning Commission’s prior approval of the Ansley Park preliminary plan was out of order.
The next day Holland received an email from Willis.
“The document you seek is a legal opinion from an attorney to his client,” Willis said. “As such it is not subject to FOIA and I do not have a copy as I was not the client in this matter.”
Holland wrote County Council on May 24, asking it to “reverse any written or non-written directives from this Administration to all departments that would treat any one citizen differently than the whole.”
He presented his concerns June 16 to the county Community Relations Committee, a county government panel that advocates community harmony and provides an objective forum for fairness and equity. He has received no response.
Holland asked to meet with County Council in private or in executive session to discuss the matter, but was told June 29 by Hardin that Weaver and Bundy had determined this was not a matter for executive session. They did advise him they could put the matter on the agenda for a public council meeting.
Holland said he did not want the appeal process to be discussed or handled in public and has asked them to come up with another way.
“All I want is for it to stop, please,” Holland said.

Contact Mandy Catoe (803) 283-1152

Thursday, March 16, 2017

McClancy protesters calmer, but lose again


Council OKs company's rezoning on 2nd reading


March 15, 2017



Mandy Catoe
mcatoe@thelancasternews.com

Indian Land residents, wearing their trademark red shirts and carrying protest signs, filled the county council's chambers to its capacity of 110 Monday night, urging officials to reject McClancy Seasoning's rezoning request.
The meeting was much calmer than the one two weeks ago, when a crowd stormed out after losing the vote, but the outcome was the same. Council passed the second of three required readings on the rezoning ordinance, this time by a closer margin of 4-3.
More than 20 BridgeMill subdivision residents addressed the council, asking it to protect their neighborhood from the light-industrial zoning request. Their opposition was as strong as ever, but their message shifted this time from indignation to inclusion.
The residents addressed the legality of zoning, the possible depreciation of their homes, and future use of the business.
BridgeMill resident Will Sperow asked the redshirt residents to stand up if they opposed the rezoning. More than sixty residents stood, many holding signs with the following messages:
"Don't right a wrong with another wrong!"
"Protect our environment! Say 'no' to industrial zoning."
"Why now? Rezoning after 17 years?"
"Industrial waste smell and zoning is not responsible growth!"
"Spot zoning is illegal."
Indian Land resident Gary Walbrun shifted the message from one of conflict to one of community.
"You may look at all of us and think 'newcomers' or 'outsiders,'" he said.
"We simply want what everyone else wants – a place where we belong and where our families can thrive and prosper," Walbrun said. "We are busy investing our lives in this community. Our children are your future business leaders, future pastors, future volunteers and maybe even members of this council at some point.
"My request to you is simple," he continued. "Look at me and look at all the people who are here and see us for who we are. This decision is your legacy. Please do the right thing."
BridgeMill resident Ed McCormick, dressed in work clothes and muddy boots, put a new face on what had appeared to be strictly a white-collar cause. He echoed the community message and urged the council to protect his investment, his third home purchase, but his first-ever new one.
"Make zoning work so we can feel secure," he said. "It has taken a long time to get to this point."
Immediately after the last resident spoke, council member Charlene McGriff made a motion for an amendment to the rezoning request, restricting use of the business to food manufacturing as long as it is owned by the current owner, Reid Wilkerson.
Council member Larry Honeycutt seconded the motion.
The Indian Land residents shuffled in their seats and whispered among themselves at the proposed amendment, which passed 5 to 2. Brian Carnes, who represents Indian Land, and Jack Estridge voted no.
A brief discussion followed the amendment vote before council member Steve Harper asked for a vote on the rezoning request.
Council member Terry Graham, a small-business owner since 1978, said his goal was to find a way to allow McClancy to build a warehouse and assure the residents the business would not change.
Graham asked if a settlement could be reached between BridgeMill and McClancy as part of the current lawsuit McClancy has filed against the county.
County Attorney John Weaver said the lawsuit would run its course and the only involvement in a possible settlement would be by the named litigants, McClancy and Lancaster County.
"I know of no way BridgeMill can come into the lawsuit at this point, and I know of nothing within the legal system that the BridgeMill community can do to force a settlement or negotiate a settlement on Mr. Wilkerson or McClancy."
Wilkerson "has said he wants a jury to decide whether or not the county was in error in failing to notify him or failing to take the appropriate action when the property was rezoned improperly, as we have admitted, in 1998," Weaver said.
The zoning problem began with that error when the state required counties to draw zoning districts and the county incorrectly zoned the property as R15P, which is for single-family residential development.
County Administrator Steve Willis, at county council's direction, attempted to correct the erroneous zoning in March 2015 by applying for a zoning change rom R15P to L1, or light industrial. Wilkerson wanted the L1 zoning to allow for larger manufacturing and warehousing space, which will create 42 new jobs.
After a series of contentious council meetings attended by  BridgeMill residents, the county decided against the rezoning in December 2015.
The county's current Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) allows McClancy to operate from its existing building and 7 acres, but not use the balance of its 21-acre site.
McClancy has been operating since 1982 on the 21-acre tract at 182 Spice Road, off U.S. 521 near the 12-year-old BridgeMill subdivision. The neighborhood is more than halfway complete, with 600 of an expected 800 homes ranging in price from $300,000 to $600,000.
Graham and Honeycutt said they have received a mix of e-mails supporting both McClancy and BridgeMill residents. Social media also reflected a mix of support for the two sides.
Jerry Holt, an Indian Land resident and county planning commissioner, spoke during citizens' comments and suggested the council deny the request and allow the court to decide the matter.
"Your hands are tied by the new UDO, which prevents you from approving or creating a nonconforming use," Holt said. "Rezoning to light industrial will be spot zoning and risk a lawsuit."
Holt explained the court is not bound by the UDO and can find a workable solution by allowing McClancy to expand its warehouse with a nonconforming use under present zoning.
"A rezoning will not give McClancy a reason to compromise," Holt said.
The amended motion passed 4-3, with "no" votes coming from Estridge and Indian Land council members Graham and Carnes.
Graham voted "yes" last time, but voted "no" this time because of the proposed UDO text amendment expanding the allowable industries in light-industrial zoning, including textile mills.
"I am asking these people to trust me and make sure nothing harmful happens to BridgeMill or surrounding communities," Graham said. "I can't support it with the text amendment."
McGriff addressed the residents and thanked them for their eloquent and passionate plea. She assured them council understood their position.
"It's not that we think you are outsiders," McGriff said. "It's just that we have other things to consider, not only your plight, but other things."
She followed up with a slight scolding of their strategy.
"I wish you guys had met with Mr. Wilkerson last year after we denied the rezoning, because you knew he was coming back," she said.
"He said he would. I wish you guys would have met with him and come up with some kind of solution so you would not put the county in a position to make the decision."
The residents did not take the rebuke lightly or quietly.
A couple of responses erupted.
"We did."
"You were elected to make these decisions."
Chairman Harper called for a five-minute recess, and when he struck the gavel to resume the meeting, the chamber was nearly empty.
The third and final reading on the ordinance is scheduled for March 27.
In other business, the council unanimously passed a resolution opposing the South Carolina Compassionate Care Bill which if passed by the state would allow physicians to write prescriptions for medical marijuana for certain diseases and conditions.
Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or
contact her at (803) 283-1152.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Late Spring Snow


Barn on John Everall Road
March 12, 2017
Early tender maple leaves in late spring snow

Carolina Jasmine caught in the chill

Rain gauge - How to measure snow???

After snowfall - winter wonderland

Horse on Ormand Road

Horses munching on fallen limb

JoJo's first snow

My barn shot. Paper gave Robert Howey credit, but it was my photo.


ALL PHOTOS ARE MINE AND TAKEN ON  A TWO MILE WALK FROM MY HOUSE


Monday, March 13, 2017

900 boxes, 200,000 artifacts



 
Judge holds conical pottery

Archaeologist Chris Judge is finally ready to show you what he found in the swamp


Mandy Catoe
mcatoe@thelancasternews.com

Every winter for the past two decades, USC Lancaster archaeologist Chris Judge has spent two weeks in a Darlington County swamp, digging square holes 2 meters long, 2 meters wide and a meter deep.
With flat shovels, he and his crew methodically skim thin layers from a sandy mound called the Johannes Kolb Site. Layer by layer, they sift each shovelful, separating dirt from clues about our history. They then sort, identify and piece together details about long-ago life along the Pee Dee River.
The excavation has unearthed 200,000 artifacts so far. They fill 900 banker's boxes, many of them stacked high in Judge's lab at the Native American Studies Center on Lancaster's Main Street.
This week, for the first time ever, he will be displaying his work.
Chris Judge
And unlike most displays of precious ancient artifacts, this exhibit allows you to actually touch some of the pieces. That's Judge's rebellion against typical museum displays that he often finds boring and frustrating.
"My nose always hits the glass when I am trying to get a closer look and I can't touch it," he said earlier this week as he was preparing his work for the exhibit.
Judge will open his exhibit, "Share a Little of that Human Touch" with a guided tour this Friday at 1:30 p.m. The sensory and interactive display is part of Native American Studies Week, which runs from  Monday through Saturday.
Judge, 57, keeps his long, greying hair pulled back in a ponytail. He is dressed in jeans and boots, more suited for the wild than an office.
He is eager to broaden the audience for archaeology and wants people off the street to come in and touch the past. He looks part rock star, part professor, and his passion about his work spills out as he talks.



"Academic archaeology is not accessible," he said.
"This is," he said, smiling as he rolled a broken spearhead around in the palm of his hand.
As he talked, he named the archaeological period associated with each artifact on a table in his lab – a beaver skull, stone tools, spearheads and broken pieces of pottery called "sherds." These artifacts tell the story of people who lived along the Pee Dee River on the Kolb site. He wants people to come in, put their hands on the past, and feel a connection.


Sharpening beaver teeth for wood work


Back 12,000 years 
Nut cracker

Judge and a crew of archaeologists, volunteers and students began exploring the area to locate the homesite of German settler Johannes Kolb, who lived there in the early 1700s. They found much, much more.
"From the Ice Age really up to the mid-20th century, there were for the most part, people there," Judge said. "That, to me, is exciting."
The findings include artifacts dating back 12,000 years ago to the last Ice Age. Judge's work found evidence that Native Americans lived on the river banks long before Kolb built a home there in 1740, and slaves lived there a century later.
"Every prehistoric archaeological culture known is present at the Kolb site," Judge said.
As curator, Judge will limit the focus of his exhibit to the prehistoric period
9,000-year-old spearhead
Technology will breathe life into this display. Five touchscreen TVs will feature four-minute films covering different archaeological periods and the Kolb site. Catawba Indians are featured actors in the short documentaries reenacting lives of the prehistoric Paleo-Indians. Footage from a high-tech drone shows aerial views of the excavation site.
Social media is all abuzz in anticipation of the show. The "Share a Little of that Human Touch" display has been trending this past week on Facebook.

Life-size mastodon
USCL art professor Brittany Taylor-Driggers spent hours painting a life-size mastodon on the wall. It's 15 feet long and 10 feet high at the shoulder. Opposite the mammoth creature are a spear and a bow and arrow – tools of the ancient hunters.
Looking at the small spear next to the huge mastodon, Judge shook his head and said, "I would have been a vegetarian."
As curator, Judge will limit the focus of his exhibit to the prehistoric period with findings from the Kolb site and other excavations from South Carolina.



Brittany Taylor Driggers
The gallery hall will be a walk through time, with a little something for everyone. Judge invites attendees to bring their arrowheads to compare with a historical chart and identify them by shape and location. 
Judge was hired in 2006 to help build the university's new Native American Studies program. In 2012, he oversaw the building of the 15,000-square-foot Native American Studies Center.
"Chris Judge is a legend in South Carolina archaeology circles," said Dr. Stephen Criswell, director of Native American Studies Center.  "Everywhere you go around the state, people know and respect him. We are lucky to have him at USC Lancaster."
The center's purpose is the study of South Carolina's Native Americans, their histories and cultures, while offering visitors a chance to view galleries, observe archaeology and attend educational classes.
Since it opened five years ago, more than 30,000 visitors have toured gallery exhibits and attended monthly Lunch and Learn presentations.
The single largest collection of Catawba Indian pottery is on display in the Lindsay Pettus Gallery at the center. In 2016, the center hired Dr. Brooke Bauer, the first-ever Catawba with a PhD to bring an authentic voice to the program.
"This exhibit will dip far into the past and tell us about life in South Carolina before the arrival of Europeans," said Criswell. "It’s another great step toward telling the full story of the state’s Native Americans and of South Carolina in general."
Excavated pottery
Ancient weapon made with egg stone. Woven by Catawba Native Beckee Garris
Square Holes (Judge photo)
Tariq Ghaffar
Iron Oxide from Sandstone
Excavated sherds pieced together
Katie Shull










Native American Studies Week

Monday
• 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Lecture: "20 Years of Archaeological Research at the Johannes Kolb Site," by Christopher Judge, NASC Room 106. 

Wednesday
• 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Film: "Square Holes: Digging the Kolb Site," NASC Room 106.

Thursday
• 1:30 p.m. Exhibit opening: Piedmont American Indian Association's Tribal Exhibit, NASC Duke Energy Gallery. Lower Eastern Cherokee Nation, curated by Chief Gene Norris and Victoria Norris, will run through March 1, 2018.

Friday
• 10-11:30 a.m. Quarterly meeting of the Council of S.C. Professional Archaeologists, Cultural Arts Center, 307 W. Gay St.

• Noon-1 p.m. Lunch and Learn lecture "Archaeology of the Southeastern Archaic Breaks New Ground," hunter-gatherers of the archaic period (11,000 to 3,000 years ago) in S.C. and Florida. Dr. Kenneth E. Sassaman from the University of Florida, Cultural Arts Center, 307 W. Gay St.

• 1:30-2:30 p.m. Exhibit opening: "Share a Little of That Human Touch." Guided tour by curator Dr. Christopher Judge, NASC.

• 3-4:30 p.m. Lecture: "Big Picture Archaeological Research in South Carolina and the Southeast and Beyond," Dr. David G. Anderson from the University of Tennessee, Cultural Arts Center, 307 W. Gay St.

Saturday
• 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 2017 Native American Studies Festival, with Native American arts and crafts vendors, Native American music, primitive technology demonstrations, exhibit tours.

All events are free and open to the public. All locations are within easy walking distance of the NASC within the Lancaster Cultural Arts District. For more information, call the NASC at (803) 313-7172 or visit www.usclancaster.sc.edu/NAS/.html.

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

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Less is More

Following Thoreau down the minimalist path

By Mandy Catoe
 mcatoe@thelancasternews.com

At Poplar Ridge Farm
Three years ago, I took a timeout from life's demands to determine the direction for my remaining years. I quit my state job of 16 years, cashed in my retirement and paid off $30,000 of debt. I had grown weary from recurring credit card bills to pay for things that had long lost their value and more than likely had worn out.
It took the state three months to release the funds. I could only get my retirement if I quit my job. I resigned and left my cubicle behind.
I turned that time into a soul-searching sabbatical. For 90 days, I went through every closet, drawer, nook and corner of my house shedding the excess. The question for every item was “Does this serve me in any way?” If yes, I kept it. If no, I gave it away.
The process I went through created space in my cluttered existence – physically and spiritually giving me room to breathe, explore and grow.
The time-consuming process made it easier for me to stop buying more things that would collect dust and fill closets again. The cycle had to end. Careless, compulsive buying was replaced with mindful purchases. And mindful living.
I recalled a paraphrased Henry David Thoreau quote - the cost of a thing is the amount of life given up in exchange for it. I had paid enough. I had bought things, hauled them when I moved, only to store them once again. 
During this time, I still had to pay bills for electricity, water, Wi-Fi and cell phone. Living simply was cheaper. I stretched the three-month sabbatical into a year. I made money from the sale of old fountain pens, cycling gear and books. House and pet-sitting allowed free vacations. I became a certified yoga teacher so I could give private yoga lessons. I tilled the earth at an organic farm where my take-home pay included fresh vegetables.
As I dug through layers of mementos, each item evoked feelings from my past. The experience deepened my appreciation for my life's journey. Among the treasures I kept were my son's first pair of shoes, my Daddy's pocket knife, and an old softball glove. The cleared physical space allowed me to keep the excavated treasures where I could see them. The cleared emotional space allowed me to be fully present for each precious moment.
I also dug up an old dream. I had always wanted to write. 
Thoreau introduced me to minimalism and the deep satisfaction of a simple lifestyle in his book, “Walden”: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”  

With Joshua Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus

This weeding-out process has given more value to what remains. In farming, weeding out is key. Remove the weeds from around the carrots and the carrots grow bigger.
Rather than buying new pens, I buy refills. I gave up cable TV, canceled the gym membership and share books with friends. Reusing, repurposing and recycling ensure the sustainability of my lifestyle, which is much kinder to the planet than one of consumption. Thoreau returned to his life after his sabbatical on Walden Pond. I think of my new life as Walden with Wi-Fi.
I left excess debt, distraction, clutter and consumption behind by taking the time to find out what really matters to me. And now I get to dive deep into life by writing stories. I'm no longer tripping on the clutter.
If interested in decluttering and redefining your relationship with your stuff, check out these resources.
The most well-known minimalists today are Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. Their website is www.theminimalists.com. Courtney Carver is another guide on the road to owning less. She offers tips and insights at www.bemorewithless.com.






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
















Friday, March 3, 2017

Winning the fight of her life


 Madie DeBruhl sets record for surviving rare leukemia

Mandy Catoe
mcatoe@thelancasternews.com

March 3, 2017
Photo from Madie
Madie DeBruhl is a little quiet, but make no mistake, she has a lot of fight in her.
The 12-year-old is now on the winning side of a two-year fight for her life. It's a battle that has won her a place in medical history.
Madie is the first person born with a rare form of leukemia and is now the disease's longest-living survivor.
Until two years ago, chrono neutrophilic leukemia (CNL) had only been found in adults 65 and older and had a two-year survival rate.
A revolutionary discovery at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte and a bone marrow transplant saved Madie's life. She is now leukemia-free and expected to make a full recovery.
Madie's parents, Monica and Chris, along with her older brother, Rylan, gathered around Madie in their Heath Springs home last month and shared their story.
"We knew God had a plan for her," Monica said.
The side-effects of the bone marrow transplant have called on every ounce of resolve in the pre-teen and her family. Her mom quit her job to devote all her time to Madie, and her dad works as many hours as possible at Invista in Lugoff.
"It's been really hard to see her sick," her dad said.

Making medical history
Until two years ago, Madie was the picture of health. She was born with two times the normal level of white blood cells – a discovery made when she was 4 months old at a routine medical appointment. Her doctor referred her to Dr. Daniel McMahon, a specialist in hematology and oncology at Levine Children's Hospital.
McMahon ordered a bone marrow biopsy, which came back negative for leukemia. She remained symptom-free until just after her 10th birthday, when her spleen became enlarged. Another bone marrow biopsy and advanced genetic testing done in the summer of 2015 revealed the cause.
She had a genetic mutation that up to that time had been found only in those elderly patients with CNL.
"No one has ever been born with that gene being abnormal, so we didn't really have a great feeling for what would go on later in her life," McMahon said.
Doctors feared continued mutations would lead to a very aggressive form of leukemia. The only possible cure was a bone marrow transplant. That news shocked the DeBruhls, who had been told that a marrow transplant would be the last treatment option if Madie developed leukemia. That was before the mutation was discovered.
"They told us it would just keep mutating, and if we didn't do something she would get really sick," Monica DeBruhl said.
The last option now became the first step necessary to save her life. The search for a matching donor began.
Her 14-year old brother, Rylan DeBruhl, volunteered without hesitation.
"He was a perfect match, and we thank the good Lord for that," his mom said.
"I wanted to do it because she's my sister," Rylan said.
Madie was a fifth grader at Kershaw Elementary that year. She was in junior beta club, student council and a library helper.
Photo from Madie
She underwent months of medical tests, blood work, X-rays, echocardiograms and dental exams to prepare for the bone marrow transplant, which was scheduled for the end of the school year last May. With the help of teachers, she completed fifth grade. Her friends and schoolmates sent her off with a pep rally in late April.
Madie was hospitalized May 10 for eight days of chemotherapy. The two-hour transplant took place May 20. After the surgery, she stayed in a germ-free room for a month.
She came home June 20, but had to return to Levine a week later. She was in excruciating pain. 

Complications
The reaction, called graft versus host disease, was a positive sign, proof that her brother's cells were killing off the cancer cells in her system. The side-effects were affecting her liver, bladder and skin.
Medications harmed her kidneys and hindered her body's ability to regulate blood pressure. Steroids weakened her bones and made her once-slim cheeks puffy.
She was released from the hospital July 30.
Since then, she has made twice-weekly trips to Levine for ECP, extracorporeal photopheresis, which treats the graft versus host disease. A machine draws her blood out, treats it with a liquid medicine and exposes it to ultraviolet light, which kills the diseased cells. Sometimes that process takes all day and includes a four-hour-long red blood cell transfusion when her hemoglobin is too low for the ECP.
Her mom said these treatments will continue for the next few months and hopefully be done by fall so she can start seventh grade at Andrew Jackson Middle School.
Madie celebrated her 12th birthday this past January and became the longest-living survivor of CNL. The doctors at Levine Children's Hospital and Levine Cancer Institute gave her a birthday party complete with an elephant cake and TV interviews.
"This is her first birthday ever without the abnormality in her blood," Dr. McMahon said.
Madie has changed medical science. From this point on, children with an unexplained high white blood count will have genetic testing to determine if they have the mutation that will lead to CNL.
"Our patient is the youngest ever reported patient and the first cured patient of this disease," said Dr. Belinda Avalos, a blood-disorder specialist at Levine Cancer Institute.

Gratitude, life lessons
As Madie's parents shared the medical side of her story, she and Rylan sat on the floor playing a board game, beneath shelves of last year's school pictures showing her with straight, shoulder-length hair.
The family expressed gratitude for community support and fundraisers from the kids' schools and their church, Fork Hill Baptist.
A homebound teacher has helped Madie stay on track with her sixth grade school work.
Madie's journey can be followed on the Facebook page, Team Madie, as well as on her GoFundMe page.
When Madie is well enough, she will visit Disney World – a gift from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"I will be able to see the elephants," Madie said, smiling ear to ear.
The DeBruhls are proud of both their children.
"We have learned to make the most of each day," Monica said. "There is no way I could have been as strong as Madie. We just knew that God had his hands on her and he was going to take care of all of us."
Madie is sure she is here for a reason, too. Her favorite Bible verse adorns the Team Madie shirts. It's Jeremiah 29:11 and Madie is certain God is watching over her and has plans for her future. 
She is ready to return to a normal life of sleep-overs and venturing outside without her face mask. And for her hair to come back in full, thick and straight.


https://www.gofundme.com/vehj6gb6

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

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

IL Outburst Halts Council Meeting

Scores of 'red shirts' storm out after vote to rezone McClancy

By Mandy Catoe
March 1, 2017

mcatoe@thelancasternews.com

More than 50 Indian Land homeowners, wearing red shirts and hot under the collar, stormed out of Monday night's county council meeting after the council reversed itself and voted 5-2 in favor of McClancy Seasoning's rezoning request.
As the five hands went up in approval, people in the audience gasped, and some shouted out comments before abruptly leaving the council chambers.
"You're kidding me!"
"See you in court!"
"Shameful disgrace. We will vote you out!"
It took about two minutes for them all to exit. The on-duty sheriff's deputy walked to the door and stood watch as they cleared the room. 
Council Chair Steve Harper stopped mid-sentence during the outburst and waited for the room to quiet down before moving on to the next agenda item.
Harper voted for the rezoning along with Charlene McGriff, Larry Honeycutt and new council members Terry Graham and Billy Mosteller. The no votes came from Brian Carnes and Jack Estridge. This was the first reading on the ordinance. It would have to pass two other readings to take effect.
McClancy's owner, Reid Wilkerson, reapplied for the rezoning after the required 12-month waiting period since the council denied the company's request in December 2015.
Wilkerson also filed a lawsuit against the county in April 2016. McClancy is demanding that the court force the county to rezone the entire property to allow expansion or pay the company $600,000 for the land plus the cost of relocating the business.
The 21-acre tract is at 182 Spice Road, off U.S. 521 near the BridgeMill subdivision, where McClancy has been operating since 1982.
The BridgeMill neighborhood has about 500 homes ranging in price from $300,000 to $600,000. The development began in 2005 and should be completed by 2020 with nearly 800 homes.
The zoning problem with the site dates back to 1998, when the state required counties to draw zoning districts and the county incorrectly spot-zoned the property as R15P, which is for single-family residential development.
County Administrator Steve Willis, at county council's direction, attempted to correct the erroneous spot-zoning in March 2015 by applying for a zoning change from R15P to I-1, or light industrial. Wilkerson wanted the I-1 zoning to allow for larger manufacturing and warehousing space.
After a series of contentious council meetings attended by BridgeMill residents, the county decided against the rezoning in December 2015.
The county's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) allows McClancy to operate from its existing building and 7 acres, but not use the balance of its 21-acre site.
The UDO describes light industrial as designed to accommodate industries that do not tend to have adverse impacts on surrounding properties and prohibits most heavy industry.
"At the current level of McClancy's operation, there is very little opposition," said planning commissioner and Indian Land resident Jerry Holt. "It is relatively quiet. It's not stinky."
But some nearby residents are concerned that if the company expands, those conditions might change. Adding to their resistance is a proposed amendment to the UDO expanding the allowable industries in I-1 zoning. 
Eight Indian Land residents expressed fears at Monday night's meeting that the rezoning would negatively impact their quality of life and their property values.
Gary Walbrun, a BridgeMill resident for the past seven years, said "The facts have not changed, and our will to fight is stronger than ever."
Council members discussed the matter briefly.
Councilman Carnes, whose district is in Indian Land, described the rezoning ordinance as a difficult one that he opposes, and he encouraged council to do the same.
"I feel the residents here have taken priority over Mr. Wilkerson's rights to his zoning," Carnes said. "He was there a long time before they were, and there were multiple opportunities for him to seek rezoning before the neighborhood was built."
Newly-elected councilman Graham, who represents Indian Land, said, "I am concerned when I hear about proposed changes to the zoning and adding other things in."
Graham asked County Attorney John Weaver to reach out to McClancy for a compromise.
"Is there any way we could lock in the uses so the I-1 can't be changed," Graham asked.
Weaver said zoning cannot be made conditional, but added that "if at second reading, a representative from McClancy Seasoning would come and volunteer to do such, the county would be in a position to accept that voluntary statement," Weaver said.
He agreed to contact McClancy prior to the next council meeting March 13.

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