Get ready to lace up your sneakers and kick off the holiday season. Saluda Shoals Park will hold the annual Sleigh Bell Trot November 24 and the Sleigh Bell Stroll November 25. The after-dark events offer participants a chance to run or walk through Holiday Lights on the River —Continue Reading

High Five Fridays have become an exciting beginning to the last day of each week By W. Thomas Smith Jr. For years (during the schoolyear) one of the most enthusiastically anticipated end-of-week interactions between schoolkids and deputies has been HIGH FIVE FRIDAYS (H5F), a Friday morning period when deputies meetContinue Reading

S.C. Military Veterans Hall of Fame holds Veterans Month press conference at Columbia Convention Center, site of the Hall’s permanent home Days after celebrating the Marine Corps 250th Birthday in Philadelphia – which included a wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of the Corps’ first Commandant Samuel Nicholas – Major GeneralContinue Reading

This holiday season, Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College invites audiences to celebrate with a festive lineup of performances, ranging from holiday theatre specials to swingin’ big band jazz and enchanting seasonal dance. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever — Family MusicalPresented by Columbia Children’s TheatreDecember 6 at 2 p.m. andContinue Reading

Three veterans received Quilts of Valor on November 17 from the Palmetto Quilting Group in recognition of their service. Pictured are Cliff Turner, Aaron Turner, and Joe Hordych, along with members of the guild at Seven Oaks Center.Continue Reading

Photo: My grandmother and mother’s cornbread mold with an ear of Bradford heirloom corn. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Born of fire, master of fire, and survivor of fire, my vintage cast iron cornbread mold fed many a soul. Best I figure it came to be in the 1930s.Continue Reading

By Rick Abercrombie On October 24, Doug Renew, Chief Investigator for the Office of the Secretary of State, spoke to the Optimist Club of St. Andrews-Irmo. Renew’s area of concentration for his presentation included both the pitfalls and sensible guidelines for charitable giving, particularly during the holidays. Renew laid outContinue Reading

District Five has named Chad Raynor as the interim principal of Piney Woods Elementary School. He succeeds Cassy (Paschal) Young, who has been appointed the district’s new coordinator of support staff. “I am honored and humbled to serve as the interim principal at Piney Woods Elementary School,” Raynor said. “IContinue Reading

The Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce has named Chris Austin and Ariya Sharpe as its Teacher and Student of the Month. “Chris Austin is a fourth-grade teacher who is constantly thinking of new and innovative ways to get his students to think differently,” STEAM Coach Kimberly Parker said. “He runsContinue Reading

COLUMBIA, S.C., November 12, 2025 — Leeza’s Care Connection (LCC) proudly announces that renowned gerontologist and community advocate Dr. Macie P. Smith has been selected to receive the organization’s highest honor, The North Star Award, at its annual Illuminate Gala on November 20, 2025. Held each year, Illuminate shines aContinue Reading