It’s autumn, and residents know it is once again time for the Standpipe Heritage and Arts Festival in Belton. On Saturday, the 37th annual event is set to draw thousands to downtown Belton, where city streets will transform into a hub of family entertainment, local heritage, and artistic celebration.

The festival, sponsored by the City of Belton with support from numerous local organizations, offers free admission and parking — a tradition that organizers say underscores the inclusive spirit of the event.

The bill, dubbed the Unborn Child Protection Act, would remove existing exceptions for victims of rape or incest, as well as fatal fetal anomalies. It would allow women to be prosecuted and sued for getting an abortion. It would become illegal to help a juvenile travel out of state for an abortion. Telling someonehow to get an abortion would be criminal, as would selling, making or possessing abortion-inducing medication.

The Fourth Annual Anderson County Hispanic Heritage Festival is scheduled for Saturday from 2-5 p.m. at the Anderson County Farmers Market Pavillon.

“I am especially excited about this year’s festival,” said Maria Ivette Torres-Green, organizer of the event. “This celebration will feature two live bands with music and dancing, delicious food vendors, art displays from local students, and a variety of craft and resource vendors.”

The federal government started shutting down early Wednesday after Congress failed to approve a funding bill before the beginning of the new fiscal year — resulting in widespread ramifications for hundreds of programs and giving the Trump administration an avenue to fire federal workers en masse.

The U.S. Senate was unable to advance two short-term government funding bills Tuesday when Democrats and Republicans deadlocked for the second time this month, with just hours to go before the midnight Tuesday shutdown deadline.

Anderson County Council has scheduled a workshop at 10 a.m. Friday in the historic courthouse downtown to consider and evaluate a county tree ordinance, expansion of the Francis Crowder Park on the East-West Parkway, regulations on solar farms and an update and revision on the use of the South Carolina Opioid Recovery Funds for revisions and an update for the Love Well Ministries rehabilitation center for women.

Electricity was in the air at the Anderson County Museum on Saturday for the opening of the educational Spark Station and the debut of “Blue Lightning,” a 30-inch plasma ball.

The new Spark Station offers children a unique space to learn and play through hands-on activities rooted in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) principles. Designed for ages two to twelve, the Spark Station lets kids explore the same kinds of interactive and educational experiences often found in schools, but now in the welcoming setting of the museum.

The library provides in-house access to Ancestry Library, an extensive database of digitized records, and offers Heritage Quest for remote research—crucial for patrons who prefer to work from home. These tools are complemented by broader sources like FamilySearch.org and digitized collections from various state archives and historical museums, enabling research on both a local and global scale.

The airport’s secondary runway—originally paved in 1966—has become the centerpiece of current revitalization efforts. Airport Manager Brett Garrison announced that this project marks a total reconstruction, a rarity among peer facilities in the region such as Spartanburg, Greenwood, and Aiken, which have lost their secondary runways in recent years. The restoration was made possible by a grant from the state Aeronautics agency. Completion is expected by the end of December.

The last days of summer brought record crowds and new debates about growth, infrastructure, and community priorities in Anderson County, where local leaders are preparing for major shifts that could define the region’s next decade.

Westside 26, Abbeville 20

BHP 45, Chapman 0

Crescent 34, Liberty 27

T.L. Hanna 28, Mauldin 21

Pendleton 41, Carolina Academy 6

Wren 35, Woodruff 7

Bye week: Palmetto, Powdersville

Residents have until Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. to register in person at the Anderson County Board of Voter Registration and Elections. Those choosing to register online at www.scvotes.gov—requiring a South Carolina driver’s license or DMV-issued ID—must do so by midnight on Oct, 5. The same Oct. 5 midnight deadline applies to forms submitted by email or fax, while mailed registration forms must be postmarked by Oct. 6.

Belton-Honea Path (5-0) at Chapman (0-5) 

Carolina Academy (2-2) at Pendleton (1-3) 

Liberty (4-1) at Crescent (2-2) 

Mauldin (2-2) at T.L. Hanna (3-1) 

Woodruff (5-0) at Wren (2-2) 

Carolina Academy (2-2) at Pendleton (1-3) 

Off week: Palmetto, Powdersville

A report issued by Beck & Beck Missouri Car Accident Lawyers found that South Carolina experienced an average of 110 state highway crashes per million residents—139% higher than the national average of 46. The state, with a population of roughly 5.2 million, recorded an annual average of 575 crashes, and in 2021 suffered its worst year, with 629 collisions. Only in 2019 did numbers dip, reaching a five-year low of 537 crashes.

In Anderson County, the situation is little better. One-third of all bridges in the county cannot be traversed by a fire truck or school bus, while one-third of all the county’s 1,554 miles of roads are in failed or failing condition.

Library cards are free to anyone who lives, works, owns property, or goes to school in Anderson County. The library card brings not only access to books, but digital offerings, including: eBooks and digital magazines, audiobooks, movies, concerts, and lectures with (also free) Libby, Hoopla, and Flipster apps. The Anderson County Library System also offers passes to S.C. State Parks, the Children’s Museum of the Upstate, book club kits, fishing equipment, learning tablets for children, and even free seeds for gardeners.

Every year, as September tips toward October, the people of the Southern Appalachians and South Carolina’s Upstate wait for a kind of small miracle: the slow ignition of the forests into flame. It is never the same twice. Some years are muted—bronzes and browns washed flat by too much rain. Other years seem sharper, more alive: maple crowns burning with the unlikely clarity of a painter’s palette, sourwoods drenched in wine-colored reds.

Depot Days, the town’s signature celebration, will take place Oct. 10-11 and is expected to draw more than 1,000 visitors downtown. The two-day festival will feature concerts, a classic car show with roughly 100 entries, and more than 80 craft, food and art vendors.

“It’s the big event of the year,” said Tim Taylor, Iva’s town manager. “People keep it on their calendar. It started decades ago as a way to honor Iva’s railroad and textile heritage, and it has grown into one of our community’s proudest traditions.”

The museum is embarking on a rather modern experiment beginning Saturday with the debut of two new features that might, at first glance, seem like a break from its established narrative. The first is a hands-on room for children, dubbed “The SPARK Station” (an acronym for STEM, Play, Assemble, and Research for Kids), which aims to make problem-solving and scientific inquiry as engaging as any historical reenactment. The second is a colossal, thirty-inch plasma globe, which, according to Museum Director Beverly Childs, will introduce “blue lightning’” to the museum’s exhibit on turbines and textiles.

Belton Honea Path 49, Palmetto 0

Prince Avenue Christian 59, Westside 34

Crescent 59, Ninety Six 21

T.L. Hanna 22, Greenwood 21

Broome 43, Powdersville 45

Bye week: Pendleton, Wren

For West Pelzer Mayor James Riddle, autumn means more than football and cooler weather. It marks the busiest season of the year, with a lineup of festivals, community gatherings and small-town politics that reflect both the traditions and growing pains for his town.

“Fall is the season for most municipalities, and it definitely is for West Pelzer,” said Riddle in an interview with the Anderson Observer, rattling off a calendar of events that begins with a weekly senior gathering and stretches to Christmas lights and parades.

In a move to aimed at reviving a local cultural hub, the Honea Path Arts Center has officially reopened its doors, now under the direction of Amy Moore. The center, a long-standing feature of the community, aims to become a space for local artists and residents of all ages.