The idea, according to Police Chief Zachary Owen, was as much about reassurance as revelry. “We want to make sure that we put a good image out for the children so they won’t be scared to come to us if they have a problem,” he said.

The familiar sound of ringing bells outside local retailers provides more than Christmas cheer — it’s the organization’s largest source of funding for its emergency shelter operations. This year, residents are encouraged to form Bell Ringing Day teams, pairing up in groups of two for volunteer shifts throughout the Christmas season.

Westside 21, Wren 7 (from Thursday)

T.L. Hanna 27, Greenville 24

Crescent 28, Pendleton 21

Christ Church Episcopal 41, Palmetto 31

Powdersville 48, St. Joseph's Catholic 31

Belton Honea Path 62, Walhalla 7

Most students who applied for South Carolina’s private K-12 tuition aid program this year were either already attending private school or homeschooled, according to data from the Department of Education.

The law signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in May provided $7,500 scholarships to 10,000 students this school year. It’s unknown exactly how many parents received state aid for tuition they previously paid for themselves. It appears the education agency didn’t actually collect that information.

Instead, the Education Scholarship Trust Fund application asked whether students were entering kindergarten, attended a public school last year, or something else — officially, “other.” Parents selected that “other” category on 59% of the 16,127 applications submitted by mid-August, according to agency data provided to the SC Daily Gazette through a public records request.

Wren at Westside

Greenville at T.L. Hanna

Pendleton at Crescent

Christ Church Episcopal at Palmetto

St. Joseph's Catholic at Powdersville

Walhalla at BHP

Applying for SNAP in South Carolina is not for the faint-hearted. The income gates are calibrated with a precision that makes eligibility a feat of arithmetic: a single adult cannot earn more than $1,632 before deductions, and must not bring home more than $1,255 net, while the ceilings stretch methodically for larger families—$2,215/$1,704 for two, $2,798/$2,152 for three, and so on, the numbers climbing by increments of $583 gross and $449 net for each extra mouth at the table. For many, the paperwork, calculations, and required documentation quickly become a maze; every line has consequences.

Local relief agencies, accustomed to steady if manageable demand, anticipate new faces, new pleas for assistance, especially as the cost of milk and bread continues its gentle, relentless ascent. There’s a rising sense that the county, like the nation, is becoming a place where the only thing more certain than higher grocery prices is the growing reliance on food banks—a system of mutual aid now asked to perform miracles.

“This project is rooted in something simple yet powerful: hope,” said Annie Sutton, the library’s director, overseeing the planting with the gracious gravity of someone who knows that libraries, much like groves, cultivate more than just what can be checked out or shelved. “Each fabric tie, handwritten with a wish, a dream, or a prayer, shows the heart and hope of our community.”

The Fall Harvest Festival, with arts and crafts booths, music, food, children’s events, has grown exponentially over the past few years, and is approaching crowds equal to the Pendleton’s Annual Spring Jubilee.

A recent study by Clemson University found that visitors traveled from several states to Pendleton for the event. Based on cell phone locators, the event has attracted people from as far as New York, Virginia, North Carolina. Georgia, even Tennessee.

The Anderson County Museum hosted its annual Monster Mash Saturday, shining light on the institution's offerings and importance to the community, which include a variety of children's programming.

And we've got a great little town. We're making a lot of progress. I think we've got a good town council. We've got a lot of good things that we're doing. So, I want to continue that. Keep that momentum going.

I didn’t set out to run for mayor. I set out to fix what wasn’t working.

“Irma Vep,” in this incarnation, feels both generous and mischievous, a send-up of genre and a love letter to theatrical ingenuity. In a season awash in cobwebs and camp, it’s a reminder that the best Halloween tricks can come from pure performance—the transformation of two actors into an entire haunted world.

T.L. Hanna 31, Easley 14

Westside 41, Laurens 9

Crescent 45, Chesnee 36

St. Joseph’s Catholic High School 42, Palmetto 21

Powdersville 42, Carolina Academy 0

Wren 58, Southside 0

BHP 52, Pendleton 22

The annual Belton Ghost Walk featured a treat bag full of tasty and spooky stories this year about things that go bump in the night in and around Belton.

The Senate Thursday failed to advance a Republican measure and rejected unanimous agreements on two related bills from Democrats that would have paid federal employees and contractors who have continued to work amid the government shutdown, which entered day 23. 

The stalemate constituted the latest example of how dug in to their arguments both parties are as the shutdown that began Oct. 1 drags out, as well as the heightened political tensions in the upper chamber when it comes to striking a deal to resume government funding.  

AOP Clubhouse, in conjunction with Clubhouse International, will launch their work next summer providing a safe place to improve recovery outcomes with serious mental health issues with the creation of a community-centered “Clubhouse” in Pendleton which will serve Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties. The initial site for the program will be the Pendleton Community Center, though the hope is to eventually purchase a building of their own.

Over the past several hours, days and months, we’ve watched a troubling trend unfold across our local governments in South Carolina. From town halls to county courthouses, good people, those dedicated public servants who love their communities, are stepping down, walking away, or choosing not to run again. It’s a warning sign we should all take seriously.

T.L. Hanna at Easley

Westside at Laurens

Chesnee at Crescent

Palmetto at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School

Powdersville at Carolina High School

Southside at Wren

BHP at Pendleton

A special election, mandated by law to occur 13 Tuesdays from the vacancy date—tentatively January 20—is the next chapter in this unfolding story. The filing period, a brief two-week window yet to be announced, will determine the field of candidates eager to shape West Pelzer’s future.