Pendleton’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Christkindlmarkt unfolded this weekend with the glow of tradition and small-town camaraderie, transforming the village green into a festive centerpiece as twilight settled in. It marks the first year under the care of Pendleton’s own community leadership, building on the legacy of local organizers and welcoming the season with the gentlest echo of holiday music and laughter that carries across downtown.

Research suggests that a modest shift in behavior—redirecting even a slice of holiday spending toward local independents—can have outsized effects, magnifying each dollar two to four times over as it moves from hand to hand in the community.

It's the most wonderful time of the year, time to deck the halls, haul out the holly and get a sneak peek at a to lighted county Christmas tree downtown (which now tops 57 feet). Belton and Honea Path have already held tree-lighting events, and more county and civic celebrations of the holidays are set, with Christmas parades, tree lightings and other events in the days ahead.

Researchers have tracked participants who kept simple gratitude lists for a year and found not only shifts in mood but changes in relationships, as people who paused to catalogue small mercies became more patient, more generous, more inclined to interpret others’ actions charitably.

The Lot Project has begun welcoming residents who have already taken their first steps out of crisis—graduating from addiction recovery programs, completing mental health treatment, or exhausting their stays at local shelters.  Residents pay rent and sign a program agreement, then move into modest units for six to twelve months while meeting regularly with case managers.

Anderson-headquartered HMR Veterans Services operates four of South Carolina’s six nursing homes for veterans.

The company started with the Richard M. Campbell Veterans Nursing Home, located in Anderson and named for the brother of the late former Gov. Carroll Campbell: U.S. Army Sgt. Richard Campbell was killed in action in May 1968 in Vietnam.

HMR has run Campbell’s namesake home since 1998 and will continue to do so through at least February 2033, along with Veterans Victory House in Walterboro. HMR has held contracts on the Lowcountry home since 2007.

Nothing captured the year’s mood more than the $80‑plus million detention center, a project that turned incarceration into an engineering story.  Burns described watching prefabricated cells arrive like oversized appliance boxes, lifted by forklift and slid into place, each one a complete room that simply had to be tied into utilities before becoming someone’s new address.  The pace has been brisk enough that the project is running roughly a month ahead of schedule, though Burns still warns the public not to confuse visible progress with imminent occupancy; a facility that size, he notes, takes time to test and staff, even with what he dryly calls “a waiting list” that is not getting any shorter.

The Milky Way Farm in Anderson County, which has 120 dairy cows, was among the recipients and received funds that helped buy a $200,000 robotic milker.

Friday’s Playoff Games:

Westside at South Pointe

Powdersville at BHP

On Monday, AIM orchestrated its annual Thanksgiving distribution at the Civic Center, serving a thousand families with food and, one suspects, with a helping of reassurance.

Total investment for the project is $36 million, and approximately 150 workers are already employed at the facility.

Downtown was filled with Christmas lights and vendors showing off holiday arts, crafts and food, and just after dusk, the tree blazed to life in the park.

The tree lighting is set for Friday at 6 p.m. and the market will run 4:30-8:30 p.m. the following dates:

November 29-30,
December 6-7,
December 13-14 2024

As of November 17, 2025, the Anderson County Coroner reported 55 suicides. Our previous record was 54 in 2015 and again in 2020. By the same date last year, there were 28. These are not just numbers. They are our neighbors, coworkers, parents, siblings, teenagers, and older adults. The deaths range in age from 16 to 87.

According to a joint “Who Owns America” report, nearly 9% of residential parcels in 500 U.S. counties are owned by a corporation. The concentrations exceed 20% in some cities, including St. Louis, Missouri; Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Franklin, Ohio. 

BHP 34, Woodruff 3

Powdersville 52, Mountain View Prep 30

Westside 24, Camden 21

Indian Land 43, T.L. Hanna 41

Nov. 27 Playoff games

Westside at South Pointe

Powdersville at BHP

In retrospect, the council’s move has proved both inspired and economical. Upgrades each since 2015 have stretched the tree to 58 feet, its lights multiplying and ornaments growing each season with an effect both dazzling and, more quietly, efficient.

Her agenda for the days ahead are driven by a desire to promote responsible growth and development, recreation programs for all ages, and collaboration with those seeking to make Pendleton a better place to work and live.

As you make your holiday plans, please consider adding the Cancer Association of Anderson to your Christmas list. Your generosity will shine far beyond this season, carrying into the new year as strength, dignity, and hope for your Anderson County neighbors living with cancer.

As the calendar moves toward Thanksgiving, Pendleton’s streets are showing signs of of a small town adorning itself for the holidays. Behind Mayor Frank Crenshaw, a Christmas tree gradually takes shape—a symbol of tradition amid change—as the town prepares for its annual Christmas market and tree lighting. It is a fitting backdrop for a conversation about a year that has been, in Crenshaw’s words, a time of “coming together” and cautious progress.