Citizen officer

Camden native Gertrude Stoney (left) has graduated from the Richland County Sheriff Department's Citizens Academy. The Citizens Academy, led by Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott (right), is designed to educate and keep communities informed. The Citizens Academy provides a forum for police and community interactions. Stoney was also initiated into the Phi Alpha Honor Society at the University of South Carolina, where she completed the Advanced Master of Social Work Program. The Phi Alpha Honor Society provides academic recognition to top-performing college and university students. Members must be enrolled as a full-time social work major. The Phi Alpha Honor ...

It's all a matter of perspective...

We love Camden. After moving here in 1978, Camden has become "our hometown." When traveling here or abroad and asked where we are from, with a note of pride, Camden, South Carolina, is our answer. My office is in the city. Our home is in the county. Having said that, when we read about the antics of the mayor and his city manager sidekick each week in the paper, we breathe a deep sigh. From one perspective, we're not concerned. It's not our tax money they are wasting -- we live in the county. And, when we drive by ...

Cheer-rific time

Cheerleaders-in-the-making are invited to the annual Lil' Demon Cheer Clinic from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Lugoff-Elgin High School (L-EHS). In addition to being the L-EHS cheerleaders' largest fundraiser of the year, the clinic is also an opportunity for the cheerleaders to mentor and serve as role models for younger girls in the West Wateree Community. Both the Varsity and JV cheerleading squads participate, and youngsters from ages 3 thru 12 are invited to attend. The cost of the clinic is $30 and includes snacks and drinks, a T-shirt and the opportunity to cheer during the first quarter ...

For the record -- Aug. 17, 2011

The following real estate transfers were recently recorded in the Kershaw County Assessor's office:

Scrapbook -- Aug. 17, 2011

Today is the first day of school in our county. I don't remember my first day of school. But I do remember that school and my teacher.

Ten tips for taxpayers who owe IRS

While the majority of Americans get a tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) each year, there are many taxpayers who owe and some who can't pay the tax all at once. The IRS has a number of ways for people to pay their tax bill.

A business like no other

While our mission is to provide excellent health care, ultimately, hospitals like KershawHealth are a business. They generate income, pay salaries, make investments in facilities and equipment, and face expenses related to providing care. As we all know, it is impossible to operate indefinitely when expenses outpace income. That is why KershawHealth has been working diligently to improve efficiency and contain costs. But hospitals are, in some very significant aspects, a business unlike any other.

Robert McKenzie

Funeral services to honor the life of Robert Graves "Governor" McKenzie, 88, of Camden, will be held Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 4:00 PM at Bethel Worship Center with burial to follow in Quaker Cemetery. Rev. Casey Mills will officiate. The family received friends, Tuesday, August 16, 2011 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at Kornegay Funeral Home Camden Chapel. Memorials may be sent in Mr. McKenzie's memory to the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, 950 W. Faris Road, Greenville, SC 29605-4277.

Yesteryear -- Aug. 17, 2011

Photo cutline -- Pointing Out The Dangers -- Sam Cheatham from the Clemson Extension Service looks over a fire ant mound in a residential district in Camden. Fire Ants are often aggravating pests, distinguished by their nasty bite, their large, crusty mounds and quick, aggressive behavior.

Robert Ariail -- Aug. 17, 2011

James Roger "Frog" Layden

A Memorial Mass for James Roger "Frog" Layden, 54, of Columbia, will be celebrated on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Church. Father Sandy McDonald will officiate. The family will receive friends Friday 6-8 p.m. at Powers Funeral Home, Lugoff. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Rolland Roger

Funeral service for Rolland Roger, 67, of Camden, will be held Friday at 12:00 p.m. at Powers Funeral Home, Lugoff. The Rev. Ernest Rabon will officiate. The family will receive friends Friday 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to St. Jude's Children Hospital.

James Trivett Sr.

Funeral services for James Edward Trivett Sr., 78, of Camden, will be held Thursday at 11:00 a.m. at Powers Funeral Home, Lugoff, with burial to follow in Fort Jackson National Cemetery, Columbia. The Rev. Homer Jones will officiate. The family will receive friends Wednesday 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at Powers Funeral Home, Lugoff. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Disabled American Veterans.

The real picture

For many families here in Kershaw County, all this talk about the federal budget and the national debt involves numbers so huge as to be inexplicable. Families think in thousands of dollars, while the government thinks in trillions. Someone passed along to us recently one of those missives that make their way around the country, and unlike many such messages with their wild inaccuracies, the figures in it are a pretty valid picture of what's going on in America. Consider:

Untrending Palin

NEW YORK -- The latest trend in the media world is "trending." That is, monitoring what people are buzzing about and directing coverage accordingly.

Demons lose Radcliff, game in same day

Things started on an ominous note for the Lugoff-Elgin baseball team on Thursday and they would not get better that evening.

Focusing on finding the best healthcare outcomes

Recently, I attended the Congress on Healthcare Leadership presented by the American College of Healthcare Executives, and I was most impressed by one presentation: Building the New Healthcare Delivery System. In particular, I was struck by the fact that healthcare executives from across the country were focused almost exclusively on this new world of healthcare and its impact on how the organizations they lead are designed.

Beautiful in a different way

She was not a pretty woman in the days of her youth. Her lips were too thin, her forehead too high and her eyes so round that they seemed to bulge into the lens of the glasses she wore.

The road diet boon-doggle mistake

The road diet -- what a mistake. Even the mayor admits it could be a mistake. When the mayor was running for office he led me to believe that he was against the Broad Street diet. Two years later, he has flipped his opinion about the diet project. The mayor's vote, along with two of the previous council members, is what placed this mistake in motion. The urgency for the vote was to apply for a grant. A grant is federal tax dollars and not free money as some believe. This type of attitude is one of the reasons our ...

Elliott feature speaker at KC Gamecock Club celebration

The Kershaw County Gamecock Club will hold its annual "Great to be a Gamecock Gathering" on Tuesday, April 29 at the Old South Restaurant in Camden at 6:30 p.m.