It felt like the North Pole in Iva on Thursday night, with cold temperatures and chilly winter wind, as the town celebrated the start of the holiday season.

The annual lighting of the town Christmas tree, music from school choirs, ensembles and bands, hot chocolate and a visit from Santa were all part of the event which packed the square downtown.

A local group that has been serving the county’s veterans for more than a decade celebrated the groundbreaking for their new building on Thursday, on Bleckley Street just off Whitehall Road.

Vets Helping Vets of Anderson offers a variety of services and resources, including support groups, financial assistance, community outreach and advocacy for veterans and their families in the Anderson area.

The fastest growing group in need of affordable housing in Anderson County is among senior citizens. To help find answers, the Anderson Housing and Homeless Alliance was awarded a Community Challenge grant by AARP earlier this year to host a Housing Design Competition for safe and affordable housing for older adults, those who take care of seniors and people with disabilities.

In collaboration with Touch the Future Inc, the group developed materials and guidelines, hosted an information session on the current building conditions in our county, and received a submission for the design of such housing. Five finalists were chosen for a survey among citizens in the county asked to choose the design(s) they deemed to best meet the needs of those in the county.

Brett Justice Chief Strategy Officer at AnMed Health, who is chair of the committee; John Don, Chief of Staff for Anderson University President Evans Whittaker; Tony Lawen, Facility Personnel Manager Michelin- US2 Anderson; Dalton Freeman, Regional Vice President of HMR Veterans Services, Inc.; Julio Hernandez, Assistant to the President for Community Outreach & Engagement, Clemson University; and Josh Shore, Vice President of Strategic Projects and Governmental Affairs at Medshore Ambulance Service.

Freeman and Shore are the only two of the six members on the committee who live in Anderson County.

Hurricane Helene relief efforts, coupled with a 10 percent decline in donations have made 2024 especially challenging for the Salvation of Army of Anderson. Find out how you can help here.

In the next-to-the-last meeting of 2024 Tuesday night, Anderson County Council voted against new planning commission guidelines involving changes in the appeals process for rejected projects. The meeting was held at the Anderson Civic Center due to repairs and updates at the historic courthouse. The Dec. 17 county council meeting will also be held at the civic center at 11 a.m.

The Village of Piedmont kicked off their holidays with Winterfest on Saturday. Santa was both on the Saluda River and at the event.

The annual festival celebrates the season and raises funds for the Piedmont Christmas Lights displays which are growing each year. Piedmont's Christmas parade is set for Saturday at 11 a.m.

Williamston launched into the holiday season with a full day of events on Saturday, including a holiday market, followed by the annual Christmas Parade and Winterfest.

At Winterfest, before the lighting of the town Christmas tree, Tim Gentry was honored as citizen of the year.

It's the most wonderful time of the year, time to deck the halls, haul out the holly and get ready to light up this year's county Christmas tree downtown which now tops 52 feet. Belton, Honea Path and Pendleton have already had tree lightings and other events, and more county civic celebrations of the holidays including Christmas parades, tree lightings and other events on the horizon.

Citizens got a preview of the Anderson County Christmas tree on the square this week, but it will go dark at midnight until the official tree lighting ceremonies Friday.

Record crowds and North Pole winds were on hand Friday night for the Town of Pendleton’s annual Christmas tree lighting and kickoff for the fifth annual Christkindlmarkt.

Long lines for visits with Santa and for hot chocolate and coffee did little to cool the enthusiast crowd which began filling the Village Green as the market opened at 4:30 p.m.

But in the digital age, mechanical clocks have all but disappeared, along with those who know how to keep the vintage timepieces running. In 1920, there were 50,000 independent watchmakers in the United States. Today, there are fewer than 5,000. 

Anderson’s Chris Campbell is among those keeping the flame of horology – clock repair – burning. A third-generation maker and repairer of clocks and watches, Campbell is one of the few remaining practitioners in the region.

The Town of Pendleton will light up the Village Green Friday night with the tree lighting and the annual Christkindlmarkt, with holiday gifts from local vendors and a jolly dose of Christmas spirit.

The market opens at 4:30 and the tree lighting is set for 6:30 p.m.

It can take effort in the holiday rush is our sense of gratitude - a gift that needs no wrapping paper, ribbon or space under the Christmas tree. Research is conclusive that those who approach life with a sense of gratitude have fewer mental and physical problems, live longer, exhibit less stress, have a stronger immune system, and even handle loss far better than those who live without the recognition that they do indeed have a lot for which to be grateful.

The new 27-acre Anderson School District Five Cross Country facility just completed its first season of competitions and area coaches are excited about its future.

The cross-country facility is part of a larger 87-acre YMCA Sports Complex which opened earlier this year and which includes not only new fields for sports, but the state-of-the-art cross-country area aimed at attracting regional meets for high schools and colleges/universities. The technoloty allows parents to track their children throughout the races.

Black Friday is almost here, but let the buyer beware, all that glitters is not a good deal.

A recent study by WalletHub found that some retailers actually raise prices on the day after Thanksgiving as a Scrooge-like price gouging measure thinking holiday shoppers won’t compare the cost of gifts on that day.

Racial data gleaned from the census is important because local, state, tribal and federal governments use it to guide certain civil rights policies and “in planning and funding government programs that provide funds or services for specific groups,” according to the Census Bureau.

TD Club names top players, coach in Anderson County high schools at final meeting for 2024.

T.L. Hanna 57, Catawba Ridge 34

Westside 49, A.C. Flora 9

BHP 42, Palmetto 14

Powdersville 21, Woodruff 14

Crescent 45, Christ Church Episcopal 6

Camden 43, Wren 42

The City of Belton kicked off the holiday season with the county’s first Christmas Tree Lighting event on Thurday.

The weather was frightfully cold, but a faithful crowd was on hand for the event which included not only the lighting of the tree, but the induction of three new members to the Belton Hall of Fame. See video for details.

Now, they want the public to help them take the next step: choosing a design for the housing that is best suited for Anderson County. Citizens are asked to review the universal guidelines and choose the three best suited for Anderson.

Register here to see the designs and vote: https://ahhasc.org/design-competition-registration/