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.
Read MoreWith NOAA data showing that 2024 is our country’s second-highest year of billion-dollar disasters — like Hurricane Helene — many people won’t be able to spend the holidays at home. For thousands, this year’s disasters reduced their homes to rubble, leaving them to seek refuge at an emergency shelter, in temporary housing or with loved ones.
But there’s hope, thanks to volunteers and donors whose support through the American Red Cross is helping people to rebuild their lives with aid such as a safe place to stay, food, emotional support and recovery assistance.
Read MoreAs we enter the holiday season and are offered a chance to reflect on gratitude for those around us who are making a difference, the Anderson Observer is highlighting a few of our neighbors whose lights shine brightly (even when no one seems to notice).
Today, let’s give thanks to the helpers in our charitable organizations, those who devote their lives to improve the lot of our neighbors, friends and family members who are in need.
Read MoreThey join the rich history of America not best measured by our wars, but by those who fought them. Great conflicts during the first 100 years or so left our soil drenched with the blood or our own soldiers, while many lost their lives in wars at sea.
Add to this the soldiers to foreign lands to fight: from the four million soldiers the U.S. sent to Europe in World War I, to the more than 16 million men and women sent to World War II to answer the call of our allies in Europe to defeat Hitler.
Our servicemen and women made attempts to stem the fear of a rising tide of Communism in Asia in the early 1950s, sending nearly seven million to Korea and later another almost 3 million to Vietnam.
Read MoreAfter yesterday’s general elections, a few modest changes might make the process both more American and truer to the spirit of elections.
Read MoreA “Yes” vote tomorrow is crucial to the county’s future, including economic development (companies consider road conditions when scouting locations) as well as the safety of our citizens.
A “No” vote will mean more crumbling roads, higher vehicle maintenance costs and decreased safety for all drivers in our county.
Let’s hope Anderson County voters look to the future and approve the roads referendum in November.
Read MoreHarris intellect, optimism, support of allies and commitment to working class makes her best choice for president.
Trump’s anger, lack of details, and George Wallace-like populism not good choice for America.
Read MoreHalloween is almost here and there's few better places to celebrate the season than right here on Anderson County roads.
Yeah, the conditions of the roads are scary throughout the year, but just the names of some roads offer additional spookiosity around Halloween.
Surely there is something frightening afoot on Stephen King Drive near the lake where ghouls might produce a worthwhile chill or two. As far as I know, the author has never visited this area, but who knows? The Maine man can be sneaky.
Read MoreThe massive power outage need not have been so severe. An obvious solution to outages, though an expensive one, would be to bury more power lines — undergrounding, it’s called — leaving fewer utility poles and power lines vulnerable to high winds and falling trees.
Read MoreA “No” vote will mean more crumbling roads, higher vehicle maintenance costs and decreased safety for all drivers.
Let’s hope Anderson County voters look to the future and approve the roads referendum in November.
Read MoreSept. 15 is Democracy Day. We are approaching an election that people of all political persuasions agree is crucial for the future of our nation.
Sadly, many qualified citizens choose not to participate in this most basic method of influencing how we are governed.
However, there is a solution: When enough people understand that despite obstacles, our votes can be truly powerful.
Read MoreTwenty-two years after 9/11, many Americans, and people around the world, have forgotten. The history of that day still feels fresh to many who lived through it: the uncertainty, the incomparable loss, the hope for survivors, the realization that our world had changed forever. But for more than 100 million Americans, 9/11 is not a memory lived, but history to be learned. This is why the 9/11 Memorial & Museum that I lead has made education about 9/11 — and about terrorism itself — central to our mission.
Read MoreSouth Carolina has the lowest rate of union members, at 2.3 percent of all employees, of any state in the country.
Read MoreIn an apparent effort to bring diversity to the Anderson County Library Board, the county council named two new at-large members on Tuesday night. While they certainly added some diversity, both choices were men, with one being African American and the other Hispanic, council seems to have overlooked academic and library experience as a criterion for selection.
Read MoreOne headline “Seven Killed in Battle at Chiquola Mill” pointed out that a total of ten died and scores were injured in the “sanguinary (bloody) conflict.” And it could have been far worse.
Roughly 300 striking local textile workers, and they were local in spite of rumors of “outside agitators” (a phrase later used to blame civil rights unrest in the South, wanted to shut down the mill to discuss arbitration.
But mill owners and bosses sought to prevent strikers from shutting down production, meeting strikers with rifles, shotguns, dynamite, clubs and tear gas. A machine gun nest on the roof of the mill jammed, or the number of dead could have been catastrophic for the Honea Path and Belton communities.
Read MoreWorkplaces thrive when people cooperate rather than compete. That’s why I joined the Communications Workers of America. Our union members do everything from laying telephone lines to reporting the news, to fundraising for nonprofits across the country.
Read MoreAs we mark another Labor Day, working Americans, both union and non-union, have a long list of reasons to thank the labor movement-including giving workers the right to paid and unpaid leave. Many of these men and women in the labor movement gave their lives to secure a better future for all workers in this country.
Along with churches, libraries, schools and national parks, labor unions are among the building blocks that made America great.
Read MoreThis past week offers a shining example of why local politics can be so important. While national lawmakers are often frozen by fighting across (and sometimes within) party lines with few results, local government is more immediately responsive to the needs of and to protecting the character of our community.
Read MoreBut coupled with the international impact of Green Pond Landing Event Center, which brings in thousands of anglers and millions of dollars each year, Anderson County’s new designation as a prime concert destination will only boost entertainment opportunities for those of us who live here and visitors from all over the world.
Read MoreCouncil often works behind the scenes with the county legislative delegation on such projects, seeking wisdom and input, but it is not the purview of members of the legislature to chide or lecture council.
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