Category Archives: Opinions
Vaccinated? COVID advice clear as mud
If you’re confused about COVID vaccine and when our lives are going to change for the better, you’re not alone.
We’re considered to be fully vaccinated once two weeks have passed after the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after the one-dose Johnson & Johnson.
What’s new is this, per the Centers for Disease Control and
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VA extends deadlines for life insurance applications
Nobody wants to think about it, but the need for life insurance is a fact of life. And now the cost of life insurance for veterans is dropping, 
opening the door for more of us to be able to afford it.
After separation, we’ve had 240 days to apply and hand over the initial premium to transfer from Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance to Veterans’ Group Life Insurance without having to
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The name above all names
Throughout history, no one has made a greater impact on this Earth than Jesus Christ, yet many still do not understand who he is. During Christmas, people around the world acknowledge his birth was more than 2,000 years ago, but actually he existed long before that.
As the Son of God, Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, which means he is from the beginning and has no end. This truth of him being infinite is beyond our comprehension, but nonetheless this spiritual reality places him in a unique category all by himself.
Jesus said in John chapter eight and verse 58, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham
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A growing trash and litter issue
I was sworn in to the county council two months ago, and the growing trash and litter problem seems to be one of our biggest issues.
Ten years ago in Pickens County, the tonnage of waste was 36,784. Today, it is about 46,000. The litter on the roads has significantly 
increased and is an eyesore, too.
If we don’t get ahead of the things being stressed by population growth, like solid waste, roads, EMS, sewer and planning/codes, they’ll eat us up.
1. The landfill is full. The 2012 council had a plan for a new landfill — an agreement with MRR
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Ours not to reason why, ours but to do or die
Sometimes we take things on blind faith. That means we might be scared to death, but go ahead anyway.
There have been a few occasions when fear would have prevented me from doing something if there had been any choice, but because of the 
circumstances, going forward was the only choice.
It was late summer, and it was hot. We were horseback riding at Earls Ford in Oconee County with a group of friends and passed through woods and trees and across a river before heading up the mountain.
We rode single file along a narrow trail that overlooked a deep valley thick with ferns growing
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A tug-of-war against nature
Briars!
Why did God make them? I inquired of the Lord as I engaged in a violent tug-of-war with a tangle of prickly, noxious vines that had decided 
to choke my azaleas and change a corner of our front yard into a jungle.
The reply came out of my own mouth with my next yank: “Ouch!”
Translation: “Duh! I put those stickers on there so you would leave them alone. For their own
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It’s hard to say goodbye
Sometimes you don’t miss something until it’s gone. We know everything changes. But still, when someone who has always been there is suddenly gone, they leave a big empty place.
Iva Stratton is retiring after 25 years as the office manager of this newspaper staff.
There are few employees who stay with a company for a quarter of a century. It is a rarity thesedays.
But she did.
She was always there, and while there had responsibility for a vast number of things. She did a lot more than managing accounts, taking ads, balancing books and juggling the daily demands of running an office. She was a problem solver and could be counted on to take up slack
Courier Letters to the Editor 3-24-21
Dear Editor,
Money. There’s a good word to wake up a sleepy reader. America has six coins that are being minted. Penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar and silver dollar. All except two are larger than the other denomination-wise and size as well. A quarter is bigger than a nickel, while a half-dollar is bigger than a quarter and a silver dollar is bigger than the half.
The penny and dime, the smallest in size, but the dime is smaller than the penny, yet worth more price-wise. Four coins have ridges around
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Still in the miracle business
Many people around the world have heard of the Moron Brothers, (Michael Carr and Michael Hammond) who live in my hometown. Mike Carr is a good friend, and I’ve actually performed music with him in church events, and we are also members of a gospel quartet. As a dedicated Christian, he’s had some amazing spiritual experiences, and I want to share one of these true accounts with you.
It was around 6 a.m. on a rainy morning in September 1999, when the fire station where Mike
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Important to demand sunshine
It is Sunshine Week across America. South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act — the Sunshine Law — gives you access to government meetings and public records.
Let me share with you the preface to the S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):
“The General Assembly finds that it is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that citizens shall be advised of the performance of public officials and of the decisions that are reached in public activity and in formulation of public policy.”
This sentence sums up the intent of South Carolina’s Sunshine Law — that it is crucial to be aware of the important decisions public bodies make in your
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