Thanksgiving is fast approaching. People are already out and about, purchasing Christmas presents. For weeks now stores have had holiday decorations on display, enticing customers to start their gift shopping early. It only makes sense, then, that we offe

Alcohol and sharp instruments? Yes, it does seem like a decidedly dangerous combination, but bar and pub patrons have been hoisting pints of frosty malt and hurling darts at round boards for centuries. I myself have thrown a few back while at the same tim

Our country is over 22 trillion dollars in debt and growing. Reducing our spending is never easy especially for our government. We have a lot of obligations from Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, defense, veterans, infrastructure and more. There aren'

Physicians say vaping is harmful, not safe To the editor, As of October 15, the Centers for Disease Control has confirmed 33 deaths among 1,479 lung injuries. The cases span every state but Alaska and the District of Columbia, with numerous cases report

Are you putting off contributing to your IRA? You may want to think twice, because when it comes to your retirement account, contributing “early” may be better in more ways than one. For starters, the earlier you begin contributing to your IRA, the better

Alongside traffic and coffee, news radio is a staple of my morning commute. As I flip through the stations, I’ll sometimes hear a pundit lament that “Nothing is made in America anymore.” In reality, there are nearly 13 million manufacturing workers in the

The best way for me to describe the writing of Pat Conroy is to say his words had a way of drawing you into his story. Sometimes the words would take you by the hand and gently guide you into captivating scenes of breathtaking beauty. Other times they wo

Ten months down and two more to go. November is here and the countdown to the Thanksgiving Day feast has commenced. As our minds begin to wander toward turkey legs, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, let us also remember that it is never

Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and PalmettoPride want South Carolinians to grab a bag and clean up our communities. Grab A Bag SC is a statewide litter pickup challenge inspired by Evette’s own experience picking up in her home community and even during her famil

Led by the spirit of Halloween and the gloomy gray skies overhead, I decided to venture out last Thursday to do a little mid-morning adult trick or treating. Rather than go house-to-house in search of holiday treasures, I went from bin-to-bin at Bargain

A lot of us are faced with the impossible. We may have what seems to be impossible debts, physical illnesses, human relationships and vocational pressures. Too often we hear someone say, “Nothing is impossible” and we nod our heads nonchalantly in an unbe

“I need to get out of the South. Fall here is no good.” A woman from California said that. I don’t get the criticism. Fall in the Kingdom of Grits can be mighty pretty. And even if fall color is flat now and then, four distinct seasons bless the South wi

Ready to get your spook on? In honor of Halloween, I thought it would be fun to share a few ghost stories from around the Pee Dee. There is little or no truth to any of these tales, although I’m sure some out there would swear on their mother’s grave that

To the editor, During the first weekend in October, the American Legion held their annual Fall Conference. The basic agenda is very similar Fall to Fall. We always begin three- day program with a reading of all the n

Many have watched the powerful television report of Brandt Jean's act of forgiveness toward Amber Guyger who killed his brother Botham Jean. The scene of him hugging her and extending forgiveness toward her has been replayed over and again and invoked a s