Mystery Plant 712

Mystery Plant! #712 John Nelson Posted March 1, 2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comSpring is finally here, I think…and this wildflower is proof. It is one of the earliest blooming woodland species we have. And, I think you will agree, it’s one of the prettiest. Folks, I’m telling you that this spring seems...

The Green Of Winter

The Green Of Winter Tom Poland Posted Feb. 28, 2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netPine pollen yellows my deck, but the green of winter colors my thoughts. Two things I like about winter. One, winter’s cold bones lay the land bare. You see things that go unnoticed when leaves flutter and...

Practice over Perfect

Practice over Perfect Reba Campbell Posted Feb. 28, 2023By Reba Campbell“Practice makes perfect.” Surely a mantra we all heard as children…whether it was in sports, spelling, music or math. This was a standard line repeated by grown-ups who were just trying to help us learn. Practice is a good thing…right?...

God’s invitation is to the entire world

Living on Purpose: God’s invitation is to the entire world Dr. William Holland Posted Feb. 27, 2023By Dr. William HollandKentucky is having amazingly warm weather for February and actually broke records the other day. My grass is turning green and soon everything will be budding and we will be out...

Mystery Plant 711

Mystery Plant! #711 John Nelson Posted Feb. 22, 2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comSome of you, such as myself, really like to see the end of winter roll around each year. As with all the other seasons, this process is rather gradual, and, there are many signs of spring’s coming, sometimes these working...

Resolve to be accessible, stay relevant

Resolve to be accessible, stay relevant Published Jan. 2023 By Jim Pumarlo, Newspaper Consultant Surviving in today’s fractured media landscape depends on your ability to identify, collect and deliver the relevant community news. That job becomes more challenging if readers become frustrated in their attempts to connect with reporters. The...

Suing the Media for Revenge and Profit

Suing the Media for Revenge and Profit Published Jan. 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications In his new bestselling book and slew of media interviews promoting it, Prince Harry rails against the British media and their alleged collaborators within the British Monarchy, blaming them...

Honey locust

Mystery Plant! #705 John Nelson Posted Jan. 10, 2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comIt's the branch of a tree, but this tree is no good for a tree house.Take a look at the thorns, which can be found up and down the trunk, and also potently arming the branches. You won't beinclined to...

Devotion At An Abandoned Home Place

Devotion At An Abandoned Home Place Tom Poland Posted Jan. 10, 2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netNo matter how long, no matter how often you travel a road, it’ll surprise you. I’ve driven Highway 378 into Georgia for not quite fifty years. The road has been a journal, and some of...

Accomplishing God’s will is our purpose

Living on Purpose: Accomplishing God’s will is our purpose Dr. William Holland Posted Jan. 10, 2023By Dr. William HollandIt’s disappointing to God that most people are usually more concerned about what they want in life than asking Him what He requires of them. Since our eyes were opened in the...

2023 Legislative Preview for the Media

2023 Legislative Preview for the Media Posted Jan. 9, 2023 Rep. Bruce Bannister, Chairman, Ways & Means (R-Greenville) Rep. Bill Sandifer, Chairman, Labor, Commerce & Industry (R-Oconee) Rep. Tommy Pope, Speaker Pro Tempore (R-York) Rep. Tommy Pope, Speaker Pro Tempore (R-York) Rep. Jay Jordan, Chairman, Ethics (R-Florence) Rep. Tommy Pope,...

23 Legislative Preview

2023 Legislative Preview for the Media Posted Jan. 9, 2023 Sen. Shane Massey, Majority Leader (R-Edgefield) Sen. Brad Hutto, Minority Leader (D-Orangeburg) Sen. Brad Hutto, Minority Leader (D-Orangeburg); Sen. Shane Massey, Majority Leader (R-Edgefield) Sen. Brad Hutto, Minority Leader (D-Orangeburg); Sen. Shane Massey, Majority Leader (R-Edgefield) Sen. Shane Massey, Majority...

2023 Legislative Workshop

2023 Legislative Preview for the Media Posted Jan. 9, 2023 Frank Rainwater, Executive Director, S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office Frank Rainwater, Executive Director, S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office Sen. Chip Campsen, Chairman, Fish, Game & Forestry (R-Charleston) Sen. Chip Campsen, Chairman, Fish, Game & Forestry (R-Charleston) Sen. Chip...

House of cards

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: House of cards Posted January 2, 2023By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

Mystery Plant! #699

Mystery Plant! #699 John Nelson Posted December 29, 2022By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comWinter hasn’t even started yet, but it sure looks like it in my backyard. Practically all of the leaves are fallen, and we’ve had two hard frosts here in central South Carolina. I am grateful that in my part of...

Mystery Plant! #701

Mystery Plant! #701 John Nelson Posted December 29, 2022By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comSome of my best botany field trips have been to supermarkets and produce stands. There's always something interesting to see, and it makes an easy way of bringing classroom botany close to home (and the kitchen). Now, I’ve never taken...

The report

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: The report Posted December 27, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

Rivers I cross

Rivers I cross Tom Poland Posted December 19, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netRivers make me say things out loud. As I drive alone over a river I often say its name. In fact, some rivers’ names beg to be pronounced. On trips to Florida, I cross the Altamaha. Saying its...

We’ve got some explaining to do

We’ve got some explaining to do By John Foust, Advertising Trainer People usually say “no” to things they don’t understand. It’s a salesperson’s job to help prospects understand what he or she is selling. What makes media choice A better than choice B? What’s all this talk about target audiences...

Maxwell Frost

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Maxwell Frost Posted December 13, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

Things I have left undone

Things I have left undone Tom Poland Posted December 12, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netEach Christmas my mind goes back to a June day in Valdosta, Georgia. I was driving through slash pines to interview Robert “Bob” Clyatt. A defense lawyer, Bob represented employers and insurers. He was on the...

The Word Merchant Highway

The Word Merchant Highway Tom Poland Posted December 6, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netUpon taking a writing position long ago, the boss of bosses shot me a sideways look, “So, you’re a word merchant.” Clever, I thought, but as time wore on so did he. A tyrant, nothing he said...

If people were leaves…

If people were leaves… Tom Poland Posted November 30, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netSuppose people changed colors like autumn leaves. Would it be a better world? It just might. For sure it’d be more colorful. Think about that. Say it’s late November, and your fingertips redden. The tips of your...

218 GOP Votes

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: 218 GOP Votes Posted November 29, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

Leadership change

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Leadership change Posted November 22, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

Time

Time Tom Poland Posted November 22, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netYou know the song. “Time Is On My Side.” The Rolling Stones released it in 1964. Time was on my side back then, yes it was. It’s not today. And so for some reason, songs about time play in my...

Advertising’s Bill of Rights

Advertising’s Bill of Rights By John Foust, Advertising Trainer In the advertising business, there are things which must be done in order to create an effective campaign. Think of it as Advertising’s Bill of Rights: Send the right message…to the right audience…in the right medium…at the right time…about the right...

Pancho Villa’s Fighting South Carolina Gamecocks

Pancho Villa’s Fighting South Carolina Gamecocks Tom Poland Posted November 15, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netI’ll file this column under the category, Fowl History. Did Mexican Revolutionary War General, Pancho Villa, ride a train to Calhoun Falls, South Carolina to buy fighting gamecocks? Did he? Read on to unravel this...

The Forsaken Land 

The Forsaken Land Tom Poland Posted November 9, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netKudzu covered its outbuildings. The farm was lonesome so I turned around and stopped to visit it. Right off I saw a dusty mule collar hanging on a stable wall. The farmer and his mule were long gone,...

Elon Musk

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Elon Musk Posted November 9, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

Love Story

Everything and Nothing: Love Story Aïda Rogers Posted November 9, 2022By Aïda RogersThere are all kinds of love in this world, and the one I’m in love with right now is right across the street. It involves my neighbor, Sharon, and Fancy, her cat.If you laugh I excommunicate you.As happens with...

The Colors Of Childhood

The Colors Of Childhood Tom Poland Posted November 3, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netI haven’t seen the old homeplace in a while. Not my homeplace, mind you, my childhood friend’s. That would be Sweetie Boy, he of the sweet temperament that spurred Granddad to nickname him. His Christian name is...

School using rivalry to tackle hunger

School using rivalry to tackle hunger Bob Sloan Posted November 2, 2022By Bob SloanWith both Clemson and South Carolina in the midst of winning seasons and driving toward a huge showdown on Nov. 26 in Death Valley, the in-state college football rivalry has everyone showing their true colors –orange and...

Kanye West

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Kanye West Posted October 31, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

A place of sanctuary

Everything and Nothing: A place of sanctuary Aïda Rogers Posted October 26, 2022By Aïda RogersThere are many words to describe the times we’re living in, and most connote noise. What a relief, then, to find a place where the noise is turned down, where vitriol won’t work, where collaboration, not competition,...

The Bygone Era Of Refinement

The Bygone Era Of Refinement Tom Poland Posted October 25, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netPrevious eras impress me. When I tour historic homes, for instance, the refined lifestyle their owners enjoyed stands in marked contrast to lifestyles today. The presence of fine china and sterling silver attest not just to...

Oboes and leadership

Oboes and leadership By John Foust, Advertising Trainer If you’ve been to a symphony concert, you’ve witnessed the cacophony of sound before the concert begins. Every instrument seems to be in its own world, independently running through the musical scale.Actually, this is a traditional and deliberate process to tune all...

The Beauty of A Dry Dirt Road

The Beauty of A Dusty Dirt Road Tom Poland Posted October 24, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netThe creeks dribble. Shorelines drop. Leaves crunch. Colors fade. Birds queue up around my fountains. The lack of rain robbed us of a lot of fall color. I drove through the countryside this week....

Governor declares Oct. 22 as Vascular Anomalies Awareness Day

Governor declares Oct. 22 as Vascular Anomalies Awareness Day Posted October 18, 2022By Tisha Simmonsfor The Lancaster NewsS.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has declared Oct. 22 as Vascular Anomalies Awareness Day. His proclamation provides an opportunity to bring awareness and begin discussions about vascular anomalies and other rare vascular conditions.Jasmine Simmons,...

Fear Of Flying

Fear Of Flying Tom Poland Posted October 14, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netIt’s a good thing titles cannot be copyrighted. With apologies to Erica Jong, I title this self-confessional column, “Fear of Flying.” I cannot say I fear flying, but I am a most reluctant air traveler. I have reason to be. I’ve had two close encounters with...

Libel without a name?

Libel without a name? Published October 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications A parent’s apparently false allegation at a public November school board meeting that an administrator in Richland County School District Two had strip searched his daughter led to a defamation lawsuit against...

The Dignified Mule

The Dignified Mule Tom Poland Posted October 11, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netLike Halley’s Comet, I’m predictable. I come around to the same subject matter every so often. When I do, it’s because something triggered memories. A few days ago I drove past Washington, Georgia’s Mule Day Festival at Callaway...

Which way to go

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Which way to go Posted October 11, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

The Lost Art Of Making Do

The Lost Art Of Making Do Tom Poland Posted October 6, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netHe was twenty-six when the Great Depression arrived, thirty-six when it ended. A decade of doing without taught him something about survival. “Keep something seven years and you’ll find a new use for it.” Granddad’s...

Lincoln Street

Lincoln Street Tom Poland Posted September 28, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netOne word. That’s all it takes, and the brain’s mystifying chemistry swirls past and present into an amalgam we call life. Phases pass before us in an experience akin to schizophrenia. We’re different people as we navigate life’s phases....

An Effigy Of Rock

An Effigy Of Rock Tom Poland Posted September 27, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netSomething like sixty years had passed since I saw it. This time, however, I saw it from above. The WPA built a beautiful tower of stone so you can get a birds-eye view of a bird of...

Block Head

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Block Head Posted September 26, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

Say it and do it, or renegotiate

Say it and do it, or renegotiate By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Joanne is an ad manager with a common-sense approach to managing her team and their goals. She believes in communication – not micro-management – but real communication on how things are going.“For years,” she told me, “I often...

The Relentless Grind: Football’s Hidden Injuries

The Relentless Grind: Football’s Hidden Injuries Tom Poland Posted September 14, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netWinter Haven Florida, February 1996—I covered Cypress Gardens’ 60th anniversary for Ski World magazine. It was Florida’s oldest theme park, one where Southern belles wore hoop skirts, skiers leapt from ramps, and women skiers built...

GOP Retreat

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: GOP Retreat Posted September 14, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

The Royals and the Press

The Royals and the Press Published September 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II after a reign of more than 70 years has prompted a cascade of retrospectives and reminiscences of the major events and changes of the...

The Feared Invader

The Feared Invader Tom Poland Posted August 30, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netLet’s talk invasive species. One will bite you. You can bite the other. You can eat it, but given time it will entomb all you possess. Fire ants or kudzu? Which do people fear most?I believe kudzu tops...

The CCC: FDR’s Tree Army

The CCC: FDR's Tree Army Tom Poland Posted August 24, 2022By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netIf my mother didn’t like something, she’d tell you. If she liked something, you knew that too, and she liked the Civilian Conservation Corps, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Tree Army.” That arboreal moniker resulted from the CCC’s...

The power of being specific

The power of being specific By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Motivational speaker and author Zig Ziglar used to ask, “Are you a meaningful specific or a wandering generality?” He related his comment to a number of areas: long and short-term goal setting, day-to-day activities, and dealings with family members, coworkers...

GOP Clowns

Stuart Neiman Cartoon: GOP Clowns Posted August 22, 2022By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line

Blink Book Review #11: A Double Dose – “Enough Already” by Valerie Bertinelli and “Back to the Prairie” by Melissa Gilbert

Blink Book Review #11: A Double Dose - “Enough Already” by Valerie Bertinelli and “Back to the Prairie” by Melissa Gilbert Reba Campbell Posted August 17, 2022By Reba CampbellMy recent beach reading consisted of memoirs by two actresses from my childhood – Valerie Bertinelli (Barbara on “One Day at a...

Trial Gag Orders Are No Laughing Matter

Trial gag orders are no laughing matter Published August 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications South Carolina Circuit Judge Clifton Newman was praised (here and here, for example) in early August when he rejected requests for gag orders from both the prosecution and the...