Life Chain 2009
September 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment
From the Midlands Chapter of South Carolina Citizens for Life
Life Chain 2009 will be held this Sunday, Oct. 4 from 2:30 to 3:30 PM (rain or shine) at the Intersection of Forest Dr and Beltline Blvd.
Life Chain is a public witness against abortion that will be taking place in cities across the country on the first Sunday in October. It is a time for all Pro-Life Christians to come together to seek God’s divine intervention for the healing of our community and nation.
Participants in the local event are asked to stand and pray for one hour on the sidewalks extending from the Forest Dr and Beltline Blvd intersection holding pro-life related signs that will be provided. During the event, signs can be picked up at the locations indicated by blue dots on this map . Over 500 of the signs shown here will be available.
Sidewalks on both sides of the two streets should be used, and people are asked to space themselves at least 10-20 ft apart. The first arrivals should stand near the intersection, and the Life Chain should grow out from there. The goal is to get as long a chain of people as possible extending from the intersection, with each person standing or sitting in silent prayer holding one of the pro-life signs.
Participants must not block, disrupt, or interfere with the flow of traffic on Forest Dr, Beltline Blvd, or any driveway during the course of the event. This map has locations marked in red where people should avoid standing, as these locations might be too disruptive to the adjacent open businesses. The west end of Forest Dr extending beyond the Forest Acres city limit should also be avoided. Volunteers handing out the signs will be asked to help marshal the event. Please be respectful of their instructions.
Permission has been obtained for participants to park in the Midtown at Forest Acres (formerly Richland Fashion Mall) parking garage.
A flyer for the local Life Chain can be found here. For more information, please e-mail LifeChainColaSC@aol.com.
Links with more Life Chain information:
What is Life Chain?
Life Chain Code of Conduct
Life Chain Approved Signs
http://www.nationallifechain.org/
http://www.lifechain.net/
An engaged constituency
September 28, 2009 | 1 Comment
Most my constituents know the best way to contact me…. through Nathan’s News (click Connect) . But what if you’re representative doesn’t have a blog/website (or doesn’t update/check it often)?
What should you do?
After five years in office, here’s what I can share from first-hand experience and by talking with several of my colleagues.
First…some “don’ts”.
1) Mass emails are ineffective.
Let’s be honest. As state officials we serve the state but only our constituents can vote for us. Anytime you blast an email to the entire House or Senate delegation, you can be sure your effectiveness just went down several notches. Even the chance of being read goes down dramatically. Just email your House member or Senator or (at most) your county delegation. Now…if a bill is in committee or sub-committee, by all means email those members…but not all 170 officials in the state.
2) Phone calls at our paying jobs fall lower in the stack than those at our home or State House phones.
January through June (usually) most of us have very little time to make a living at our “paying jobs”. When we’re out of session, messages at work often have much less priority than those related to what pays the bills for our family. I know, most folks think “I don’t want to bother them at home” but if a home number is listed, it’s “fair game”.
3) Try emailing your opinions BEFORE votes instead of only sharing disappointment AFTER votes.
Most times you may not actually know when a vote is coming up – we understand that. But the media usually does and will have articles about “hot topics” usually the day before or the day of most votes. Sharing your concerns upfront gives more credence to your messages than simply complaining you didn’t like a vote AFTER the fact.
To be clear, there’s nothing “wrong” with doing any of those items above. If the choice was ‘do nothing’ or do those above…choose the latter. My reason for posting tonight is to make your communication MORE EFFECTIVE.
Alright, how about some “do’s”?
1) If you’d like a return phone call or return email, it’s best to let your official know.
Granted, most officials will return almost all messages/emails; however, I’ve found many times that folks just really wanted to have their voice heard and didn’t really require a return email/phone call. With as many as 30 messages a day or 100 emails, it does take time to reply and you can free up your official to return those that urgently wanted to hear from him/her if you simply say “no need to call or reply”.
2) If you really want your elected official to attend an event – call or email him/her individually.
We can get literally fifty invitations in a month and while we’re out of session, they often hold mail for a few days or longer before mailing to our home addresses. I’ve actually got invitations to events AFTER they have been held. With so many invitations (and limited time), officials will usually prioritize events they were personally called to attend.
3) Reply to constituent surveys. Show up at constituent service nights, office hours, etc. Take time to introduce yourself to your elected official.
While I may “know” many constituents through email, Twitter and Facebook . The ones that I personally meet obviously stand out and can be remembered better. (Note: officials represent 30,000+ folks so even though we may meet folks 5 times, we still might need some help with names). If you see your official in the grocery store or ball field, it’s ok to come up and say hello or introduce yourself. We are sent to serve you and we need to know you. The least-preferred time for an introduction would be if you see an official on “family time”…a dad watching his son’s ball game…a grandmother taking her grandkids for ice cream, etc. Sure, we’ll still smile and make time but we do like to keep politics out of personal family time. If not for us, for our family.
I want to give you some links that can help you be more effective communicating with your officials. If you’re not familiar with them already. Please go explore and save as your favorites.
Find your Legislator
You may be new to your community or may have never heard of your official. Click on “Find your 9-digit zip code” and type your home address. Seconds later, you’ll see your Zip+4. Put those digits into the computer and find out your elected officials.
www.scstatehouse.gov
This site has Bios on all South Carolina House/Senate members as well as links to legislation
Calendars (what could be debated on the floor on a given day) House Senate
Senate Caucuses: Republican Democrat
House Caucuses: Republican Democrat
Again….reaching out ANYTIME is preferred over never hearing from you but to truly make the most of your communication, I wanted to give you advice from me and other officials.
Elected officials who stay in touch constantly (and not just at election time) have a much better chance of doing a better job for you! We need to stay in touch and we ask that YOU do too!
We return in January and have much work to do – let us hear from you.
Meet Nancy Ogburn: President – Tomato Palms, LLC
September 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
“A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.” — D. Elton Trueblood
Do you need help with your IN-OFFICE recycling program?
Last week, I ran into Nancy at the Conservation Voters of South Carolina Green-Tie Luncheon and, boy, is she doing her part to keep South Carolina green!
Do you want a recycle program that runs efficiently and requires no work by your staff?
Do you want recycle bins provided for you?
Do you want your bins emptied in a timely manner?
The U.S. EPA estimates 75% of our waste is recyclable. How are other businesses reducing their garbage fees while doing their part to protect the environment?
Read on to find out how local businesses are finding a new and easy way to be “green”. Read more
Meet Darren Norris: SORD International
September 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Tomorrow, I’ll be introducing Darren when he speaks to the Rotary Club of Lake Murray/Irmo . When Darren visited the club with me last week, a member said “I thought he was your bodyguard”. Well, I wouldn’t mind that and he definitely would be more than qualified!
I first met Darren roughly 20 years ago when we both were at USC and both would visit the Elbow Room . Well, him working…me visiting. He was always the “gentle giant” and had a business sense about him that few knew. After college, I lost track of him until a few years back, when our paths crossed again. I was very impressed with what he’s done since school.
It’s always good to hear of success stories in our state. Even more so when they come from right here in our community!
* Owner/Vice President for S.O.R.D. International
* Over 19 years of Law Enforcement and having been involved in the planning and operational stages of over 200 high risk operations.
* Former Division commander of Special Operations with a Sheriff’s Office in SC
* Accredited police instructor through the SC Justice Academy
* One of four officers in the United States in 2001 to receive the Beretta Recognition Award for Valor and Excellence for his actions on a Hostage Rescue S.W.A.T call out which was presented in Washington, DC.
* He is currently the Vice President of the South Carolina Police Training Officers Association and on the Board of Directors for the South Eastern S.W.A.T. Association.
* Director of Security for Warner Brother musical Artist Josh Groban for last four years and provides security services to numerous other celebrity and corporate clients around the world.
* Married to wife Tracey for 16 years and has two sons that attend Dutch Fork Middle and Dutch Fork High School.
We came, we saw, we took an hour and 18 minutes
September 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Team Muddy Caboose: Me, Karen and good friends, Robbie and Kim Carroll at the finish line.
Photo by Prophototogo.com
For those following me or Karen on Twitter and Facebook, you’ve known we’ve been preparing for this event for several weeks. Well….that’s if you define “preparing” as running on a treadmill (no incline), listening to an iPod , and running inside with air conditioning at the YMCA. None of which prepared us for the main event.
Having done zero exercise since my “glory days” playing intramural football in college (note: we won championship), I was worried I couldn’t finish this course. So just finishing was our goal and finish we did!
The morning started on the wrong foot at Urgent Care (not for me/Karen but for JC who we thought might have flu/strep). We just hoped we wouldn’t come full-circle and end the day back where we started!
When we were waiting in the team-chute to begin the 4.2 mile course , an ambulance drove past (lights on) with a few medical folks running behind it. Other mud-runners passed along the news of a broken-leg earlier in the day and soon I was asking myself “What in the world am I doing here?”
I was surprised to learn several constituents, Facebook friends, local TV personalities and even the Governor participated that day among the 1,700+ teams.
Oh, wanna know who the corporate overall winner was? Try members of our community: Mark Woody, Ray Hunt, and the rest of their team on Hunt Financial group with an amazing time of 38:00! Are you kidding me???
Would we do it again? You bet…and we’re planning on improving on our first-year time when we return in 2010. I hope to see you out there and when you see me around town, ask me if I’m still exercising…I need to make that a habit instead of a fad.
If you want to see a first-hand view of what the entire course was like, check out this homemade video made by a contestant who had a videocamera taped to his shirt! If you’d rather catch a 3 minute highlight clip , this sums it up, too.
For lots of photos visit ProPhototogo.com and also a few here .
If that’s not enough mud for your liking, there’s been plenty slung around the Palmetto State lately. When will enough be enough? Most know to not even address the stuff and realize people will see things for what they are: outright lies, distorted lies, smears, and distractions just to tear someone down instead of building their candidate or cause up.
COMMUNITY UPDATE: September 2009
September 13, 2009 | 6 Comments
With the dog-days of summer behind us, we’re full steam ahead into another school year! I imagine I’ll see many of y’all at one of the local high school games or school events this fall. THANK YOU to those that were able to make it out to our Community Cookout last month at the Rusty Anchor! Many of you told me we should have this cookout EVERY year and not just once every two years. I’ll keep that in mind!
STATE HOUSE
I appreciate all the advice and input you’ve given over the summer regarding South Carolina state government and the direction you would like to see our state move over the next few months and future years. As always, these important decisions I’m tasked with making, require input from you. Thanks for your willingness to share what’s on your mind!
Honestly I am not sure what the next few months holds but should the General Assembly be called back before January, I will continue to seek your input and opinions during this unprecedented times in SC state government. Thank you for your continued support and for always keeping in touch through phone calls, emails, Nathan’s News and talking with me in the community.
Your opinions and prayers help me more than you’ll ever know!
YOUR MONEY
I know it seems like a broken record but our state’s budget has been cut – again. This time another 4.04% across the board cut was approved the state’s Budget and Control Board. To anyone in our state, you know this is a situation that has been going on for too long. Of course, South Carolina is not alone in this mess but that doesn’t make anyone feel better.
Fortunately, months ago we passed a law that created the formation of the Tax Realignment Commission which is charged with performing a “comprehensive study” of the state tax code. Of course, while new ideas will be considered ( Fair Tax ), other recent laws were not allowed to be reviewed by the commission ( Act 388: Property Tax Relief ). I’m not sure how you can call something “comprehensive” when it clearly is not. With this commission in place, I’m not sure we’ll see any movement next year on individual legislation that deals with taxes. After all, it’s this “tinkering” around the edges that many feel may actually be doing more harm than good.
COMMUNITY
First of all, it was great seeing everyone at the Chapin Labor Day Parade earlier this month! I told Karen I couldn’t believe we ran out of candy again this year (we bought 5,000 pieces!). Thanks for the well wishes and for coming out for one of our areas premiere gatherings!
The Ballentine-Dutch Fork Civic Association will hold its General Membership meeting on Monday, September 14th at 6:30 pm at Ballentine Park. Representatives from Heritage at Lowman (formerly the Lowman Home) will share changes in their short-term and long-term plans.
The Annual Irmo Okra Strut is just days away (September 25-29)! It all began in 1973 as a fundraiser for the Lake Murray-Irmo Woman’s Club. The goal was to build a brand new library for the Irmo community. Local radio personality, the late Gene McKay, had the idea of naming the fundraiser the “Okra Strut” when he, jokingly, described the “ancient Irmese” as “a farming tribe who lived off okra!” In October of that year, the Woman’s Club had a modest arts & crafts sale inside Seven Oaks Park. I look forward to seeing you there along the parade route! Read more
4th Annual Irmo Community Prayer Breakfast
September 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment
For the past few years, Representative Huggins and I have enjoyed having local churches host this event for our community. Starting first at Riverland Hills Baptist (2006), St. Andrews Presbyterian (2007), Gateway Baptist (2008), and now this year at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church !
With the economy being in the state it is and with so much uncertainty in everyone’s lives, we wanted to make this year’s event easier than ever for you to attend!
Thanks to the continued support of our sponsors and local business leaders, this year’s event will be FREE to the public! (Please RSVP before 9/21 to Elizabeth Donehue at elizabeth@donehueagency.com
We hope to see you there!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
170 St. Andrews Road
Columbia, SC 29210
Eddie Walker
Principal, Irmo High School
Rev. J. Blaney Pridgen, III, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
Dr. Bill Barton, Bill Barton Ministries
Rev. Dr. James S. Cooper, Pine Grove A.M.E. Church
Rev. Dr. Franklin Fant, Seven Oaks Presbyterian Church
Jim Osteen, First Baptist Irmo
Music by:
Henry Flowers IV and Cherie Murray
Presentation of Colors by:
Irmo High School, JRAFROTC
FREE to the public. A light breakfast is available beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Program starts at 8:00 a.m.
Please RSVP by September 21, 2009 to Elizabeth Donehue (843) 864-9414 or elizabeth@donehueagency.com.
Who will survive the mud?
September 8, 2009 | 2 Comments
It’s that time again!
The time when South Carolina men (and women) get covered with mud coming at them from all directions and getting bogged down so they can’t really focus on getting to the finish line.
While you’re probably thinking about political campaigns (which I’ll talk about in a minute), I’m actually referring to the USMC Mud Run coming up in a few weeks. For those following me on Facebook and Twitter , you know that Karen convinced me to sign up with two friends of ours and participate. Notice, I didn’t say “compete”.
Since I’ve done basically no athletics since my college fraternity intramural football days (note: Pi Kappa Alpha starting “defensive back” on our championship squad), this is definitely an event I just want to finish, regardless of our time.
But since I’m talking about mud, let’s talk about it from a political standpoint.
For those that have lived in SC a while, you know that SC politics ain’t Sunday School. Not sure of the origins of “slinging mud” in politics but Republican operative Lee Atwater definitely put his mark on the “sport”, here in our state and throughout the country.
While my uncle played in Atwater’s band back during high school, that’s about all I know of the man other than what I’ve read or other than seeing his “proteges” work around the state.
In politics (especially in SC) it seems nothing is off limits. Apparently the thought process is that if enough mud is slung, main stream media may pick up on it and everyday folks may actually start to believe rumors and inneundo. Then that candidate/official that is attacked ends up spending time and money defending some ridiculous rumor and getting off the real message of their campaign and issues important to real people.
Now, I don’t see a big problem with candidates attacking an opponent’s voting record. But to me, and most folks I hear from around the state, things like a candidate’s or official’s religion, family or past personal issues shouldn’t matter or even be discussed.
Almost always the mud is either an outright lie, fabrication or exaggeration. Religion and past personal issues seem to be the “mud of choice”. It’s been used at every level from school board to Presidential campaigns in our state. It’s been said that “Gotcha politics” is Destorying America. No wonder fewer folks are offering theirselves up for public service. Who can blame them?
Obviously everyone has his/her own criteria for what is and what is not “worthy of debate”; but, more times than not, when it comes to slinging mud – most of that mud ain’t worth another thought from a candidate and shouldn’t be worth another thought from a voter.
But chances of this vicious campaign “strategy” stopping…here in SC or anywhere….now or ever…..is very unlikely, if not improbable. Instead it’s up to the voters to determine whether to even care about the mud or stay focused on what matters.
If it matters, Karen, me and another couple are team #1078 (out of 1,800) trying to get through the mud and stay focused on finishing the race in two weeks (September 19)!
Labor Day Weekend
September 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Hope your family enjoyed the Labor Day Weekend!
Karen and I were “kid free” Friday and Saturday and really “lived it up”.
We were glad the kids made it back home Sunday (from “Camp Ballentine” with my folks) and we all spent the weekend enjoying the lake! Dinner at The Rusty Anchor and then a pontoon ride the next day (after Chapin parde) with dinner at Dockside (Lake Murray Marina).
What other community has two quality marinas in their backyard?
I’ll have September’s Community Update ready this week – check back soon!
Home values now below assessed values?
September 2, 2009 | 4 Comments
Obviously, you’ve heard of the real estate mess our country has/is facing? As a mortgage lender , I see it everyday. Obviously I have seen how lenders offering 100% financing with sometimes less than perfect credit probably wasn’t the most prudent thing in the world to do in years past.
While I try to stay positive and tell people “real estate is like politics; it’s all local”, there have been some serious impacts in certain price ranges in the past several months – right here in our community. More so in some price ranges than others.
Just tonight I had two appraisals in the same neighborhood come back WELL below the homeowner’s expected value. Yes, I know, everyone always thinks THEIR house is worth more than it probably is; however, these values are WELL BELOW the Richland County tax assessed value on record.
My question is…will the county start facing falling property taxes based on the possibility that these homes are no longer worth what the county assessed them to be ?
Tax assessed value: $549,900 Appraisal tonight: $475,000
Tax assessed value: $489,900 Appraisal tonight: $355,000