Editor’s Note: As Blythewood continues to grow, questions about development, preservation, and community identity are becoming increasingly important. This three-part commentary series explores why historic gathering places matter-not only culturally, but economically and socially. Drawing on local history and personal experience, the series examines preservation as smart policy, the human cost of losing shared spaces, […]
Preserving Blythewood’s History: What We Lose When We Lose Our Gathering Places
February 26, 2026 By
What Makes You Happy?
February 26, 2026 By
What makes you happy? We all know the big things: good partner, financial security, good home, and good cell phone! But there are lots of little things that make me happy, too…and I like to be happy! You may not care what they might be, but I just want to touch a chord with you […]
Your County Can Actually Break Up
February 26, 2026 By
Let me start with something most of us did not learn in high school: parts of a county in South Carolina can legally leave. Yes. If ten percent of registered voters in a specific area petition for it, two-thirds of the voters in that area approve it, and the county they want to join votes […]
Kenny’s Corner: Who Are Those Buildings Really For?
February 19, 2026 By
After my last column about the 27 vacant county buildings, someone left a comment that stuck with me. They didn’t argue about whether the buildings exist. They asked something sharper: Who are those buildings really for? One commenter said they closed their business, tore down a quarter-million-dollar building piece by piece, and moved their family […]
The View from 95: A Lady of Yesterday in a World of Tomorrow
February 19, 2026 By
My children are not like me. They understand electronics. That’s a good thing! They don’t go to church. That’s a bad thing. They eat food from foreign countries. That is a questionable thing. Maybe it will just take time for them to get more like me. After all, I turned into my mother when I […]
My Love-Hate Relationship
February 12, 2026 By
Does anyone really like exercise? I don’t, but I have been exercising for the better part of 50 years. Tell me that someone really likes to stretch, strain, hoist weights and jump around for an hour. However, I must admit, I do like the feeling after I have done all that activity and pushed my […]
Kenny’s Corner: 27 Empty Buildings
February 12, 2026 By
(And a Whole Lot of Potential) I watched the latest Fairfield County Council meeting on YouTube. Yes, YouTube. County council meetings are on YouTube now. We’re living in the future. There were meaningful moments. A moment of silence for Brittany Goodwin. Recognition for two citizens who saved a life on New Year’s Eve. That’s Fairfield […]
Letter: Accountability Matters
February 12, 2026 By
The County Council’s 2023 IRS million-dollar fines scandal should serve as a powerful catalyst for government transparency. This case underscored the importance of robust public monthly Council reviews of the County’s Payment Register to ensure transparency and accountability for taxpayer money. In a nutshell, the scandal, spanning six years of alleged non-compliance with federal ACA […]
Guest Editorial: Newspapers are antidotes to Instagram, Facebook
February 12, 2026 By
There’s just something different about holding a newspaper in your hands instead of reading it online. The physical newspaper is a treasure trove of unexpected information. At first glance, you can obviously see what’s important to editors on a front page. But you don’t know what you’re going to learn when you start flipping pages. […]
The 10 AM Hurdle: Who’s Shaping Our Future?
February 5, 2026 By
Last week, Fairfield County asked residents to share input on the future of our community. That’s a positive step. It means conversations are happening and plans are being shaped with public involvement in mind. But one detail stood out to me: One of the community input sessions for Ridgeway was held during normal working hours. […]
