Christopher Columbus's historic voyages have come alive through full-size replicas of two of his famous ships, the Nina and the Pinta, which sail the east coast and internal river systems of the United States as floating museums. On a recent visit to Charleston, school classes and tourists got a feel for what life would be like on such a ship, called a caravel, on a trans-oceanic voyage. Romantic, yes. Fun – rarely, according to volunteer educator Dave Zenk, who relates some of the hazards of

On May 8 th and 9 th , the Columbia Metropolitan Airport housed a two day training exercise to test emergency preparedness and response. The event was organized by the South Carolina Forestry Commission with the National Disaster Medical System. The exercise involved a mock disaster which would require people to be flown in for distribution to area medical facilities for further treatment. After facing two consecutive years of natural disasters, the 1,000-year flood in 2015 and Hurricane Matthew

High schools all over the state graduate students at this time of year. But this time next year, Charleston County will begin graduating some students with a high school diploma and a college associate’s degree at the same time. Following a national trend already begun in other counties, Charleston has approved an “early college” program beginning this fall. According to Charleston County School District official Kim Wilson, the program will start with a class of 100 this fall and add 100 more

It's been 19 Months since the October 2015 flood. During this time, the Sumter Fire Departmen t has held classroom training exercises in a portable acquired from the local school district. The classrooms in the department's training facility took on over 20 inches of water and sustained $500,000 in damages. The department recently celebrated the reopening of the facility. Battalion Chief Joey Duggan said it's a mixture of old and new that will better serve the area.

"O" is for Opportunity Schools. Dr. Wil Lou Gray, the state supervisor in adult education, created a boarding school for young people who could not attend public school or who had not gone further than the fifth grade. The school opened in August 1921 at the Tamassee DAR School in Oconee County to offer educational opportunities for undereducated young white women. For a decade the school operated during August on the campuses of Anderson, Erskine, Clemson, and Lander colleges. By 1931 it was co

This summer’s total solar eclipse is a rare event for the Palmetto State. Normally a total eclipse doesn’t return to the same spot for close to 400 years, but this will be the second in only 47 years for the folks in Sumter and the surrounding area. Hap Griffin remembers seeing the last eclipse as an 11-year-old on March 7, 1970. He said he still recalls how "blown away" he was in the backyard of a friend. Nearby, the Rev. Joel Osborne climbed a forest tower to take in the awesome celestial

Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville counts numerous musicians among its inmates. Such is their talent that they have attracted the attention of DeCoda, a New York-based chamber music group. For four years now, the prison has sponsored a program with the group in which DeCoda comes to work with the prisoners at Lee for a week to write and play music for an annual performance. DeCoda co-founder Clair Bryant, a native of Camden, is very impressed with the Lee musicians, and says they have

About 4,000 acres of Lexington County is in a floodplain, or a low-lying area adjacent to a river. During the October 2015 flood, many areas in the county experienced massive flooding. An online survey is available for residents to share flood hazard risks. Floodplain manager Christopher Stone says the survey is the first step to becoming safer and more resilient. Stone says creating a floodplain management plan for the county has been in the works since before the historic flood in 2015. He

Hacking, whether it’s into a bank, insurance company or an individual’s records, is a serious, and growing crime in the 21 st century. The damages inflicted by hackers in the United States alone can reach into the billions of dollars annually. However, a new weapon against these online thieves has arisen in the past few years: the white-hat hacker, a hacker who fights the “black-hats,” or bad hackers. According to Ronni Wilkinson of the University of South Carolina College of Engineering and

May is Elder Law Month, which seeks to increase awareness of a relatively new area of legal practice. Elder law came into being in the last 20 to 30 years to help senior citizens, and more recently, people with special needs, regardless of age. Elder law attorney Lauren Wasson says the specialty often helps older people navigate the hurdles to qualify for Medicaid or VA benefits, but it also frequently involves services to seniors and their families such as wills, powers of attorney and