2009 Dogwood Festival April 1-5

Once again the traditional Dogwood Festival has arrived with the dogwood trees in full bloom throughout the city. This year there are scheduled events for everyone in the family from rides for the kids to street dances for the older ones.

The official kickoff for the festival, the Community Prayer Breakfast, will be on Friday, April 3rd at 8 a.m. at the Voorhees College Leonard E. Dawson Health and Human Resources Center and the Reverend Sanka Davis, Pastor of Rome Baptist Church will be the featured speaker.

Git-R-Done

Buz Braxton of Braxton Construction Company out of Orangeburg volunteers his time, equipment and labor to clean up debris that was left behind from the demolition of the old Chevrolet place located on Heritage Hwy. in Bamberg. Braxton was contacted by Ed Moody and Councilwoman Nancy Foster of Bamberg and is doing this for free. Braxton is also a volunteer and helps to clean up and maintain Restland Cemetery located on Main Highway in Bamberg. This is a good example of being a true Samaritan by helping his fellow man.

2009 Red Cross Bingo

Jerry Durgan, Contributing Writer

Nearly every seat in the house was filled by 7 a.m. Saturday as Paul Sandifer called out the first Bingo numbers for the annual Red Cross Bingo games. And virtually everyone stayed until the “fill the card” Grand Prize Bingo game was played. Every Bingo card was sold out by the beginning of the grand Prize game.

Relay for Life...

Nancy Hiers, Contributing Writer

The American Cancer Society has begun making available the shirts, emblazoned with the “Fight Like a Girl” motto and pink ribbon, to not only raise funds to fight cancer, but to raise awareness that cancer can be beaten.

“By wearing this, it is a reminder of how far we still have to go in the fight against cancer and we hope it encourages others that they can make a difference when they fight like a girl,” said one cancer survivor.

T-shirts are available for a minimum donation of $15.00 by calling your local American Cancer Society Community Manager, Valerie Bridges at (803) 632-2048 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Chamber’s ‘Business after Hours’

The Bamberg County Chamber’s ‘Business after Hours’ reception was hosted by Bamberg County Disability and Special Needs Board on Thursday evening at the Matthews Center in Denmark.

The timing was perfect because March has been designated as disabilities awareness month.

Dr. Gloria James, BCDSN Board’s Executive Director opened the ceremony saying, “All of us need encouragement with the economy in the state that it is. We are trying to highlight the abilities of persons with retardation and disabilities and recognize some of their accomplishments that have been made this year. We all have some type of disability, no matter how small. One day, we too, may be walking their walk.”

Orange Grove UMC Health Fair

“Emphasizing healthy living, and healthy habits” was the purpose of the first Orange Grove United Methodist Church Health Fair held Saturday March 28, at the Bamberg Civic Center.

“It’s never too late to change your life style,” Lena Dowling Chairwoman of the Health and Welfare Ministry at the church that sponsored the event said Saturday. Ten vendors were on hand to provide information for participants on topics that ranged from ages birth to senior citizens.

Councilmember's graduate

Councilmember's Ella Bamberg, Teresa Hannibal and Janeth Walker from the City of Bamberg graduated from the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government on February 18. Graduates received their diplomas during the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Hometown, SC Legislative Action Day in Columbia.

Established in 1986, the Institute is a program of the Municipal Association of South Carolina that gives municipal officials a strong foundation in the operation of local government.

Hawkins gives presentation

Jerry Durgan, Contributing Writer

At the March meeting of the Edisto Amateur Radio Society (E.A.R.S.) Mr. Ramsey Hawkins gave a presentation on using amateur radio to send email.

Winlink 2000 (WL2K) is a worldwide system of volunteer resources supporting e-mail by radio, with non-commercial links to internet e-mail. These resources come from Amateur Radio, the Military Affiliate Radio Systems (MARS), and other volunteer organizations. “The system provides valuable service to emergency communicators, and to licensed operators without access to the internet” Hawking's explained. To use the Winlink 2000 system, you must hold an Amateur Radio license or be a member of a supported organization or agency. Use of the system and all software is free of charge for those who qualify.