Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade features Mary Jane Dancers

Joyce M. Searson, Publisher

The Mike Miller Dance Team, with 26 dancers from the Bamberg and Orangeburg Mary Jane Dance Studios, will participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

“We received the invitation by mail and we are so excited. Mike Miller Associates from Texas features 600 hundred dancers and 600 cheerleaders, ranging from the 9th-12th grade, from all over the United States. We feel honored to be chosen,” said Mary Jane Maxwell, owner of the Studio.

Maxwell said it will be an exciting week and is looking forward to being a just a spectator.

The girls will be rehearsing most of the time, starting on Sunday, and will continue to rehearse until the morning of the parade. They will get up and start at 6:30 am on Thanksgiving Day.

“It is a lot of hard work for my students, but I tell them this is something that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. Dancing in the parade will be an experience they will never forget,” said Maxwell.

Maxwell, a Columbia College graduate, has been teaching dance in Bamberg for 33 years. She has owned a studio in Orangeburg for 16 years and her daughter, Mary Bray Mehrzad, operates it.

Accompanying Maxwell with her students will be Carol Maxwell, Dana Wilson, Lisa Thomas, Ronika Robinson, Teresa Smith, and Amber Priester.

They have a full week planned…taking in a Broadway Show, the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, a special dance class with a guest artist, the Statue of Liberty Cruise and a trip to the Empire State building…not to mention all the shopping.

Students that are dancing in Saturday’s parade are…Kim Fleming, Ashlyn Caffey, Katalin Bramblett, Kara Wvenscher, Elizabeth Rheney, Lindsey Sineath, Elsa Thomas, Peyton Parker, Virginia McCully, Casey McCurry, Brandi Miller, Anna Smith, Jessica Medlin, Lyndie Clark, Abby Lee, Kameron Union, Allison Bird, Margaret Fender, Sarah Catherine Williams, Kelsey Robinson, Aubree Gillam, Elizabeth Glenn, Weslie Clark, Emily Shirer, Laura Andrews and Haley Smith.

Fire Contained

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Writer

A malfunction caused a fire in the hopper at the Elite Equine Shavings Company LLC. on Heritage Highway between Bamberg and Denmark Monday morning. According to Bamberg County fire personnel the initial call came out from central dispatch at approximately 9:40 a.m. as a zone county call. According to firefighters when they arrived on the scene there was “heavy smoke coming out of the stack.”

Firefighters were able to cool the hopper off enough to contain the fire and cancel the response from fire departments to only Bamberg and Denmark.

Piggly Wiggly donates $1,000

Lisa B. Stokes, Contributing Writer

Mt. Carmel UMC has a lot to be thankful for. While looking for ways to fund a community Thanksgiving service and dinner, the Bamberg Piggly Wiggly answered the call with two $500 gift cards. The event will be held on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. A brief Thanksgiving service and registration will begin at 11:00 a.m. and dinner will be served at noon. Rev. Bernard Ponds, pastor of the church said the Piggly Wiggly donation would be used to purchase 100 turkeys from the Bamberg grocery store. “Our church is so blessed to have these funds to help us to help the community,” he said. Ponds said the store administration worked closely with the chain’s district office to make this huge donation possible. “Jason Torrence (store manager) worked very hard to make this happen. We are so appreciative for everything that he did for us,” said the pastor.

School-To-Work

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Writer

“ We want our students to get out there and see the real world. We appreciate all of you who helped out in one way or the other,” School-To-Work Coordinator, Heather Ulmer, told the school’s business partners gathered in the BEHS Media Center Thursday for the Thanksgiving Luncheon.

Ulmer said the State Department of Education requires each high school to choose a School Improvement Initiative. BEHS chose High Schools That Work (H-S-T-W) as its School Improvement Initiative.

“There were some key practices in the program that relate directly to business and industry, which includes setting high expectations, increasing access to vigorous academic studies, and giving students choices for school based and work based learning,” said Ulmer.

SCEMD State Director

Jerry E. Halmon, Staff Reporter

Charles “Ricky” Platt a native of Olar was named director of the South Carolina Emergency Management Division in July 2009. Under his direction, the division provides oversight and coordination for emergency/disaster and terrorism consequence management planning, response, and recovery for the state of South Carolina.. Platt is also responsible for the coordination efforts with emergency management personnel at the local and national levels.

This was Platt ‘s first visit to his home county of Bamberg as SCEMD State Director.

In highlighting the duties of the state SCEMD Office, Platt stated that it is the counties that respond in an emergency situation. “In Columbia, we don’t respond to anything, the counties respond, the counties run the show, but we’re their support, we’re your backup, we’re your support,” Platt said.

Reinke Recognizes

Reinke Manufacturing, Inc., a leading manufacturer of mechanized irrigation systems, is excited to announce that Palmetto Irrigation Inc., of Denmark, S.C., has received a Reinke Longevity award for its 25 years of marketing Reinke products. Palmetto Irrigation Inc. also received a Gold Pride Award and was recognized as a top 5 highest selling dealer in the Southeast Territory. They were honored during Reinke’s recent annual convention held October 25-27, 2009, in Austin, Texas.

Shelter Management

Jerry Durgan, Contributing Writer

Shelter Operations training was held for representatives from DSS, each of the county’s school officials, CERT volunteers, city and county officials, city and county law enforcement, Red Cross volunteers. Training provided participants with knowledge of Red Cross policies and procedures for setting up, running and closing a shelter during a disaster.

The Red Cross works in tandem with the county public schools, law enforcement, human resources and other agencies to assign volunteers for specific duties in each shelter. Every Red Cross shelter is required to have an on-site nurse, mental health personnel and where necessary security personnel will be posted.

The Red Cross does not provide shelter accommodations for individuals with special medical needs, such as respirators, intravenous medications and etc. Individuals with special medical needs are encouraged to contact their health care providers to make special arrangements during a disaster.