United Way of the Midlands, in partnership with Transitions, Salvation Army and the City of Columbia, announced that they will operate an Inclement Weather Center at 191 Calhoun on nights that are expected to drop to 40 degrees or below from now until April 1.

A decision to open the Center will be made daily at noon. To find out if the shelter will open on a particular night, call 2-1-1 or go to www.midlandshomeless.com.

Adult men and women who want to use the Center will be picked up at the City Transit station on Laurel and Sumter streets between 5:45 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Guests will not register in advance. The Salvation Army will prepare hot meals for dinner along with a small breakfast and services such as showers. The shelter will close every morning by 7:00 a.m.

How you can Help!

• Anyone wishing to volunteer to serve meals or donate food should contact Jennifer Lambert with Salvation Army at Jennifer.lambert@uss.salvationarmy.org or 803.223.9969.
• Anyone interested in volunteering in other capacities should contact John Dawkins with Transitions at jdawkins@transitionssc.org or 803.724.1089.
• Anyone who would like to donate money can do so through the United Way of the Midlands website at www.uway.org.

Columbia City Council Chambers Renovations Are Underway

A hidden skylight revealed again, wall fixtures repainted and detailed, and reconstructed support systems. All of these items are changes that have been made to the City Council Chambers since renovations began in July 2012. The City of Columbia City Council Chambers have been located at City Hall since the mid-1870’s, and being that they are around 150 years old, it was time for necessary changes to be made.

The project began as a small scale renovation, intended only to patch up peeling paint and fix plaster on the walls. However, once the construction team noted the extensive damage to the room, the process has grown exponentially. Members of the team began construction below the ceiling level, but once they noticed a large skylight that had been hidden behind the drop ceiling tiles and duct work, it was decided that the entire ceiling would be rebuilt in order to showcase this historic work of glass and metal. Although the skylight had to be completely removed in order to fix the broken glass, the project is still improving by leaps and bounds each week, with hopes of finishing construction by July 1^st, 2013.

Make sure to check back with us to see photographs and more information about the progress of the project as it comes along. Below are a few of the “before” pictures to give you an idea of what our great construction team began working with.

Together We Can Read:Local Leaders Read to over 1900 Students

The Fifth Annual Together We Can Read initiative, a partnership between the City of Columbia and Richland One School District that focuses on building an interest in reading in young children, was held today at 28 elementary schools across Richland One School District. “Together We Can Read brings together government, business and neighborhood leaders from across Columbia to read to young students,” said Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin. “That speaks volumes about our community’s commitment to education, to our children and to our future as a truly world-class city.”

Since 2009, Together We Can Read has brought over 400 community and business leaders into the classrooms of elementary schools in Richland One, with this year alone bringing in 93 readers. The City of Columbia and Richland One Schools have partnered with the Richland Library for Together We Can Read for the second year in a row and are very appreciative of the work that the Richland Library has contributed.
This program is spearheaded by Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, who became motivated to share her experiences after reading to a classroom of students with a group of other local leaders. “Together We Can Read is focused on sharing the joy of reading with our local students, while also encouraging leaders to volunteer at local schools,” says Devine.
Although her intentions were originally to share her personal experiences, Councilwoman Devine has started something essential and inspirational to the third grade students of Richland One that has continued on for five years. Devine also stated, “It is the responsibility of all of us to support and empower the children in our community. We are working to build future generations of leaders for our city.”

Richland One Superintendent Dr. Percy Mack says, “Reading aloud to children helps them build their vocabulary and language skills. It also shows them that reading is fun.” The main goal of Together We Can Read is to work towards encouraging children to read at an early age.

The three main objectives of Together We Can Read are:

1. It allows children who may not have book access to have a book of their very own.

2. The book chosen each year has a Columbia or South Carolina focus so that children can identify with it and learn about their local culture history.

3. The program helps children understand why reading is so important and allows them to interact with positive role models.

Within their time in the classrooms today, speakers not only read the book “Dave the Potter” aloud to the 1,910 students that were involved in the program and answered any questions that the students may have had, but also shared their career and relative success in life with the students. The third grade classroom level was chosen because according to the experts, “this age is a pivotal age for children and it is also when state testing normally begins.” Together as a community The City of Columbia and Richland One Schools hope to inspire a paradigm shift in our elementary schools to insure a bright future for our youth and community.

Please visit the City's Photo Gallery to view pictures from this event.

Check out the First South Carolina Cornbread Festival this Weekend!

Come out this Saturday, March 2, from 10:00a.m.-10:00p.m. for a fun filled day with lots of shag dancing, live entertainment and fun-filled activities for the whole family. At the corner of Main and Newman Streets, the festival kicks off with the “Live Sugar Free” 5K walk/run, followed throughout the day by cornbread eating contests, the Miss South Carolina Cornbread Festival Pageant finals, a car and bike show and a cornbread cook-off judged by the Food Network’s own Melba Wilson.

Celebrity Grand Marshal J. Anthony Brown will be keeping the festivities going on the main stage, as will the diverse group of great musical acts. Throughout the day, notable bands such as The Mobros, The Finesse Band, the Fantastic Shakers and Men of Distinction will be keeping the crowd excited. To end the day, the festival’s headliners, Chairmen of the Board, will take the stage at 8p.m. after a special presentation by Columbia City Council.

For more information about the South Carolina Cornbread Festival, contact the North Columbia Business Association at (803)786-7232 or visit www.sccornbreadfestival.com.

Community Citizens Encouraged to Become Local Lifesavers

Mayor Steve Benjamin and the American Red Cross South Carolina Region Board of Directors are teaming up to collect 500 pints of blood during the Third Annual Columbia Lifesavers Blood Drive. The event is being held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, located at 1101 Lincoln Street, on February 12 and 13, from 7 a.m.-2 p.m.

In addition to helping save countless lives, donors will receive an American Red Cross t-shirt, a free bag of Starbuck coffee while supplies last, and the chance to win a $300 Wal-Mart gift card. Carolina Ale House is also offering donors a 10% discount off their purchase for participants wearing their American Red Cross donor stickers on the 12th and 13th.

The Columbia Lifesavers blood drive is open to the public. This event is being held to raise community awareness about the need for blood and to collect blood for hospital patients undergoing cancer treatments, lifesaving surgeries, and emergency care related to accidents and trauma.               

If you want to help reach that 500 pint goal, please donate! You can schedule an appointment by calling Kimberly Reaves at (803)312-5609 or going to redcrossblood.org and entering the sponsor code columbialifesavers.

Go Red Day in the City of Columbia

Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin declared Friday, February 1, 2013 as “Go Red Day” in the City of Columbia, and urged all citizens to participate by wearing red in observance of the Go Red for Women initiative. Go Red for Women is a national movement led by the American Heart Association in order to raise awareness of the dangers of heart disease in women. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, exceeding the deaths from all cancers combined, and this year’s goal was to take the next step in awareness by standing together in unity and wearing red on February 1^st.

City officials spoke to the press on Go Red Day about the importance of getting tested for heart disease while standing outside of the new City of Columbia Employee Health Center, located on Harden Street next to the Drew Wellness Center. The Go Red for Women movement is promoting the “Know Your Numbers” campaign for all women to go to their physician and get their blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked. “If every woman here today takes steps to learn about her risk factors, stays physically active, eats a heart-healthy diet and gets regular checkups, we will not lose a third of you to heart disease. Take steps today to save your mothers, sisters, girlfriends and to save yourself, " said Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine.

Employees in the City participated in Go Red day, including Mayor Benjamin, who donned a red tie on Friday.

City of Columbia Encourages Residents to Recycle Fried Turkey Used Cooking Oil

Deep fried turkey is a delight on Thanksgiving, but disposing the three to five gallons of leftover oil is always a challenge. City of Columbia residents can now recycle used cooking oil from Thanksgiving and every other day of the year through the City’s used cooking oil recycling program, Southern Fried Fuel.

City of Columbia residents may drop off used cooking oil for recycling at the Public Works Facility, 2910 Colonial Drive, 9:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. (The facility will be closed on Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23 for Thanksgiving.) Cooking oil should be free of water, soap suds and food scraps, and should be transported in a clean, non-breakable, leak-proof container with a tight lid.

Southern Fried Fuels not only provides residents with a convenient way to recycle used cooking oil, it also:

1. Saves money associated with waste water maintenance. When used cooking oil is poured down the kitchen sink, it ultimately causes blockages, back ups and over flows, which costs an average of $1.5 million and 4,500 staff hours.

2. Helps air quality and the environment. The cooking oil collected through the City will be recycled to make biodiesel and help power the City fleet on a cleaner-burning, renewable fuel that produces 15 to 75 percent fewer greenhouse emissions than conventional fuel.

  

3. Benefits the local economy. Midlands Biofuels collects the used cooking oil and converts it into a Certified South Carolina product, keeping money in the Midlands and supporting local economies. 

For more information on the City’s used cooking oil recycling program, visit http://columbia.sc.gov/index.cfm/cpac/southern-fried-fuel/.