For the complete article in the Aiken Standard click below

http://www.aikenstandard.com/Local/0310-school-board-FOR-WEB

Here are portions from the article

“In a historic decision Tuesday, the nine Aiken County Board of Education members unanimously agreed to call for a $236 million bond referendum that would target six schools for new construction off-site or for rebuilding onsite.

The bond election will be held Tuesday, May 25 – the first referendum in more than 30 years. That successful election led to the construction of Silver Bluff, South Aiken and Midland Valley High schools.

The new proposal calls for a focus on six schools – Aiken High School, North Augusta High, Leavelle McCampbell Middle School, Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary/Middle School, Jackson Middle School and the Aiken County Career and Technology Center. The new construction would come at a cost to taxpayers – approximately an $118 increase in property taxes annually per $100,000 value of an owner-occupied residence.”

Barry Adams no longer has any children in the school system, but wants school facility upgrades in part as a way to attract new industry. In in today’s economic environment, he said, this is a perfect time for a bond issue such as this one.

“Recessionary times are difficult on everyone,” Adams said. “But we have been afforded an opportunity which we may not see again for many decades. Interest rates and construction costs are the lowest many of use have seen in our lifetimes.”

Even though President Obama’s program can be debated, there is another type of stimulus that has been proven time and time again. That program is very simple — shop local and support your local businesses. As North Augustans, we pride ourselves on our quality of life, and the quality of our community. North Augusta has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 10 years, and much of that has been due to small businesses.

As simple as the concept is, it works. When possible, patronize small, locally owned businesses. Money spent with locally owned small businesses is reinvested in the community to a much greater degree because businesses employ local folks who take their paychecks and recirculate that same dollar at local restaurants, retail shops, grocery stores and wherever else money is spent.

Generally speaking, 45 to 65 cents of every dollar spent in a locally owned business is recirculated. For every $1 spent, the value to the overall community ranges from $5 to $14. That return on investment provides a tremendous shot in the arm to a community.

I am sure that at this point, someone reading this has already said, “I would gladly buy from local businesses, but it is more expensive.”

Never assume anything, and do your homework.

There are a number of reasons to shop local. I found an article awhile back written in 2005 by John Amundsen that does a tremendous job summarizing the issue. The article was titled Buying Local and the Circulating Dollar . He concluded the article with a list of 10 reasons to shop local, and I’ve included the five best. As you can see from this list, shopping local has a far-reaching effect on our community. Shopping locally supports the entire community.

1. ENCOURAGES LOCAL INVESTMENT: A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

2. NONPROFITS RECEIVE GREATER SUPPORT: Nonprofit organizations receive an average three times greater support from smaller, locally owned businesses than they do from large businesses

3. OUR ONE-OF-A-KIND BUSINESSES ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER: The unique character of our community is what brought us here and will keep us here.

4. TRUE JOB CREATION: Most new jobs are provided by local businesses. Small local businesses are the largest employers nationally and in our community, providing the most new jobs to residents.

5. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS BETTER: Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise for better customer service.

Please support your local businesses. North Augustans supporting North Augustans — it makes sense to me.

The policy gives businesses a credit when doing local bids with the city. For example, the current policy gives businesses a $40 credit on a bid of up to $2,000.

Communigraphics Owner Tracy Hooks said it just makes sense to shop locally when possible. She said business license fees are based on sales so the more sales the more the city makes.

“I don’t think they can make it high enough,” she said of the policy. “I just don’t think the city can do enough to support the small-business person and we do support the city.”

She said she understands that the city can’t always go with a local bidder on a purchase for financial reasons.

Brian Tucker, the president of the Greater North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, recently asked city council to consider updating the policy. Officials say they expect to begin voting on a new policy this month.

In December of 2008 when Tucker began as president of the chamber he said within a week local businesses were asking him to take a look at changing the policy that was adopted in 1992.

“I have been working behind the scenes doing my homework,” ever since, he said.

Tucker said just because a business is local doesn’t mean it can always handle the work.

“Projects can be specialized and large in scale and you can’t always use hometown businesses,” he said.

He said the city has tried to look at the direct cost on the city of using the credit system for local bids, but that figure is hard to determine. Tucker said more importantly is what the city gains when companies go to pay their business license fees.

If a local company wins a bid on a large project, Tucker said, that could mean more employees and another employed North Augusta resident who pays property or sales taxes.

“There is a huge ripple effect,” by doing business locally, he said. “Statistics say for every $1 spent with a local business you get $5-$15 worth of value out of that one dollar.”

FOR COMPLETE STORY CLICK HERE

Over the last several months, I have had numerous conversations with City officials, and I am continually impressed with their genuine concern for the best interest of North Augustans. Several more recent conversations have revolved around the direction of growth of North Augusta, and what steps the City can take to be more business friendly.

As a result of these conversations, the Chamber and the City have joined forces to produce the following survey. There are only 12 questions that can be answered in a couple of minutes. Your input is vital in how we proceed. Please take just a minute to complete the following questions.

Thank you for your participation and your continued support. Together, as a community, we can accomplish great things!

Mezzo-soprano Sandra Walker will join soprano Krista Wilhelmsen and pianist Don Macey as the Augusta Opera hosts an intimate evening of wine and song at North Augusta’s historic and beautifully restored Rosemary Inn bed and breakfast (at Rosemary Hall) on Thursday, Feb. 25. Tickets for the event are available at (706) 496-7600 for $50 each, through Feb. 20.

Walker will perform her favorite piano bar songs, while Wilhelmsen will perform a sampling of arias. Both will be accompanied by Macey.

Walker has appeared in major roles, including nine seasons at the Metropolitan Opera. She holds a bachelor of music degree in vocal performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She did post graduate studies in opera performance at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. She has appeared frequently in telecasts on “Live from Lincoln Center.”

Wilhelmsen, is from Oak Forest, Ill. Professionally, she has sung with Augusta Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera New Jersey, Natchez Festival, the Savannah Orchestra, New England Light Opera, Palmetto Opera, and Long Leaf Opera.

For more information or to become a sponsor/supporter of the Augusta Opera, visit www.augustaopera.com or call (706) 496-7600.

http://www.aikenstandard.com/star/News-0218-ROSEMARY-INN-event

Associated Press

COLUMBIA — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford accused the president of playing politics with nuclear waste, urging the Obama administration to follow through on plans to send thousands of tons of radioactive material to Nevada and urging legal action if it does not.

Sanford, surrounded by state, local and federal officials on Tuesday, accused the Obama administration of allowing “old-style Chicago politics” to dictate the fate of a long-planned nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The governor said the president was trying to protect Nevada Democratic Sen. Harry Reid’s seat while ripping off companies in South Carolina that have paid $1.2 billion to create the dump.

A Reid spokesman denied the charge, but the Republican governor called Obama’s plan “a detour from basically a 25-year compact based on simple old-style Chicago politics that are the antithesis of the change that he himself had promised” during his campaign.

The proposed site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas has been targeted for 20 years to house the nation’s high level nuclear waste. As a candidate, Obama promised to close the facility, and his latest budget calls for eliminating funding for the site. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has said Yucca Mountain is not an option, and his department will withdraw its license application by the end of this month, essentially nixing the project as a commission studies where the waste should go.

“As we move to expand nuclear power, the president is fully committed to ensuring that the nation meets our long-term storage obligations for nuclear waste,” Moira Mack, a White House spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.

For now, high-level nuclear waste is stored at 80 sites around the nation, typically at nuclear power plants or places such as the federal Savannah River Site in Aiken County, where more than 3,600 tons of nuclear waste is stored.

State Attorney General Henry McMaster said he is working on the legal questions. He said that includes talking with attorneys general in other states as well as the utility industry and nuclear industry legal experts.

The issue has been swirling for years here and in Nevada, where political careers can be lost based support of Yucca Mountain.

Sanford said the plans for Yucca Mountain span decades and numerous administrations and that $10 billion has been spent on the underground site. “I mean, I think we all get it that Harry Reid is in a tough race out in Nevada and giving him this would give him a win in a tough race in Nevada but it would come at great expense to the rest of us as Americans,” he said.

Jon Summers, communications director for Reid, said the senator consistently has opposed Yucca and the only reason that location was chosen was because Nevada lacked clout in Washington 25 years ago. “We now have an administration that is listening to Senator Reid and the people of Nevada,” Summers said.

“It’s interesting that the only people that are complaining about this are Republicans,” he said, noting they’re “the only people that want to bring nuclear waste to Nevada.”

In December the federal Government Accountability Office said it is cheaper to store nuclear waste in the short term in concrete casks at the nation’s nuclear power plants but that that method would be more costly over time.

The report said that approach would cost up to $34 billion during the next 100 years while the Yucca Mountain facility would cost at least $41 billion. It noted costs would rise when that waste has to be repackaged in the next century or a permanent repository is opened.

http://www.aikenstandard.com/State/m1036-BC-SC-SC-NuclearWaste-2ndLd-Writethru-02-16-0759

http://spotted.augusta.com/display.html?event=88775724

NORTH AUGUSTA — For more than 30 years Jeanne McDaniel has lived in North Augusta and made it her home, embracing its history and capturing it for future generations.

The Greater North Augusta Chamber of Commerce named her its 2009 Citizen of the Year recipient at its annual meeting tonight at the North Augusta Community Center.

“I was astounded,” McDaniel said as she heard her biography read to the room. “I’m very humbled by this.”

McDaniel is a member of the Heritage Council of North Augusta and the Arts and Heritage Center of North Augusta.

“I do love history, and I like this community,” the British native said. “This is a really neat place with a great vision for the future and with the vision for the future it didn’t forget the past.”

Originally of North London, McDaniel said she’s always been interested in family history.

“It’s the fabric of who we are and it is who we are,” she said.

Brian Tucker, the president of the chamber, said the Citizen of the Year recipient is chosen by the past five award winners from nomination letters. Five people nominated McDaniel.

“Jeanne has been a leader in recording and advocating the history of North Augusta,” said Brenda Baratto in her nomination letter. “Her generosity of talent has aided so many groups in North Augusta.”

As a homeowner, I’ll be the first to say  it was nice to see my taxes drop.  But unfortunately, a homeowners savings has been made up by struggling businesses, and even then, our school system faces shortfall after shortfall.  While this new legislation would provide small businesses with some relief, I have strongly encouraged our local delegation in Columbia to pursue a complete and fair overhall of our State’s tax code.  The only solution is a broad equitable tax code which fairly pays for the services dellievered by our State and local governments.

“The legislation was needed to address tax changes passed under 2006’s Act 388, which increasingly has become the poster child for a growing number of revenue problems in the state.”

http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/1149675.html