Charleston Currents – 2019

Archive for August, 2019

FOCUS: Trident Tech offers free tuition for 70+ programs

Staff reports | Trident Technical College this fall is offering students a chance to take classes for free if they enroll in specific in-demand career training programs in manufacturing, information technology, culinary and hospitality, emergency medical technology and technical trades.

“This is a great opportunity for people who want to get the skills required to land a good job, and also for people who are already working to upgrade their skills to get a better job,” said Trident Tech President Mary Thornley.

The college is able to offer students free tuition through a combination of federal, state and college financial aid funds, according to a press release. The total aid package for a tri-county student taking 15 credit hours is more than $2,800.

To take advantage of this free semester of college, students must apply to the college and pay the $30 application fee. The college admission application can be completed online at www.tridenttech.edu.

by Charleston Currents · 08/12/2019 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, Good news

BRACK: #PayItForward with #RandomActsOfKindness

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | With all of America’s turmoil, you might feel discouraged. Worn down. Like there’s nothing you can do that will really make a difference because the system is so big that whatever you do just won’t matter.

Not true. You can make a difference. But you might want to think a little closer to home. More than three dozen Facebook friends this week offered advice on ways to cure feelings that that you can’t be agents of change.

by Andy Brack · 08/12/2019 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

Calvary Church, now an art center, Sutton, Quebec.

PHOTO ESSAY: The skinny churches of the Eastern Townships

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The distinguishing feature of many churches in Quebec’s Eastern Townships seems to be that they’re skinny with tall steeples that accentuate their comparatively diminutive width.

Inside, these simple churches have 15 to 20 pews and can hold, we guess, up to 100 people when packed. Here are a few that we spied on a recent visit. Enjoy:

by Andy Brack · 08/12/2019 · 3 comments · Photo Essay, Photos

GOOD NEWS: From a new hospital and top-ranked college to 2020 politics, more

New hospital dedicated. Hats off to MUSC for dedication of the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion, which will be open in October to parents and families. A dedication with remarks from Jenkins, Gov. Henry McMaster and others took place Aug. 9. The new hospital will have 250 beds and lots of other new features for patients. To learn more, visit this link.

by Charleston Currents · 08/12/2019 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

MYSTERY PHOTO: Pair of crosses

Since we appear to be on a church theme today, here’s something new to the area skyline, but what is it? For a bonus, why is it new? (This may be kind of tough for people who live outside of the Lowcountry.) Send your guess to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.

Our previous Mystery Photo: Our Aug. 5 mystery, “Rusty gate,” showed the gate to the Avian Conservation Center at The Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw along U.S. Highway 17.

by Charleston Currents · 08/12/2019 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos

Church of St. Aiden, Sutton Junction, Quebec

8/12, full issue: Free tuition; #PayItForward; Skinny churches

IN THIS EDUTION:

FOCUS: Trident Tech offers free tuition for 70+ programs
COMMENTARY, Brack: #PayItForward with #RandomActsOfKindness
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Charleston International Airport
PHOTO ESSAY: The skinny churches of the Eastern Townships
GOOD NEWS: From a new hospital and top-ranked college to 2020 politics, more
FEEDBACK: Send us your letters
MYSTERY PHOTO: Pair of crosses
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pawleys Island
CALENDAR: From movies to a wine stroll

by Charleston Currents · 08/12/2019 · Comments are Disabled · Full issue

Dozens of bouquets lined a sidewalk in 2015 after the shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

FOCUS, Campbell: Book on Emanuel shootings is important to read

A review by Reba Hull Campbell, special to Charleston Currents | Rarely does a book appeal to all my “reading” senses – well written, important message, compelling story and human connections. “Grace Will Lead Us Home” about the shootings at Emanuel A.M.E. Church was one of them.

Back in June, I listened to an interview on the SC Lede podcast on SC Public Radio with the author of the book, Jennifer Berry Hawes. She’s a reporter for The Post and Courier who witnessed first-hand many of the details surrounding this tragedy.

After hearing Hawes’ podcast, I knew I had to read the book. And I knew I had to buy it and not just borrow it from the library or listen on Audible. I had a feeling it would be one of those books I’d want to mark up and re-read.

Once I got started on the book, I just couldn’t stop. …

by Special to Charleston Currents · 08/05/2019 · 1 comment · Focus, Good news, Reviews

Alabama Gov. George Wallace and President Richard Nixon, February 1974. Credit: Wikipedia, via National Archives.

BRACK: Take the high road and reject hate, fury

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | One of the best things about vacationing in Quebec for the last week has been that we haven’t had to listen to people talk about Donald J. Trump.

Most of the newspapers and television stations are in French, as is much of the conversation overheard while visiting interesting places in Montreal and in villages just north of the border with America.

by Andy Brack · 08/05/2019 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

PHOTO ESSAY: The murals of Montreal

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The unexpected delights of a recent vacation to Canada were the murals that flourished around Montreal.

According to the city’s tourism website, “street art has become one of Montréal’s core visual identities over the last couple of decades, thanks to the marks left all over the city by intrepid artists like Omen, Bonar, Zïlon, Roadsworth, Chris Dyer, Kevin Ledo, Jason Botkin, the HVW8 and En Masse collectives and so many more. Now with two annual graffiti festivals, one of international renown, there’s something to see on virtually every block.”

by Andy Brack · 08/05/2019 · 2 comments · Photo Essay, Photos

GOOD NEWS: Big season ahead for Charleston Symphony Orchestra

Staff reports | Single tickets for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra’s 2019-20 season, which will celebrate the 350th founding of Charleston, are now available for purchase. Also inside: Photo contest; reduced carbon emissions.

by Charleston Currents · 08/05/2019 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs