Lakeside June July 2013

LAKESIDE THE GOOD LIFE ON LAKE MARION, SOUTH CAROLINA • JUNE - JULY 2013

Cabela’s Comes to Santee Cooper Lakes

Experience SC Waterways by Kayak

Back to Basics

Scouts enjoy primitive camping

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I Y F

CLARENDON COUNTY

Named for the Earl of Clarendon, Clarendon County has been a welcoming place for visitors and residents for more than 150 years. With a population of more than 34,000 people as of the 2010 Census, Clarendon County was one of the few areas in South Carolina that saw population growth in the last decade.

It is one of the birthplaces of the Civil Rights Movement, having been home for the landmark desegregation case Briggs v. Elliott that helped end school desegregation in the United States.

PLACES: Alcolu, Gable, Jordan, Manning, New Zion, Paxville, Rimini, Silver, Summerton, Turbeville, Wilson POPULATION: Est. 34,400 AREA: 696 square miles COUNTY SEAT: Manning ELECTED OFFICIALS: Rep. James Clyburn, U.S. District 6; Sen. Kevin L. Johnson Jr., S.C. District 36; Rep. Dr. Robert Ridgeway, S.C. District 64; Rep. Ronnie Sabb, S.C. District 101; Council Chairman Dwight Stewart Jr.; Councilmen Billy Richardson, W.J. Frierson, A.C. English and Benton Blakely; Treasurer Matt Evans; Sheriff Randy Garrett Jr.; Auditor Patricia Pringle; Clerk of Court Beulah Roberts; Coroner Hayes F. Samuels DEPARTMENT HEADS: Administrator/Attorney David Epperson; Controller Lynden Anthony; Voter Registration Director Shirley Black-Oliver; Chief Magistrate Judge Percy Harvin; Detention Center Director Shelton Hughes; Election Commission Director Bobbie Reaves; Fire Chief Frances Richbourg; Development Board Director John Truluck; Family Court Clerk Marilyn Wilson NOTABLE NATIVES: African-American tennis great Althea Gibson; Miss America 1957 Marian McKnight; Amelia Bedelia author Peggy Parrish; retired Sen. John C. Land III, longest-serving state legislator; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Glenn Murray; Boston Red Sox shortstop Don Buddin Administrative Office 411 Sunset Drive, Manning • (803) 435-0135 www.clarendoncountygov.org

ORANGEBURG COUNTY

Like its close neighbor Clarendon County, Orangeburg County was a hotbed of the Civil Rights Movement during the mid-20th Century, with South Carolina State University at its epicenter as students protested unfair treatment in the Orangeburg community throughout the 1950s and 60s. The county was chartered as Orangeburg Judicial District in 1769 from unorganized land between the Congaree and Savannah rivers.

About half was separated into Barnwell in 1800, a small western portion was annexed to the newly former Aiken County in 1871, and in 1908, yet another portion was ceded to Calhoun County. A change in 1910, with a small western portion of Berkeley County near Holly Hill and Eutawville being given to Orangeburg, brought the county to its current size.

PLACES: Bowman, Branchville, Elloree, Eutawville, Holly Hill, Neeses, North, Norway, Orangeburg, Santee, Springfield,Vance, Woodford POPULATION: Est. 92,243 AREA: 1,128 square miles COUNTY SEAT: Orangeburg ELECTED OFFICIALS: Rep. James Clyburn, U.S. District 6; Rep. Joe Wilson, U.S. District 2; Sen. C. Bradley Hutto, S.C. District 40; Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, S.C. District 66; Rep. Jerry Govan Jr., S.C. District 95; Council Chairman Johnnie Wright Sr.; Councilwoman 2 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

Janie Cooper-Smith; Councilmen Clyde B. Livingston, Heyward Livingston, Willie B. Owens, Johnny Ravenell and Harry F. Wimberly; Clerk of Court Winnifa Clark; Auditor Roger Cleckley; Probate Court Pandora Jones-Glover; Coroner Samuetta B. Marshall; Sheriff Leroy Ravenell; Treasurer J. Steve Summers DEPARTMENT HEADS: Administrator Harold M.Young; Fire Chief Gene Ball; Detention Center Director Willie Bamberg; Chief Magistrate Judge Derrick Dash; Planning Director Richard Hall; Attorney D’Anne Haydel; Voter Registration Director Howard Jackson; Family Court Clerk Sandra Owen NOTABLES: St. Louis Rams player Alex Barron; Indianapolis Colts player Tim Jennings; Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson; U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Karen J. Williams; Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker; World Series champion Herm Winningham.

County Administrative Center 1437 Amelia St., Orangeburg www.orangeburgcounty.org

SUMTER COUNTY

Revolutionary War Gen. Thomas Sumter is commemorated in the name of Sumter County, which is the home of Shaw Air Force Base, the 9th Air Force Headquarters, the Third Army and the 20th Fighter Wing. Sumter County is the second-largest of the Santee-Cooper lake counties by population, next to Berkeley County.

PLACES: Cherryvale, Horatio, Mayesville, Oswego, Pinewood, Privateer, Rembert, Shiloh South Sumter, Sumter, Stateburg, Wedgefield POPULATION: Est. 105,517 AREA: 682 square miles COUNTY SEAT: Sumter ELECTED OFFICIALS: Rep. James Clyburn, U.S. District 6; Rep. Mick Mulvaney, U.S. District 6; Sen. Thomas McElveen, S.C. District 35; Sen. Kevin L. Johnson Jr., S.C. District 36; Rep. Grady Brown, S.C. District 50; Rep. Phillip Lowe, S.C. District 60; Rep. Jimmy Bales, S.C. District 80; Rep. J. David Weeks, S.C. District 51; Rep. George Smith Jr., S.C. District 67; Council Chairman Larry Blanding; Council Vice-chairman Eugene Baten; Councilwomen Vivian Fleming-McGhaney and Naomi D. Sanders; Councilmen Artie Baker, James R. Byrd Jr. and Charles T. Edens; Probate Judge Dale Atkinson; Coroner Harvin Bullock; Clerk of Court James C. Campbell; Sheriff Anthony Dennis; Auditor Lauretha McCants; Treasurer Carolina B. Richardson DEPARTMENT HEADS: Administrator Gary Mixon; Clerk to Council Mary Blanding; Finance Director Pamela Craven; Chief Magistrate Judge Kristi Curtis; Voter Registration and Elections Director Patricia Jefferson; Planning Director George McGregor; Detention Center Director Simon Major Notables: Original Drifters member Bill Pinckney; educator and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune; U.S. First Lady (183941) Angelica Singleton Van Buren; Gov. Richard Irvine Manning III (1914-18); New York Yankees player Bobby Richardson; and Miss USA and Miss Universe 1980 Shawn Weatherly.

Administrative Office 13 E. Canal St., Sumter, third floor • (803) 436-2102 sumtercountysc.org

IN THIS ISSUE

36

GENERAL MANAGER Gail Mathis

gail@theitem-clarendonsun.com

PUBLISHER Jack Osteen

jack@theitem.com

ARTICLES & RESEARCH Robert J. Baker, Editor bbaker@theitem.com

Sharron Haley

sharron@theitem-clarendonsun.com

LAYOUT & DESIGN Cary Johnson

cjohnson@theitem.com

21 10

Manon Zamora-Barwick mbarwick@theitem.com

38

PHOTOGRAPHY Robert J. Baker, Sharron Haley Cary Johnson

LANDMARKS AND LANDSCAPES

4

SUMMER FUN SAFETY TIPS

22

FISH THE PIERS THIS SUMMER

7

CABELA’S COMES TO Santee Cooper Lakes

28

RENT, OWN OR Rent to Own?

8

CATS AND LARGEMOUTH BASS 30 Bites best in summer months

MANNING RESIDENT SEEKS AID 10 For Camp Happy Days

‘MR. BASS’ WINS BIG on Santee Cooper Lakes

32

ARE CANADA GEESE NUISANCE Wildlife to you?

14

THE ARMADILLOS ARE COMING 36

WORSHIP ON THE WATER

16

DAYVENTURE: EXPERIENCE 38 South Carolina Waterways by Kayak

PREPARE! PREPARE! PREPARE!

17

LOGGERHEAD TURTLE Returns to sea

18

BACK TO BASICS Scouts enjoy primitive camping

TICKS AND STONES Won’t break your bones

20

42

AUTHORITIES ADVISE CAUTION 44 Bang-Up 4th Celebrations

2010 & 2012 Award Winning Magazine 2011 Award Winning Magazine

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Earle Woodward, John DuRant, Ray Winans, Carll Field, Yana Mathis and Jolie Brown For ads, call Gail Mathis at (803) 435-8511; for stories, call Bobby Baker at (803) 774-1211 or Sharron Haley at (803) 435-8511 Cover photo:

Gib Gibbons of Manning wakeboards on the waters of Lake Marion in Clarendon County.

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LANDMARKSBerkeleyAND County • Clarendon The Santee Cooper lakes, Moultrie and Marion, cover Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg and Sumter counties. Altogether these counties boast Revolutionary War battle sites, grave markers of war heroes, museums dedicated to preserving watershed moments in state and American history, beautiful churches that have sheltered the worship of Jesus Christ for more than two centuries and wildlife reserves, swampland and nationally recognized, pristine forests.

BERKELEY COUNTY The 175 miles of waterway that makes up the Berkeley County Blueways holds 23 paddling trails in Lake Moultrie, lower Lake Marion, the Santee River and Francis Marion National Force. For more information, visit www.berkeleyblueways.com, email berkconsdist@homexpressway.net, or call (843) 719-4146.

Fabulous Fourth in the Creek will be held 6:30-9:30 p.m. July 4 at the Marguerite H. Brown Municipal Center, 519 N. Goose Creek Blvd., S.C. 52, in Goose Creek, featuring a fireworks

display, live entertainment, vendors and a jump castle. Guests are asked not to bring alcohol, pets or outside fireworks, including sparklers. Tailgating will not be permitted in the parking area. Off-site parking will be available at the Casey Community Center on Old Moncks Corner Road. Guests are encouraged to arrive early and carpool as parking is limited. For more information, visit bit.ly/ N2Ma5z.

A community of Roman Catholic monks welcomes visitors every day, except Monday, to Mepkin Abbey, which was built in 1959 on the Cooper River, S.C. 402, north of Charleston, where historic Mepkin Plantation once stood.

The Trappist monks who call the abbey home provide guided tours of the church at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday; and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Groups of 10 or more visitors are asked to make reservations by calling (843) 761-8509.

The Moncks Corner Train Depot will host art classes with Theresa Camlin from July 8-17 for separate age groups.

The first class,“Fishing with Matisse Clay and Collage with Art,” will be held from 8

a.m. to noon July 8-10 for ages 5 through 7. Registration is $60. The second class, “Textured Fused Glass and Painting with Art,” will be held 8 a.m. to noon July 15-17 for ages 8-12. Registration is $75.

Students must pre-register at Moncks Corner Town Hall by June 28. For more information, call (843) 899-4708.

Moncks Corner’s Fourth of July festivities will be held the Friday before with the parade at 6:30 p.m. June 28 starting at First Baptist Church, 112 E. Main St. and ending before the railroad tracks at East Railroad Avenue. The street dance, featuring The Custom 4 + 2 Band, will be from 8-11 p.m. at the Train Depot.

For more information, call (843) 8994708.

Goose Creek’s 3rd annual Sounds of Summer concert series will be held 6-9 p.m. every Friday through June 28.

Upcoming bands include The Sneakers on June 14; Local Motion Party Band on June 21; and Permanent Vacation on June 28. Guests are asked not to bring pets, coolers or alcohol. The event will be held at the Crowfield Golf Club, 300 Hamlet Circle,. Admission is free. For more information, call (803) 569-4242, or

Moncks Corner Fourth of July

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Mepkin Abbey

LANDSCAPES n County • Orangeburg County • Sumter County & Williamsburg County visit www.goosecreekrecreation.com.

CLARENDON COUNTY Challenger Sports will return with its British Soccer Camp from July 29 through Aug. 2 at J.C. Britton Park, Raccoon Road, Manning. Kids ages 3-16 may participate for several different time and pricing options. Register online at challengersports.com or at the Clarendon County Recreation Department at the park.

For more information, call (803) 473-3543.

The Harvin Clarendon County Library will host the Columbia Marionettes at 2 p.m. June 26 at the Clarendon County Recreation Center behind Weldon Auditorium. For more information, call (803) 435-8633.

The 18th annual Eagle Point Fourth of July Parade will be held 10 a.m. July 4 starting at Eagle Point, Quail Trail in Manning off S.C. 260. For more information, call Gloria Norris at (803) 478-4709.

EdVenture Children’s Museum programs will be offered July 9 at the Clarendon Community Center in Manning. They are free and for ages 2 through sixth grade and include Green Leaves from 9-10 a.m. and again from 1-2 p.m.; and Art You

Creative from 10:15-11:15 a.m. and again from 2-3 p.m. For more information, call (803) 473-0103.

Mad Science Summer Camp for children ages 6-12 will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon July 15-19 at the Clarendon Community Center. From the earliest flying machines to the first rocket flights, this hands-on program will teach kids how to build many different flying devices while teaching scientific principles like Newton’s Laws of Motion. For more information, visit myrtlebeach.madscience.org, or call (803) 433-0103.

The Midlands Organic Mobile Market (MOMM) will be set up at 2 p.m. every Wednesday behind the Clarendon Memorial Hospital cafeteria to offer fresh, locall grown organic produce for sale. For more information, call The Zone at (803) 435-5200.

New Zion will hold its annual Fourth of July Parade at 10 a.m. July 4 on Salem Road in New Zion, with a patriotic Veterans Program following at New Zion United Methodist Church. Fireworks will be held at sunset behind the New Zion Corner Store.

The Vietnam Veterans of American

Chapter 960 annual Benefit Poker Run will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 10, starting and ending at Lakevue Landing.

The entry fee is $10 for all participants. .There will be six stops on the route. First prize is $100, second is $75 and third is $50. For more information, call (803) 4784300 or (803) 460-8551.

ORANGEBURG COUNTY The 38th annual Big Daddy Fishing Tournament will be held Aug. 4 at Santee State Park. The event is open to children 12 and younger who are sponsored by an adult. Every child will receive prizes and awards just for participating. For more information, call (803) 854-2408.

The Elloree Independence Day Celebration will begin at 6 p.m. July 4 at Joe Miller Park, near the intersection of Old Highway 6 and Harlin Street, with no admission charge and food items for sale. Tickets for games and rides are $1 each. Hamburgers are $2. The Elloree Fire Department will host the fireworks display immediately following a concert at 8 p.m.

For more information, call Elloree Town Hall at (803) 897-2821.

The Elloree Heritage and Cultural

EdVenture Children’s Museum

Fabulous Fourth on the Creek

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Museum on Historic Cleveland Street in downtown Elloree, about seven miles from Santee off Exit 98 at Interstate 95, was founded in 1998 as part of the downtown area’s revitalization efforts and boasts a rotating series of exhibits in its 10,000-square-foot facility. For more information, call (803) 897-2225, or visit elloreemuseum.org.

The Neeses Farm Museum, 6449 Savannah Highway, S.C. 4, Neeses, contains historic artifacts like clothing, butter churns, a wood-burning stove, a cotton gin, a hand-made plow, grain cradles, saws and other farm items.

Displays include pottery, arrowheads, jewelry, regalia and more. School tours are popular, giving children a glimpse of life on a farm 100 years ago. .For more information, call (803) 247-5811.

Orangeburg National Fish Hatchery, located at 427 Lakeview Drive on the S.C. 21 bypass in Orangeburg, is one of more than 60 federal fish hatcheries located in the United States. Operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the hatchery produces a number of species, including striped bass and red breast and bluegill sunfish, which are used to stock lakes and streams throughout the southeastern United States. Nose sturgeon are used for research and development at the site. The aquarium is open from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information, call (803) 534-4828, or email the hatchery at orangeburg@fws.gov.

The 5th annual Southern Midlands African-American Family Reunion will be held 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 25 at Edisto Memorial Gardens, sponsored by Williams Chapel AME Church. For more information, call (803) 536-0600.

Vallentines cotton gin, located in historic Cope, operates from late September through December and allows visitors to follow the progress of cotton from the field to the bale.

An adjacent general store displays merchandise from the 1930s through the 1950s. For more information, call (803) 534-0442.

SUMTER COUNTY Jammin’ July 4th has been canceled for 2013 due to budget cuts. For more information, call (803) 895-4897, or visit www.sumtersc.gov or www.20thfss.com.

The Palmetto Tennis Center, 400 Theatre Drive, will be offering Cardio Tennis, a fun group activity that keeps participants moving and in your zone, from 7-8 p.m. every Monday. Beginners to advanced players are welcome.

Cost is $10 per person. For more information, call (803) 774-3969, or email palmettotennis@sumter-sc.com.

Poinsett State Park in Manchester State Forest encompasses 1,000 acres of separate trails for hiking, biking and trail riders, and also contains Sumter’s 14-mile portion of the Palmetto Trail, a 425-mile long trail from the mountains

to the sea spread across the state. The lake at Poinsett is the perfect setting for a relaxing ride in a paddleboat, which can be rented at the park’s main office, 6660 Poinsett Park Road, Wedgefield. For more information, call (803) 494-8177.

Swan Lake Iris Gardens, one of the premier swan observatories in the world, is located on West Liberty Street in Sumter. Its renown is due in part to its status as the only public park in the United States to serve as home to all eight species of swans, including black necks, royal white mutes, coscorobas, whoopers, black Australians, whistlers, bewicks and trumpeters. Tables are located throughout the grouns, and a large playground features an antique fire engine that is perfect for climbing. The Bland Gardens feature a boardwalk, on which visitors may meander through a cypress swamp, and a gazebo popular for spring weddings. Call (803) 778-5434 for more information about reservations for any of the park’s facilities or email tourism@sumter-sc.com.

The Sumter Aquatics Center, 1115 S. Lafayette Drive, is holding Family Night from 7-10 p.m. every Friday through July 26, providing general admission for $5 for a family of four featuring two adults and two children.

Compiled by Robert J. Baker. bbaker@theitem.com

Sumter Aquatics Center

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Swan Lake Iris Gardens

Fish the piers this summer

by EARLE WOODWARD earlew@theitem.com Unfortunately, by the time this story finds its way to the reader, the weather will be hot and sticky. That’s great if you like heat and humidity, or if you love to lay in the sun all day and bake, but for those of us that don’t tolerate heat well and would prefer a pleasant afternoon temperature in the mid-60s, June and July are torture.

For the most part, fish feel the same way that I do: sunning is not their thing; neither are high water temperatures. As a result, fishing tends to become more difficult as the summer progresses.

I have a solution: Fish at night.

No, I’m not kidding. It can be the difference in catching fish and not catching fish. For one thing, the sun is gone and the temperatures are a lot cooler.

When I was a young lad, I loved to sleep on the front porch of our family’s lake house. I would hear the sounds of bass busting bait along the edges of the grass bed that ran along the shoreline of the lot. I would hear and see fish breaking under the light that was hanging on the end of the pier.

I got some advice from some expert fisherman, things like what lures to use and where to fish and headed out to give it a try.

First off, I liked to target piers that had a light on them.

Most people have at least some sort of light on the end of their piers just for safety ‘s sake, just marking the end of the pier for boaters out for an evening ride. Others have lights all over the pier

to draw fish.

I found that as the summer months progressed, people who were away on vacation would often forget to turn their pier light off, offering great fishing during the middle of the week.

We heaved Bomber Model As Shad Raps, and plastic worms.

The first shot would usually be down the side of the pier, retrieving the lure from the shadows into the light, if you didn’t get hit, then try the other side.

Good golly, Miss Molly, did we catch the fish!

We caught mostly Largemouth Bass, but every once in awhile we’d have a striper hit the bait or maybe a white perch. Some of our bigger fish came from just off of the shoreline and back away from the lights, but 2- to 4-pound bass from the lighted parts weren’t bad either.

You really couldn’t start too late in the evening. Some of our best fishing came after 11 p.m. I think it took that long for the fish to concentrate around the lights and for all the commotion of the day to calm down.

Until the horizon began to show the faintest of light streaks, it was on. During June and July, that would be until about 5:30-5:45 a.m.

We caught some great fish during the middle of the week; Wednesday and Thursday were great, the traffic of the weekend was long gone and there were few people at the lake. By Friday the crowds had begun to build again.

I must admit that I have not thrown a lure at a pier in several years now, but there is no reason in the world why it won’t still work. Bass are bass; I don’t think they’ve changed that much.

Courtesy goes a long way, and if you want the lights to remain on, please avoid shining a Q-Beam into someone’s bedroom window.

It has happened to me, so I know a thing or two about it. It is annoying at best when you’re trying to sleep. Also, do your best to recognize lines in the water coming from the targeted pier. A lot of folks will heave catfish bait out before they go to bed and leave it out all night.

You don’t make friends by tangling someone’s lines and possibly pulling their rod or pole into the lake.

Avoid piers where the owners are clearly fishing, you wouldn’t want them casting to your fishing hole, and they were there first.

And plan on people turning the lights off on you. There are some folks that seem to stay up all night long waiting on a boat to slide up, and then they flip the switch on them! It happens, so don’t let it bother you, just move on down to the next pier.

On most summer nights, there are more piers with lights on them than you can fish before dawn. I’ve found that some piers hold a lot of fish and some piers, not so many. There are some piers that I’ve yet to catch a fish off of and then there are those that are “can’t miss.” I’ve learned to hit the “can’t misses” and leave the others for the rest of the fishermen.

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Livin’ Lakeside

RENT, OWN OR RENT TO OWN?

by YANA K. MATHIS

yanakmathis@gmail.com

H of Lake in

appy “almost summer” folks! Personally, I’d prefer for it to stay spring a little longer with the cool breezes and less humidity.

When spring rolls around each year something magical seems to happen in the beautiful outdoors Marion and our surrounding areas. The colors the yards just seem to pop. I especially love the knockout rose bushes. Not only are they gorgeous, but they thrive on neglect and severe pruning … My kind of flower.

This time of year also brings new activity in the real estate market: Spring cleaning takes place, and maintenance and “fixer-upper” lists get their yearly attention. People seem to move more in the spring, whether to a new rental or the purchase of a new home. I want to talk about some advantages in the rental market that you may or may not be aware of.

Even if you desire to be a homeowner, sometimes the smart thing to do is to wait. In either case, my advice is to align with a knowledgeable Realtor

8 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

ahead of time.Your agent can listen to your wants and provide you with your needs.

First of all, if you don’t see yourself staying put for at least three years, then strongly consider renting. Most of the first few years of a mortgage are spent recouping the upfront fees such as down payment money, inspection fees, taxes, insurance and closing costs. Renting allows you to buy a cheaper renter’s policy versus the standard homeowner’s insurance policy (hazard insurance which covers things like fire, liability, replacement building cost, etc., for the property owner).

The biggest advantage for working with a Realtor on a rental is they know which homes are not selling, how long they’ve been on the market and have access to the property owner to see if they would consider renting to you.You might get by with shabby credit trying to rent directly from an owner and I can promise you, many owners who tried to do it themselves (including yours truly) will swear on a stack of Bibles that they’ll never do it again.

Savvy property managers have learned the ropes of the game, would-be renters to pull the wool over their eyes, and are no longer interested in “working with you.” For example, if you can’t pass a credit check to buy a home, then you may not be able to pass a credit check good enough for the property manager to have faith in renting to you.

In some cases, they may ask the homeowner if they will consider renting to you with a higher down payment due to situations that they feel you’re working yourself out of such as medical bills or a divorce.

I pulled some statistics in the second week of May that showed the average home for sale in our local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) had been on the market for 324 days (median = 205 days). Compared to the rentals available through our MLS, average days on market were 190 (median 115 days). Also, the rentals available totaled 5 percent of the homes that were available for sale.

Some sellers are missing out on the obvious. Remember the lesson we learned in economics class about supply and demand? There are some homeowners whose homes have been listed for more than a year. As I said earlier, the average was 324 days and the longest is 2,396 days (I did the math for you … that’s 6.56 years). There are two primary reasons that homes sell ... price and location.

Did I mention location? Since you can’t move your home, the only thing the seller is in control of is the price. Rather than letting a vacant home sit and deteriorate while you’re waiting for

the market to improve, let your realtor rent it for you. It may not be what you want, but it sure may be what you need.

It will pay for taxes, insurance and mortgage if you have one.

If not, it can be money in the bank while you’re waiting on the market to improve, or perhaps an investor that would like to purchase your property with a renter already in place.

Better than renting is “rent to own.” I’ll admit, as a real estate agent, the first thing I think of when someone asks “Do you have a rent-to-own?” is,“Here’s someone with bad credit.” But, as I have come to know from personal experience, not all people with bad credit are bad people. Some have lost their job through no fault of their own, suffered an unexpected costly divorce, or a costly medical issue.

As some of you know, I was “lucky” to have all three happen within two years. So, some renters with bad credit are worth looking at in a different light. If they can prove they have the current income to pay the rent and can put down a decent deposit, it’s worth a try.

The ownership can come in stages. The renter can have a period of time in which to prove he or she is worthy, say six months to a year. Either then or from the initial lease date, you can have an official document drawn up stating the terms such as rental period, credit toward down payment (if any) from rental payments made, terms of financing, purchase price, etc.

If renters know that someday the house will be theirs, an increased pride in ownership develops and they will be more likely to care for maintenance issues and upkeep on the property. The absolute win-win is owner financing (versus simply renting), where an attorney draws up the official contract of sale, records it at the courthouse to transfer responsibility of insurance, taxes and maintenance to the new owner. If they should default, then just like the bank, you take legal action and get the house back. How cool is that?

One last thing … from the passionate pet lover that I am.

Some owners have missed out on really good renters because they refused to let a particular family member come along. A respectable dog or cat owner will have no problem paying the customary non-refundable pet fee of $250 to have one of their “children” come live with them in your property. That’s an extra $250 in your pocket.

Hope to see y’all around the lake!

JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 9

MANNING RESIDENT SEEKS AID FOR

CAMP HAPPY DAYS

by ROBERT J. BAKER bbaker@theitem.com with file photography

10 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

F

or Manning resident Bill Ellis, May and June are all about fundraising.

It’s been that way for the past 20 years. That’s how long Ellis and former coworkers have been requesting money and gathering materials for the nearly 200 kids who come out annually to Camp Happy Days, which will be held for the 31st year in a row from June 30 through July 6 at Camp Bob Cooper near Summerton.

“The great thing about Camp Happy Days is that it is free for these kids,” Ellis said.“No child at all has to pay.

We want to help with that as much as we can. Some of these kids don’t get the normal camp experience, and the people at Camp Happy Days go out of their way to give them an extraordinary one.”

Founded by a Charleston-based charity operating under the same name, Camp Happy Days has for more than three decades provided children ages 4 to 16 diagnosed with cancer, their siblings and the siblings of children who have lost their battles with the disease a chance for one week each year to get away from hospitals and parents. Those kids who are undergoing medical treatment have a full staff at their disposal.

“Our goal is to give these children (a) life-changing experience that (offers) hope, courage and the will to fight one more round,” according to Programs Director Teresa Bishop.

“While camp is about fun, friends and incredible opportunities, it is also about changing the lives of children with cancer. It is a week where amazing things happen every day, where kids realize their dreams, overcome adversity and emerge as stronger, more self-assured campers.”

It’s an experience that Amber McNeill, 22, desperately needed when she was 15. Now a decade removed from the cancer that ate her entire thyroid by the time it was discovered — and eight years beyond the complications that claimed her left leg at the hip — the Dunn, N.C., resident always flashes a megawatt smile that even makes her forget she’s in a wheelchair sometimes.

“Camp Happy Days is a place where kids with cancer can come and be treated like kids without cancer, some of them for the first time ever,” said McNeill, who came back in 2012 as a counselor to the camp she loved as a teen.“It’s awesome to come back and see people that helped you be who you are. They don’t see disability, canJUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 11

cer or deformity. They don’t discourage you.”Camp costs, which last year covered about 186 campers and 156 counselors, are paid through private donations and fundraisers like those Ellis and his former coworkers undertake year-afteryear. Ellis’ involvement with the camp, which serves as a week-long adventure for kids suffering from cancer and their siblings, began when he was an employee of a South Carolina Electric & Gas plant in Canadys, a small town near Walterboro. Ellis and about 10 of his co-workers would come to Camp Bob Cooper one day during the week of Camp Happy Days and cook boiled peanuts for kids attending the camp.

Several years ago, Ellis and his friends began asking local businesses and individuals to assist with money and by putting special gift bags together for those attending the camp, gathering sunscreen, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hats, T-shirts, water bottles, pads, pens, pencils, envelopes, rulers and “just about any promotional items that a company would send.”

“But most of all we would like donations to help pay the cost of the camp,” Ellis said.“The most important thing to me is that these kids have a great time and they pay nothing for it,” Ellis said.“It’s a good cause and we’ll take any help we can get.”

To donate, call Ellis at (803) 505-6666. For more information, visit www.camphappydays.org.

Reach Robert J. Baker at (803) 774-1211.

Mary Wilson 803-460-4251

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JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 13

ARE CANADA GEESE

nuisance

WILDLIFE TO YOU?

by JOLIE ELIZABETH BROWN jolie2@clemson.edu

My grandmother and grandfather live on a small manmade lake in the upstate of South Carolina. They have lived on this lake for 20 years now.

During the past two decades, they have seen an increase in their resident Canada geese population.

My grandmother is torn between considering the geese a nuisance when they overgraze and make fecal deposits on her lawn, and loving them when the babies start arriving in the spring time.

She can be seen yelling out of the window during most of the year to scare them away, but as soon as the babies start arriving she will curse the turtles and snakes that prey upon them. My Papa on the other hand isn’t nearly as torn; they are always a nuisance to him.

There are currently 50,000-plus individual resident Canada geese 14 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

in South Carolina, according to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Each of these 50,000 geese produced about two pounds of waste every day. For those of you that are bad at math, as I am, that is more than 100,000 pounds of fecal matter produced in South Carolina by Canada geese every year.

As you can imagine, this is a major water quality concern. Canada geese waste contains fecal coliform bacteria.

The dropping from one goose contains 25 times the amount of fecal bacteria as found in human waste. When the geese deposit their waste onto your lawn, especially the finely manicured lawn that everyone seems to prefer on the lake, the next rain storm will wash this waste right into your lake. This is harmful to human health and the lake environment.

Resident Canada geese also tend

to overgraze when feeding on turf grasses. This leads to erosion problems once the cover is gone and bare soil remains. There are studies that have shown that Zoysiagrass was less grazed by geese that were monitored when other grasses were present.

Other turf grasses that are recommended for reseeding, because the geese do not like them, are centipede grass and St. Augustine grass. All three of these grasses do well in our South Carolina climate. They are all warm season perennials.

Do not lose hope: There are several proven ways to deter Canada geese. First, you should change the environmental factors, such as food, water, secure nesting sites and the lack of predators.

Second, you can change the geese and the habits you have that either protect or attract them to your property. I am sure after 20 years (a goose’s life expectancy can be more than that), the geese on Grandma’s lake know she would never disturb a nest or eggs.

Third, you may have to go beyond your personal property and look at the laws and regulations that protect and encourage geese to make their home here.

To change the environment and habitat for the geese, consider planting vegetative buffers between the lake or water and your property. Geese like well-manicured lawns, just as we do. These low-cut grassy yards provide easy access from the water to the food source. Geese are lazy and do not like a challenge.

Buffers can be an attractive addition to your yard. They can include trees, tall grasses and shrubs. The buffer

should be at least two feet high and 25 feet wide. It should also be thick enough that the geese cannot see what is on the other side from their view in the water. Geese are afraid of the unknown; they like to see so they know if there are predators.

To change your behavior, consider educating yourself, your neighbors and your community with the problems that come from feeding the geese. The resident Canada goose populations would not survive without humans supplementing their diet. The natural habitat we have would keep the resident goose population down to manageable numbers. Also, for those that do love the geese, you should know that the bread you provide them is rich in fiber and the Canada geese have a hard time digesting the fiber.

Therefore, when you feed them, it is negatively affecting their health. Ordinances against feeding the geese should be considered, along with signage about such ordinances in public areas.

If you are like my Papa and truly dislike the geese, and they are never welcome on your property, I would suggest you research eliminating geese and controlling reproduction. There is a hunting season in South Carolina for Canada geese in September.

To find out more information about the season, visit www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife. To research more about controlling reproduction and what is lawful to do with the eggs, visit www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/water/resources_ stormwater/.

JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 15

Worship

ON THE WATER

by ROBERT J. BAKER bbaker@theitem.com

T

hey come by water and highway every Sunday morning from Memorial Day to Labor Day to worship the Lord on Lake Marion, and they have been doing so since 1970.

In that year, Aldersgate United Methodist Church began sponsoring a weekly worship service unique to the area, and maybe even the state – one where residents pull up to a cove in Boyle’s Point on Wyboo Creek in Clarendon County for their Sunday services.

Frankie Moore, secretary of the Edwin Boyle Santee Summer Ministry, said the 44th year of interdenominational worship on the lake began 9:30 a.m. May 26 and will continue the same time each Sunday through Sept. 1, or Labor Day weekend.

“This is the 44th year that these services have provided a worship program for those who spend their summer weekends at Lake Marion,” she said.

Governed by a Board of Directors, the ministry is self-supported. The Rev. Dr. Reginald Thackston, a retired minister, has conducted the lake services for 14 years.

Board member Allen Prescott said in 2006 that while they were first organized in earnest in 1970, church services began on Lake Marion much earlier.

“The Episcopal Church was holding worship services on the lake for years,” he said.

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Three doctors from the church who owned lake houses along Lake Marion started the worship services for those not wanting to drive 20 or 30 minutes into Santee, Manning or Sumter to attend from their lake homes.

These residents would spend weekends during the summer – or the whole season – on the lake and hold the services in their front yards with just a few gathered, Prescott said. As the size of the congregations increased, these services were relocated to property owned by Edwin Boyle, a large supporter who helped spearhead the effort. The services were incorporated under his name in 2003.

These days, the services are affectionately referred to as “boat church” by its congregants, and parishioners owning boats drive up to the edge of the creek to listen to the pastor’s sermon. Others drive their cars or golf carts.

“It’s an interesting phenomenon,” said Thackston, who was a United Methodist church pastor for 40 years.

“We have people who live across from the creek that come out and sit on their docks to listen,” he said.“People drive up in golf carts and in cars bringing their folding chairs with them.”

The street address for GPS users is 1098 Lemon Ave. For more information, call Thackston at (803) 773-3409, or Moore at (803) 469-6770.

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PREPARE! PREPARE! PREPARE!

by JOHN DURANT

john@durantinsurance.com

H

urricane season is upon us again, and it is a good excuse to review our preparations and our insurance policies.

Knowing what and how much you have covered will make your life a whole lot less stressful in the event of another Hugo. I must be showing my age, but it amazes me how lax we can be toward such a disaster as a hurricane when we have had one that caused so much destruction.

Memories are short and I am reminded that we have an entirely new generation that has no memories of Hugo whatsoever.

The first order of business in an insurance review is to inform your agent of any changes or additions you have made to your home. Even a small addition can make a sizable difference in the replacement cost of your house.

Along the same lines, make sure you have adequate coverage for your home when you take out the policy in the first place. Underinsuring your home will not only leave you hanging in the event of a claim, depending on how much you are undervalued could incur a coinsurance penalty – not being paid the full amount of even a partial claim.

Study your deductible carefully. Many insurance companies are revising deductibles to reflect changes in risk. A named storm deductible will kick in as a percentage when the claim is caused by a tropical storm or hurricane that has increased in enough intensity to be named by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

If you have a $200,000 home and a named storm deductible of 3 percent, you will be responsible for the first $6,000 of the claim. There are also wind and hail deductibles. These will not even have to be caused by a tropical storm or hurricane. These claims would arise as the result of a severe thunderstorm.

It is important to review your policy so there are no unwelcome surprises when the damage occurs. If you do

have a claim, the best advice I can provide is document, document and document. Make a record of every conversation you have with your adjuster, every phone call and every meeting.

You have to treat the claim as a negotiation with your adjuster. Remember, the insurance company’s goal is to make as much money as possible; yours is to have the claim paid in full.

Make the claim as soon as possible. Go ahead and have your own contractor give an estimate to compare with the adjuster’s.

If there are discrepancies, have your contractor meet with the adjuster to come to an agreement.

Make a list of local contractors you are comfortable with and trust, whether it is a roofer, electrician, plumber or other-type contractor. Like preparing a plan for an incoming hurricane, plan ahead for a claim and hope it never happens.

On a side note, pets seem to have become a part of the family more than ever before. The family dog or cat can become lost in the shuffle during a storm or in its aftermath.

Investigate ahead of time where the animal shelters and kennels are. If you are forced to evacuate, locate hotels that allow pets ahead of time.

Claims, especially from a major disaster such as a hurricane, are extremely stressful. By preparing ahead of time you can implement a Plan A or Plan B and be in much better shape to deal with the aftermath.

John DuRant is the owner of DuRant Insurance in Manning, SC. He can be reached at (803) 435-4800, or by email at john@ durantinsurance.com.

JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 17

Loggerhead

TURTLE RETURNS TO SEA

by ROBERT J. BAKER with photos provided bbaker@theitem.com

B

uxton is a 75-pound juvenile who had only just begun to live when he was injured in January.

The loggerhead turtle was found “cold stunned” near Buxton, N.C., that month after being exposed to sudden drops in coastal water temperatures.

“They undergo a hypothermic reaction and symptoms include decreased heart rate, decreased circulation and lethargy all followed by shock, pneumonia and in the worstcase scenarios, death,” according to South Carolina Aquarium spokeswoman Kate Dittloff.

Buxton, however, didn’t face the worst-case scenario. He was released on May 8 back into the Atlantic Ocean about 20 miles from Charleston.

“Buxton was brought to the South Carolina Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rescue Program in January along with two other loggerheads found on the coast of North Carolina,” Dittloff said.

According to National Geographic, loggerhead turtles “are the most abundant of all the marine turtle species in U.S. waters.”

However, building development in their natural habitat, along with pollution and shrimp trawling, have made loggerheads a mainstay on the threatened species list since 1978.

Dittloff said North Carolina facilities frequently struggle with cold stunned sea turtles, and the South Carolina Aquarium admitted Buxton and the two other turtles as a patient to help those programs cope.

“Initial treatment included antibiotics, fluids, vitamins and a healthy diet,” she said.

She said the shelled reptiles seem to enjoy coastal habitats, but also frequent inland water bodies and will travel hundreds of miles out to sea. They are the largest of all hardshelled turtles, and have massive heads, strong jaws and a reddish-brown shell known as a carapace. Adult males like Buxton can reach about three feet in length and weigh about 250 pounds.

National Geographic notes the animals are primarily carnivores, munching jellyfish, conchs, crabs and even fish. They will eat seaweed and sargassum occasionally.

Dittloff said Buxton seemed to take to his new environment.

“He quickly swam away and joined his friends in the beautiful Atlantic Ocean,” she said.“We still have 20 patients and will be releasing them publicly in the Lowcountry.”

For more information, visit www.scaquarium.org.

18 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

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JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 19

TICKS AND STONES WON’T BREAK YOUR BONES BUT WHAT THE CRITTERS CARRY CAN KILL YOU

by ROBERT J. BAKER with file photos bbaker@theitem.com

Bishopville Animal Clinic owner and veterinarian Dr. Kenneth Currie checks a dog for ticks and fleas at his office in 2011.

20 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

S

ummer weather means baseball, barbecues and swimming in the Santee Cooper lakes for residents in Clarendon, Sumter, Berkeley, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties.

For pet owners and outdoors enthusiasts, however, hotter temperatures mean fleas, ticks, mocquitoes and other disease-carrying bugs.

Bishopville Animal Clinic owner and veterinarian Dr. Kenneth Currie said most pet owners know about the dangers ticks pose, but that doesn’t stop them from asking plenty of questions.

“I am talking about ticks all day long,” Currie said. A concern throughout the year, ticks are more active from April through October, and a particular problem in the hot, humid months of July and August.

Ticks are external parasites that need a blood meal to survive and reproduce. Most people don’t realize they have a tick until after it has detached, according to Sumter Dr. Clay Lowder.

“A tick doesn’t sting like a bee or a wasp,” Lowder told The Item in 2010.“It just gets a blood meal and then he’s off.”

While concerned about their pets, owners also want to know the danger tick-borne diseases pose to themselves and

their families. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is one of those illnesses, and its highest incidence rates have been found in North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina. “(It) is the worst name in medicine,” Lowder said.“The three primary symptoms are a fever (102 degrees or greater), a rash and a headache.”

Ticks can also expose pet owners to Lyme disease, which is named after a town in Connecticut where it was first observed in 1977. It is primarily associated with the northeastern U.S. Most sufferers develop a small bull’s-eye rash where the tick was feeding; symptoms like tinnitus, confusion, joint pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances can follow.

Still, Currie says that tick-borne illnesses are most likely to do the greatest harm to man’s best friend. The American dog tick, the brown dog tick and the deer tick are particularly partial to dogs.

“I’ve seen dogs with 100 of ticks, and they won’t show any signs of being sick,” he said.“And I’ve seen a dog with one tick be very sick.”

In dogs, ticks cause clinical symptoms like fever, eye and nasal discharge, loss of appetite, weight loss, swollen lymph nodes and, in the most severe cases, hemorrhaging and convulsions.

TIPS FOR PREVENTION FROM TICK-BORNE ILLNESSES • • • •

Treat your pet monthly with a topical flea and tick treatment.

Inspect your pets after taking them outdoors for any signs of ticks or fleas, like itching or blood stains.

Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter; walk in the center of trails Use repellants that contain 20 percent or more DEET on exposed skin; use products that contain permethrin on clothing.

• Visually inspect your clothes and body when you come in from the outdoors.

FIND AND REMOVE TICKS FROM YOUR BODY

• Bathe or shower as soon as possible to wash off and more easily find ticks that are crawling on you.

• Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body. Parents should check children in all areas of their body.

• Tumble clothes in a dryer on high heat for an hour to kill any ticks.

• Authorities advise people to visit their doctors if they feel they have been bitten by a tick.

Tips courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and State Point.

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CALL ME AT 803-460-4422 | ALFREDHKELLEY@GMAIL.COM • TO SEE ALL PICS GO TO WWW.ALFREDHKELLEY.COM JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 21

SUMMER FUN SAFETY TIPS

T

he weather is heating up and Americans are heading outdoors to soak up the fun. Warm weather enthusiasts should keep safety on the top of their minds when they're camping, boating and barbecuing.

CSA Group, a leader in testing and certification, wants to remind Americans to stay safe all summer with the following tips.

CAMPING STOVES AND LANTERNS • Fuel-burning camping equipment, such as stoves, lanterns and outdoor cookers, should only be lit outdoors at least 10 feet from tents, combustible materials and vehicles. Never light a stove or lantern inside a tent or vehicle.

• Before use, carefully inspect parts for leaks, blockages or damage.

• Keep loose, flammable clothing away from open flames. Carefully monitor children and pets around stoves and lanterns.

BOATS AND CABINS • Ensure boats and cabins are equipped with proper emergency safety equipment, including first aid kits and fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors and fire alarms.

• When first opening your cabin, carefully inspect all appliances for damage from rodents or insects.

• Always wear a personal flotation device. Never consume alcohol while operating any vehicle.

OUTDOOR GAS BARBEQUES • Before firing up your barbecue for the first time, carefully inspect burners and burner tubes for blockages due to dirt, grease, insects or rust buildup. Clean or replace any blocked parts or have a certified technician make repairs.

• Propane cylinders must be inspected and requalified every 12 years in the United States. A date stamp on the cylinder indicates when it was last qualified. Don't use a rusty or damaged cylinder. If in doubt, have your tank replaced.

• When purchasing or installing a gas barbecue, make sure that it carries the mark of an approved certification organization, such as CSA Group, indicating the barbecue has been tested to applicable national standards.

More safety tips available at www.csasafetytips.com.

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JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 23

SUMTER 15 SUMTER 15

38 3838 Watch, listen and learn – it’s the format that has allowed 38 professional angler, outdoorsman and businessman sparkleberry sparkleberry sparkleberry Bobby Wilson to learn something new each time he embarkssparkleberry on a new landing landing adventure, whether he’s fishing, hunting, flylanding landing ing his airplane or discussing a business venture.

Wilson developed his love for fishing from his father, R.E.“Ears”Wilson.

Pack's Pack's Pack's Pack's “I guess I was probably six years old when he took me fishinglanding for the first time,”Wilson said.“I loved the sport right landing landing landing 37 off.”

37 3737 Wilson grew up in Chester County and first experienced fishing on Lake Marion was when he was around 11 or 1111 12 years old. low low Falls Falls low Falls low Falls landing landing “I love it,” he said.“Fishing with my dad and watching him fish was rIMInI great. ” landing landing rIMInI rIMInI rIMInI Wilson said he was taught as a youngster that you eat what your catch or kill.

36 36 3636 35 35 “I still do that today,” he said.

“Unless I’m fishing for pan fish, I catch and release.

Now35 I 35 will catch fish from time to lonestar lonestar elliott's elliott's lonestar lonestar elliott's elliott's landing landing Carolina landing landing Carolina Carolina king king Carolina king king time for some33 of the older folks in the community who can’t get out to fish anymore.

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JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 25

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26 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

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JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 27

Phil King, left, and Tim Haynie hold two catfish they caught in the Ohio River in Kentucky. The catfish on the left weighed more than 19 pounds; while the smaller weighed more than 9 pounds.

M

ore than 100 catfishing teams are expected to vie for $10,000 when Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Super Event launches Aug. 2-3 from John C. Land III Landing and Sport Fishing Facility.

Hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, this will be the first fishing tournament sponsored

by Cabela’s on the Santee Cooper lakes.

Established in 1961, Cabela’s has grown from a kitchen table to more than 50 stores spread throughout North America. It is a natural fit for the lake system, as its chain of stores specializes in outfitting gear for hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation.

Darrell Van Vactor, president and CEO of Outdoor Promotions, the Kentucky group organizing the tournament, said the two-day event will have something for the entire family.

Teams will launch both days from the landing as early as 5 a.m., but they may not begin fishing until at least 90 minutes later. Teams can then fish until 3 p.m., and the official weigh-in

28 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

for both days is at 4 p.m.

“After the fishing teams move out on Saturday, we hold a fishing rodeo for the children,”Vactor said.“We collect their names and telephone numbers, and in October we have a drawing for six college scholarships. We’ll give them a call if their name is drawn.”

More than $316,000 has been given through these scholarship drawings,Vactor said, and children through age 12 can participate in the rodeo.Vactor said additional prizes will be awarded for biggest fish, the most fish and other criteria.

“It’s a fun time for the families while the anglers are out on the lakes,” he added.

The teams fishing for the grand prize can weigh in five “live” cats each day. Dead cats will not be counted or weighed,Vactor said, adding there is also a 15-inch minimum length for all cats to be weighed.

Each boat can have as many as three anglers, if one of them

CABELA’S COMES TO SANTEE COOPER LAKES Story and photos by SHARRON HALEY Sharron@theitem-clarendonsun.com

is younger than 16 or older than 65. The tournament also has rod restrictions, allowing only three rods per person per boat.

Only six rods are allowed on each boat: The extra angler does not have additional rods.

“We’re excited about coming to Santee Cooper,”Vactor said. “(We’re) expecting to have a great tournament and we encourage everyone to come out and watch the kid’s rodeo and weighin.”

Nelson Walker, a professional angler and chairman of the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, said he expects to see a one-day, five-cat limit weighing as much as 200 pounds.

“For the most part, you can catch catfish that are suspended in the water, but the really big cats will probably be on the bottom,”Walker said.“Most anglers will find the big fish, then head upwind and drift back over the fish.”

Capt. Wayne Vining, owner of Santee Cooper Lakes Catfishnfool Fishing Guide Service, has been fishing the upper and

lower lakes all his life, the past five years as a guide.

“That time of year, it’s going to be hot,” he said.“They’re going to have to fish deep.”

Vining said Lake Moultrie will attract more catfishing anglers than its sister lake. He also believes more of the big cats will be caught in the morning. Walker expects anglers to use cut or live bait in their efforts to win the $10,000.

Vining said he prefers Virginia perch “that I catch out of the lake.”

“For bought bait, I’d use herring,” he said.“Catching a cat can be exciting. It’s hard to get them off the bottom.You just have to steadily reel them in.”

Walker said he expects anglers to do whatever is allowed within the rules.

“They’re going to fish hard,” he said.“That’s a lot of money.”

For more information, call (803) 435-4405, or visit www. kingkatusa.com.

JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 29

Cats,bass bite best in summer months

by SHARRON HALEY

Sharron@theitem-clarendonsun.com

W

ith striper fishing off limits until Sept. 30, anglers on lakes Marion and Moultrie will spent the hot temperatures of late spring and early summer reeling in the big cats or largemouth bass.

Local fishing guide Don Drose, has been fishing Lake Marion since he first learned how to handle a Jon boat, said June and July mean it’s cat fishing time on the lakes.

“Now’s the time to fish for flatheads drifting with a float and dragging along the bottom,” Drose said.“For flatheads, the best bait is live bait using perch, bream or sham. I like fishing with perch.”

Flatheads are mostly found near drop offs, Drose said.

Blue catfish will bite some on live bait, but big blues enjoy a meal of cut bait with cut shad and cut herring, Drose said.

The best fishing for big blues is around the clam and mussel beds in 15 to 18 feet of water.

“Blues feed most of the year on the clams and mussels,” Drose said.“Your best chance of catching big blues is where they usually do their feeding.”

If you’re fishing for largemouth, you’ll need to head for the deeper, cooler water.

“The bass move out of the coves into the mouth of the coves and into deeper water,” Drose said.“You’ll find them in water 10 to 15 feet deep because of the cooler water.”

No live or cut bait for largemouth fishing, through, Drose said.

“Some of the best bait for largemouth is a plastic worm,” he said.“You can also use a tail spin bait or a deep crank bait.”

Forget sleeping in if you plan to land the big ones – Drose said fishing during the morning hours would be better than the hot mid days and afternoons.

The biggest mistake amateur anglers make during the hot months is fishing too deep, Drose said.

“When the temperatures are hot and we’ve had a long hot and dry spell, the oxygen level in the deep regions has been depleted,” Drose said.“You can’t catch anything below 30 to 32 feet. The oxygen is simply not there. The fish move up to find the oxygen. I usually fish between 15 and 22 to 23 feet deep.”

According to the man who’s been fishing the lakes all his life, the hot months are catfishing months. Load up the cooler with some cold drinks, grab the hat, some sunscreen, several rods and go catfish drifting.

30 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

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www.geneshvac.com JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 31

‘MR. BASS’ wins big ON SANTEE COOPER LAKES

by SHARRON HALEY with photos provided

M

TOP: Mark Hutson and Gary Elsey won the 2013 Santee Open Fishing Tournament. Hutson, left, and Elsey hold up four of the five winning bass.

MIDDLE: Mark Hutson, left, and his fishing partner for the day Gary Elsey are shown carrying their bag of five largemouth bass that weighed more than 34 pounds and won the pair first place honors in the 2013 Santee Open Fishing Tournament.

BOTTOM: Mark Hutson won the 2013 WFL Walmart BFL Fishing Tournament with more than eight pounds more than second place. Hutson also won the trophy for “Big Bass” by landing a 10.05 pound largemouth during the competition.

32 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

Sharron@theitem-clarendonsun.com

ark Hutson is practically “Mr. Bass” on the Santee Cooper lakes.

The Moncks Corner resident won the Forrest L. Wood Walmart Bass Fishing League tournament on April 13 by almost eight pounds more than his closest competitor. Two weeks later, Hutson and his neighbor, Gary Elsey, won the 2013 Santee Cooper Open Team Fishing Tournament on lakes Moultrie and Marion in similar fashion. They were just shy of eight pounds more than the second place finishers.

The pair then followed up that win the next weekend with another in a tournament sponsored by Berkeley Outdoor on the lower lake.

“If Mark isn’t working, eating or sleeping, he’s fishing,”Wendy Hutson said of her husband.“He loves it. He’s happy out on the water all day fishing.”

Hutson agreed with his wife.

“I do love to fish,” he said after winning the April 27 one-day event.

“Fishing is part of me. It’s what I do well.”

Hutson grew up fishing on the two lakes with his father.

“Mark has been fishing since he was old enough to walk,”Wendy said.

“If his father ever walked out the door without him, he was not happy.”

As of mid-May, Hutson was eighth in points on the BLF tour. Hutson was second leaving the Santee Cooper lakes, but a less than stellar showing at Clark’s Hill a couple of weeks later dropped the local pro to his current place.

Winning back-to-back events where you’re fishing against seasoned professional anglers isn’t easy, particularly when those fellow anglers are proven winners and know the Santee Cooper lakes like the backs of their hands. Church Howard and Ken Ellis are both winners on the lakes. They combined for a 12th place finish in the April 27 tournament.

Competitive down to his last cast, Hutson not only wants to win each tournament he enters, he wants to snag the biggest of the big.

On April 13, Hutson took top honors for “Big Bass” with a 10.05-pounder. On April 27, he lost out of first place by a quarter-pound with a largemouth that weighed in at 8.73 pounds. He almost made up for his lapse: He and his partner had two largemouth mouth bass that weighed in at more than 8.5 pounds each.

Hutson practices almost every day keeping his casts precise and working on finding the big bass. He used the first tournament as “practice” for the big tournament held April 27.

In the FLW Walmart Bass Fishing League tournament, Hutson weighed in five bass that totaled 27.8 pounds. Two weekends later, he found a few larger fish. He and his partner had a five-fish weight total of 34.8 pounds.

The big bass on April 13 had Hutson’s heart jumping before he landed it in the boat.

“He got into some grass and I was worried I’d lose him,” he said.“I knew he was big. It was the biggest fish I had all day.

When I finally got him out of the grass and saw how big he really was, I almost had a heart attack.”

While some anglers caught less than five fish all day, Hutson had to cull his catch, keeping only the biggest bass for the weigh in.

When weighing in his fish, Hutson told the audience that he fished the morning on the fish beds and the afternoon on brush piles and trees. The big bass was caught between 10 and 11 a.m. and it was the fourth of the five fish in his bag. Two weeks later, it was a different story.

“We caught fish all day,” Hutson said.“We must have thrown back 10 fish. We had good action all day. It was a lot of fun.”

Hutson, who fishes the Bass Fishing League regional, keeps 15 or more rods ready for action during a tournament.

“They are all rigged differently,” he said.“I have one ready for almost any type of condition or what the fish are biting that time of day.”

Wendy said it’s not unusual for her husband to work all day, come home and fish a couple of hours before dinner and bed.

“He’s always working at it,” she said.“He enjoys it. He really loves it. But it’s work, too.”

In the coming weeks and months, the folks around lakes Wylie and Hartwell will probably see Hutson putting in some practice time.

There are two BFL events left on the 2013 calendar: June 15 on Lake Wylie and Sept. 14 on Lake Hartwell.

Keep up with Hutson’s upcoming tournaments by visiting www.flwoutdoors.com.

TOP: Mark Hutson is shown holding the 10.05 pound bass that won him the “Big Bass” trophy for the WFL Walmart BFL Fishing Tournament. Hutson also walked away with the first place trophy by catching five fish that weighed in at more than 27 pounds.

BELOW: Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce President Nelson Walker, left, who is also a professional angler, is shown with the winners of the 2013 Santee Open Fishing Tournament, Mark Hutson and Gary Elsey, center and right.

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JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 33

On the Lake...

Photo provided Jordan Baker of Edgefield, center, daughter of Tonya and Doug Baker, formerly of Sumter, nabbed this turkey in early April with her uncle, Tal Mims, left, and her sister, Alex Mims, right.

Photo provided Kenny Bilton of Manning poses with a 14-foot gator killed by the state Department of Natural Resources in late May near Laneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at first water on Lake Marion.

It was one of two gators killed in the area that day for being nuisances.

Please submit photos to bbaker@theitem.com or cjohnson@theitem.com Deadline for submissions for the next edition is July 8, 2013.

Right: Alex Brammer came home from a May 12 fishing expedition with friends about 60 miles off the coast of South Carolina. Holding one of several dolphin caught that day.

34 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

Photos by Cary Johnson Above: Jevon Tyler of Georgia attempts to unhook a bass caught at the pond on Henderson Street in Sumter.

Above Right: Donovan Howard of Sumter holds up a 2-pound bream hooked at a Sumter pond in May. Below Right: Canada geese enjoy a warm spring day with their gesling in May.

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Photo by Marc Epstein / Special to LakeSide A nine-banded armadillo recently forages in the daytime sun near Santee.

THE

s o l l i d a m r a E COMING A

Armadillos

AR

rmadillos are making their way to the midlands of South Carolina.

Santee National Wildlife Refuge Manager Marc Epstein told a local Rotary group in May that he has seen the cute and unusual animals in Santee and other parts of Orangeburg County and in areas south of that region.

“It’s probably a matter of time before they range into our area,” he told the Rotarians.

The nine-banded species hails from the southeastern regions of the United States should be handled with extreme care, Epstein said, as they can carry the bacteria for leprosy.

“To my knowledge, armadillos are just one of only two mammals known to carry leprosy,” he said. The other are primates, including the African chimpanzee, the sooty mangabey and the crab-eating macaque.

HALEY

by SHARRONrendonsun.com em-cla

Sharron@theit

National Geographic has reported that armadillos have expanded as far north as Illinois due to a lack of natural predators like maned wolves, coyotes, black bear, red wolves, jaguars, alligators and bobcats. Closely related to anteaters and sloths, the armadillo’s body is surrounded by armor that includes an outer shell of ossified dermal scutes, which are covered by an overlapping keratinized epidermis connected by flexible bands of tissue. Armadillos can range in size from six inches to five feet in length and they can weigh between 5.5 and 14 pounds.

Unlike its relative the three-banded armadillo, the ninebanded one cannot roll up into a ball to defend itself from its predators. The nine-banded species, when surprised, can jump three to four feet. They are often seen dead beside the roadways because they jump into vehicle undercarriages when they become frightened by a car passing overhead.

The animals are highly resilient to threats in their natural

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36 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

by the lake

Trinity Heights

habitats, however. They can float across a river or lake by inflating their intestines with air, and can hold their breath for up to six minutes at a time. They can also sink and walk across the bottom of the river or lake.

Solitary animals who forage at night due to poor eyesight, armadillos are not friendly. They compensate for their poor vision with keen noses that can detect a food source as deep as eight inches underground. Their diet consists of ants, termites, grubs and small invertebrates.

Nine-banded armadillos are prolific diggers; they live in burrows they dig with their clawed toes. Their homes are typically the width of their body and seven inches deep. Their burrows are about 25-feet long, and they have as many as a dozen within one region that they consider home.

Their unique reproductive system allows the mammal to have four genetically identical offspring at one time. Their gestation period is just eight months.

In Spanish, armadillo means “the little armored man.” Locals in the bayous of Louisiana refer to the animal’s meat as “the poor man’s pork.”

It was next to Louisiana in Mississippi and Texas that medical professionals began linking armadillos to people that recently developed leprosy. They studied individuals who had recent contact with the mammal as well as those who had eaten armadillos and became ill.

Though the animals have been spotted in the lake area, no damage

to agriculture has been noted. Armadillos have been known to cause mild damage to root systems in the areas where they burrow and feed.

For more information, call Sumter Clemson Extension at (803) 773-5361, or Clarendon Clemson Extension at (803) 4358429.

JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 37

DAYVENTURE

EXPERIENCE SOUTH CAROLINA’S WATERWAYS

BY KAYAK

P

by SHARRON HALEY

Sharron@theitem-clarendonsun.com

ut the doldrums of winter behind and welcome a relaxing adventure spent kayaking on the beautiful waterways of South Carolina.

“The magic of the river is just the sounds of silence, the crackle of the campfire and the orchestra of cicadas and bullfrogs,” said Susan Stroman, owner of Edisto River Adventures in Ridgeville.“Put down the remote and just unplug.

Come listen, smell and see what you’ve been missing. Experience the beauty of our fresh water river, interact with nature and explore.”

Stroman launched Edisto River Adventures last summer on the big Edisto River near where the North and South forks meet, not far from Givhan’s Ferry State Park. The Adventures’ outpost is a sandbar about two miles downriver from the park.

“We meet at the outpost and travel in our van upriver for 38 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

nine miles to Mar Oldfield Landing where we begin our threeto four-hour paddle back to the outpost,” she said.“When we arrive back at the camp, our staff is delighted to host cookouts or low county boil with music, a campfire and S’mores for everyone. It’s the perfect ending for an unforgettable trip down the river.”

The Edisto River is the longest running black water river in North America and meanders for about 250 miles between Saluda County and the Atlantic Ocean, she said.

“The widest portion of the river is right here in our area,” Stroman added.

During the slow glide back to the outpost kayakers will float past centuries-old, huge bald cypress and water tupelo trees.

Some of the trees reach heights of 100 feet and may offer kayakers a glimpse of a Bald Eagle or broad winded hawk or maybe

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Sofa Envy Sofa Envy

a falcon.

“Exploring along the riverbanks has been great,” Stroman added.“Some fine artifacts have been found.”

Kayaking isn’t a new sport. Kayaks can be traced back 4,000 years to the early Eskimos who used the crafts to hunt on inland rivers and lakes.

Waterways in South Carolina stretch for more than 11,000 miles and include rivers, lakes and coastal waters for kayakers to enjoy, according to discoversouthcarolina.com.

Kayakers can experience the adrenaline rush of the state’s whitewater rivers or the leisurely pace of the “tranquil, moss draped swamps; tea-stained black rivers; salt marshes and virtually untouched terrain.”

The website urges kayakers to “let the river do the work.”

The Broad River contains 15 miles of riparian forest. The Little Pee Dee offers kayakers a “feeling of wilderness” in its 14 miles of black water swamps, white sandy beaches and moss-draped cypress tress.

Kayakers can also enjoy the Lower Saluda’s view of metropolitan Columbia, or the 7.5 miles of small islands, bottomland hardwood wetlands and artesian wells of Lynches River.

In the mountain region, the Chattooga River provides a challenge that progresses from gentle waters to rapids. The Chauga River, a tributary of the Savannah River, is known as the miniversion of the Chatooga.

The Savannah River can be a challenge for even the most experienced kayaker with Class I-IV rapids.

Blackwater rivers like the Edisto, Black River, Ashepoo and Waccamaw offer kayakers a chance to glide slowly through their cypress and tupelo forests. Other rivers that make wonderful kayaking trips include the Catawba River, the Enoree River, the Thompson River, the Turkey and Stevens River and the Tyger River.

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Hello Again, Santee Country...

Stay safe in the

‘Great Outdoors’

by RAY WINANS

rjbwinans@aol.com

I

hope that you have great outdoor adventures planned for this summer.

It really doesn’t have to be some extravagant month long quest from one end of the country to the other to really enjoy what our Creator has given us to enjoy. It can be as simple as a one-day excursion or just a weekend out in a tent or facilities of your choice (my wife’s choice is a cozy bed with bathroom and hot shower) that will allow you to enjoy the great outdoors.

The weekend trip that I take with my buddies every Memorial Day weekend is just a couple of weekends away as of this writing. I am looking forward to the trip this year, but because of high water I believe that we may be altering our plans. We usually camp down the Congaree or Wateree rivers but we might end up staying in a remote camp site elsewhere this year.

No matter what we do, it is always a great time.

As I was thinking of our trip, some safety tips came into mind that I would like to share with you. If you recall, some of the past columns I have written about our trips in years past, we definitely have had some mishaps. Sunburn, cuts and sunscreen in the eyes are just a few.

Just recently my job carried me to Maryland to some of the wetlands and wooded areas where we are doing some research. I quickly learned the importance of DEET repellant on that trip. I pass this on to you so you may do some research on your own.

It seems they have a tick infestation in that part of the country. Every site we visited, I had to at a minimum strip off my shirt and clear myself of this creepy crawler. Imagine if you will the thoughts of some of those passersby looking at some greyheaded, farmer-tanned looking southerner beating himself with his own shirt.

That might keep some of them from wanting to visit Manning.

I met a few of the locals in that area, and most of them either have Lyme disease or have had it. Most farms are Lyme positive, and you really have to be careful. I tell you this because Lyme disease is contracted in our state, though not often as some of the northern states.

To prevent this awful disease, the CDC recommends repellant with at least 20 percent DEET. Deep Woods OFF has 30 to 40

percent, depending on which type you get. It is also effective on mosquitoes, which can carry the West Nile disease, along with most types of biting flies and gnats.

I suggest checking yourself as often as you can for ticks and reapplying repellant when you can.You don’t always see them crawling on you buty you will become more sensitive to feeling them once you do see one crawling on you. It gave me the heebee-jeebees so bad that I think I feel one crawling on me all the time.

One of the other safety items, which is probably the most important, is sunscreen. I use several different types but have at least an SPF 30. I have been told recently that for your face you should use a zinc-based lotion for the best protection. Just like insect repellant, you need to reapply the sunscreen several times throughout the day for it to be affective.

If you have young children, or in our case on our trip, anyone who requires supervision no matter their age, be sure to check them first and more often.

You should always have a first aid kit available when you go on your adventures. At a minimum I would recommend band aids of all sizes, cleansing ointment and anti-bacterial ointment.

Iodine is a great cleansing solution and a trick I learned a long time ago is crazy glue.

Sometimes a band aid just won’t stick to the affected area.

Make sure you clean the cut thoroughly, apply the glue directly into the cut, then press the cut together and let dry. Once the cut is sealed, I like to put a layer or two of glue over the top of the seal just for protection. The glue acts just like a scab and protects the wound. I am not a doctor but have seen one use this trick in the field, so it must be OK. These are just a few safety things that may help you on your next outing. There are a lot more items that could be mentioned but I do have a limited space. I like to always tell my son to think about the situation, what will my actions or inactions result in and what is the best action to take to get the best results.

Preparation is the biggest contributor of results, so please be as prepared as you can for any situation. Have a great adventure, God bless and be safe.

JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE 41

BACK TO

BASICS Scouts enjoy primitive camping

by ROBERT J. BAKER with provided photos bbaker@theitem.com

W Photo provided West Columbia native John Albrecht packs everything he can into his boat and frequently sets off from Lake Murray to camp on SC’s remotest islands.

42 JUNE - JULY 2013 | LAKESIDE

est Columbia resident John Albrecht is accustomed to the blaring rock music that permeates the clubs he works as a sound engineer.

But once in a while, he likes to get away from the noise and technology of the city. A primitive camper at heart, Albrecht’s favorite pastime takes him everywhere from the isolated coves along Goat Island to his favorite spots on Lake Murray.

“I love being out in nature and away from civilization, first and foremost,” he said.“And there’s also the adventure aspect of it – going out into the wilderness and having to survive and be self-sufficient.”

The 37-year-old New Jersey native began camping when he was 8, after his parents signed him up for Cub Scouts.

“Of all the activities we did, camping was always my favorite,” he said.

These days, Albrecht takes just his ride – a Sunfish sailboat or a kayak – and heads toward remote islands with just the basics.

“I usually get there with a couple hours of daylight left for making camp and collecting firewood,” he said.“I relax and explore (the) island until the sun goes down, then light the fire, cook dinner, then more relaxation.”

It’s a hobby that 10-year-old John Lewis Scurry shares. The Laurence Manning Academy fifth-grader has been a member of Cub Scout Pack 339 for four years.

“We like to fish, hike, explore, observe wildlife and work on … our activity badges for scouts,” John said.“It is always fun to hang out with friends at camp.”

He and his friends typically have hefty appetites come mealtime at camp.

“Food tastes so much better cooked outside,” John said.“Hotdogs roasted over an open fire are always a big hit when I go camping.”

John’s “most favorite treat” is S’mores, however, a confection made by placing chocolate and a fire-melted marshmallow between two graham crackers.

He likes these treats at his favorite spots, which include Poinsett State Park and Kings Highway Community Park, both in Sumter, and Camp Coker in Society Hill.

Albrecht’s favorite sites are close to home, he said.

“I’m a big fan of the Congaree Swamp National Park down in Hopkins, Harbison State Forest and the islands all over Lake Murray,” he said.

Albrecht said that after cooking dinner the old-fashioned way – over an open flame he started himself – he will typically relax under the stars.

“Eventually I’ll go to sleep, but I will inevitably be woken up by raccoons, birds or some jackass cruising around in his speedboat at 2 a.m. for some reason,” Albrecht said.“Come morning I’ll get up with the sun, eat some breakfast, tear down

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my camp, load the boat back up and aim it back toward the parking lot.”

Like Albrecht, John Scurry and his friends are always aware of improving their environment. They always follow the “campground rule.”

“At the end of my campout, when we have packed up our tent and camping gear, we leave the campsite cleaner than we found it,” John said.

He also enjoys seeing nature at work. During the fall while camping at Camp Coker with some other scouts, John noticed that beavers had dammed off an area that flowed into the lake.

“They must have worked really hard on that dam because it was huge,” he said.

During a weekend at Poinsett, John said he and other scouts observed tadpoles and frogs in the pond. He and his troop have also learned valuable lessons about the outdoors, like how to identify poisonous plants.

“I am surprised at all the poison ivy and poison oak around (the) state,” John said.

Albrecht still has the youthful enthusiasm about camping that he did when he first tried it nearly three decades ago. He said he only regrets that he can’t remember more about his first trip. “(If I could go back), I’d bring a camera, because I don’t even remember where it was,” Albrecht said.“I didn’t pay much attention. I was 8.”

Though avid campers who would advise everyone to give it a try, Albrecht and John don’t believe newcomers should take to the woods half-cocked.

Albrecht said that new campers should “always be aware of (their) skill level.”

“If you’re new to camping, don’t try to tackle a long mountainous backpacking trip without having a more knowledgeable person with you,” he said.“And make extra sure you are in adequate physical condition to tackle what you are trying to do.”

Albrecht said it doesn’t hurt to “spend a little extra money.”

“Spend the extra money and invest in quality equipment,” he said.“Your life will be depending on it, after all.”

He said that Army and Navy surplus stores are great repositories for camping gear.

“Occasionally, you’ll find some great deals,” he said.

And like most primitive campers, Albrecht said he’d avoid RVs, period.

“That ain’t camping,” he said.

Staff writer Sharron Haley contributed to this report.

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J

uly is one of the hottest months for residents and tourists of the five counties in the Santee Cooper lake system.

It is also one of the most dangerous, as residents set out to celebrate the nation’s birthday with sparklers, spinners, shells and rockets. With the excitement of loud explosions and beautifully colored sparks flying through the air, people often forget that fireworks can contain dangerous chemicals and combustibles that can destroy property and injure people, according to State Fire Marshal John Reich.

Sumter Fire former Chief Karl Ford said “many people want to give fireworks to their children for the fun they have, but they need to follow the directions.”

Clarendon Fire Chief Frances Richbourg agreed, and warned that if late June and early July are particularly dry, folks should forego their consumer fireworks altogether.

“If it’s dry and windy … it would be a very bad time to try to shoot fireworks,” she said.

“If you have low humidity and good winds, and everything is dry, you have a much greater chance to have fires ignited from small embers that come to the ground.”

Reich, Ford and Richbourg advise residents to do the following when celebrating this year.

• Read warning labels and performance descriptions before igniting.

• Have a water source, like a secure hose, in place.

• Shoot fireworks in an open, secure area when conditions are favorable.

• Make sure fireworks are completely out before calling it a night.

• Don’t approach fireworks when a fuse has failed. Don’t reignite fireworks either.

• Wait 20 minutes and then soak “dud” fireworks in a bucket of water.

• Do not allow young children to handle fireworks.

• Soak spent fireworks with water before placing them in an outdoor garbage can.

• Never attempt to modify consumer fireworks.

• Have a designated shooter for your family show.

• If you can, take your family to a public, professionally run show.

– Robert J. Baker

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SAVING FOR RETIREMENT

by CARLL FIELD

carllfield@gmail.com

W

e hear advertisements all the time telling us how we can save money for retirement.

Professionals tell us we need 70 percent of our pre-retirement income to maintain our standard of living, but 56 percent of people have less than $25,000 in savings and investments, and 29 percent have less than $1,000. How can we bridge the gap between what we have and what we will need in retirement?

Saving money is the most difficult way to prepare for retirement. If you make $50,000 per year, you will need $35,000 per year in retirement. People save and save trying to get enough money to yield $35,000 in interest per year.

The problem is savings accounts yield less than 1 percent.

At 1 percent interest, you would need $3,500,000 in annual income. The average person has 45 working years, so even if they earned 5 percent on their money while accumulating it, they would need to save $2,600 every month for 44 years to reach the goal of $3,500,000 if they plan on having it in a savings account drawing 1 percent.

Basically, you would need to save 62 percent of every dollar you earn not including the money you would need to pay in taxes.

I hope this shows you that you can’t retire on cash. The returns on cash just aren’t high enough no matter where you put it. Saving $31,200 per year on a $50,000 per year income while paying taxes and surviving would be nothing short of a miracle.

The only way to reach a retirement goal is by investing in assets.You can invest in businesses, either your own or someone else’s through stock ownership, or you can invest in some other asset-like business, gold or silver or real estate.

There are pros and cons to any type of investment, but I think investing in real estate is the best way to prepare for retirement. We all hear the advertisements about gold and silver, and it’s true that they have both risen in recent years. The problem with gold and silver is that you can only realize the gain by selling the asset, and then it’s gone. With real estate, you can own an asset that also appreciates, but you can get money every month as well in the form of rents.

DEE'S RENTALS

Lake Marion Area Monthly and Long Term Rentals

The other problem with silver and gold is that the price cannot be influenced. The price of gold and silver is the price that it is. A home can be purchased below its actual value for many reasons. It could be in foreclosure, in an estate or just need work that the owners aren’t able to complete. With gold or silver, there is very little you can do to influence the value.You can polish it, but that’s about it. With real estate, there are countless ways to increase the value of the investment.

Investing in businesses has different risks. Starting a successful business is one of the quickest ways to wealth, but many more businesses fail than those that succeed.Your own business does allow you complete control of the success or failure of the investment if you want that control.

Investing in someone else’s business can be seen as less risky by some, but It has its own risks. When purchasing a stock, the price you pay at a given time is the same price as anyone else could get it at the same exact time thanks to the speed of computers.You can’t buy a $100 stock for $50 like you can in real estate.You may think a stock is worth $100 when it’s valued at $50, but at any given time, the price of the stock is the same for anyone.

Stocks come in two basic forms: stocks bought for cash flow by way of dividends and stocks bought for capital gains. The stock bought for capital gains is basically like gold or silver in that you must sell the asset to realize the gain, and then it is gone.

A stock that offers a dividend is basically like collecting rent while the value hopefully goes up.You have no control over the investment, however.You may have a vote because you are a shareholder, but you really have no control over the value of the stock.

If you want to be one of the people who charges into retirement you need to invest in assets. If you want to have complete control over that investment, you need to start your own business or invest in real estate. Since most businesses fail, the safe bet is in real estate. Many resources exist to learn the basics before you begin investing, but start soon if you want to be ready for retirement.

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