[00:00:11] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to First Friday. I'm Jackie Broach and we have some very special guests here with us today. Our Georgetown County Sheriff's Office traffic patrol. We have Corporal Cody Bailey and Deputy Erin Yarborough, and they are going to talk with us a little bit about some initiatives they have going on related to some grant funding.
Now, you probably don't want to see these gentlemen in your rearview mirror, but they do make some efforts to meet people in other ways that are a little more pleasant to avoid those sorts of meetings. Guys, tell me a little bit about what you do and about the grant funding.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: So, yeah, like you mentioned, we are grant funded from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety through the Target Zero program, which if anybody doesn't know, the Target Zero program is the mission of South Carolina law enforcement to achieve zero roadway fatalities. In South Carolina, every year, about 1,000 people die on our roadways. And so every year we were trying to take steps in the right direction to bring that number down. It's an unachievable goal, but we're constantly working on trying to bring those numbers down. The way we do that mainly is through education and enforcement. So on one hand, we're out here on the roadway conducting enforcement action, but on the other hand, we're trying to get out to people and to the communities and talk to them a little bit about traffic safety and things that they can do to help bring that number down as well.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: Okay, so talk about some of those educational initiatives.
[00:01:33] Speaker B: Right. So throughout the school year, we go and talk to the different schools in Georgetown county, most of the high schools and middle schools, trying to talk to them about impaired driving, texting and driving, speeding, all primary factors that cause a lot of our roadway fatalities. And then we also meet with community groups such as churches and different parts of Georgetown County. We try to get out there and call them the same thing about child car seat safety, seat belts in texting and driving and drinking. Driving as well.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: And this is to prevent incidents on the roadway before they happen. Before you have to pull people over.
[00:02:07] Speaker B: Before. Well, even. Even pulling people over is still a preventative measure because the whole goal of conducting enforcement is to try and prevent collisions at this point. Sal.
[00:02:19] Speaker C: So I'll kind of go into more detail about, like, going into schools and such. So as Corporal Bailey was saying, we go into schools, we also utilize drunk bubbles, which is one thing that's a big puller, especially for the younger kids. So it's basically these things that you put on top of your eyes, and it basically substitutes to Being impaired by either alcohol or we also have marijuana impairment. So it's nothing to just kind of throw into the ball range that, hey, this isn't exactly what it is, but it's a close enough thing. Clearly you, you cannot, I wouldn't know what the proper way to say it.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Would be safely operating. Yeah, that's, that's the whole goal is to show that you cannot safely operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of different substances, including alcohol, but also substances other than alcohol. With the rise and the social stigma around marijuana kind of easing off in the present day, we're seeing, starting to see more and more cannabis and marijuana impaired drivers on our roadways. And we're trying to get ahead of the curve by educating people about that, that it's still considered driving under the influence, whether it's marijuana, prescription drugs, any substance, because the state law is operating a vehicle while your abilities to drive are materially and appreciably impaired.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: So that's an interesting topic. People are mostly familiar with drunk driving. And you know why that's a bad idea. How do the impacts of driving under the influence of, say, painkillers or marijuana compare?
[00:03:55] Speaker B: So when you're talking about substances other than alcohol, there's other steps that we have to go to. So the state, under state law, we have to presume that it's alcohol impairment until we prove that it isn't. So you have to have an officer that is motivated to go the extra steps in that investigation to determine if this person, because they're not going to show the same signs and symptoms as an alcohol impaired individual. And then on top of that, then once we make an arrest decision on that impaired driver, then we have to process even further because then we're having to get blood and urine samples instead of just a breath test.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: Okay, so tell me a little about, I guess, the results of the work that you guys are doing. Have you seen decreases in traffic numbers since you started this?
[00:04:41] Speaker B: Ever since we got the grant, which we've been on the grant now for five years, I believe, five years in Georgetown county, we've consistently seen a reduced number of fatalities as well as a reduced number of collisions overall since we started on this grant five years ago. And it's those numbers, they speak for themselves. As can talk with the sheriff's office, with our grant director, she can provide you with all those numbers. But it has been a consistent downward trend and we've been considered to be very successful.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: Okay, that's wonderful. And what kind of reaction do you get from not Just young people. But you know, from also adults, when you go out and talk to these.
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Groups, when we go out and talk to these groups, some of them you can tell that they're not necessarily interested in it. But if we can just reach the few that are and that's, that's our goal. Because even if we can change just a few lives, that's a couple, that's a hopefully an investment that we can place on that person and impart on them so that when they get to where they're driving that they don't make the same mistakes and they can save somebody's life based off their actions and their decisions that they make.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Okay, so we are coming up into the busy holiday season. Lots and lots of people are going to be on the roadways.
[00:05:51] Speaker B: Right.
[00:05:52] Speaker A: Do you have any advice for people as we prepare for lots of holiday travel?
[00:05:56] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:05:57] Speaker B: Slow down. That's the biggest thing. The primary cause of accidents in Georgetown county and state of South Carolina as a whole, number one is speed. And you don't have to be over the speed limit to be considered speeding. There's something called too fast for conditions. And what that means is that you're not safely operating a vehicle to which you can avoid a collision at the speed that you're traveling. So just make sure that you're paying attention to all the roadway hazards and your environment. It doesn't necessarily have to be inclement weather. It could be increased traffic on the roadways. It could be pedestrians crossing the street up around the Marsh Walk area. It could be any number of things as you have to take into factor while you're driving.
[00:06:38] Speaker A: Okay, well that's all great. Is there anything else you guys can think of to tell us about this very important topic?
[00:06:44] Speaker B: We also have.
Besides that, we're going to be doing some stepped up enforcement through the holiday season. We're going to be out there. We're partnering with our local agencies such as the city police in Georgetown, Andrews Police Department, Pauly's Island Police Department, and with the highway patrol in Georgetown county to go out and be seen and be proactive and try and get some of these bad drivers, some of these impaired drivers, some of these suspended drivers off our roadways. So you'll be seeing us throughout the county in the next couple weeks. Connecting license safety checkpoints and connecting stepped up enforcement.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: That's wonderful guys. Thank you so much for what you do.
[00:07:19] Speaker D: Thank you.
[00:07:19] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:07:21] Speaker A: Our next guest is Maya Morant who is currently. Well, our economic development department, right? Correct. What is your official title though?
[00:07:30] Speaker E: I'm the marketing director for Economic development.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: But she's basically the only economic development employee we have at the moment while we're looking for a new director. So we. Unfortunately, we being Georgetown county, got hit with some unpleasant news on October 31st. I'm sure that everybody out there has already heard IP is going to be shutting down their, their paper mill at the end of the year. So that presents some challenges. Obviously, Georgetown County's priority is people. We're trying to get these people who have found themselves expecting to be unemployed new employment so that they and their families can stay in our community. So tell us about the job fair that the county hosted the end of November.
[00:08:14] Speaker E: So first, before we get into talking about the job fair, I do want to highlight that we have partners involved with this as well. So from SC Works, the cog Talent Health School District and other entities, including Bonnell Foundation, City of Georgetown and the City of Georgetown. Correct. We all collaborate in that effort to make this a successful event. So with the job fair that we hosted the first day, we had about 78 employers that signed up. And then on the second day we had 76 employers that signed up. So we had entities like Georgetown County, Fire, Georgetown County, City of Georgetown, each police department from both the city and the county, as well as Fire and ems. Also we had entities from ORI County, Charleston County, Berkeley county, just our surrounding areas willing to come in and show that they're, they want to help in this collaborative effort. So it's very successful event.
[00:09:06] Speaker A: I also, so I also saw lots of industrial type entities, businesses there. Absolutely.
[00:09:13] Speaker E: So all of our industries here in Georgetown county showed up on day one and day two. So we would say that was amazing. They were all very grateful. And even some of them there, including 3v Sigma and safe Rack, had some on the spot interviews and hired some people there. So that was very, very amazing to see that.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: That's great. That's great. So I was kind of in and out on both days just what was going on. And it was packed, especially that first day.
[00:09:43] Speaker E: So on day one, we had about 300 people show up, and on day two we had 250 people show up. So we would say it was definitely a successful event. And some of the people from day one came back to follow up with their industrial efforts there and to make sure they had their resumes if they wanted to come back with interviews and just to see what the next steps were in that process.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: And I think that I saw in the report that you gave me something like 300 job interviews were scheduled on day one, follow up interviews and I think even more than that on the second day. So that's a pretty impressive number. I hope that those interviews result in some, some job offers.
[00:10:23] Speaker E: Absolutely. I think I spoke to 3v Sigma and they said they had 250 interviews. They had to go through Room Flat.
That's very, very interesting there. Also, Safe Rack was about the same amount as well. So they, they're very much looking forward to hiring those people, hiring those who are displaced there and help them get back on their feet so they can just move forward with life.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: Well, this is a good start on a problem that will certainly present some challenges for us well into the new year.
Again, we wish everybody who is impacted by this closure well and we hope and pray that some of these job interviews result in job offers and we can keep these families here. Maya, thank you so much for joining us. Absolutely, thank you.
[00:11:12] Speaker E: I do want to say that as a result of the two days with the job fair, I know for a fact that three people were hired on the spot on day one.
[00:11:21] Speaker A: That's wonderful. That's wonderful.
[00:11:23] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:11:25] Speaker A: Our next guest is Bob Willey. He is a very well known face here at the Georgetown Library. He is the president of our library friends group here in Georgetown. And Bob, you are here to talk with us a little bit about one of the library's probably most popular events for the holiday season, the Yuletide Home tour, which is taking place on December 14th.
[00:11:47] Speaker D: Correct.
[00:11:47] Speaker A: What are the hours for that?
[00:11:48] Speaker D: The hours are from 1 to 5 o'clock in the afternoon.
[00:11:51] Speaker A: Okay. And this is a ticketed event. Tell us a little bit about the event and how people can attend.
[00:11:56] Speaker D: Okay. Well, this is our 22nd year of the Yuletide Home tour. I came along, I think somewhere around year 12 or 13. So there's a long history that I absolutely love.
The tour involves the inclusion of 11 homes. We usually are 10 to 12 homes. This year we have 11 homes in the historic district of Georgetown. And over the last few years, we've expanded beyond that to include some of the other components of our community. We have this year two churches that will be participating, in both cases historic churches, to be able to visit and see what it's like oftentimes in locations you've never been able to visit before. And then the other is partnering with local museums. We have a richness of museums here in Georgetown. And a few years back, actually just after Covid, we decided that one of the things we wanted to do was to increase that participation and inclusion of our museums. So the tour then, as we mentioned, is from 1 o'clock in the afternoon till 5.
It may sound like a lot to be able to do. Eleven homes, two museum, or excuse me, three museums and two churches. But there's enough time in there because they're all within close proximity.
All have been wonderfully decorated for the holidays. And so it gives you an opportunity to be able to celebrate the holidays as well as to be able to see inside some of those beautiful homes and churches that you've driven past and now have the first opportunity to be able to visit. We've been able to have a great turnout over the last few years, from going back to 12th, 13th year to the 22nd. We've grown from the numbers being in the hundreds to up to 700 participating last year.
[00:13:38] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:13:38] Speaker D: And that's been very exciting because I'm a tremendous advocate for Georgetown. And one of the neat things about that is how many people are coming from outside the area, in some cases making it a little bit of a weekend visit. And so they participate by staying in local hotels, visiting the restaurants, doing shopping, which we strongly encourage. One of the things that's positive there is the one to five o'clock gives them a chance to visit shops in the morning, have lunch, go on the tour, have dinner, and then whatever they need to do from then, traveling home or staying overnight. So it's just been a wonderful experience and get great responses, not only from the people who are participating, but the homeowners, the churches, the leadership of the churches and the museums. It's a great way to be able to really push what is the greatness, I think, of Georgetown.
[00:14:31] Speaker A: That's beautifully said. And on top of it, just to make it all better, this benefits the library.
[00:14:36] Speaker D: Yes. The whole purpose of this is that, in particular our children's reading programs. That's a strong commitment. The focus of the Friends of the Georgetown Library is to support what is an outstanding program here, reaching out to the children of our community. And we've done everything we could to support that, to allow, to be able to finance special, special programs that come in. But what are the regular weekly reading programs, music programs, children's programs here at the library? And so the funds for that come from this, go toward that. We minimize what are administrative costs. We really work hard to keep those costs down so that as many pennies on the dollar as possible go toward the children's reading program. So that's been our support. And this is our major fundraiser. We have other activities through the year. We have Our, as many people know, our farmers market, book sales, we have community yard sales, we've done several other activities. But this is our major fundraiser for the year and tremendously helps us to be able to accomplish that of supporting those children's programs.
[00:15:47] Speaker A: Now, who could not be in support of that? What a wonderful cause and a fun time on top of it. Now, tell me, which two churches do we have on the tour this year?
[00:15:56] Speaker D: The two churches, one of which has never been on the tour before, and that is the chapel at Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church.
We visited the church, which is beautiful.
[00:16:07] Speaker A: And it's just right here in the historic district.
[00:16:09] Speaker D: Yeah, it's in the historic district. It's actually the oldest Methodist church in the state of South Carolina.
[00:16:14] Speaker A: Oh, I didn't know that.
[00:16:15] Speaker D: Yeah. And the. The chapel itself was constructed right after the Second World War, and so I've never been in it, so I'm anxious to be able to visit. But I've been told that the small chapel which is across the street from the church and actually the corner of what is the cemetery lot, that's where we'll be having as a part of the tour. The other is St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, which is absolutely beautiful inside. We've had that on the tour a couple of years and so we've been able to again work it out that they will include the church on the tour. The reason I just sort of hesitant on that is because they have a 5 o'clock mass and they've been very kind. The father there has been very kind to allow us to have open the church from 1 to 3 o'clock. All the other places on the tour from 1 to 5. But it's just a beautiful church. It was constructed actually. Their first services were in 1900.
[00:17:14] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:17:15] Speaker D: So there is a long history there and a very beautiful church. The interior, the exterior, people, I think, have driven by. But to be able to see the inside, it's just magnificent.
[00:17:25] Speaker A: So make sure if you go on the tour, don't save St. Mary's for last. You want to do that before 3:00, unless you're planning to stay for Mass.
[00:17:33] Speaker D: Pretty true. And I'm sure they wouldn't mind that. The museums that we have, we partnered once again, we've been doing this for a number of years with the Kaminsky house.
And that's a wonderful partnership. And even if people have been there in the past, every year it's newly decorated for Christmas, I should say for the holidays, because one of those, that one of the Groups was very excited to hear this. That has decorated one of the rooms is the Jewish synagogue here in town. Elohim has been.
[00:18:04] Speaker A: Because the Kaminsky house was. It has a Jewish history.
[00:18:07] Speaker D: Yeah, a Jewish history that's there. So how appropriate. And so you get an opportunity to be able to go through the home.
And that's a part of the tour, not an extra cost. Another one of the museums is the Gullah Museum which is every year. We've had that on the tour for several years. And the reason for that is it's always popular.
The Rodriguez sisters who now coordinate, run, operate the museum do a wonderful job following up from what is the tradition and heritage of their parents who had initially opened it. But a great part, a very important part of our history, the Gullah, Inchy peoples, the enslaved Africans who came here. And they have done a wonderful job of presenting that all the different components of what is Gullah culture. And people have found that very popular. And then this year in addition, third museum is the Georgetown County Museum. And we're excited about that because they're just about. It won't be by the time we get there, but just about to open a very special exhibit on South Carolina 250. And what is their celebration? Our celebration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, Declaration Independence in particular.
And they're going to be the focus of attention on Francis Marion. Now they do have already several pieces there, including a letter, a correspondence from Francis Marion on exhibit.
But all the museum is very good about the history of Georgetown county, of what has been our history all the way from our founding up to the almost the present. And so that's going to be an exciting part of the tour as well.
[00:19:44] Speaker A: That's wonderful. So tell me about some of the homes that are on the tour as well. Do we have any first time homes?
[00:19:49] Speaker D: We have three first time homes, which is amazing. I'm just very excited about the fact we have three homes on the tour that we have never had on the Yuletide home tour before.
I should say the homes go all the way from 1730s up to the 1960s. That's as close as we got. We've had actually last year on the tour we had a brand new home. So we went up to the 2000s last year. But the homes are all from the colonial era all the way up to that period of time, 1960s. A beautiful home right on East Bay Road, East Bay Street.
But all the homes are really wonderful and excited about the three new homes that are on the tour, all three of which actually they spread from the 1700s to the 1800s. So we've got to spread there over a period of time. And excited about very gracious homeowners allowing us to be able to visit the homes and to have them participate. The homes are all the way from, let's see, King street. If you're familiar with Georgetown, from King street over. I mentioned East Bay.
I've had people call and say, you know, can you walk it? Well, yeah, and it's been fun to see people the streets because of the number of people participating. Wonderful. See people walking that day all over Georgetown. But my recommendation, they tend to be clustered. And so what I think is the best idea is for people to carpool together. You know, if you have two, three, four people together and to be able to drive from area to area, sort of park in one area and then visit the homes there and churches and museums and then to go on to the next location. I should also mention that in the 11 homes, none of them were on the tour last year.
[00:21:32] Speaker A: Oh, good.
[00:21:32] Speaker D: We have a few that were two years ago and they were very popular. So we know which ones people enjoyed visiting and they would want to visit them again because sometimes the decorations are different or just to be able to see the beauty of the homes, the decorations that people have placed there. But nothing is on the tour this year that had been on the tour last year. We try to do that to be able to give a variety for people to come to visit and see some new homes and museums and churches each time they participate.
[00:22:04] Speaker A: Well, this just sounds wonderful. We certainly want to thank the homeowners and the museums and the churches that are included for opening up their homes and their facilities for this tour. And we want to thank the Friends of the Library for putting this together for our library system. This sounds like such a wonderful event. Bob, you've sold me. How do I get my tickets?
[00:22:29] Speaker D: I. Can I add one other thing that I ought to mention.
One of the things we also try to do is support the crafters of our community. And on Saturday at. From 10:00 in the morning until 3:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon. Excuse me. From 10 to 2, we'll have a number of crafters here at the library that are local and a nice variety of things. So we call it Santa Shop.
[00:22:53] Speaker A: Oh, I've been to that before. I picked up some wonderful things. Don't tell my husband so because he won't let me go.
[00:23:00] Speaker D: But I. We tell people to Come and it's an opportunity to be able, as I say, to support some of the craft people of town for getting tickets.
There's two ways. One is to get it online.
We started that last year was very popular by which particularly people to distance could be able to obtain their pre. To pre purchase their tickets.
That's at our website my Fogel M Y F O G L friends of Georgetown library.org and on the website you would go to events and scroll down to Yuletide Home Tour. Click on that and that'll give you the information for purchasing tickets that gives people the opportunity to do it by credit card.
And so that's what a lot of people prefer to do and it works out well. Others, you know, prefer not to do it that way. But the other way by which people can obtain tickets is up till the Friday before is to go to their local branch of the Georgetown County Library system. So any branch, any of the branches and so at any of those branches to be able to pick up tickets is fine. And it's a great way to be able to convenient and to just drop in and they have the information there.
[00:24:10] Speaker A: And you can check out some books or some DVDs or some great programs while you're there. So that's always the way that I recommend whatever's easiest and.
[00:24:19] Speaker D: And there because of the systems we have at the libraries, that would be either a cash. That would be either cash or a check check made out to Fogl or Friends of the Georgetown Library cost. We haven't mentioned that.
[00:24:32] Speaker A: That's very.
[00:24:33] Speaker D: I think it's. I, I think it's very reasonable. In fact, I've been told it's too reasonable, which is a nice compliment. I'll take that compliment.
[00:24:41] Speaker A: Hey, and today's atmosphere with inflation and everything being so expensive, we'll shake it.
[00:24:47] Speaker D: So the Regular cost is $25 per person, which gives you access to all the 11 homes, the two churches, the three museums. And if you are a member of a friends group at any of those Georgetown county libraries, if you're a member of the friends, it's $20 per person. So again, I think that's a very reasonable cost. And again going back to something you had asked earlier and we had talked about and that is looking at as a charitable contribution toward the children's reading programs here at the library. So I. Not only reasonable, but good, you know.
[00:25:22] Speaker A: So you've heard it there, a great way to spend a Saturday. It's a steal. And you can stop by the library and get your tickets so, Bob, do you guys have anything else going on that we should mention? Any other fun activities, fundraisers?
[00:25:38] Speaker D: Just to look to the advance in the future? We've got a couple things coming up. In March, we will be doing our annual Fall, excuse me, Spring, get the seasons right. Spring community yard sale, which has been a wonderful way by which people are, instead of having yard sales at their own homes, come together, we last time had 32 vendors, people who came and sold their goods and always do very well. It's located on the parking lot of the courthouse, which is right behind the Georgetown Library. Right behind the Georgetown Library. And it's right there where you can see it along church Street, Route 17. We do a lot of advertising. It's very reasonable in cost. And so that's something which will be in the third weekend, third Saturday in March.
In addition to that, I should mention that it's not a fundraiser, but a service to the community. We have a monthly lecture series called Tuesdays with where we bring together outstanding speakers on topics of local interest. That's our emphasis, history, geography, all kinds of things on the third Tuesday of each month. So third Tuesday in January, we'll be resuming that after the holidays. And we're going to be having a special presentation on archeology on south island on the Yawkey area. And make sure you take a look again, our website will have information on that. We'll also be putting out information through our emails and local advertising. So that's something you want to highly recommend people participating in that. That's for now. In June, we'll be back at the farmers market. Looking forward to that, selling books again. Just a wonderful way to interact with the community. And again, all these funds that we raise are toward the children's reading programs at the library and supporting those.
[00:27:37] Speaker A: So are y'all still raising money for the sculpture to go outside the children's library?
[00:27:42] Speaker D: We are. Thank you for asking about that. We have been raising now for almost a year funds for a special statue to be placed at the entrance to the Children's Reading Area Children's library section. Here at the library, we're working with a sculptor by the name of Wesley Wofford. The people of Georgetown will be familiar with him. He was the one who did the Harriet Tubman statue that we had here in the fall a year ago down in Rainy Park.
Beautiful statue. And while he was here, we began conversations with him about a possibility of having something specially commissioned for Georgetown. We have a historic connection which was mentioned at that time last year. We have a historic connection with Harriet Tubman, her nephew, her grand nephew, excuse me, James Boley. Thank you. James Boley was a resident here of Georgetown for a number of years during Reconstruction. Played a very significant role in Georgetown's history during that period of time, serving as superintendent of schools on the board of the United View of the University of South Carolina, serving in court capacity and also publishing a newspaper.
[00:29:03] Speaker A: And if I recall correctly, he and his parents were among the first enslaved people that Harriet Tubman helped to escape.
[00:29:10] Speaker D: He and his mother, when they lived in Maryland, which is where Harriet was from, were among those who were in the first group of the Underground Railroad that she assisted to liberate from slavery.
He became very special to her. And whereas most of those that she liberated, she made sure they moved far north to get away from what were some of the slavers who were coming up into the Middle Atlantic and New England states, she would most often take those that she rescued all the way up to northern New York or into Canada. Whereas she kept James with her in Philadelphia where she lived and personally paid for his education.
She felt so strongly about him and his potential that she paid for his way through schools there in Philadelphia from what were the meager monies that she raised by doing actually homework work within homes, I should say domestic work. We'll say. Yeah, domestic work. And so she invested a lot in him and there's a very special relationship. And then the connection with Georgetown is that while he's superintendent of schools, he makes her aware of what are some of the financial needs. And she sends a check to James Bowley here in Georgetown to support the school system.
And there's correspondence about that which we are actually going to make as a part of it. So anyway, Wesley is making a beautiful statue that's going to be about 38, 40 inches high.
It's going to be at a level where children can look at it, see it and touch it. And it'll be of Harriet encouraging James upward on a parrot on a set of stairs. A young James, a young child James. And she is a middle aged woman who's encouraging him on his way upward. And she's whispering into his ear. And the statue is entitled Whispers of My Ancestor. And he's carrying a book. So it makes it all the more special and connected to the library. So we're just making it something that will be an encouragement and inspiration to children and we're raising funds toward that. Thank you. Is where we started.
We are at about 2/3 of the way toward raising the funds to be able to, not only as we've commissioned the statue, also to place it on a pedestal and to be able to provide a beautiful background, including what will be a reference to that letter in which James thanks her for the contribution that she has made to his work as Superintendent of Schools here in Georgetown.
[00:31:45] Speaker A: So if you would like to donate toward that wonderful effort, you can do so again via the Friends of the Georgetown Library website. My f o g l.org Correct.
[00:31:57] Speaker D: So, and there's a place there. It's, it's Underwater's projects on our website. You'll find it there. Thank you so much for mentioning that.
[00:32:05] Speaker A: I think it's a wonderful project. I can't wait to see it come to fruition. So, Bob, is there anything else that seems like a lot.
[00:32:12] Speaker D: We've enjoyed this conversation and I've enjoyed it so much with you as well. Thank you. I've enjoyed appreciate it and look forward to seeing everybody on December 14th.
[00:32:21] Speaker A: Can't wait. All right, Bob, thank you again for joining us. And we look forward to seeing what all the other things that the library is going to be doing.
[00:32:30] Speaker D: Very good.
[00:32:33] Speaker A: That's it for this month's episode of First Friday with Georgetown County. Thank you for joining us. In lieu of our regular podcast next month we'll start the year off with our second annual video Annual Report. Look for that the first Friday in January. As usual, I'd like to end this podcast with a list of important dates and events coming up. Georgetown County Council will meet once this month on December 10th at 5:30pm in the historic Courthouse. We'll be recognizing the student winner of our annual Holiday Card contest at the meeting, so come out or watch live as we recognize some incredibly talented young artists. County Council is back to two meetings a month starting in January. They meet the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. The Georgetown County Planning Commission will meet on December 19th at 5:30pm in the historic courthouse. In addition to the Yuletide Home tour that Bob just told us about, there are a number of fun holiday programs coming up at our libraries. For example, the Waccamal Library will have a holiday story time featuring Mrs. Claus on Dec. 11 at 10:30am Adults can make oyster shell ornaments at the Waccamaw branch on Dec. 13 at 10am Registration is required for this one, so reach out to the library to sign up.
They'll also host a holiday party for all ages on December 18th from 3 to 5pm featuring fun holiday crafts.
Please note that county offices will be closed for the holidays December 24th through the 26th, as well as on New Year's Day.
Registration for our Parks and Recreation Department's Junior NBA Basketball League is open until December 31st. It's open to boys and girls ages 9 to 12. Cheerleading registration is also open until the 31st. Register
[email protected] in the new year, the legislative delegation, that's the two state senators and the two state House members who represent Georgetown county, will meet on January 10th at 10:30am at Polly's Plantation. This meeting will follow the annual Legislative Breakfast hosted by the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce. The breakfast is a ticketed event open to all, and I believe tickets are still available through the chamber
[email protected] there's lots more happening, so check out our online
[email protected] so you don't miss anything. Thanks again for joining us for First Friday with Georgetown County. Have a safe and happy holiday season.
