Opinion

It’s not merely a question of saving money. When it comes to Sumter County’s public library system, there are plenty of community ties and connections that must be considered and respected.
And when the County Commission goes messing with the idea of converting the libraries from a county-run operation to letting a private company operate the...

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By Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary                          for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services
In the midst of winter/spring, it can be easy to forget those long, hot days of June, July, and August. Even so, now is the time to start applying and planning to feed hungry children when the school year ends.

Time passes quickly and what once was well known can become hazy or even forgotten. Fortunately some concerned folk aren’t letting that happen to the memory of Ann Fields.
She’s a woman whose name probably isn’t known to newcomers to the county. Fields died back in 2005.
But those who knew her knew that she was a unique person whose life was special; a life that touched and helped others.

Two newcomer events hit the county, one was last weekend. The other one is this coming weekend. They both are just about certain to become very strong annual events.
It was a little hard to believe that many people would be up early Saturday morning (March 16) before daylight and headed out to downtown Wildwood around 7 a.m. in bone-chilling weather with highs that morning in the 30s.

If you haven’t been following the issue, you may be wondering exactly what to expect this year at the Sumter County Fair in regards to the disappearing Cow Palace.
The building, which was the main hub of fair activities for decades, was demolished recently after the County Commission determined that it was unsafe and that making necessary repairs to the structure would be too costly. Instead, the board decided that the best way to go would be to erect a new building that would be better suited to the needs of the agricultural community.

The list of drug suspects continues to grow as more and more arrests are being made by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office as part of Operation Street Sweeper.
The drug sweep is one of several that the department has conducted during the past few years and this one boggles the mind.
With an expected 100 arrests centered around drug dealing, it is a very good indication of just how prevalent drugs are in Sumter County. Whether it’s cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana or crack – they’re out there.

The County Commission has done a real disservice to the community of Royal concerning the recent demolition of the community fire department.
The way the board agreed to demolish the building was not appropriate and left concerned Royal residents with no way to counter the board’s actions or even allow those residents to provide a method of maintaining the building.

For decades upon decades, newspaper reporters, photographers and curious residents have relied on scanners to stay informed with emergency situations happening in their communities - anything from traffic accidents to fires, from shootings to hazardous spills and just about everything in between that called out emergency workers of one sort or another.
Those almost instant notifications of emergencies are one reason why newspaper photographers would oftentimes have amazing photographs of situations as they were unfolding.

A little holiday break may be the perfect time to finish up your crafty entry and get ready for the annual Family Living Expo at this year’s Sumter County Fair. With sugar plums tempting and reindeer flying, it seems like a great time for sewing, quilting and canning up fantasies for the challenge. There’s a category for just about everything, including growing produce and raising eggs, digital photography and special collections. There’s woodworking, series work, needlework, quilting and more.