West Columbia News

“I've always been a very hands-on person”

Heather Digdon turned her love for making bread into a business named Heather's Artisan Bakery. via The State

“I've fallen in love with these people.”

CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan -- Maj. Jeff Kerby called it a 'wacky idea.'

Still, the S.C. National Guard soldier offered to go undercover and work at a civilian hospital in downtown Kabul.

His commanders OK'd the idea and Kerby, a physician's assistant, spent four days volunteering at Kabul's 114-bed CURE International Hospital, operated by a U.S.-based medical charity.

The experience gave Kerby, a member of the Guard's 218th Brigade Combat Team, a rare look inside the Afghan medical- care system. Read more

West Columbia – Imagine a birthday for seven St. Bernards, attended by Great Danes, Pugs, Pot Bellied pigs, cats, and lots of other animals! That’s the site of Glenforest School in West Columbia Saturday. via WLTX-TV Columbia

“Just because we made it look nice doesn't mean it has to be expensive”

TRUE BLUE: blue. , a tapas bar and cocktail lounge on Lady Street that's opening Friday, April 4, is the latest nightspot that hopes to carve a niche in the wings-and-sports-bar-besieged Vista. via The State

Investigators have connected a suspect with theft and credit card fraud in the Cayce-West Columbia area. via WIS-TV Columbia

WEST COLUMBIA -- Services for Howard Shealy Wingard, 86, will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, with burial in Greenlawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be Tuesday 6-8 p.m. at the funeral home.

Mr. Wingard, husband of the late Betty Katherine Younginer Wingard, died Saturday, March 29, 2008. Born in Lexington, he was a son of the late Lawrence B. and Allie Shealy Wingard. A 1941 graduate of Columbia High School, he retired from the U.S. Postal Service. He served with the U.S. Army in France during WW II and retired from the Army Reserve. Read more

“What we discovered was that there was a homesickness for that Spanish service. Our Spanish congregation is very proud to have a free-standing Mass.”

St. Mary's Episcopal Church begins a new, more visible, era of ministry and mission Sunday with the consecration and dedication of a new sanctuary.

The congregation -- which includes a vibrant Spanish ministry -- will join with the Rt. Rev. Dorsey L. Henderson Jr. as he consecrates the new building and prepares the congregation of 1,000 parishioners for expanded mission opportunities.

'For over 30 years, St. Mary's had the problem of not looking like a church, not being on the street,' said the Rev. Blaney Pridgen III, St. Mary's rector. Now, he said, the new building rises at the corner of St. Andrews and Tram roads like a beacon of Christian hope. Read more

West Columbia - West Columbia police have arrested three teens they say broke into a home and beat up two victims. via WLTX-TV Columbia

COLUMBIA -- A memorial service for George Y. MacMurphy will be held at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, Southland Chapel, West Columbia, SC, Friday, March 28, 2008, at 3:00 p.m. The family will receive friends Friday, March 28, 2008, after the service at the funeral home.

Mr. MacMurphy, 97, born January 29, 1911, passed away March 24, 2008. He was the son of William C. and Elise C. MacMurphy. He was employed with WesVaco Paper Mill where he worked as a supervisor until he retired. Mr. MacMurphy served his country in the United States Navy from 1942 until 1945. He also helped to build the original Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, SC, in 1929. Read more

“She is a very good dog, she's very sweet. She's come a long way since the first week.”

In January, Richland County deputies discovered a dog fighting operation at a home on Cora Drive. via WACH-TV Columbia

“We still don't really know for sure what's happened, other than we had a small fire in the area between our two buildings.”

Authorities say they know who was killed in a fire at the Old Mill Antiques shop on State Street earlier this month. via WIS-TV Columbia

West Columbia -- The Lexington County Coroner's Office says a fire at Old Mill Antiques in West Columbia killed a homeless man that was staying there. via WLTX-TV Columbia

Lexington County detectives have arrested all their suspects in a January 17 Augusta Road pawn shop robbery. via WIS-TV Columbia

“I was scared when I opened my door and it was full of smoke, thinking my main building was what was on fire”

Law enforcement, coroner looking into 2 cases in West Columbia, Richland County A burned body in West Columbia and human remains found near Broad River Road launched separate investigations by authorities ... via The State

“There's construction and renovation happening all around us.”

Westend is an interior design showroom that includes four home design-based businesses. via The State

Officers think they've solved a February 28 Gaston home invasion, but they need help finding the suspects. via WIS-TV Columbia

“We would welcome anyone to come in and look for adoption to see what we have currently. If they're interested in adopting, we would welcome them to give a new home.”

A West Columbia woman is facing several animal abuse charges. Lexington County deputies, along with animal services took more than 40 dogs from Dawn Mohead's home last November. via WACH-TV Columbia

“Coupled with the fact that Allen was willing to make the commitment to relocate the Mance House within Waverly makes this a win-win for everybody”

The historic Robert Weston Mance House once again will become home to presidents of Columbia's Allen University.

Workers on Saturday moved the 7,000-square-foot house two blocks to Heidt Street. The move, from Pine Street, was needed to make way for Allen's $18 million dormitory project.

Used as office and storage space for more than a decade, the Mance House now will be renovated and restored to an official residence again.

'The Mance House has been an important part of Allen's history, and we are proud we have been able to save it,' president Charles Young said. 'We made the commitment because we felt it was important not only to our university but to the historic Waverly community and Columbia as a whole.' Read more

Authorities in Lexington County on Tuesday arrested a 30-year-old Columbia man who was wanted on arrest warrants that allege the man kidnapped a 26-year-old Irmo woman and later forced her to have sexual ... via WIS-TV Columbia

“I don't want to be responsible for wiping out an entire cash crop in the U.S. because I didn't do a thorough customs inspection”

CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan -- Almost every day, S.C. National Guard soldiers lug big, black plastic boxes to a yard full of shipping containers here. The boxes are headed for Palmetto State armories.

'It's the first sign that soldiers are ready to go home,' said Lt. Col. Ronnie Taylor of West Columbia, commander of the 218th Brigade Combat Team's military police.

The black boxes belong to some 1,400 S.C. soldiers in the Guard unit who will begin returning to the United States later this month. Read more