Wednesday, March 19th: It was great to see two classes from Anderson’s Calhoun Academy of the Arts. Calhoun Academy of the Arts is an Arts magnet school with exceptional reputation in cultivating the talents of these fine young people. Thanks for coming!
Below is text from a MSN article:
By Abby Ellin of MSN money (edited)
Faiths usually offer parents very clear direction on child-rearing. Premarital sex, for instance? That’s pretty much a no-no, no matter what deity you worship. Dietary rules can also be pretty straightforward — no pork for Muslims and Jews, no beef for Hindus.
But when it comes to money, the picture is cloudier. What does the Bible actually say about money? Does God want us to own a fleet of yachts? Or does he think suffering and hardship is noble? 
Does God want your kid to be rich?
Happily, the consensus among most religious leaders seems to be that the Almighty does not want you to live off food stamps and is quite happy for you to drive a Porsche. But Scriptures say that a portion of your earnings should be returned through gifts to charity and offerings to the church — what some denominations call tithing.
Cantor Erik L. Contzius, of Temple Israel in New Rochelle, N.Y., is trying to instill these lessons in his 6-year-old son. Whenever the boy goes to Hebrew school, Contzius hands him a dollar to put in the tzedakah box for charity. Thou shalt not hoard your money
“If we teach it at a very young age to give, hopefully it will stick,” Contzius says.
Carolyn Castleberry, a writer in Virginia Beach, Va., talks about this idea in her series of financial-empowerment books for women, based on Biblical principles.
“Proverbs 31 has been held up as a standard,” says Castleberry, a mother of two who also writes a newsletter called “The Proverbs 31 Investor.” The Old Testament passage — which describes a virtuous woman as having a price “above rubies” — is “about a woman who is a businessperson, a wife, she has a family, but she became an investor,” Castleberry explains. What the Bible teaches
“She knew how to create passive income, she was a real-estate investor — so she was providing for her family and also for generations, so she’s a role model.”
According to Castleberry, the Bible addresses the topic of money more than any other issue — more than 2,000 passages discuss it. The No. 1 rule? “To tithe or give back,” she says, quoting Malachi 3:10: “Bring to me the first of your possessions and I’ll open up the skies of heaven.”
The Bible also admonishes us to be good stewards of money (although here Christianity and Judaism differ from Islam, which forbids interest accrual).
A parable from Matthew discusses a boss who gave his three employees a certain amount of money.
So far here are the candidates that have filed for the upcoming elections.
Anderson County Council
District 1: Brooks Brown(R), Bob Waldrep(R), incumbent
SC House of Representatives
SC Senate:
District 3: Kevin L. Bryant(R), incumbent
District 4: Billy O’Dell(R), incumbent
There is a public hearing on the proposed Landfill on Tuesday, March 18th at 6:30 at Wren High School. Unfortunately, I will be in Columbia as the Senate will be in session. I have been working diligently with Councilman Ron Wilson, Representative Dan Cooper, and officials at the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). Members of the Anderson County Legislative Delegation are trying our best to defeat the Hamlin Road Landfill Application simply because our community should not be blemished with this type of development. Also, there are environmental as well as economic problems with a landfill in this location.
The initial application was denied by DHEC based on several reasons. Since that time, environmental concerns regarding the wetlands have arisen from the US Corp of Engineers. DHEC’s denial was over-ruled by the Administrative Law Judge because of the inconsistency in Anderson County’s Solid Waste Plan.
Listed below are several different approaches that could prevent the Hamlin Road Landfill Application from being approved and the local legislative delegation are committed to working toward a resolution that is in the best interest of the citizens that call this area home.
· Councilman Wilson is working with the staff of Anderson County to address the concerns of the Administrative Law Judge.
· Zoning is another option, but the community is generally against zoning for obvious property rights infringements.
· Existing regulations require a 1,000-foot buffer from any residence for this type of landfill. The applicant obtained a right of way (easement) from a property owner closer to the site, but that owner has since moved and we understand that the new owner is not in agreement with the right of way.
· I have introduced two pieces of legislation in the SC Senate. S.1173, a Joint Resolution, calls for a statewide moratorium on landfill applications, however, this bill has met resistance from legislators in other areas in the state. The moratorium will be effective on existing applications that are pending before the department. Representative Cooper has introduced a companion bill in the SC House of Representatives, H.4762. Another bill I’ve introduced S.1173, also a Joint Resolution, will apply to the Hamlin Road Landfill only, but, there are constitutional problems with this approach.
It is my hope that this issue can be addressed in a way that will best serve the residents of the area.
On Monday, March 17th we had a great reception at the Corner Bagel Shop to kick off our re-election campaign. Approximately 150 of our supporters were in attendance. Since I became a candidate in 2003, I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm for reform as I witnesses Monday night. Folks are frustrated with our government and are they demanding reform, transparency and accountability. I was also excited to have a surprise appearance by our Congressman, Gresham Barrett (pictured below)! Senator Jim DeMint was not able to attend, but sent an encouraging note as well as Governor Mark Sanford (Click here to see Gov’s letter)
