Just as the blooming dogwoods and azaleas around Newberry show new life and that spring is here, new ideas are springing to life around Newberry.
Mij Bolyard and her son, Miah Miller, have opened Lady of the Lake, at 1406 Main Street, and it looks great. They sell home décor, gifts, and handcrafted items, and Miah does custom laser engraving on glass, metal, wood, leather and stone under the name “Pines to Palmettos.” They have other plans, including adding pottery and are looking for local artists who want to showcase their work. It’s a fun store. As part of their renovation of the building, they discovered a large advertising mural from the early 1900’s. The family welcomes you to see their new store.
At Unique Images, Jack Iannitelli is retiring after 21 years, and Tina Knight and Jessica Washabau have taken over the trophy and plaque business. Friends since childhood, Jessica and Tina will be providing the same quality items as Jack, and they invite sports teams, businesses, churches, etc. to visit them in the back of Armfields at 1408 Main Street. I recently had them beautifully engrave a plaque with an organization logo, and the recipient in Columbia was most pleased. (An aside: Tina is married to Newberry head football coach, Todd Knight).
MTD Arthouse Theatre will have its grand opening at 1121 Caldwell Street on March 31. Owner Michele Gangale plans to show independent films, host live theater and have other events at the cozy spot, formerly occupied by Newberry Yoga. Sharon and I attended the MTD “movie and dinner” downtown in February and had an outstanding evening. Michele will announce their schedule for April and May later this month.
Newberry Yoga moved to a larger location at 1114 Main Street and has a full slate of popular classes. Other small businesses are having success with new ideas, such as Making it Personal new “live Facebook” event on Thursday nights is driving sales to the store.
Mike’s Produce on Wilson Road opened Monday, and that’s an excellent reminder we should all be making sure we eat fruits and vegetables. S.C. DHEC statistics show Newberry County residents need to eat more fruits and vegetables as we are below the state average in this and some other health measures.
S.C. DOT has new ideas, including installing stoplights at the interchange of Hwy 219/Main Street and I-26. The stoplights are up, electricity will be run soon, and turning left coming from Columbia will be easier.
Later this spring, DOT will start on the much-anticipated re-paving of Main Street.
In public safety, Newberry City Council approved the purchase of $151,000 of security cameras to be placed around the city this spring and summer. Proposed by Police Chief Kevin Goodman and city staff, the new cameras have clearer images than older technology and will provide law enforcement with an additional tool in solving and seeking to prevent crimes. The city plans to make an additional purchase of cameras in the fall.
Electric linemen from around the Carolinas will be coming to Newberry on a regular basis as a new lineman training school opened here this month. With the need for a new school for the 21 municipal electric systems in the state, the City of Newberry utility department volunteered to be the host and obtained the use of a field owned by the Newberry County School District. We thank the school district. Last week, about 25 new linemen worked on their climbing skills behind the old Gallman School and took classes at the Firehouse Conference Center, all run by ElectriCities of North Carolina, a highly regarded organization with two training facilities in the Tar Heel state.
A sports idea in recent years of combining multiple youth sports leagues in the county into one league has proved fruitful. For baseball and softball this year, a total of 583 youth are signed up for the combined programs of Newberry County, the Town of Prosperity, the YMCA and the City of Newberry. More than 250 games will be played this season. That’s impressive.
There are new, creative ideas throughout the community from businesses, organizations, and individuals. Spring is a good time to try them.
I hope you have a nice spring.