DEC12_Final File_11x16T.indd

Transcription

December 2012
Y
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 Charities Share
Their Wish Lists
 Aiken New Year’s
Traditions
 The EVOLUTION of
Women’s Underwear:
Ouch! and Oo La La!
 Pop! Champagne!
 The History of
the Savannah River
Project: Part 4
1
BELLA MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2012
CONTENTS
• Intriguing • Empowering • Entertaining
December Features
4
Fiesta Cocoa Cookies Win the
BELLA Cookie Contest!
5
Flowers of the Holy Night: Poinsettias
by Phyllis Maclay
6
2012 BELLA Charity Wish List
by Anna Dangerfield
10 Gingerbread Literary Structures to be
Exhibited at Arts Center
12 Happy New Year!
Bella Favorites
3
Ciao Bella
8
Roots and Wings: De-Stress the Holidays
by Betts Hunter Gatewood
13 Heard it Through the Grapevine: POP!
by Missie Bowman Boisvert
14 The Flying Foodie: Quick and Easy
New Year’s Eve Appetizers
by Chef Belinda
18 Bella Buzz
by Anna Dangerfield
16 Colorful Barn Cats Move into
Downtown Locations
by Kathy Huff
Pages S1-S16 A Special Insert on the History of
the Savannah River Site:
Part 4: Now, and into the Future
17 From the Couch to 5K and Liking it
24 Children’s Literature: 75 Years of
Caldecott Medals!
by Ann Dudley Holley
26 Good Sense Medicine: Leaky Gut Syndrome
by Zoom Heaton
December 2012, Volume 9, No.9
Mailing Address
124 Trafalgar St., SW
Aiken, SC 29801
Publisher
Kathy Urban Huff
editor@aikenbellamagazine.com
Advertising
Kathy Huff
803/439-4026
ads@aikenbellamagazine.com
Photography
Kathy Huff, Jim Stafford
Staff Writers
Anna Dangerfield, Phyllis Maclay
Steve Hale, Susan Elder,
Tony Baughman, Sally Bradley
Graphic Design
Jim Stafford
28 TechTalk: Apple’s iPad Mini Enters
a Crowded Market
?
by Kevin Wade
by Kristen Sojourner
21 New Pam Durban Novel Recalls
Terrible Aiken Crime in 1926
by Kathy Urban Huff
29 Nutrition: Could You Be Addicted to Chocolate?
by Cyndi Catts
30 Scene Around Town
22 Steel, Horsehair and Bone:
The Evolution of Underwear
Want BELLA delivered to your mailbox
Subscriptions (9 issues per year)
are available via US Mail for $30.
Send checks payable to:
BELLA Magazine
124 Trafalgar Street SW
Aiken, SC 29801
by Phyllis Maclay
Experience
the wonder
of
Ultrasound!
Experience
the wonder of 3D ultrasound!
Experience the wonder of 3D ultrasound!
Experience the wonder of 3D ultrasound!
James F. Boehner, MD Jessica L. Keller, DO
Aiken
Obstetrics
& D. Boone,
Aiken Obstetrics &
Aiken
& RNC, WHNP
Andreina Angle,
Robert
MDObstetrics
JanetAssociates
Powell, MSN, WHNP
Gynecology
Associates
Gynecology
Oletha R. Minto,
MD
Gynecology
Associates
James F. Boehner, MD
James F. Boehner, MD
2
James
F. Boehner,
MD
410 University Parkway410 University
Robert
D. Boone,
410MD
University
Parkway
Suite
1550
• Aiken,Parkway
SC (803) 649-7535Robert D. Boone, MD
Oletha R. Minto,
MD 1550
Oletha R. Minto, MD
410Suite
University
Parkway
1550 • Aiken,
SC
Robert
D. Boone,
Suite
• Aiken,MD
SC
Andreina Angle, RNC, WHNP
(803)
649-7535
(803) 649-7535
R. Minto, MD
WHNP
Janet Powell, MSN, WHNP
Suite
1550
• Aiken, SC Janet Powell, MSN,Oletha
(803) 649-7535
Janet Powell, MSN, WHNP
Ciao
Bella!
I love Christmas. It’s one of my favorite times
of the year. So much excitement, so much joy. In a
town where people are inherently nice all year, they
are even nicer at Christmas. I am richly blessed here,
and I gave special thanks for that at Thanksgiving.
The Festival of Trees
For me, Christmas always begins at the
Festival of Trees. Aiken just had its second one,
but the one in Columbus, Ohio began in the 1970s
and was a holiday tradition with our family over
Thanksgiving.
Here in Aiken, the Festival of Trees was
kicked off by a Wreath War with media celebrities
and their “helpers” the night before Thanksgiving.
Daughter Debbie came into town all charged up to
be on my team. What a ball! While I evolved to the
helper status and provided assistance to her awesome
energy and skill, she used her magic to produce a
lovely silver and red wreath. It was a great evening,
made even more fun by the presence of her husband
Jim and my son Rick. Family holidays are so very
special.
The two strong men at my disposal made
short work of bringing Christmas decorations down
from the attic. And now my house is showing signs of
the holidays. Hardly any decorations are finished yet,
aside from the tree, which now is fairly preening under
Debbie’s beautiful artist’s touch—oh, what she can do
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year
with ribbon! If truth be told, there are more boxes
than bows littering the place. But that’s all right. By
the time this issue of BELLA is in your hands, I’ll be
happily playing carols while I putter around readying
my house for five more members of my family during
Christmas week. I can hardly wait!
Remember Local Charities
As I make room for the festive hangings and
doo-dads, I am pulling out things that I seldom use
or even see any more because they’re just part of the
landscape. I have begun filling a box or two with
these items because they’re still in good shape and
could benefit someone else now. If you are doing the
same thing, consult the BELLA Charity Wish List
to see if there’s a match between your give-aways and
the huge needs of the non-profit organizations around
here. If not, they appreciate your gift of money too.
See you at the BELLA Tea!
Give your holiday season a good start at the
BELLA Holiday Tea at the Museum on December
5 from 3 to 5 p.m. It’s a fundraiser for the Child
Advocacy Center, and your check for $45 will be your
reservation. Send it soon! Make it payable to BELLA
Magazine and send to 124 Trafalgar St. SW, Aiken,
SC 29801. There’s a lot of fun in store! Call me at
644-9165 if you have any questions.
Thanks to Brent Cline
In the flurry of last-minute changes to
BELLA last month, we inadvertently left out a photo
credit for Brent Cline, who took the wonderful photos
of the Dancing with the Aiken Stars dancers that
graced the cover. Thanks for sharing, Brent!
May you all enjoy this blessed season and
bring in a prosperous, happy new year!
The Next BELLA is the
February Issue
Kathy Huff
Holiday preparation is easier for me because
BELLA is not published in January. It’s a slow
month; many of us simply hibernate after the hectic
pace of December and are happy to slack off. And
nature seems to give us permission to do so. So plan
to pick up the February BELLA in late January.
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Fiest Win the
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BELLA
by Kathy Urban Huff
Ellyn McNair took first place honors in
the 2012 Bella Cookie Contest with her submitted
recipe of Fiesta Cocoa Cookies. Runners-up were
Loretta Beckner, Cindy Adriano, and Annette Carrier.
The cookies were tasted and rated last
month at The Willcox by judges Chef Belinda
Smith-Sullivan (BELLA’s cooking columnist),
Willcox Chef Regan Browell, and BELLA Editor
Kathy Huff. The cookies were blind-tested; that is,
to assure impartiality, the identity of the bakers of
the submitted recipes was withheld.
Cookies were rated according to originality,
ease of preparation, and taste,
with the judges
assigning points
in these categories
to each of the four
cookies that made
the final judging. Fiesta Cocoa
Cookies earned
the most points
and was declared
the winning entry.
personnel department, then located at the old Ellenton schoolhouse at the Site. “He came into my
office and perched on my desk and asked me for a
date,” Ellyn said. The two were married in 1954.
The McNairs took over the
City golf course
At the time Jim was an amateur golfer. He
later turned professional, but knew that he wanted
his own course. When the City of Aiken put the
golf course up for sale, Jim bought it in 1959 and
renamed it the Highland Park Country Club after
its original name dating to 1912 when it was built
as part of the Highland
Park Hotel. Son Jim Jr. now
owns the golf course, which
he named the Aiken Golf
Club, similar to the name
it bore when under the
city’s ownership (the Aiken
Municipal Golf Course).
This year the club has been
celebrating its 100th anniversary.
“I played golf with the
ladies,” Ellyn said. “I was
a homemaker and raised
BELLA Cookie Contest winner Ellyn McNair
She adapted
one daughter and three sons
an online
here in Aiken.”
recipe
The Fiesta Cocoa Cookies are one
“I found the recipe online but have worked
of Ellyn’s featured items at the Aiken Golf Club
on it,” Ellyn told BELLA. “The Mexican hot
concession stand on the west side of Dibble Road by
chocolate tablet and all the cinnamon make it difthe 8th hole. “Jim had some trouble with turnover
ferent.”
at the stand, so I asked him if I could take it on. I
Ellyn Blair McNair came to Aiken in
thought it would be fun, and it is. My golf custom1951 when her father was assistant manager of the
ers are fine supporters.”
Atomic Energy Commission at the new Savannah
River Plant. During a summer job at the SRP, she
Ellyn is “motherly” toward
met James McNair (Sr.) who was working in the
her golfers
You shouldn’t have to do
EVERYTHING!
643-9266
460 Silver Bluff Road
Aiken, SC
Steve Young, Owner
Auto Tech, Inc.
Professional Import and Domestic Auto Service
Computerized Engine Analysis
4
It’s been five years
since Ellyn began running the concession stand
four to five days a week,
selling hot dogs and brats
with various condiments
and toppings, crackers,
chips, candy, drinks and
beer. Then she started
baking cookies to put out
in a glass cookie jar on
the counter. “I guess I
wanted to be motherly,”
she said. “They are so
well received.” At the
time of this BELLA
interview, Ellyn was baking peanut butter cookies
with Reese’s candy in
them. Ellyn’s other cookies enjoyed by the golfers
include cranberry oatmeal
with white chocolate
chips and oatmeal date.
Fiesta Cocoa Cookies
Yield: 4 dozen cookies
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter (no substitute)--1 stick at room
temperature
1 tablet Mexican hot chocolate drink mix
(from 19 oz. package of
Nestle “Abuelita” found at Walmart in
Mexican food section)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg, at room temperature
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Mixture to roll cookies in
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Mix sugar and cinnamon together in small
dish. Set aside.
Directions:
In a small saucepan, melt 1 stick of the
butter with the cocoa tablet over low heat, stirring
constantly.
Beat the sugar and remaining softened stick
of butter with a spoon until light and fluff y. Stir in
the vanilla and egg, mixing well.
Stir in the melted butter/chocolate mixture,
mixing well. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, then stir in the
chocolate chips.
Shape dough into 1-1 ½” balls; roll balls in
sugar/cinnamon mixture.
Place balls 2” apart on ungreased cookie
sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes or until
set. (Do not overbake.)
Cool 3 minutes on cookie sheets; remove
cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Store covered at room temperature, or
freeze, tightly packaged.
Ellyn McNair
Flowers of the Holy Night
Flores de Noche Buena
by Phyllis Maclay
The small Mexican girl tramped along the
road with a heavy heart as she approached the church
on Christmas Eve. Penniless and poor, Pepita had
nothing to bring as a present to Baby Jesus. Remembering the words of her cousin, Pedro, who had urged
her to take a gift to the Christ Child, she picked
weeds growing at her feet. Sighing, the child clutched
them in her little hand and entered the church. Pepita
hesitated, then silently walked down the aisle. As the
weeds tumbled from her open hand to the altar, they
transformed into brilliant red flowers. These were the
first Flores de Noche Buena.
Mexican Roots and
American Monopoly
Flowers of the Holy Night, known to us as
poinsettias, are also called the lobster flower, Mexican
Flame Leaf, Winter
Rose, Christmas Star,
and Christmas Flower. Its botanical tag,
Euphoria pulcherrima (most beautiful
Euphorbia) came from
a German botanist
who was stunned by
its dazzling color as it
grew through a crack
in his greenhouse.
Ancient Aztecs roamed southern Mexico countryside gathering
cuetlaxochitl (flower with leather petals) to crush the
bracts, or leaves, into a red/purple dye. The white sap
that oozed out from the bracts was used as medicine
to reduce fevers from the 14th through 16th centuries. The Aztec symbol for purity, this flower was
brought by caravan to Mexico City for the last Aztec
king, Montezuma, since the altitude there was too
high to grow cuetlaxochitl.
Civil war broke out in Mexico in the early
1820s, so President John Quincy Adams appointed
Joel Robert Poinsett to be the first ambassador to
serve there. Poinsett’s love for botany took him to
explore the Mexican country to find new plants. In
1828 he
stumbled
upon a
shrub
bursting with
stunning red
flowers.
Taking
cuttings,
Poinsett
returned to his greenhouse in Greenwood, South
Carolina, to grow and present this gorgeous plant to
friends and relatives. Its reputation bloomed and soon
people all over America wanted to buy the flower.
Horticulturist William Prescott had written
and published Conquest of Mexico which told the
story of Poinsett’s discovery of Euphoria pulcherrima.
Being asked to give it a new name, Prescott called
it poinsettia in honor of Joel Poinsett. Congress
declared December 12th “National Poinsettia Day”
after Poinsett’s death on that day in 1851.
Immigrant Albert Ecke ventured to southern
California in the early 1900s to live the American
dream of making it big. This entrepreneur sold poinsettias from street stands, but his son thought if he
could make the weedy bush fuller and give the color
more definition, it would sell better. The flower was
a hit, became a popular cut flower and was then used
in landscaping. Albert’s grandson used his marketing
ideas to showcase the new and improved poinsettia. The young man shipped free poinsettias to The
Tonight Show and the Bob Hope Show to use as
displays on the sets. Business blossomed and the Ecke
family still controls 70% of poinsettia production and
sales today.
In Aiken’s Own Backyard
Aiken has its own locally grown
poinsettias at Cold Creek Nurseries where
Greenhouse and Production Manager
Alan S. Maclay starts the process the first
week of August when the first shipment of
liners (plugs) arrives. He applies lime and
a dressing —a slow-release fertilizer—on
the top of the soil; next he rotates watering
with three different fertilizers.
“Before Labor Day I cut the plant
back according to what is desired in the
finished plant,” Maclay said. “Four to six
nodes are left to grow. Then depending on the variety,
a plant growth regulator is applied to keep them in
plants for the agriculture students at the school’s
greenhouses “The additional lighting after sunset
delays their natural coloring-up period,” said Maclay.
“They really need the total darkness until October
15th. After that date extra light doesn’t affect them.”
This holiday season Maclay is growing 19
different varieties for Cold Creek Nurseries; reds,
pinks, whites, marbled, apricot, burgundy, white
glitter, cream, green-red, and a winter rose that looks
like a small rose.
“We deliver to churches, businesses, florists;
and they are a terrific fundraiser,” said Maclay. Here
is his advice about caring for your poinsettia at home:
•
•
Don’t let them touch cold window panes
Keep them cool. (58-70 degrees F) High temperatures shorten the life of the bracts.
Place them in a sunny location and out of
a hot or cold draft
Water only when soil is slightly dry.
Remove foil covering or punch in some
drain holes
Do not fertilize until spring
•
•
•
•
So if you want to add pizzazz to your
holiday decorations, be sure to include the dazzling
poinsettia. And feast your eyes on the festive sea of
color at Cold Creek Nurseries where Alan Maclay
will guide you through his prize poinsettias.
Poinsettia Ponderings
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alan Maclay sits among a few of thousands of poinsettias he grows at Cold Creek
Nursery.
check, for the finished height desired. Then they are
in the cruise mode.” Cruise mode? “Letting them
grow with proper watering and temperatures; then
after a few more weeks, they are ready to sell.
“Many growers don’t like to grow poinsettias.
They are non-forgiving,” added Maclay. “You have to
do what you need to do, when you need to do it. Plant
by a certain date, cut by a certain date, lime and top
dress—but I love to grow them.”
In fact, they are so particular in their lighting requirements, that Aiken High School’s football
lights cause some problems with the coloring of the
•
•
It’s a myth that the white milk from the
bract is poisonous
90% of all poinsettias are exported
from the U.S.
In North America the poinsettia is the
most sold house plant
California is the top producing state of
poinsettias
Chile and Peru call the poinsettia the
“Crown of the Andes”
80% of poinsettias are purchased by
women
There are more than 100 varieties of
poinsettias
The bract is the showy leaf. The flower
is the small yellow star.
Poinsettias are the most popular house
plant in the world
Plant growth regulators help determine
the size of the poinsettia
A node is the growth point on the stem of
the poinsettia
There’s even a Christmas song about poinsettias:
Percy the puny poinsettia
Is hanging his bloom in dismay
If they had just kept him wetta
He’d be a houseplant today…
5
2012 Bella Char i ty Wish List
This year, BELLA’s annual Charity
Wish List focuses on the top three wishes of each
charity, but their general needs continue to be
overwhelming in this economy. Sincere thanks to all
those who support these charities at Christmas and
throughout the year. To assist them further, “like”
them on Facebook, visit their website, or make a
call to discover their additional needs.
Aiken Area Council on Aging, Inc.
159 Morgan St. NW, Aiken, S.C.29801
P.O. Box 3156, Aiken S.C. 29802
803-648-5447
Fax: 803-649-1005
Contact Person: Scott K. Murphy, Executive Director
Email: skmurphy@gforcecable.com
Website: www.aacoa.net
Mission: Our agency provides nutritional services,
wellness activities and the services to ensure our
seniors’ independence and the resources to remain
in their homes. Our transit services provide seniors,
those with disabilities, and the general public access
to education, medical services, social events
and shopping.
WISH LIST
Donations for our nutritional program
Volunteers to aid in delivery of our Home Delivered
Meals Program
Any types of can goods, paper products, etc., for
the seniors Christmas gifts
Aiken Boxing Youth Development
Pal
675 York Street, NE, Aiken, S.C. 29801
P.O. Box 33, Aiken, S.C. 29802
803-645-6338
Contact Person: Wanda Green
Email: greenwanda6155@yahoo.com
Mission: Our mission is to provide a safe and
organized environment for our youth and young
adults to provide tutoring, meals, mentoring, junior
achievement, physical fitness and leadership skills.
As an after-school program, we want to help them
to become productive citizens in school, home and
their communities.
WISH LIST
Computer set
Copy machine
Air hockey table
Aiken County Habitat for Humanity
1026 Park Avenue, Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-642-9295
Contact Person: Richard C. Church, Executive
Director
Email: go2church@bellsouth.net
Website: HabitatAiken.org
Mission: Aiken County Habitat for Humanity
works in partnership with God and the people
of Aiken County to provide home ownership
opportunities to qualified low-income families
through advocacy and construction of houses.
WISH LIST
Desktop computer for the office
Presentation board for use at events
Medium size safe for office use and security
6
American Red Cross
Aiken Area Chapter
1314 Pine Log Road, Aiken, S.C. 29803
803-641-4152
Contact Person: Lindsay Findley, Chapter Executive
Email: Lindsay.findley@redcross.org
Website: columbiaregionredcross.org
Definition of organization: The American Red
Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in
the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of
volunteers and the generosity of donors.
WISH LIST
Storage shed
Permanent flag pole with flag
Shelves for storage
Aiken Churches Together Serving
(ACTS)
340 Park Avenue SW, Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-649-3800
Contact Person: Vicki Bukovitz, Executive Director
Email: Vicki@actsofaiken.org
Website: actsofaiken.org
Mission: To give temporary and emergency aid
to persons in need in Aiken County in the name
of Jesus Christ.
WISH LIST
Children’s jeans sizes - 2T to 16
Children’s coats
Blankets (Gently used is fine, but clean and not
needing repairs)
Brothers and Sisters
of Aiken County
132 York Street, NE, Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-641-3888
Contact Person: Charonica Pope, Program Director
Email: brotherssisterso@bellsouth.net
Mission: We serve boys and girls between the
ages of 5-17 who want positive and structured
reinforcement in their lives, so they can become
productive young men and women making a
difference in their community/society. We provide
educational, recreational, cultural and spiritual lifeskilled programs year-round to our youth.
WISH LIST
DVD/VCR combination
Snacks for our After School Program
Office printer or used copier
Child Advocacy Center
of Aiken County
4231 Trolley Line Road, Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-644-5100
Contact Person: Gayle Lofgren, Executive Director
Email: caclofgren@att.net
Website: cacofaiken.org
Mission or Purpose: The mission of the Child
Advocacy Center is to implement investigative,
treatment and prevention efforts to assist abused
children in our community through a collaborative
multidisciplinary approach.
WISH LIST
Small waters and individually wrapped snacks
(chips, goldfish, etc.)
Copy paper
McDonald’s or Burger King gift cards for families
Compiled by Anna Dangerfield
Children’s Place, Inc.
310 Barnwell Avenue, NE, Aiken, S.C. 29801
Contact Person: Peggy Ford, Executive Director
803-641-4145
Email: childrenpf@aol.com
Website: www.childrensplaceinc.org
Mission: Our mission is to prevent the abuse
and neglect of children in Aiken County and five
other surrounding counties. We believe that every
child should live in a safe, nurturing and healthy
community.
WISH LIST
Pray that we get a new building
Become a Guardian Angel
Children’s socks and underwear
Cumbee Center
135 Lancaster Street, Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-649-0480
Contact Person: Paul Volz, Volunteer Events
Coordinator
Email: caap_vc@bellsouth.net
Website: www.cumbeecenter.org
Mission: To provide temporary shelter, counseling
and assistance to victims of domestic violence and
sexual assault.
WISH LIST
Bikes
iTunes cards
Walmart gift cards
Formula for Life
224 Barnwell Avenue, NW, Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-644-9624
Contact Person: Jim Kelley
Email: jaKelley@bellsouth.net
Website: www.aikenpresbyterian.org (click on
“necklaces”)
Mission: This mission project provides money
to buy infant formula for babies who are born
HIV-negative, but the mothers are HIV-positive
in Mwandi, Zambia. Feeding these babies infant
formula eliminates the risk of transmitting HIV from
the mothers’ milk. Since 2009, a group of women
at First Presbyterian Church in Aiken have made
and sold necklaces made from specialty yarns to
support this mission.
WISH LIST
$10 for pendants and earring supplies
$20 for 6 rolls of yarn
$40 for a milk goat for a remote village in Zambia
Golden Harvest Food Bank
13 Enterprise Avenue, Aiken, S.C. 29803
803-640-6793
Contact Person: Mike Gibbons
Email: mgibbons@goldenharvest.org
Website: www.goldenharvest.org
Mission: The mission of Golden Harvest Food
Bank is to end hunger in our 30-county service
area in Georgia and South Carolina by partnering
with individuals, church and civic organizations,
businesses, corporations, and agencies in the local
community to feed their neighbors.
WISH LIST
An electric leaf blower
A color printer/scanner, compatible w/ PCs
A regular PC-compatible printer
Goodwill Industries of
Middle Georgia and the CSRA
1015 Pine Log Road, Aiken, S.C. 29803
803-649-7694
Fax: 803-649-6935
Contact Person: Jennifer Hart
Email: JHart@Goodwillworks.org
Mission: We help people discover and develop
their God-given gifts through education, work and
career development services.
WISH LIST
Bikes
Clothing
Copy paper
Helping Hands
100 John Elliott Lane, Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-648-3456
Contact Person: Tammy S. Davis,
Development & Quality Assurance Coordinator
Email: tdavis@helpinghandsaiken.org
Website:www.helpinghandsaiken.org
Mission: Helping Hands is a United Way agency
that serves as a 24-hour emergency home for
abused, abandoned, and neglected children in
South Carolina. Our agency cares for young male
and female victims from the ages of birth to twentyone.
WISH LIST
New pillows, bath towels and wash cloths
Movie passes
Paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, etc.)
and laundry detergent/bleach
Hitchcock Healthcare
690 Medical Park Drive, Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-293-4375
Fax: 803-648-1631
Contact Person: Tasha Savage
Email: tsavage@hitchcockhealthcare.org
Website: www.hitchcockhealthcare.org
Mission: Our mission at Hitchcock Healthcare is
that we exist to provide an excellent rehabilitation
experience for children and adults in the Aiken
community and beyond.
WISH LIST
Baby food
Children’s books
Home exercise software for pediatrics
Medication Assistance Program
Lower Savannah
P.O. Box 850
Aiken, S.C. 29802
803-508-7033 and 803-649-7981
Contact Person: Nita Swift,
Program Manager,
Medication Assistance Program
Lower Savannah Council of Governments
Email: nswift@lscog.org
Website: lscog.org
Mission: The Medication Assistance Program
(MAP) helps medically needy individuals to obtain
free or low cost medications from pharmaceutical
companies. This service is a partnership among
local Aiken County Physicians, their medically
needy patients, the pharmaceutical companies and
MAP. The program is carried out with two part-time
staff members and a group of dedicated volunteers. It is funded by United Way of Aiken County and
has secured over $5.1 million dollars’ worth of
medications for patients in Aiken County since it
started at the end of 2004.
WISH LIST
Design and printing of information sheets
Non-sweet snacks to offer people coming in
for assistance, such as individually packaged
nuts, peanut butter crackers, Chex mix, etc.
Donations for emergency medications while waiting
for ordered meds to arrive.
Nurture Home (MHA Aiken County)
233 Pendleton St., NW, Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-641-4164
Contact Person: Lisa Tindal
Email: ltindal.ed.mhaac@gmail.com
Website: www.mha-aiken.org
Mission: To serve as an advocate and support by
promoting positive mental health in Aiken County
WISH LIST
Twin-sized comforters
Twin blankets
Wash cloths and towels
Ronald McDonald House Charities
of Augusta
938 Greene Street, Augusta, GA 30901
706-724-5901
Contact Person: Kristina Collins,
House Manager
Email: Kristina@rmhcAugusta.org
Website: rmhcaugusta.org
Mission: Ronald McDonald House Charities of
Augusta, Georgia creates, finds and supports
programs that directly improve the health and wellbeing of children. The Ronald McDonald House is
a “home-away-from-home” for families of seriously
and critically ill or injured children receiving medical
treatment at nearby hospitals.
WISH LIST
White towels
White queen sheets with pillow cases
Laundry detergent
Rural Health Services, Inc.
4645 Augusta Road
P.O. Box 277, Clearwater, S.C. 29822
803-380-7013 (desk), 803-293-6704 (office cell)
Contact Person: Gail B. Diggs,
Director Outreach & Community Services
Email: gdiggs@ruralhs.org
Website: mjwchc.org
Mission: To provide accessible quality,
comprehensive primary care services in a dignified
manner to the population in Aiken County and
surrounding areas.
WISH LIST
Sanitary napkins for the Ob/Gyn patients
Baby wipes
Children’s books
Tri-Development Center
of Aiken County, Inc.
P.O. Box 698 Aiken, S.C. 29802
1016 Vaucluse Road Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-642-8811
Contact Person: Ralph E. Courtney, Executive
Director
Email: rcourtney@aikentdc.org
Website: www.aikentdc.org
Mission: To provide a variety of needed supports
to children and adults with intellectual disabilities,
autism, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries,
and similar disabilities. We operate vocational
programs and other day services, 37 group homes,
and an apartment complex. Our goal is to help
people with disabilities achieve their wish to become
valued members of our community.
WISH LIST
Commitments to utilize your experiences and
creative talents with groups in our day services
facilities. This includes playing a musical instrument,
talking on a particular subject, conducting a simple
art project, performing a magic show, singing, etc.
Donations to assist us in meeting the dental needs
of individuals with disabilities who are unable to pay
for needed dental services.
Donations to our building fund – additional
facilities are needed in order to help us meet the
needs of those individuals with disabilities who are
unfortunately on waiting lists.
The Family Y of Aiken County
621 Trolley Line Road, Graniteville, S.C. 29829
803-349-8102, 706- 840- 1517 (cell)
Contact Person: Catie McCauley, Executive
Director
Email: cmccauley@thefamilyy.org
Website: www.thefamilyy.org
Mission: The mission of The Family Y is to serve
individuals and families in the CSRA through
programs and services designed to build healthy
spirit, mind and body, reflecting the values of the
Judeo-Christian tradition while maintaining respect
for all people.
WISH LIST
Golf cart to maintain the property at
The Family Y of Aiken
Digital camera to photograph the adorable kids
in our programs
Kid-friendly arts and crafts supplies and active and
creative G Rated Xbox Connect games
The Salvation Army
P.O. Box 439, Aiken, S.C. 29802
Admin Offices & Boys & Girls Club
322 Gayle Ave. Aiken, S.C. 29801
803-641-4141
Social Services Office, Shelter & Soup Kitchen
604 Park Ave. Aiken, S.C.
803-641-4149
Contact Person: Angela Repass
Email:Angela_Repass@USS.Salvationarmy.org
Website: www.salvationarmycarolinas.org/
commands/Aiken
International Mission Statement: The Salvation
Army, an international movement, is an evangelical
part of the universal Christian church. Its message
is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by
the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel
of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His
name without discrimination.
WISH LIST
Obviously money
Meat (ground beef, hot dogs, chicken, pork,
ham and turkey)
Paper products (plates, cups, forks, napkins,
bowls, paper towels, toilet paper)
Cleaning supplies (laundry detergent HE, Lysol,
dish soap, dish washer detergent, toilet cleaner,
bleach, window cleaner & SOS pads)
7
by Betts Hunter Gatewood
De-Stress the Holidays
Christmas is coming, and if we are all
perfectly honest, it is not the easiest time of year.
What SHOULD be a peaceful, loving, Christ-centered, family holiday can become a stressful, selfish,
consumer-oriented extravaganza. Let’s stop and
think why we let this time of year control us instead
of our reining it in and making it the joyful season
it could be.
More gifts, more parties, more,
more, more
Part of the problem is that advertising and
media make us think that “good” parents give their
children all they ask for and more, with no thought
to need or what is best for them. This feeds on our
tendency to compare what our children receive with
what their friends are getting. Our human nature
tends to make it a contest where more is better.
Another factor to the season’s stressfulness
is the schedule we have to manage. Holiday plays,
school activities, parties, church events, neighborhood gatherings, family visits, etc. can add up to
very little time at home to enjoy each other and the
time off we usually have together.
How can we slow down the season, the
money spent, and the time and energy wasted?
Perhaps we could start with a family discussion expressing our wishes to enjoy the season and
the reasons why, in our house, this is hard to do.
Every family has its traditions and sometimes these
are part of the problem. Some examples may be:
huge meals that involve a lot of time and preparation, long lists for Santa that recipients expect to
be filled to the max, parties more than one or two
nights a week that we are expected to attend, decorations that take hours to assemble, etc. Talking
with your family before the chaos begins could help
to prevent some of these expectations from taking
over the whole month. You might be surprised at
how willing your family may be to lower expecta-
New
This Fall!
• For Pick-up or
Delivery
• Heat Up at Home
tions if they realize how much these expectations
take away from your sense of well-being and financial stability.
Talk now about what makes a
meaningful holiday
The key here is to talk about it now, not
when everyone is in the middle of the chaos and
each person has his or her agenda. Rather than its
being about ME, if we talk about it before the moment, it can be about US--and that makes all the
difference. Each family’s priorities will put certain
activities at the top of their list. This will serve to
remind you that not every family will attend every
event, do every activity, and eat every food and
that’s okay!
Children want us, not things. They want
and need our time, attention, energy, and love. How
about a trip together as their major Christmas present? How about a volunteer shift at a food kitchen
together to give them the experience of giving to
others, a rare gift indeed? How about planning a
meal together that they can help with to take some
of the pressure off the kitchen work? Granted, the
younger they are the less this is “help,” but it is still
fun and time together. I have also found that when
you have young children helping you, the pressure
of fi xing a perfect meal is gone!
family games we played, how much time Daddy had
at home instead of at work, church services, candlelight singing, caroling to shut-ins, etc. If some of
these activities also meant something to you as a
child perhaps these are the memories we want to
make for our children—yes, even in 2012!
If in your past Decembers, you were harried, worried, stressed, and tense, ask yourself if this
is the kind of parent you want to be? Your choices
and decisions now can help you enjoy this month
in a way that will nurture your family’s connections
and relationships, and this is where true memories
are made.
Merry Christmas, one and all!
Betts Hunter Gatewood is a
National Board Certified school
counselor with 28 years’ experience
in elementary and middle school
counseling. She holds an EdS
degree from USC and has authored
or co-authored four books on school
counseling strategies and activities.
She and her husband are the proud
parents of three adult children and
have four granddaughters and a grandson.
What do you remember?
Think back to Christmas seasons in your
family. What kinds of activities and events do you
remember fondly? This could give you some ideas as
you seek to provide your own children with healthy,
precious memories of this special time of year. If
you’re like me, you probably won’t remember specific gifts, and this makes me wonder why the shopping part of Christmas is given such importance.
My memories are more about who was there, what
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Stoplight Deli
119 Laurens Street NW, Aiken, SC
803-642-3354
www.stoplightdeli.com
8
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9
Gingerbread Literary
Structures to be Exhibited
at Arts Center
Gingerbread houses from works of
literature—think The House of the Seven Gables or
Tara from Gone with the Wind—will be judged
December 5 and then put on display at the Aiken
Center for the Arts from December 6-8. Winners
will be displayed with their ribbons.
Criteria used in judging the gingerbread
houses include use of space, overall appearance,
originality and creativity, difficulty and precision,
and consistency of theme.
Entry Deadline Extended
The deadline for entering the Literary
Structures Gingerbread Contest has been extended
to December 3 from the initial November date;
entry forms can be picked up at the Aiken County
Historical Museum or the Aiken Center for the
Arts or their websites, said Margaret Marvin, cochair of the Gingerbread competition. The fee for
each entry is $10.
Also on display at the Arts Center from December
6-8 will be gingerbread houses assembled by
home-schooled children that are not part of the
competition.
Hands-on Decorating
Children will enjoy hands-on decorating of
gingerbread boys Sunday, December 9, from 2 to 4
p.m. at the Museum. There is no charge for the fun
event, and no reservation is necessary.
The gingerbread competition was inspired
by Maggie Sacks, whose gingerbread rendition of
the Aiken Railway Depot was spotted by Margaret
Marvin and Del Hickey at its premiere. The two
then joined forces to lead a committee to found the
Gingerbread competition last year.
Summerville
Rags, Inc.
Introducing
My Flat
In London
706.738.4888
On The Hill
1502 Monte Sano Ave. in Augusta
Hours: M – F 10 - 5:30
Sat. 11- 4
10
11 by Anna Dangerfield
Aiken loves a celebration, and New Year’s
Eve provides an excellent excuse.
In the first half of the century, Winter
Colonists spent their New Year’s Eve attending the
Palmetto Ball at the Palmetto Golf Club. In 1937,
the local newspaper reported that each guest was
dressed “to represent some nationally known advertiser.” And at the annual New Year’s Eve masquerade ball in 1941, all
of “the Colonists and
their guests attended
in costumes of varied
colors and kinds.”
First Night
Costumes
and masks were also
featured when Aiken
celebrated First Night
in the ‘90s. It was reported that “A parade
through Aiken featured giant characters
in enormous papiermache’ masks and carriages full of costumed pets
and people.”
First Night Aiken was an alcohol-free New
Year’s Eve celebration for the family. Parents and
their young children gathered at the Aiken Center
for the Arts and other areas around Laurens Street.
Musicians, poets, storytellers, magicians, and
artistic activities entertained the crowds. The 1998
celebration drew about 2500 celebrants.
Reports abound that one million attendees
in New York City’s Times Square annually gather
to watch the dropping of the New Year’s Eve ball.
The first ball drop occurred in 1907, continuing to
this day, with the exception of 1942 and 1943.
Times Square Experience
champagne! It’s beautiful to be out under the stars,
on the ocean, and celebrating with long-time dear
friends.”
A Tender Time
Spending that evening with good friends
has also been the yearly tradition for Leslie and
Taylor Garnett. Leslie shared that “for many years,
‘Aiken Friends in Highlands’ have gathered in
someone’s home to celebrate the New Year. It is
always much fun with fireworks, good food and wine,
and laughter. This past year
was an especially ‘tender’
year for us as several had
struggled with health issues
and two had recently lost
a parent. We were all very
caring and very, very grateful for the years we had
been together. I suspect
this is one of the blessings
of aging with friends you
love.”
From Revelry to Reruns and Football
Molly Gray claims, “We’re pretty boring on
New Year’s Eve as we approach ‘decrepitude’! The
last three years we have gone with a few friends to
Malia’s for dinner, home to watch an old movie,
and then we’re asleep, usually before midnight. We
used to go to the Green Boundary for many years
to dance. One memorable evening, about 23 years
ago, we went to the Charleston Yacht Club for a
great dinner with friends, and walked back to the
hotel while people celebrated all over the streets—
much fun and revelry!”
It’s a quiet night, too, for Barbara Sue and
Brad Brodie. “There are the odd years when we
actually go out, but that is becoming rare,” Barbara
Sue said. “We usually take down the
Christmas tree
and order a pizza.
We also open a
bottle of champagne to ring in
the New Year at
10p.m., and then
fall asleep watching a football game
on TV. And we
never miss celebrating New Year’s
Day in traditional
Southern style. I always make Hoppin’
John, collard greens,
and cornbread for
a crowd watching
MORE football.” Sally and John Bradley spent a
New Year’s Eve in Times Square. “We
visited New York City and stayed in a
hotel in the Times Square area,” Sally
said. “We watched the ball drop in very
cold weather. The evening was family oriented, lots of happy adults and
children. It was great, and no one got
out of line.”
For others, partying
with family members has been their
tradition. “For the last 18 years, we’ve
partied with my brother’s and sister’s families and Daddy (till he died
in ‘05), and usually at some great
venue,” Polly Goldston said. “We’ve
been the life of the party at Stone
Mountain, the Druid Hills Country
Club, the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta,
Houndslake Country Club, and,
of course, Kings Krest at Murrells
Inlet! Always together! Always a
“First Foot”
Times Square
party! And always thankful for
Some New Year’s
another year together!” Eve traditions salute one’s heritage. Jan Waugh
Cathie Brown celebrates with
said, “As I was brought up in England we still folfriends on this special night. “One of the couples
low the tradition of first footing, a Scottish tradition
in my dinner club invites all of us to their home at
actually. At the stroke of midnight a tall, dark male
Hilton Head for New Year’s,” Cathie said. “On
knocks on the front door bearing gifts of money,
New Year’s Eve, we go down to the beach, and at
coal, food, and whiskey. He is the first to set foot
midnight we sing the Doxology and then open the
12
in the house bringing the assurance of prosperity,
warmth, nourishment and good cheer. To be sure
that you are ‘first footed,’ a member of the household or a party guest may be sent out of the back
door before midnight (with the gifts) to enter the
front door and ensure that the year is off to a good
start. Of course, kisses and toasts follow!”
Joyce Hardy claims that she and husband
Bill have no set New Year’s Eve tradition. “We’re
just glad to be together wherever we are. God has
been good to us!”
Written Wishes
“I remember a dear couple who lived near
my in-laws in Florida,” Jean Schwalbert said. “Their
sons and families celebrated with their in-laws, so
this couple decided to make New Year’s their time
for family togetherness. Their tradition on New
Year’s Eve was to have envelopes with the name of
each person written on the outside. Everyone wrote
their New Year’s wishes for that person on cards,
then put them in the envelopes throughout the day.
After the stroke of midnight, the messages were
read silently. I can only imagine the expressions
and hugs and perhaps even tears they shared. I plan
to start this tradition with my children and teenage
grandchildren this year. Your family’s wishes for you
could be a special gift that night and throughout the
year when encouragement and comfort are needed
or just when you want to feel their love.”
Church Services and Watch Night
Some churches host family gatherings and
religious observances on New Year’s Eve. Games,
crafts and other activities along with covered dishes
are shared. Others observe Watch Night, a New
Year’s Eve celebration with roots dating back to
John Wesley and the Methodists, and also the
Moravian Brethren. It is of special importance to
African-Americans because at one time, Watch
Night was a night on Southern plantations that
could mean the last gathering of family and friends
among slaves. Traditionally their master would
tally the year’s profits and make a decision about
whether to sell some of the slaves, making the announcement on January 1. However, in 1863 Watch
Night took on new significance when slaves awaited
confirmation of their freedom after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Today many Christian Caucasians and
African-Americans both welcome the New Year
with a religious service. Prayers, candlelight and
hymns with themes of forgiveness and new beginnings are featured. One preacher made certain that
Communion was being served as the clock struck
midnight.
When the festive evening arrives, whether
you choose to celebrate by composing New Year’s
resolutions, celebrating with close friends, partying
with family members, decorating a kid’s party hat,
playing a board game, cooking a new dish, sitting in
a church pew in thankfulness, burning past regrets,
popping champagne on the beach, or any of the
myriad available choices, enjoy the ending of the
previous year and anticipate the mystery of the new
one.
Be safe! Have fun! And enjoy a Happy New
Year!!
Heard it through the grapevine…
by Missie Boisvert
by Missie Boisvert
Beautiful Wines, Great Spirits!
PO P!
Mme. Clicquot perfects
the process
I just loved reading the “stars” quote, but
My regular speech about Champagne or
sparkling wine is that we don’t drink it enough.
We use it for the occasional toast, but don’t realize
that it is perfect for pairing with a meal. I always
say it is the wealthy man’s beer and that we should
have it at the next backyard barbecue! No kidding!
Try it, you’ll like it.
A bit of history about Champagne and
sparkling wines: First, there are a great number
of sparkling wines and many are created using
the champagne method; but legally, in order for
it to use the name Champagne, it must be from
that region in France. Other countries have their
own sparkling wine regions that correspond to the
Champagne region in France. Spain has Cava,
Italy has Spumante and Prosecco. I even carry a
sparkling Gruner Veltliner from Austria, which is
delicious.
“I’m drinking stars!”
Dom Pérignon, a blind Benedictine
monk is credited with developing “la methode
champénoise” in the late 17th century. Dom
Perignon also is credited with the use of corks. My
favorite part of reading about the monk was that
upon tasting the fruits of his labors, Dom Pérignon
is said to have exclaimed, “I’m drinking stars!”
I’ve found writers who believe it is just romantic
folklore. Some of the research surmises sparkling
wines began with cider makers. Then there is
Madame Clicquot, the widow (veuve) of a wine
maker who is credited with a great breakthrough in
Champagne handling that made mass production
possible. She and her cellar master invented the
riddling rack that improved the crucial process of
collecting the spent yeast and sediments left from
the wine’s secondary fermentation. I’m just so
grateful that so many people had their hands in the
creation of such a wonderful beverage, because I
love Champagne and sparkling wines as well.
From $ to $$$
I carry Dom Pérignon and several varieties
from Moet & Chandon. Both come from the same
house. Other popular Champagnes are Roederer’s
Cristal, Krug and, of course, Veuve Clicquot.
None of them disappoint. My favorite sparkler
is actually from the US. Schramsberg, created in
methode champénoise, has several different types.
Three are on my shelves: Blanc de Noirs (made
from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes), Blanc de
Blanc (all chardonnay), and Cremant, Demi Sec
(dessert style). The price points on these California
offerings are also easier on the pocketbook.
from Carneros called Schug, Rouge de Noirs. The
wine maker for Schug is German. He has created
all kinds of varietals for the winery and was always
curious why his wines sold so well in the South.
Well, “Schug,” I’m a Southern girl and it is all the
name! I tell people they need to drink this bottle
with a knife and fork. It is 100% Pinot Noir and so
rich, intense and a brilliant deep red color. Drink
this wine with a dinner of leg of lamb or prime rib.
It is my fervent wish to encourage all of you
to change the way you think about Champagne and
sparkling wine. It ain’t just for toasting anymore!
Elissa “Missie” Bowman
Boisvert is the proprietor of
Palmetto Package & Fine
Wine Shop at 230 Park
Avenue in historic downtown
Aiken. Upon returning home
to Aiken, she purchased
Palmetto Package in 2002,
and developed a great wine
selection. She works every
year with many charity wine
tastings in Aiken and has
also taught an adult education wine class at USC-Aiken. She specializes in hands-on,
one-on-one service in the comfortable, relaxed atmosphere of
her store. 803/ 649-6961.
‘Well, “Shug!”’
Moet & Chandon also have California
sparklings. Roederer and Mumm do as well. Two
other sparkling wines worth mentioning are Gloria
Ferrer from Sonoma, and last but not least, a wine
13 THE FLYIN
G FO IE
OD
by Chef Belinda
Quick & Easy
New Year’s Eve
Appetizers
Let’s face it, by the time New Year’s Eve
rolls around, you will be tired from all the holiday
entertaining you’ve done. This is your time to enjoy
the last celebration of the season. And if the festivities just happen to be at your house, again, you will
be looking for a quick and easy way out. This occasion is perfect for heavy hors d’oeuvres as opposed
to a sit-down meal. Here are some hearty, yet easy
to prepare appetizers. Just add the champagne and
let the party begin!
Brie Topped
with Fruit &
Nuts
Serves 8
1 8-ounce wheel Brie or Camembert cheese
Liquid honey
1 handful Back to Nature Raisins, Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Pecans and Apricots blend
Place the cheese on a platter and drizzle
with some honey. Mound some of the trail mix on
top. Drizzle with a bit more honey and serve with
grapes, apple slices and crackers.
Caramelized
Onion &
Feta Tarts
Makes 24 tarts
1-1/2 table
spoons olive oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3 sheets store-bought pie pastry
1/2 cup feta, crumbled (or substitute goat or
bleu cheese)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup whipping cream
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat
the oil in a sauté pan (don’t use a nonstick one or
onions won’t caramelize). Add the onions and
cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat
for 30 minutes or until dark gold. Add the thyme,
stir well, and transfer to a bowl to cool. Grease a
mini tart/muffin pan with 24 muffin cups. Using
a 3-inch cutter, cut out 24 pastry rounds and line
the tart cups with the rounds. Divide the onion
mixture among the tart cups, then spoon the feta
over the onions. Combine the eggs with the cream,
season, and pour into the pastry cases. Bake for
10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Leave in the
pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack
to cool.
14
Chicken
Skewers with
Sweet
Chile
Serves 12
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup chili sauce
Olive oil, for brushing
12 bamboo satay skewers, soaked in water
about 30 minutes
Cut each chicken breast into 10 cubes. Put
the chicken cubes in a bowl, add the honey and
chile sauce, and mix well. Cover and chill overnight. When ready to cook, thread the chicken
cubes onto the soaked satay skewers. Heat the
broiler to medium-high, then brush the rack of the
broiler pan with oil. (Alternatively, cook the skewers on a grill.) Add the chicken skewers to the rack
and cook in batches, if necessary, turning frequently
for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.
Serve hot or cold.
Cherry
Tomatoes
Stuffed with
Mozzarella
and Basil
Serves 10-12
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into tiny dice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup coarsely chopped basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated lemon zest
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and stems
removed
In a medium bowl, stir the cheese, oil, basil,
zest, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon
pepper. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 4
hours before assembling. When ready to assemble,
slice each tomato in half (either direction is all
right) and scoop out the insides with the small end
of a melon baller or a teaspoon. Sprinkle lightly
with salt. Invert onto a paper towel and let the tomatoes drain for 15 minutes. Fill each tomato half
with a scant teaspoon of the cheese mixture and
arrange on a serving tray. Serve immediately as an
hors d’oeuvre, or wrap and refrigerate for up to
2 hours.
Mini Fruit
Cheesecakes
Serves 12
1 cup graham
cracker crumbs
1/3 stick butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon rind
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Fruit t opping of choice
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place one
disc in each cup of a mini cheesecake pan. Lightly
grease or use nonstick spray. Blend cream cheese
with egg, vanilla, sugar, lemon rind and lemon
juice. Set aside. Mix graham crumbs with butter
and sugar. Divide mixture evenly among the 12
cups. Press crumbs on the bottom and 1/3 up the
sides of each cup. Fill evenly with cheese mixture.
Bake about 14 minutes. Remove pan from oven
and place on rack to cool approximately 20 minutes. The tops will fall as they cool. Lightly loosen
the cheese tarts by pushing the handle of a wooden
spoon through the hole at the bottom of each cup.
When cool, take disc off the bottom of the cheesecakes using a butter knife. Add topping of choice.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Spicy Baked
Shrimp
Serves 4-6
1/2 cup macadamia nut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Chef Belinda Blackened Spice
or cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
Lemon wedges, for garnish
French bread, thinly sliced
In a 13 x 9-inch baking dish combine oil,
garlic, cajun seasoning, lemon juice, honey and soy
sauce. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Refrigerate
at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake
until shrimp are cooked through, about 8 - 10 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve with
French bread.
Kalamata
Tapenade
with
Bruschetta
A wonderland of gifts
that sparkle and shine!
Makes 1-1/2 cups
2-2/3 cups Kalamata olives, pitted
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 anchovy fi llets in oil, drained
2 tablespoons capers in brine, rinsed
and squeezed dry
2 teaspoons chopped, fresh thyme
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon brandy (optional)
Place all ingredients in a food processor
and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt
and freshly ground pepper. Spoon into a clean,
warm jar; cover with a layer of olive oil, seal and refrigerate for up to one week. Serve with bruschetta.
Belinda Smith-Sullivan is a
food writer, personal chef, and
pilot who enjoys exploring the
“off the beaten path” culinary
world. Her love of cooking and
entertaining motivated her to
give up a corporate career to
pursue a degree in Culinary
Arts from Johnson & Wales
University. Now living in Aiken,
she currently markets her own spice line called Chef Belinda
Spices. Visit her blog at www.flyingfoodie.blogspot.com.
141 LAURENS STREET, SW
803.648.7592
3monkeysaiken.com
Guest
Cottage
Linens & Gifts
Yves Delormé
PARIS
Lady Primrose
803.649.4565
405 Hayne Ave SW in Historic Downtown Aiken
Barbranne Clinton
Wishes HAPPY HOLIDAYS to her clients at:
Chesterfield Court
A Full Service Salon
124 Chesterfield Street, South • Aiken, SC 29801
Tuesday – Saturday
803-599-3530
Barbranne Clinton
Palmetto Package
& Fine Wine Shop
“It’s our pleasure to serve you!”
803.649.6961
aiken.boozetique.vino@gmail.com
230 Park Ave SW • Downtown Aiken
Chef
Belinda
Spices
ANTIQUES & CONSIGNMENTS
880 Banks Mill Road, Aiken, SC 29801
For
chef-quality
taste
Richard & Joan Mason
www.foundtreasuresofaiken.com
foundtreasuresofaiken@atlanticbbn.net
www.chefbelinda.com
Office: 803-226-0203
Cell: 239-633-5552
The Tailor Shop
Tom & Pam Powers
Alterations of all types
Owner/Operators
Vilva Bell
McDonald’s Restaurant
P.O. Box 6630
Aiken, SC 29804-6630
803-642-6187
Office: (803) 232-0903
Fax: (803) 232-1198
E-mail: mcaiken6630@cs.com
owner
220 Park Ave., Aiken, SC
Hours: Tuesday – Friday / 9am – 5pm
Recycled Paper
15
Colorful
Barn Cats Move
into
Downtown
Locations
by Kathy Huff
The Great Catsby aka “Mr. Barney Gaston”
by Michael Gunter
Barn Cats are prowling the Downtown area in an
effort to raise the consciousness of Aikenites to the
importance of saving another important historical
landmark: the Gaston Livery Stable.
The colorful cats have been drawing attention ever since their debut in the Alley in November. Twenty-eight cats are now installed in “cat
houses” all over Aiken, reminiscent of the Horseplay fundraiser for the Arts Center in the early
2000s.
Up for Auction
The handpainted felines are for sale, each
having been sponsored by a local supporter and
decorated by a local artist. Those cats not sold by
March will be auctioned at an event sponsored
by the Friends of the Gaston Livery Stable, said
Coleen Reed, who spearheaded the drive to save the
landmark stable and is now president of the Friends
organization.
According to Allen Riddick, the Barn Cats
public art project was conceived as a fundraiser because “All barns have cats to catch mice, so we went
with Barn Cats to raise money.” There are various
themes painted on the cats, such as the top hat and
bow tie on Michael Gunter’s “The Great Catsby,”
who was quickly nicknamed Mr. Barney Gaston
and pronounced the mascot of the Friends of the
Gaston Livery Stable. Among other themes are
a beach sunset, USC, and scenes from Hitchcock
Woods.
Unique Building
Located east of Aiken between Richland
and Park, the Gaston Livery Stable is unique in that
it is one of only three buildings in the United States
with a carriage lift. The stable was built circa 1893,
about the time that the Winter Colony was well
established in Aiken. The winter residents arrived in
Aiken by train along with an entourage of servants
and usually a significant cargo of horses and equipment. Their carriages were often stored at Gaston’s,
using the carriage lift.
Aiken Historic Landmark
The Gaston Livery Stable was named to the
City of Aiken Historic Register as a landmark property in October. The Friends of the Gaston Livery
Stable is a group of volunteers who have raised
enough money to make a down payment on the
stable and consider Barn Cats a good way to help
reduce the mortgage and restore the livery stable.
The Barn Cats of Aiken are listed here
with sponsors, artists and “cat house” location of
each until the March event, whose date will be announced in early 2013.
16
Wings of My Dreams
by Jean Schwalbert
Alley Cat (with Sam Erb)
by Sandy Staiger
THE BARN CATS OF AIKEN
THE GREAT CATSBY
aka “ Mr. Barney Gaston”
Sponsor: Wesley’s Automotive
Artist:
Michael Gunter
Location: Lionel Smith Ltd.
WILLIS THE HOUSE CAT
Sponsor: Lucy Knowles/
Martin Buckley
Artist:
Robbie Bellamy
Location: The Holley Building
PURRRRFECTLY
SOUTH CAROLINA
Sponsor: Rep. Bill &
Donna Taylor
Artist:
Gretchen HashHeff ner
Location: Meybohm Realty/
Donna Taylor
CAROLINA (USC) CAT
Sponsor: Mr. & Mrs.
Horne Davis
Artist:
Nancy Marine
Location: Security Federal Bank
CATFISH’N
Sponsor: Southern Bank &
Trust
Artist:
Sandy Staiger
Location: Southern Bank &
Trust
CAMMO CAT
Sponsor: Kendrick Paint &
Body Shop
Artist:
J.J. Johnson
Location: Chris’ Camera
MR. HOWE
Sponsor: Dick & Mary Lou
Dewar/Reggie &
Gail Ebner
Artist:
Gail Ebner
Location: Aiken County
Historical Museum
TRIPLE CROWN TABBY
Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs.
Rick Cram
Artist:
Georgianna
C. Conger
Location: Nandina
ADOBE
Sponsor: Aiken Pet Sitters
Artist:
Jan Fleetwood
WINGS OF MY DREAMS
Allan Sorensen
& Rosey
Artist:
Jean Schwalbert
Location: Aiken Antique Mall
AUGUSTA CATTIE
Sponsor: McDonalds of Aiken/
Edgefield
Artist:
J.J. Johnson
Location: Chris’ Camera
CAT OF MANY COLORS
Sponsor: Aiken Veterinary
Clinic
Artist:
Barbara Yon
REESE
Sponsor: Bruce Duchossois
Artist:
Lee Larison
Location: Park Avenue Paints
MAGNOLIA MANX
Sponsor: George Funeral Home
Artist:
Nan Langner
Location: George Funeral
Home
WHILE THE CAT’S
AWAY…
Sponsor: Durban-Laird
Insurance
Artist:
Deborah Tidwell
Holtzscheiter
Location: Durban-Laird
Insurance
DOWNTOWN ALLEY CAT
Sponsor: Atlantic Broadband
Artist:
Sharon Taylor Padgett
Location: Charlotte’s Bridal
Fashions
SOUTH CAROLINA CAT
David Moseley
Artist:
Suzan Sallstrom
Location: Tea Garden Gifts
VINCENT VAN MEOW
Peter Kellen
Artist:
Mary Ann Stroup
Location: Guest Cottage Linens
and Gifts
ALLEY CAT
Sponsor: West Side Bowery
Artist:
Sandy Staiger
Location: West Side Bowery
NINE LIVES
Sponsor: Cowpainters, LLC
Artist:
Michael Gunter
Location: Laissez Faire
Sotheby’s Realty
DESTINY
Sponsor: The Willcox
Artist:
Pam McAllister
Location: The Willcox
BARN BUDDIES
In memory of Jack, Molly, JD,
and Lacy
Artist:
Conni Y. Purciarele
Location: Equine Devine
LUCKY GASTON CATS
Sponsor: Louise Mellon
Artist:
Louise Mellon
Location: Vinya’s
CATFISH
Sponsor: Gary Dexter
Artist:
Gary Dexter
Location: Brooks Financial
HITCHCOCK WOODS
Sponsor: First Citizens Bank
Artist:
Sarah Taylor
Location: First Citizens Bank
Inner Beauty MD
Address
City, State Zip
Phone
Inner Beautye-mail
MD
n
Medical-grade chemical peels
n
Customized skin care
n
Prescribed facials
n
Dermaplaning
n
Nufree hair removal
n
Laser skin rejuvenation
n
Laser permanent hair removal
n
Spider vein removal
n
Trusculpt body shaping
Address
n
Medically-supervised
City, State Zip
weightloss program
Phone
n Wellness consultations
e-mail
n Botox
n Juvederm
IT’S RAINING CATS
AND DOGS
Sponsor: Bea Peyser
Artist:
Nan Langner
Location: Aiken Downtown
Development
Association Office
Inner Beauty MD
Dr. Mae Jean
Englee
Dr. Mae Jean
Englee
MASTER OF THE HUNT
Sponsor: Sidelines The Barn Book
Artist:
John Lapak
Location: Meybohm Realty/
Pete Eisenmann
(Dr. Englee is the first in SC to offer the
TruSculpt treatments)
116 Pendleton Street SW,
Suite D, Aiken, SC 29801
phone 803-226-0097
and 803-226-0098
savannah river
site
December 2012
History of the
Savannah River Site
Part 4
BELLA / SRS Supplement
S1
December 2012
The Savannah
River Project
Management
History
In the first 39 years of the existence of
the Savannah River Plant, there was
one entity in charge of all operations:
DuPont.
With the 1970s and ‘80s came
changes in governmental regulations,
concern on the part of the populace
over nuclear sites and the use of nuclear
weapons, and political tension in the
rest of the world about the development
of nuclear weapons. These conditions
led to DuPont’s decision to give notice to
the Federal Government that as of 1989,
it would terminate its contract as the
company in charge of management and
operations at the Savannah River Plant.
At the same time, corporate
culture in the United States showed a
marked leaning toward the creation
of partnerships that would strengthen
the probability of winning government
1950-2008
corporate mergers, was the management
and operating (M&O) contractor at SRS.
In 2008, Washington Group International
was acquired by URS.
In 2008, the U.S. Department
of Energy split the M&O and liquid
waste responsibilities into two contracts:
management and operations (M&O) and
liquid waste.
Savannah River Nuclear
Solutions, LLC (SRNS) won the M&O
contract. SRNS is the name of the
partnership formed by Fluor, Honeywell,
and Northrop Grumman’s Newport News
Shipbuilding. Fluor is the lead partner.
Savannah River Remediation
(SRR) won the liquid waste contract. It
is also a partnership comprised of URS,
CH2M Hill, Bechtel, and B&W Technical
Services Group. URS is the lead partner.
SRR’s integrated subcontractor is AREVA,
contracts. When Westinghouse won
the bid to succeed DuPont as the
managing entity at the SRP, it did so as a
partnership with others, namely Bechtel,
and later, in 1995, BNFL (British Nuclear
Fuels Ltd.) and Babcock and Wilcox, and
CM2 Hill in 2003.
The corporate shift also
brought a shift in mission. Although
the Site continued to supply Tritium for
the nuclear stockpile, its mission was
expanded to include cleanup of nuclear
waste generated at the site over the years,
and exploration of peaceful uses for the
massive facilities on-site. At this time,
the name SRS, or Savannah River Site,
came into use with Westinghouse.
Between 1989 and 2008,
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
(WSRC), later known as Washington
Savannah River Company as a result of
along with Energy Solutions and URS
Professional Solutions.
This brief SRS Management
History is BELLA’s effort to illustrate
the change of command between
1950 and the present. Other
corporate entities now at the Site
also share in the mission of the SRS
as contractors to the Department
of Energy (DOE). These include
Shaw-Areva MOX Services, Parsons
Engineering, Ameresco, and the
University of Georgia operating the
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
(SREL). WSI (Wackenhut) has the
security contract at the SRS. The
U.S. Forest Service manages the
land.
The Savannah River Site Management History
or, “Who’s on First?”
1950-PRESENT DAY
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
which became
The Department of Energy (DOE)
1950-1989
DuPont
1989-2008
Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC)
Lead company in partnership with Bechtel, and in 1995, also in partnership
with Babcock and Wilcox and BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.), and in 2003,
with CH2M Hill.
And Westinghouse became…
Washington Savannah River Company (also WSRC)
when Washington Group International bought Westinghouse Government Services
Washington Group International was acquired by URS in 2008.
2008-THE PRESENT
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS)—Management and Operations
A partnership between Fluor as lead partner with Honeywell, and Northrop-Grumman’s
Newport News Shipbuilding.
Savannah River Remediation (SRR)—Liquid Waste Disposal contractor
A partnership between URS as lead partner with CH2M Hill,
Bechtel, and Babcock and Wilcox.
Other contractors to DOE include:
Shaw-Areva MOX Services, Parsons, Ameresco, and the University of Georgia
(SREL); also WSI-SRS and the U.S. Forest Service.
*with a salute to Abbott and Costello
S2
December 2012
Watching the
Nuclear Future:
SRS Holds Superior Position
Only the extremely daring
would try to predict the future course of
the Savannah River Site. As evidence, the
past 20 years have seen ebbs and flows in
mission, in contractors, and in emphasis,
as the now 62-year-old site has settled
into a post-Cold War phase.
In no particular order, here are
things to watch for in the years ahead:
The Numbers
At 12,000-plus employees, SRS remains
the dominant presence in the region, as
it has since the 1950s. Still, that number
is roughly half of the number recorded in
the most recent peak (the “boom” of the
early 1990s), and has trended down in
recent years. While SRS will continue as
Aiken County’s largest employer, and also
one of the state’s largest employers, it’s not
quite clear what “normal” will look like.
The Nuclear Center
Nationwide, the Department of Energy’s
former nuclear production complex has
shrunk dramatically in the past 20 years.
As Savannah River National Laboratory
(SRNL) Director Terry Michalske has
pointed out, remarkably, SRS now
represents “the nation’s only nuclear
facility with the knowledge and the
capability to safeguard nuclear materials,
extract commercially valuable assets,
and prepare the waste for shipment
for final disposal.” Specifically, this
means the combination of H-Canyon
(the government’s last remaining
chemical separations facility); K Area
(the storehouse for the nation’s surplus
plutonium); L Area (spent fuel receipt and
storage from around the world); and the
National Lab (the scientific and technical
framework for the operation). Together,
they represent the backbone of a nuclear
materials capability that’s critical to
maintain.
The Customer base
While the Department of Energy (and
the semi-autonomous National Nuclear
Security Administration) will continue
to cast the longest shadows, there are
other customers that have found SRS
to be a valuable partner. The FBI, the
BELLA / SRS Supplement Department of Homeland Security and
others in the national security arena
have ongoing work with SRS. The Tokyo
Electric Power Company signed a contract
with the Lab to get advice on confronting
the unprecedented remediation of the
tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear plant. Even within the DOE
business, the Laboratory has won grant
money in areas like solar, natural gas and
wind, demonstrating that there’s potential
beyond the Site’s traditional nuclear
focus.
9-10 major industrial players having a
piece of one team or another. The result
has been … well … different. In theory,
it’s a better, more competitive deal for
the government, even if it makes it more
difficult to know who’s who. In a few
years, DOE could choose to knit some
of the current contracts back together,
or could go further down the road of
contract fragmentation. Either way, it’s
a decision that has ramifications not
only for the Site’s workforce, but also
for the more prominent members of the
contractor community – Fluor, URS,
Parsons, et al…(See SRS Management
History Chart in this section.)
The Future of Reactors
Even though they’re still a product
of the future, many nuclear industry
observers believe the Small Modular
Reactor (SMR) is a game changer for the
nuclear industry. SMRs are envisioned as
smaller scale, smaller footprint, factorybuilt devices that are a marked contrast
to the traditional nuclear power plant.
As a potential demonstration site, SRS
has attracted interest from (and signed
agreements with) several potential reactor
vendors. It remains to be seen where
or when a small reactor industry might
emerge, but SRS remains in play as a
potential location.
One thing’s for sure – SRS has been
resilient, not just as a local employer but
as a unique set of human and physical
resources. It’s not what it was in 1960,
when everyone feared that the Russians
were coming; but neither has it outlived
its usefulness. The Site is a puzzle to
most of us who don’t work there, but
it remains one of the few places the
government can count on to accomplish
some of the business it has to conduct.
For all of SRS’ idiosyncrasies, we are
fortunate to have it in our corner.
The Unknown
Who predicted the collapse of the Soviet
Union, or the catastrophe of 9/11? Who
would have imagined that a nuclear site
in South Carolina would be one of the
two largest recipients of federal stimulus
funds in America? Each of the three
events mentioned above (and countless
others) shaped the SRS of today. What
will happen next, and how will it impact
the direction of the operation?
SRS Public Tour Schedule 2013
The Enterprise
Hatched in 2011-12, the Enterprise
SRS concept is, in a nutshell, a strategic
planning framework designed to organize
and portray SRS as a technical solutions
provider to a finite set of national
problems, all related to the Site’s historic
expertise in nuclear matters. And while
issues such as Helium-3 supply and
Radioecology may not resonate at the
average coffee shop, they’re among the
niches where SRS has a foothold, and
has an opportunity to make a sustaining
impact via the National Laboratory. At
best, the Enterprise SRS approach is a
chance for the government to take a fresh
look at how to take advantage of the
irreplaceable investment that’s been made
in the 310-square mile facility.
In 2013, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC
will once again offer a limited number of Savannah River Site
(SRS) tours for the general public on the following dates:
July 16, 24
January 15, 24
August 6, 21
February 13, 26
September 10, 26
March 12, 27
October 9, 22
April 16, 25
November 6
May 8, 30
December 4
June 11, 27
Registration for 2013 tours will be not be open until around
mid-December. (Tour dates are subject to change.)
Guests can sign up for tours on the website at
http://www.srs.gov/general/tour/public.htm
All tours are free of charge and last approximately 4 hours.
Each tour will accommodate 50 people. Tour participants
must be at least 18 years old and must be U.S. citizens.
Seats are limited to two individuals per reservation.
Questions may be directed to Janet Griffin at 803-952-8467
or Laurie Posey at 803-952-8994.
The Contracts
After a nearly 40-year DuPont run,
SRS has become an alphabet soup of
contractor organizations, with at least
S3
December 2012
BELLA / SRS Supplement S4
December 2012
Operational Closure
of Two SRS Radioactive Waste Tanks
Reduces Environmental Risk in
South Carolina by Maddie Blair
Savannah River Remediation
(SRR) announced in September that the
operational closure efforts were complete
on Tanks 18 and 19, which are located in
the F Tank Farm at the Savannah River
Site (SRS). These tanks are among the
DOE’s largest waste tanks nationwide and
are the first tanks to be closed at SRS in
15 years.
A ceremony was held October 1
recognizing this momentous achievement
for DOE. Closing the waste tanks is a key
environmental mitigation for what state
regulators have called the single largest
environmental risk in South Carolina.
The final activities to close
the tanks began on April 2. Up to six
trucks per hour, eight hours a day, five
days a week began pouring more than
3.2 million gallons of special grout into
Tanks 18 and 19. Approximately 70 SRS
workers, contractors, and construction
employees were involved in the grouting
activities, which officially concluded in
early September.
Grouting the tanks ensured
that the residual material in the tanks
was stabilized and posed no significant
future risk to the environment or public.
Mandated by an agreement between the
Federal government and the state for
operational closure by December 2012,
SRR finished operational closure well
ahead of schedule.
SRS Is First In Nation
to Close Radioactive
Waste Tanks
SRS has a history of tank
closure. It was the first site in the DOE
Beginning April 2, 2012, up to six trucks
per hour, eight hours a day, five days a week
poured more than 3.3 million gallons of
grout into Tanks 18 and 19. A total of 2,080
cement trucks were used to deliver the
grout. Approximately 70 Savannah River
Site workers, contractors, and construction
employees worked on the grouting activities
to fill the radioactive waste tanks reducing
future risk to the environment and public.
BELLA / SRS Supplement unable to safely
stakeholders
need to know
work, reducing
we are working
the dangerous
safely and
radiation
exposure for
efficiently to
serve their health
workers. Robots
and well-being.”
are used to help
remove the
Hauer
residual waste
added that
in the tanks. In
the successful
addition, the
completion to
robots collect
operationally
samples of
close Tanks 18
SRR Tanks 18 and 19 Closure Project Manager Jim
Herbert
watches
the
final
bulk
grouting
of
Tank
19
the residuals
and 19 should
inside a mobile control room at Savannah River Site.
for analysis to
help SRR move
Cameras were placed inside the tanks to monitor the
confirm the tanks grout pouring process.
through other
are ready to be
tank closures
closed.
more rapidly with an approved roadmap
The robots are equipped with
to closure.
cameras and controlled by engineers at
According to Olson, tank closure
a safe location. Engineers are selected
means more than achieving contract
for maneuvering the robots due in part
milestones. Closure means reducing the
to their technological skills developed
risk to the Site’s neighbors.
at a young age playing video games,
“Being community members
giving them some experience in how to
of the Central Savannah River Area
navigate the crawlers through the maze
ourselves, it is important that we
of equipment, and in places otherwise
continue to safely and cost-effectively
inaccessible.
meet our mission objectives,” Olson said.
“This performance is what will lead to
future tank closures.”
Regulators Agree on
complex nationwide to close radioactive
waste storage tanks. In 1997, SRS liquid
waste employees closed the first two
waste tanks in the nation by closing
Tanks 17 and 20. Today 13 more waste
tanks are in some phase of waste removal
and closure process with the next two
tanks (Tanks 5 and 6) planned for closure
next year.
With years of waste removal
and tank cleaning operations complete,
SRR President and Project Manager Dave
Olson emphasizes that SRR’s efforts to
close Tanks 18 and 19 and further reduce
risk to the surrounding communities is
ultimately how this company does its part
for the country’s clean-up.
“SRR’s responsibility is not
only to our citizens, but to our nation’s
concerns,” said Olson. “We reach many
important milestones in our mission,
but tank closure is how we document
success.”
SRR’s new technologies, process
enhancements, and decades of experience
have led to SRR accelerating tank closure
schedules, which can lead to billions
of dollars in life-cycle savings from the
project.
One technology, remote
controlled robots, has been an integral
step towards accelerated tank closure and
improving the safety for workers.
Tank Closures
Besides tank closure activities,
the legal process of tank closure at SRS
involves three agencies: South Carolina
The Advantage of Robots
Department Health and Environmental
at SRS
Control (SCDHEC), Environmental
Several different robots are used
Protection Agency (EPA) and DOE.
inside the tanks during waste removal,
A Federal facility agreement between
SCDHEC, EPA, and DOE lays
out the regulatory interfaces
for these organizations, while
involving the public in every
closure step along the way.
Kim Hauer, SRR
Closure and Waste Disposal
Authority, the arm of SRR
that supports the legal side
of tank closures at SRS,
said that while preparing
technically accurate
Frankie is an off-the-shelf robot purchased and modified documents is essential,
by SRR to help with sampling activities after the annulus answering the public’s
tank cleaning process. The military tank-like treads help questions throughout the
the robot traverse over coils along the bottom of the tank
process, both in public
and obtain samples of residual radioactive waste for testing
purposes, replacing previously used custom-built sample vials. meetings and in small group
or one-on-one sessions, is
waste collection, characterization and
also crucial.
sampling. With names like sand mantis,
“While we prepare the
G.I. Joe, Tizzy, and water mouse, these
documents to prove that what we have
robots support closure activities.
done to empty the tanks is accurate to
SRR’s robots are used in the
move forward with tank closure steps,
giant high-level waste tanks, traveling the we need to address the public’s needs as
bottom of the tanks where humans are
well,” said. Hauer. “The public and our
S5
Two SRR workers safely monitor the
grout being poured from a cement
truck into a hopper that leads to a
waste tank. Since April 2, 2012, more
than 3.3 million gallons of speciallyformulated concrete grout have been
poured into waste Tanks 18 and 19.
December 2012
The Citizens’
Advisory Board
by Susan Elder
Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.
First Amendment, United States
Constitution
The last part of this amendment,
echoing ideas expressed in the Magna
Carta, guarantees the public the right
to request the government to remedy
conditions which they, the public, find
unsatisfactory.
Perhaps our forefathers could
not have foreseen a need for public
input on issues of environmental
management--disposition of nuclear
waste and environmental restoration--nor
could they have dreamed of the need for
“stabilization and disposition of nonstockpile nuclear material.”
But they did imagine that there
would be times when governmental
activities might be called into question.
In 1994, the Department of
Energy established a vehicle for local
citizens to learn about and have input
into several site-specific issues before
problems arose. The Savannah River Site
Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) is one
of eight Environmental Management
Advisory Boards funded by the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) and located
throughout the country. These Boards
provide advice and recommendations
to DOE on environmental remediation,
waste management and other related
issues. Agency liaisons from DOE,
representatives from the EPA and DHEC
participate in Board meetings, along with
Dr. David Moody, DOE Manager for the
Savannah River Operations Office.
Retired nuclear engineer Donald
Bridges is currently the chair of the CAB,
and Harold Simon, who is retired from
the military, is the vice chair. The rest
of the board is divided into four issuesbased committees, each headed by a chair
and vice-chair.
The Facilities Disposition &
Site Remediation Committee addresses
the remediation of contaminated soil,
groundwater, and surface water, risk
management and assessment, the
BELLA / SRS Supplement regulatory
environmental policy.
Donald Bridges is passionate
process, and
about the work he does with the Citizens’
other issues
Advisory Board. “This is an exercise
pertaining
in citizen democracy,” he told BELLA.
to environmental restoration. The
“The Site represents a unique national
committee also follows deactivation and
decommissioning actions taken to reduce treasure in a natural setting with pockets
of expertise, and, once the cleanup work
risk and costs following shutdown of
excess industrial, radioactive, and nuclear is done, that expertise can be applied to a
new mission.”
facilities.
The Waste Management
When asked to cite a few
Committee reviews the management,
examples of what the board has done
treatment, storage and disposition
since he’s been involved, Bridges said,
of several types of nuclear waste and
“Spent nuclear fuel is one issue that that
provides advice
the CAB has with
to DOE on these
SRS. Spent fuel is
The Citizens’ Advisory
activities. Principal
nuclear fuel that
Board Mission Statement
goals of the
has been burned to
(summarized)
committee are to
limits of its use in
see a reduction of
a thermal reactor.
At the request of the DOE
risk to the public,
There is spent fuel
Assistant Secretary of
workers, and the
on the site now
Environmental Management
environment posed
that came from
or the SRS Manager, the
by these wastes, and
certain types of
Board may provide advice and
to weigh different
reactors from off-site
recommendations concerning
options of their
locations. DOE has
the following Environment
management and
not made a decision
Management site-specific
disposal.
on how to dispose
issues: cleanup standards and
of this nuclear
The
environmental restoration;
fuel and seems to
Nuclear Materials
waste management and
be in no hurry to
Committee was
disposition; stabilization and
make a decision on
established to study
disposition of non-stockpile
disposition. DOE
issues that involve
nuclear materials; excess
says it is safely
nuclear materials
facilities; future land use and
stored at SRS in its
(generally uranium
long term stewardship; risk
current state for 50
and plutonium) that
assessment and management;
years.
have an impact on
and cleanup science and
present or future
“The CAB
technology activities. The
SRS activities.
encourages SRS to
CAB may also ask, subject to
Materials that were
find a permanent
once a part of the
storage solution
approval, or be asked by
nuclear weapons
and to act with a
Environmental Management,
production cycle
sense of urgency
to provide advice and
that are no longer
on the disposition
recommendations on any other
needed for their
of the spent fuel.
original purpose
One ready solution
project or issue.
but are not
is to process the
considered waste
fuel in H-Canyon
are considered part
(currently shut
of this committee’s area of consideration.
down) and dispose of the spent fuel as
Issues include used nuclear fuel program
they are processing the Site high level
activities, nuclear materials management
waste. CAB also encourages DOE to use
and nuclear materials integration.
H-Canyon to develop the technology to
The Strategic and Legacy
reprocess spent commercial fuel if the
nation makes a decision to reprocess the
Management Committee is involved
commercial fuel (not likely to be done at
in strategic issues relevant to the
SRS). At any rate, H-Canyon should be
Environmental Management cleanup
used to deal with these problems now, not
program, including performance
20 years from now when H-Canyon may
assessments and long-term policy.
no longer be able to be made operational.”
Specific areas of interest are development
and deployment of technology, the DOE
In addition, CAB wants to find
SRS budget decision-making process,
a place to put the vitrified waste that was
future land use and relevant national
originally destined for Yucca Mountain,
S6
Nevada. After years of preparation, the
Yucca Mountain storage site suddenly
was removed as a repository. The CAB
has urged DOE to look into putting the
vitrified waste in an alternative site in
New Mexico.
Joe Ortaldo, retired engineer
from SRS, served on the Citizens’
Advisory Board for six years, as long as
term limits allow, and also served as chair
of The Waste Management Committee.
“Most of what is presented to the different
committees concerns what’s going on
currently,” he said, “though occasionally
there is discussion of plans for the future.
DOE wants public reaction to all of that.
For example, if a project is going to take
longer that originally planned, nominally
to save money, it will ultimately cost more
to draw out the work. The committee will
push to get things going.”
Another focus of the CAB,
Ortaldo stated, “is to keep SRS as a
‘Continually Operating Site.’ It is a huge
area with many potential uses: Army
Training, space for the development of
small modular reactors (SMRs), space
and development of technology for use of
spent nuclear fuel, and, one of the Site’s
greatest outreach projects - the Savannah
River Ecology Lab (SREL).”
Ortaldo continued, “I think
it’s important that DOE communicate
with the public and that the public has a
chance to give input. I enjoyed doing the
work on this committee because I think it
does a valuable service to the community.
I would have served longer if it had been
possible.”
Though some of the 24
committee members are retired from
the site with science or engineering
backgrounds, many other fields are
represented. There are administrative
assistants, retired school teachers,
welders and graduate students, wardens
and insurance agents. They all have
one thing in common. They care about
what happens to this little corner of
South Carolina. They care about the
environment that is protected. They care
about the jobs that are protected. And
they care that the work that’s done is
done in a way that makes financial sense.
“By and large, DOE does a good
job and we are, overall, satisfied,” said
Bridges. “We are presented information
in layman’s terms, primarily from DOE,
but also from regulators, The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC), DHEC,
the EPA, and the CDC.
Gerri Flemming, Lead Federal
Coordinator for DOE and the CAB, has
December 2012
worked with this board since its beginning here in South Carolina. She appreciates the
work being done. “In addition to the technical help, they also give us help in reaching
out to the community. We wouldn’t have that contact otherwise. I have been doing this
for 18 years and I enjoy it as much now as I did in the beginning.”
The entire committee meets six times a year in various places around Georgia
and South Carolina and the issues-based committees meet five times a year at The
DOE Meeting Center, 230 Village Green Blvd., Suite 220, Aiken.
All meetings are open to the public.
To find out more about the work the Citizens’ Advisory Board has done and
what they plan to do, visit
the website: cab.srs.gov
To find out more about what’s going on in a particular area of SRS, consider
attending a meeting; schedules are posted on the website. And if you’re interested in
serving on the board yourself, there’s an application there as well.
You can do it, you know.
The First Amendment says you can.
SRS Top Management Personnel
DOE-SR
Site Manager: Dave Moody
Deputy Manager: Zack Smith
(overall site landlord and responsible for cleanup mission)
National Nuclear Security Administration
Site Office Manager: Doug Dearolph (tritium mission)
SRNS
President & CEO: Dwayne Wilson
Executive VP & Chief Operating Officer: Fred Dohse
(site cleanup M&O)
Susan Elder is a contributing writer to BELLA Magazine.
SRNL
Director: Dr. Terry Michalske
Deputy Director: Dave Eyler
(technology development and deployment)
SRR
President and Project Manager: Dave Olson
(liquid waste disposition)
SHAW-AREVA
President and Chief Operating Officer: Kelly Trice
(MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility Project)
PARSONS
Senior Vice President: Lou Jackson
(Salt Waste Processing Facility Project)
SREL
Director: Dr. Gene Rhodes (radioecology)
AMERESCO FEDERAL SOLUTIONS
Site Manager: Ken Chacey (Biomass Power Plant)
WSI
Senior Vice President and General Manager
(site protective services): Randy Garver
U.S. FOREST SERVICE
Manager: Keith Lawrence
Deputy Manager: Anne Kiser (land management)
December 2012
SREL Flourishes at 60+ Years
by Sally Bradley
continued, SREL moved to its present
the nuclear reactors on its ecology, and
facility in 1977. In the ‘90s, this facility
to communicate its findings through
grew from 30,000 to 45,000 square
scholarly publications and educational
feet with the inclusion of a genetics
outreach to the community. The ecology
lab, a computer lab, a facility to house
lab studies the impact of radiation and
animals, and the addition of the new
nuclear production on many levels—
conference center. The conference center
transfer of contaminants, human risk,
is equipped for outside catering and
effects on flora and fauna, hydrology, and
can accommodate up to 150 people for
remedial and restorative suggestions.
meetings.
One example of a remedial suggestion
The Savannah River Site is
occurred when SREL researchers saved
composed of more than 300 square miles DOE an estimated $4 billion by showing
of biological
diversity. It
contains more
than 240
species of
birds, 100plus species
of reptiles and
amphibians,
and hundreds
of species of
freshwater fish.
According
to Dr. Whit
The13-foot long male alligator, known as ‘Stump’ because he is missing a leg bitGibbons, ten off by another alligator, basks alongside his mate (9 feet long) in the research
Professor
ponds behind SREL. – photo by Cris Hagen of SREL
Emeritus at
that low-level radioactive contaminants
UGA and head of the Environmental
could be isolated without excavation and
Outreach and Education
reburial.
Program at SREL, it is also the
The Savannah River Ecology Lab
home of the only American
is a unique site because of the longevity
alligator whose photograph has
of its research: its outdoor lab has been
appeared in USA Today and
the subject of continuous scientific
also on Fox News.
research for more than 60 years. The
The SREL site has
closely monitored area provides baseline
more protected Carolina bay
data of ecosystems as well as assessment
wetlands than all of the rest
of risks to the environment from nuclear
of the state. Additionally, the
production, and the SREL scientists have
major portion of the site is not
produced more than 3,200 peer-reviewed
impacted by SRS operations
papers and 62 books since its beginning.
and is available for forestry
Its archives contain data from more than
and for wildlife to live in
500 studies.
a protected environment.
The research, protection, and
[Another entity that studies
stewardship of the area continue, though
the habitat at the SRS is the
the history of federal funding has grown
U.S. Forestry Service, which
leaner. SREL once had an annual budget
manages about 140,000
of $10 million with 250 people on staff.
acres of the Site for forest
In 2007 DOE officials cut the funding
products and wildlife and
to $1 million and considered cutting
The SREL Outreach program introduces the public to a
conducts a variety of forest
variety of native wildlife that inhabit the SRS, including
funding altogether. Today the budget is
research programs. It also
snapping turtles. – Photo by Judy Greene of SREL
$3.5 million with a staff of 67, and the
conducts frequent
headquartered in a former two-story
prescribed burns throughout
home called the Bush House, located near
the SRS, necessary for
the current junction of Highway 25 and
the health of many native
Road 2 on the Savannah River Site.
species and the prevention of
By 1955 SREL had its first
wildfires.]
full-time ecologist and by 1961 it had a
From its beginning,
permanent laboratory when two Army
the Savannah River Ecology
barracks associated with one of the “gun
Lab has played a dual role:
sites” was converted to lab space. As the
to study the environment
research on the environmental impact
of the site and the effects of
To most school-age children
in Aiken County, the Savannah River
Ecology Lab (SREL) means hands-on
access to cool critters like salamanders,
frogs, tortoises, and snakes; or day-long
field trips to the SREL Conference Center
for indoor and outdoor environmental
education.
To the historical mission of
the Savannah River Site, SREL has
provided stewardship and guidance of
the environment of the site. And to
the scientific community SREL provides
information gleaned from decades of
ecological research in the field and in the
laboratory.
It began in 1951 when the
Atomic Energy Commission (now DOE)
decided to build five nuclear reactors at
the Savannah River Project. One of the
first decisions the commission made
was to study the long-term effects of the
reactors on the environment.
With some volunteers and less
than $12,000 in funding, Dr. Eugene
Odum, a professor at the University
of Georgia, started the independent
ecology laboratory as an extension of
the University. Originally called the
Laboratory of Radiation Ecology, it was
funding comes from a variety of
governmental agencies as well as
charitable gifts.
A roster of the staff at SREL
and their areas of expertise is impressive
as well as puzzling to the lay person
unfamiliar with the terminology of
geology, environmental chemistry,
and nuclear production. Since its
inception 61 years ago SREL has
provided opportunities for graduate
and undergraduate training to record
ecological data for the scientific
community and is internationally
recognized for its research in radiation
ecology.
In addition to its scholarly
research, SREL established its popular
Environmental Outreach Program to
inform the public about the ecological
research conducted by its scientists.
The Ecologist for a Day program
provides inside and outside hands-on
environmental activities for school-age
children at the SREL Conference Center.
SREL staff members present about 300
EcoTalks a year to school and civic
groups, with live animals as visual aids.
Educational exhibits and materials are
also available from the lab.
One of the most popular
features has been Whit Gibbons’ weekly
newspaper column in The Aiken Standard
with provocative titles like Porcupines
Have a Point to Make and Southern Fried
Snakes Can Cause Problems.
Information on SREL is available
at http://www.srel.edu, and scheduling for
outreach projects can be made through
Sean Poppy, Outreach Coordinator, at
SeanPoppy@srel.edu.
Research Areas at SREL
• Aquatic and terrestrial ecology
• Biogeochemistry and
soil science
• Environmental microbiology
• Herpetology
• Hydrology
• Molecular genetics
• Physiological ecology
• Conservation biology
• Radiation ecology
• Ecotoxicology and risk assessment
• Remediation and restoration
Dry Bay, one of the many Carolina bay wetland habitats
that are protected on the SRS. – Photo by Tom Luhring
of SREL
December 2012
Wilson Says SRNS on
Track with Legacy Waste
and Planning
More Site Usage
Savannah River Nuclear
Solutions, the Fluor / Newport News
Nuclear / Honeywell partnership, is one
of the newest contractors on the SRS
scene, but has the largest slice of the
Site’s workforce, with just under 5,000
employees as of late 2012.
Stimulus Money
SRNS took over the Site’s
management and operations contract in
August 2008, a contract that DOE has
since extended through September 2016.
Led by long-time Fluor executive Dwayne
Wilson, SRNS is responsible for a diverse
range of services at the Site. Among the
company’s achievements, Wilson points
to success at one of the “landmark events”
at the Site, the 2009 influx of project
money under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.
“For people who do not see the
Savannah River Site with their own eyes
each day … it’s probably hard to visualize
what we did with that Recovery Act
money,” Wilson said.
“We have two old reactors that
BELLA / SRS Supplement are now completely closed, with a quarter
million pounds of concrete poured in
them. We’ve dug up, repackaged and
shipped some of what is considered the
foulest wastes on the Site to a permanent,
final resting place … and we’re on
track to finish all of that “legacy” waste.
That’s a huge, technically challenging
achievement.”
“In short, we’re on track to
reduce the footprint of the Site impacted
by our legacy operations by 85 percent,”
he said.
Wilson points to renewed
interest and mission at the Site’s
H-Canyon, along with the unique
capabilities of the Site’s material receipt
and storage facilities, as an example of
progress. “The good news is that in the
nuclear materials arena, we’ve gone from
losing key facilities to being recognized
more and more within the country as the
center of expertise for nuclear materials
management.” SRS, he added, also
remains the key site for handling and
supplying tritium, a mission that keeps
the Site firmly in the national security
business.
Another key to the SRS future,
Wilson said, is the growing influence of
the National Laboratory, another critical
element of the SRNS operation. Long
a fixture at the site, the Laboratory was
elevated to National Laboratory status in
2004. More and more people, he added,
are realizing what an asset a national
laboratory can be for a region.
The Laboratory, led by Dr. Terry
Michalske, is organized around three
main program areas: environmental
Nuclear Knowledge for the
Nation
For the future, SRNS and DOE
have developed the “Enterprise SRS”
planning concept, a vision Wilson hopes
will represent a sustainable future for the
site.
“The phrase we landed on is
Nuclear Knowledge for the Nation,” he
said. “That’s where this site began …
that’s what the Enterprise concept is all
about, and that has to be at the core of
our sustainable future.”
S9
management, national security and clean
energy.
SRNL’s reach extends well
beyond the confines of the site. Around
two-thirds of the Lab’s funding comes
from non-SRS customers. SRNL’s
environmental remediation skills have
been engaged in Japan, to consult on
cleanup of the damaged Fukushima
nuclear plant; in the nonproliferation
arena, the Lab has also been called on
to assist overseas nations in the safe
handling and return of nuclear materials.
Building from the Past
Wilson sees an SRNS future that
builds off the SRS past.
“Today, we receive, accept,
secure, analyze, package and disposition
nuclear materials, and we create new
technologies. That is who we are. It’s
what we know how to do, and it’s the
equity position we’ve created.
“That combination makes us
a solutions provider to national and
international issues,” he said.
December 2012
Throughout our BELLA series,
we’ve focused on peeling away some of
the mystery of the Savannah River Site.
We’ve traveled back to our region’s roots,
before there was a major federal presence
here. We’ve laid out the enormous
engineering and construction challenge of
building the Site’s nuclear and industrial
facilities. We’ve described the Site’s long
weapons production mission, and its
transition to a cleanup focus today. But
what about the future? Does the Site’s
past portend a successful future? What
lies ahead for the Savannah River Site,
and what impact will its future have on
our region?
naval nuclear propulsion program, to take
the helm as Secretary of Energy. He was
charged with addressing environmental
concerns and strengthening the safety
posture of the DOE’s weapons production
complex.
By 1992, Savannah River Plant
efforts to restart K Reactor were well
underway. This would be the first DOE
nuclear facility to restart under updated
DOE safety standards. The K cooling
tower was constructed, a new and proud
addition to the industrial complex’s
cityscape. None of the Site’s 1950s era
production reactors had incorporated the
now iconic symbol of the nuclear power
industry until this addition.
National Nuclear
Politics
Clearly one of the biggest
impacts on the Site has been and
continues to be nuclear politics. The
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC, a
precursor to today’s Department of
Energy, DOE) constructed the Savannah
River Site during a period of and in
response to heightened national security
concerns. The AEC built the Site’s
facilities according to its own AEC
nuclear safety regulations, and had safely
operated its weapons production facilities
for decades.
However, by the late 1980s,
Congressional concern was growing that
the DOE might be allowing national
security and weapons production goals
to overshadow safety and environmental
considerations. These concerns largely
stemmed from the DOE’s Rocky Flats
Plant outside of Denver, Colorado. There,
plant wastes, stored outside in barrels
and containers, had been allowed to
degrade and leak contaminants into soil
and groundwater. In June 1989, the
FBI raided the plant, alleging willful
violations of environmental laws, to
which plant operators eventually pleaded
guilty.
Pause in Production
The FBI raid led the DOE to
temporarily suspend weapons production
operations across the nation, including
at Savannah River. Congress established
a five-member Defense Nuclear Facilities
Safety Board to increase independent
oversight of defense nuclear programs.
In 1989, Congress confirmed James
Watkins, a retired Navy Admiral from the
K Area cooling tower
At the same time, the DOE was
pursuing design and construction of
an entire next generation of production
reactors, the goal of which was to produce
tritium (an isotope of hydrogen, the “H”
in the H-Bomb). Tritium is an important
component in nuclear weapons, boosting
the detonation yield of each warhead.
Tritium loses more than 5% of
its radioactivity every year, thus requiring
ongoing production of the isotope and
routine replenishment of the tritium in
warhead reservoirs (a typical reservoir
is shown here). The ongoing need to
continue to produce
this isotope seemed
to spell a long
future for SRS,
incorporating safety
lessons from the
commercial nuclear
power industry and
emerging into the
next phase of its
production mission.
Warhead reservoir
for tritium
Global Nuclear
Politics
two canyon facilities at SRS, so named
because they resemble a gorge in a deep
valley between two cliffs, measuring over
800 feet long and 122 feet wide, with
much of their processing equipment in
basements far below grade.
When the Berlin Wall fell,
marking the end of the Cold War, five
countries were
known to have
conducted nuclear
weapons tests:
the United States,
Soviet Union,
United Kingdom,
France, and
China. But the
U.S. Government
H-Canyon, showing the miles of intricate chemical separations piping
was growing ever
more concerned
In 1992, the DOE began
over the potential spread, or proliferation,
evaluating what to do with the inventory
of nuclear weapons and technologies to
of highly enriched uranium fuels,
other countries. After the demise of the
plutonium solids, and solutions in
Soviet Union, concerns grew over the
the various stages of the SRS weapons
potential for countries whose government
production process.
interests are not aligned with those of
Uranium is the basis for nuclear
the U.S., to develop their own nuclear
reactor fuel. It occurs naturally as
weapons programs.
uranium ore, and once mined, has to be
On July 14, 1992, President
chemically enhanced, or “enriched,” to be
Bush announced formally that the U.S.
burned in reactors. Uranium fuel used to
would no longer produce plutonium for
produce plutonium for nuclear weapons
nuclear weapons. Part of this decision
differs from uranium fuel used to produce
was to avoid the foreign policy stigma of
electricity by its degree of enrichment.
demanding other nations to “do as we
(This explains the international outcry
say, not as we do.” To build credibility in
for United Nations inspectors to be
the international nuclear community, the
given unfettered access to Iran’s uranium
U.S. decided to follow its own urging and
enrichment facilities. It is only by
cease all weapons production activities.
measuring how many times uranium
This decision had profound
passes through an enrichment process
effects on the Savannah River Plant, in
that one can determine whether it is
many ways. First, it clearly stopped the
sufficient only for electricity production,
efforts to restart K Reactor. This was
or high enough to support nuclear
quite a blow to many at the plant, who,
detonation.)
until that moment, had viewed the earlier
reactor shutdowns as simply pauses in a
long, successful operational history. The
significance of this decision became even
clearer when the DOE changed the name
from the Savannah River Plant to the
Savannah River Site. It marked the end of
In 1995, the DOE formally
the weapons production era.
announced a decision to resume
Resumption of
Limited Canyon
Operations
Unintended
Consequences
But this decision also brought
unexpected consequences across the
DOE weapons production complex. With
this decision, DOE production facilities
lost the authority to restart, even to flush
out systems and stabilize the materials
that had been held up inside piping
and components. This included the
S10
limited chemical separations in Fand H-Canyons, allowing the U.S. to
convert plutonium-bearing materials
into stabilized forms. As part of these
decisions, the DOE committed not to
produce any purified nuclear materials
that could be used for nuclear weapons.
F-Canyon completed its stabilization
activities in 2002 and has been
deactivated.
Today, SRS’s H-Canyon remains
the only operating nuclear chemical
separations facility in the U.S. H-Canyon
December 2012
recently completed its mission to blend
down highly-enriched uranium into a
form suitable to be burned in commercial
nuclear power reactors.
Through this blend-down
program, SRS produced nearly 286 metric
tons of low-enriched uranium for the
Tennessee Valley Authority to generate
electricity in its nuclear reactors. This
is enough to provide electricity
to every home in the U.S. for 50
days – or enough to power every
home in South Carolina for 10
years! This is a true “swords to
plowshares” story, being able to
convert military weapons-grade
material to peaceful civilian
applications.
Swords to
Plowshares:
Warheads to
Commercial Fuel
The U.S. decision to cease its
weapons production activities was in
part a decision of supply and demand.
In 1991, U.S. President George Bush
and Soviet Union President Mikhail
Gorbachev signed START (STrategic
Arms Reduction Treaty). It mandated
a dramatic decrease in the number of
warheads each country could stockpile –
a maximum of 6,000 each. By contrast,
in late 1989, the U.S. had over 22,000
warheads in its nuclear stockpile.
As the Soviet Union splintered
into 15 independent states, the U.S.
Government’s nuclear non-proliferation
concerns soared. There were significant
concerns over the ability of the new
governments to safeguard nuclear
materials. Russia was facing huge
economic challenges at the time, and
had not yet capitalized on its oil and gas
reserves to produce revenue. As a result,
Russia was refusing to follow the path
the U.S. was on – to declare its excess
uranium and plutonium to be “waste”
and prepare them for isolation. Russia
insisted that its uranium and plutonium
stores represented valuable sources of
energy.
Therefore, in an effort to find a
mutually agreeable approach to meeting
each country’s START commitments, the
U.S. and the Russian Federation signed
a bilateral agreement committing to each
dispose of 34 tons of surplus weapons
plutonium by converting it into a mixed
oxide (or MOX) fuel for use in electricitygenerating nuclear reactors. This 34 tons
represents almost half of all the purified
plutonium the U.S. produced during the
Cold War.
Mixed Oxide Fuel
Fabrication Facility
– or MOX
And thus SRS’s MOX plant
was conceived. The Russian Ministry
for Atomic Energy (MINATOM) agreed
to replicate the MOX facility in Russia,
adapting the U.S. design to produce
fuel for use in Russian civilian power
reactors. The SRS MOX Fuel Fabrication
Facility will take surplus weapons-grade
plutonium, remove impurities, and
mix it with uranium oxide to form fuel
pellets for use in electricity-generating
MOX facility under construction at SRS
civilian reactors. Shaw-Areva is currently
constructing the SRS MOX facility. It is
among the largest construction projects in
our region. Once constructed, the MOX
facility will be capable of turning 3.5
metric tons of plutonium into commercial
fuel each year.
A Post 9/11 World
– Global Nuclear
Energy Partnership
Another period of heightened
national security concern followed
the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001. In the aftermath of the attacks,
we learned a new term – Dirty Bomb.
This isn’t a nuclear warhead, but it is
a conventional explosive device that
includes nuclear material, designed to
spread radioactivity and create panic.
This potential threat raised new concerns
over potential unsecured nuclear
materials across the globe.
In early 2006, after years of
evaluating and assessing proliferation and
terrorism risks posed by these materials,
President Bush launched a Global Nuclear
Energy Partnership. One of the goals of
this international initiative was to find
ways to convert purified nuclear materials
and used fuel into forms less capable
of being used in nuclear weapons or
dirty bombs. The partnership promised
development of new technologies, to
allow the U.S. to process used fuel to
recover its energy potential, reduce
nuclear waste, and minimize proliferation
concerns that had shuttered the DOE
production facilities.
For the Savannah River Site,
President Bush’s global partnership
offered great possibilities for a longawaited “Nuclear Renaissance.” It opened
an avenue for the Site to establish a
more robust, comprehensive program to
stabilize all of its plutonium stores. It
offered a promising future for H-Canyon
to resume full operations and again
“reprocess” used nuclear fuel.
Reprocessing
Used Nuclear
Fuel – Problem or
Solution?
“Reprocessing” involves
dissolving used nuclear fuel (which has
already been burned in a reactor), to
separate the uranium fuel from other
radioactive isotopes created by
the nuclear reaction. While
reprocessing purifies uranium so
it can be reused as reactor fuel,
reprocessing also allows extraction
of purified plutonium for nuclear
weapons. The global partnership
envisioned developing new
reprocessing methods to embed
impurities into the plutonium
stream to diminish its ability to
sustain a nuclear reaction.
But nonproliferation politics
remained a strong force globally.
The proposal proved controversial,
both in the U.S. and internationally. In
the U.S., Congress provided far less
funding than President Bush requested.
Environmental groups that had cautiously
been watching the dismantlement of
the weapons production industrial
complex immediately grew alarmed.
Both Congress and the environmental
groups criticized that reprocessing
used fuel would relieve pressure on the
federal government to get on with siting
a deep geologic repository for fuel and
radioactive wastes.
Other nations also grew
alarmed, many of which viewed the
U.S.’s initiative as a return to Cold War
power politics. They were concerned
that under the proposal, some nations,
termed “partner nations,” would take on a
controlling function over other country’s
nuclear programs. Some questioned
whether the altruistic goals of the
initiative might in fact create a lopsided
nuclear landscape that increased the risk
of nuclear proliferation. In 2009, the U.S.
cancelled the initiative.
Safeguarding
Nuclear Materials in
a Post 9/11 World
Another global force in the
aftermath of the 9/11 attacks was the
International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA). The IAEA was created in 1957,
inspired by President Eisenhower’s Atoms
for Peace program, in which the U.S.
transferred nuclear materials to other
countries for nuclear research, especially
in the emerging field of nuclear medicine.
The vast majority of isotopes used in
cancer radiation therapy throughout
the world come from materials initially
provided by the U.S. through the Atoms
for Peace program.
Over time, the IAEA emerged
as a global governance organization
for preventing the spread of nuclear
weapons. Following the 9/11 attacks,
the IAEA increased its efforts to identify
nuclear materials that needed to be
better secured against possible theft by
terrorists.
The Savannah River Site plays
a critical nonproliferation role, accepting
the return of any nuclear fuel the U.S.
provided as part of the Atoms for Peace
program. SRS now accepts both domestic
and foreign research reactor fuel returns,
and safely stores it onsite in the L Reactor
basin, awaiting a deep geologic disposal
location for the used fuel.
Awaiting a Deep
Geologic Repository
Of course, one of the most controversial
aspects of nuclear power is the disposal
of radioactive waste, which can remain
dangerous for thousands of years. The
federal government is responsible for
permanent disposal of used nuclear fuel
from commercial power reactors, and
both used fuel and highly radioactive
waste from defense production reactors.
Through the Nuclear Waste Policy Act
of 1982, Congress assigned the DOE
responsibility for constructing a deep
underground repository, consisting of a
vast network of chambers carved from
rock that has remained geologically
undisturbed for hundreds of thousands
of years.
The DOE had been studying
Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as the site for
such a geologic repository, but in January
2010, President Obama announced his
decision to withdraw the Yucca Mountain
license
application
from the
Nuclear
Regulatory
Commission,
and instead
charter a
Blue Ribbon
Commission
to evaluate
options
for used
fuel and
radioactive
waste
disposal.
Yucca Mountain
More
Nuclear Politics
Many criticized the obvious
politics of this decision, alleging partisan
politics overrode national interests in
finding a suitable solution to the nuclear
waste problem. The Yucca Mountain site
is located deep in the Nevada desert – the
political stomping grounds of one Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid.
In Nevada’s defense, the
state’s opposition to nuclear activities
grew from the above-ground nuclear
tests done during the 1950s and early
‘60s. During that time, federal officials
repeatedly lied to local residents about
[Continued on next page]
December 2012
how much radiation was released during
those tests and its potential health
effects. (Misinformation campaigns in
the name of national security were part
of the Manhattan Project and Cold War
mentality.)
But whoever could have forecast
the unlikely political scenario in 2008?
In that year’s Presidential election,
Obama won the State of Nevada, in
part by echoing Senator Harry Reid’s
opposition to the Yucca Mountain
Repository.
In April 2010, Aiken County
was the first to file a lawsuit challenging
the President’s decision to withdraw the
license application. At issue is the impact
to SRS and the surrounding community
to continue onsite storage of waste and
used fuel for an indefinite time.
Blue Ribbon
Commission on
America’s Nuclear
Future
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act
stipulated that the federal government
was to have opened a permanent
repository in 1998 – a date long past.
The Blue Ribbon Commission has offered
its recommendations, key of which is
that the federal government should
dramatically change its approach to
locating the repository.
The 1972 Nuclear Waste Policy
Act had attempted to avoid the possibility
of partisan politics by directing a very
“top down” federal government approach
to “siting” the repository. The crafters
of the Policy Act tried to limit the
opportunity for a candidate site to mount
a successful legal defense.
The Blue Ribbon Commission
studied both successful and unsuccessful
national and international siting
efforts. It discovered one of the key
characteristics of successful siting efforts
was taking a consent-based approach;
that is, providing affected communities
an opportunity to decide whether to
accept the facility. Although critical time
has been lost, and pursuing a consentbased approach will take considerable
time, maybe the public trust it will
engender will increase the likelihood
of success. In the meantime, SRS must
continue to safely store used fuel and
solidified high-level radioactive glass logs.
Strategic Planning
— What is Next?
In 2010, Savannah River Site
federal and contractor executives decided
to take a different approach to develop the
annual update to the Site’s Strategic Plan.
Federal agencies are required to develop
a strategic plan every year, building from
the Administration’s goals for the year.
Each DOE site then creates its own plan,
tiering from the agency plan.
But in 2010, SRS leaders realized
the Site’s Strategic Plan had become a
BELLA / SRS Supplement routine document, and the process to
create it each year consisted of brushing
off the previous year’s version and
updating a few assumptions or statistics.
In 2010, the Site was enjoying
an influx of American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act funding. The Recovery
Act, passed in 2009 to respond to the
nation’s economic recession, targeted
direct spending in infrastructure,
education, health, and “green” energy
sectors. SRS received a whopping $1.6
billion in additional funding to accelerate
cleanup projects that were previously
planned for the future. The steppedup projects created an estimated 3,000
additional jobs, with more than 60
percent of those positions going to people
in our region.
Site leaders realized that this
financial windfall was short-lived, and
it was a good time to seriously consider
what the future of the Site looked like.
And it didn’t look particularly good. The
mission of the Site is to complete cleanup.
Complete. It. That was the Site’s “future.”
The Past as
Prologue?
Fickle Federal
Funding
One of the harsh realities of a
federally funded enterprise is its rise and
fall with governmental fiscal challenges.
Our region has ridden the waves of
federal funding ever since the plant’s
construction, but seemingly no more so
than recently. In the last month, we’ve
seen local headlines of job layoffs at the
Site.
Federal deficit reduction talk
continues to spiral upward as the country
lurches ever closer to the craggy “Fiscal
Cliff.” For our area, talk of cutting federal
spending translates directly into cutting
funding and jobs at the Savannah River
Site. The tough medicine of regaining
federal fiscal responsibility has dramatic
consequences for Site employment.
Recent headlines of potential
Site furloughs and closing down over
the holidays is a direct reflection of
federal deficit reduction efforts. Federal
agencies right now are being held in a
fiscal purgatory called a “continuing
resolution.” Congress has not passed an
appropriations bill for the current Fiscal
Year 2013, and instead has required
agencies to hold at the spending rate they
had for 2012.
For our region, because the Site
was still spending large chunks of its
Recovery Act funding in 2012, this has
created an unexpected local fiscal cliff.
The Continuing Resolution spending level
resulted in SRS receiving $175 million
less than planned for. That is a lot of
money! As we’ve read, SRS’s reaction was
to cut contracts, lay off those hired into
temporary positions for Recovery Act,
reduce craft labor, and hold off releasing
any new contracts.
So what gives? Is there a Site
future, or isn’t there?
Surely the future of the
Savannah River Site might lie in the
successes of its past. Since the early
1950s, the Site has provided knowledge,
technology and integrated solutions for
pressing national needs. SRS
pioneered the development
of nuclear technologies and
deployed those technologies at
scales never before imagined.
SRS accomplishments continue
to stand at the core of our
nation’s nuclear deterrent.
Can the Site turn these
into future successes for our
region?
Enterprise SRS
– More than a
Billboard, Better
than a Rental Car,
Cool as a Starship?
What emerged from the Site’s
strategic planning efforts was a vision
for the future that captured nuclear
knowledge for the nation – Enterprise
SRS. The goal of Enterprise SRS is to
leverage expertise and assets gained from
nuclear operations and cleanup to find
new funding partners. It is a strategy
that directly acknowledges that having a
future solely tied to the whims of federal
funding is not a robust future.
For many of us, our only inkling
of this initiative has been a few billboards
located along Williston Road just south
of New Ellenton, along S.C. Hwy.125 in
Jackson, or on the I-20 corridor between
Aiken and Augusta.
For the Site’s federal and
contractor leaders, Enterprise SRS is the
Site’s future. Enterprise SRS seeks to use
the knowledge of our region’s nuclear
materials workforce, Site assets and the
strength of the Savannah River National
Laboratory (SRNL) to address the nation’s
pressing issues.
Enterprise SRS identified three
areas of potential growth: national
security, clean energy and environmental
stewardship. Each of the three is a
business or market segment where
Site leaders believe the Site is uniquely
positioned and qualified to compete and
grow a sustainable future. Enterprise
embodies strategic initiatives that include
things like nuclear forensics, small
modular reactors, Helium-3 production,
biofuels production, and deployment of
cutting edge cleanup technologies.
S12
Nuclear Forensics
In the aftermath of the 9/11
attacks and the establishment of the
Department of Homeland Security,
questions arose around the threat of
nuclear terrorism and dirty bombs. And
the federal government realized it had a
gap in its ability
to handle nuclear
evidence. Sure,
law enforcement
knows how to
do incredible
forensic analysis
in the lab. All
of us who watch
TV’s CSI or NCIS
shows know their tricks.
But what do you do if the very
evidence is radioactive? How do you
analyze a fingerprint when it is too risky
to the technician? The answer is the
Savannah River Site’s Nuclear Forensics
Analysis Center. The Center was
created with funding from the DOE, the
Department of Homeland Security, and
the FBI.
Savannah River National
Laboratory (SRNL) scientists aid federal
criminal investigations in two ways.
First, they use SRNL’s gloveboxes to
handle radioactive evidence and conduct
the conventional CSI-type forensic
analyses – dusting for finger prints,
analyzing the composition of the pieces of
evidence, testing for DNA, etc.
But the real niche is that the
National Lab scientists can provide
information about the nuclear material
itself. What is the material? What
threat/health risks does it pose? Where
did it come from – the U.S. or a foreign
country? The lab’s in-depth knowledge
of nuclear materials means scientists
know how to tell, based on embedded
impurities or enrichment levels, not
only what country but sometimes even
SRNL “glovebox” allows safe handling of
radioactive materials in the field
of nuclearforensics.
what facility produced an isotope. They
know how to track the movement of
nuclear materials, to help identify where a
material may have been diverted from its
peaceful uses.
The lab doesn’t do the actual
criminal investigation. They do not try to
figure how or when control of a nuclear
material was lost. They don’t try to figure
out who the bad guys were. But their
crucial role helps the national security
December 2012
agencies to their job in a much more
informed way when it involves radioactive
evidence.
Small Modular
Reactors
There has been a lot of local
press on the subject of small modular
reactors (SMRs). Apparently, the Site is
trying to win a grant to develop such a
reactor. But what is the appeal of a small
modular reactor?
The concept is actually one that
has been put into practice for nearly 60
years now. The U.S. Navy has employed
small nuclear reactors to power its
nuclear submarines and other warships
for decades. (As noted earlier, an Admiral
from the naval nuclear propulsion
program took over as Secretary of Energy
in 1989.) Even some merchant marine
ships have used small modular reactors
for power.
Globally, there is a growing
demand for abundant, cheap and
reliable electricity. The Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation has taken a specific
interest in small modular reactors. As
part of their interest in improving the
quality of life for millions of those in
underdeveloped areas, they have realized
that the single greatest threat to human
populations is disease. And disease
associated with contaminated water
sources is the greatest killer among these
populations. According to the World
Health Organization, 2.5 billion people
around the world do not have access to
affordable, safe, sanitary toilets. Almost
1.5 billion young children die each year
from diarrhea.
A source of electricity for an
isolated population can purify water
sources and enable a community to begin
to thrive. Over the summer, you probably
saw news on the Gates Foundation’s
“Reinventing the Toilet Challenge,” in
which contestants were challenged to
create way to remove pathogens from
human waste “off the grid” – with no
connections to water, sewer, or electrical
lines. In other words, to address directly
BELLA / SRS Supplement the underdeveloped world’s greatest
risk – human waste getting into drinking
water supplies.
The prospect of small modular
reactors is another aspect of the Gates
Foundation’s global health initiative. And
at the Savannah River Site, it seems
that it might be a perfect fit. In fact,
some of the reactor designs require
fuel characteristics that match some
of the nuclear materials currently
stored at the Site – another potential
example of turning swords into
plowshares.
raises possible additional opportunities
in the renewable energy sector, clearly a
departure from the Site’s nuclear focus.
The 310-square mile site hosts a healthy
timber harvest program run by the U.S.
Forest Service. Most of the Site’s wood
Helium-3
Production
is sold as pulpwood to area saw mills.
Currently, timber logging contracts offer
an opportunity for loggers to sell any
harvest residues. This is garnering some
interest from biofuels manufacturers, who
focus on ways to turn woody biomass
into possible bio-diesel or even biojetfuels, which might be of interest to
regional airlines such as Delta Airlines
based out of Atlanta or U.S. Airways
based in Charlotte.
As noted, the Site has an
ongoing mission to produce tritium to
replenish the nuclear stockpile. When
tritium decays, it creates the Helium-3
isotope. Helium-3 is excellent for neutron
detection equipment. Such detectors have
long been used in oil and gas exploration.
In the aftermath of the 9/11
attacks, however, there has been a
tremendous growth in demand for
Helium-3. Demand for Helium-3 today
exceeds capacity by a factor of 10.
Neutron detectors are now being installed
all over the world to help better detect
radioactivity and protect our nation and
its allies from terrorism. The Savannah
River Site is the sole producer of Helium-3
gas in the U.S., and the Site has recently
upgraded its systems to improve recovery
efficiency for this in-demand isotope.
BioFuels
Opportunities
In March 2012, SRS started
up a huge new power plant, replacing a
deteriorating and inefficient 1950s-era
coal powerhouse. The new facility has
the capacity to combust 385,000 tons of
local forest residue and wood chips into
20-megawatts of clean power annually,
reducing the Site’s greenhouse gas
emissions by 100,000 tons per year.
The successful biomass project
The new SRS biomass power plant
Next Generation
Cleanup
Technologies
SRS has a long and successful
history of developing and deploying
technologies to address environmental
challenges remaining from the Site’s
Cold War activities. Unlike many other
DOE sites that are still just evaluating
and studying possible techniques, SRS
has deployed some truly innovative
technologies to address environmental
contaminants. These include using
microbes in “edible oils” to bind up
chemical contaminants. Or to introduce
chemicals that change the pH (acidity)
of groundwater temporarily, to capture
contaminants and prevent their
migration.
The Site has also developed
some innovative cementitious waste
forms that can bind radionuclides in
place when decommissioning large
facilities. During the Recovery Act,
the Savannah River Site, in cooperation
S13
with the South Carolina Department
of Health and Environmental Control
and the Environmental Protection
Agency, decommissioned the P and R
Reactors using specially formulated grout
mixtures.
The Savannah River National
Laboratory has a contract in place to
provide support to the Tokyo Electric
Power Company, the operator of
the Fukushima Daiichi reactors
that in March 2011 suffered major
damage from a 9.0 earthquake and
subsequent tsunami. The support to
Japan involves sharing some of SRS’s
proven technological solutions to
help Japan clean up from the Fukushima
disaster more efficiently and safely than
they had initially thought possible.
Our nation and the world today
face challenges to assure adequate, safe
supplies of clean energy to meet evergrowing demands; safeguard and secure
nuclear materials on a global basis to
prevent terrorism; and provide and
maintain a clean environment. The above
are just a few examples of the possibilities
that await the Savannah River Site
through the Enterprise SRS initiative.
Each of them captures an area where
the Site seems strategically positioned to
apply science, innovation and technology
to successfully solve highly complex
challenges to benefit our nation and our
region.
And now,
the future…
BELLA acknowledges Karen Guevara,
Assistant Manager of the Department
of Energy-Savannah River Site, who
contributed significantly to this article.
Photos courtesy of
Department of Energy.
December 2012
“What is an ending is a beginning too.
We just didn’t see it at the time.”
This quote might well describe
the history of the Savannah River Site.
SRS has come a long way from its original
mission of producing tritium, plutonium
and deuterium in the early 1950s. With
a totally different mission today, the Site’s
massive nuclear facilities are being put to
other uses to serve the needs of today’s
world.
In the past four issues, BELLA
has published supplements to the regular
magazine describing briefly the history of
the Savannah River Project/Plant/Site.
It’s been the largest employer in Aiken
County since its construction in the
1950s, and still retains that designation
after layoffs and downsizing.
Even though the SRS employees
have become our neighbors and friends,
an aura of mystery or even menace has
surrounded the Site throughout the
years. Its initial mission was so shrouded
in secrecy that families of its engineers
and other workers were ignorant of
its operations to support the national
defense. That all changed in the 1980s
and early 1990s when the
BELLA Magazine is indebted to the following individuals
and organizations for their time, expertise, and information to
assist in the production of this series:
Walt Joseph
Steve Hale
Teresa Haas
Jim Giusti
Karen Guevara
Paul Sauerborn
Caroline Bradford
The Aiken County Historical Museum
The Aiken County Public Library
The Aiken Standard
Susan Elder
Hank Elder
Anna Dangerfield
Phyllis Maclay
Dean Campbell
Todd Lista
Susan Victor
Belinda Smith-Sullivan
Julia DeVore
Owen Clary
Jim Farmer
Wilkins Byrd
Allen Riddick
Fitz-Symms Photography
Gary Anderson
Susan Ferrara
Tony Baughman
Will Callicott
Keith Wood
Whit Gibbons
Rick Kelley
Janet Griffin
Ambrose Schwallie
Salley Bradley
Karen Randall
Rick McLeod
Gary Bunker
U.S. Government abandoned the defense
weapons operations of the 1950s-1980s
and instead redirected operations at the
SRS into cleaning up the nuclear waste
of the previous decades, called “legacy”
waste.
Today, even without a defense
mission, SRS offers a great deal to the
nation and to the world. A planet with
a fast burgeoning population cannot
be dependent upon fossil fuels forever.
Nuclear energy may be the answer to
many questions that have not even been
asked yet in many fields.
Moving into 2013, the fate of
SRS is uncertain. However, one thing
is certain: SRS is the center for nuclear
knowledge in our nation and, indeed,
the world. That preeminent knowledge
brought the Japanese here to contract
with the Savannah River National
Laboratory for technological solutions to
support the cleanup of the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear plant so badly damaged
by the earthquake and tsunami last year.
Within these pages are articles
about where things stand now at the Site:
Legacy nuclear waste is being disposed
of safely and ahead of schedule. The
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
(SREL) carries on its mission. The
Citizens’ Advisory Board—democracy in
action—continues to function.
But what about the future? In an
admirable proactive effort, leaders at DOE
and SRS created a model for the future
called Enterprise SRS. The initiatives
outlined in its concepts demonstrate the
vast capabilities of nuclear applications,
and they barely scratched the surface.
The future of SRS is unknown at
present, but if Enterprise SRS is nurtured,
the Site could once again become a
gleaming jewel of science and industry.
Many thanks to those people
and organizations who offered their
knowledge and assistance in the writing
of these articles concerning the Savannah
River Site. It has been an honor to work
with and learn from all of you.
Kathy Huff, Editor
BELLA Magazine
December 2012
Mailing Address
124 Trafalgar St., SW
Aiken, SC 29801
Publisher
Kathy Urban Huff
editor@aikenbellamagazine.com
Advertising
Kathy Huff
803/439-4026
ads@aikenbellamagazine.com
Graphic Design
Jim Stafford
S14
December 2012
December 2012
December 2012
From the
Couch to 5K,
and Liking It
by Kristen Sojourner,
Contributing Writer
O
ctober has come and gone and, with it, another edition of the USMC Ultimate Challenge Mud Run. You may recall my
adventures in last spring’s mud run with my daughter Meri, sister Lauri and good friend Andrew
Siders. This fall, my daughter flew out for one more
go. She insisted on making better time (translation:
running without me on her team). Fair enough. I
can understand a young, fit chick wanting her team
to score better than the bottom hundred. Me? I’m
just glad I finished!
My ego suffered only minor wounds because I am, after all, a proven official super hot rock
star fitness mom (Meri is the final word). Honestly,
I didn’t want to run another mud run. Once is
enough.
I have instead undertaken exciting, new
fitness challenges. I have no illusions of completing
a mud run in record or even reputable time. But I
can see myself running a 5K, a 10K or even a half
marathon and not only crossing the finish line, but
making good time. Maybe even better than the
bottom hundred! I have continued my running program, full steam, with specific goals. My goal for
this fall is to run a 5K race in under 37 minutes; in
spring, a 10K in under 75 minutes, and next fall, a
half marathon. And finish. (No time requirement
on that one. Just finishing will be enough!)
“I liiiike it!”
I follow an impressive self-created training
program that includes a healthy diet, beer and wine
(hydration is a must, right?), sleek running outfits and turbo shoes for that super athletic feel, an
energetic black Labrador puppy named Daisy, great
upbeat tunes, a Runtastic GPS run tracker app and
all of my friends cheering me as they “like me” on
Facebook, “running live” via Runtastic. (When a
friend on Facebook “likes” my Runtastic live activity, through my iPhone I hear a Barry White-rich
voice cheering, “I liiiike it!” Instantaneous mid-run
ego bursts provide more energy than any gel pack!)
Four days a week, I run three miles, plus
one long run, five to six miles. This will increase
over time. Even as I write this, I am impressed.
But, if you followed my story last spring, you know
it took a lot of work to get here.
New Mantra
One step at a time, all in good time. Or at
least respectable time.
My old mantra went something like finishing anything and being dead last is better than never
starting at all. But I never forget my first steps. In
honor of the former me, the beginner, I am now
a volunteer mentor for the Fleet Feet-sponsored
Couch to 5K Training Program. The Couch to
5K is a 12-week, professionally designed training
program for people who have had little to no experience with fitness or running (i.e., couch potatoes).
The program provides safe training that teaches and
promotes healthy habits.
Run, Walk and Roll!
The culminating event of the Couch to 5K
is The Run, Walk and Roll 5K Race, on December
8 in Aiken. Lori Comshaw, fitness trainer with the
City of Aiken and At Home Personal Training, is
the coordinator for this race. All proceeds benefit
MS research. Lori is also the Boot Camp Dominatrix Extraordinaire of Mud Run fame who helped
me train last spring. I have continued to let her
abuse me in boot camp class at Odell Weeks. She
knows how hard I have been working to achieve
my weight loss and fitness goals, and she personally
invited me to join the Fleet Feet Mentoring Team.
“Kristen, we really, really, really need you.
You have worked so hard. You will show the participants that you don’t have to be a superstar athlete
to make it across the finish line. We need someone
to hang with the slower group. And you’ll get a free
pair of running shoes from Fleet Feet. What do you
say?”
Mentoring and Free Shoes
How could I turn that down? Free running
shoes?! I’m in! Besides — I am a mentor! I will
lead others across the finish line! Wow! Truly, I am
honored that she asked.
My friend Nancy “Robbie” Robb is another
mentor. Over the past year, Robbie has also experienced a fitness transformation. Inspired by her 60th
birthday, Robbie decided to get herself in shape.
She had never run 10 feet in her life. Robbie committed herself to Fleet Feet’s Spring Couch to 5K
program
and not only trained herself to run the May 5K
event, but placed second in her age category. She is a
model for fitness transformation and an inspiration
to everyone.
“I know what it’s like to start from ground
zero,” said Robbie. “I know how hard it is to keep
going, I know about shin splints and muscle cramping ... but I also know how incredible it feels to
overcome the obstacles. That’s why I am so excited
to be a mentor, to help others do what they think is
impossible!”
From Huffing and Puffing
to Dusting
Of Robbie’s first experience with Couch to
5K, she said, “It was tough. The first time I tried
a run one/walk one training session, I thought I
wouldn’t make it. I was so out of shape, huffing,
puffing and sweating! Running a minute was the
toughest thing I’d ever done. But eventually, the
minutes strung together and I was running whole
miles! Now, I see others having a hard time,
breathing heavily, sweating hard, and I know, hey,
I was there, too. It shows me how far I’ve come.”
I have witnessed this same transformation
with my own Couch to 5K group. Almeda is my
inspiration! During training, I told her, “At the end
of every race, always rev up and sprint to the finish
line, smiling, no matter how you feel. Finish like an
athlete!” Last week, as we neared the 1.5 mile mark,
our third week training finish, Almeda blasted
ahead of me, dusting me. “I did it! I sprinted
ahead! I feel great!” Big smiles and high fives! Last
Saturday, she completed two miles in good time.
Every training session equals one more step to goal,
towards health, renewed energy, and wellness.
Couch to 5K is also about building friendships and team spirit. Participants are discouraged
from “plugging in” to iTunes or other media because
they don’t get the experience of learning from and
supporting each other, the best of all benefits of
group activities. I have made many friends who inspire me to keep on running. I am, after all, a super
hot rock star fitness mom. It started somewhere.
I’m going to keep it that way. I will finish at the
line, with my friends. In good time.
A certified massage therapist and occasional BELLA writer, Kristen Sojourner
is the owner of My Aiken Body Restorative Massage at 109 Laurens St., NW,
803-761-1127. Her series about training
for and and participation in the Marine
Corps Mud Run in Columbia entertained
BELLA readers last spring.
17 BUZZZZZ
DECEMBERCOMMUNITYCALENDAR
Downtown Aiken
December 24-29
December 13
January 10
December 15
Closed
December 2
Masterworks Chorale, 4 p.m., St. John’s United Methodist
Church. Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
December 8
A Holly Day in Downtown Aiken, all-day event; in-store
giveaways, door prizes, pictures with Santa, refreshments
and entertainment.
December 9
Aiken Jaycees Christmas Parade, 2 p.m., Laurens Street;
participants line up at 1 p.m. Free.
December 13
Night of 1000 Lights, 5 p.m., Downtown Aiken. Luminaries will
line the streets of the historic business district. There will be
food, fun, festivities, and even Santa’s elves will be in town to
hear your Christmas wishes. Sponsoring businesses will be
open late.
Aiken Center for the Arts
Gallery Opening Reception, 6 to 8 p.m.
Lego Club for grades K – grade 5, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Polar Express Breakfast, 10:15-11:15 a.m. For preschool-5th
grade children. This party will include storytime, crafts, and
breakfast treats. Adults must be present with children under
January 9-February 25
9. Registration is limited to 25 children and you may register
Aiken Retro Exhibition
first at the first floor circulation desk.
January 1-31
Aiken High School AP Art Exhibition (Brooks)
Movie, Arthor Christmas, rated PG, 2-3:40 p.m.
January 22
December 22
Columbia Museum Impressionist Lecture, 11 a.m. to 12
noon. A Columbia Museum representative will talk about
the new Impressionism from Monet to Matisse exhibit at the
Museum that runs from January 25-April 21, 2013. Free, but
reservations required due to limited seating. Call 641-9094
to reserve a seat. January 31
Antiques in the Heart of Aiken Preview Party, 7 to 9 p.m.,
$70 per person (includes 3-day show pass).
122 Laurens St. SW 803-641-9094
www.aikencenterforthearts.org
February 1-3
14th Annual Antiques in the Heart of Aiken Show and Sale. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; noon to 4 p.m.
Sunday. $8/person, ticket good for all three days of show. Sweetheart Tea Room open Friday and Saturday from 11:30
a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, 12 noon to 2 p.m.
December 1- 28
Tom Supensky Exhibition, AAG room.
December 1- 28
“The Five” Exhibition, exhibitions from artists Stafford,
Moretz-Britt, Sofge, Smith, and Adamick.
December 1- 28
‘Tis the Season invitational art exhibit, Wyatt Gallery.
Aiken Center for the Arts member non- juried art show.
Aiken County Public Library
314 Chesterfield St. SW
803-642-2020, www.abbe-lib.org
December 1
East Aiken Elementary School Art Show in the
Brooks Gallery.
Audubon in the Low Country, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Ron Roth will speak about the South Carolina travels of the
“Entrepreneurial Artist” John James Audubon, in a special
program from the SC Humanities Council.
December 4
December 8
December 3- 28
Aiken Youth Orchestra Concert, 7- 9 p.m. Aiken Youth
Orchestra winter concert under the direction of Joe Laorenza
and Angela Shaw.
December 6- 8
Gingerbread in Aiken, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. The Literary Structures
Gingerbread Contest will take place at the Aiken Center for
the Arts. Call 803-642-2015 for more information. Deadline to
enter has been changed to December3.
Author book signing. Jan Waugh will be having storytime and
book signing of her book, A Banana Split for Nicholas, 2 p.m.
Book will be available for $5.
Author visit, The Hidden History of Aiken, Tom Mack, 4-5:30
p.m. The book will be available for purchase for $19.99.
December 12
Aiken French Language Class, 4 p.m., for grades 1- 5.
There is no cost for the first 15 to register.
December 13
Gallery Opening, 6-8 p.m., and Night of 1,000 Lights.
Tax Planning
Medicaid Planning
Elder Law
Estate Planning
Revocable Trust
Probate
18
Movie, Polar Express, rated G, 1-2:40 p.m.
Movie, Disney’s A Christmas Carol, rated PG, 3-4:40 p.m.
Aiken County Historical Museum
433 Newberry St. SW 803-642-2015
www.aikencountyhistoricalmuseum.org
December 1
4th Annual Nutcracker Tea, 2 p.m., benefiting the Aiken Civic
Ballet. $10 per adult; $5 per child. Tickets sold at Unique
Expressions and 3 Monkeys and also at the door.
December 5
BELLA Holiday Tea, 3-5 p.m., benefiting the Child Advocacy
Center. Hat display. $45/person; reservations required and
can be made by sending a check payable to Bella Magazine
for $45 each to 124 Trafalgar St. SW, Aiken, SC 29801.
Tea by Lady Kelly MacVean and refreshments by Chef Kirstie
MacVean of La Dolce. Hats encouraged. Seating is limited.
For more information, call Kathy Huff at 644-9165.
URS Center for the Performing Arts
126 Newberry St. SW
Tickets and information: 803-648-1438
December 1, 2
Miracle on 34th Street, 3 p.m. Suitable for all audiences.
Contact the box office for more information.
December 13
Carolina Brass Christmas Pops, 8- 10 p.m. Tickets are $35.
University of South Carolina-Aiken
471 University Parkway 803-648-6851
www.sc.edu
Run Through the Fall 5K, 8- 10 a.m., USC-Aiken. Come run
the same course as the Pacers Cross Country Team. Call
803-642-7559 for more information.
Wm. Ray Massey
TAX ATTORNEY
Smith, Massey, Brodie, Guynn & Mayes, P.A.
Phone
803-643-4110
Facsimile
803-644-9057
rmassey@smbgm.com
www.smbgm.com
ZZZ
ZZZ
BELLA Magazine will run announcements for free for non-profit organizations, community
events, and BELLA advertisers. Space may be limited. Please email event information
to bellabuzz@aikenbellamagazine.com by the 15th of the month before the event.
December 11
DuPont Planetarium
Ruth Patrick Science Education Center
471 University Parkway
http://rpsec.usca.edu/Planetarium/
pubshows.html
Aiken Cares, Alzheimer’s Support Group, for family members
and caregivers, 11 a.m. to noon, Cumberland Village Library,
2nd floor.
December 17
December 1, 8, 10, 17
Look Good … Feel Better, free program for female cancer
patients actively undergoing or about to start treatment,
1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Cancer Care Institute of Carolina at
ARMC. To register, call 803-641-6044.
December 15, 22, 29
Odell Weeks Center
‘Tis the Season, 7 and 8 p.m.
‘Tis the Season, 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m
Etherredge Center
www.usca.edu/ec
December 3
USCA Chamber Music Concert, 7 p.m.
December 15
Aiken Symphony Guild’s December Pops Concert, 8 p.m.
Joe Gransden, Trumpeter and Vocalist
Aiken Regional Medical Centers
803-641-5000
www.aikenregional.com
Support Group Meetings:
AA: Every Sunday and Wednesday evening, 7:15 p.m.,
Aurora Pavilion.
Aiken Cares- Alzheimer’s: December 11, 11 a.m. to noon,
Cumberland Village Library, 2nd floor.
Lupus: 3rd Thursday of every month, December 20, 7-9 p.m.,
ARMC, Dining Room A.
Mended Hearts: December 14, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.,
USCA Business Conference Center.
Cancer: 3rd Wednesday of every month, December 19, 3 p.m.
to 4 p.m., First Baptist Church Parlor.
Dream Catchers- Traumatic Brain Injury and Disability
Support: 1st Monday of every month, December 3, 6 p.m. to
7 p.m., First Baptist Church Parlor.
Diabetes: 2nd Tuesday of every month, December 11, 3 p.m.
to 4 p.m., Odell Weeks Center.
December 4
Pink Ribbonettes, the American Cancer Society Breast
Cancer Self-Help Group for women diagnosed with breast
cancer; guest speakers; 10:30 a.m. to noon at Millbrook
Baptist Church. To register, call Irene Howley at 803-6499267 or Diane Hadley at 803-644-3902.
December 5
Bereavement- Grief Support for Adults, the Lunch Bunch
meets to support those who have lost loved ones, 12 noon
to 1 pm., ARMC, Cafeteria Dining Room A. To register, call
Cathy Cole at 803-641-5389.
1700 Whiskey Road
803-642-7631
December 1
Aiken Christmas Craft Show, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 42nd annual
craft show. Vendors from all over the southeast will be
displaying their handmade crafts. There is no cost for this
event.
December 11
Storytime with Mrs. Claus, 4 p.m., Mrs. Claus will be reading
holiday books to children. Refreshments, door prizes, and a
free book to every child who attends. Children under 8.
December 15
Breakfast with Santa, 8:30 a.m., Weeks Center rooms
6 & 7. Santa is taking time to stop by and have breakfast
with the children of Aiken and listen to holiday wishes.
After breakfast, the children can make a holiday craft to take
home. Registration required by December 9. Ages 12 and
under. The cost is $1 per child. Call 803-642-7631 for more
information.
Miscellaneous Venues and Events
December 1
Aiken Horsepower Car Show, 1 p.m.- 3 p.m., the Home Depot
parking lot, 1785 Whiskey Rd.
December 8
Highfields Just for Fun Show, 9 a.m.- 5:30 p.m., Highfields
Event Center. For both the hunter and jumper horse or pony.
Casual attire is permitted. Contact psjshows@aol.com for
more information.
December 9
Highfields Combined Training, 9 a.m.- 5:30 p.m., Highfields
Event Center. Entries close on Monday, December 3.
Late entries will be accepted if space is available. Call
803-649-3505 for more information.
December 13- 23, 26, 27
Christmas in Hopelands, 6-9:30 p.m. each night, Hopelands
Gardens. Gardens will be illuminated with over 100,000 lights.
There is no cost, donations appreciated. Refreshments
available. Shuttle runs from Citizens Park at 1060 Banks Mill
Rd. Call Kiersten Warfield at 803-642-7649 to volunteer.
Outside Aiken
December 1
Christmas for the Birds, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., North Augusta
Living History Park. Create decorations for the birds to eat
throughout the winter. Please bring food for our four- legged
friends (dogs and cats) to be given to the local pet adoption
centers. Refreshments will be served.
December 9
North Augusta Christmas Parade, 3 p.m., Georgia Ave.,
North Augusta, SC.
December 15
Christmas Cancelled! A Special Civil War Holiday Experience,
4-6 p.m., Redcliffe Plantation Historic Site. Live musicians,
local actors and more help bring alive the holiday experience
of free and enslaved families during the Civil War.
Upcoming Events
January 11, 12
Frost/Nixon, 8 p.m., Aiken Community Playhouse.
January 19
5th Annual Icicle Ball, benefiting the food programs of ACTS;
held at St. Thaddeus Church. $70/person, or $560/table of
8. Reservations can be made by mailing checks payable to
ACTS to 340 Park Avenue SW, or going to that address.
January 31-February 3
Antiques in the Heart of Aiken, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.,
Aiken Center for the Arts
Floral Design Workshops
Prepare Exhibitors
for Aiken Garden Show
in May
For the first time in many years, the
2013 Aiken Garden Show will feature flower
arrangements, according to Pam Kolb, Aiken
Garden Show Planning Committee member. In
addition to the garden tours and vendors for which
it is known, there will be a sanctioned American
Rose Society rose show as one of the attractions
during the May 17-18 event. The theme of the
event is “It’s Showtime!”
In preparation for the Garden Show, a
series of floral design workshops sponsored by the
Aiken Garden Club Council and the Augusta
Rose Society will be held on January 24, February
28 and March 28 at the Aiken County Historical
Museum.
On each date, guest lecturers will present
a program to the attendees and also hold a floral
design workshop afterwards. Attendance at the
lecture is limited to 50, and the workshops will be
limited to the first 20 people who sign up.
The January lecturer is Bill Patterson,
who will speak about traditional arrangements.
In February, Jim Harrell will talk about modern
arrangements, and in March Lee Hale will lecture
on Oriental style arrangements. Workshops begin
at 9:30 a.m. and end roughly between 1:30 p.m.
and 2.
Registration at the lecture and/or the
workshop may be secured by sending a check
payable to the Aiken Garden Club Council
covering $5 per lecture, and $15 per arrangement
workshop to Pam Kolb, 1447 Dibble Road, Aiken,
SC 29801. Questions may be directed to Pam at
803-643-9542 or pamkolb@atlanticbb.net.
19 TLC M E DIC A L C E N T R E PH A R M AC Y
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20
New Pam Durban Novel
Recalls Terrible Aiken
Crime in 1926
by Kathy Urban Huff
“Where blood has been spilled, the tree of forgetfulness
will not flourish.”
– Brazilian proverb
In Pam Durban’s new novel, The Tree of
Forgetfulness, Aiken is the place where blood was
spilled. The Aiken-born author has modeled her
latest novel after the events of the Lowman murders, a crime that made national headlines in 1926
when three African-Americans were taken by a
mob from the jailhouse behind
the Aiken County Courthouse
and killed out on Highway 1
close to the airport.
Three Grand Juries
are made-up versions for her characters and do not
refer to actual people. Durban even wrote herself
into the story in the character of the curious grandchild, “as my stand-in.”
The Lowman murders followed a shoot-out
at the home of the victims when the sheriff and two
deputies arrived out of uniform in an unmarked
vehicle and rushed the house. In the ensuing
gunfight, the sheriff was killed. A quick trial found
the two men guilty and sentenced to the electric chair; the
woman was sentenced to life
imprisonment. The sheriff ’s
reason for visiting the rural
home is still a mystery, although Durban found a theory
centered on bootlegging.
It was during the appeal
process that the three were
brought back from State prison
to the jailhouse behind the
courthouse. Records show that
a mob of 17 or 18 people broke
into the jail while a crowd of
several hundred might have
witnessed the murders themselves.”
“It’s a fascinating and
terrible story,” said Durban in a
BELLA interview after a local
book signing in November.
“It was a huge national story.
Three New York City newspapers sent crime reporters here.
The New York World reporter
filed 30 front page stories about
the case. The president of the
NAACP, Walter White, came
to Aiken and collected the
names of 17 or 18 people in the
The Power of Voice
mob responsible for the deaths.
Durban’s interest in writing
He sent them to the goverstems from a work experience
nor and waited for word of an
Pam Durban
in Atlanta in which she interinvestigation.
viewed
several
women
from an old textile mill comAlthough three grand juries were convened
munity known as Caggagetown and compiled their
to delve into the case, no indictments were ever ismoving stories into Cabbagetown Families, Cabbagsued.”
etown Food, published by The Patch in 1975. Later
Durban first learned the story of the Lowthe stories became a narrated play with actresses
man triple lynching five years ago from a paper
speaking the voices of the Cabbagetown characters
written by a graduate student at Columbia Univerin passages directly from the book. Since then, she
sity. Since the crime took place in her own homesaid, she has written to demonstrate “the power of
town, and as a member of an Aiken family with
roots back to the 1800s, she wondered aloud, “Why a story, the power of voice.” She may well carry
can’t you find an account of this crime in the history this forward to a new idea for a story spurred by her
interest in her father’s relationship to war.
of Aiken County? It seems to have been erased,
Frampton Durban was an infantry comleaving only a collective silence.”
mander
in World War II and was part of the
In the course of her research, a Southern
American post-war occupation forces in Japan. “He
historian told her that the Lowman lynchings were
arguably the most publicized lynching in the nation talked to us sometimes, and they were stories about
heroism. Of course I believe that no one comes
at the time. “Had you ever heard of it?” she asked
me. I had to reply that I hadn’t. “How does some- back untouched by war, but it was subtle. He was
not one of those so damaged that he couldn’t functhing like this disappear so completely?”
tion,” she said.
Some of her past writings have sprung from
A Research Surprise
such ideas, ignited by an article, an interview, an
One surprise finding was that her own
experience. Her style is inspired by Chekhov, one
family was involved. Her great uncle Dr. Hastings of her favorite writers, whose objective presentation
McNair was the physician to the coroner having
of subject and character allows the reader to draw
jurisdiction over the case. In archival material, she his or her own conclusions.”
found notes about the case written by another great
uncle on his prescription pad. While she already
found the story compelling, the involvement of fam- UNC Creative Writing Professor
As the Doris Betts Distinguished Profesily, even indirectly, added extra fuel to her interest.
sor of Creative Writing at the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, Durban teaches two classes
The Curious Grandchild
of creative writing each semester. “I believe that
In the story line of the book, Durban folyou have to be engaged with your students to be
lows the main characters separately, each giving
a good teacher. Writing and teaching both draw
a personal account of what happened that fateful
from the same place,” she explained.
night. Readers will recognize places around AiOnline, her students write excellent evaluken—Laurens Street, St. Angela Academy—and
ations about her teaching and mentoring, praising
even familiar names—like Henderson, Hastings,
her guidance and recommending her classes to
and Gregorie— although the names in the narrative
other students. She laughingly said, “Every year, I
write a novel’s worth of comments on my students’
work.”
Many Awards
Having won numerous awards and honors
for her writing, she has been described as “a southern writer who has received much recognition for
her gripping, insightful fiction. ” Her novel So Far
Back won the Lillian Smith Award for Fiction, bestowed by the Southern Regional Council in 2001.
Her previous writings include a work of short stories
called All Set About with Fever Trees, a novel named
The Laughing Place, and many short stories included
in various anthologies. Her short story titled “Soon”
was published in The Best American Short Stories of
the Century, edited by John Updike.
The Tree of Forgetfulness (2012) is published
by The Louisiana State Press and is available at Aiken Office Supply. Pam Durban
can be reached by email at pdurban@email.
unc.edu.
21
Steel, Horsehair and Bone
The Evolution of Underwear
by Phyllis Maclay
Beneath this stone a lump of clay
Lies Uncle Peter Daniels
too early in the month of May
He took off his flannels
– 1800’s tombstone epitaph in Massachusetts
The genteel woman of nobility held up the
state-of-the-art garment, and smiled. Her mother
and grandmother wore the cumbersome “bag for
the breasts,” or “shirts with bags” but this alluring
undergarment was trimmed with lace and even a
few decorations. Its new design would do more than
just support a woman’s anatomy. With cups, broad
shoulder straps, and a back strap for support, she
would feel as feminine as she looked in the mirror.
But history can be cruel and somehow the
bra was forgotten. In its place emerged the stiff ribsqueezing corset. In fact, it took a discovery in an
Austrian castle to prove that 600 years ago women
wore bras. Underneath straw, dirt, and wood,
remnants of more than 2,700 textile fragments were
uncovered; among them were four linen bras. This
tossed out the notion that brassieres were first worn
in the 1800s.
Free at Last
Legend has it that Catherine, wife of King
Henry II of France, declared waists measuring
more than 13" unacceptable for the ladies of her
court and forced them
to be squeezed into a
garment constructed
of whalebone and steel
rods. Sometimes the
tortured women were
crushed into a corset
that pressed their waist
to ten" or less. Women
were prisoners of their
breath-taking underwear
for more than 300 years.
Mary Phelps Jacobs hated the way her gown
fitted over a stiff corset. The whalebones of the undergarment could
be seen peeking
up around her
low neckline
and the sheer
gown looked as
though it had
ribs. It was 1907
and she would
soon become the
emancipator of
women’s midriffs.
Jacobs put two
silk handkerchiefs
together with
ribbon, creating
the modern bra.
Women were
finally able to heave a great sigh of relief.
Jacobs’ creation was a hit among family
and friends, so in 1914 she patented her “backless
22
brassiere” named Caresse Crosby Brassieres (brassieres
is French for “upper arm”). She found out she didn’t
like the business world so Jacobs sold her patent to
Warner Brothers Corset Company (now associated
with Macy’s) for $1500. Warners made a cool $15
million dollars off her patent over the next 30 years.
During World War I the United States War
Industries Board declared war on the corset by calling women to stop buying the undergarment. The
death of this oppressive underwear freed women’s
lungs and 28,000 tons of metal for the war effort.
Takin’ It to the Streets
Russian immigrant Ida Rosenthal created
cup sizes in 1928 and went on to build her own
company, calling it Maidenform. Hers was the first
company to sell maternity bras. Warners got back
in the competition by designing nylon and elastic
fibers. This revolutionized bras to be more than support; they now revealed a woman’s curves. In 1935
Warners created a cup sizing system for cups A-D,
which is used worldwide today with added sizes.
Although Maidenform designed the cup, Warner
Brothers patented a sizing system, A-D.
William Rosenthal joined his wife in advancing the design of the
bra by inventing adjustable straps that remain in
place. They ran risqué ads
for their bras and supporting undergarments using
the phrase, “I dreamed I
was in my Maidenform
bra…”
Other landmarks in
the evolution of the bra
were:
DuPont invented LYCRA which made
bras lighter and fit the body more
snugly without sags or bags.
Jogbra was the first sports bra. It was created
by sewing two jockstraps together.
Sports bras played a huge role in
the adoption of Title IX (increasing
women’s places in sports and physical
fitness) by allowing women to
participate comfortably and by
promoting women’s sports in their ads.
An Italian soldier breastplate was the
model for
Madonna’s
gold, cone-shaped
bra. Takin’ it to
the streets,
she transformed
the bra to outerwear.
Whale bones, horsehair,
and cane
When the stiff ruffles of petticoats couldn’t
support the massive skirts in the late 15th and 16th
centuries, a hooped structure called the farthingale
was designed in Spain. Made from the giant cane (a
perennial), willow cuttings, rope, and later whalebone, Spanish farthings led the way in European
fashion.
The farthing morphed into a cage-like
rigging called the crinoline, made from stiff fabric,
horse hair, and cotton. By 1846 the first hooped
skirt appeared in the United States, worn over a
lattice of hoops and cords. W.S. Thomson designed
a crinoline with eyelet fasteners that connected the
steel hoops to perpendicular tapes running down
from the waistband. It was aptly dubbed the cage
crinoline. Women loved it because it was lighter
than previous petticoats and only needed two
petticoats over it to hide the ridges of the bands.
Ladies’ feet would now not get tangled in the layers
of petticoats previously worn for fullness. All social
classes were now fastening the crinoline under their
skirts because mass production made them affordable.
But women were still victims to fashion.
Measuring up to six feet in diameter, the crinoline
made it tricky for a woman to pass though doorways, climb carriages, and sit down without the
hoops flipping up in her face. A gust of wind could
whip up the skirt and expose the woman’s legs
(gasp!), and tripping was a disaster.
On a positive note, the crinoline was the
lifeline for Sarah Ann Henley. She leaped off the
Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England, in
1885 after a heartbreaking spat with her lover. Her
hooped skirts slowed
her 246-foot fall,
acting as a parachute,
saving her life—or so
the story goes.
Fashion became
kinder to women as
the crinoline evolved
to the crinolette
which became the
bustle. The cage apparatus was only in the
back to support a train of the dress. It only lasted
from 1869 -1875, and slimmer, softer slips became
the new fashion.
Men’s Underwear
The Iceman Cometh
Poked and
probed by scientists,
Otzi, the mummified Iceman, dead for
more than 5,000 years
in the Italian Alps,
has revealed many
discoveries about the
Neolithic man. One
of them was that he wore a loincloth of goatskin
under his leather coat. It was the same style worn by
shepherds in southern France until 1835.
Royal Undies
In Egypt, King Tut wore triangular shaped
loincloths tied at the hips called the shendoh. Along
with furniture
and jewelry for
his afterlife, 145
loincloths were
placed in his
tomb in one of
the Great Pyramids. About
the same time,
ancient Greeks
wrapped themselves in a piece of woolen fabric called the chiton
from neck to knees. Although this was worn under
an outer cloak, it wasn’t considered underwear.
By 581 AD European men of nobility
switched from the loincloth to braies (pronounced
bray) a kind of ancient boxer shorts. Lower classes
wore a strip of fabric that passed between the thighs
and was tied with a string, called a breechcloth.
Soon all classes of men wore the baggy braies, even
knights under their armor. They also had to wear
padded linen linings to avoid chafing against the
harsh metal. Armored men wore padded loincloths
to prevent agonizing saddle sores.
For Modesty: The Codpiece
The Renaissance brought change to many
things in Europe, including the braies, which
shrank in size and was fitted with a flap that tied
shut. To keep men modest, the codpiece was created, which hung on the outside. As men’s hemlines
rose, the codpiece evolved into a decorative accessory, sometimes oddly shaped. Rumor had it King
Henry VIII padded his codpiece, sparking a new
fad among his male subjects.
During the Victorian Era (1837-1901),
men’s underwear consisted of two hand-made pieces
bound together. But in America the Industrial
Revolution spawned mass production of underwear
called the Union Suit, a one-piece garment made of
knitted material sold in stores. Men in the country usually wore the same suit all winter without
washing it until spring. This was a change from the
previous flannel long drawers and shirt of the 1830s.
Thankfully, better hygiene helped to decrease the
population of vermin in men’s winter underwear.
Long Johns, Jockeys, and
$100 Bills
From 18821892, boxer John
Sullivan wore long,
skin-tight drawers in competition.
This practice and
his popularity gave
the name Long
Johns to the wool
underwear, a name
still used today.
Later, during World War I, men were issued boxers for the infantry. Men continued to wear
them after returning home. But in 1934 Arthur
Kneibler studied a post card from his friend visiting the French Riviera where a man was sporting a
bikini-like bathing suit. Kneibler, a hosiery designer, was inspired to create snug, legless underwear,
calling them Jockey Shorts.
In January of 1935, window designers were
getting the heat for displaying scanty men’s underwear when Chicago was being blasted by a blizzard.
“Get those shorts out and put the long johns in that
window,” came the order. Before the employees
made the switch, 600 pairs of Jockeys sold that first
day.
On the battlefronts of World War II, men
were issued olive green underwear after it was discovered their white boxers drew too much attention
from the enemy. The ‘50s brought colorful designs
and print patterns to men’s underwear, including
dice, cupids, wild animals, and playing cards. But
one day U.S. Secret Service agents raided a manufacturer’s shipment, seizing one thousand pairs of
undershorts. They were charged with violation of
United States forgery laws for printing $100 bills on
their underwear.
Smart Underwear
Today, U.S. Army engineers are considering creating underwear with sensors that would
transmit information about the health of the soldier
like blood volume, stress indicators, and exposure to
hazardous elements. “Smart undies” could eventually be used by doctors to monitor their patient’s
health and possibly dispense medication.
Underwear that would provide protection
against IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device) by
diverting the force of a blast away from the femoral
artery is being issued to the military. Technology
has also produced underwear that moves moisture
away from the body, which for civilians could lead
to clothing that would dry in a few minutes.
From torture chambers for women’s bodies to protection of life, underwear reflects attitudes
and beliefs of society and culture. The hope is both
will not constrict or confine the human body or
spirit, but allow people their freedom to move and
work as they change for the better.
It’s the Trews
To answer the age-old
question “What does a Scotsman wear under his kilt, the
answer is a Celtic garment
called trews. It was a knitted
one-piece pair of breeches
with hose attached. Highlanders wore them walking
the Moors, and kept their
trews trimmed with leather
for horseback riding to prevent them from wearing out.
Howard Hughes and his
Jane Russell obsession
Howard Hughes’ obsession with Jane
Russell’s bust brought engineers and designers
to his employ while filming the movie The
Outlaw. He was convinced the camera did not
do her plunging neckline justice, so he created
an underwire bra of rods
and structural steel that
were sewn into the fabric
underneath each breast.
Then the rods were attached
to shoulder straps. The
shoulder straps could be
placed to expose however
much Mr. Hughes wanted
for the shot. Miss Russell was in such pain from
what she deemed “the ridiculous contraption,”
she sneaked back into her dressing room and into
her own bra.
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23
75 Years of
Caldecott Medal
Books!
by Ann Dudley Holley
I believe that few children learn to love
books by themselves and someone has to lure them
into the wonderful world of the written word.
When we think about children’s books,
most of us remember one from our childhood that
left an impression. The story may remain vivid
in our minds because of the language. We may
think of a favorite character we could relate to or
empathize with. We may remember a favorite one
because of the message portrayed in the plot. I
remember some of my favorite books because of the
illustrations.
Medal winners’ illustrations delight readers,
especially children. Wonderful illustrations attached to the oral words enhance the child’s enjoyment and understanding of a good story. Quality art
in children’s books can aid in developing children’s
imaginations.
Caldecott Medal (and Honor Medal) book
winners are excellent choices for parents and teachers. Complete lists can be found at the Caldecott
Medal home page: http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal
Illustrations Develop Art Appreciation
Following is a list of my favorite medal
winners from each decade with reasons why they
have become milestones in children’s literature.
The first Caldecott Medal was awarded in
1938 to Animals of the Bible
by Helen Dean Fish and
illustrated by Dorothy P.
Lathrop (Lippincott). The
black and white illustrations
correspond with Bible verses
and add a lot to the child’s
understanding of animals
in the Bible. The award winners to follow this first
one are often narrative stories but this one shows
simple illustrations of animals in the Bible.
In 1942, Make Way for Ducklings by Robert
McCloskey (Viking) won the Caldecott Medal.
This popular, timeless tale about a Boston duck
family was a favorite read on
the Captain Kangaroo Show to
millions of baby boomers. McCloskey’s editor encouraged him
to make the drawings black and
white. One reason was the cost
of color printing. I am convinced
this was the right decision because one cannot help but notice
the precision and style in these
famous drawings. Children today still delight in the
“old-timey” cars, bicycle, and shoes in this book. In
1987 the bronze sculpture was placed in the Boston Public Gardens and a duplicate was shipped to
Moscow four years later and installed in a public
park as a gift to the children of the Soviet Union on
behalf of the children of the United States.
Another favorite of baby boomers is
The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward
(Houghton), the 1953 Caldecott
winner. This too was a regular on
Captain Kangaroo. Today it is
still a highly sought after book.
The story is about young Johnny
whose sense of duty follows his
love for a pet bear cub who grows
up to be a family nuisance. During the 1950s it was not as shocking to include text about shooting a bear as it would
be today. In the end, however, Johnny’s bear lives
happily in the zoo. The drawings by artist Lynd
Ward seem to be alive and talking through his ink
and watercolors. When I rediscovered this book, I
remembered each illustration as though hidden in
my memory.
Illustrations in children’s books may be the
first opportunity children have to acquire an appreciation for artwork to complement text. Children’s
books present an abundance of artistic styles of
media and techniques from pencil drawings to oils.
When books are read and shared with children, a
spark of artistic imagination begins.
In recognition of this wonderful marriage
of words and art, an award was founded to honor
the illustrators of children’s literature. It was named
the Caldecott Medal in honor of the man whose
early artwork inspired it.
Randolph Caldecott was born in England in 1846. In his youth he enjoyed wandering
through the countryside sketching the birds and
animals he saw. As an adult he became a banker
who took art classes and began to sell his own oil
and watercolor paintings. Thus, his new career as
a sketch artist began in 1878. He wrote and illustrated The House That Jack Built and John Gilpin. He
became famous for his illustrations in his rendition
of Hey, Diddle, Diddle and Sing a Song of Sixpence
and continued illustrating as he realized children
enjoyed his art that complemented favorite nursery
rhymes.
Medal Salutes Best Picture Book
Everyone wants to be praised for a job well
done. Randolph Caldecott earned that praise when
the Randolph Caldecott Medal Award was created
in 1938. The prestigious medal is presented to the
artist of the most distinguished American picture
book for children published in the United States
during the preceding year. A committee of 15
members sanctioned by the American Library Association reads hundreds of entries each year. Criteria stipulate that the book must be published in
English in the United States during the preceding
year, and the illustrations must be original work.
The book must also be considered for the artistic
technique and pictorial
interpretation of the story
for a child audience.
The award is a
gold seal depicting John
Gilpin’s ride and on the
reverse, four and twenty
blackbirds baked in a pie.
A silver seal is awarded
This is my favorite Caldecott to honor books that the
illustration from “Hey Diddle
committee selects as
Diddle” which I believe assured his name being chosen worthy.
for the award.
24
My Personal Favorites by Decade
The Snowy Day by Ezra
Jack Keats (Viking) won
the Caldecott Medal in
1963. This famous book is a
true milestone in children’s
literature because it depicts
the first African-American
character as the protagonist
in American children’s literature. Peter continues on in many more of Keats’
books and children around the world begin to call
him a friend.
This book broke the color barrier
and began a movement for more children to find
‘themselves’ in the pages of a book. A 50th anniversary edition was published last year. Keats’ collage
illustrations are favorites for teachers who inspire
young children to create their own collages. (The
EdVenture Children’s Museum in Columbia, SC
contains an area for children to experience some of
Peter’s adventures from this book!)
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by
Paul Goble (Bradbury) won
the Caldecott in 1979. The
Native American girl feels
a strong kinship with the
horses as she and her spirit
eventually become one with
them. The colorful doublepage spreads are vibrant and
full of activity. One cannot help but understand the
emotion brought about by Goble’s combination of
line and color in his watercolors. His storytelling
and art combine to show love and harmony with
nature as he honors the Native American culture.
(Paul Goble, an Englishman, was adopted by Chief
Edgar Red Cloud when he
moved to the Black Hills in
South Dakota.)
My favorite Caldecott
fantasy is the 1987 Caldecott
Medal winner, Hey, Al by
Arthur Yorinks and illustrated
by Richard Egielski (Farrar).
This exceptional book
offers the reader a chance to
“suspend his disbelief ” and be transported away
from a mundane life to an exotic land, only to
finally wish for home again. With tenderness and
humor, the watercolor illustrations explore the costs
of leaving home. Colors set the mood and go from
dull to vibrant. The once drab characters take on
new color and style after learning life’s lessons.
A favorite Little Red
Riding Hood version set in
China won the Caldecott in
1990, Lon Po Po by Ed Young
(Philomel). Ed Young was
born in China and was a voracious reader. He especially
loved all fairy tales and wanted
to add his art to this Chinese
version with three little girls outsmarting the nasty
wolf. Many of his images depict what words can
never describe! His watercolor and pastel illustrations show classic beauty and charm and are modBELLA MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2012
eled after techniques used in ancient Chinese panel
art. (Some critics believe these may frighten young
children.)
Kitten’s First Full Moon by
Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow
Books/HarperCollinsPublishers) is the popular 2005 winner
and is a favorite with teachers
who use it to share about the
kitten’s frustration and triumph. The simple gouache
illustrations boldly show outlined organic shapes of
black, white and gray. There is a “circle motif ” evident in the kitten’s eyes, the moon,
fireflies, and more that is interesting
for children to discover.
The Lion and The Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown &
Company) is a wordless rendition of
one of Aesop’s most beloved fables.
This version has won rave reviews as
the 2010 Caldecott Medal winner.
Pinkney’s vivid illustrations offer
glowing colors in textured watercolors to show the
African Serengeti. This book is a masterpiece for
sure! I especially like how he uses a mouse and lion
family to show similarity in the two diverse characters. If a wordless book can tell a perfect story, I
believe the credit definitely goes to the artist. All of
Jerry Pinkney’s books are worth owning.
What do all of these books have in common? The prestigious Caldecott Medal that began
with the dish running away with the spoon. From
wordless to folklore to fantasy adventures, all genres
are found with the special Caldecott seal. The illustrations and story combine to develop an appreciation for fine art to enhance a wonderful story.
Collections of these winning books
ensure that children will be read
great books published in this country every year. Parents should be
celebrating these along with their
children to instill a lifelong love of
reading and great art!
Ann Dudley Holley is a
Senior Instructor in the School
of Education at USCA and has
been acknowledged by her
students and colleagues for
teaching excellence. Prior to
her 22 years with USCA, she
taught both elementary and
middle school students.
a contemporary
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25
Good Sense Medicine
by Zoom Heaton
What is a
LEAKY GUT
and how is your
HEALTH affected by it?
pore-like structures open too wide, toxins from the
gut can flood into the bloodstream, overwhelming
the liver and causing allergies and a whole host of
other ailments.
Another important function of the gut
is to host 70% of the immune tissue in the body.
Problems occur when either one of these protective functions of the gut is compromised. Hence,
a Leaky Gut is a gut that becomes inflamed and in
turn becomes porous, allowing large food proteins,
bacteria, fungi, metals and toxic substances straight
into our bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream,
our immune system is the last line of defense to
deal with these substances and it will eventually get
overwhelmed if a Leaky Gut is not repaired.
There are many factors that cause or worsen
Leaky Gut Syndrome:
The holidays are upon us and most of us
enjoy the multitude of festivities, lavish parties,
getting together with our friends and family and
most of all we LOVE LOVE the decadent food and
beverages that bewitch us at these occasions. The
problem is years of decadent behavior and selfindulgence combined with environmental toxins
and food products laden with steroids and pesticides
have slowed our bodies down and created a host of
health issues that most of us are unaware of.
Leaky Gut Syndrome is very common in
this day and age. It is the cause of much of our
modern autoimmune diseases, such as:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Asthma
Crohn’s disease
Addison’s disease
Thyroid dysfunction
Multiple Sclerosis
Lupus
Other conditions that can possibly arise
as a result of a leaky gut include: IBS (Irritable
Bowel Syndrome), allergies, food sensitivities, acne,
eczema, psoriasis, attention deficit disorders, yeast,
malnutrition and estrogen dominance (as a result of
hormonal imbalances).
To define Leaky Gut, it is first important
to mention that our gut, a hollow tube that passes
from the mouth to the anus, has the all-critical job
of preventing foreign substances from entering the
body. The digestive tract has tiny porous openings
between the cells (called tight junctions) so that
nutrients can be absorbed from our food. If the
26
• Headaches, brain fog, excessive fatigue and memory loss are a result of the inflammation of tissue and toxin build up.
• Yeast (candida) overgrowth will cause
cravings for sugar and carbohydrates
leading to weight gain, gas, bloating, and anxiety.
One little known role of the gut bacteria is
to assist in converting inactive thyroid hormone T4
into the active form of thyroid hormone T3. Approximately 20% of T4 is converted to T3 in the GI
tract so poor gut function can lead to poor thyroid
function thus the extra weight you’re carrying won’t
come off no matter how much dieting you do.
Hypochlorhydria, or low stomach acid, can
lead to a Leaky Gut, inflammation and infection.
If you are taking antacids daily or acid suppressing
• Stress and lifestyle factors (eating on the run/ drugs, you may already have Leaky Gut Syndrome
fast foods)
or are at risk for it.
• Alcohol and caffeine irritate the gut wall; this Constipation from Leaky Gut can impair
includes colas (regular and diet), chocolate,
hormone clearance and cause elevations in estro coffee, and cocoa.
gen, which in turn raises thyroid-binding globulin
• Chemicals found in processed and fermented (TBG) levels and decreases the amount of free
foods (i.e. dyes and preservatives), wine,
thyroid hormones available to the body.
vinegar, soy sauce, tofu.
In order to normalize gastrointestinal func• NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory tion, there is a systemic dietary and nutritional prodrugs)
gram for intestinal barrier integrity that is science
• Antibiotics (causes overgrowth of yeast in the based designed to support the health of intestinal
gut due to immune suppression),
membranes. If you feel that your health has been
• Antacids/ proton pump inhibitors (Nexium®, compromised because of a Leaky Gut, you are in
Protonix®, Prilosec®, etc.)
need of a gut repair. Get started in the New Year
• Too many prescription drugs can slow the right. Let your New Year’s Resolution be something
liver from performing proper metabolism good for YOU!!
resulting in toxins recirculating in the blood)
Hippocrates said: “All disease begins in the
• A diet high in refined sugars and other
gut.” It’s only now, 2500 years later, that we’re just
carbohydrates (i.e. candy, processed foods, beginning to understand how right he was.
cookies, white bread, sodas)
• A diet high in gluten (i.e. oats, barley, rye, wheat; dairy items with malt flavorings in milk shakes and hot chocolate, processed cheeses and ice cream; meat dishes that Zoom Heaton is the owner of TLC
include breadcrumbs, flour, pasta, or Medical Centre Inc., an
lunch meat; soup or soup bouillon; sauces, Independent Community Pharmacy
salad dressing and gravies with a flour base)
and Medical Equipment facility
• Ingestion of animal products that have been located at 190 Crepe Myrtle Drive
given hormonal and antibiotic treatments
off Silver Bluff Road. A pharmacist,
• Contaminated foods where E. coli can
she is a graduate of the University
develop due to poor food handling or foods of South Carolina. She is a
contaminated by parasites (i.e. pork, chicken, Certified Diabetes Educator and
fresh water and hatchery fish)
How do you know if you have a Leaky Gut?
Symptoms can vary from person to person depending on the level of damage and the tissues being
affected:
•
•
•
Chronic diarrhea and constipation are signs of inflammation of the intestinal walls from a Leaky Gut.
A poor immune system will result when your body tries to wage war on itself and ignores all the virus and bacteria we come in contact with on a daily basis, allowing you to get sick more often.
Skin rashes are your body’s way of trying
to dump the toxins through the skin
perforations.
is certified in Immunization; she
is also the chief compounding
pharmacist at Custom Prescription
Compounders, LLC, inside TLC Medical Centre, Inc.,
specializing in Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy
and Women’s Health. Saliva testing is available at TLC/CPC.
Call 803.648.7800 or visit nooneshoerx.com for more
information.
122 Laurens Street NW
Aiken, SC 29801
803-648-0055
NO MATTER
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27
Apple’s iPad Mini
Enters a
Crowded Market
BY KEVIN WADE
Apple customers endured some lengthy
lines to buy the iPad Mini when it went on sale last
month, but the crowds were smaller than recent
Apple launches, begging the question of whether
the new device can be a blockbuster product for the
holidays.
Smaller Crowds
Demand was strong in New York, where
hundreds gathered outside Apple’s flagship store
on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. In fact, the initial
crowd of fewer than 600 shoppers was less than
the crowds that gathered for the rollout of the
most recent version of the iPad this past March.
Elsewhere across the country, lines were also shorter
than recent launches. In Apple’s home market of
San Francisco, lines at a downtown store were half
to less than a third of the size they have been for
other Apple gadgets. Analysts have predicted Apple
could sell several million of the devices in its first
quarter on the market.
The iPad Mini, which measures 7.9 inches
diagonally, is Apple’s answer to the lower end of
the tablet market, albeit with a pricier product than
rivals. The iPad Mini starts at $329, while rival
products such as Google’s Nexus 7 sells for $199,
and Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets start at $159,
although those devices have a slightly smaller
seven-inch screen. The smaller iPad is part of the
largest product push Apple has made ahead of a
holiday season in recent history. Apple also started
selling a slightly updated version of its full-sized
iPad, which has a screen that measures 9.7 inches
diagonally, a size that hasn’t changed since the first
model was released in 2010.
Sales Top Expectations
iPad Mini sales were expected to be a little
slower than previous iPad product introductions
because the device is only part of Apple’s eventual
iPad Mini lineup. The iPad Mini product family
will be complemented now that versions with
cellular access have hit the shelves. With that said,
Apple claims it sold three million units of its new
iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad in the first
weekend of sales, topping analysts’ expectations.
“Customers around the world love the
new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad,” said
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We set a new launch
weekend record and practically sold out of iPad
Minis. We’re working hard to build more quickly to
meet the incredible demand.”
Clearly customers delayed purchases of
new tablets prior to the launch of the iPad Mini
due to product rumors of Apple’s new offerings.
Apple has had similar slowdowns prior to major
new unveilings such as the iPhone 4s a year ago, the
iPhone 5 in September of this year, and the third
generation iPad which came out in early 2011.
The net result for tablet computer shoppers
this holiday season is that there will be lots of
product choices from Apple and their competitors
from which to choose!
Kevin Wade is the CEO and “techspert”
for Intellisystems, a communications
technology company that provides
computer and telephone technology
trend advice to clients and also works
with them to prevent network failure,
data loss, or backup disasters.
Intellisystems is located in the Alley in
Aiken, in Columbia near the Zoo, and in downtown Augusta.
For more info, visit intellisytems.com, or call 803-644-4331.
Celebrate The Holidays
Properly
at the
Traditional English Afternoon Tea
Wednesday, December 5 – 3 to 5 o’clock
The Aiken County Historical Museum
433 Newberry Street SW, Aiken, SC
$45.00* per person
Tea pastries and sweets from Chef Kirstie MacVean of LaDolcé
Featuring Teamaster Lady Kelley MacVean
and a display of hats from all eras by Sissy Brodie
Reservations required by December 3. Send checks for $45 payable to
BELLA MAGAZINE
124 Trafalgar Street SW, Aiken, SC 29801
*Proceeds benefit the Child Advocacy Center.
28
Nutrition
by Cynthia F. Catts, RD, LD, Nutrition Therapist
Health: the Greatest of Human Blessings
Could you be addicted to chocolate? (Maybe so!)
The most common food craving my clients
report is CHOCOLATE. We all know that
chocolate can be absolutely irresistible. Some of
my clients insist that no sweet will take care of
a chocolate craving--not soda, not apple pie, not
cheesecake. In fact 40% of women report that
chocolate is the food they crave the most (in my
practice, I’d say it’s more like 80% lol).
A pleasure sensation
According to Author Elizabeth Somer, RD
“Chocolate has the perfect mix of sugar and fat to turn
on almost every appetite-triggering neurotransmitter.
The sugar in chocolate sparks serotonin release (the
neurotransmitter that elevates mood, reduces
anxiety, curbs appetite and food cravings, increases
pain tolerance and produces restful sleep) and
soothes neuropeptide Y levels (the neurochemical
partially responsible for intensifying cravings
for carbohydrate foods), contributing to the sense
of well-being. The sweet taste it has also releases
endorphins (pleasure hormones) in the brain, giving
us an immediate rush. The fat in chocolate enhances
its rich flavor and aroma and satisfies galanin levels
(a neurochemical that increases fat intake and
stimulates carbohydrate cravings). The endorphin
rush alone that is set in motion with a bite of chocolate
produces a powerful pleasure sensation that is likely to be
habit-forming, which might be why some people say they
are addicted to chocolate.”
The Complexity of Chocolate
Many chocolate foods contain both sugar
and fat, but it’s not just these ingredients that make
chocolate so enticing. Chocolate is a complex
substance containing more than 400 distinct
compounds, more than twice the number in any
other food. It contains theobromine and small
amounts of caffeine, which provide a mental “lift,”
and anandamide, which is structurally similar to
marijuana! According to research, anandamide may
add to chocolate’s pleasure.
Chocolate is one of the few foods that is
solid at room temperature and melts in the mouth,
releasing aromas and flavors that both entice and
satisfy. Some studies suggest that the process of
seeing, smelling, and tasting chocolate plays a role
in the pleasure that results from eating it.
How to have your chocolate
and eat it too
So how can we indulge in chocolate and
still lose or maintain weight?
•
•
•
•
Enjoy dark chocolate that is 72% cocoa or more.
The fat and sugar responsible for most of the
chemical changes are absent.
Go for low-fat or fat-free treats. Instead of
chocolate ice cream, opt for ice milk or frozen
yogurt or chocolate sorbet.
Drink your chocolate. Consider adding cocoa
and stevia to hot water or to skim milk.
Add chocolate to healthy food such as
•
strawberries, banana slices or pineapple.
Many of my clients find that the only way to
quell what they crave is to avoid it altogether.
Only then are they able to move ahead with
improving their eating habits by relying on their
intelligence rather than being driven by their
cravings.
For more information on breaking old eating habits or
to set up an appointment, Cyndi may be reached at
803-642-9360 or cattfood@bellsouth.net
A licensed Clinical Nutrition
Therapist practicing in Aiken,
Cyndi Catts, RD, LD, sees
clients who desire individualized
programs to address weight
reduction, metabolism
measurement, menopause issues,
cholesterol and triglyceridelowering, blood pressure
management, and diabetes
management, in addition to eating
disorders, anti-inflammation, and cancer prevention. Selfreferred patients are welcome, as are referrals from medical
personnel. Cyndi is a graduate of Florida State University
in Food and Nutrition and has done graduate work at (now)
Augusta State University. A longtime contributor to BELLA
Magazine as a nutrition columnist, Cyndi can be reached at
cattfood@bellsouth.net and 803-642-9360 for appointments.
www.doncaster.com
MARK TAYLOR
A N D A S S O C I AT E S , L L C
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803.649.1583
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(803) 648-7800
Cynthia F. Catts, RD
Nutrition Therapist
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Call today for more information or to schedule an appointment!
803-642-9360 • cattfood@bellsouth.net
5160 Woodside Executive Court in Aiken, SC
29
Sand River Woman’s Club
“Luck Be a Lady” Fundraiser
Benefiting many local charities
Aiken Municipal Center
November 1, 2012
Maureen Warner and Lana Truitt
Gracie Waters, Ruth Alexander, and Gail Gingrey
Jean Schwalbert with Siva Aiken
as Lady Luck
Kiki Lemmon, Patty Oakland, and
Loretta Beckner
Sue Finister, Linda Basner, and Angela Martone
Linda Llewellyn and Dorothy Ridley
Susan Reynolds and Tamara Cannon
Betty McCullough, John Paveglio, and
Sandra Heath
The Sand River Kitchen Crew: Back row, left to right:
Becky Reynolds, Marcia Quinn, Dona O’Leary, Amber
Hottel, and Tommie Culligan; in front: Sandra Terry.
Janice Karlen and Marilyn Protzeller
The “Handsome Hubbies” who served the luncheon:
Back row, left to right: Frank Shallo, Ed Mrva, John Oakland, Bill O’Leary,
front row: Dennis Terry, Dennis Quinn, Reggie Ebner, and Jeff Wallace
(803) 648-1898
30
100 Colleton Avenue SW | Aiken, SC
The Lucky Lady:
Lana Truitt
www.thewillcox.com
Red Cross Roast and Toast
Benefiting Red Cross programs
Big Red Barn
November 3, 2012
Barry and Lily Baumil Tompkins
Lynne and Butch Rachal
John and Sue Kelly
Carla and Darryl Dupert
Tishana Gary, Ellen Millette, Jenna Ligons
Linda and Steve Hook
Det Haislip and Bill Taylor
Dawn and Chris Colster
Leslie Wilson, Event Chair, with
Gary Coxon, Red Cross Board member
31
32

DEC12_Final File_11x16T.indd

Transcription

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