The Cherokee County School District (CCSD) serves 42,300 students in our community’s schools each day.  Given that total, three may not seem like a large number. But, three is an enormous number for our CCSD family; it is the number of students we have lost this school year to suicide. As you may have read in one of my previous articles, our superintendent of schools … [Read more...]

Sometimes I wonder if bagging leaves started as a practical joke on us homeowners. As an artist and a gardener, I can tell you that getting rid of leaves is one of those suburban traditions that just doesn’t make sense. Leaves are great natural mulch. From a gardener’s perspective, leaves are healthy. They are nature’s great compost, perfectly designed to enrich the roots … [Read more...]

Fall is my favorite time of year to be in the garden. Comfortable weather makes it easy to catch up on the things that were ignored during the miserably hot late summer months. After cleaning up downtrodden plants and topping off mulch, there isn’t much left that needs attention. By Oct. 1, the vegetable garden only needs harvesting, and maybe some additions of garlic and … [Read more...]

Summer is such an amazing season, however, I always look forward to fall and all it has to offer. In fact, this time of year, I find myself nesting and beginning to prepare the house for the upcoming holidays and house guests.   We recently finished purging and organizing our home’s closets and pantry. Wow, what a difference this makes, especially when you have open-concept … [Read more...]

It’s back-to-school season. Whether you are sending your little one to preschool, or dropping your young adult off at college, here are a few tips to help keep your family’s spines healthy this school year.  1. Choose a proper backpack and wear it right. A good backpack is light, snug and comfortable to wear. It should be made of vinyl or canvas, with wide padded shoulder … [Read more...]