In the bustling corridors of the SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, amidst the cheerful barks and soft purrs of furry friends, there's a silent army at work — its volunteers. These cape-less heroes form the backbone of the center's operations, tirelessly dedicating their time and effor…
The Run United event, which consists of a 5K (5 kilometers or 3.1 miles), 10K (10 kilometers or 6.2 miles), a half marathon (13.1 miles) and a kids fun run, is this weekend. Maybe you are among the people in our area have been training for it, or another event. As the event approaches, there…
“You don’t have a marriage problem; you have a sin problem.” – Henry R Brandt
J’entre dans la salle de classe.
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Want to enrich your wildlife experience on a warm spring day when birds, insects and plants abound? If you do, go on a spoor hunt.
I may have sometimes stretched the facts a little bit. The subtitle of my book “Circling the Savannah,” for example, indicates that the volume focuses on cultural landmarks of the Central Savannah River Area. While the majority of the 36 places I describe in the book lie squarely in that geo…
I’m supposed to be writing a column today. But I’m not. I suspect it’s just me being rather unfocused and undisciplined. Or perhaps it’s the child in me being unruly and interested only in playing and messing about (I think she’s about four).
When Gray Moore was asked to fill in for golfer Tommy Fleetwood’s regular caddie at the 2024 Masters, with less than a week to prepare, he wasn’t sure he was up to the task. At 70, he’d be the oldest looper on the course.
Since the doors opened in the mid-’80s, the SPCA Thrift Store has been the definition of shopping with a purpose. The store’s journey began as a haven where locals could discover incredible deals while making a meaningful impact on the lives of homeless shelter animals at the SPCA.
Several published scientific studies have shown that physical exercise promotes brain health.
Now that spring has arrived and the Masters just ended, lots of people in our area are talking about, and playing, golf. Over 25 million Americans played golf last year, making it one of the most popular sports to participate in. In fact, golf is the most popular sport played by adults over …
“'Crazy-busy' is a great armor, it’s a great way for numbing. What a lot of us do is that we stay so busy, and so out in front of our life, that the truth of how we're feeling and what we really need can't catch up with us.” — Brene Brown
What a week it’s been!
Want to participate in an exciting, possibly dangerous, field trip while trekking through a jungle or exploring an underwater cave? Would you like to stand alone in the dark in a Colorado pond surrounded by thigh-deep snow waiting for frogs to call? Or does a nighttime ride atop a logging tr…
The Aiken County Animal Shelter has three wonderful indoor-only cats available for adoption – Sabrina, Tom and Yoda – who can’t seem to catch a break.
Art songs are generally musical settings of poems, and there are fine examples to be experienced in the Aiken Symphony’s April 20 concert. Yet, even instrumental music can sometimes involve narrative. Such works fall into the category of program or programmatic music, and Maestro Scott Weiss…
Saturday night, the SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare participated for the first time in an international, fundraising sleepover event: The Shelter Slumber Pawty; a collaborative fundraising event that brings together animal welfare organizations across the nation and world to raise fu…
The benefits of regular exercise include increased endurance, strength, and flexibility along with increased energy expenditure for weight loss and weight maintenance. These benefits will vary depending on the type of exercise you perform.
If you are looking for a canine companion, the Aiken County Animal Shelter has a great variety of dogs looking for loving homes. There are strays and surrendered dogs of many different breeds, sizes, colors, shapes and personalities waiting for a path to a better life.
“Women in the United States have become less happy, both absolutely and relative to men.” — United States General Social Survey
When we think about fascinating animals, we tend to focus on places like Africa, Australia and the deep blue sea with their laughing hyenas, duckbill platypuses and giant squids, respectively. But some U.S. creatures, many of which people have never seen or even heard of, have notable featur…
It’s time! One of the biggest weeks of the year has arrived.
Perhaps nothing is sadder than a life whose promise remains unfulfilled. Such was the case with countless young men who died in the AIDS pandemic in the 80s and 90s before a practical therapy was developed. One such individual was the 33-year-old mixed media artist Darrel Ellis, whose innova…
Last Friday, SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare hosted a Furry Film Night, featuring the new movie "Barbie." The event was a tremendous success, drawing support from wonderful community members. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our friends at Aiken's Houses for Horses & Sharer Dale…
The discovery of maple syrup predates the arrival of Europeans on this continent by many years. Indigenous people of the Northeast – probably the Iroquois – were the first to discover the sweetness of maple sap and later taught the Europeans how to collect and then boil and essentially conde…
Diets don’t work! Exercise can actually make you gain weight! You can take supplements that will melt fat away while you sleep! Claims like these should make you wonder if someone is trying to fool you. Since today is April Fools’ Day, it is worth learning the truth about these common weight…
“We live and die; Christ died and lived.” — John Stott
The twin belfries are empty now. Only one of the two has ever contained a bell. The other tower was added for the sake of architectural balance and symmetry, an aesthetic gesture rarely found in buildings designed as manufacturing space.
Life is sometimes like a game of pool – we don’t always get what we deserve.
What do you do if you are walking outside and see a mewing kitten or an entire litter of adorable, newborn baby felines?
A drive through the country can be so meditative. Now that spring has sprung and the weather has become idyllic, a drive through the country had an almost magnetic pull on me earlier this week. I decided to drive out Highway 302, with the windows down and Neil Young playing through my speake…
Spring has arrived and Mother Nature’s creatures are astir, including the snakes. The good news is that when you are outside where snakes are close at hand, the odds of a happy ending are definitely in your favor. Despite the mystique surrounding snakes, an encounter that ends badly can usua…
Achieving and maintaining a high level of physical fitness is essential for good health and an active lifestyle. Regular exercise can promote weight loss, enhancing wellbeing and improve endurance, strength and flexibility. Of these three components of fitness, flexibility is the one that of…
“I'm looking for the unexplainable connection and spark - real, true love.” – Rachel Lindsay
Want to know if you live in a healthy environment? Find a snake.
Recently a woman contacted us from out of state and informed us that her brother, an Aiken County resident, had passed away from cancer. He left behind two dogs that he loved, and his parents were driving from far away each day to feed them.
Humans can be so cruel when it comes to the treatment of people, the environment and animals.
The Center for Lifelong Learning on the campus of USC Aiken has many courses on Apple products and operating systems to benefit seniors. We have courses on how to use your iPhone, your Apple Watch and your Mac computer. We also have courses to help you with iPhone photos and iCloud.
At a donor gathering recently, a fairly new donor asked about the abundance of pit bull or "bully-type" dogs at our shelter and how we balance that with our commitment to a no-kill policy.
One of the first signs of spring is related to the seasonal activity of our avian friends. Here in Aiken, birds are actively building their nests.
Remember how much fun slumber parties with your friends used to be? Staying up late, eating junk food, playing silly games and watching your favorite movies together? Now imagine all of that, but with your favorite shelter animals.
Most of us could benefit from getting more exercise and, with spring weather here, this is a perfect time to get started. You can meet minimum health recommendations with a 30-minute brisk walk five days per week. You can get even greater fitness benefits by exercising for longer or by doing…
“For workaholics, all the eggs of self-esteem are in the basket of work.” — Judith M Bardwick
Betsy and Adam are on a mission.
It was a book I’d brought home with me from clearing out my parents’ house ages ago, but I’d never read it. It was one of many books I’d confiscated from their shelves, one of the older ones.
Q. On a coastal ecotour in South Carolina, our guide pointed out brown pelicans and white ones. A bird map on the internet shows brown pelicans in the region but not white pelicans. How many kinds of pelicans are there, where do they live and how do they differ in behavior and geographic range?
It is so hard on them. Pets surrendered to the Aiken County Animal Shelter by their owners desperately struggle to understand their situation. Suddenly finding themselves in a strange place with strangers and other scared and confused animals is a shock to their system. One minute they are s…
Imagine a plucky heroine named Ava, who has just reached her 13th year on an island off the coast of Florida. Now imagine that said island is the home of the family’s alligator-wrestling theme park, a business that now faces bankruptcy due to the death of the star attraction, Ava’s mother Hi…
Jade Garrett is the events and fundraising manager for the SPCA Albrecht Center. She is a seasoned marketing professional who found her way to the shelter in the fall of 2023. With a lifelong passion for animal welfare, she is excited to continue making a difference in the lives of homeless animals in our community for many years to come.
The arrival of spring in our area has brought warmer weather, blooming flowers, green grass and, for many, seasonal allergies. Seasonal allergies are caused by pollen produced by plants. Tree pollen is the most common culprit in the spring, with grass and ragweed in the summer and fall, resp…
“If you want to love what you do, abandon the passion mindset (‘what can the world offer me?’) and instead, adopt the craftsman mindset (‘what can I offer the world?’).” — Cal Newport
On Saturday, Feb. 24, my son and I were allowed to borrow a dog from the Aiken County Animal Shelter for a couple of hours. It’s a program called Doggie Day Out. We have enough pets at home that we were not looking to adopt, but wanted to give a shelter dog a great experience (who doesn’t li…
His welfare is of my concern No burden is he to bear We'll get there
How long has recycling been in vogue? A long, long time. I was personally involved in a recycling program so long ago that General Eisenhower had just been elected president. In those days Coca-Cola and other soft drink companies would pay 2 cents for every bottle returned. I was one of many…
