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About AMY BANTON
AMY BANTON
Amy Banton is a 2008 graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Va. A native of Rustburg, Va., Amy is the City beat reporter for the Aiken Standard along with covering human interest and environmental pieces. She began her writing career as a freelance reporter and photographer for the magazine Lynchburg Living and was a crime reporter for The Robesonian in Lumberton, NC.
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Stories by Amy Banton
Aikenite seeing the world on mission trip
Aikenite seeing the world on mission trip

5/24/2012 8:50 PM   

Raquel Bagnal is making a positive impact one country at a time. The USC Aiken graduate is participating in the World Race, a global mission trip offered through Adventures in Missions, headquartered in Gainesville, Ga. Several teams travel to 11 dif ...

Memorial Day Parade is Saturday
Memorial Day Parade is Saturday

5/24/2012 12:00 AM   

The James L. Hammons Marine Corps League Detachment 939 is holding its annual Memorial Day Parade Saturday. Aiken will be filled with patriotic floats and music as the parade makes its way through downtown. More than 70 groups have entered to partici ...

Tank'd Moose opens in The Alley
Tank'd Moose opens in The Alley

5/23/2012 11:49 PM   

Change is afoot at a downtown business, as the ownership has been transferred to two employees known as Tank and Moose. Hence the new name of Soiree in The Alley - Tank'd Moose. Kyle "Tank" Hayes and Josh "Moose" Nicholson are now the owners of the ...

Bookstaver left legacy with Heart Board, community work
Bookstaver left legacy with Heart Board, community work

5/23/2012 8:54 PM   

Many will wear red today in honor of a woman who touched many lives in the Aiken community. Eleanor Bookstaver, 86, of Aiken, passed away Tuesday, and the loss is felt by many who worked with her over the years through the Aiken Women's Heart Board, ...

Five county veterans to head to D.C.

5/23/2012 12:16 AM   

Several local World War II veterans are heading to Washington, D.C. today on one of the South Carolina Honor Flights. A total of five veterans from Aiken County will travel with around 90 others from throughout the state on a one-day trip touring the ...

Board OKs variances for church
Board OKs variances for church

5/23/2012 12:16 AM   

The first step in getting approval from the City of Aiken for plans to build a new place of worship was successfully taken by St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church Tuesday evening. The Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved a variance th ...

Community supports Wounded Warriors
Community supports Wounded Warriors

5/21/2012 9:22 PM   

Patriotic residents and the warriors they were supporting gathered at the Woodside Plantation Country Club for a benefit golf tournament Monday afternoon. The weather was warm and sunny with a slight breeze, which was perfect for the third annual Wou ...

UPS takes city fitness challenge title
UPS takes city fitness challenge title

5/20/2012 11:57 PM   

A new champion emerged from the fourth annual Aiken City Cup Corporate Fitness Challenge, ending URS Safety Management Solutions three-year winning streak. UPS came in first place this year with a five-point lead over defending champion URS. The Fi ...

Player recalls game against Yankees after throwing first pitch at GreenJackets game

5/20/2012 11:49 PM   

For one Aiken man, a first pitch at a baseball game brought back a lot of fond memories. John Schmidt went to an Augusta GreenJackets baseball game in April with other Cedar Creek residents to benefit the Fisher House Foundation and was asked to thr ...

City's website getting new look
City's website getting new look

5/19/2012 11:37 PM   

The City of Aiken's website will soon have a fresh, new look. After about a year of work, the City web administrator Wes Funderberg presented a demonstration of the new design at last week's City Council meeting. This would replace the current format ...

St. Mary releases concept drawings of new sanctuary
St. Mary releases concept drawings of new sanctuary

5/17/2012 12:00 AM   

Conceptual drawings of the church proposed by St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church have been released for public viewing. The drawings of the church's exterior by McCrery Architects and information about the facility to be built between Union ...

City files suit over engineering failure
City files suit over engineering failure

5/15/2012 11:50 PM   

The City of Aiken has filed a civil lawsuit against the engineering group that initially designed the Pawnee-Neilson Connector, which experienced a failure that cost more than $500,000 to fix. According to federal court documents, the city filed the ...

Rezoning request for proposed small retail will go to Council

5/15/2012 10:08 PM   

A rezoning request from a developer was accepted by the City of Aiken Planning Commission and will go to council for approval. Real Estate Development Partners, LLC requested to have 1.24 acres of land at 1103 Richland Ave. S.E. rezoned from Light ...

City approves plans for South Park
City approves plans for South Park

5/15/2012 12:25 AM   

Residents applauded Monday night as Aiken City Council approved improvements for the South Park Shopping Center where Fresh Market will be the anchor store. Council unanimously passed the concept plan for the renovations of the shopping center with t ...

Council to discuss budget for 2012-13

5/14/2012 12:16 AM   

Aiken City Council will conduct the first reading of the proposed 2012-13 budget tonight. At a work session held April 30, Council reviewed the draft of the budget, which has proposed expenditures of $52,836,684. The budget expenditures for 2011-12 w ...

As businesses come and go, vacant buildings still remain

5/12/2012 11:39 PM   

Lately, there has been news of a few vacant buildings in Aiken springing back to life, but as one becomes occupied, it seems another is left empty. In the last few months, the buildings that housed eejays, Up Your Alley, Teresa's Mexican Restaurant, ...

  Mets softball coach loses bet, dresses up
Mets softball coach loses bet, dresses up

5/11/2012 12:34 AM   

One local softball coach was a good sport after he lost a bet with his team and strutted his stuff in a dress during a game Thursday. David Boothe, a coach of the Mets softball team and owner of Aiken Siding Company, wore a modest blue and white flow ...

Depot to celebrate National Train Day

5/10/2012 8:53 PM   

National Train Day is Saturday and the Friends of the Aiken Railroad Depot are holding a celebration. The event will be held at the Aiken Visitors Center and Train Museum and will be a day of free family fun. "We hope lots of folks will come out ...

Business owners learn how to prepare for disaster recovery
Business owners learn how to prepare for disaster recovery

5/9/2012 8:35 PM   

Images in the news of towns torn apart by disastrous weather events that have occurred around the country remind those paying attention of the scary possibility that the same could happen to them. On Wednesday morning, an information session sponsor ...

New app sends photos to lab to print

5/8/2012 9:51 PM   

Chris' Camera Center is constantly looking to create services that make the lives of their customers a little easier. Now, there is a free app for iPhone or iPad, titled 4everpics, and Android phones, titled LifePics, in which pictures taken with tho ...