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Paralysis Recovery Specialist Ken Bryant to Donate Services to Area Disabled

Paralysis Recovery Specialist Ken Bryant, a well-known therapist among the spinal cord injury community, will visit Aiken, SC, March 6 – 10, 2017 to provide his healing touch, at very little expense, to those paralyzed from spinal cord injuries or strokes. 

Bryant has experienced a 100% success rate with restoring some feeling or movement among his clients.  His method involves restoring or rerouting signals from the brain to the muscles, he does not repair a damaged spinal cord.  Bryant stated that when he works on a set of muscles, it takes two to five minutes to turn the muscles back on.  “You can see the change immediately,” he said, adding, “All we’re doing is turning muscles on, then they (his clients) have to build their strength up over time.  I have a God given gift to un-paralyze people.  I’ve never once seen where it hasn’t worked.” 

Bryant’s program usually consists of a five-day program at his Pinellas Park, FL location, working only a couple of hours each day with his clients.  The clients then continue strength training on their own with a personal trainer at a gym near home.  In Aiken, he will offer one session per client, un-paralyzing one muscle or muscle group, in an effort to see as many clients as time permits.  He has previously offered this program in Oregon, Cleveland, Toledo and more.

Wagener-Salley Academy of Leadership And Military Science

Wagener Salley High School’s proposal for Superintendent Dr. Sean Alford’s Thematic Programs Initiative was approved at the district’s December school board meeting and will go into effect for the 2017/18 school year.  Under the direction of Principal Ute Aadland, WSHS chose to focus the school’s theme on the strength of their leadership training through their 60-year Agricultural Education Program and their 12-year Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Program (JROTC).

The Thematic Programs Initiative is designed to accelerate learning by enhancing the preparedness of students for college and career readiness and to meet the needs of an increasingly technical and highly-skilled future workforce.  Students will have increased access to specialized coursework and technical fields of study.

Aiken County schools have each selected an academic theme that best represents their core competence.  The WSHS Academy of Leadership and Military Science rises from the school’s long tradition of leadership training in the JROTC and Ag departments.  Both programs will be expanded through additional coursework, community service and leadership activities, as well as active recruitment and partnership with their feeder school (Busbee Corbett).

Shelby Nisbet Wins Soil & Water Conserv. Art Contest

Thursday, January 12th at 1:30 pm Shelby Nisbet will be recognized for her accomplishments in Art through recognition of winning the Aiken Soil and Water Conservation poster contest. Part of Shelby's winnings is a tree to be planted in front of the school. The agricultural class, FFA Officers, art class, and the National Art Honor Society members will take part in a presentation about Arbor Day and Envirothon, as well as the planting of the tree. Shelby and Mrs. Shackleford will be presented with various goodies and a check for the purchase of art supplies. 

Library Guide Spotlights Indian Head

Photo Credit:  Pamela Hansen
Article By Bill Bengtson, courtesy Wagener Monthly

A New York resident with SC roots has been honored for her research efforts focusing on several generations of SC history, with particular emphasis on the county's northeastern corner.

St. John's University student Pamela Griffin-Hansen, who lives on Long Island, is pursuing a master's degree in library and information science and archives, and has paid intense attention in recent months to "the place called the Indian Head," as a parcel near Perry has been known to some local residents.

The tract, which became the site of a historical marker in September, is the subject of a research tool -- known as a library guide, or "LibGuide" -- that she created and also submitted for a South Carolina Library Association poster competition.  She named it "Indian Head of Perry, South Carolina," and it won the state's top prize in the association's "student spotlight" category.

Griffin-Hansen's creation is online at bit.ly/2hmjs8u.  Plans are in place for a poster-size version of it to be placed in the Wagener Museum, the Nancy Bonnette Library (also in Wagener) and the Perry Town Hall.  "She incorporates... a lot of the important parts of the history in that poster, and she just did a magnificent job," said project supporter Al Brodie, a former mayor of Perry.

Lexington resident Dean Hunt, also a project booster, said the guide should be useful for teachers and students alike, and offers the welcome bonus of exploring Native American history, "which is just not out there."

Quilt Tells History of Mt. Hermon Baptist

Submitted Photo, Article by Valerie Sliker, courtesy Wagener Monthly

Mount Hermon Baptist Church recently received a quilt made in 1956 consisting of squares that represent many families that were members of the church at that time.  The church plans to frame the quilt and display it in a place of prominence inside the church.

Mary and Bob Caughman of Lexington, SC discovered the quilt in an old hope chest as they were going through his late mother’s belongings.  The Caughmans noticed Old Mount Hermon Baptist Church and Reverend Johnny Bishop on two of the squares and they began their quest to get the quilt back to its community.  The church changed its name sometime in the 70’s from Old Mount Hermon to Mount Hermon.

The Caughmans wanted to give the quilt back to someone who had true meaning and connection to the quilt and while the quilt had many family names on it, they were at a loss on how to find these people.  Until Mary mentioned it to her hair dresser who happened to be Junette Jeffcoat’s hairdresser as well.  Junette Jeffcoat is a fifth-generation member of Mount Hermon whose father, Thurmond Barr is actually listed on the quilt.

Mary met Junette in person to discuss the quilt.  Junette found the name of her grandparents, Jessie and Arlee Barr, also handstitched on the quilt, along with other familiar names like Poole, Brown, Bailey and even D. F. Shumpert of Pelion, who may not have been a member of the church at that time.

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