People & Events

Job fair at Wellman Thursday
A job fair will be held at Wellman Inc. in Darlington, 1000 E. McIver Rd., on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. sponsored by Partners of the Pee Dee One Stop Workforce System.
The job fair will target Wellman employees who have a variety of career experience, including in the areas of maintenance, engineers, lab technicians, IT/systems programming, material handlers, accounting, customer service/clerical support, warehouse, purchasing, trainers/instructors, forklift operators, production supervisors, waste water operations and more.
Participating employers are asked to have plans for hiring in the next three months. There is no cost for businesses to participate, but space is limited and registration is required to reserve a space. Registration forms should be returned by today, Oct. 17.
For more information, call Bridgette Coates at the Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments at (843) 669-3138 or via e-mail at b-coates@sc.rr.com.

Lamar sees two
new businesses open
LAMAR – The Town of Lamar has announced the opening of two new businesses, The Lamar Hardware & Lumber Store and Premier & Partners Inc. in the central business district. The two businesses celebrated their grand openings Wednesday.
The owner of Lamar Hardware & Lumber, Michael Stephens, carries a variety of products including lumber, hardware, tools, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies and lawn and garden equipment.
This operation is a one stop resource center for the residents and is supported by its sister organization Stephens Construction & Home Maintenance, centrally located on South Railroad Avenue, a block off Main Street. The former railroad depot was home to Andrews & Sons Hardware for over 55 years and was originally established in 1943.
Stephens plans to continue the business traditions of the family hardware business with some additional services for the community.
Premier and Partners offers financial services such as taxes and mortgages in addition to serving as a bill payment center.
Previously located on Highway 151 in Hartsville, the business currently has its main office in Darlington with the new satellite office located at 119 Main St. in Lamar.
Premier and Partners is an authorized IPP agent and accepts cable, gas, telephone, wireless and electric bill payments.
The business is operated by business partners, Janice Murray and Anthony Outlaw, CEO.
“I am pleased with the growth that we have continued to experience in light of the current economy. I hope that these new operations will continue to support the local citizens with community based services,” said Lamar Mayor Bobby Hudson.
“I am excited about the continued development that we are experiencing and it is a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit that exists with small business owners locally. With the current gas prices at an all time high many local residents are shopping locally to help maintain stability economically,” said Victor Pizzurro, director - Development & Planning for the town.

Sonoco board declares
common stock dividend
The Board of Directors of Sonoco Monday declared a regular quarterly dividend of 27 cents per common share.
This 334th consecutive quarterly dividend will be payable Dec. 10, 2008, to shareholders of record as of Nov. 21, 2008.
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a $4.0 billion global manufacturer of industrial and consumer products and provider of packaging services, with more than 330 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations.
For more information on the company, visit our Web site at http://www.sonoco.com/.

Conference to focus on youth

The Rev. Reginald J. McLeod Sr., pastor of Kay Branch Missionary Baptist Church, will be a featured speaker and moderator for the upcoming youth conference, “Gold Nuggets... Life Enrichment Series” on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 10 a.m., at Lakeview Baptist Church Family Life Center.
Other speakers include Larry Bryant, national field organizer for the Campaign to End Aids of Washington, D.C.; Lance Brooks, motivational speaker of Atlanta, Ga.; and Lonoia Murphy Halyard, president of Herman Martin Jr. Foundation (HMJF).
The conference, a joint venture by HMJF and Kay Branch Missionary Baptist Church, comprises discussions about self-esteem and peer pressures, goal-setting and accomplishments, mentorship, and expectant results of sexual misbehavior.
Registration is $10 and includes luncheon and printed materials. All area youth and youth leaders are encouraged to attend.
For more information contact Minister Dowdy at 917-4850 or visit www.hmjfoundation.org. 

McLeod Darlington offers free breast cancer screening

DARLINGTON — McLeod Medical Center Darlington is providing a free breast cancer screening for the public in October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The screening will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. The medical center is located at 701 Cashua Ferry Road.
The six warning signs of breast cancer include:
A lump in the breast;

An unusual increase in size of the breasts;

A change in the appearance of the breast, such as one breast unusually lower than the other. dimpling; puckering; scaliness of the skin of the breast or nipple;

A discharge of bleeding from the nipple;

An enlargement of the lymph nodes;

An unusual swelling of the upper arm.

The three steps of breast health include:
∑ Monthly breast self-examination;
∑ Yearly breast exam by your doctor;
∑ Routine mammograms.
To register for the free breast cancer screening, please call McLeod Reservations and Scheduling at (843) 777-2005 or 1-800-667-2005.

PEOPLE IN UNIFORM

Army Reserve Pvt. Michele D. McFarland has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia.
During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.
McFarland is the daughter of Inez McFarland of Darlington and sister of Lizzie McFarland of Bronx, N.Y.
In 2005, the private graduated from Evander Childs High School, Bronx.