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“ALL ABOUT YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS” myflorencetoday.com • 843-667-9656
JULY 6, 2022
VOL. 40, NO. 43
Miss South Carolina Pageant
INSIDE
Miss Florence is first runner up Activate Academy at Francis Marion Rising ninth graders across Florence County recently had the opportunity to participate in a unique comprehensive learning experience at Francis Marion University known as Activate Academy. . . . Page 3
Despite finishing as first runner-up to Miss South Carolina pageant winner Miss Hartsville Jill Dudley, Miss Florence Berkley Bryant was grateful for the experience. “First of all, I want to say how grateful I am to be representing Florence on the Miss South Carolina stage,” said Bryant of competing in the annual pageant held June 25 at Township Auditorium in Columbia. “This organization is truly a development program, and I
have been so blessed to be a product of that development. My involvement began as a teen candidate at 13 years old, and I have grown personally and professionally thanks to this incredible program that shaped me BRYANT into the person I am today.” Bryant, who won the title of Miss South Carolina Teen in
2018, won the red carpet/ social impact preliminary event on the first night of pageant week. A 21-year-old rising senior at Clemson University, Bryant found herself anxiously standing alongside Dudley as the pageant winner was announced. If she had won she would have become only the third pageant contestant to wear both the Miss and Teen Miss crowns.
Miss Hartsville Jill Dudley was crowned Miss S.C. during the June 25 pageant held at Township Auditorium in Columbia.
See PAGEANT, Page 6
Revolutionary Rivers Trail earns national designation New fitness center opens on S. Irby St. There is now more than one Planet Fitness in Florence. The national fitness center chain recently opened a brand new facility in the Freedom Square Shopping Center . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 Deaths . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 Pets of the Week . . . . Page 6 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 7
NEIGHBORS
The 60-mile trail in Florence County carries paddlers into the cypress and tupelo-laden swampland Francis Marion used as a hideout while fighting the British during the American Revolution. Last month the 60-mile South Carolina Revolutionary Rivers Trail on Lynches River became a National Water Trail in an effort spearheaded by the Friends of Revolutionary Rivers. The official announcement was made on June 4, National Trails Day. Nine recreation trails in seven states, were added to the National Trails System. The newly designated trails joined a network of more than 1,300 existing national recreation trails, which can be found in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Among the dedications was the Lynches River Trail. “The National Trails System, which includes national scenic, historic and recreation trails, offers an abundance of opportunities to experience the breathtaking landscapes of our country, all while supporting outdoor recreation activities and boosting local See TRAIL, Page 2
NAME: Dr. Harmeet Gill OCCUPATION: An infectious diseases specialist at the HopeHealth Medical Plaza in Florence. EXPERIENCE: Dr. Gill is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases, and has vast experience managing rural health initiatives. He ran the national polio eradication program and is the recipient of a state level award for efficiently managing a cholera outbreak in India. INTERESTING TO KNOW: Dr. Gill is multilingual. He is fluent in English, Hindi, and Punjabi.
As a designated National Recreation Trail, the National Recreation Trails Program will assist Lynches River with promotions, technical assistance, and networking. NRTP is co-sponsored by the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and American Trails, the program’s lead non-profit partner.
McCall Farms plant opens on-site clinic McCall Farms opened an onsite health clinic to serve its employees and their insured dependents during a ribbon-cutting ceremony held last week at the plant in Effingham. The clinic will be open at all times the plant is in production and will feature care from a nurse practitioner and two paramedics. The
on-site clinic can do anything for patients that would be normally done in a physician's office. “This is a huge benefit for all our employees, to be able to provide primary care and see folks for diabetes, hypertension and stuff like that. Before they would have to go off-site to try to find a clinic,” said Tim Aponte, safety director
for McCall Farms. The Effingham plant has about 1,200 workers and only about 100 of them have primary care physicians, according to Aponte. McLeod Health president and CEO Donna Isgett was on hand for the ceremony. She said the clinic gives the plant an edge in emergencies.
“Having them here and accessible when the plant is going, they get immediate access even faster than 911,” said Isgett. “Not just emergencies that happen to the workers on the floor, but they can have access to primary care, things they need to do to take care of their health.”