The Spot: Summerville Journal Scene

Women in Business

Wow, we at The Journal Scene, didn't expect this. The flood of nominations recieved to spotlight women doing wonderful things in Summerville just kept coming in. While we won't be able to profile every woman you suggested, you did give us wonderful ideas for future profile pieces on the women who make Summerville tick.
So, thank you, and please seek out our Women in Business section "10 Women to Know," when it's published Oct. 31. We hope to do more reader generated profile pieces in the coming months and years, so don't just submit ideas when asked, keep them coming all the time.
Send us your story ideas or profile suggestions to rcastle@journalscene.com.

Farmer's Market

The Summerville Farmer's Market on Doty Ave. near Town Square wasn't the biggest of the summer on Saturday, but it might have been one of the most pleasant. The overcast sky and slight crowd made for an easy stroll among the vendors who had a minute to chat while offering up fresh goods. Of course Walter Limehouse was there maintaining order, broom in hand, sweeping up the bits of garden refuse inevitable in such a market. Probably the best part of Saturday's market came later that evening as we cooked up the corn, the butterpeas and sliced up a great tomato to go with shrimp I pulled out of the freezer and boiled up. Farmer''s Markets -- yum. If you haven't been, it's not too late. Better goods than any grocery store can truck in.

Summerville Football

The Journal Scene's 2007 Football preview section hit newstands today. Football is always a vital part of Summerville's fabric and culture. We pride ourselves on the tradition. Here at The Journal Scene, we look forward to the bright lights electrifying Friday nights. Wherever you are downtown, if Summerville is playing at home, you know, hear and feel it.
A great chance to catch Summerville this weekend is either to travel to Berkeley or catch the game on ESPN. That's right Summerville Green Wave will be on national television. But, we encourage you not to just sit at home and watch the game, but to attend in person. While we know the enthusiam present for Summerville football, it would be a great spectacle to let the whole nation see it by packing into Berkeley's stadium and watching a Green Wave victory over Booker T. Washington of Miami, Fla.
The Journal Scene's 2007 Football preview is also viewable on our website under special sections. 

Redesign and moving forward

it's been an interesting few weeks as we've worked to redesign The Summerville Journal Scene and cover all the stories that have been poppng lately.

The Lowcountry has been centerstage on the national scene with Bush, the debates, morning TV crews broadcasting from downtown and Army Wives showing off the city every week on Lifetime TV.

The redesign was aimed at making the content in the Journal Scene easier to find, putting like stories together and updating the look to include directions to our Web site. We moved the editorial page to the last odd page in A -- usually that will be Page 7A or 9A. This is traditionally the editorial page in newspapers across the country, with news filling the forward pages. We hope the new look has not been to jarring, and that you will find it easy to use.

We also want to hear from readers about suggestions for stories. Often, we do not know about an event or an interesting story until one of our readers lets us know.

We look forward to the discussion with you, our favorite reader.

Holiday weeks

It's always great to have a holiday, but what it means in advance workoad is pretty astonishing. But it was worth our early deadlines to be able to join in the fun at the Red, White and Blue on the Green celebration. As always DREAM did a great job of bringing it altogehter. Lots of folks were out and about enjoying the unseasonably mild and breezy day and the adorable parade.

But we have to give special kudos to the Town of Summerville and Dorhcester County for making the return of our local fireworks show possible. There were people EVERYWHERE at the Gahagan Sports Complex, but still there was plenty of room. We were lucky with our accidental parking situation and got out quickly, but we have to wonder how long it took folks who were wedged into parking lots. But traffic issues or not, the show was great. Overheard during the booms and bangs were comments like, "This is better than the one they have downtown."
Well done, Summerville!

Chamber After Hours

What a terrific turnout for the Chamber Member Reception and Business After Hours Thursday at the Visitor Center. It was definitely old home week for many of the attendees judging from the decibel level generated by all the good conversation going on in the standing room only event. The sponsors (Tony Pope State Farm Insurance, Olde Towne Mortgage, and Appraisal Services of SC, Inc.) had to have been tickeled with the event.A great chance for folks who don't see each other all that often to catch up on all the news. Among the most amazing of those in attendance was Faith Sellars looking as lovely as every in her bright pink jacket. Looking forward to many more Chamber events.
Oh, and byt the way, Summerville's mighty lucky to have Rita Berry and staff to lead the way.

A difficult week

This has been a devasting week for the Lowcountry with the loss of so many who contributed so much to our communities. Their families and friends grieve their loss. But the potential good works these men would have given back to the schools, civic organizations and sports programs are a loss to all of us. This is a good time to reflect on the unsung heroes among us, those who give back in their everyday lives, people who reach out to others not only in their professional lives but in their private lives as well. Our goal this week has been to bring to our readers the stories of these men's lives, through recollections of those who knew them. The story has been an international one, the kind that is usually another place, with some other community in shock as we look on from our living rooms. This time it was us. This time we aren't the onlookers. We encourage your comments. Just click on the comments button at the bottom of this post.

Fire tragedy hits home

The following is the story set to run in tomorrow's Journal-Scene, co-written by Julie Smith and Judy Watts. The fire at the Sofa Superstore has hit home with two Summerville ties:

"Two men with Summerville ties were among the nine City of Charleston firefighters who perished Monday night in one of the worst fires in Lowcountry history, The Journal Scene has learned.
Firefighters Louis Mulkey and Brandon Thompson, who started their careers at Summerville Fire & Rescue, were among the missing after the roof of the Sofa Super Store on Savannah Highway collapsed during an inferno that began at about 7 p.m.
Mulkey’s mother, Ann Mulkey, was surrounded by friends and family in her Rose Lane home in Summerville Tuesday morning as people learned of her son’ death.
Mrs. Mulkey said she and her husband Mike received a call from a chaplain about 12:30 a.m. to come down to Fire Station 11 on Savannah Highway.
Until then, she had thought their son was safe.
“I thought I saw him on camera. I even said to Mike, ‘That looks like Louis with his back to the camera.’ But it must not have been him,” she said as she slowly turned the pages of a family photo album. “It wasn’t him.”
Mrs. Mulkey said her son loved sports.
“He loved football and basketball and had coached both,” said Mrs. Mulkey.
Mulkey was the JV basketball coach for Summerville High School and also worked with the children’s burn unit.
“He always loved working with kids,” Mrs. Mulkey said.
Firefighters reportedly rescued at least two people from the blaze that engulfed the building in flames. The roof later collapsed, trapping firefighters inside.
The bodies of Mulkey, Thompson and seven other firefighters were brought out when the flames were extinguished.
Mulkey, described as “a heck of a nice guy,” was the former brother-in-law of Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas.
In March 2006 Mulkey and two other Charleston firefighters were commended by Mayor Joe Riley and Fire Chief Rusty Thomas for saving a police officer who suffered a heart attack during a foot chase.
Using one of the automated external defibrillators kept at all Charleston fire stations, Mulkey re-started Officer Justin Sicheri’s heart.
Thompson was engaged to be married, according to a source who requested anonymity. He was the brother of Dorchester County sheriff’s deputy Frank Thompson."

Share your memories of these two firemen and any others lost in the blaze with us right here at The Spot.

A new venture...

We are kicking off a new feature at the Summerville Journal Scene. With the addition of "Blogs" we encourage readers to comment on the paper, website or anything else that strikes your fancy.