By Diane Woods The North Myrtle Beach Rescue Squad held its annual Christmas Holiday Banquet and Awards Ceremony at The Bay Watch Resort on Friday, December 5. The Rescue Squad is celebrating their 67th year of community service. Chief Gary Clark thanked the members for their many hours of dedicated service to the community. They are proud to have over 2,000 hours of volunteering teaching CPR/AED/BLS; Water Rescue and free Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) Ambulance Service.  The Squad has grown significantly and is over 70 members strong. Many awards were given out to members and …

By Bill La Monte On Saturday, December 6, the North Myrtle Beach Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10804 Auxiliary held a Fashion Show, Tea and Christmas item giveaway to raise money to be able to help veterans in need in the local area and to provide some financial assistance to the VFW National Home in Michigan. There were 62 people who attended and over $1,400 was  raised. A special thanks to Hope Taylor Co of North Myrtle Beach for providing the clothing. There are many veterans, veteran families and homeless veterans in the Grand Strand that have a hard time …

By Arleen Lopano For its 2025 Christmas service project, the Little River Lions Club collected and donated food to the North Strand Helping Hands Food Bank. Club members distributed 750 empty collection bags with flyers in the neighborhoods of Hidden Lakes Village and Lafayette Park and later picked up 2,625 pounds of non-perishable food for the food bank at Helping Hands for distribution. The Little River Lions Club would like to thank Lowe’s Foods in Little River and Boulineau’s Grocery Store for donating the bags and the people of the two neighborhoods who so generously donated the food. The program …

The perfect mix of local collaborators succeeded in a project designed to “Remember, Educate and Celebrate”. The Yaupon Garden Club, North Myrtle Beach Parks and Rec Department, North Myrtle Beach Tree Board, South Carolina Native Plant Society and North Myrtle Beach Historic Preservation Society were all represented on Friday, December 5, 2025, at the Arbor Day celebration and dedication. The impetus for this event was begun by Yaupon Garden Club members Phyllis Green and Phillis Newman, residents of the Belle Park neighborhood who often met to walk the nearby trail surrounding a stormwater drainage pond. It is located off Highway …

By Joan Schuster President Babs Johnston opened the Arbor Day Celebration by welcoming the guests and Driftwood members who attended. Celebrating with Driftwood were members of the North Myrtle Beach Parks and Recreation Director Matt Gibbons, Jim Grainger, Jarrett Lewis, Bernie Lowe, Kaitlyn Nimmons and Gianna Forbis, Multimedia Coordinator. Jill Roman presented the History of Arbor Day highlighting Driftwood’s participation. A Live Oak (Quercus Virginiana) Tree was planted and dedicated to the memory of our deceased member, Susie Chestnut Bellamy, in the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex.  Susie joined Driftwood in 1997 and was a dedicated member. Her enthusiasm was …

By Mary Templeton Friday, December 5, 2025, was a special day for the Budding Ecotots in Kim Holloway’s kindergarten class at Ocean Drive Elementary School. The ladies from the Yaupon Garden Club came to tell them all about Arbor Day. Mary Templeton discussed the origin of Arbor Day and how important trees are to our environment. Lynne Payne read “The Giving Tree”, which taught the students the many ways trees help provide for our needs.  Susan Platt led the students in a tree project with the assistance of Donna Belski, Margaret Graham, Sue Hagen, Joy Murray, Gail Norden, Lynne Payne, …

By John Smithson The North Myrtle Beach Chiefs varsity basketball teams start week three of competition this week, continuing non-region games and getting more experience for the schedule ahead. The boys team started the season with a 3-0 record but lost three games in a row and stand at 3-3. The Chiefs lost the final game of the Green Sea Floyds tournament and then last week lost 41-33 to West Florence on Tuesday at Florence. The Chiefs were behind 26-18 at halftime and couldn’t get any closer in the second half. No player scored in double figures. Mason Walker scored …

By John Smithson The 2025 class of the North Myrtle Beach High School Athletic Hall of Fame was inducted last Saturday evening in the school auditorium. The Hall of Fame was established in 2014 to celebrate the accomplishments of former Chief athletes and honor others who have made significant contributions to the school’s athletic programs. A Hall of Fame committee annually selects new inductees and honors them each fall during an induction ceremony. Nine individuals and two former athletic teams were honored last Saturday. The 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees are: James Thomas Moore — James Moore was in the …

By Kaye Collins The Loris Chamber of Commerce announced through Facebook last week that their annual Christmas Parade scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5, was cancelled due to the forecasted inclement weather. After several months of preparation and securing the date Mother Nature delivered a rainy and lower temperature for the night. “While we are disappointed to cancel the Christmas parade so many residents of Loris look forward to attend each year,” explained Samantha Norris, executive director of the chamber, “we are also disappointed.” She shared that a parade takes a tremendous amount of coordination to move safely and successfully, from …

By Kaye Collins The Christmas list of God’s Gift begins with the generosity of others. Stella McDowell created the Facebook group God’s Gifts, allowing community members to share their needs or donate items. All offerings within this nonprofit group are provided free of charge. For many years, God’s Gifts has made sure that teenagers aged 13 to 18, both boys and girls, can enjoy the spirit of Christmas. “The demographic we assist frequently outgrows Toys for Tots and might not experience a Christmas without the kindness of the community in supplying gifts,” McDowell remarked. They are in search of unwrapped …