By Stan Welch
Anderson County is on the air! At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Anderson County Council, the Anderson County Network cable channel debuted. The channel, which will both broadcast on Charter and stream live, will provide information and content provided by the County, various school districts, civic organizations, charities, Clemson Extension Service, and other sources.
County Administrator Rusty Burns said that the service is designed to pull the far flung corners of the county together,at least electronically. “This is a very large and very diverse county. We feel like this will help pull us all a little bit closer together, and give us all a better understanding of our fellow Andersonians,” Burns said.
In other business, the Council announced that for the first time in twenty three years, the 2016 S.C. Horse Expo will be held somewhere besides the Camden area. The T. Ed Garrison Equine facility on the Clemson campus will host the Expo this weekend.
District Four Councilman Tom Allen, whose district encompasses the Garrison arena, called the event a major attraction to horse enthusiasts all across the Southeast.
“This will draw people from many states in the Southeast and along the Eastern Seaboard. Many people don’t realize what an economic factor the equine industry is in this area. Last year, the Garrison arena itself generated nine million dollars in revenue. This will be a huge draw, with something for every horse enthusiast, from horse health presentations to a polo match, to mounted cowboy shooting events to Old West reenactments.”
District Seven Councilwoman Cindy Wilson, who is an equestrienne, and whose family operates a horse farm, called it a major coup to bring the Expo to the Anderson area.
“For almost a quarter century, Camden has hosted this event. But people may not know that, after Aiken county, Anderson has the second largest equine population in the state, with some sic thousand horses,” Wilson said. “That equates to a very real economic impact. Oconee, Pickens and Anderson counties together represent an annual economic impact of around sixty three million dollars. That is a lot of money circulating and recirculating throughout the local economy. And the Expo will bring hundreds of horses and horse owners to the area for the week, expanding that impact.”
The Expo opens at 10:00 a.m. Saturday and will run all day.
