News briefs: Learn more July 7 about McLean property along Lake Wylie

Learn about McLean at garden event

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden’s upcoming First Tuesday presentation “Discover McLean” will be held noon-1 p.m. July 7 in the Visitor Pavilion at 6500 S. New Hope Road. Learn more about the property adjacent to the garden previously owned by Daniel Stowe that is being developed into a new community named McLean.

Steven Hinshaw will share more about this land set along five miles of Lake Wylie shoreline, amid hardwoods and ponds, and talk about its future that will include walking and biking trails, boating and fishing, scenery and wildlife.

Admission costs $12.95 for adults, $11.95 for seniors 60 and older, and $6.95 for children 2-12. Bring lunch.

For more information, visit dsbg.org or call 704-825-4490.

Fort Mill museum moving

The Fort Mill History Museum will be moving from the White Street facility to the historic Wilson House at 107 Clebourne St.

The Wilson house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as of 1992. Built in 1869 by Stewart Wilson, it is an example of Victorian residential architecture. It was one of the first homes built on Main Street and was moved to its present location in the 1920s.

As a result of the upcoming move, the museum will be close July 6 with plans to reopen later this summer. A grand opening date will be announced in coming weeks.

Give blood July 9, get ice cream

The American Red Cross, WBTV-TV and Ben & Jerry’s invite donors to “Give a Pint, Get a Pint” on July 9 at several locations including 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at Ben & Jerry’s - Gastonia, 3908 E. Franklin Blvd., Gastonia.

All donors will receive free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at the drive, a pint of ice cream to take home and a Red Cross gift.

For more information, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-722-2767.

Give blood, get coffee

The Community Blood Center of the Carolinas is offering $5 Starbucks gift cards to donors July 1-8.

Student donors (16 years or older with an ID) who give blood at one of CBCC’s five donation centers between July 9-31 will receive a free movie ticket voucher.

For more information or to make an appointment, call 704-972-4700 or visit cbcc.us.

Council changes summer meeting schedule

York County Council is cutting its meeting schedule for the rest of the summer in half.

County Council will meet once a month in July and August, canceling its first scheduled meeting in each month. The council regularly shortens its meeting schedule after passing the county’s budget in June to accommodate members’ vacation schedules.

The next two meetings will be held July 20 and Aug. 17 at the York County Agricultural Building, 6 S. Congress St.

S.C. national parks visitor numbers up

A new National Park Service report shows that 1,519,746 visitors to national parks in South Carolina spent $81.1 million in the state in 2014. That spending resulted in 1,275 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $103.1 million.

The national parks sites in South Carolina are: Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, Congaree National Park, Cowpens National Battlefield, Fort Sumter National Monument, Kings Mountain National Military Park and Ninety Six National Historic Site.

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by U.S. Geological Survey economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Christopher Huber and National Park Service economist Lynne Koontz. The report shows $15.7 billion of direct spending by 292.8 million park visitors occurred in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 277,000 jobs nationally; 235,600 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $29.7 billion.

According to the 2014 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging (30.6 percent) followed by food and beverages (20.3 percent), gas and oil (11.9 percent), admissions and fees (10.2 percent) and souvenirs and other expenses (9.9 percent).

Join summer reading programs

Summer reading programs have begun at all York County libraries with prizes and incentives for all ages.

With a superheroes theme, the four programs are: Tiny Tots for children ages 3 and younger, and their parent; Every Hero has a Story for children ages 3-11; Unmask for ages 12-17; and Escape the Ordinary for adults.

Free summer programs for children and families include weekly performances by puppeteers, theater groups and magicians. Free programs for teens include chess club, anime and gaming.

All summer reading programs are sponsored by the Friends of the York County Library. Register at yclibrary.org.

For more, visit nps.gov/Southcarolina.

Food service program continues through Aug. 14

York County Council announces the administration of the Summer Food Service Program runs through Aug. 14.

Meals will be provided to all children 18 years of age and younger without charge. The Summer Food Service Program has operated in York County for 33 years.

To locate a meal service site, call the Summer Feeding Office in Rock Hill at 803-909-7511.

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 2:19 PM with the headline "News briefs: Learn more July 7 about McLean property along Lake Wylie."