News briefs: Conservation group meeting July 16 in York

Council changes summer meeting schedule

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

County Council will meet once 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.

Conservation group meeting July 16

The York Soil and Water Conservation District commissioners meet at 5 p.m. July 16 at the USDA Service Center, 1460 E. Alexander Love Highway.

The public and members of agencies interested in conservation issues are welcome to attend. Call 803-684-3137 for more information.

Blood drives set

American Red Cross will hold blood drives in York County.

▪ 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. July 17, Catawba Indian Nation, 996 Avenue of the Nations, Rock Hill.

▪ 2-6:30 p.m. July 29, Walgreens, 1250 Tom Hall St., Fort Mill.

For information, call 800-733-2767.

Victory Farm seeks support

Victory Farm therapeutic riding center is hoping to relocate closer to Lake Wylie and is looking for support through its Go Fund Me account.

The farm serves mental and physical disabilities, traumatic injuries or disease for toddlers through adults. It also rescues horses to work with special needs riders.

Victory Farm program director Dory Pell said she has leased property for five years and is attempting to raise money for a permanent home ranch on Highway 274 near the state line.

“With the purchase of this property, we can provide more and varied programs to help our special needs community learn to thrive in life and society,” she said.

The nonprofit still needs $70,000 for the down payment. To make a donation, visit gofundme.com/qnberw, through PayPal on the Victory Farm website VictoryRides.org or mail to Victory Farm, P.O. Box 6341, Gastonia, NC 28056.

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).

Call 704-241-2270 for more information.

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

The Summer Food Service Program will run through Aug. 14.

Meals will be provided to all children age 18 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 July 9, 2015 at 5:05 PM with the headline "News briefs: Conservation group meeting July 16 in York."