Happy New Year from the staff of the Herald-Advocate and Pee Dee Life magazine.  Our office will be closed on Jan. 1 and will reopen on Monday, Jan. 4.

Staff at New Beginnings Transitional Shelter in Wallace had a vision for the clients there — to make sure they felt like they were home and not in a shelter.
With a mobile unit donation from Marlboro County School District and help from various volunteers and partners, staff moved into their resident services building earlier this month.
"We have our space," said Shelter Services Coordinator Janice Hamlin. "They have their space. They can move around the house without all of our business taking place in the office."
Hamlin along with Janice Rozier, vice-chair of Pee Dee Coalition regional board and chairman of the Marlboro County Pee Dee Coalition Board, and Christy Moore,  volunteer coordinator, shared an update about the shelter with school district officials at the December Board of Education Meeting.

Santa Claus is taking precautions to deliver gifts safely.
Santa Claus shared his plans for delivering gifts to children on Christmas Eve in an exclusive interview with the Herald-Advocate. 
He was inside a giant snow globe in order to maintain social distancing.
HA: Are you ready to deliver gifts to kids this year?
Santa: Yes, I am. Ho-ho-ho!
HA: Are you being safe during the pandemic?
Santa: Yes, I have used a snow globe to meet, greet and take photos with the children.
HA: Will the current travel bans affect you and the reindeer?
Santa: The current travel bans do not apply to Santa and the reindeer.

LAURINBURG - Scotland Health has expanded its COVID-19 testing capabilities to include rapid antigen testing.  The antigen test is designed to detect proteins from the virus that causes COVID-19.

Rapid antigen tests return results in approximately 15 minutes and results are provided during the office visit.  If a test is positive, no further testing will be done.  Positive rapid tests are considered much more accurate while negative tests are sent to the lab for confirmation.

(Editor’s Note: At a special called meeting on Nov. 19, Marlboro County Council members were updated on the initiatives in their Strategic Plan.   Over the next few weeks, we will review the progress made on each of these items. This week, the Herald-Advocate is focusing on Broadband and Citizen Communications initiatives.)

Marlboro County Council had several strategies in 2020 to improve broadband. 
They were to lobby state regulatory agencies, internet providers, and others to address issues regarding access to high-speed internet in our community and seek grants or other funding to address specific infrastructure needs.
County Administrator Ron Munnerlyn said improving broadband was a win for the county. The goal was to have a plan and go after funding from the agency. 
“We were the worst in the state with regards to broadband access,” he said. “And when COVID hit, all of a sudden it became a big problem.”
The county worked with Sandhill Telephone Cooperative to come up with a plan. 
"We didn't have any money but we had a plan," he said.
Then they learned there would be Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding and were able to get some of the money. 
Munnerlyn noted it made things a lot easier because they had done their homework. It allowed them to provide some of the areas that needed broadband.