Oh, gee, you gotta be kidding me. I just got this from Wesley Donehue:
In recognition of Andre’ Bauer’s awareness of and efforts to meet the needs of South Carolina’s seniors during his tenure as Lt. Governor, Lexington County Recreation & Aging Commission is naming its senior center in Batesburg-Leesville the “Andre’ Bauer Senior Center.”
The naming ceremony will be at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, May 23 at the senior center, 241 Highland Avenue in Batesburg. Speakers honoring former Lt. Governor Bauer will include Batesburg-Leesville Mayor, Jim Wizowaty and Senator Jake Knotts.
The construction of the senior center in Batesburg-Leesville, completed in 2007, would not have been possible without $350,000 of Senior Center Permanent Improvement Project (SC PIP) funding provided by the Lt. Governor’s Office on Aging. Prior to the construction of the Andre’ Bauer Senior Center, the senior program shared 2,000 square feet of space with programs for other age groups at the Batesburg-Leesville Leisure Center. The SC PIP dollars covered approximately 56% of the cost of building the 4,500 square foot center.
In recognition of the needs of the rapidly expanding senior population in South Carolina, the SC Legislature established the SC PIP program to help entities and communities that provide programs and services to seniors build, expand, and renovate Senior Centers. Money for the SC PIP program is generated by bingo taxes. Funding for a senior center is obtained through a grant application process with the Lt. Governor’s Office on Aging. Under former Lt. Governor Andre’ Bauer, numerous senior centers were built, expanded, or renovated throughout the State.
Lexington County Recreation & Aging Commission (LCRAC) serves Lexington School Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4. LCRAC’s mission is to improve the quality of life for all citizens through creative, meaningful, life enriching experiences. This is done through the provision of program services, facilities, and education. To make programs and services easily accessible to seniors, LCRAC operates seven senior centers. Each center offers nutrition (home delivered and center based meals), education, recreation, fitness, transportation, health promotion, volunteer opportunities, and support services that are responsive to the needs of seniors in the local communities.
Over 1,400 seniors participate in programs offered by the seven senior centers. More than 600 people receive a noon meal from LCRAC, Monday thru Friday, approximately 60% are home delivered meals.
Currently, more than 200 seniors benefit directly from programs, services, and activities offered at the Andre’ Bauer Senior Center. Sixty plus of them receive home delivered meals. The center, with its walk-in freezer and cooler also serves as a food distribution site for both the Gilbert-Summit and Lexington senior centers, impacting the health and well-being of another 500 plus seniors.
Lexington County Recreation and Aging Commission is pleased to be able to recognize the impact former Lt. Governor Andre’ Bauer has made in helping to improve the lives of seniors in South Carolina.
Yes, I know that Andre took that make-work function that lawmakers gave him so he could pretend being Gov Lite was a real job, and worked hard at it. Andre works hard at everything. And I hear that the old folks he worked with doted on him, although I haven’t polled them.
But… come on. This business of naming things after living politicians was already ridiculous enough in this state. If we’re not going to stop doing it altogether, which we should, how about if we just curtail it to this degree: Why don’t we make a rule that you can’t have a senior senator named after you until you are actually a senior?
That would be a start…
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ol’ Jakie is going to be there, now that’s a surprise. Con men must stick together, I think it’s a rule.
Seems to me that I remember that Sanford got a free pass ’till the end of his term partially because no one was willing to have Mr. Bauer as gov. And we’re naming something (other than maybe a landfill) after him?
I just need a sponsor for my bill to outlaw naming anything in this state after a living politician, unless they personally paid for it.
“senior senator named after you”?
Senior center?
The irony is that the senior center being named after Bauer was most likely funded through a program (the Senior Center Permanent Improvement Program) that legally expired more than a decade ago.
However, it has doled out millions of dollars since 2000, despite having no legislative authority.
Neither Bauer nor his successor, Ken Ard, could provide the enabling legislation or a statute authorizing the specific use of monies in the program fund for the projects when I asked for it. They didn’t seem to care whether they had authority or not; they were going spend tax dollars and do whatever it took to gain favor among seniors.
http://thenerve.org/news/2011/10/25/more-questions-arise-program-that-wont-die/
Let’s rename Columbia “Bauerville”
and since Andre now lives near Myrtle Beach (So he can run for Congress after living in Columbia, Greenville, Irmo, and everwhere else) – let’s make a deal with Andre:
If he will do South Carolina a favor and not run for Congress, we will allow him to be lifelong major of Atlantic Bech.
Use to be you had to give a ton of your own money to get a building named after you. Now giving away other peoples is good enough.
Tavis, We’ve been naming things after legislators who just spent other people’s money for years in SC. Most of the buildings at USC are named not for wealthy donors (Darla Moore, The Kogers, Colonial Life & Martha Williams-Brice are some exceptions). Blatt, Petigru, Thurmond, Cooper, McKissick, Pinckney, Currell, Clyburn, Coker, Maxcy and the like are the norm around here.
I totally left out “Hollings” I must be slipping.
Too bad the General Assembly didn’t name Don’s Lounge for someone rich and famous. If they had maybe it would still be there today and we could go there and listen to Donna Summer on the Juke Box. Sad to see her pass.
@silence I know your right. Just on the way home through cola I see a free clinic, golf course and a bridge after clyburn.
I totally agree! Roads and buildings should be named after people after they have died.
There was a former Comptroller General, I think, that was involved in the Home Gold financial scandal that had a road named after him, but before he was jailed for financial fraud.
You can’t make this up . . .
Can anyone confirm the latest rumor about Bauer? Apparently, he and a Myrtle Beach realtor are co-owners of the Myrtle Beach Speedway.
Query? Other than driving too fast as Lt. Governor, what the hey does Bauer know about owning and running a race track?
@ Bart–he has the arrogance that allowed him to deem himself SC2–that seems like a useful skill….
Why NOT own a motor speedway? There’s no NASCAR “Sprint Cup” (Winston Cup) race there though, so I can’t see it being a worthwhile endeavor. Of course, if SC was to properly incentivize NASCAR, Andre might just get a race…