Many new homes are built in occupied bear range each year, according to state natural resources officials. Despite people moving into bear territory, bear have increased in numbers and range over the last 10 years, and as a result, bears and people are coming into contact with each other more frequently than before.

  Both bear and people are expanding their ranges throughout the eastern United States, and especially in the Southeast. Bear sightings were reported in 33 South Carolina counties during the past three years.

  "Many people in South Carolina want to see bears continue to thrive in the state," said Skip Still, black bear biologist with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) based in Clemson. "Therefore, the challenge is to learn how problems with bears can be avoided."

  A homeowner's guide to living with bears has been published by DNR, offering handy tips for peacefully co-existing with these fascinating mammals. Authored by Deanna Ruth, a DNR wildlife biologist based at Samworth Wildlife Center in Georgetown County, "A Homeowner's Guide: Living with Bears" offers common-sense rules to homeowners that will help them avoid unpleasant encounters with Ursus americanus, the black bear. The bear brochure also details some interesting natural history information on this often-feared and frequently misunderstood wildlife species.

  To obtain a copy of the homeowner's guide to living with bears brochure, visit the DNR offices in Clemson, Georgetown or Florence, or call the Columbia DNR office at (803) 734-3886. The brochure is also available on the DNR Web site at www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/bear/.

  No one has been injured by a black bear in South Carolina in recorded history and only two deaths to humans have been attributed to bears in the Southeast during the last 100 years. People often feed bears indirectly by leaving trash, pet food, and other enticing items in places easily accessible to bear. Simply observing a bear walking through a yard is not cause for alarm and should be viewed as a positive experience. Make sure all garbage is stored or handled as described below and do not provoke or feed the bear. Alert others in the area and request that everyone follow the same procedures.

  What attracts bears into a residential area? Often, houses are located near areas already occupied by bears. Bears will naturally investigate food odors and are attracted to many different foods such as garbage, bird seed and suet, pet foods, compost piles, and grease on barbecue grills. Bear have a very keen since of smell. Once a bear receives a "reward," such as one of these foods, it may return to the same area several times (even after food is removed) or search around the general area for similar foods. Some bears become fairly tolerant of humans in these situations and appear tame. Remember, Still said, bears are wild animals and are unpredictable. Therefore, the solution to most bear problems is to remove the source of attraction before conflicts occur. In South Carolina, it is illegal to entice bears by any means. The law states that you must take away the attractants when bears are coming to your yard.,p>   Most bear problems in residential areas are temporary and usually occur in the spring and summer months. Between the times bears emerge from their dens and summer foods such as berries ripen, natural food supplies are low and not very nutritious. This causes bears to travel more in search of food. Also, breeding season occurs from June to August, and male bears tend to roam more in search of mates. Finally, during this same time period, young males are dispersing to new territories and often wander into residential areas. Usually, dispersing bears remain in an area less than two weeks. By keeping food away from bears during those times of increased travel, many problems may be avoided.

  "People often ask us, 'Why not just move problem bears?'" Still said. "There are several reasons why moving problem bears is not an option. First and foremost, moving a bear does not address the problem. If the problem is not fixed, other bears will move in to take advantage of the food source, or the bear that was moved may return to become a problem once more. Second, catching a wild animal such as a bear puts both bears and people at risk of injury, especially in residential areas. Third, most people wish to keep bears as a viable species in South Carolina, and if bear and humans are going to coexist, human attitudes and habits must change. After all, humans are at the top of the food chain. Finally, there are no longer areas that are sufficiently remote to ensure that a relocated bear would not encounter other residences and possibly get in a similar predicament there."

  So how are bear problems best handled? Many things can be done to minimize or eliminate the chances that bears will get into garbage or become a problem in an area. Any of the methods described below work best if implemented as soon as the problem starts, or better still, before problems occur. Once a bear establishes a feeding pattern, it will take longer to encourage the bear to move on. By following some of the tips listed below, residents can usually prevent the bear from being rewarded the first time.

  * Do not allow bears access to garbage or other food. If you live in bear country, take your garbage away daily. Do not feed bears under any circumstances. If the area is served by a garbage collection service, place garbage out only during the day of collection. Under no circumstances should garbage be left out overnight. Keep all garbage sites clean. Do not leave pet foods out overnight. If a bear has visited bird feeders, stop feeding birds for one to two weeks. Persons living in bear range should install "bear-proof" containers or use dumpsters with heavy gauge metal lids as a long-term solution to bear problems.

  * Repellents. No repellents are registered for use on bears. Some have found that sprinkling ammonia or other strong disinfectants on garbage can mask the odor of food.

  * Exclusion. The following tips have helped to prevent bear damage. Make sure dumpsters are bolted and locked and chain down heavy metal garbage cans and secure the lids. Wood or plastic dumpster lids do not keep bears out. Replace these with metal lids that can be locked and make sure sliding side doors can be latched so only humans can open them. Fencing around dumpsters or garbage collection areas can be very effective. An electric fence powered with a high-voltage, low-impedance charger can exclude bears; however, this should only be done if safety precautions can be implemented to protect children and adults. A local DNR biologist can provide several electric fence designs if this measure is deemed appropriate.

  * Frightening or scaring the bear. Shouting, clapping, blasting a car horn or motion-sensitive lights may scare off a bear temporarily. Do not taunt a bear if it fails to respond to your efforts to frighten it. These methods are only temporary solutions.

  * Crowd control. Sometimes when a bear is sighted, crowds may gather. This seemingly harmless situation can be aggravated or became potentially harmful as the crowd grows. People can cause bears to display unpredictable behavior. Law enforcement personnel should disperse crowds and allow the bear to exit without interference.

  Black bears once roamed the entire state of South Carolina and most of North America. Due to a number of factors, resident bear populations are found only in the mountains and upper coastal counties of South Carolina.

  "Black bears are an important part of South Carolina's natural heritage," Still said. "As people move into bear country in increasing numbers, it is ultimately human attitudes toward bears that will determine whether bears will continue to exist in the state. Unfortunately, bears are viewed either as dangerous animals or cuddly pets. It is best to avoid these extreme views and instead show a healthy respect for this magnificent forest animal. The DNR has provided some simple, common sense steps you can take to do your part in ensuring that bears and people can live together. As a temporary or permanent resident in bear country, take these steps to avoid attracting bears and to prevent conflicts from occurring. Remember, prevention is the best medicine!"

  DNR protects and manages South Carolina's natural resources by making wise and balanced decisions for the benefit of the state's natural resources and its people. For more information on the great fishing and hunting resources in South Carolina, visit www.dnr.sc.gov/.

  The cold days of winter are over and now it’s time get your boat ready for a bit of fishing and summertime fun. Cold weather can be hard your boat so a little work now can pay off big later this summer. Following is a check list of some of the things to check out before heading to the lake.

  * Of course one of the most important things to check is the motor. If it was running poor last fall, now is the time to get it to the repair shop. As the weather warms even further these guys get real busy so get yours tuned up now.

  * Check the batteries. Fill with distilled water and charge. If they won't keep a charge, change them out. They may take a charge but be sure and load test them because batteries may charge but go dead real fast when you hit them with the load from your trolling motor.

  * Speaking of the trolling motor. Remove the prop and clean off the gunk and old fishing line from around the shaft. Check the electrical connections to make sure they are clean and making good contact.

  * Check all hatch locks and lube if necessary. Also check and lube the hinges.

  * Check to see if the bilge pump and live well aerators run. Most of these will come apart so you can clean the gunk off the impellers.

  * Check the hoses to the bilge and the live wells for cracks and splits. You don't want to fill the boat as well as the live well the first time you hit the on switch.

  * Check the steering and throttle cables for rust, kinks and bends. Make sure they work and operate smoothly and don't bind. Adjust as needed. Lube as necessary.

  * If you didn't use fuel stabilizer in your fuel tank, drain it and clean the tank. If you have a mounted tank just drain or siphon out the gas. Use caution while doing this. Dispose of the old gasoline properly. Drain the fuel lines and the bowl on the carburetor. Check for leaks, corrosion, or loose fittings in the engine’s fuel system. Install a new fuel filter.

  * Change the oil in your motor's lower unit if you didn't drain it in the fall. If you drained it, refill per the engine manufacturer’s specifications.

  * Lube all the places on your motor according to the manufacturer.

  * Check the lights and instrumentation.

  * Give the interior a good cleaning. Empty the storage compartments and vacuum them out. You will probably find some stuff you don't need to carry (i.e., dead crickets, dried minnows, etc) or find some things you need to replace. (i.e., sun block, WD-40, etc.) Don't forget to vacuum out the live well.

  * Check your PFD’s (life jackets) and replace them if they are dried out, cracked or split.

  * Check your fire extinguisher and emergency equipment. (i.e., whistle or horn, hand bailer, flares, etc.)

  * Restock your first aid kit. If you don't have one, get one. Get one with a hook removal gizmo.

  * Examine the hull of your boat, both the interior and exterior, particularly if it is wooden, for any apparent damage or deterioration. Fix or replace anything you don't like.

  * Wash and polish the hull and motor.

  * And last but not least. Take a boater safety course. Many states offer them on-line so you can study at your leisure. Also many insurance companies offer discounts on your boat insurance if you successfully pass a safety course. If that’s not incentive enough I don’t what is.

  Nothing ruins a trip more than a problem you could have prevented in the first place. But there are always going to be unforeseen things that can happen. So just relax and go with it. The main thing to remember is having fun and staying safe on the water. – James Burns

  We called them the "Spit and Whittle" club. The old-timers that sat around the downtown park benches in their Big Smith overalls, flannel shirts and felt fedora hats, spitting tobacco juice and whittling on sticks. Base ball caps were not the fad as of yet. You’d see them lean forward, murmuring in hushed tones, looking around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers.

  "Senility isn’t pretty!" we'd say jokingly. Who knows what they were talking about? I think I’m beginning to understand. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ready for a modern version of the "Spit and Whittle" club. But I can guess what the subject of their conversations was. Changes! Changes were much slower then, but still hard to accept for those who had lived their whole lives here.

  "What the hey!" I said as pulled off the shoulder of I-540, staring in disbelief. My sixteen year old daughter responded in just the way that ‘all knowing' sixteen year olds can, "It’s called a Wal-Mart Dad, one of the many popular retail stores in the area!" I tried to ignore the sarcasm as I've learned that's usually best.

  "But I used to rabbit hunt in that field!"

  "What field?"

  "Exactly!"

  A little further down I-540, you now see a huge limestone quarry. It wasn’t always a rock quarry. When we were kids we would hike there to a cave on the hillside above a clear, meandering creek. We called the cave the "Turtle Hut" because the top of the cave was shaped like a huge turtle’s shell. It's gone now, so is the creek. No doubt the walls and ceiling of the cave now lies scattered beneath the paved driveway of some newcomer’s mansion.

  There’s no ignoring the boom and recent growth of the area with suburbs popping up like mushrooms, seemingly overnight. Now I'm hearing rumors of mass transportation, high rise condominiums! Makes me wanna spit! I spend a lot of time shaking my head from side to side. "Senility isn’t pretty!" I hear my daughters whisper.

often wonder just what the percentage of natives of North West Arkansas is now in the area. Not just the people born here, but whose parents were born here. I mean the ones who can remember what life was like before Beaver Lake came in. Who can even remember Beaver Lake when it was new? Back then, you rarely saw another boat and at night, there were no lights from residences along the shoreline or on the surrounding hills. Now when ever you approach the lake, all you can see is a mass of bobbing boats and jet skis. "Where’s the water?" one may ask. If you look close enough, you may see a glimpse of blue between the hulls of aquatic craft.

  On the roped off swimming areas, there's such a pretty rainbow sheen of oil slick on the surface. At least now I can understand the concept of 'catch and release' fishing. If you were to clean the fish and fry them up, you wouldn't need cooking oil. The oil content is now comprisable to bacon, ….50 weight marine flavor! If you should swim, please don’t swallow any of the water! And you'll need to scrub off good in a hot shower to get the oil slime off your body.

  I am forever grateful to my great uncle who could have been a member of the 'spit and whittle' club, but instead chose to spend his time and assets researching the family genealogy and passing along what he learned to us kids. I have fond memories of the tales, all true of course, of my pioneer ancestors moving to the area before the Civil War. Of how my great, great granddad and his brother rode with the James’ and Younger’s under Quantrill, and of the places they hid, camped, had skirmishes with Union troops,…. It's a shame that many people, mostly new to the area, will never know, or even care, that behind their gated community neighborhoods, the backyards of their estate homes sits on the very sites where these events took place.

  Who knows or even cares that Rogers used to be called Bloomington? And that it was an apple orchard community?

  Who knows that Lowell began as Mud Town?

  Who knows or even cares where Bella Vista, the retirement community got its name? Well I'm going to tell you anyway. One of the first families to settle and farm the area had several daughters, one of which became a prominent lady of class there. Her name was Bella Vista Green, my great aunt. Her daughter, Lillian Green, became an award winning photographer and had a whirlwind romance with a baseball player known as Dizzy Dean. She turned down his proposal of marriage because she did not want to give up her career and leave her home and family. Such tales are many. What secrets and treasures are being lost, buried beneath the pavement of progress?

  But progress is good! Change is good! Right? How do you spell it?

  So where have all the natives to the area gone? Maybe they saw the writing on the wall and could not bear to see the rape and pillage of the homeland, moved to other places, ironically becoming new comers there and adding to the demise of that place. They seem to have gone the way of the chick-a-pin. What’s a chick-a-pin you ask? Well fire up your state of the art laptop and do some research. That’s the only place you'll find them now. When the red oak borers and the chainsaws of progress get through, they too may be a thing of the past. (more shaking of the head …spit) I need a stick to whittle on … can’t find one.

  "Gee Dad, maybe you can pick some up at Wal-Mart!"